Sociology Essay: Analyzing Intersectionality and Racial Profiling

This essay delves into two key sociological topics: intersectionality and racial profiling. The first section explores intersectionality through the lens of Crenshaw's theory, examining how race, gender, class, and sexuality intersect to create interlocking systems of inequality and oppression. It discusses the contributions of Black feminist thought, highlighting how social classifications are constructed and impact individual experiences. The second section focuses on racial profiling, analyzing its historical and contemporary perspectives. It examines how racial profiling is linked to individual biases and organizational practices, specifically focusing on the role of law enforcement and the negative impacts of biased policing. The essay references several academic articles to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive analysis of these important social issues and their implications for societal justice and equality. It concludes by agreeing with the articles and highlighting the role of police officers and the common mistakes made by the administration in predicting racial profiling.

ethnicity
[Document subtitle]

Topic 1
The intersectional theory was given by Crenshaw which asserts that the theory of sociology
creates the mistake of analyzing only a single variable at a time. The elementary assumption is
that the variables perform in groups. The intersectional theory is mainly concerned with the
conformation of the social identities. Therefore, the theory analyze the ways which race,
sexuality, class and gender works in order to make inequality i.e. the oppression’s interlocking
systems. Further, in the matrix of domination, Collins immediate the peculiar perceptions of the
black feminism regarding a single issue i.e. the inequality and the complicated matrix of the
forces which generate inequality. Whereas Collins focuses on the unique nature of the
perspective of the black female, she also inculcated in developing alliances though various other
perceptions i.e. across genders, races and classes. The alliances are possible if they are being
acknowledged by our unique perception.
It can be clearly understood that every system requires the other to function properly. The point
claims that the social classification like class, ethnicity, race and gender perform in mutually
essential ways. The main interest of the author was to explore systematic and structural
inequality, and it also included the inequality of the structure which concretely impacts the black
women's lives. Furthermore, the class, race and gender develop a particular framework in order
to study the social classifications (A feminist approach to decolonizing antiracism: Rethinking
transnationalism, intersectionality, and settler colonialism). Firstly, every classification is the
category which is socially constructed as they are not absolute and fixed. Secondly, every
category creates groups in terms of binary by ignoring the social identity's nuances. For example,
people are seen as being fitted in one category out of the two given categories i.e. white/colored,
male/female, wealthy/poor, etc.
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The another concept is the gender, class and race and every category of the group and individual
identities are also known as the social structures. Every classification further contributes to the
formation of the identity as the impact. The categories impact the levels of experience of an
individual and the group containing interactions, consciousness with others.
During the research, it has been observed that because of the eradication of the various barriers
towards the success, one's class, gender and race no longer matter. The authors helped in
understanding that why this case exists and what are the reasons for these groupings. Further, the
article helps in understanding that why men as compared to women don't accept that the
patriarchy subsists and why Whites as compared to Blacks accept that the racism is
dematerializing. Moreover, it has been observed that the factors like gender, class and race
should be considered as the domination tools along with the dimensions like sexual orientation,
the status of citizenship, age, etc.
It is being observed that the gender, class and race are the interlocking classifications which
develops the overarching domination’s system. Therefore, both the articles help in understanding
the various intersecting identities and how they are still impacting our society adversely. And
still, people are being differentiated on the basis of caste, region and gender. The articles show
the positive as well as the negative side of these factors or dimensions in our society.
Further, there are various disadvantages which are associated with the distinct identities like an
inaccurate consciousness is developed in the society in order to conserve the status quo and
enable those who are in power and further continue to hold that power (Power, knowledge and
Black Feminist Thought’s enduring contribution towards social justice). Further, the
marginalized groups are being perceived which the group along with the dominant value of the
group are also treated like others which named it as social injustice. The classism, racism and
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sexism are still not acknowledged, and the inequality still persists. The categories which are
socially constructed are not separate, and the every interlock contributes to the oppression. The
theory’s nature doesn’t enable the possibility of integrating the emerging categories of the
society and also the non-hierarchical understanding is not being explored which impact the social
groupings such as sexual orientation, identity, religion, etc.
I agree with the articles because it shows the actual side of the society and how people are
differentiating among themselves depending on the racism, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Therefore, it has become the common place among the theory of feminist in order to claim that
