Introduction
Feminism in the 21st Century has taken an exciting turn due to the realization of the unequal nature of the progress made over centuries. Various forces, both in the developing and the developed world, frustrate the plight of women to get a fair and functional platform as their male counterparts. The paper will critically evaluate the policies and institutions in Canada that continue to place barriers upon women from minority groups as they struggle with gender discrimination issues in the developed world. The paper will use the thematic lenses by Chandra Talpade Mohanty (1988), who compares white women and their counterparts from minority groups concerning their experiences with gender issues. Monhanty bases her treatise on the issue of intersectionality and how women from minority groups in the developed world lack enough space and representation in modern feminist discussions. The paper will also draw insight from scholarly materials that address the problem from the critical points of health and sports, which have shown grave disparities between white women and their counterparts from minority groups. There has been an unfair focus on the advances made by feminists by considering white women. However, intersectionality demonstrates that unique social and cultural constructs affect the ability of women from minority groups to benefit fully from the gender progress made in the developed world.
Intersectionality is a serious concern that has so far demonstrated that there are some cultural groups that continue to lag behind socially because mainstream advocacy discourses have ignored them. Mohanty (1988) explains that white hegemony has locked women of color from mainstream feminist discussions. Furthermore, there is a tendency by the media to consider feminism from the perspective of white women, thereby denying feminists from minority groups the chance to share their experiences. There is a need to consider feminism in the 21st Century from the perspective of unique cultural groups affected by intersectionality. The 21st Century has registered significant improvements regarding social justice, where minority groups are increasingly drawing attention to their unique experiences.
Furthermore, the female person has attained more political and social space, especially in the developed world. However, Syed (2021) explains that the political economy of health in feminism has identified severe disparities in the plight of women from minority groups. A large percentage of literature by feminists addresses the problem from the perspective of white women. As a result, women of color and those from other minority cultural groups in the developed world continue to face systematic discrimination. The critical areas are health and sports because scant literature addresses the gender disparities affecting women from minority groups, especially in Canada. Women have significantly achieved a lot as a result of gender advocacy. For instance, more women are holding top positions in the corporate world. Furthermore, more women are represented in the labor market, ensuring they are economically empowered.
The healthcare sector continues to be problematic, especially concerning access to critical services. Women currently account for 80% of healthcare workers. However, serious representation issues are problematic for women from minority cultural groups in Canada, such as immigrants, First Nation, and Muslims (Syed, 2021). There is scant literature on the unique challenges that face such minority groups because the focus has always been on white women. When the healthcare sector fails to reflect the cultural diversity in the population, it becomes problematic. For instance, some immigrants might face language barriers when accessing services in Canada because there are not enough workers that speak their native language. The same challenges are faced by Muslim women whose religious culture follows strict doctrines. Etowah and Hyman (2021) explain that little research has addressed the plight of minority women, such as the African Caribbean and Black (ACB) communities in Canada. The intersection between race, gender, and migration places such women in a unique perspective that requires critical analysis to improve their healthcare experiences. One of the social determinants of health is a person’s economic position in society. Canada offers one of the best labor markets, especially for migrants and other minority groups. However, racism is not localized to interpersonal relationships and can occur in institutions and policies that lock out people from a specific cultural group. The challenge of access to healthcare services for women from minority cultural groups needs to be addressed critically. There is a need to consider the unique challenges these women face and consider sustainable approaches to find solutions. Health is an essential service for any society. Therefore, it is crucial to encourage discussions that consider women’s health challenges with a specific focus on minority groups.
The other area that will be the focus of the paper is sports. Sports are primarily used for recreational purposes. Although most mainstream sporting activities in the Western world claim to give women equal opportunities, there is a need to understand that they were invented for men in a patriarchal society. Therefore, it has become difficult for women to participate freely because of traditional gender stereotypes. According to Cosentino et al. (2021), there has been an increase in women participating in sports. However, only a few have taken the initiative to take leadership positions in professional sports in Canada. Such a trend is problematic because it implies that men have drawn the majority of policies used for women’s sports. In addition, there is scant evidence of the experiences of women from minority groups in sports. Willson et al. (2022) explain that lack of representation has made women vulnerable to psychological and sexual harm in sports. There is a need for discussions and studies aimed at assessing the experiences of women, mainly from minority groups, in sporting activities in Canada. The data collected from such studies will be crucial in understanding the state of feminism in the 21st Century and ensuring that the registered progresses is inclusive of all cultural groups.
