[1] For example it is strategic essentialism that allows people to argue that there is indeed an "African American" culture and hence, a need for African American Studies. Importantly, strategic essentialism also gives members of subcultures the power to decide what their culture is and when generalizations about it are useful and when they are not. ²NOTE: It is important to remember that these are tendencies, not laws. There are major exceptions to each of these categories. Indeed, in the U.S. arguments of "difference" were essential to the rhetoric surrounding the right to vote. Similarly, recent attacks on white feminism in the U.S. have focused upon how cultural, class, and sexual differences can enhance & shape feminism.