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How social media creates stereotypes
How do social media promote stereotypes
Erikson theory of identity vs confusion
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I’m discussing a video that has taken social media by storm called “I’m Not Racist” by rapper Joyner Lucas. His video shows an African American male and a Caucasian male discussing all the rawest concepts that deal with race from their own perspectives. I decided to discuss this topic because it relates to Erik Erikson identity vs role confusion. This concept is the “need to come to a resolution of who they are & what they believe”. This is exactly what this music video is doing. The Caucasian male is stating his case on how racism wasn’t that bad, and majority of the people today didn’t experience racism directly. While the African American male is trying to explain to the Caucasian male that he wouldn’t never understand our struggles because
After reading Alsultany’s “Los Intersticios: Recasting Moving Selves,” I realized that there are many misconceptions among those who have single or mixed racial background. For individuals who have more than one races, it may seem that they are at an advantage since they have luxury to take side with which ever race they choose. However, it actually results in a constant aggravation when one is constantly questioned about their race. Alsultany was asked by her classmate about her racial background. It was apparent that her classmate confirmed in her mind that Alsultany was different from her since she didn’t supposedly fit the description of a typical American, despite mentioning that she was born and raised in the U.S. This further strengthened
J. Cole is an avid activist for the black community in the United States. He uses his star power to disseminate distinctive and critical social messages to the mass public. It is important to note that race is a socially constructed concept with no scientific basis. The concept suggests a biological difference between ethnicities, yet this conjecture has been proven invalid. Unfortunately, the identification of race has long been established in society’s ideologies through media and social norms. Race also plays a large role in self-identification, public perception, and the normalization of prejudice ideals. O’Shaughnessy and Stadler (2012) agree that the media plays a vital role in the constructions, images, and representations of racial and ethnic differences. Furthermore, the majority of media that is produced by white people is laden with stereotypical jargon and images. This only perpetuates the negative connotation associated with race and creates an
“vulnerable to manipulate” and that it is “more often than not a willful ignorance and acceptance of stereotypes.” Bissoondath’s article discusses through examples of two men who are very friendly, who make unconscious insensitive remarks that are based on stereotypes. He also goes on to describe
Race has been an issue in North America for many years. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva discusses the new racism in his book, Racism without Racists. Bonilla-Silva classifies the new racial discrimination as color blind racism. Color blind racism is then structured under four frames (26). Color blind racism is believed to have lead to the segregation of the white race from other minorities called white habitus. Color blind racism and white habitus has affected many people, whom don’t even realize that they are, have been or will be affected.
“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group,” Peggy McIntosh wrote in her article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Too often this country lets ignorance be a substitute for racism. Many believe that if it is not blatant racism, then what they are doing is okay. Both the video and the article show that by reversing the terms, there is proof that racism is still very existent in this world. By looking into A Class Divided and White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack along with their ability to broaden the cultural competence, once can see how race is still very prominent in our culture.
This rejection of roles has been documented in several novels, including Octavia Butler’s Kindred. Kindred exhibits three types of role denial as they pertain to race in both the novel and reality: denial of a label placed by society, denial of label contradictory of what is desired, and denial of a label given by your own community. All three ways are still present today as the fight to stop human categorization continues due to its negative impact on the citizens, communities, and country as a whole. The end of this will be through continuation of denying the labels that are wrongfully placed on us in order to discourage future labeling, and every person should take the liberty to stop categorizing people and refute the labels placed on them to make this country accepting of all
In relation to the “Implicit association test, which measures unconscious bias,” Myers acknowledges that “Seventy percent of white people taking that test prefer white.” Not only do white people prefer someone of their race, but “Fifty percent of black people taking that test prefer white” as well. Informing us of the results from the IAT (Implicit Association Test) helps showcase that there is a clear bias among us that “we’ve been schooled in.” Myers provides this data in order to further justify that we all play a role in the “prejudices that fuel those kinds of tragic incidents” that happened to the black men mentioned in the previous paragraph. Conversely with a grandiose tone, the diversity advocate explains that the problem isn’t so much that “we see color” its “what we do when we see the color.” Verna Myers bringing this issue to light is effective in the sense that it makes her audience re-evaluate their standpoint within these specific instances. Are their prejudices a part of the problem?” Yes. Verna Myers is well aware that “we are not shooting people down in the street” nonetheless, we still contribute to the issue until we are willing to “look within and being to change
This video is another slam poetry about Kai Davis’s appearance as not being socially accepted due to the fact of her skin color. For example, her word of choice is more proficient or advanced than her classmates. She clarified that we do not have to judge the person by its color. Even though, it only talks about two race here in United States, she was trying to imply that the identity of a race can be define and discriminated; in a way white people are the dominant and ideal race. Therefore, she articulated her opinion. Some of us are so ignorant in a way a certain ethnicities such as Africans do not have the ability to be
In the two essays, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” by Brent Staples and “I’m Not Racist But…” by Neil Bissoondath, there are both differences and similarities. The two authors differ in their opinion on the causes of racism and life experiences involving racism, but are similar in regards to the use of stereotypes in the world
Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks” (71). All these objects listed by McIntosh are things I have access to and certainly take for granted. Due to a history of non-white racial oppression, which transformed into decades of racial discrimination that still lingers today, the white race has dominated our society in terms of resources and prosperity. The ideas of wealth, higher-level education and ambition to succeed are all traits commonly linked to people of the white race that collectively define privilege. The aspect of privilege can also produce disadvantages for people of the white race as well. In the book Promoting Diversity and Justice, the author D. Goodman notes that people of advantage groups develop a sense of superiority, which will sometimes lead them to wonder if, “their achievements were based on privilege or merit” (107). Along with a diminished sense of accomplishment, the cost ...
