Common Language and Privilege

This week we read many articles that mostly related to the language we use along with how the powers that rule dictate how they should be used. Also, how power is understood and by what means we have power or not. There was also discussion about other feminist movements by other ethnicities at the same time as the women's movement continuing to this day. The fact is that minorities have very little power as is in society, combined with women/gender, regardless of race and sexual orientation; these people tend to be excluded from issues that involve them, like earning money, providing for their household, and having a voice in society. does that mean, for instance, that homosexual black women don't garner any respect in our society right now? that is exactly what it means, which makes no sense. if they are considered such a minority and have such a "distinct and different outlook on life" that they are considered to be outsiders; and don't we always preach and get it pounded into our heads at a young age to keep our minds open and listen to others? how are these people along with everyone else you meet in a day not considered profound because we are all different? the patriarchical system dictates what we can and can't accept, which again makes no sense. you need to follow your own path and decide what you want to believe in without being spoon fed. everybody is different with different needs, therefore we need to respect these needs as they do the same for us and put up with our trash. when you look at the civil rights movements of the indian women along with the mujeristas, they each have the same basic principal ideas to "overcome oppression we suffer in our culture and in the society in which we live precisely because we are women" (Mujeristas). No matter what race, women are excluded from certain rights and respect in society, therefore their main, basic idea for civil rights is the same, yet each argument is multifaceted with specific needs geared toward their own interests. Also, because of this ignorance of different cultures and their needs, we tend to use language that disrespects their beliefs. similar to how the african american community has used the n word in an endearing fashion, we have taken words such as freshMAN, fireMAN, BACHELOR of arts/science, and other words of these types. the fact that we don't recognize we use these words without the connotations to either gender is a bad sign in that it creates a greater separation between men and women. it constructs invisible walls that we can't differentiate between destructive or helping, or simply neutral. what i actually think is that it doesn't create a larger dichotomy or degrade women, but instead we use it as helpful language that we have recreated to be inclusive to all genders and orientations. as it has progressed from when women stayed at home and earned their "Ph. T. degrees (Putting husband through)" (Betty Friedan) to now where women make up the majority of scholars. scholars, another word that was created for men; now accesible for describing women, too. in 10 years we have no idea where these terms will end up and what they will signify because by then even more women will be attending college and getting degrees. in 50 years some terms will become completely "feminine" or some terms such as policeMAN and freshMAN will change now automatically encompassing all genders and orientations, no exclusions. this could end up being one of the best things for women ever, just look at the progress of the n word. without genderization through speech, both men and women will have more freedom to follow activites once attributed to one sex or the other, leading the world to more possibility and freedom of expression.