Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Lynne

"Adhering to this inclusive model provides the conceptual space needed for each individual to see that she or he is both a member of multiple dominant groups and a member of multiple subordinate groups. "

When I read the Patricia Collins article, I thought about Alice Walker's novel Meridian. This particular line made me think of the character Lynne. Lynne is a white woman who holds a strange position within the matrix of domination. Like anyone else, she is a member of multiple dominant and subordinate groups, and her situation brings out a few extremes. Lynne's character ran away from home to marry a black man in the early 1960's. She was ultimately rejected by both the white community and the black community. She was disowned by her parents because they were disappointed in her, and distanced from her black friends and neighbors because they feared her for her race. She lacks the benefits of a full position in either community. Aside from her race and her chosen community, Lynne is a woman, which adds another layer to her oppressor/oppressed stance. A chapter in the book focused on Lynne's rape, which highlights all of these groups. 
Lynne was raped by Tommy Odds, a black man who was shot because he was seen in public with Lynne (a white woman) and Truman (her black husband). Although she was fully aware that she was being raped, she made a point to tell Tommy Odds that she forgave him, and reflected on the situation in a way that made it seem like she deserved the mistreatment as a way to compensate for her whiteness. The chapter pointed out the fluidity of dominance within each dominant or subordinate group, which I thought was interesting. 

No comments:

Post a Comment