History of Feminism

Instead of asking whether discrimination is based on race or gender, we should ask whether it serves the same purpose as those kinds of discrimination do — further subordinating a group that is not in a position to prevent such subordination. It becomes less important, then, whether we understand the experience of black women, or pregnant women, or Spanish-speaking Latinos, as one based on “race” or “gender,” and more important that we understand the ways in which the various forces operating on such individuals contribute to their oppression.