Black feminist writer Patricia Hill Collins believes that this "outsider within" seclusion suffered by black women was created through the domestic sphere, where black women were considered separate from the perceived white elite who claimed their dominance over them. They also felt a disconnect between the black men's suffering and oppression. As a result of white feminists excluding black women from their discourse, black feminists expressed their own experiences of marginalization and empowered black consciousness in society. Due to the diverse experiences of black women, it is imperative to Collins to speak for and of personal accounts of black women's oppression.