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When first given this assignment, I was hesitant of what I should include in my sections and if I was going to be "right" or not. I definitely became more comfortable after knowing that this was a representation of our own personal views and thoughts and what we found to be interesting. Also, I was not sure if I was going to be very interested in this assignment, but it grew on me and I was able to talk about the topic after learning about definitions and examples in class. Personally, I never really had a huge stance on whether or not I considered myself a feminist or not. But learning in depth about feminism and seeing real life examples, I would say I am one, but not extreme at all because I do have some opposing views on some issues. I was able to form my own opinions and expand my knowledge through this assignment. I would recommend continuing to use this as a way to explore and further educate.

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Praxis is theory in action. Feminist praxis was a new topic to me when first exposed to it in my class. I had never been aware that there was a name for women acting on their feminist theories, I thought it was just something you do if you are truly passionate about fighting for equality between men and women. By all means, women should have every right to protest for themselves and the women in our community to try and not only raise awareness of these issues, but make progress in gaining the wants and needs of our women. Equality is something America has always been fighting for and working towards and i believe that it definitely is slowly moving towards that, but I also believe that there will always be this comforting idea of tradition that will hold us back from fully meeting our wishes. The tweet that really stood out to me was the one written by Trudy. I strongly agree that men also need to be involved in the praxis because their voices need to be heard too. It is not just enough to be nice to women, but rather start treating them better and accepting their position in society, which is just as equal as men.

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How do people view these issues regarding women?

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Women can educate others

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Progression

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Feminist praxis and women's human rights

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(2002). Feminist praxis and women's human rights. Journal of Human Rights: Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 571-585.

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Definition

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So why does intersectionality matter? Clearly, it affects many of our people in the world daily. Many people, depending on their intersectionality and the combination of their traits, are discriminated from things that most of our white people have the privilege in doing. For example, in some jobs there are specific positions that either men or women are forbidden from, or if they are a certain race sometimes they are looked down upon. Say you are a woman working in a typically women job, sure you fit right in! But if you're a lesbian woman, or old, or disabled, or a women of color then you are someone who now stands out of the category of a white woman. I believe that this term gets cared about more by those who identify themselves as feminists because they are striving for equality of genders and the characteristics within an identity. And at times, it still confuses me as to why these people are getting discriminated and left out.

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Intersectionality

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Do Only Feminists Believe in Intersectionality?

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Do Only Feminists Believe in Intersectionality?

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Learn about the term

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iStock

Is feminism for everyone, or just the middle class? The movement has grown in visibility and delivered gains, but critics say that the gains aren't evenly distributed. Social media hashtags such as #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen call out supposed activists for setting agendas that address only the concerns of a single, relatively privileged group - middle-class white women. Coverage around incidents such as the Miley Cyrus-Nicki Minaj Twitter spat and Patricia Arquette's poorly received 2015 Oscar acceptance speech have highlighted mainstream feminism's tendency to leave some women out of the conversation.

Over the past several years "intersectionality" has become a feminist buzzword, deployed in discussions of pop culture, political action and academic debate. Considering its recent prominence, it's surprising to realize that the term has been around only since 1989: It was coined by legal scholar and critical theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw, in a paper illustrating how black women were often marginalized by both feminist and anti-racist movements because their concerns did not fit comfortably within either group. The term "intersectionality" was used to describe how different forms of discrimination can interact and overlap, and why it was necessary for feminists to take into account the needs of women from a variety of backgrounds when considering social questions and issues to advocate for.

Although the term was originally used to describe how race and gender could intersect as forms of oppression, intersectionality has broadened to encompass a number of additional social factors - sexual orientation, nationality, class, disability and others. And more recently, the term has been used by social activists as both a rallying cry for more expansive progressive movements and a chastisement for their limitations.

But the growing focus on the concept has resulted in backlash and confusion. Some critics believe that a fixation on intersectionality resurrects and empowers "identity politics," reinforcing harmful structures of gender, race and class that the progressive movement was meant to break down. Others say that the term is leading to infighting within the feminist movement, encouraging "privilege-checking" as a form of bullying and silencing. And yet others say that the movement for intersectionality remains all talk and no action - while the need to recognize different identities spawns thinkpieces aplenty, intersectionality still isn't reflected in law, policy or day-to-day action. Are these concerns valid? What does intersectionality look like outside of the academy, and why - if at all - does it remain necessary?

Over the next few days, we'll hear from:

Latoya Peterson, editor and publisher of Racialicious.com,

Alyssa Rosenberg, journalist and cultural critic at The Washington Post,

Brittney Cooper, professor and co-founder of Crunk Feminist Collective,

Lauren Sudeall Lucas, law professor at Georgia State University,

Kimberlé Crenshaw, legal scholar and critical theorist at UCLA,

Jamil Smith, senior editor at The New Republic,

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Is feminism for everyone, or just the middle class? The movement has grown in visibility and delivered gains, but critics say that the gains aren't evenly distributed. Social media hashtags such as #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen call out supposed activists for setting agendas that address only the concerns of a single, relatively privileged group - middle-class white women.

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Kimberle Crenshaw's story

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Mourners arrive to mourn the death of Sandra Bland at the DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lisle, Ill. <br/> (AP Photo/Christian K. Lee)

Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we're talking about intersectionality. Need a primer? Catch up here.

