Classism In Social Work

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Individuals who experience racism, classism and religious oppression all understand what it feels like to not have privilege. According to the textbook, “Privilege exist when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the group they belong to, rather than because of anything they’ve done or failed to do” (Adams, 2000). When dealing with the framework of different clients, racism, classism and religious oppression could all be included in someone’s culture and identity, due to its daily impact in their lives. There is a deep and long history between race and privilege. First, race, according to Toni Morrison is a “metaphor” necessary to the “construction of Americanness”: in the creation of our national identity, …show more content…

The empowerment perspective, “support[s] the development of innate abilities and recognize differences in a positive manner are also helping social workers increase the individual client’s capacity to learn to use his or her own systems constructively” (Empowerment, 2011). Meaning, it is when social workers would use the positivity of being different races and religions to help the client. For example, it would be recognizing that being black or Muslim is not a bad thing, but that there are numerous positives. To address the impact of classism, a social worker would “Help clients [to] better understand these contradictions [(that media and the world send them of what certain class’s attitudes, schemas and behaviors are like)] may help them understand” (Liu, 2005). Meaning, the social worker would help the client to understand the good attributes of being in a certain class, and how to obtain a higher class. Since the media often sends contradictions, such as saying “saving is important, but you have to spend to succeed” (Liu, 2005). Lastly, an understanding of the social construction of culture will be used in social work practice, since it could help a social worker to get a better understanding of their clients. Being, it could help them to better understand how their clients view themselves or how their clients feel society views them. Which can lead to the social worker understanding their clients lives and who their clients are, in a better

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