Race, Class and Gender in the United States - Term Paper Example

?What is al racism? David Wellman defines racism as a system of advantage based on race . Racism is defined by French philosopher Albert Memmi as stressing a difference between individuals or populations. The difference can be real or imagined and in itself doesn't entail racism (or, analogy, sexism). It is not difference itself that leads to subordination, but the interpretation of difference. It is the assigning of a value to a difference in a way that discredits an individual or group to the advantage of another that transforms mere difference into deficiency (Memmi, 1968). Institutional racism is a degree of discrimination in a bureaucracy or an organization which represents a bias against the physical or cultural identity of a person which does not enable them to get their deserving status , examples of institutional racism may be preferences shown be law schools to wealthy families most of them which are white .  It can occur in institutions such as public government bodies, private business corporations (such as media outlets), and universities (public and private). Institutional racism can be done on purpose or due to a person’s subconscious. Such as the inclination of people in the institution feeling different to a person of a different race and not understanding their perspectives. Below are the definitions of some institutions where racism does take place and people are discriminated against due to their appearance, beliefs and values. Define fully political racism? Political racism is a an attempt to gain an advantage by discrimination against a person in the political setup or someone who is attempting to be a part of politics due to a person’s race and color, another form of political racism is to impose linguistic, geographic and other barriers to voters who can vote rendering the minorities ineligible to vote. Such as not voting for a black candidate due to his race, you believe he should not be given certain authority. In simpler terms if you are white and you do not vote for Obama because he is black then you are a racist , but if you are black and voting for Obama for the same reason then you are being racist as well . Define fully economic racism? Economic racism is seeking an advantage to a particular party by discrimination against a particular race of people due to their monetary standing , such as giving the migrant a lower job than this skill sets in contrast to a local of the region , this is considered to be economic racism . The United States has seen an increasing trend between an increase in the monetary disparity between the white families with the Black and Hispanics. Today, black per capita income is about three-fifths of whites, in the United States which shows a degree of economic racism existing within the society. Define Housing racism? Housing racism is discrimination against a particular race of people in the acquiring, leasing or renting of a property. Housing racism is another huge problem in the United States, the median net worth of black households in 2004 was under twelve thousand dollars which is close to ten percent that of non-Hispanic white families. A sense of ownership does not occur in people who do not own a property in their future and society. Define Legal Racism? Legal Racism is the discernment of a particular race of people in regards to the legislative and the judicial system of the country. An example of legal racism can believe a person to be guilty just because he belongs to a poor black family. A modern day event which took place was of a Tennessee Judge telling a Mexican woman to learn English or lose custody of her child. Legal Racism is present all over the world and to a lesser extent the United States of America where Mexicans, Asians, Black people etc are subjected to legal racism. Define Cultural Racism? Cultural Racism is discrimination against the beliefs, values and norms of a particular race which are predominately followed in their surroundings. There are many examples of cultural racism, such as not allowing the Muslim woman to wear a burqa, making fun of someone’s language or not emphasizing with someone’s point of view. Define Medical Racism? Medical Racism is another form of institutional racism in which a person is at an disadvantage due to their race in the getting of medical facilities or in the effort to be a part of a medical organization. An example could be of not getting a doctors position or medical treatment due to your color. So hence institutional racism takes places in various form, which is inclusive of but not restricted to political, economic, housing, legal, cultural and medical racism. It does form a huge part of our society today and exists in various forms. Explain the difference between prejudice and racism? Though prejudice and racism technically have overlapping definitions but prejudice takes a more elaborate scope for definition. Prejudice is an adaptation of negative attitude towards members of a group which include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a tendency to discriminate against members of the group. Prejudice can be due to any of the factors such as race, nationality, gender, status and religion. Some people believe that words such as racism, oppression and sexism are highly charged and unnecessarily accusatory, preferring discrimination and prejudice. The first difference between racism and prejudice is that racism captures the comprehensive nature of