Stereotypes: The Role Of Social Inequality In Society

Despite endless efforts to reduce the unjust and unfair treatments that other individuals face, social inequalities have persisted over generations. Race, religion, ethnicity, and appearances are amongst the top reasons why people tend to judge others and view them as threats or as “less worthy”. In Irene Silverblatt’s book Modern Inquisitions, the idea that “structures of inequality --- of race, gender, religion, class ---- articulated through state systems, can become natural and as invisible of the air we breath" (12) is presented. This statement may sound overdramatic since it implies that society becomes use to inequalities and thus, cannot notice them easily; however the realism in this point cannot be undermined. History has a tendency

However, women activists in France did not try to work around their government. Instead, they held meetings and published articles that promoted women’s right. Some meetings were indeed conduced in secret yet the women still openly participated in protests in order to prove their point and continued writing articles to spread their message. They even “precipitated the action by urging men to join demonstrations to demand bread and changes in the national government” (Women and the Revolution pg 3). This shows that at this point the women were not simply going to be content with the laws in France. Unlike the Andeans who continued to follow Spanish practices, the strong women protesters in France remained unsatisfied and rebellious until they achieved their

The oppression that the Andeans faced seems almost “natural” since it was common for stronger countries to overtake weaker tribes and force them to work for the individuals in charge. However, in 18th century France, the oppression that women faced is an extremely sensitive topic because the French Revolution was right around the corner when women started advocating for women’s rights. For instance, the Andeans were not known to be a symbol for anything. They were simply a group of people who were conquered and forced to adopt new values and beliefs from another culture. The women in France on the other hand, became symbols during the French Revolution. The men’s fear of losing control and authority over the women in public had become a reality since women were now standing up for themselves and “making their presence known during the Revolution” (Women and the Revolution pg 4). Since the Revolution occurred decades after the Andeans were captured by the Spanish, the Andeans never witnessed the consequences of defying traditions like the women in France did. Women in France became symbols of indulgence and evil. In Lynn Hunt’s The Bad Mother, women were depicted as images of pleasure for other people rather than as human beings (Discussion in class). They were