Hegemonic Femininities and Intersectional Domination

We examine how two sociological traditions account for the role of femininities in social domination. The masculinities tradition theorizes gender as an independent structure of domination; consequently, femininities that complement hegemonic masculinities are treated as passively compliant in the reproduction of gender. In contrast, Patricia Hill Collins views cultural ideals of hegemonic femininity as simultaneously raced, classed, and gendered. This intersectional perspective allows us to recognize women striving to approximate hegemonic cultural ideals of femininity as actively complicit in reproducing a matrix of domination. We argue that hegemonic femininities reference a powerful location in the matrix from which some women draw considerable individual benefits (i.e., a femininity premium) while shoring up collective benefits along other dimensions of advantage. In the process, they engage in intersectional domination of other women and even some men. Our analysis re-enforces the utility of analyzing femininities and masculinities from within an intersectional feminist framework.

The politics of (in)visibility displays: Ultra-Orthodox women manoeuvring within and between visibility regimes

How does the multiplicity of surveilling gazes affect the experience of employees subjected to a matrix of domination in organisations? Building on a case study of ultra-religious Jewish women in Israeli high-tech organisations, the article demonstrates how the intersectionality of gender and religiosity exposed them to a matrix of contradicting visibility regimes – managerial, peers, and religious community. By displaying their compliance with each visibility regime, they were constructed as hyper-subjugated employees, but simultaneously were able to use (in)visibility as a resource. Specifically, by manoeuvring between the various gazes and playing one visibility regime against the other, they challenged some of the organisational and religious norms that served to marginalise them, yet upheld their status as worthy members of both institutions. Juxtaposing theoretical insights from organisational surveillance and gender studies, the article reveals the role of multiple surveilling gazes in both the reproduction of minorities’ marginalisation, and their ability to mobilise it to maintain their collective identities.

Intersectionality, Matrix of Domination and Female Agency in Hosain's Sunlight on a Broken Column

This paper investigates how Hosain's Sunlight on a Broken Column presents the oppression of women in the socio-political and cultural contexts of the Indo-Pak society. Patricia Collins's views of intersectionality and matrix of domination and Wrede's concept of agency serve as a theoretical framework for this research. Intersectionality works through a matrix of domination that includes four domains of power: structural, disciplinary, hegemonic and interpersonal, which further serves to organize, regulate, maintain and internalize oppression. The study is significant as it intends to unravel the fact that in Sunlight on a Broken Column, gender is not the only factor causing subjugation. Oppression keeps on multiplying with the inclusion of several aspects of individual identity in general and female identity in particular, including age, color, creed, religion, race and sexual orientation. The research establishes that despite intersecting forces of suppression, there still is room for the female agency as the character of Laila foregrounds the fact that the existing situation can be challenged and reverted by few individuals found inside the suppressed groups.

Queen Phiona and Princess Shuri—Alternative Africana “Royalty” in Disney’s Royal Realm: An Intersectional Analysis

This paper explores the representations of two of Disney’s Africana royals, Phiona from the Queen of Katwe and Princess Shuri from Black Panther. Taking into consideration the pedagogical impact of media to reinforce ideologies of White supremacy and privilege, the depictions of these alternative royals in Disney’s royal realm are analyzed using intersectionality theory. The girls’ intersecting identities are juxtaposed with Collins’ matrix of domination concept. The analysis revealed that, while both Phiona and Shuri are challenged by the legacy of colonialization, capitalism, and globalization that constitute the matrix of domination, their approaches to these challenges are different as a result of the unique ways that their identities intersect. The author stresses that while it is commendable of Disney, and Hollywood, to allow for the affirming portrayals of these Africana girls on screen, the gesture is baseless unless a tipping point is reached where such films, and those depicting other non-dominant groups, become the norm rather than the exceptions. In other words, the challenge for those in the industry is not to resist the matrix of domination that stymies the creation of films that reflect the spectrum of the lived and fantastical experiences of Africana, and people of color; rather, the challenge is to dismantle it.

“Racists,” “Class Anxieties,” Hegemonic Racism, and Democracy in Trump’s America

In this address, I challenge dominant narratives explaining the rise of Trumpism in America. Specifically, I dispute four ideas that have emerged to account for Trump’s election. First, I suggest that understanding his election as the product of the political activities of the “racists” severely limits our understanding of racism as a collective phenomenon. Second, I question the notion that Trump’s working class support was due to “class anxieties.” Third, I argue that despite the rise in old-fashioned racism in Trump’s America, the new racism and its ideology of color-blindness are still hegemonic. Last, I ask analysts and activists alike to realize that the fight for democracy in the turbulent times we are living cannot be equated with an effort to return to “politics as usual,” politics that have maintained the matrix of domination in place.