In this world we are constantly being categorized by our race and ethnicity, and for many people it’s hard to look beyond that. Even though in the past many stood up for equality and to stop racism and discrimination, it still occurs. In this nation of freedom and equality, there are still many people who believe that their race is superior to others. These beliefs are the ones that destroy our nation and affect the lives of many. The people affected are not limited by their age group, sex, social status, or by their education level.
Introduction We live in a society where race is seen as a vital part of our personalities, the lack of racial identity is very often an important factor which prevents people from not having their own identity (Omi & Winant, 1993). Racism is extremely ingrained in our society and it seems ordinary (Delgado & Stefanic, 2000). However, many people denounce the expression of any racist belief as immoral (Miles & Brown, 2003) highlighting the complicated nature of racism. Critical Race Theory tries to shed light on the issue of racism, claiming that racism is ingrained in our society both in legal, cultural, and psychological aspects of social life (Tate, 1997). This essay provides us with the opportunity to explore this theory and its influence in the field of education.
My perception of our world is that racism exists everywhere, even in the land of liberty, America. I am aware of the fact that there is racism against not only blacks, but also whites, Asians, along with people from all other ethnicities. I believe racism is deplorable in any form. Therefore I do my best not to be racist in any way.
Self-identity is linked to racial and culture identities. By being perceived as dangerous, a black man is taught to associate himself with ugliness and fear, conforming to the culture of the white society and in turn destroying his social identity. Racism subjects the victims as “immoral human beings, which challenge the humanity and social racial identity of African Americans” (Cowhig 157). For examples, Brent Staples is a reputable and educated man, attending the university of Chicago, but people are quick to assume that a “youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket seemed menacingly close” (Staples 314) to a woman one late evening in an impoverished section of Chicago. As a black man, Staples understood “that being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself” (Staples 310). Therefore, he accepts his treacherous conditions and conforms to white values and beliefs. He destroys his self-identity, becoming a white-face, in exchange for security and safety. For examples, Staples waited to leave a building or enter the subway until the nervous white people around left, walked in the daylight rather than at night, started wearing business clothes rather than jeans, and sang songs depicting white culture such as Beethoven and Vivaldi. The black man conforms to white culture, seeing
Before, I had a sense of how I identified in terms of many different factors. With this class, I was able to realize that my racial and overall identity is composed of a mixture of the factors not considering these factors independently from one another. I believe that my strong sense of self has always remained the same, the great difference is that I now know why I think the way I do and I am now also able to see why people think the way they do. My story tells a lot about me; it says that I have always had a strong sense of self and have always tried to live according to that sense of self. It also says that I have not always known how to interpret myself or make sense of why I am the way I am. It has definitely shown that I struggled with understanding other people’s perspectives, especially when they conflicted with mine but I am now working on maintaining an open mind instead of becoming immediately defensive. My story also shows that although I have always been well aware of racism and have always felt against it, I have not done what is necessary of me to stand up against racism. The resources I can rely on within me to fight against racism are the coping skills I have internalized for so long. Some resources I have outside myself include the skills I am learning in my Master’s program at Simmons as well as some local community outreach programs that strive to advocate and end racism and other oppressive