Race, Class, Gender, and Women's Work

Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei study the interconnections between race, class and gender with a focus of the economic lives of women in their piece “Race, Class, Gender, and Women’s Work.” The authors begin by explaining that the institutions of race, class and gender have been socially constructed and undergone many transformations throughout history. The authors also explain that race, class and gender are interconnected systems in which one cannot be studied separately from the other, especially in trying to determine the different economic practices women have experienced in the course of history in the United States. Amott and Matthaei give various examples of how depending on who’s in power within the categories of gender, race and class have lead to different experiences of oppression, across the board but also specifically to the economic lives of women.

Economists argue that the sexual division of labor that has existed for centuries has been one of the major underlying causes in the gender differentiation of the sexes. Therefore, no matter what class or race, different cultural groups always tend to assign women an opposing role in the labor force, usually as childrearing, housework, or anything subordinate to men. The following categories of race and class then determine the job sector in which a woman is placed based on her ethnicity and economic stance.  Therefore, “…one cannot assume, as do many feminist theorists and activists, that all women have the same experience of gender oppression” because of the interconnections between race, class and gender (Amott and Matthaei, 280).

All these factors have created a job hierarchy in which white men seem to be the only ones at the top and the women have been thrown all over the place. To the home, to the office, but only as a secretary or even to the plantation grounds in which their labor was equal to the same men in their racial groups but their role was still as inferior. In studying the economic practices of women in American history, authors Amott and Matthaei only found that women endure all kinds of oppression and segregation depending simply on inherited circumstances.

Based of the underlying theme of this week's readings and considering the struggle so many people have faced in American history and so many people are still facing today only based upon their race, class or gender, what can we say about America as a country? America is best known for its capitalistic economy. But what most people seem to be ignorant about is that capitalism is governed, operated and owned by white, wealthy, elite, powerful men. How can a system based on prejudices, segregations, exploitation and oppression be so great?

There has been this video that has gone viral, you have all probably seen it already, in which Jeff Daniels answers the question: can you say why America is the greatest country in the world? To summarize, Jeff Daniels reponds by saying there is no way in hell that America is the greatest country in the world and goes on in a rant explaining why. The interesting part of this video however, is after he finishes his rant he goes in a dramatic speech of how great America used to be. Warning: Jeff Daniels has a very foul mouth.

Now my question is: Did America really used to stand up for what was right? Did we fight for moral reasons? Fight wars on poverty, not poor people? In a nation where its very economic roots are based on the oppression of poor people and different races and women, when have we ever fought a war against poverty? My favorite line is that America cultivated the world’s greatest economy. Yes, while stepping on everyone in the way. Right?

Reference: Amott, Teresa, and Julie Matthaei. "Race, Class, Gender, and Women's Works." Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. 277-85. Print.