Abstract
The current paper explores “Feminist rethinking from racial-ethnic families,” the structure of the text, the themes raised by the author, and the target audience. The article was written by the American sociologist Dr. Maxine Baca Zinn for her joint book with another scientist Bonnie Thornton Dill Women of Color in U.S. Society, in 1994. The text raised the issue of rethinking family life not only from the point of view of feminism but also including the diversity perspective and the influence of race. The article has a logical structure since, at first, it describes the feminist impact on the understanding of the family, and then the significance of including a racial perspective is justified. The need to write the text is explained by the gaps that the author sees due to ignoring racial factors. The article’s target audience is sociologists engaged in research at the crossroads of gender, race, and social class.
Introduction
Many factors determine family relations, the distribution of roles in it, and other aspects of family life. It is essential for sociologists involved in family research to consider the relationship between these factors and the degree of their influence. The article “Feminist rethinking from racial-ethnic families” raises the question of the importance of studying the connection between feminist and racial perspectives in family life takins into account increasing social diversity. Although the article was written more than a quarter of a century ago, its topics are still relevant.
Analysis
The article was released as part of a more extensive work discussing minorities women in American society. In particular, it was part of the book Women of Color in U.S. Society by Maxine Baca Zinn, and Bonnie Thornton Dill released in 1994 (Baca Zinn, 2010). The author of the analyzed text is Baca Zinn, “Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Michigan State University” (“Baca Zinn professorship,” n.d., para 1). The author claims that the development of a feminist perspective in the study of family life occurred when race, class, and inequality were not yet taken into account as influencing factors. However, society is becoming more diverse, and ignoring such aspects cannot continue.
The author effectively structured her text and developed arguments to justify the importance of the issue raised. Baca Zinn (2010) gradually presents various aspects of the topic in a logical sequence. They subtopics include a transformation in the study of family relations influenced by a feminist perspective, the historical importance of a racial view, and the increasing diversity affecting family relations (Baca Zinn, 2010). Thanks to such an organization, the text’s goals are better transferred – to justify the importance of connecting racial and gender perspectives and draw attention to the need for research in this direction. Based on the author’s intention, the article’s target audience is represented by scholars engaged in family relations studies and their aspects. The reading will also be of interest to those whose research issues are at the intersection of gender, class, and racial perspectives.
Conclusion
Thus, the analyzed article was written by Maxine Baca Zinn, a professor of sociology. As American society becomes more diverse, in particular through immigration, family relations change. The feminist view significantly transformed the understanding of families. However, racial perspective was missed, although it had a significant impact, so there is a need for new lines of research. The author develops these topics by providing arguments in a logical sequence to make her rationale more accurate and understandable. Drawing attention to the issues raised is aimed at the target audience of social scientists studying family relations.
References
Baca Zinn, M. (2010). Feminist rethinking from racial-ethnic families. In S. J. Ferguson (Ed.), Shifting the center: Understanding contemporary families (4th ed., pp. 9-19). McGraw-Hill Education.
Baca Zinn professorship. (n.d.). The University of New Mexico Foundation. Web.