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While Darwin may not have entered our lives until high school, we are taught the concept of the survival of the fittest at a young age. We become knowledgeable of the ideas of power and dominance through games on the playground, and social groups in high school. However, people do not think about these ideas of how our society functions with these activities alone. We develop our understanding of intersectionality and its relation to power by comparing our own circumstances with others. In my case, I believe my own understanding of our society came from my experience as a student in Japan.
Ever since I was a child, I have had the privilege to go to Japan annually because of my father’s work. Although the duration of these trips were around two weeks on average, there was a time eleven years ago that I had stayed in Japan for two months. During these two months, my mother had decided to sign me up to attend a Japanese elementary school. Here, I would experience school as my mother had, and pick up on a little more Japanese than I did at home. Surprisingly, what I learned was not limited to
Until this point, I had never questioned my role as a girl. I accepted the heterosexist beliefs that all girls liked boys, and boys liked girls, and that we were associated with being cute and liking cute things. This was likely because my role as a girl in North America was never explicitly stated, only enforced indirectly through attitudes and the media. In Japan, these gender roles were a bit more explicit. Products, school uniforms, and even some activities were more gendered than in Canada. I remember at one point I had spoken out about something I felt was wrong, and was told by another classmate that I was unlike Japanese girls because I was more outspoken than they were, just as the Japanese boys
Matsumoto studies three generations, Issei, Nisei, and Sansei living in a closely linked ethnic community. She focuses her studies in the Japanese immigration experiences during the time when many Americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from Asia. The book shows a vivid picture of how Cortex Japanese endured violence, discriminations during Anti-Asian legislation and prejudice in 1920s, the Great Depression of 1930s, and the internment of 1940s. It also shows an examination of the adjustment period after the end of World War II and their return to the home place.
...dying Japanese at tertiary level alone. Research relating to Japan is carried out at about thirty-seven universities in Australia. The range of research has developed to include not only the humanities, but also practical and business-related fields. Also there is a considerable amount of youth exchange between Australia and Japan. Every year Japan accepts about one hundred young Australians as government funded students. All of the above attributes are making a major contribution to the promotion of friendly relations between Australia and Japan.
The identities have tended to be divided into some different categories, such as gender, race, and class, and these sources have been judged in the different ways. In other words, the different determinant factors of the individuality have been considered separately, and these components have been regarded as a unrelated simple category. Under these points of view, however, it is hard to recognize the problems of interrelated individual component of the identity. Thus, to solve the disregarding crossover point, the new theory of the “intersectionality” are essential. This essay explores the key definition of the “intersectionality” from the viewpoint of gender studies, and how the concept is connected with the social system and individual identity
For years, people have always felt that the Japanese school system was superior or more effective than that of the United States. Although some feel this way, others feel that the Japanese system is too strict and not flexible enough for those who may need extra help along the way. Through researching two different case studies, and also reading other materials, I have found many similarities along with many differences between the two, including teaching methods, overall emphases, and student involvement. Both countries have developed very effective and intricate systems of teaching, which compliment, and clash against one another. The Japanese system is not in all ways superior to that of the United States; however, there are a few different reasons why people may feel that the Japanese are in fact “smarter” than us. To begin with though, one must have an understanding of both systems and a basic knowledge of how they work.
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.
Discrimination. Intersecting identities. Domination. In today’s society, people criticize in others of their race, gender, abilities, age, etc., as those certain people are trying to destroy our humanity. Creating this situation in the social society, will affect the social, political, and economic factors in various countries, also starting a war between different race or ethnicity. The role of being diversity in modern society, gives people to communicate better and have more confidence to express our opinions or beliefs. Intersectionality, is a study of interaction between different groups with distinct aspects/appearances, in which they’re consider as inequality or discrimination, as it relates to my privileged life for being a Hispanic, low class, and educated male.
Western Washington University (2011). US / Japan culture comparison. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from www.wwu.edu/auap/english/gettinginvolved/CultureComparison.shtml
Intersectionality was one of the greatest concepts this course shed light on, intersectionality is can be broadly defined as the coming together of various social groups to work together to fight against forms of oppression. In the conceptual frameworks portion of the book Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, they talk about the importance of privileged identities and disadvantaged identities coming together to work towards solving a particular issue. While before taking this course I was somewhat aware of the various forms of oppression, I never gave much thought to how I could help combat forms of oppression that I did not necessarily experience with my own identity.
Gender roles are unavoidable at any stage of your life. They are taught to you by parents, conveyed in the media, practiced and honored in organizations and supported by our government. No matter how many feminist groups attempt to bring the two sets of gender roles for males and females together, there will always be the unwritten expectations that males and females are taught. Boys will always play with guns and girls will always play with dolls. As long as this occurs, the ambitions for boys and girls will be directly related to the stereotypical form we are taught. It is up to the families, media and peers to use the gender roles appropriately.