the system being studied and those who want to mention in elaborate detail the beliefs, policies and attitudes that enforce the discrimination and domination of the few within our society the tem prejudice is too narrow and limited while words such as racism can be elaborate enough to cover these aspects. Just by adopting the definition of racial prejudice we concede to the fact that people of color discriminate as well as the whites while racism seeks to show a system of advantages due to a person’s particular race it rules out those of color as they get no advantage due to practicing racism. This does not mean that people of color are not capable of hateful crimes but they are not racist in the sense that they gain advantage by discriminating against other races. Racial prejudice when combined with social power leads to institutionalization of racist policies. 3 – What is White privilege? The systematic benefit of a person of being white is known as white privilege. These are defined by Peggy Macintosh who identified a list of benefits of being white and these are such that are existing in my life as well. Most of the benefits that she pointed out were the same as the benefits I enjoy in my everyday life. Although the white people did not ask for them but they are also blissfully unaware of their existence until someone points it out to them. Some major advantages include greater access to housing and jobs and some minor advantages such as shopping in a store without being seen suspiciously by the sales person, being able to approach the drug section with ease . Her child was not discriminated against in her school and could practice manners such as talking with her mouth full and not be pointed out to her race. She could have freedom of speech and be recognized as an individual. These benefits are true for most of the white community in the United States. 4 – Is reverse racism in the United States considered to be a myth? Reverse racism is discrimination against the White people which is said to occur mostly in the form of program which are supposed to advance ethnic minorities. Reverse racism in the United States is considered to be impossible as the structure of the United States society has always benefited the white and continues to do so even after the election of a black president. Firstly reverse racism cannot occur because people of color do not have enough authority in a White person’s life to discriminate against them. Reverse racism started to occur in the United States or was reported to have occurred in the United States when “melanists” a small minority of Afro-centrists was said to have superior skin tone to the white skinned people but then again the possibility of this occurring is very rare. We can take an example that in a white dominated society such as America, the white people label the Mexicans as terrorists the whole society will follow suite but if Mexicans will put a lighter blame on the White population of America then no one would even care. While some sociologists claim that even though reverse racism may not be seen but some institutions do enforce them. In educational sector by promoting admissions for minorities they are discriminating against the white population and not allowing them to get their fair place they deserve by giving it to another party which is in minority which may not even be in the realms of meritocracy. 5 – What is the ideology on racism? Blaming the victim is one aspect of the ideology, what is it and how does it work? The survival of a class society depends not only on the reproduction of its material conditions, but also on the reproduction in each generation of the consent of the people including the oppressed classes. The racial ideological hegemony by the ruling class where all classes accept and internalize as their common sense the beliefs and the teaching of the ruling class. This ideology is not from a single system of thought but various factors contribute to it such as class, nation, sex etc. Racism rose from the imperialistic ages to justify the treatment of the slaves that was practiced in those years. The idea of meritocratic ally rejecting black people their rights presented them as subhuman and tried to show an image to de humanize black people. The ideology of racism is one in which such system of ideas, beliefs and attitudes which was formed an integral strand in the social structure of capitalistic society from its very beginning. Racism has always revolved around blaming the victim , all the minorities are blamed of poverty and underachievement due to inferior biological genes and inferiority in educational achievement but the truth revolves around discriminatory and a system of benefit to accommodate the ruling classes are the ones to blame for the whole racial ideology. 