Effects of Intersectionality on Psychology

Giuliana Novoa

English 102

Professor Smith

4/26/18

Although America seems like the epitome of freedom and opportunity but the

not-so-secret truth is that it’s actually a racist, patriarchy. Whether it be the 1600s, 1850s, or

2010s, racism is still around and continues to cause irreversible psychological damage to African

Americans. An article, “New Directions in Race, Gender & Class Studies: African American

Experiences”, argues that “If we have to wait for racism to be obliterated before we can begin to

address sexism, we will be waiting for a long time. Denying that sexual oppression exists or

requiring that we wait to bring it up until racism, or in some cases capitalism, is toppled, is a

bankrupt position”(Barnett, Brewer, and Kuumba 13). This shows how the intersectionality of

being a black, lower class woman will be a never ending struggle until we start tackling issues

one by one. ZZ Packer’s Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

is a collection of strong female roles with

melanin–rich skin and poverty fueled desire to succeed. Their goal as everyone else in America

is to move forward in life, but the triple threat of being poor, black women keeps them from

progressing in society and affects their overall psychology.

One of Packer’s short stories, “Brownies” highlights how racism is taught to children by

media, adults, and society as a whole. The story started off as an innocent retreat for this young

group of girls turned into a race war between the predominately African American Brownie

troop and the special ed caucasian Troop 909. After one of the Troop 909 girls allegedly called a

Brownie troop girl a nigger. Arnette, the main plotter, devises a plan to get revenge on them,

which ultimately failed. Whether the girl said it or not, the point of the story was to show that

racism is not something that you’re born with, but instead something that is taught; “I mean, not

all of them have the most progressive of parents, so if they heard a bad word, they might have

repeated it. But I guarantee it would not have been intentional”(Packer 26). The subtle

suggestion of some of the Troop 909 parents being racist and using racial words around their

kids shows how much of an influence it has on them. However, the Brownie girls are just as