On Monday at 6:30 at Frank, Colgate is having a Take Back the Night March and Speak Out (see the link for more details). If you can come, it should be a great opportunity, as Brownmiller and Crenshaw both advocate, to break the silence about domestic and sexual violence.
Most of the readings we have encountered this term have skirted around the particular issues that affect women of color. In “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color,” Crenshaw addresses these issues head-on and suggests that intersectional approaches would better meet people’s varied identities and needs. First, Crenshaw writes about the power that groups of people can develop from specific identity-oriented groups. There is a tension between acting as if there are no differences between groups (overlook distinctions between people) or explicitly identifying differences and celebrating them. The intersectionality theory posits that many identities contribute to a person’s experience in the world and that identities are not mutually exclusive, but instead are inextricably tied and interrelated. The problem is that identities are often made exclusive in the discourses of political organizations and activists. For example, white women tend to hold the most power in the feminist movement, while black men tend to hold the most power in the anti-racist movement, leading to the marginalization of the voices of and issues specific to women of color in both movements. The agendas of these movements are incomplete because they neglect the experiences of women of color. Crenshaw does not attempt to discuss the role of all identities which influence a person’s life; rather, she reinforces that multiple identities should be considered.
In this paper, Crenshaw specifically discusses the neglect that battered women of color experience in anti-racist movements, feminist movements, and in support services such as shelters because the multiple identities they possess are not addressed fully. Women of color experiencing abuse are often poor, unemployed, and lacking job skills, support networks, and adequate childcare. She writes that shelters often address “the psychological effects of male domination” (Crenshaw 3), what is within the woman’s mind, rather than the obstacles that exist in a woman’s life (like poverty, unemployment, racism and other external forces). This often leaves women of color unassisted, as the structural obstacles still exist when they leave the shelter. Immigrant women in particular find obstacles to escaping abusive relationships. They often lack the language skills or political/legal savvy to make use of available resources. Also, undocumented women may rely on their relationship with their husband to eventually obtain citizenship and may stay in an abusive relationship to ensure their status and safety in America.
Crenshaw points out that shelters and other domestic violence services are more equipped to help women who only need help addressing the particular violent experiences (rape, etc.) and find it difficult to address needs that women of color may be experiencing, including impoverished conditions. Some shelters refuse to accept individuals who are not proficient in English, leaving them without support. Also, information and statistics about domestic violence in minority communities is often suppressed and not released because of the tension between “avoiding issues that might reinforce distorted public perceptions of their communities [versus] the need to acknowledge and address intra-community problems” (Crenshaw 7). Unfortunately, it usually means that violence issues are not addressed fully because few know the true scope and severity of the problem. Crenshaw notes that there is “a general unwillingness among people of color to subject their private lives to the scrutiny and control of the police” and people of color often find the home to be “a safe haven from the indignities of life in a racist society” (Crenshaw 7). Both of these reasons leave many cases of domestic violence unreported.
Crenshaw then targets the rhetorical strategies of anti-abuse campaigns, which often emphasize that all women can be affected by domestic violence, not only minorities. This strategy often means that minority populations do not “share equally in the distribution of resources and concern” (Crenshaw 9) and that the minority women are included less and less in public campaigns for fear that they will cast a negative light on the efforts of those who possess more power and agency (and that support from rich elites will be diminished/lost as a result). In anti-abuse campaigns, the women in power can often determine if intersectional differences are addressed in policy and campaigning. If more advantaged women seek to link their experiences with the experiences of women of color, while still acknowledging and addressing the specific identities and needs of women of color, the anti-abuse efforts may become more inclusive of women of color and their experiences. A line in Crenshaw’s piece that stood out to me was that we should “understand the need for and summon the courage to challenge groups that are after all, in one sense, ‘home’ to us, in the name of the parts of us that are not made at home” (Crenshaw 15), in an effort to create more inclusiveness of what seem to be disparate identities that are actually more related and essential than previously considered.
In Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, Brownmiller targets rape, a specific form of domestic violence and her own journey to the realization that systems and politics influence rape deeply; it is not a stand-alone, personal experience, but rather the fear of all women and, she argues, the intimidation of all men. She specifies rape as the sole reason why women live in fear of men and always view themselves as victims, even from early childhood. She writes about the ridiculous notion that women want to be raped and contests that rape “is a deliberate, hostile, violent act of degradation and possession … designed to intimidate and inspire fear” (Brownmiller 315). Speaking out about rape, sharing stories and experiences, and protecting oneself against male hostility through self-defense are all methods she suggests can combat and lessen the influence of rape in our culture. She does not address intersectionality as Crenshaw does, instead addressing women as an amorphous group without much distinction or uniqueness between the constituents of the group.
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