6 – How does racism affect the following communities? African Americans – Studies have found out that African Americans have had a history of slavery and extreme racism, but even in the modern world today an African American is prone to be one the receiving end of racist remarks and studies have found out that an African American is forty percent more likely to suffer from hypertension than a white male in the United States. While some people believe that racism in modern day society is a mindset within the black community and they just believe it is happening while the society has become more accommodating to them but most people think that that is not the case. African Americans or just being black means that they will not have the same housing and educational advantages as White people in America do. The majority of the wealthy population in America consist of white people and an African American has a mean average income of ten percent that of non-Hispanic White Americans. African Americans are also subjected to stereotypes in the eyes of the Media and also subject to discrimination in organizations such as legal, political and educational. Then there are small incidents such as a degree of uncomfortable-ness around an African American, believing that the African American is more prone to commit crimes or deviate from society than an average White person are all different ways how African Americans are affected. African Americans receive impolite and discriminatory treatment in stores, restaurants, trying to catch taxicabs, driving, and in a host of other commercial and social transactions. Latino Americans- Latino Americans is associated with a degree of races such as Spanish, Mexican and Portuguese as one term which is racist in itself as it does not give a proper representation of what a persona actual race is about. Latino Americans as most of the minority races lesser wealthy than the Average White American but such is the stereo type in an American society that their lesser economic achievement is associated with them being lazy not with a fault in the system. Again a certain stereo type exists within the Latin Community of America the same as any other minority which labels them more of a working class than the innovators of the region. Latino Americans also have historically been and continue to be behind in Education, Wealth and Employment sector of the country. Another problem is that of the language of the Latino community in which they have to learn English in order to be accepted and adapt to society and when they do their accent is referred to in a mocking tone. American Indians – Sethi defines racism against Asians, (Indians inclusive) in few following sets. The first of these being their accents, which was realized in 1992, that racism due to a particular accent was possible and especially Indians were discriminated in jobs, perpetual taunting and caricaturization. The second is religious fanaticism, the first image that pops in a person’s head when thinking about Indians religion is a multi-headed, multi armed god which is a fantasy. Hinduism is pot rayed as Hare Krishna’s chanting with shaved heads and orange robes; and Islam is characterized as a rigid, violent, military religion . This leads to a degree of labels associated with a religion which sees Muslims as terrorists and Hindus as another fanatic religion on which religious racism is practiced by the other people in America. Subversive Stereotyping within the United States occurs and an Indian is associated with anything that is cheap and in need of a quick dollar, this image is reinforced in society by the Media in cartoons like Simpsons where Abu works in a cheap convenience store and many more. People are racist towards Indians believing them to live up to the stereo type. The Onus is trying to justify your culture while getting to understand the popular culture. Indians always have to explain their cultural traditions such as Seti, cows etc. This occurs when the other races in America look at your cultural from their point of you and mock and propagate against it. There have always been sever class conflicts in America as Indians have always been seen as a source of cheap labor and hence are discriminated against when they try to climb the ladder of success and lastly when an Indian American fights with a White American the issue would be seen to be a racial one not an individual one and that is the way how Indian Americans are still perceived in the American society subjected to racism at different intervals. Muslim Americans – Muslims all across America are labeled to be fanatics and religious extremists. This stereotype does not exist only on an individual basis but in organizations too. In Schools Muslim children are subjected to bullying and their religious beliefs are mocked without proper understanding. The Muslim headscarf and the robe worn is not considered to be acceptable in society and people are judged on their appearance. Muslims have had a steady increase in depression rates in the United States. An example of racism was of Muammar Ali an NCAA star whose career ended without any reason due to anti-Muslim racism in the sport even though he was the leading player In his team. The reason was found to be due to hate for the religion by the team coach and the same examples are to be seen in everyday lives of many American-Muslims. Jewish Americans - The only group in American society who may have instantly fit in are Jews . They quickly received upward mobility to the extent that they are now themselves considered as White to a certain extent. Though the American History was built on the illusion that Jews were from an inferior race but that image quickly disappeared. Jews have climbed the social ladder as the bourgeoisie of the American society. Though before the Second World War migration from Asia to America was banned but all that changed and Jews face very little racism in their lives. Their religious beliefs may be slightly mocked as the toupee and beard are still considered as someone from a fanatic or radical part of society and there has been a few accusations regarding Jews for the struggle for power but Jews today may be the minority facing