SUMMARY FOR REGULATING SEXUALITY AND RACE

The Sexualization of Race, the Racialization of Sexuality

This is a course about feminism and sexualities, however women of colour feminists have demonstrated for decades that gender and sexuality cannot be understood independently of race. While we have saw arguments earlier in the course that gender and sexuality are social constructs, we have now seen that these constructs are always already constituted by and constituting constructs of race. By looking at the examples of scientific racism, eugenics, and the gendered and sexual legacies of slavery in the work of three feminist scholars, this module has explored some of these co-constitutions and entanglements.

Test Yourself

Challenges

CHALLENGE ONE: This module has focused on the work of three American scholars of sexuality and race whose work is specific to the U.S. context. Can you think of examples of the intersections of sexuality and race in Canadian history? For example, in Canada’s history of eugenics, how were racial, sexual and gender oppression entangled? Write a short report on this topic, expanding on the themes of this module by providing an example or examples from the Canadian context. Share your report in the Challenge Sharing Forum. Make sure to consult the guidelines on eClass for your Challenge regarding length and the deadline.

CHALLENGE TWO: The focus of this module has been historical, although it included some discussion of the contemporary impacts of this history. For this Challenge, expand on the issue of how the entangled histories of racial and sexual oppression resonate into the present moment. Can you provide examples of contemporary racial stereotypes that involve sexualization? Have you yourself experienced interconnected racial and sexual stereotyping? Write a short report discussing one or more such examples. Share your report in the Challenge Sharing Forum. Make sure to consult the guidelines on eClass for your Challenge regarding length and the deadline.