Kimberlé Crenshaw is the executive director of the African American Policy Forum and a professor of law at Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles, law schools.

Intersectionality was a lived reality before it became a term.

Today, nearly three decades after I first put a name to the concept, the term seems to be everywhere. But if women and girls of color continue to be left in the shadows, something vital to the understanding of intersectionality has been lost.

In 1976, Emma DeGraffenreid and several other black women sued General Motors for discrimination, arguing that the company segregated its workforce by race and gender: Blacks did one set of jobs and whites did another. According to the plaintiffs' experiences, women were welcome to apply for some jobs, while only men were suitable for others. This was of course a problem in and of itself, but for black women the consequences were compounded. You see, the black jobs were men's jobs, and the women's jobs were only for whites. Thus, while a black applicant might get hired to work on the floor of the factory if he were male; if she were a black female she would not be considered. Similarly, a woman might be hired as a secretary if she were white, but wouldn't have a chance at that job if she were black. Neither the black jobs nor the women's jobs were appropriate for black women, since they were neither male nor white. Wasn't this clearly discrimination, even if some blacks and some women were hired?

Unfortunately for DeGraffenreid and millions of other black women, the court dismissed their claims. Why? Because the court believed that black women should not be permitted to combine their race and gender claims into one. Because they could not prove that what happened to them was just like what happened to white women or black men, the discrimination that happened to these black women fell through the cracks.

It was in thinking about why such a "big miss" could have happened within the complex structure of anti-discrimination law that the term "intersectionality" was born. As a young law professor, I wanted to define this profound invisibility in relation to the law. Racial and gender discrimination overlapped not only in the workplace but in other other arenas of life; equally significant, these burdens were almost completely absent from feminist and anti-racist advocacy. Intersectionality, then, was my attempt to make feminism, anti-racist activism, and anti-discrimination law do what I thought they should - highlight the multiple avenues through which racial and gender oppression were experienced so that the problems would be easier to discuss and understand.

Intersectionality is an analytic sensibility, a way of thinking about identity and its relationship to power. Originally articulated on behalf of black women, the term brought to light the invisibility of many constituents within groups that claim them as members, but often fail to represent them. Intersectional erasures are not exclusive to black women. People of color within LGBTQ movements; girls of color in the fight against the school-to-prison pipeline; women within immigration movements; trans women within feminist movements; and people with disabilities fighting police abuse - all face vulnerabilities that reflect the intersections of racism, sexism, class oppression, transphobia, able-ism and more. Intersectionality has given many advocates a way to frame their circumstances and to fight for their visibility and inclusion.

Intersectionality has been the banner under which many demands for inclusion have been made, but a term can do no more than those who use it have the power to demand. And not surprisingly, intersectionality has generated its share of debate and controversy.

Conservatives have painted those who practice intersectionality as obsessed with "identity politics." Of course, as the DeGraffenreid case shows, intersectionality is not just about identities but about the institutions that use identity to exclude and privilege. The better we understand how identities and power work together from one context to another, the less likely our movements for change are to fracture.

Others accuse intersectionality of being too theoretical, of being "all talk and no action." To that I say we've been "talking" about racial equality since the era of slavery and we're still not even close to realizing it. Instead of blaming the voices that highlight problems, we need to examine the structures of power that so successfully resist change.

[Why Equal Protection may not protect everyone equally.]

Some have argued that intersectional understanding creates an atmosphere of bullying and "privilege checking." Acknowledging privilege is hard - particularly for those who also experience discrimination and exclusion. While white women and men of color also experience discrimination, all too often their experiences are taken as the only point of departure for all conversations about discrimination. Being front and center in conversations about racism or sexism is a complicated privilege that is often hard to see.

Although the president's recent call to support black women was commendable, undertaking intersectional work requires concrete action to address the barriers to equality facing women and girls of color in U.S. society.

Intersectionality alone cannot bring invisible bodies into view. Mere words won't change the way that some people - the less-visible members of political constituencies - must continue to wait for leaders, decision-makers and others to see their struggles. In the context of addressing the racial disparities that still plague our nation, activists and stakeholders must raise awareness about the intersectional dimensions of racial injustice that must be addressed to enhance the lives of all youths of color.

This is why we continue the work of the #WhyWeCantWait Campaign, calling for holistic and inclusive approaches to racial justice. It is why "Say Her Name" continues to draw attention to the fact that women too are vulnerable to losing their lives at the hands of police. And it is why thousands have agreed that the tragedy in Charleston, S.C., demonstrates our need to sustain a vision of social justice that recognizes the ways racism, sexism and other inequalities work together to undermine us all. We simply do not have the luxury of building social movements that are not intersectional, nor can we believe we are doing intersectional work just by saying words.

Brittney Cooper: Black lives matter - all of them.

Latoya Peterson: Intersectionality is not a label.

Lauren Sudeall Lucas: Why Equal Protection may not protect everyone equally.

Alyssa Rosenberg: How 'Orange Is the New Black' wins at illustrating identity

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Opinion | Why intersectionality can't wait

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Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. This week we're talking about intersectionality. Need a primer? Catch up here. Kimberlé Crenshaw is the executive director of the African American Policy Forum and a professor of law at Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles, law schools.

