Intersectionality

These two pictures were taken at Macy’s and at a display table at Barnes and Noble, respectively.  The top image shows a black man modeling clothes from the Polo line from designer Ralph Lauren.  The picture of the book The Obamas shows First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama laughing and embracing each other.

   

    Both of these images show individuals that can visibly be recognized as being on both the privileged and oppressed sides of categories of analysis, such as race, nationality, and gender.  The male model appears to be more upper class, as he is wearing expensive designer clothing and is dressed very nicely for outdoor sports.  Both of these traits would leave him a privileged position in the U.S.  However, he is also black, which may present disadvantages in his life.  Likewise, the President and First Lady share similarly complex backgrounds.  The couple is Protestant Christian, upper class, well-educated, affiliated with the Democratic Party, and each is a lawer.  All of these factors are potential signifiers of privilege in the U.S.  However, Michelle Obama grew up in a working-class African American home.  Barack Obama famously has a black father from Kenya, and a white mother from the U.S., a factor that has raised a lot of concerns across the nation about his national and racial identity.  However, Patricia Hill Collins in her article “Toward a New Vision:  Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection” argues that an individual should not be judged on these categories of analysis, instead “these judgments by category must be replaced with fully human relationships that transcend the legitimate differences created by race, class and gender as categories of analysis.”

        While working, I often work to resist natural urges to analyze people’s identities.  In the food service industry can encounter upwards of thirty customers in an hour, each unique, yet falling into common categories.  My struggle involves trying not to assume what type of item a customer will order or if they will pay more or less because I consciously make an effort to treat everyone equally, fairly, and with compassion.