It must be noted that criticism of intersectionality isn’t limited to its theoretical framing, it extends to the depoliticization of intersectionality. Yuval-Davis (2006, p. 196) writes that “in UN documents intersectionality has collapsed to ‘identity’ even when more complex arguments are being outlined”. She points out that too often, “intersectionality analysis ‘does not attend to the differential positioning of power in which different identity groups can be in specific historical contexts, let alone the dynamics of power relations within these groups. Nor does it give recognition to the potentially contested nature of the boundaries of these identity groupings and the possibly contested political claims for representation of people located in the same social positioning” (Ibid., p. 204).
Many of us, if not everyone, has heard of the country of Japan through various means. Possibly through popular films such as Godzilla or the renowned horror films which the country produces. Perhaps through the various anime TV shows that have been dubbed in English creating a massive fan base here in the United States, or the massive franchise Nintendo that has filled our child memories with countless hours spent in front of a screen playing Mario or Pokémon. One way or another the Japanese have shared their culture with a huge audience but thats only scratching the surface of the Japanese culture. The country of Japan wasn’t always the islands that we see there today, the formation of the islands occurred during 50,000 BC and ended in 10,000 BC following the end of the last ice age. This is when we find the first signs of civilization in Japan but they are nowhere near the modern day Japanese culture today. The early beginnings of today’s Japanese culture dates back to the year 538 AC with multiple time periods slowly building up to today. The Japanese culture of today shares a few aspects with our American culture we are familiar with, both cultures love baseball, we both have representative democracies as a form of government, and both cultures do not label outsiders differently and accept them just as equally. Even though we may share aspects of our culture with the Japanese our cultures couldn’t be anymore different from each other.
I was criticized for minor things like getting my clothes dirty or refusing to stay still to get my hair done. These comments grew more and more frustrating as I got older and eventually became far more critical with references to how I played, the clothes I chose to wear, and even being told I was too loud and that my interests weren’t normal. When me and my grandmother went to visit other family member’s I would always be asked questions that seemed entirely inappropriate to me as a small child like whether or not I had a crush or a boyfriend but I noticed no one ever asked my male cousins these questions as though their value wasn’t based solely on their ability to attract the opposite sex. My disinterest in things like hair and make-up led to me falling behind my peers when it came to matters of appearance. While other girls were discussing their extensive morning routines I was showering and shoving my unruly hair up into a ponytail. This also meant that I was falling behind when it came to personal relationships as my female friends were discovering boys, boys were treating me like an anomaly. I was consistently asked if I was a lesbian
The Gender Schema Theory was developed by Sandra Bem and explains how gender schemas are developed when a child forms a basic gender identity. A gender schema is based on “children’s interactions and observations of others, their environment, and the culture” and is used to organize and direct behavior based on their society’s gender norms and expectations (Williams, Gender Schema Theory). With this in mind and going back to my gender socialization, I developed a gender schema that is mixed between the two genders and not really either specifically male or female. My behavior as a child was not always appropriate of a little girl gender role; I did not like to play with dolls or with tea/cook sets but instead would rather play sports or games outside. I would rather do things that were appropriate of a little boy gender role. Having this mixed gender schema as a child, I believe it helped to be more open-minded as I got older. When seeing males do things that are stereotypically of a female gender role, I see no problem with it when others might. The same is for the opposite – if I were to see a female do something of a male gender role, I would have no problem when others would. An example would be seeing a male dress up with a face full of makeup. Many individuals may have a problem with this, since makeup is generally part of a female’s day routine, but I do not see an
Discrimination. Intersecting identities. Domination. In today’s society, people are criticized in others of their race, gender, abilities, age, etc., as those certain people are trying to destroy our humanity. Creating this problem in the society, will affect the social, political, and economic factors for many countries, also starting a war between different race or ethnicity. The role of being diversity in modern society, gives people to communicate better and have more confidence to express our opinions or beliefs. Intersectionality, is a study of meeting different groups with similar aspects/appearances, but they’re consider as inequality in the society or had faced discrimination; it relates to my privileged life by being
The small island country of Japan is rich in a culture that has developed over thousands of years. It is very difficult to analyze another culture without some knowledge of that culture first. During my two year residency in Japan, my eyes were opened to the culture of Japan and its people and I grew to love it as much as my own. (The ideas expressed in this essay mainly consist of my own knowledge and observations of Japan). The Japanese are a very traditional people. But this should not be confused with a primitive people, because the Japanese are not primitive by most dictionaries' definitions of the word. Japan has been changing in recent years in its view of its own economy, in its social interactions, in its thoughts about religion, and in its overall view of its place in the world and among other nations.