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Importance

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Have you ever heard the term intersectionality and wondered what it means? Better yet, why is it important when we're discussing the discrimination that different groups of people face? If so, this post is for you.
What Is Intersectionality?
Intersectionality is a sociological theory about how an individual can face multiple threats of discrimination when their identities overlap a number of minority classes, such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, health and other characteristics.

For example, a woman of color may face sexism in the workplace which is compounded by subtle yet pervasive racism. Extending that example further, we know that trans* women of color face exceptionally high levels of discrimination and threats of violence. Looking through the lens of intersectionality, it may not be hard to see why: they face anti-trans prejudice, sexism and misogyny, and racism, and due to the ignorance surrounding trans identity, might also face homophobia too.

While intersectionality is traditionally applied to women, it's not just women who are affected by this phenomena of overlapping minority status. A man from a Hispanic background could face xenophobia in today's America despite being a naturalized citizen, which in turn may be compounded by, for instance, a low economic status. If that Hispanic man is in his 50s, ageism might add to the discrimination he could face in trying to secure employment.

More precisely though, intersectionality describes the hierarchical nature of power and how belonging to multiple discriminated classes can mean that one's issues are ignored.
Who Came Up With the Term Intersectionality and Why?
The term intersectionality itself is attributed to legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw and her 1989 essay "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color," though the actual notion behind intersectionality extends further back than that, with academics recognizing the problem as early as the 19th century.

Crenshaw coined the term to express the particular problems that immigrant women of color face and, crucially, why their issues were being ignored by both the feminist movement of the time, and the anti-racism movement.

Often, the problems intersectional experiences reveal is not that individual people are overtly sexist or racist, but that the legal and policy mechanisms we have in place to deal with complaints like, for instance, an immigrant woman who doesn't speak English trying to report her abusive husband, are stacked against people with a multiple minority identity by, for example, not having interpreters on hand, or not understanding enough about the woman's particular cultural heritage to understand the best way to deal with her situation.
Intersectionality Isn't Popular With Everyone
Within each separate movement, such as feminism and the anti-racism movement, there are those who say that intersectionality is actually harmful to their individual causes. The arguments against intersectionality tend to focus on a few areas. One is that intersectionality is a nonsense word and in reality doesn't describe anything. If a woman experiences racism then it is racism. If she experiences sexism then it is sexism. There is no need to overlap these, so the school of thought goes. But there is a strong body of evidence to suggest that discrimination does overlap, so while we might deal with the issues separately, denying that overlap could leave people vulnerable.

That's not to say that intersectionality as an analytical tool doesn't have its problems, however, and one of the chief ones is that for both scholars of racism and feminism, it remains a rather murkily defined tool and one that we are still struggling to effectively apply in our discussions of discrimination and how to protect multiple-minority people.

Another more general point is that looking at the smaller problems minorities within the larger movement face could rob the entire movement of its power. Answering that criticism explains quite neatly the role intersectionality can have in today's civil rights movements, and so we'll move on to that topic next.
Why Does Intersectionality Matter to Modern Civil Rights Movements?
While accepting that intersectionality needs refining as a tool, a majority of social commentators and mainstream feminist and racial justice groups believe intersectionality does have an important role to play in today's civil rights movements.

Take the gay rights movement that is often called upon to speak for the wider LGBTQA umbrella. Our figureheads are overwhelmingly white, cis-gendered, able-bodied men and women, and while that's understandable, it can be a problem. This is not to say that they themselves are discriminating against anyone at all, but rather that they are representative of only one aspect of the LGBT community - and in this case, an aspect that is very close to the majority heterosexual experience.

Seen in this way, it becomes obvious why, in particular when the media sees only this face of the LGBT rights movement, the problems that, say, LGBT Asian Americans or LGBT people with physical disabilities face might be forgotten and their goals, like changing laws for better health care or job discrimination protections, may not be achieved because of a lack of attention.

To return us to intersectionality's main focus, that being the problems that women of color face due to sexism and racism, we see this manifesting today in many ways, not least of which is in the fight for reproductive justice and how the closing of women's health clinics and the passing of antagonistic anti-abortion measures can disproportionately affect women of color, and particularly those from lower economic backgrounds.

As such, while intersectionality might not be a perfect tool, recognizing its uses and limitations does help us to ensure that we aren't overlooking the challenges people belonging to multiple minorities face as we move toward the goal of a fairer and more equal society.
Photo credit: Thinkstock.

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What Is Intersectionality And Why Is It Important? | Care2 Causes

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Have you ever heard the term intersectionality and wondered what it means? Better yet, why is it important when we're discussing the discrimination that different groups of people face? If so, this post is for you. What Is Intersectionality?

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It is evident in today's world that privilege and oppression is still an issue in our society. Whether you have control over the privileges you carry or not, it is important to realize that they are existent and can be used to not only help yourself, but others too. Most people in America can agree and see that white people have a strong advantage than almost any other race. Even though by law, every race has an equal opportunity to the same things, people still get favored or rejected because of race, sexuality, gender, etc. I think it is just hard for some people to accept these concepts because of America's history with these issues and the impact it had on may people. The minorities have done a good job in supporting their rights throughout these conflicts, but I would continue encouraging society to move further along towards a better definition of equality.

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#YesAllWomen: Denial of Women Oppression

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Believe it or not, blacks have their own privileges too

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"In America you can't even talk about whiteness," said Drew Domalick, who lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "If you try to embrace being white, you are portrayed as being a racist. If we had a White History Month, that would be viewed as a racist holiday."