the lives of the women are being created by the various oppression’s intersecting systems. It is
being observed that the oppression is not a binary relation of the politics or a singular process,
but it is constituted through various converging systems. Both the articles have the intersecting
identities along with the implications, but the identities have various disadvantages which are to
be considered by people in order to have the better society to live.
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Topic 2
The topic which is being chosen is the Profiling, Racial i.e. the contemporary and the historical
perspective. This article helps us in knowing that the stem of racial patterns from the prejudices
of the individual and the various attitudes of the racism. Further, the research of the sociology
demonstrates that the discrimination is the outcome of the practices of the organization which
have the unintentional effects of the racism and even relied on the cognitive biases which are
linked to the stereotypes. The racial profiling is the searching or stopping the drivers and the cars
relied mainly on the race, instead of the violation or suspicion of the law. It is further
problematic due to its shape of discrimination which is being organized and enacted by the local
governments and the federal.
It is also being understood that the institutionalized and the formal rules of the agencies of the
law enhance the racial profiling. The regular patterns of the patrol and the responses in order to
call for the service can also generate the biased policy of racialism. This policy is mainly
discomforting for the relations of police community because it contributes unintentionally
towards the mistrust of the police. Further, there are various problems with the racial profiling,
and the story began along with the agency of the drug enforcement which was started in the year
1984 and also trained around 25,000 local and state police officers in around 48 states in order to
recognize, search and stop the couriers of the drug. The part of the training also included the race
of the suspect (Racial formation in perspective: Connecting individuals, institutions, and power
relations).
The research has demonstrated that maximizing the number of the searches and stopped through
the minorities and it further doesn't lead to the seizure of the drugs which are being identified in
the regular traffic searches and the stops between the white drivers. Also, the contraband rates
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are being identified in the profiling depending on the drug searches among the minorities is
lower and it further shows that the racial profiling minimizes the efficiency of the police. There
are some cases of violence against the minorities which are being perpetrated by the officers of
the police like the beating of the video-taped of the Rodney King in 1991.
The article also makes us aware that there are still various jurisdictions which continue to gather
the information on the composition of the race of the searches and stops of the vehicles in order
to discourage and monitor the biased policing of racialism. The analysis of the searches and the
stops by the Patrol of North Carolina Highways demonstrates the challenges which are based on
the civil rights i.e. both local and national and it also changed the behaviour of the police.
Further, the various encounters of the police citizens are not discretionary, and if the officer
harbours the prejudice of the racialism, then it would not persuade the decision in order to stop
and search the vehicle. For example, the patrol officers of the highway as they are concerned
with the flow of the traffic and the safety of the public, spend a great deal of the time in stopping
and searching the speeders depending on the readings of the radar and they even don’t know the
race or ethnicity of the driver until they take them out of the vehicle.
According to the research it has been observed that the patterns of the police patrol are more
motivated racially. Targeting the bars of the black as compared to the country clubs of the white
by randomly doing the alcohol checking (Perceptions of racial profiling: Race, class, and
personal experience). This is being done when the minority drivers in order to be in the white
neighbourhoods and this is the routine practice of the police. Further, the Americans are
committed to the justice of racialism and equality in order to take the tale of caution.
Therefore, I completely agree what the article said in order to make us understand. Further, I
have taken this article because I wanted to discuss the role of the police officers as they doesn’t
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stop or search the car or vehicle on the basis of discrimination and being the sociologists we can
also hope that the administration would not make the common mistakes to a great level by
predicting the racial profiling as it is the main result of the prejudice of the racialism and even
the broad psychology of the unconscious biases. Furthermore, the article helps in understanding
the role of police patrol officers in the racial profiling.
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REFERENCES
Dhamoon, Rita Kaur. "A feminist approach to decolonizing antiracism: Rethinking
transnationalism, intersectionality, and settler colonialism." Feral Feminisms 4 (2015): 20-38.
Pereira, Ana Claudia. "Power, knowledge and Black Feminist Thought’s enduring contribution
towards social justice." Ethnic and Racial Studies38.13 (2015): 2329-2333.
Saperstein, Aliya, Andrew M. Penner, and Ryan Light. "Racial formation in perspective:
Connecting individuals, institutions, and power relations." Annual Review of Sociology 39
(2013): 359-378.
Weitzer, Ronald, and Steven A. Tuch. "Perceptions of racial profiling: Race, class, and personal
experience." Criminology 40.2 (2002): 435-456.
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