Cender, Race, Health - Essay Example

GENDER, RACE, AND HEALTH Q1: The first impression of the given article is the existence of inequality and social injustice on the basis of race and ethnicity, which has subsequently created class conflict in the American society. The contemporary US society observes racial discrimination, which is particularly prominent in the health sector, where minority groups undergo prejudiced behaviour due to limited and inferior health facilities. However, the author views that divergent mortality rates among the individuals belonging to different caste, class, community, race, religion, gender and socioeconomic status is not the outcome of social inequality.

Q2: The author vehemently criticises the discriminative behaviour towards the minority groups and communities living in the contemporary American social set up and declares it strictly against the provisions of the statute of law and constitution as well. He submits the very fact that inappropriate health opportunities have drastically affected the health and life expectancy of the racial groups in minority, particularly the African Americans, who have been undergoing the hatred and antipathy of the white majority since the colonial era of nineteenth century, which has eclipsed the overall health statistics of the US population.

Q3: The chapter under-study wide opened new horizons of information regarding the social norms, mores, values and traditions existing in the US culture. The level of hatred in the minds of the white Americans against the African Americans is really surprising. It is really astonishing to note that the country that pretends to be the torchbearer of human rights, maintains such humiliating and nefarious cultural traits in it. Health of the individuals is of especial concern particularly in the advanced and civilized countries of western world, but the prejudiced behaviour against the African Americans and non-Hispanic whites serves as black mark on the very face of the USA.

Anyway, many things like social stratification and class conflict, described by the author with reference to the American society, is not very much surprising. Q4: The issues raised by the author in the article contain reality in them. I personally experienced the circumstances, when the black community had to tolerate so many unpleasant events while interaction with their environment consisted of white-skinned majority, yet they never gave up struggle for winning equal status, identical with the any stratum or racial group of US society.

I have witnessed the wonderful command of the black minority while controlling their emotions and thoughts during such prejudiced attitude of the white majority. African Americans experience the humiliating words like nigger etc that reveal the realities about the so called broad-minded and liberal society of the globe. Q5: I would like to share the reaction as well as the aftereffects of the intensity of biased ness prevailing in the society. The oppressed and suppressed communities involve in criminal activities like theft, robbery, rape, physical and sexual assaults and murder even out of sheer disappointment, dejection, despair, distress and discontent.

It is therefore, the crime rate in African American and other poorest American communities is higher than other areas of the country. In addition, the humiliating attitude towards the minority groups and communities get them deprived of basic human necessities like proper nutrition, suitable job opportunities and proper health facilities, which lead a nation towards its ultimate decline. The African American protest literature is also a case in point, which describes in an extremely gloomy way the cruelties and sufferings they experienced during their stay in the USA. .Q6: I have gone through first eleven articles given in the chapter nine; all of which describe the uneven and untoward circumstances related to prejudiced behavior towards the minority groups.

The articles particularly focus on the insufficient and inadequate health facilities for the black people. The author is of the opinion that the inappropriate health condition of the lower stratum of American is not the subject of mere contemporary times; rather, discontentment of the white Americans, towards the blacks, the Muslims, non-Christians and other minority groups, has always been an essential characteristic of the American society, which prove the very fact that the Americans have been containing the racial, religious, ethnic, regional and class discrimination against others since ever.

REFERENCE:Geiger, H. Jack. Health Disparities. Quoted in Schulz, Amy J. & Mullings, Leith. Gender, Race, Class and Health Jossey-Bass. A Wiley Imprint Inc. 2006