Course Connections and Further Readings

Discussed throughout the study of feminisms and related liberatory movements, race and gender-based oppression is an issue and theme that continues to carry on in state policies and in society. Gender has played an intersectional role in the escalated rate of violence against women. The violence that Aboriginal women face is largely brought about by an orientalist imagery in which people of the society have viewed Aboriginals as the "other". The extent to which Aboriginals are seen as the "other" within the colonial discourse demonstrates the success of sexual violence among racist and colonial forces in destroying the humanity of Aboriginal peoples.

The history and consequences of colonization are multifaceted and far-reaching. Andrea Smith, a well-known Native American activist, scholar, and author, reveals important connections between various forms of violence perpetrated by the state and society in her book, Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide.Conquest emphasizes the use of sexual violence as a tool of patriarchy and colonialism particularly in Aboriginal communities, both historically and in present day.