The Chicken or the Egg: The Loss of African-American Women
Since before fire, women have been at the bottom of this stratified system we call society. Sociological researchers, such as Patricia Hill Collins and bell hooks, have discussed the ways in which particularly African-American women's identity has been oppressed socially. I propose to explore the questions of how society has identified African-American women and how African-American women identify with themselves. If society repeatedly defines African-American women for their second-class status then how does this perception affect African-American women's identification of themselves? In this research, using one of Marxs conflict perspectives, I plan to argue that African-American women's social identity has been lost in our society. I will be interviewing four African-American females in order to get their view of this loss of identity. In implementing this qualitative study I hope to shed light on this phenomenon by taking a new stance on how the realization of true consciousness is imperative to the empowerment of African-American women. I will be conducting a thorough literature review where I will be discussing the views of authors such as bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, and Angela Davis. Through the process of interviewing, I hope to reveal African-American women's perceptions of their identity through Marx's conflict perspective.
School:
Tuskegee University
Department:
Sociology & Philosophy
Research Advisor:
Norman Denzin
Department of Research Advisor:
Communications
Year of Publication:
2002