The construction of normalcy started early when it comes to American culture, for much of the culture in fact, the socio aspect comes at the construction of the body. At its core racism and the construction of the normal body go hand in hand, one does not flourish without the other, and the attack on one aspect causes an attack on the other. As Lennard Davis puts in his book Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness and the body, “Prior to the Enlightenment, the concept of the ‘ideal’ was the regnant paradigm in relation to bodies, and so all bodies were less than ideal. The introduction of the concept of normality, however, created an imperative to be normal, as the eugenics movement proved by enshrining the bell curve (also known as the ‘normal …show more content…
curve’) as the umbrella under whose demanding peaking we should all stand.” Davis writes in another book Constructing Normalcy “The concept of a norm, unlike that of an ideal, implies that the majority of the population must or should somehow be part of the norm. The norm pins down that majority of the population that falls under the arch of the standard bell-shaped curve.” In Colonial American those that were placed outside of that curve most notably included Native Americans, and African slaves.
For much of this time the Europeans that would later inhabit what is now known as the United States would see these two individual groups as less than, rather than equal. The Europeans viewed these groups as far less embodied than themselves. Mind over body played a key role in this notion. Europeans believed that their intellectual being and civility reigned far superior than that of the two groups. Eventually making way for perfect reasoning when it came to slavery. “Indians personified ‘Savagery,’” Ronald Takaki writes in The Tempest. “Indians seemed to lack everything the English identified as civilized, Christianity, cities, letters, clothing, and swords.” Everything the English identified with as …show more content…
astuteness. Moving on throughout history whiteness would be follow the lines of normalcy alongside purity, while Blackness would be deemed as futile, to be put bluntly, everything wrong with society. Early American culture made it very apparent that there was a hierarchy. White males reined on top while depending on the era and texts you follow Black males followed, leaving white women. To be black and be a woman placed you so far down below the totem pole their place in society could be questioned as even being human. “Writers’ recognition of black femaleness and their inability to allow black women to embody “proper” female space composed a focus for representation of racial difference.” Black woman would be at the forefront of black power movements as masters of the background up until, and well beyond the implementation of the Civil Rights act of 1964.
The often pushed their male spouses into voting and standing up for their rights as citizens of the United States, and with the “Black is Beautiful” movement making headway through the late 1960s onward Black women were finally able to take control of their femaleness back to their African roots, most notably through their roots. In Hair Story, Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps write “Blacks and Whites came to believe that the way Black people wore their hair said something about their politics. Hair came to symbolize either a continued move toward integration in in the American political system or a growing cry for Black power and nationalism.” Up until the “Black is Beautiful movement” black women wore their hair as straight as possible. With the advent of the hot comb and hair relaxer (aka “creamy crack”) Black women, and men alike would put themselves thorough rigorous processes to straighten, and make their hair look as white as possible by means of very literally burning their hair and scalps. Malcom X said “We hated our African characteristics. We hated our hair. We hated the shape of our nose, and the shape of our lips, the color of our skin. That is how [Whites] imprisoned us.” That is how white Americans normalized the popular
culture. The invented notion of a “normal” body systematically disenfranchised a whole portion of the American public before they even had a chance to realize what had happened. This disenfranchisement slowly but surely turned into a systematic way to oppresses several sectors of the American population, but this population was able to take control of their oppression and use it as an avenue for success.
To many of the English colonists, any land that was granted to them in a charter by the English Crown was theirs’, with no consideration for the natives that had already owned the land. This belittlement of Indians caused great problems for the English later on, for the natives did not care about what the Crown granted the colonists for it was not theirs’ to grant in the first place. The theory of European superiority over the Native Americans caused for any differences in the way the cultures interacted, as well as amazing social unrest between the two cultures.
After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the powerful Old World scrambled to colonize it. The three major nations involved in this were Spain, France, and England. Spain took more to the south in the Central American and Mexico areas while France went north in the Canada region. The English came to America and settled in both the New England and Chesapeake area. Although the people in these regions originated from the same area, the regions as a whole evolved into different societies because of the settlers’ purpose for coming to America and the obstacles faced in both nature and with the natives.
Between the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the most important change that occurred in the colonies was the emergence of a society quite different from that in England. Changes in religion, economics, politics and social structure illustrate this Americanization of the transplanted Europeans.
American Colonies: Contrasting the New England and Southern Colonists The New England and Southern Colonies were both settled largely by the English. By 1700, the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. The southern colonies have characteristics that are the antithesis of the New England colonies attributes. New England was colonized for Freedom of Worship and freedom of political thought.
