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Examining our social location
Gender roles in different cultures paper
Gender roles in different cultures paper
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Recommended: Examining our social location
Social location and status set go hand in hand with where I have wound up in life and who I am. Social location is what memberships you carry because of your physical location in life. I settled down and “started roots” in Saginaw Township, MI. It is a smaller community in Mid-Michigan that is not far from where I spent the first 5 years of my life, Essexville MI. I was raised in Royal Oak, MI, and all three of these communities share about the same socioeconomics, being predominantly white, middle to upper class, about the same size, and just outside of a larger city. I feel comfortable with my current social location, because it is so familiar and normal to me. The reason I was raised in Royal Oak, MI is because of my dad’s employment. …show more content…
My own mother was the same way and had never had a job outside of our home, but did do things like babysit over the summers, so that there was extra money for Christmas. It seemed very natural to me, that I would graduate high school, find some random job, get married and start a family. However, once we moved back up to Mid-Michigan we were with my father’s side of the family, and they were different agents of socialization because of their social structure. Every single one of my aunt’s held full time jobs outside of the home, and many of my female cousins went to college. My own mother took a job at the apartment community that my dad worked at! It was my own little culture shock, to suddenly have a mother who worked outside the home, since the women in my life had really molded my socialization, and what I thought I was going to do for the rest of my …show more content…
To be honest, it makes me feel boring. There are things that make me who I am that are completely left out. I have run dozens of marathons, coached baseball, volunteered my time, and have suffered the loss of a child. All of these things have put me into different social categories and had changed society’s opinion of me at one time or another. I was born a white, non-disabled, middle-class, American, female. Just based off of these simple things, it was very unlikely that my parents worried about me joining a gang or playing football in college. I grew up learning how to make spaghetti sauce instead of learning how to change the oil in a car. It was logical that I marry a man and become a mother one day. Before doing this exercise and reading about “Power and Privilege”, I never would have assumed that I was somehow better off then another person just because I am white and I would have defended my position to anyone who would have challenged it. This of course, proves the authors point when he explains that thinking that way is just how privilege works in our social life. I have never been black, Jewish or homosexual, so I can’t feel the oppression those who are
In her article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh writes about the privilege white individuals get without noticing it. McIntosh talks about how whites are taught to not recognize their privilege. McIntosh having a background in Women’s Studies, she also talks about how men have more privileges than women, yet they rarely recognize it. In the article McIntosh claims that “After I realized the extent to which men work from a base of unacknowledged privilege, I understood that much of their oppressiveness was unconscious.”
In conversations many people get defensive when someone says, “You have this because of your privilege” they feel as though that the person they are talking with doesn’t understand that they have worked hard for what they have, however that is not the point that anyone is trying to make. What someone in that position is saying is that although you have worked hard to get where you are your journey have been well furnished with privilege on account of your race. It is said to think about that you got somewhere in life due to the color of your skin, but it is also sadder to think that someone got declined a job, got stereotyped, or got overlooked because of their race or
There are always different areas and beliefs in big cities, but in some cities they are taken to a whole new level. Everyone is proud of where they are from naturally, whether it’s in regards to their sports team, schools, or maybe a famous product that originated from there. There is a very well known divide in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, where there seems to be a highway or street creating an invisible line. Cincinnati is well known for its education, food, and the diverse lifestyles one may be able experience in the rather large suburban area. If someone asks a Cincinnatian where they’re from, they will proudly respond with either the Westside or Eastside! Common phrases one may hear are, “Westside best-side or Eastside money-side.” It’s not necessarily true that someone is considered good or bad due to their response; it’s just a pride factor to them.
