--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Feminist consciousness is consciousness…" description: "\"“Feminist consciousness is consciousness of victimization. To apprehend one-self as victim is to be aware of an alien and hostile force outside of ones..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/sandra-bartky-lee-92024_awareness_feminist-consciousness-is-consciousness_2454552.jpg" --- # Feminist consciousness is consciousness of victimization… ![“Feminist consciousness is consciousness of victimization. To apprehend one-self as victim is to be aware of an alien and hostile force outside of oneself which is responsible for the blatantly unjust treatment of women and which enforces a stifling and oppressive system of sex-role…” quote by Sandra Bartky Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/sandra-bartky-lee-92024_awareness_feminist-consciousness-is-consciousness_2454552.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/sandra-bartky-lee-92024_awareness_feminist-consciousness-is-consciousness_2454552.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/sandra-bartky-lee-92024_awareness_feminist-consciousness-is-consciousness_2454552.jpg) > ““Feminist consciousness is consciousness of victimization. To apprehend one-self as victim is to be aware of an alien and hostile force outside of oneself which is responsible for the blatantly unjust treatment of women and which enforces a stifling and oppressive system of sex-role differentiation. For some feminists, this hostile power is “society” or “the system”; for others, it is simply men. Victimization is impartial, even though its damage is done to each one of us personally. One is victimized as a woman, as one among many. In the realization that others are made to suffer in the same way I am made to suffer lies the beginning of a sense of solidarity with other victims. To come to see oneself as victim, to have such an altered perception of oneself and of one’s society is not to see things in the same old way while merely judging them differently or to superimpose new attitudes on things like frosting a cake. The consciousness of victimization is immediate and revelatory; it allows us to discover what social reality is really like. The consciousness of victimization is a divided consciousness. To see myself as victim is to know that I have already sustained injury, that I live exposed to injury, that I have been at worst mutilated, at best diminished in my being. But at the same time, feminist consciousness is a joyous consciousness of one’s own power, of the possibility of unprecedented personal growth and the release of energy long suppressed. Thus, feminist consciousness is both consciousness of weakness and consciousness of strength. But this division in the way we apprehend ourselves has a positive effect, for it leads to the search both for ways of overcoming those weaknesses in ourselves which support the system and for direct forms of struggle against the system itself. The consciousness of victimization may be a consciousness divided in a second way. The awareness I have of myself as victim may rest uneasily alongside the awareness that I am also and at the same time enormously privileged, more privileged than the overwhelming majority of the world’s population. I myself enjoy both white-skin privilege and the privileges of comparative affluence. In our society, of course, women of color are not so fortunate; white women, as a group and on average, are substantially more economically advantaged than many persons of color, especially women of color; white women have better housing and education, enjoy lower rates of infant and maternal mortality, and, unlike many poor persons of color, both men and women, are rarely forced to live in the climate of street violence that has become a standard feature of urban poverty. But even women of color in our society are relatively advantaged in comparison to the appalling poverty of women in, e.g., Africa and Latin America. Many women do not develop a consciousness divided in this way at all: they see themselves, to be sure, as victims of an unjust system of social power, but they remain blind to the extent to which they themselves are implicated in the victimization of others. What this means is that the “raising” of a woman’s consciousness is, unfortunately, no safeguard against her continued acquiescence in racism, imperialism, or class oppression. Sometimes, however, the entry into feminist consciousness, for white women especially, may bring in its wake a growth in political awareness generally: The disclosure of one’s own oppression may lead to an understanding of a range of misery to which one was heretofore blind.”” [Sandra Bartky Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bartky-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feminist consciousness sees both oppression and power, recognizing shared victimization while seeking solidarity and transformation. **In simple terms:** Seeing oppression and power together leads to solidarity and growth. Key Takeaway Embrace awareness of oppression and use it to empower change. Themes feminism solidarity oppression empowerment identity Mood reflective determined hopeful Type Awareness:1 Consciousness:1 Damage is done:0 Feminism:1 Latin america:0 Men and women:0 Oppression:1 Patriarchy:1 Personal growth:1 Political awareness:1 Sexism:1 Victim:1 Victims:1 Philosophy of Mind:0 Consciousness Victimization:1 Feminist Consciousness:1 Victimization Consciousness:1 Consciousness Victim:1 Woman Consciousness:0 When to use this quote - activist meetings - women’s studies classes - support groups - political rallies - personal reflection Key Concepts victim consciousness dual consciousness social critique personal growth collective action Questions to Reflect On - How can we transform awareness of oppression into collective action? - What practices nurture both critique and empowerment? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on victimhood may limit agency if not balanced with empowerment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-victim-599788/) [Consciousness Victimization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-victimization-599785/) [Damage is done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage-is-done/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist-consciousness-599786/) [Latin america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latin-america/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Patriarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriarchy/) [Personal growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-growth/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Political awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-awareness/) [Sexism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexism/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) [Victimization Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victimization-consciousness-599787/) [Victims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victims/) [Woman Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-consciousness-599789/) ## Related quotes > [“Humankind does not submit passively to the power of nature. 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For some feminists, this hostile power is “society” or “the system”; for others, it is simply men. Victimization is impartial, even though its damage is done to each one of us personally. One is victimized as a woman, as one among many. In the realization that others are made to suffer in the same way I am made to suffer lies the beginning of a sense of solidarity with other victims. To come to see oneself as victim, to have such an altered perception of oneself and of one’s society is not to see things in the same old way while merely judging them differently or to superimpose new attitudes on things like frosting a cake. The consciousness of victimization is immediate and revelatory; it allows us to discover what social reality is really like. The consciousness of victimization is a divided consciousness. To see myself as victim is to know that I have already sustained injury, that I live exposed to injury, that I have been at worst mutilated, at best diminished in my being. But at the same time, feminist consciousness is a joyous consciousness of one’s own power, of the possibility of unprecedented personal growth and the release of energy long suppressed. Thus, feminist consciousness is both consciousness of weakness and consciousness of strength. But this division in the way we apprehend ourselves has a positive effect, for it leads to the search both for ways of overcoming those weaknesses in ourselves which support the system and for direct forms of struggle against the system itself. The consciousness of victimization may be a consciousness divided in a second way. The awareness I have of myself as victim may rest uneasily alongside the awareness that I am also and at the same time enormously privileged, more privileged than the overwhelming majority of the world’s population. I myself enjoy both white-skin privilege and the privileges of comparative affluence. In our society, of course, women of color are not so fortunate; white women, as a group and on average, are substantially more economically advantaged than many persons of color, especially women of color; white women have better housing and education, enjoy lower rates of infant and maternal mortality, and, unlike many poor persons of color, both men and women, are rarely forced to live in the climate of street violence that has become a standard feature of urban poverty. But even women of color in our society are relatively advantaged in comparison to the appalling poverty of women in, e.g., Africa and Latin America. Many women do not develop a consciousness divided in this way at all: they see themselves, to be sure, as victims of an unjust system of social power, but they remain blind to the extent to which they themselves are implicated in the victimization of others. What this means is that the “raising” of a woman’s consciousness is, unfortunately, no safeguard against her continued acquiescence in racism, imperialism, or class oppression. 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