Europeans lived a much more modern way of life than the primitive lifestyle of Native Americans. Europeans referred to themselves as “civilized” and regarded Native Americans as “savage,” “heathen,” or “barbarian.” Their interaction provoked by multiple differences led to misunderstanding and sometimes conflict. These two cultures, having been isolated from one another, exhibited an extensive variation in their ideals. Europeans and Native Americans maintained contradictory social, economic, and spiritual practices.
When women first arrived to the new colonies, many did not have the money to pay in order to get off the boat. This forced them into 4-5 years of servitude. Women would then be free to search for a husband. In Colonial America, the social status of citizens was based on financial standings, ethnicity, and religious beliefs. Social class was a determining factor of opportunities available to women. They had considerably greater rights than their counterparts in England, however women faced the strict rules and discrimination of a predominantly Puritan society.
Everyday life in the United States is very different today than it was in the 1700's. Life was harder and the settlers did not have nearly as many luxuries as society has today. Some aspects of the colonial times that were different then are today include family, employment, and social activities. Life in the United States in the 1700's was filled with hard work, cooperation, and dedication to one’s land and family.
How did the development of European colonies in the Americas alter the natural environment? (The Earth and Its Peoples, 474)
The United States of America has a reputation as a beacon of freedom and diversity from the colonial period of its history. From the beginning, however, Americans' freedoms were tied to a mixture of religious and ethnic affiliations that privileged some inhabitants of North America over others. Although European ideas of liberty set the tone for what was possible, those liberties looked somewhat different in colonial North America, where indigenous and African peoples and cultures also had some influence. The result was greater freedom for some and unprecedented slavery and dispossession for others, making colonial America a society of greater diversity—for better and for worse—than Europe.
In Gordon Wood’s The Radicalism of the American Revolution, Wood explains how the American Revolution was different than any of the other revolutions that had taken place before. He states that it was unlike any other prior revolution in the way that it changed the “personal and social relationships of people,” (Wood 7). Colonial America had many characteristics of a true pre-modern society and two of them were hierarchical structure and extended families. Hierarchical structure, borrowed from the English, was extremely essential to colonial America. It was so significant that much of their society was based on the order of the social classes. The same also went for extended families. A characteristic of pre-modern societies, extended families
Both the Europeans and Indigenous People were treated differently than African American slaves since they had slightly more freedom and rights, but in many ways they are also treated the same. The social construction of race between the Europeans, Indigenous People, and Africans led to the establishment of how one group is different from the other. Europeans are one of the groups that have been racialized during the colonial times. Since the Europeans strived for power and expansion to gain wealth for their motherland, they voyaged around to look for new places to control or get resources from. During their explorations, the Europeans also encountered other groups that were also racialized for a long period of time.
The Colonial elites power was condensed and transformed by the American revolution and those who were decimated by the war. The government was almost solely controlled by Elites in the early 1800's, it was "dominated by rich men, linked together. By business and family connections." To be a revolution the American revolution required fundamental changes to society and its government, which was partially the case for the United States. Though the government was no longer supported by the British, it still held many of the core beliefs they used; this revolution lacked the change of their governmental roots, which will be understood by citizens in the near future. After the revolution ended the power gap between the elites and poor was becoming
During 1607-1753, Colonial America was founded. Starting on 1492, when Christopher Columbus discovered land beyond the England, people were launched into a new life. A group of puritans departed from England to escape the growing stress of the English government. Searching for freedom, in both religion and government, they sailed towards America. Their main goal was not only to start e new life, but also to convert the savages; “Indians.” With this move they experienced many difficulties. Upon starting a new life, they had to learn a new way of political life, social life, educational life, and above all religious lives.
Almost 250 years of slavery and anti-blackness within the United States has created a divide in what type of hair is acceptable. According to Cynthia L. Robinson, “Black hair texture is graded” (Robinson 2011). Precisely, this means that a Black woman has either good hair or bad hair. Good hair has a resemblance of European hair texture, meaning straight and wavy curls. Good hair also diminishes the look of African ancestry. Bad is the complete opposite. The texture is kinky, coiled, and thick, giving the appearance of short hair (Robinson 2011). Hair that bears a resemblance to Eurocentric beauty standards is more beautiful and makes the individual with that hair type more beautiful as well (Robinson
The First "Europeans" reached the Western Hemisphere in the late 15th century. Upon arrival they encountered a rich and diverse culture that had already been inhabited for thousands of years. The Europeans were completely unprepared for the people they stumbled upon. They couldn't understand cultures that were so different and exotic from their own. The discovery of the existence of anything beyond their previous experience could threaten the stability of their entire religious and social structure. Seeing the Indians as savages they made them over in their own image as quickly as possible. In doing so they overlooked the roots that attached the Indians to their fascinating past. The importance of this past is often overlooked. Most text or history books begin the story of the Americas from the first European settlement and disregard the 30,000 years of separate, preceding cultural development (Deetz 7).