The article by June Jordan really struck a chord with me because it highlighted some things that I have often found myself wondering about as well. As an African American woman, I have a very different perspective on race, class, and gender that directly correlates to how I have lived growing up, which is generally true for just about everyone on a unique basis. Having been able to break several stereotypes regarding race and class, I feel that the differences among these categories are much less distinct that one might assume. However, there is one area that I feel those in each particular category can relate to and that is gender. Jordan highlighted this in her article when she discussed how the three women, including herself, were different in so many ways and yet similar at the same time. I think the purpose of her attempt at bridging the differences was to show that although race and class are used to create separation and distinctions among us, at the core we are similar in more ways than we realize. I think that by highlighting the fact that there were three different women, all in various situations, but yet they were able to rally together to help out a woman in need shows just the essence of human nature.
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Pathways to Higher Education 
I too agree that too many unnecessary walls are driven between races and classes and boxes are built around them. I had never really thought, until the article that is, of how gender is placed in a box all too quickly. Of course I am aware of gender stereotypes and all that follows, but your point about the women being able to rally together to help each other, isn’t that something we see through race and class as well?
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I really enjoy your post here. You make inclusive pedagogy sound simple with the title you chose – “We are different, but yet we are also the same.” Last class and throughout the various readings related to this topic, I often found myself coming up with more questions rather than finding answers, and your post here helped me take a step back and think about this topic in a more practical way.
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Yes, I completely agree. We need to bridge our differences, unite on common ground, to provide a better education for all. Students will be much more likely to engage if they feel comfortable, and I think this is the first step in making that happen. Women may have differences, but should unite to push forward a common goal. We cannot make progress unless we bridge our differences and find common ground.
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Very nicely written, Krystalyn. I think that our differences give us a unique perspective on situations that shouldn’t be discounted, but used to allow for a more inclusive and empathetic conversation about possible solutions. I find the prevalence of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression troubling in our society, but I think we will be able to remove them from our institutionalized environments once we all work together to reach those goals.
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I would like to think inclusion and a recognition (and perhaps celebration) of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts, allows for healthy discussion and empathetic conversation, free of prejudices and misgivings/misconceptions based on race, gender, nationality, etc, especially at our institutions of higher education. But that is an ideal and not reality. I think it is a goal we need to be working toward, foster a climate of community, guide reality toward that ideal as best we can. The classroom is a good place to start.
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I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this, Krystalyn, and I completely agree! I think evidence of how we relate is even seen in how we respond after meeting someone new. It is the tendency of most people to find some sort of common ground to talk over; we seek to find some connection with that person based on commonalities. Although we do all have unique perspectives and backgrounds, we also are all connected and we can discover those connections if we open ourselves up to that chance.
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I like the idea of bridging differences, but I’m not sure I buy it. By trying to be “colorblind” or not see male or female, we end up reverting to the default (in America it’s the white, straight, cisgender, middle-class man) many times. I think this is where the idea of intersectionality comes in – respecting differences while understanding the ways in which those differences play out in our lived experiences.
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