Domalick isn't the only one who believes in black privilege. The term is being deployed in conservative circles as a rhetorical counterattack to the growing use of the term "white privilege." It's part of a larger transformation: White is becoming the new black.

Google the phrase "black privilege," and one steps into a universe where whites struggle daily against the indignities heaped upon them because of their skin color. In books and articles such as "Black Skin Privilege and the American Dream," and "It's Past Time to Acknowledge Black Privilege," white commentators describe how blackness has become such a "tremendous asset" that some whites are now trying to "pass" as black.

If you're a skeptic, there's even a "Black Privilege Checklist" listing some of the perks blacks enjoy that whites cannot.

Blacks can belong to clubs and organizations that cater specifically to their race, but there's no National Association for the Advancement of White People because such a group would be deemed racist. Blacks can call white people "honky" and "cracker," but whites cannot use the N-word.

The concept of black privilege is still so new, though, that some of the nation's most acclaimed scholars on race didn't even know it existed. One giggled when she heard the phrase because she thought it was a joke. Others were bewildered; some became angry.

Count Peggy McIntosh as one of the angry. She is arguably more responsible for popularizing the concept of white privilege than anyone else. An activist and retired Wellesley College professor, her 1989 essay "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" has been widely reprinted and is now taught in many colleges. Her essay gives examples of what McIntosh calls white privilege ("I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed; If a traffic cop pulls me over ... I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race").

McIntosh scoffed at the idea of black privilege.

"When you've had as much freedom to do what you want to do and think what you want and say what you want and act as you please, then you get irrationally rankled at having to curtail your life and your thought in any way," says McIntosh, who also founded the National SEED project, which helps teachers create courses that are more gender sensitive and multicultural.

She said the black privilege checklist sounds like a "prolonged whine" from people who resent being challenged about their white privilege.

Why it's good to be black

Black privilege may be new, but some of the rhetoric defending it is at least two centuries old. As far back as the late 19th century, whites were saying that blacks weren't so much victims of racism as they were victims of special treatment.

The 19th century U.S. Supreme Court echoed that thinking in one of its most infamous decisions. Congress had passed a sweeping Civil Rights Act in 1875 that banned discrimination against former slaves in public places. But the Supreme Court declared that act unconstitutional in 1883, a decision that sanctioned the rise of Jim Crow segregation and mob violence against blacks that would last a century.

In the high court's 1883 decision, Justice Joseph Bradley wrote in the majority opinion that there must come a time when blacks cease "to be the special favorite of the laws."

Over the years, that sentiment bubbled to the surface at various times as debates over "reverse racism" and affirmative action erupted. Yet something new is now happening. More whites have begun talking about themselves as a racially oppressed majority. In a widely publicized 2011 survey, white Americans said they suffer from racial discrimination more than blacks.

Where does this belief come from? The numbers don't appear to support it. Numerous studies and surveys show that blacks lag behind whites and other racial groups in many socioeconomic categories.

The wealth of white households is 13 times the median wealth of black households. Black children represent 18% of the nation's preschool enrollment but make up nearly half of all children with multiple suspensions. Job applicants with white-sounding names are 50% more likely to get called back for an interview than similarly qualified applicants with black-sounding names. And prison sentences for black men are nearly 20% longer than those of white men convicted for similar crimes.

Some say you don't even need numbers to dismiss black privilege. Use your eyes. If being black is such an asset, why do many whites consistently move out of communities -- neighborhoods, churches, schools -- when too many blacks move in? It's a phenomenon that sociologists have long documented and that some call "racial tipping."

Those who argue for the existence of black privilege, however, don't deny these grim numbers. They just don't blame racism for those racial disparities.

David Horowitz, author of the book, "Black Skin Privilege and the American Dream," says blacks are still more privileged, though they lag behind other racial groups in varying categories. It's not white privilege that's preventing them from doing better, he says; it's their behavior, such as their inability to build more intact families.

"The fact that white people are better off is not a privilege; it's earned," says Horowitz, founder of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a think tank in Los Angeles created to combat "the efforts of the radical left and its Islamist allies to destroy American values."

Not all racial disparities are inherently racist, he says.

"If racial disparities prove discrimination, then the National Basketball Association is racist," Horowitz says. "Probably 90 percent of its players are black."

Black privilege is so pervasive that it's hard to miss, he says. College professors practicing "affirmative grading" hold black students to lower standards than others. Corporations offer programs and internships to black workers but not to whites.

Black privilege even extends to the White House, he says. Barack Obama was an inexperienced presidential candidate who was elected because Americans wanted to experience a post-racial sugar high, he says. "He wouldn't be elected dogcatcher if he wasn't black," Horowitz says of Obama.

Some who invoke "black privilege" also make another argument: Who says all unearned advantages are wrong?

In fact, some are unavoidable, says Benjamin Shapiro, a political commentator and author of an essay titled "Why White People Seek Black Privilege."

"Birth to a two-parent family is an unearned advantage. Birth into wealth is an unearned advantage. Being born smart or tall or athletic is an unearned advantage," Shapiro says. "But being born white in a rural backwater in West Virginia is not an advantage over being born the son of Colin Powell."

