LOOKING WHITE PEOPLE IN THE EYE: GENDER, RACE, AND CULTURE IN COURTROOMS AND CLASSROOMS by Sherene H. Razack. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998. 246 pp. $55.00 (cloth), $21.95 (paper). ISBN 0-8020-0928-X.

Reviewed by Henry Flores, Department of Political Science, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX. Email: hflor@stmarytx.edu.

Professor Razack has composed one of the most important works in the field of race relations and the law. LOOKING WHITE PEOPLE IN THE EYE addresses one of the most difficult and complex issues facing all who perform research in the areas of race relations broadly speaking. Oftentimes one grapples with the notion that persons of color suffer from "dual" or "triple" discriminatory effects given their individual situations. This, according to the author however, begs the question for several reasons. In the first place, when one attempts to understand the discrimination a person, particularly a woman, of color suffers one fails to gain a thorough understanding of the sufferer’s oppressed situation unless one understands the power relations that have created the discriminatory situation. Secondly, categorizing the person by race and gender, essentializing the individual negates the complexity of the situation the discriminated person finds herself in.

The complex nature of the problematic that Professor Razack unravels has led her to write a complex theoretical work. On the specific level the author addresses the discriminatory structures confronting poor, disabled women of color in the courtrooms and classrooms of Canada. On a more abstract level, Professor Razack attacks the theoretical constructs that dominate academia and the law inhibiting intellectuals and practitioners of the law from truly understanding the intensity of the oppression these women suffer. The author’s solution is to make all individuals confront the notion that they are, whether they think so or not, essential players in the social, economic, and political structures oppressing these women. Middle or upper class women who champion the causes of a poor woman, for instance, must understand that their existence on a higher social level than the poor woman, creates a barrier to the identification of the problem and, as a result, the identification of an appropriate solution to that problem. One cannot, in other words, solve the problem of the poor while at the same time being, and understanding that one is, an essential aspect of that poor person’s problem.

The other aspect of Professor Razack’s analysis involves the presentation of a concerted attack on what she calls "essentialism." "Essentialism" permeates the analytical perceptions of most who perform research or practice law in this or ancillary fields and inhibits the creation of a clear definition, identification if you will, of the discriminatory structures within which many poor women of color find themselves. Rather than attempting to understand the structures as complex matrices, essentialists argue that poor women of color suffer from "multiple types" of discrimination. For instance, a poor, disabled, woman of color suffers the effects of being poor, being disabled, being a woman, and being colored. This categorization denies both the sufferer and the perceiver a clear understanding of the effects of the oppressive structures. Razack’s solution is to resurrect "the multiple narratives that script women’s lives…to see that women are socially constituted in different and unequal relation to one another. It is not only that some women are considered to be worth more than other women, but that the status of one woman depends on the subordinate status of another woman in many complex ways" (p. 158). The author then considers that "the material and ideological arrangements of patriarchy, class exploitation, and white supremacy combine in uneven ways to structure relations among women" (p. 159).

Professor Razack sees the devising of appropriate political strategies to attack these multi-layered, multi-dimensioned, continuously shifting hierarchical structures in more complex ways than merely the passage of laws or creation of simple programs. The strategies require not merely "inclusivity but accountability." The politics, then, require proceeding "on the assumption that as women we are involved in the subordination of others. If we take as our point of departure that systems of domination interlock and sustain one another, we can begin to identify those moments when we are dominant and those when we are subordinate." (p. 159). Essentially, searching those moments in time where domination is revealed can then be attacked and appropriate strategies devised. So the strategies are not just merely specific programs but legal protective devices that constantly "shift and change" as the structures of domination change.

By far, one of the most significant contributions that this interesting volume makes is its warning that current calls to understanding the effects of racism, by pursuing studies of "differences and multiplicities," can lead society to create greater and greater divides between peoples of differing colors. Rather than furthering an understanding of differences these "liberal" approaches tend to hide the oppressiveness of racism. Professor Razack correctly argues that one cannot confront differences among racial groups without "confronting the fact of domination." This is true because one cannot understand subordination without understanding how and why domination is structured and functions.

Professor Razack presents her arguments in seven chapters, including the Introduction. Each chapter presents aspects of her argument by presenting the narratives of cases that have been brought before various levels of the Canadian legal system. In the first chapter Razack presents her position that domination is an essential aspect of a structure of subordination by understanding that a woman’s autonomy is created on the backs of other women, generally women of color. So that arguing that all women are equal is really to negate the inequality of women who cannot rise through the patriarchal structures of society because of their color, class, or disability. The remaining chapters then present "case studies" from the legal system of how poor, disabled women of color can never really achieve justice because the courts ignore their narratives specifically and while society ignores them generally. The movement to understand color, class, and disabilities, by the courts, as separate concepts trap these women because of the complex interlocks each of these structures of domination construct around these women.

The implications of Professor Razack’s book can be far-reaching in that she has presented the problem of understanding the oppressiveness of racism in a light that makes its understanding more manageable. Although she clarifies the problem of racial domination she creates an even more difficult problem for those who spend their lives attempting to devise strategies to break down these structures. For instance, assuming that the author’s position is correct then how can an empirical argument substantiating her argument be presented in court. This is particularly difficult in the United States where the courts have become dominated by expert witnesses and their statistical and mathematical presentations that sometimes obscure the problem of discrimination. What is required is that the legal system begin ignoring the experts and begin listening to the stories of the injured parties; this would require at minimum complete revamping of the Federal Rules of Procedure. The court system would have to completely reform the way in

which cases of discrimination are brought, argued, and decided.

Fundamentally, Professor Razack has written a much needed work that presents readers with provocative arguments concerning provocative topics that have been ignored too long. If this volume possesses any weaknesses they are minimal and may be excused given the complexity of the analysis. In order to make her argument, the author must rely on a different approach to presentation of the problem. If not, she becomes part of the system of domination. This results in her writing becoming ponderous at times and difficult to read. Nevertheless, the book’s contents are so valuable and important to consider that it is impossible to ignore reading this book.

Copyright 1995