An intersection is the point at which two or more things connect. For example, when your teacher asked you to draw overlapping circles, the point of their overlap was an intersection. This exercise was used to teach children that two or more things can co-exist at once, a concept that most adults find easy to understand. However, when it comes to people, many struggle to apply this same elementary concept, leading to the erasure of entire groups. Mainstream feminism has been, and continues to be, guilty of ignoring some of the members of the movement that need the most help, non-white women. From Asian women to Hispanic women to Black women to Native women, here is a brief overview of the unique challenges these groups face and how they need to be addressed.
Asian Women:
The hypersexualization of Asian women has existed in the United States for the majority of the nation’s history [1], but was solidified for the modern era during the Vietnam War. When millions of American men returned from Vietnam, stories quickly spread of the “quietness” and “obedience” of Vietnamese women who were also somehow sexually charged “Dragon Ladies”. Following this trend, U.S. media produced hundreds of thousands of posters and movies depicting Vietnamese women in this way.
What solidified the re-ignition of these stereotypes was feminism. While men were fighting a war overseas, women were fighting their own war, a war for their liberation. When the second wave of feminism created a generation of long-haired, working, and independent women, the generation of men who returned with the expectations of an obedient wife were wildly disappointed. So, if they couldn’t get a submissive wife at home, then they were going to find one abroad. Eventually, the ideals of Vietnamese women became generalizations of Asian women as a whole, and without a mass movement to dispute these ideas, they will continue to have a place in American society as they have for hundreds of years.
But how is this issue of fetishization and sexualization of Asian women unique? Although all women suffer from objectification, the violence and discrimination that Asian women face due to this sexualization is considerably more severe compared to other groups [2]. By fighting back on this, it will not only diminish the objectification of Asian women, but it will also help women as a whole.
Hispanic Women:
Alongside being the lowest paid workers in the nation [3], 77% of young Hispanic women report feeling pressure to provide traditional, family-centered support—more than any other group of women [4].
What is different about this flavor of misogyny is where the pressure comes from. Yes, all women are expected to clean for a family, cook for a family, birth and raise a family; the pressure does not necessarily always directly come from the family. As Hispanic women are entering colleges and the workforce, they are breaking down patriarchal standards set for them by general society, but when they come home, they are forced to conform to the patriarchal standards enforced by their families. By disappointing society, they have a finger wagged at them, but by disappointing their families, they risk fracturing or altogether losing their family connections. This constant expectation of the labor of their careers and then the labor of the home leads to burnout and exhaustion that transforms their lives into servitude with no concerns for their happiness or health.
To free Hispanic women—and ultimately all women—from a life of constant labor, there must be a deliberate cultural shift. Men need to be recognized and expected as active, contributing members of the household, not exceptions to domestic responsibility. At the same time, women must no longer be treated as household servants, but as equal participants whose roles extend beyond unpaid labor at home.
Black Women:
The idea that black women are inherently louder, stronger, and more aggressive came from the colonial idea that black ladies were not really ladies. In order to justify the routine forced labor, abuse, and mistreatment of black women, white “intellectuals” of the time did some mental gymnastics and concluded that black women biologically lacked the grace, intelligence, and softness of their white counterparts [5].
Due to these “scientific discoveries”, there was the creation of racist characters such as Aunt Jemima, Sapphire, and Jezebel. Although these depictions of black women are rightfully frowned upon today, the damage of centuries of books, shows, commercials, and comics of these characters has cemented in the American mindset that black women should be subservient to their white counterparts and that if a black woman has anything less then a smile on her face she is being “bitchy” or “aggressive”.
Of course, it could be argued that it is not acceptable for any group of women to be in an unpleasant mood, and while that is true, this expectation is significantly more enforced and punishing for black women. By making deliberate social changes to allow black women to fully express themselves without being punished, once again, it will not only help them but also help all women to do so.
Native Women:
In less than 100 years of their arrival, the Spanish, British, and French empires murdered 90% of the Native American population [6]. Having gone from an estimated population of 18 million people, today Native Americans make up only 1.1% of the U.S. population. Alongside being the poorest minority in the U.S [7] and only making up 0.25% of characters in media [8], Native American women are twice as likely to be kidnapped compared to any other group [9].
Unlike the other groups previously mentioned, there is no definitive history or examples to explain this epidemic. What can be said is that without media representation and being financially vulnerable, Native Women are ideal victims for this crime and will only continue to be so without any support. Once more, this is not to say that non-Native women are also not victims of kidnapping, only that it is a much more detrimental situation for Native women. By bringing their existence and issues to the public’s attention and lifting them up the economic ladder, Native women and girls will finally experience the safety that they deserve.
Ending Note:
Although I have separated these groups of women, I did so as a means to highlight them, not divide them. Mainstream feminism’s goal is to liberate all women from social, political, and economic constraints of the patriarchy, but without the recognition that the patriarchy affects different groups of women in harsher ways, they lack the liberation that they are owed. By recognizing these differences caused by intersectionality, the movement will not be divided, but rather it will cause the unity that it needs to win. Remember, how they divide us is how they defeat us.
Citations:
Wen, Guanhua. “Hyper-Sexualization of Asian American Women.” Www.atlantis-Press.com, Atlantis Press, 29 Nov. 2022, www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/ssesd-22/125977050.
Chang, Ailsa. “A Sociologist’s View on the Hyper-Sexualization of Asian Women in American Society.” NPR.org, 19 Mar. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/03/19/979340013/a-sociologists-view-on-the-hyper-sexualization-of-asian-women-in-american-societ.
Latino, UCLA. “Latinas Remain Lowest-Paid Group in U.S. Workforce, despite Historic Gains in Education.” UCLA, 6 Oct. 2025, newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/latinas-lowest-paid-group-US-workforce.
Chavez, Stella. “Latinas Are Succeeding, but Feel Pressured to Playing Traditional Roles for Women.” NPR, KERA, 15 May 2024, www.npr.org/2024/05/15/1251432972/latinas-women-career-homemakers-pew-hispanic.
Jones, Trina, and Kimberly Norwood. “Aggressive Encounters & White Fragility: Deconstructing the Trope of the Angry Black Woman.” Iowa Law Review, vol. 102, no. 5, 1 Jan. 2017, pp. 2017–2069, scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/3761/.
Holocaust Museum Houston. “Genocide of Indigenous Peoples.” Hmh.org, Holocaust Museum Houston, 2019, hmh.org/library/research/genocide-of-indigenous-peoples-guide/.
Poverty USA. “The Population of Poverty USA.” Povertyusa.org, Poverty USA, 2022, www.povertyusa.org/facts.
“Native American Characters Are Nearly Invisible in Top Films.” Annenberg.usc.edu, 17 Oct. 2023, annenberg.usc.edu/news/research-and-impact/native-american-characters-are-nearly-invisible-top-films.
Office of Justice Services. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Crisis.” Www.bia.gov, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2024, www.bia.gov/service/mmu/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-crisis.