Blackness, though, has become a "tremendous asset" in contemporary America, he writes in his column. Despite the "horrific and evil history of racism against black people," being black today gives its recipients privileges ranging from landing coveted college scholarships to becoming activists who can build careers on racial grievances, he says.

There are even whites now who try to pass themselves off as black activists because it's a career booster, Shapiro says. He cites Rachel Dolezal, the former head of an NAACP chapter, who said "I identify as black" but was called white by her family members.
Who is Rachel Dolezal?
"Being black confers the advantage of rhetorical victimhood," says Shapiro, host of "The Morning Answer" radio show in Los Angeles. "Accusing others of racism is a convenient way of avoiding discussion on uncomfortable topics ranging from murder rates to poverty rates to single motherhood rates."

'We swim in white supremacy'

Arguments for black privilege may face a hostile audience as acceptance of the idea of white privilege grows.

The white rapper Macklemore recently released a song titled "White Privilege." The term "check your privilege," a reference to white privilege, has gone mainstream.

The comedian Louis C.K. even built one of his most popular routines around the concept of white privilege.

"Here's how great it is to be white," he says. "I can get in a time machine and go to any time, and it would be awesome when I get there. ... A black guy in a time machine is like, hey, any time before 1980, no thank you." No one appears to have asked C.K. about black privilege, but others who have explored white privilege in books and essays reject the existence of such a privilege.

Some suggest that people who believe in black privilege still do not understand what white privilege is all about.

Consider a popular argument against white privilege: I grew up poor, and nobody gave me anything. How can you say I'm privileged?

That argument is why Deborah Foster wrote an essay titled "A Guide to White Privilege for White People Who Think They've Never Had Any."

Foster says she grew up in an impoverished white family in Iowa where her parents were so poor, she was placed in foster care as a child because they couldn't afford to feed her.

Still, Foster says she experienced white privilege. She says she only knew that because she happened to live around poor black people. She still had advantages that they did not, she says.

Her black friends would get accused of stealing from stores; she wouldn't, even though she was with them. They would be suspended for missing too many classes or being late; she was placed in a gifted program, even though she also had attendance problems. They were called lazy blacks behind their backs if they missed work at a fast-food restaurant; her behavior was never seen as a reflection on her race.

"We swim in white supremacy, which makes it harder to point out unless you start looking for it," she says.

Then there is affirmative action. Don't blacks get plenty of perks from affirmative action programs? That's a privilege that whites don't enjoy.

Only if you ignore much of U.S. history, some say. Whites have been the biggest affirmative action beneficiaries in U.S. history -- they've routinely been given advantages in jobs and other economic opportunities that were kept from blacks, says the Rev. Jim Wallis, one of the country's best-known commentators on race.

Wallis, who grew up in a white working-class family in Detroit, says they received special help from a massive government program that was largely denied to black families. It was called the GI Bill, he writes in his new book, "America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America."

The GI Bill was created for U.S. veterans returning from World War II. The government paid for the college education of white veterans and provided other types of financial aid to them, but black veterans were unable to reap many of the same rewards.

The exclusionary racial nature of the GI Bill was repeated throughout U.S. history. The financial help and land grants that the U.S. government gave to 19th century homesteaders; the New Deal policies that lifted the nation out of the Great Depression but were kept from many blacks -- that has been the norm, according to historians and books such as "When Affirmative Action Was White," by Ira Katznelson.

"I'm the beneficiary of the biggest affirmative action program in American history," Wallis says. "A free education, a loan for a house. But black veterans didn't get it. We got made middle-class by our government program. It was good. That's privilege."

He says some whites resist the term "white privilege" because they think they're being blamed for something wrong.

"Every white person isn't guilty for every bad thing that's been done to every black person," Wallis says. "But if we benefit from cooperating with white supremacy, then we are responsible for changing it. To tolerate racism in our social system is to be complicit."

Stepping into another time machine

Perhaps one reason some white people invoke black privilege is because they are tired of being on the defensive. That's the impression I got after talking to Domalick, the Wisconsin retiree.

He is a soft-spoken man who says he doesn't judge people by their race. But he says others often don't return the favor when they see him. He longs for the day when Americans stop talking so much about race, which only increases division.

"If you'd get away from this white-black struggle, people will start coming together," he says.

Maybe. But extend the logic behind the belief in black privilege into other areas, and there could be more strange conversations over race. If someone stepped into the time machine that Louie C.K. imagines and dared to go forward instead of backward, what would they see and hear in the brown new world of a future America?

Would they see a calendar marked by a White History Month? Would they click on the television and see a White Entertainment Network or legions of white citizens marching on Washington, singing "We Shall Overcome"?

And would they hear a white leader step forward at a crowded news conference to announce: "It's time to talk about reparations"?

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it's time to talk about black privilege - cnn

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It's time to talk about 'black privilege'

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"In America you can't even talk about whiteness," said Drew Domalick, who lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "If you try to embrace being white, you are portrayed as being a racist. If we had a White History Month, that would be viewed as a racist holiday."

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What does it mean to be white and have privilege?

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Knowing that if you ask to speak to "the person in charge," you'll almost certainly be facing someone of your own race.

Being able to think about different social, political or professional options without asking whether someone of your race would be accepted or allowed to do what you want to do.

Assuming that if you buy a house in a nice neighborhood, your neighbors will be pleasant or neutral toward you.

