Reflection on "the difference that difference makes". (2nd April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jordan-Zachery, Julia S.
• Is Part Of: Politics, groups, and identities. Volume 4:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 341
• Page End: 343
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02
• Subjects: Black Diasporic Women -- identity -- strategic politics -- prefigurative politics; Identity (Psychology) -- Periodicals; Political psychology -- Periodicals; Sex -- Periodicals; Ethnicity -- Periodicals; Ethnicity; Identity (Psychology); Political psychology; Sex; Periodicals; 320
• DOI: 10.1080/21565503.2015.1130098
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2156-5503

Abstract

Abstract : Does difference make a difference? Does identity influence political behaviors? The simple answer is yes to both questions. Tripp's comparative analysis confirms that differences often do result in different approaches to raced-gendered responses to inequality and the quest for justice. This essay is intriguing for a number of reasons. However, I was left wondering if Tripp had flattened out differences in her attempt to make her larger point. As a result of the somewhat monolithic approach to understanding Black Diasporic political women, the overall analysis did not adequately explain how these women engage identity in strategic political decision-making. This leaves a number of questions. As I argue, integrating a relational approach into Tripp's analysis, might afford us an enhanced approach for explaining how these diverse women engage in prefigurtive and strategic politics.