The two articles that had a profound impact to my understanding of race, class and gender in the United States was White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh and Imagine a Country by Holly Sklar. McIntosh explains the keys aspects of unearned advantage (a privilege that one group hold over another) as well as conferred dominance (the act of voluntarily giving another group power) and the relationship that these factors hold when determine power of a social group. Additionally, the purpose of McIntosh’s article was to demonstrate the privilege that certain individuals carry and how that translates to the social structures of our society. Furthermore, conferred dominance also contributes to the power of the dominant group
Peggy McIntosh wrote this article to identify how her white privilege effects her life. Each statement is written as a privilege that Ms. McIntosh does not need to consider or fear as a white woman. From financial credibility to national heritage, this article makes a valid point regarding the way white people can be arrogant and naïve when the same treatment is not being given to their neighbors, coworkers, and peers. There can be two responses when reading this. The first would be a person of color. They will appreciate the attempt at realization of what white people take for granted. The second would be the reality that smacks the white people in the face when they realize how true all 50 statements are. Once this begins to sink in, many will start to broaden their competence realizing the unfair treatment of the people in this world. Moving down the timeline, we can see how the acknowledgement can mend broken relationships. Owning the reality and doing something to change it can give the people of different races the treatment they deserve (McIntosh,
“These denials protect male privilege from being fully recognized, acknowledged, lessened, or ended (Shaw, Lee, 86).” It is hypocritical that men are getting the heat for not recognizing their over-privilege when white people cannot recognize their own. White female feminist who advocate equality, and seem to fail to realize they have more privileges than most other minorities. Peggy McIntosh tries to recognize her white privilege in her daily life, so she composed a list of fifty-four observations. From her observations McIntosh drew the conclusion that her morals have been affected, because she believed in equality for all, yet she did not realize she had a dominance which opened many doors for her. We see daily that the white race has more power over other races. In her essay she mentions: “At school, we were not taught about slavery in any depth; we were not taught to see slaveholders as damaged people. Slaves were seen as the only group at risk being dehumanized (Shaw, Lee, 87-88).” If students were taught to see slaveholders as damaged people, then it could impact white privilege which “needs” to remain
Overall if it wasn't for my ethnicity, religion, and income I would not be the person I am today with the same values and morals. It is apparent social classes are revolved around income and power and people are born into social class but that does not mean a person has to stay in that social class. As for myself being raised a catholic Latina, with working middle class parents my destiny does not have to be the same. Sociologically, social structure affects almost everything in our life from our ambitions to our social life and the way we interact with others. sociological imagination helps us to understand the effects of social forces on our lives.
In her 16 January 2016 The Washington Post editorial, “What is White Privilege?”, Christine Emba asserts white privilege is a societal advantage inherent in people who are white, irrespective of their “wealth, gender, or other factors.” According to Emba, white privilege makes life smoother and is an entity that is hidden or unknown until the privilege is taken away. Although racism is still a rampant issue in society today, white privilege is a concept created by the progressive left in order to brand whites as a scapegoat for issues and adversities that non-whites face. This concept of privilege ultimately causes further dissension between whites and non-whites.
... Members of the dominant groups are taught not to see privilege. Being white in the United States opens doors to whether or not we approve of the way we have been granted dominance. McIntosh, pg. 78, p. 78. 5-6) Johnson compares social systems to Monopoly.
With all of these facts, the author tries to prove that racial differences and privileges appear exaggerated and unrealistic. The privileged and less privileged exist at all levels of society. Duke wants white people to understand that they are in the same position as all other races. The awareness of “white privilege” is only a fallacy that causes feel of guilt without foundation.
In American Diversity is one of the biggest issues in America. America is a home to all, such that no one group can call itself more “American” than another. Even the America is very diverse, not everyone has the privilege in living in a cultural/racial diverse area. With this being said every person is not use to interactions with people much different from their own race. After reviewing many articles and books I have gained enough knowledge on my topic: prove why living in diverse area is not only just beneficial with social interactions, but with your self-esteem, and just life in general. After reading this paper I would like to think that you will have a better understanding of why growing up and being exposed to diversity at a young age is extremely beneficial.
The exercise showed how a child that never had any racism towards them in the exercise they turned against their friends because of the color of their eyes. The children for those two days got the chance to experience both sides of discrimination. The children once day felt segregated and inferior to the children that were placed in the group with more privilege. Then the next day, the children that were placed in the privileged group were in the segregated group. The theory is if you can teach a child how to discriminate against a person that you can just as easily teach them how not to.
“White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks” (McIntosh, 172). White privilege is all around us, but society has been carefully taught
Many other factors have affected my social location, such as my age, race, and income. My status as a member of the millennial age group has had a massive impact on my social location, as I have grown up in time where I am able to read and study about the faults of the generations that have come before me. Being aware of these faults has given me the ability to hope and strive towards a better future.
White Privilege The belief that white privilege never existed or that it is no longer a problem is skewed by the selective use of facts to support this claim. How do we address this problem? We must define the what is to be privileged, acknowledge the problem and identify a means to fix it. "The idea of privilege- that some people benefit from unearned, and largely unacknowledged, advantages, even when those advantages aren't discriminatory. "