Feeling welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

What is white privilege? It's the level of societal advantage that comes with being seen as the norm in America, automatically conferred irrespective of wealth, gender or other factors. It makes life smoother, but it's something you would barely notice unless it were suddenly taken away - or unless it had never applied to you in the first place.

In 1988, the professor Peggy McIntosh used the paper White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack to describe it as a set of unearned assets that a white person in America can count on cashing in each day but to which they remain largely oblivious. The concept has been percolating in academic circles ever since and is approaching broad usage among young people on the political left. Yet as Post reporter Janell Ross noted earlier this week, it's also a term that many Americans "instinctively don't trust or believe to be real," despite reams of evidence to the contrary. Black children- 4-year-olds! - comprise 18 percent of preschool enrollment but are given nearly nearly 50 percent of all out-of-school suspensions. Job applicants with white-sounding names are 50 percent more likely to get called in for an interview. Black defendants are at least 30 percent more likely to be imprisoned than white defendants for the same crime.

Why does such a fraught piece of academic lingo matter now? Because people are finally beginning to talk about what it means in their own lives. At a time when minorities are becoming more vocal about the ways in which their experiences in America differ from those of their white counterparts, the term might finally be entering the mainstream. On Monday night, at a forum for presidential hopefuls held in Iowa, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton was asked by an audience member to explain what white privilege meant to her, and how it had affected her life. Her response? " Look, where do I start? "

Yet for every instance in which white privilege is acknowledged, there is an inevitable backlash.

Commentators quickly jump in to remind us that " not all white people are privileged," a clear (and perhaps willful) misreading of the term. Obviously not all white people are wealthy, and yes, there are minorities who have achieved wealth and other marks of status. But white privilege is something specific and different - it's the idea that just by virtue of being a white person of any kind, you're part of the dominant group which tends to be respected, assumed the best of, and given the benefit of the doubt. That just isn't the case for people of other races, no matter how wealthy, smart or hard-working they might be.

Others denounce the term as a weapon used to guilt, shame, and silence, pointing at presumably well-meaning students told by holier-than-thou faculty and classmates to " check their privilege." Yet while the term can be used to silence, that's more the fault of a rude terminology-wielder than of the concept itself. All sorts of formerly harmless words have been deployed to guilt people and suppress speech - "unpatriotic" and "elitist" come to mind. A reminder to acknowledge one's privilege is just a reminder to be aware - aware that you might not be able to fully understand someone else's experiences, or that the assumptions you were brought up with may be blinding you to certain concerns. That awareness that is key to any sort of civil discussion, about race, class or anything else.

Before everyone gets too defensive (and let's be honest - it's probably too late), a few notes of clarification: Pointing out that white privilege exists isn't the same as accusing every white person of being a racist. Acknowledging that you might benefit from such privilege isn't equivalent to self-hatred or kowtowing to detested "social justice warriors."

The thing about white privilege is that it tends to be unintentional, unconscious, uncomfortable to recognize but easy to take for granted. But it's that very invisibility that makes it that much more important to understand: Without confronting what exists, there's no chance of leveling the field.

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Knowing that if you ask to speak to "the person in charge," you'll almost certainly be facing someone of your own race. Being able to think about different social, political or professional options without asking whether someone of your race would be accepted or allowed to do what you want to do.

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What privileges do you hold?

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Challenging gender stereotypes against women

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Sweden teaches kids to feel equal. New pronouns are used in classrooms

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Intelligence For Your Life - Do You Know About Sweden's Gender-Neutral Movement?

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The Swedish government is so serious about gender neutrality that they're requiring teachers in some schools to stop referring to students as "boys" or "girls". Instead, all children are referred to with gender-neutral pronouns - like "hens" or "buddies." Experts say it's an intriguing plan.

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Eliminating gender inequality in kids sections

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Target stores are undergoing a sex change of sorts.

The retail giant announced last week its stores would begin phasing out some gender-specific product categories and switch to gender-neutral displays and colors after guests complained, or, as a company statement said, "raised important questions."

"Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance," the statement, posted to Target's website, said. "For example, in the kids' Bedding area, signs will no longer feature suggestions for boys or girls, just kids. In the Toys aisles, we'll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves. You'll see these changes start to happen over the next few months."

"Barbies are still going to be with Barbies and Legos will still be with Legos. We just didn't feel like having a sign that said 'boys bedding' was necessary"

- Molly Snyder, Target spokesperson

The push to stop segregating shelf space for action figures and princess dolls rose to a national level in June after Ohio mother Abi Bechtel snapped a photo identifying an aisle's contents as containing "Building Sets" and "Girls' Building Sets."

"Don't do this, @Target," Bechtel wrote above the photo.

That tweet went viral, getting more than 3,000 retweets and favorites each - and a reply from Target. "We've made sure to share this with the right teams for further review," @AskTarget, the guest services Twitter arm of the company, replied to Bechtel a day after her original tweet.

Don't do this, @Target pic.twitter.com/cfh3cp5Nqa
- Abi Bechtel (@abianne) June 1, 2015

Target's statement last week alluded to customers such as Bechtel who had objected to its signage.

"But we never want guests or their families to feel frustrated or limited by the way things are presented," Target's statement said.

The change isn't sitting well with all observers, however.

