The notion that equality means something different for each person is something that had never been brought explicitly to my attention. Of course i realized that "freedom" for an ex-slave post emancipation meant something different that the white southerners definition, or even the American Indian's ideas, but it is a complex idea which is crucial the the happiness, and maybe even the survival, of particular groups of people. In the readings a lot of emphasis was put on what the women's movement means for women of different races and sexual orientations. I think it was a particularly powerful set of readings because they all highlighted the particular/unique plights of the black and the lesbian feminist. While still fighting for their rights as women, they must also face the daunting task of fighting for racial or sexual rights as well. They seem to face attack from all sides of the spectrum, which makes their fight particularly challenging.
It was upsetting to see how even within the feminist movement blacks and lesbians have to defend themselves against their fellow women's rights activists! It is a harrowing task to ask anyone to face so many different levels of discrimination.
Although i know that straight, white women still face a substantial set of problems, i think it is important for us rally together (both men and women) to fight for the equality of our women who may be of different races or orientations. It is about time that we embrace each woman for her unique self while at the same time learning to ignore our differences and work together for the greater cause.
Hillary- I really liked how you put a strong emphasis on the racial aspect of the feminist movement. Most people focused on McIntosh's White Privilege article. I thought you did a good job at tying in your U.S. history class. The United States is all about freedom and equality. However, as you have pointed out above, that is not truly what happens in the U.S. I agree that it is extremely upsetting to see even in the women's movement, where women are oppressed, black, other races and lesbians are being oppressed within the women's movement. It almost feels like people in the oppressor group just do not seem to care enough about the troubles of the oppressed, even if the oppressors were once the oppressed.
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