Discuss the plight of minority women in the United States. Use the example of Latinas to explain your answer

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Many women experience differential treatment not only because of their gender but also because of race and ethnicity. These citizens face a subordinate status twice defined. They are not separate, but coexist as intersecting identities. A disproportionate share of this low-status group also is poor. African American feminist Patricia Hill Collins has termed this the matrix of domination. Whites dominate non-Whites, men dominate women, and the affluent dominate the poor—race, class, and gender are interconnected.

The oppression of minority women because of their sex is overshadowed by the subordinate status that both White men and White women impose on them because of their race or ethnicity. The question for the Latin American woman (Latinas), African American woman, Asian American woman, Native American woman, and so on appears to be whether she should unify with her brothers against racism or challenge them for their sexism. The answer is that society cannot afford to let up on the effort to eradicate sexism and racism as well as other forces that stigmatize and oppress.

The plight of Latinas usually is considered part of either the Hispanic or feminist movements, and the distinctive experience of Latinas is ignored. In the past, they have been excluded from decision making in the two social institutions that most affect their daily lives: the family and the Church. The Hispanic family, especially in the lower class, feels the pervasive tradition of male domination. The Catholic Church relegates women to supportive roles while reserving for men the leadership positions.