Franklin Graham, an evangelist who is the son of famed preacher Billy Graham, wrote on Facebook that "Target is way off-target on this one!"

"I think Target may be forgetting who had made their stores strong," Graham wrote. "It's not gender-neutral people out there - it's working American families, fathers and mothers with boys and girls they love."

.@Target may be forgetting who made their stores strong. It's working families, fathers, mothers, boys, girls-not gender-neutral. #OffTarget
- Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) August 11, 2015

Just two months ago, sex-specific signage seemed here to stay at Target.

"Recently we conducted a test where we removed any reference to gender in the toy aisles in a number of our stores," a Target spokesperson told BuzzFeed on June 12. "In those stores, our guest research showed us that guests preferred having a variety of indicators that can help inform and guide their shopping trip."

So, in the span of a couple months, what changed?

"Leading up to that moment there's been a broader conversation about gender and signs and using gender indicators, especially as it relates to kids," Target spokesperson Molly Snyder told Fox News. "Like all retail, the way people shop is continually changing, so when people look across our stores, we thought the two changes we're making were the ones that make sense at this point in time."

The changes will not affect all aspects of the store, Snyder said.

"Clearly - I would hope clearly - we're still going to have a mens', womens', boys' and girls' clothing department," she said. "Barbies are still going to be with Barbies and Legos will still be with Legos. We just didn't feel like having a sign that said 'boys bedding' was necessary."

And consumers can still "shop by gender" for "boys' toys" and "girls' toys" on Target.com, something which the company doesn't expect to change.

"We really took a pause and looked at what made sense in our stores, where does it make sense online and where is it unnecessary," Snyder said. "One of the top ways people shopped online is by searching by gender. We wanted to make sure our site and stores are easy to shop, and follow a logical path for people."

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Target going gender neutral in some sections

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Target stores are undergoing a sex change of sorts. The retail giant announced last week its stores would begin phasing out some gender-specific product categories and switch to gender-neutral displays and colors after guests complained, or, as a company statement said, "raised important questions."

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Traditional Gender Roles while Raising Children

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Traditional Gender Roles while Raising Children

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The movement of neutralization

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Dr. Shefali Tsabary says it's time for a new wave of parenting.

As society continues to evolve, the author and psychologist believes it is of the utmost importance to help children break free from the cultural confines of traditional gender roles. She calls this a shift to "androgynous consciousness" and says that practicing it within the home can have a powerful impact on our collective future.

"It's up to us as a society and especially as parents to change the dynamic between men and women," Dr. Shefali says. "We cannot wait for the next feminist movement."

As a mother of a little girl, Dr. Shefali takes her own advice. "My contribution to this next wave ... is to make sure that my daughter is deeply in touch with her masculine elements," she explains.

Dr. Shefali therefore teaches her daughter to:

For her friends with sons, Dr. Shefali suggests conversely helping young boys be planted in the feminine principle. "Things like, 'Man up,' or, 'Don't be a girl,' those things need to fall away if you want to be part of this new movement," she says.

This means that Dr. Shefali encourages sons to:

Be in touch with their feelings

Be vulnerable

Be firmly planted in their heart-space

Ultimately, Dr. Shefali urges parents to be proactive in their teachings while providing children with a sense of safety and reassurance as they navigate their masculine and feminine elements.

"We as parents have to take charge," she says.
Dr. Shefali appears this fall on "SuperSoul Sunday," returning to OWN on Aug. 7. Another piece of advice from Dr. Shefali:

BEFORE YOU GO

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How Parents Can Start To Dismantle Traditional Gender Roles For Their Kids

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Dr. Shefali Tsabary says it's time for a new wave of parenting. As society continues to evolve, the author and psychologist believes it is of the utmost importance to help children break free from the cultural confines of traditional gender roles.

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Throughout as long as we can remember, there has always been gender stereotypes and gender roles that are associated to male or female. Just recently, society has became more aware of these inequalities and started making movements toward EQUALITY between all identities. Where I have noticed gender stereotypes the most is in young children. Many children have been exposed to the idea that pink is for girls and blue is for boys, dolls are for girls and trucks are for boys. During the younger ages is the most prevalent time in which adults expose their kids to these ideas that eventually seem "normal" to most. Today, people are recognizing the issue of gender inequality and are slowly but positively making changes. For example, the gender neutral bathrooms in public, women are starting to do more "manly" jobs, and some men are even starting to do "women" household chores and such. Personally, some of these changes and roles seem the way they should be to me and are what make me comfortable, but some, I do see a need for change.

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Educate at a younger age

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Each fall, Ileana Jiménez teaches an elective on feminism at Elisabeth Irwin High School, a private school in Manhattan. Her students read classic and contemporary feminist theory written by women of color, listen to guest speakers such as Jasmine Burnett, who spoke to the students about womanism, and learn how to take action on issues they care about.

With Jiménez's help and guidance, many of her students have spoken at UN events, testified before the New York City Council, and appeared on CNN segments. They have also organized clothing drives and fundraisers to support GEMS, a nonprofit that helps girls and young women recover from commercial sexual exploitation.

The class is transformational for students. "Before taking my high school feminism class, I never thought twice about issues regarding women and their rights. I never noticed the rampant presence of inequality towards women," a student in a post for the class blog F to the Third Power. "However, now that I'm in a high school class on feminism, whether it is in the media or in my own family, I've noticed a lot of attitudes that ignorantly and unintentionally oppress women."

