blog #6
Paula Gunn-Allen has a confused consciousness and is appalled by the Western culture and the oppression that results from it. Gunn-Allen not only explains how she is constantly oppressed as being a stereotypical “savage� she also had to deal with the flipping on cultures respect towards women. In her Native culture stories were constantly being told to show that women are strong and intelligent. However, in Western cultures it is almost completely opposite (especially for a woman of color) women are seen as incompetent, fragile, and not respected, heard, or understood like in Gunn-Allen’s culture. The confused consciousness is produced by these mixed views of having two different cultures tell her two completely different aspects of how women should act and be treated. Power works directly through identity and this can be seen through Gunn-Allen’s confusion and is one of the major causes of conclusion. In Gunn-Allen’s Native culture power is stressed and emphasized while in Western culture women are encouraged to be feminine and incapable which leads to disruption of power.
Amzalduia has a consciousness somewhat similar to Gunn-Allen’s with being in-between cultures or like Amzalduia explains “borderlands� but she also includes the need for the acceptance of difference in our culture. Therefore you can say her consciousness is that of isolating cultures that need to avoid the need to be whole or complete. The sense of isolation comes from the obvious fact that those of different cultures or parts of the world have two different borders and are treated in completely different ways depending on which part of the border their on. Also she feels that she is so oppressed because in Western culture the sense of wholeness and need to be only in a few isolated groups is constantly being stressed. Therefore, those who are different or outside of the selected groups are seen as weird, and out of place instead of someone interesting and special which leads to oppression in our culture. Because Amzalduia is an outsider and has the identity of being someone “different� culture gives her less power than that of someone who only has one border and fits snugly into a category.
The similarities between the two are that both of the authors and the cultural groups that they represent are different and have two different cultures. Because of their differences they are seen as less powerful than those who fit inside the norm. Both want to change the culture so they can see everyone as a whole. Also, both authors stress the need of passing down information to other generations so they will be prepared to deal with and hopefully someday change the way Western culture is.