Definition of vital terms and reaction

The idea of race, sex, gender, and class has been a reoccurring theme in my thoughts lately. Not because we have been covering the topics lately, but because it is a passion of mine. From scholarly articles and ordinary people’s perspective I have defined my own definition of race and gender. Race is a socially constructed idea that was first deemed to be biological based on a few external characteristics. It has now grown to become a cultural idea, today. Many people identify with the race that share similar culturally characteristics more so than the color of their skin. To follow behind that gender is also a social constructed idea. Gender is what determines if someone is classified as woman or man not “male” or “female”.  More specifically, today, to be classified as a man one must have broad shoulders, nice bodies, deep voice, and etc., and to be considered a woman one must be feminine, wear dresses, and must be skinny and have a high pitch voice. Anything outside of that category is deemed weird or unclassifiable. Sex, on the other hand, can be based on biological characteristics. It gives someone the category of being male, female, or intersex not male, female, and other. It was once “proved” just as one race of people is dominate of another group by scientists that women are inferior to men based on some genetic features and phenotype.  I would much argue that gender has shaped the idea of race, because women’s bodies were used to create such “races”. The African American woman’s body has particularly been used as a means of degradation and a way of perpetuating a cycle of a “race” of people. The African American female’s body has also been looked as been womanless as well as referred to as a beast, creature, specimen, and a freak. For example, Sarah Bartman would be an ideal example of exploitation of the African American woman’s body. Today, women’s bodies are being exploited through the music videos, the strip clubs, as well as in person, and one can see the parallels from today to when Sarah Bartman was placed on stage to be lusted after and sexually exploited.

                To respond to the reading of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave of a Slave Girl”, this was Linda’s personal journey. She wrote about her accounts being enslaved and being free. Even in her journey she was looked at as an object for fulfilling men’s sexual desire. In her mind she even saw marriage as an escape.

                With the “History is a Weapon”, the author Maria Stewart, talked about the African American race being uplifted through the eyes of men. She talked about the importance of education and how great philosophers and great thinkers can come through the black race. She also talked about how we should not spend our money on frivolous things, and fight for human rights. I love how the author However, I did not like how she did not use woman. She mentioned words like “manhood” instead of “womanhood”.