Cahill
explained the stereotypes that existed in their communities. They were frequently referred to as “burden
to society,” “high school drop outs,” “lazy on welfare” etc. This reflection of these working class women
resulted because of disinvestment.
Disinvestment is characterized by under funding programs and financial
redlining thus resulting in shortage of affordable housing, cutbacks in social
services, scarcity of jobs, lack of financial security and support. According to Cahill, the effect of women
internalizing deprivation does contribute to a sense of shame and inadequacy. Furthermore, not only does these minority
groups have to accept failure but they are faced with social and spatial
exclusion with the emergence of Gentrification.
Gentrification
refers to the “clean up” of inner city communities thus creating a community
that the locales no longer fit in but is fully accommodating for the new
settlers. Cahill stated that
gentrification is laissez-faire racism in that global capitalism creates
structural discrimination and forms of spatial and social segregation. This is evident in ownership because there is
a relative raced and classed demarcation between the “haves” and “have
nots.” There is also threat of
displacement as minorities lose personal and collective control until
ultimately there is an appropriation of their culture and history as well as
seeing their culture diminish right before their eyes.
In
addition, we see a group of people that is torn between two cultures to
maintain social order. They are
dislocated from their own community while still living there or they are forced
to relocate thus deconcentrating poverty.
Meanwhile,
Holly Sklar, in her article, “The Upperclass and Mothers N The Hood”, she
seemed to highlight all the shared, social and political experiences of the
Black woman vs the White woman. Her
focus was on the fundamental social institution in all culture, the
family. She described different
structures of families but stressed all the negative perceptions from the
levels of poverty, violence, criminality to class system.