the least discrimination in the United States. Arab Americans – The problems that Arab Americans face in the United States are similar to the problems faced by Muslims in the region. Arabs are considered to be social anarchists and their appearance is related to some anti-state felon. Some say that Arab Americans are facing the same sort of discrimination and racism in America that the Japanese were facing from the same group of people after the Second World War. They word Arab Americans is not inclusive of just the Arab countries who have their own culture and language but every Muslim country is in one way or the other considered to be Arab , which is racist on its own behalf. They also face institutional racism from the education, law and legal sector and there is a lot of difference between the sentiments of people regarding Arab Americans and Jewish Americans who are almost neighboring countries. 7 – How does racialization work? Racialization is employed to signify the extension of racial meaning to a previously racially unclassified relationship, social practice or group. Racialization is an ideological process, a specific history. The racial ideology is constructed from the existing Conceptual (or, if you will, “discursive") elements and the results of the struggles of competing projects and political ideas which seek to articulate similar elements differently. A report of racialization processes pitfalls ethnicity in U.S history to be written. An existing example of racialization is slaves were the people who were classified as black but as time moved on Africans with diverse identities were also classified as black only on the basis of their skin color in order to give an image of similarity to those who they thought were similar but in fact were completely different groups of people. How is whiteness constructed? In the early days of colonization there was no concept of race and people hated or loved each other for their individual characteristics, not their race. It was not until the late seventeenth century that the lower classes were uniting against the upper classes (Bacons revolution) the concept of Whiteness was constructed in order to show supremacy of the natives. It was then when the free Black people were denied the right to vote and White was seen as a symbol of power. Whiteness is now constructed due to the fact that White people have had power in all the major industries of America for hundreds of years and they reinforce these benefits of being white and this whiteness is constructed secondarily by oppressing the Black and all other minorities, by discouraging inter-racial marriages in the past, by not giving them equal rights and stereo typing them to be inferior whiteness was constructed. 8- Is race real scientifically? How does it become real? This seems to be a simple question, a straightforward answer to the question would have been that race does only depend on the biological aspect of the person, but a person’s race is defined socially. Science acknowledges the biological aspect of a race; the characterizations that are given are due to society in itself and have nothing to do with science. Labels associated with a particular race make the concept of race “real. Ethnicity is divided as people who have shared experiences and beliefs are considered to be one group different from the others in society due to lesser interaction with them. Omi and Winant argue that race becomes real due to political motives of people. As there has been a degree of change with the race of a particular group and their economic standing, politicians have constructed race in order to justify they economic wellbeing or economic poverty associated with certain groups. Previously Dark skinned people and women from Spain were considered to be White and so were the fair skinned people from Ireland and England. In South Africa Japanese people were considered to be White and it is now that all that mindset has actually changed and races were created. Sociologists also consider that the White race was constructed in order to show off a symbol of supremacy of the White population with the rest of the world. Initially there was just one White race, now there are many sub-divisions within the White race as well. Although race is constructed by society but there is no denying the fact that race is real scientifically. There are particular innate abilities, appearances and physical characteristics but now the term race now has an added meaning to it which does not limit itself to the biological aspect of a person , it includes certain stereo types and labels with in turn makes it real. 9 - How does racism get internalized by Whites? Internalized racism is the acceptance of personal conscious or unconscious racist views of the dominant society, stereotypes and prejudices of an ethnic group. It leads to patterns of thinking, feeling and action, criticizes the discrimination, minimize, blame, hate andnullity, whilethe promotion of the dominant culture. Internalized Racism is the primary means in which people are forced to agree and perpetuate to their own oppression. The unworkable relationships that black people often have are associated with this phenomenon and it has also become a fatal block in powerful black liberation efforts which have failed in the past. These serve the Whites to severely limit the effectiveness of every existing black group.   