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Summary Of Seeing Straight

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Summary Of Seeing Straight
Seeing Straight: An Introduction to Gender and Sexual Privilege, offers great insight into the varying arguments of traditional marriage, marriage equality, those who are against marriage, sexual relationships, gender, and domestic divisions of labor. These topics are relative in nature and, in most cases, overlap one another. To provide a thorough answer to Essay Questions No’s 1 and 3, I have taken the liberty to answer both questions in this one single paper; to illustrate the arguments pertaining to [traditional] marriage and how it segway’s into the relationships, gender and domestic roles associated with it.
Strong evidence against the biological definition of gender reminds us that “gender”, in and of itself, is a social construction …show more content…
Several themes are prominent in her essays, one of which is a deeply-held distrust for the prevailing American system of values, which she believes promotes sexism. According to Lorde, the American society values profit over human interests, thus exacerbating the problems created by racism, sexism, and other prejudices (2007). Groups that are marginalized by prejudice are further marginalized because they have little economic power. White, heterosexual, patriarchal society discourages the expression of traits that do not fall into its norms. This alienates anyone who dares not to conform at the same time that it indoctrinates. Even minorities internalize the skewed system of values that teaches that any deviation from the norm is dangerous, which leads to infighting among minority groups. Lorde illustrates a gender ideology behind a sexual division of labor; for it is not “matriarchy” that paved a way for female power, it is simply a result from women being suppressed under the man's rule of thumb. However, Lorde offers a solution of empowerment that should be recognized and used for creating
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