Research Question
The paper will seek to answer the following question: What are the unique challenges facing women from minority groups in health and sports in 21st Century Canada? Feminist discourses should consider inclusivity in the movement and the challenges specific groups face due to the intersection of various cultural attributes. The 21st Century offers a perfect opportunity to revisit the feminist movement and the state of gender relations in the contemporary world. Of interest in the developed world is the plight of women from minority groups. The paper will focus on the Canadian environment in consideration of the challenges faced by women from minority groups in sports and healthcare. Canada is a diverse society primarily because it is less strict immigration laws.
Canada is also made up of First Nations who are considered the natives of the country before the coming of settlers. The resulting society is diverse, and there is a need to consider the challenges faced by minority groups and the developments witnessed due to gender advocacy. Feminism has undergone various stages historically, and the more recent advocacy is the consideration of the role of the movement in advocating for the rights of persons that do not conform to binary gender. There is also a need to examine why minority groups in the developed world, especially those with African and Arabic heritage, continue to lag in equality issues. By answering the research question, it will be possible to draw conclusions based on feminism in the 21st Century Canada.
Methodological Approach
The research followed the critical analysis of literature addressing the mentioning the gender inequalities that affect minority groups as a result of the intersection between gender and culture. Mohanty’s (1988) work that considers feminism as painted by Westerners and the influences of colonial discourses provided a perfect precedence in identifying a research gap that has not been addressed effectively. A literature review was crucial in this case, especially when researching scholarly material that can help shed more light on current trends in intersectionality and its effects on modern feminist discussions. The critical works include feminism, intersectionality, minority groups, health, and sports. The focus was limited to sports and health to narrow the effects of gender discrimination in the two areas. The literature was then analyzed, and motifs were identified that could be used to respond effectively to the research question.
There were various challenges encountered while conducting research. One of the challenges is that scant data talk about gender discrimination in sports and healthcare. In Canada, the issue of gender is considered from a general perspective, and most of the findings are restricted to the dominant groups of white people of European descent. Data on minority groups, such as immigrants from the Caribbean and other countries in the developing world, have been given little attention in academia. Some of the materials encountered contained information irrelevant to the study. As a result, it was necessary to ignore such materials.
Connection to Relevant Course Material
Although sidelined in theory for a long time, representatives from minority groups are developed concepts that can be used to critically assess the interaction between gender and race discrimination and its effects on minority groups. The work of Kimberlé W. Crenshaw has mainly offered insight into the discussions, primarily through the development of various theories. Crenshaw is responsible for two essential theories the Critical Race Theory and Black Feminist Legal Theory. Her work has also been crucial in the understanding of the concept of intersectionality.
Critical Race and Black Feminist Legal Theory
Critical race theory considers the Western world against the perceived developments that have been made concerning racism. Sawchuk (2021) explains that the theory asserts that the realities of racism in the developed world have been institutionalized because the dominant white group structured much of the policies in most Western countries. Interpersonal racism could be the challenge of the past, primarily due to the associated negative sentiments and the level of advocacy done by feminists. Unlike interpersonal racism, institutional racism is often challenging to spot because racism is associated with people and not institutions. Crenshaw managed to draw a strong association between race and gender issues, thereby laying a foundation for the intersectionality concept. African American women in the United States have been poorly misinterpreted when discussing racial issues. The general perception has been that black males are more prone to racism than their female counterparts. For instance, in the recent Black Lives Matter riots across the United States, the primary focus was police brutality against African American Males. Such assumptions have failed to consider the unique challenges black women face, especially in critical areas such as access to maternal health.
Severe disparities exist in the developed world concerning the state of maternal health. For example, Taylor (2020) explains that black women are three to four times more likely to die when giving birth than white women in the United States. There is a need to consider structural racism and gender stereotypes from a historical perspective. During slavery, the focus was on male slaves in advocacy and discourses addressing the social ill. African American women were considered tools for child-bearing by their enslavers, who assumed it would bring them profits. Taylor (2020) explains that a particular woman was offered freedom if she could give birth to twelve children. Unfortunately, she died at her last birth. The general perception of the state of African American women during the slavery period in America is that their position was far, much worse than men. They were not only forced to hard labor but were still expected to meet their marital duties based on gender stereotypes. The enslaver did not care whether a woman was pregnant. She was forced to work, nevertheless.
Gender and race function in unison that can produce unique and disadvantageous experiences for women. Although the term intersectionality was coined more recently, the reality is that it has affected African American women for centuries. The feminism and sex liberation movements failed to recognize the plight of African American women and other minority groups. They could not participate in these crucial movements because of the hegemonic nature of most Western cultures. Feminists conveniently left out African American women due to the poor understanding of their unique challenges. The same scenario is evident in sports, although the issue lacks sufficient empirical data. However, sports in Canada are highly racial, and games such as hockey are considered white man’s games (Lisio, 2023). The state of race and gender is far worse than what is often portrayed in the Canadian media. African American women are forced to fight in a two-front way, including gender and racial issues. The most affected areas are sports, where women are denied equal participation due to structural discrimination.
