Feminist Concepts: Patricia Hill Collins & Standpoint Epistemology - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the past, women's right to education, healthcare, and other social justices were deprived. Patricia Hill Collins has shaped people's understandings about feminist concepts, especially standpoint epistemology (Turner, 2013). The concept recognizes that every knowledge is proffered and created from a specific social location that every person, as individuals, inhabitants. The scathing critiques about women's experiences have shaped the understanding of gender parity (Turner, 2013). In society, women should be allowed to articulate their views and concerns. In her theory of intersectionality of forms of sexuality, gender, class, and race, she asserts that these forms are occurring simultaneously. Collins reveals the social privilege of black women by asserting their unique position based on gender and race (Turner, 2013). Black women enjoy these social privileges based on their experiences to participate in social justice work.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Arguably, Collins educates people that black women serve as a critical lens for understanding the overall systems of oppression (Turner, 2013). Collins shapes people's life by bringing new knowledge of understanding injustice within society. In my view, I feel many people discriminate against people based on their nationality, sexuality, gender, class, and race (Turner, 2013). I believe that Collins's theory of intersectionality is a crucial tool for validating the views of people of color, the poor, and women. In this theory, Collins urges the marginalized group should unite and work towards realizing their social change.

Emile Durkheim gives a functional analysis, a theoretical framework where the society is believed to comprise of different parts (Turner, 2013). If every part of the society's functions is fulfilled, it leads to equilibrium in society. With this concept of structural functionalism, Emile educates people on how the human body functions to signify how people should live within a society (Turner, 2013). Emile claims that if people are without toes, fingers, legs, and arms, their bodies cannot function properly. In a broader perspective, Emile urges societies to change their thinking. Such that if every part of the society works together, society can function smoothly as a whole (Turner, 2013). But if the society continues to hold differences such as culture and ethnicity, then success cannot be realized.

Foucault claims that there exists a relationship between the body and political power. In essence, the human body needs to be managed based on social and economic perspectives and population' tactics (Turner, 2013). In the past, people were forced to confess their sexual practices and innermost desires where the confession of innermost desires was developed in social science data (Turner, 2013). The information collected is used to create a social control mechanism. From these confessions, one can easily construct a powerful knowledge.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the three theorists Patricia Hill Collins, Emile Durkheim, and Michel Foucault, describe how people study, live, and work in society. Collins makes a major contribution to her theory of intersectionality to reveal various forms of race, class, gender, and sexuality that occur simultaneously. When people study black women, especially their past experiences, one begins to understand that black women were denied social justice. From this perspective, people can develop an in-depth understanding of embracing social justice. Durkheim discusses the need for solidarity among societies to synergize cooperation.

References

Turner, J. H. (2013). Theoretical Sociology: A Concise Introduction to Twelve Sociological Theories. SAGE Publications.