Jiménez has her own blog, Feminist Teacher, which has facilitated connections with other teachers who want to bring feminism to their classrooms. Because the number of teachers reaching out to her has been growing, this Saturday she is hosting a Back to School Feminism Symposium for Teachers in New York City, thanks to a grant from Soapbox Inc., which hosts Feminist Camps; produces curricular tools, books and films; and helps connect campuses and community to feminist speakers. The free event will provide an opportunity for teachers to learn how to bring a feminist, intersectional, social justice lens and content to the classroom.

This is not the first time Jiménez has organized such an event. In 2013, she approached the American Association of University Women (AAUW) about co-hosting a similar convening. They agreed, and the day-long symposium on teaching gender was held at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, later that year.

The 2013 convening about teaching gender was groundbreaking for being the first gathering of high school educators who are currently teaching or who want to teach gender. But the idea of offering these classes at the secondary school level is not new. At the college level, the first accredited women's studies course was established in 1969 at Cornell University, and it was only three years later that Wayne Memorial High School near Detroit became one of the first high schools-if not the first-to offer a women's studies elective.

Now-retired teacher Patricia Sanders helped start the course and taught it at least one semester for more than 25 years. She gave students assignments such as interviewing their grandmothers about their lives, writing essays on gender roles and expectations, and reading biographies about women. Her course was so popular that some years, teachers taught up to six sections to meet the demand.

Today, it is unknown exactly how many schools offer this type of course, but there are at least a few dozen nationwide. In St. Louis, a small but enthusiastic group of 50 educators and activists from across the country-from California to Massachusetts-met. Now, two years later, more than 80 teachers are registered for the New York City convening.

At the St. Louis gathering, educators from both public and private schools discussed how to teach gender, not only in feminist or women's studies classes, but also by incorporating it into history, English, and sex education courses. Panelists reflected on the various benefits of these courses, such as the reduction in sexual harassment at school-an effect that presenter and former Michigan high school women's studies teacher Dr. Jennifer Martin discovered during her PhD dissertation research. Panelist Dr. Annie Delgado, a teacher in California, originally proposed her class to school administrators as a way to help reduce the high rate of teen pregnancies in her school. Symposium attendee Laura Massa said she created a women's studies course in Florida to help the many students she saw struggling to build positive interpersonal relationships.

Panelists and attendees shared recommendations for how to design and implement individual units and courses, including what readings and approaches had worked best. Several attendees recommended utilizing social media to connect with authors and activists they are studying in class and to invite guests to speak with them over Skype. Through Skype, Delgado has had guest speakers including Gloria Steinem and high school football coach Natalie Randolph. Another suggestion was making the content relevant to students' lives. Panelist Dr. Stephanie Troutman, for example, said that her students react well to media-focused projects, such as using a gender lens to analyze the music and movies they consume.

Whether they were at a private or public institution, the teachers all agreed that having the support of the administration was crucial. Other tips included showing how the course connects to a school's mission and highlighting how it can improve conditions by helping to address sexual harassment, racism, sexism, and teen pregnancy. Barb Easley, the Social Studies Coordinator for the Hazelwood School District in Missouri, said creating a way for students to receive Advance Placement credit through the University of Missouri, St. Louis, helped her institute a women's studies course district-wide.

The feedback from the symposium was overwhelmingly positive. "When I attended the symposium I was in my second month teaching an elective course on feminism," said attendee Massa. "I was by myself trying to do something that I knew was necessary and valuable for my students. As soon as I got into the room and saw other women doing the same I felt truly invigorated."

Delgado said her participation "assisted me in developing contacts and highlighted for my district that we need to continue to make things happen." As a result, this year, not only is she teaching two women's studies classes to 115 students at Buhach Colony High School in Atwater, but her district approved her to teach two women's studies classes at an alternative education high school. One of the male students said her class made him "a better man. My mom said I'm a better son. I've walked away with so much." All of her classes enthusiastically participate in her student-driven campaign to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

Today, these teachers are diving into a fresh school year and have a new group of students to expose to feminism. And with this Saturday's symposium, Jiménez is preparing to help more than 80 teachers learn how to bring feminism to the classroom. She told me she is excited that the event had passed capacity, noting that "Feminism in schools allows for innovative solutions to the problems we are facing every day. That's pretty exciting work, and now we're seeing it become a movement."

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A movement to bring feminism to high school classrooms - Women's Media Center

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Each fall, Ileana Jiménez teaches an elective on feminism at Elisabeth Irwin High School, a private school in Manhattan. Her students read classic and contemporary feminist theory written by women of color, listen to guest speakers such as Jasmine Burnett , who spoke to the students about womanism, and learn how to take action on issues they care about.

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Jobs

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To be honest, over the past couple years hearing this word "Feminism" was all pretty new to me. But just recently I started becoming more aware of the term and the need for people to start taking it more seriously. To me, feminism means you are someone who believes is equality between both men and women. Personally, I don't think every issue that gets brought up should be changed just because it feels so normal to me, but I do think people need to start realizing these problems in society and make changes towards equalizing both genders. Yes it is evident in our history that men were dominant figures and had several advantages but that does not mean we still need to follow them in modern-world today.

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Stereotypes