Racism for one has been an example of internalized oppression, as it has been initiated, encouraged and propagated by the dominant society in most countries let alone the United States against the minorities of that region. This mistreatment has caused a high degree of stress within the black community and it is not the black people who are to be blamed for this racism but it still is reinforced to the extent that it gets internalized by whites. Explain the role of brain in shaping a racist mindset? Historically people have lived in relatively small tribes which competed with each other , and that part of the brain still is active with in us . Even though we live in cities our brains still has a degree of affiliation with those who look like us and a degree of competiveness or hostility to those who seem different. The distinguishing factor between who an insider or an outsider is not important but our brain makes it so , it makes skin color, race , religion , gender , sexual orientation seem more important than it should be. As a result prejudices and racism occurs and explain the hostility between different religions, groups and have a degree of association with those who seem to be like us. Discuss two dimensions of the brain? There are four Quadrants in the brain and each Quadrant is divided in two dimensions, so the bran consists of eight dimensions. The two dimensions in the first part of the first left quadrant are the Realist (those people who prefer clarity of thinking, exactness and thoroughness? And the second dimension of the upper left quadrant is the Analyst (those people who want to discover the essence of things and dig deeper? 10 – How are racialization, racial inferiority and superiority shaped in the US? Racialization began the quest for racial superiority and inferiority in the US. The Term White was used to associate the popular free Christian and with the reconstruction in 1877 the term White was used to classify middle class workers and White superiority was also shaped by dividing other parts of the world in races. Slaves and Africans were both classified as Black even though the only similarity they had with each other would be that of the skin color, a racial line was constructed around Europe not within in so there were particular divisions within races which were created which tried to highlight inferiority of other races than White. Another factor which highlighted racial superiority in the United States was that of characterization of races according to their economic well-being. When boom became bust and liberal welfare system turned rightwards, the majority of the blacks were seen as underclass and state dependents Three issues have been confronted by the North Americans of European Background, The Indian, the African and the Oriental. This has always been a white supremacy over the other three groups who exploit them for cheap labor and make them contribute most to the economy without them getting anything in return. Racial inferiority and superiority in the United States are also shaped in two levels one on an individual level and second at an organizational level. The United States has always had a history of giving power in the hands of the White population; they reinforce their superiority in the education, media, political, housing and many other institutions. The wealth of an average black person is one tenth of a White male in the United States and continues to increase. On an individual level racial inferiority is shaped sometimes overtly when a person suspects a non-White American of committing a crime , hold certain stereo types and labels to races which may not hold true for the whole of the race and in the end instill a degree of inferiority of the non-White population as people who do not belong. 11- How is whiteness and blackness constructed in US history? Does pigmentation determine whiteness and blackness in the history of US? Black members of society or Negroes were always classified as members of a lesser race; the genocide committed against the Native Americans was justified by these means. Again we come to the argument that blackness and whiteness was constructed in order for the locals to maintain their economic and political superiority. Once the black Europeans were classified as white but that also changed, Pem Davidson argues that white superiority was constructed in order to get the working class from uniting and revolting against the ones in power. Whiteness essentially was constructed by the White people due to the majority they held and the power they had over the minorities of the country. The claim that race is a social construction is not meant to deny the fact that the obvious biological pigment does get them a specific identity or race but in the United States it seems that these differences on a continuum of diversity rather than the obvious pigment a person possesses. Scientist believe that people do descend from a common stock and race is a socially constructed phenomenon and the history of the United States is concerned the term whiteness and blackness have changed meaning not due to pigment but due to the accumulation of power of the concerned parties. References Memmi, Albert. (1968). “The Dominated Man Understanding Racism, Sexism, Heterosexism, and Class Privilege- Retrieved from Race , Class and Gender” by Paula s. Rothenberg. Boston; Beacon Press. Collins, Chuck and Yeske, Felice. (2006). “ The Economics of Race, Class, and Gender “. Worth Publishers. Rothberg, Paula. (2006). “Race, Class and Gender in the United States: An integrated study”. Worth Publishers. Read More