Solution
Society has experienced many changes. However, the approach has always ignored institutional racism, perhaps due to the lack of direct strategies to handle structures deeply rooted in society. Discourses tackling intersectionalism should be encouraged at all social levels. There has always been the assumption that racism is a perceived experience, especially from the perspective of whites. Mohanty (1988) explains that Western feminism is profoundly biased and generally considers the problem from the perspective of whites. She explains that contextualism is needed when dealing with cultural issues such as gender and race. White American women might relax their advocacies on gender issues, whereas a female person in the same country still faces institutional discrimination based on race and gender. Most empirical data is too generalized to capture the unique challenges facing minority women in the Canadian social environment. Contextual discourses should be encouraged so Canadians can take responsibility by ensuring a favorable environment is created for all citizens irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality.
There is a need to understand that racism and gender discrimination are societal problems not restricted to a specific group. Men are also affected owing to the absence of women in social relations due to institutionalized discrimination. The number of male suicides is increasing in Canada, and if social justice issues are not handled effectively, the country can sink into a crisis (Lisio, 2023). Maternal deaths resulting from poor healthcare for pregnant women distress community members. As a result, such conversations should not be restricted to women. There should be affirmative action, especially concerning healthcare, a critical issue. The government should adopt strategies that ensure that minority groups such as immigrants, persons of color, Asians, and First Nations enjoy the same social status as their white counterparts.
The issue of hegemony in race and gender should also be addressed. Policy-makers especially play a critical role in promoting cultural equality. One of the study’s findings is that there needs to be sufficient empirical data that can be used to bring about change in the Canadian environment. Women from minority groups should strive to participate in decision-making by taking up leadership roles. Advocacy is often successful when people in leadership positions can push policies directed at dealing with specific social problems. For instance, there is a need for more women leaders in sports despite more women taking up professional sports. Such trends frustrate change because it is challenging to advocate for policies that favor specific cultural groups. There are societies where women have been encouraged to take up leadership positions through legislation that requires equal representation. However, such laws can only succeed if there are enough women from minority groups with the required skills to fill the position. Therefore, it is a collective responsibility that requires a multi-level approach to foster sustainable societal changes.
Conclusion
Gender and racial issues have taken an unprecedented turn due to new developments in modern society. Scholarly materials increasingly provide evidence that the interaction between race and gender can create adverse experiences for women from minority groups in the Western world. The paper has considered the concept of intersectionality and how it affects specific groups of women in Canada. The study has considered women’s experiences from minority groups from the perspective of health and sports. There is the general realization that the focus of Western feminism has been limited to white women. Black women and others from minority groups have been left out conveniently despite their unique challenges. Evidence suggests that one of the root causes of the problem is colonial discourses and the perceptions it has nurtured in Western societies. The discussions have encouraged the emergence of a white hegemonic society that puts women from minority groups at the bottom of the pyramid. Consequently, there is a critical need to change and alter gender and race debates so that they can focus on minority groups. Although advances have been made due to feminism and race advocacies, only men and white women have benefitted. Empirical studies also need to be conducted so that policy-making can be knowledge-based. These strategies can better the situation of women from minority groups in Canada.
References
Cosentino, A., Weese, J., & Wells, J. E. (2021). Strategies to Advance Women: Career Insights From Senior Leadership Women in Professional Sport in Canada. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.716505
Etowa, J., & Hyman, I. (2021). Unpacking the health and social consequences of COVID-19 through a race, migration, and gender lens. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 112, 8-11.
Lisio, A. D. (2023). KINE 3360: Gender & Sexuality in Sport and Health.
Mohanty, C. T. (1988). Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses. Feminist Review(30), 61-88.
Sawchuk, S. (2021, May 18). What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack? Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05
Syed, I. U. (2021). Feminist Political Economy of Health: Current Perspectives and Future Directions. Healthcare Review, 9(233), 1-9.
Taylor, J. K. (2020). Structural racism and maternal health among black women. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 48, 506-517. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1073110520958875?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–ENqPckztzrI9t10eZ8LXt_hybFl02pCpPTHWQSo-O5ji6cEJqp1G-EbHTGARwRwC0YRlL
Willson, E., Kerr, G., Stirling, A., & Buono, S. (2022). Prevalence of maltreatment among Canadian National Team athletes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37, 21-22.
write