Blog #3

In Audre Lorde’s article, Age, Race, Class, and Sex, she displayed her belief that through the idea of feminism, we think of that term as only for white middle-class women. We forget that there are other issues with regards to women but don’t have to do with feminism, such as racial, class, and age issues. This goes with Professor Messner’s discussion in class about the mythical norm (an example being an American white, thin, heterosexual, young, Christian, financially secure person). This stood out to me because I definitely can see where Audre Lorde is coming from. It was interesting to me when she talked about how “black lesbians caught between the racism of white women and homophobia of their sisters.” I had never thought about feminist ideas being different for different races, ages, and classes.
In Read and Bartowski’s To Veil or Not to Veil, and in Messner’s lecture about how veiled women actually feel liberated, it really surprised me. I had always thought of the unveiled women as liberated, not the veiled women. After reading the article, though, I started to understand their reasoning behind continuing to veil. They felt like it was their choice to veil, it would show their obedience to the Islamic religion, it would clearly distinguish men from women, and it would remind them that their proper place is the home. They respected tradition but weren’t continuing being veiled because they felt they were forced to. They felt liberated because they have the choice to do what they feel is best for them.
As to the question Professor Messner asked during lecture, I believe “situated knowledge” absolutely is an impediment to seeing the world clearly. Not one person is the same in how they were raised and what experiences they go through throughout their lives. People learn through institutions such as school, family, friends, sports teams, groups, and many others that instill certain ideals and morals. Not only that, but I think we subconsciously gain knowledge by what we see and experience. It molds our perceptions of the world. We become accidentally biased because of these different perceptions.