Prejudice and Descrimintaion Contemp. Soc - Book Report/Review Example

Sociology Prejudice and Discrimination Contemp. Soc Native American women and the disabled belonged to a traditional culture that empowered them just like their male counterparts. There was equality, power and autonomy among this special group of people. The divisions between men and women were very minimal in this society as the system was not based on hierarchy. Gendering occurred although the roles assigned to either of the sexes was of equal value; equality therefore reigned during this time period.

The native women and the disabled were respected members of the society as they also played a role in the wellbeing of their families. They were very knowledgeable as they could preserve food and also played active role in politics. Native women in the present society have been denied the right to maintain the sanctity of their bodies by those in dominant positions thus denying them the privileges they enjoyed in the past. The discrete loss of respect and value being experienced today has risen from both within and outside their culture.

Men, colonizers, the able-bodied, and governments are now determining how affairs in the land are carried out as women and the disabled are left to play a passive role. Through colonization, they have lost all they had in the past as they have been forced to adopt a new culture. Husbands are consistently abusing their wives, racism and sexism from western culture is rampant and this has made them lose respect for their own native culture. Reserve life, European legislations and residential schools have contributed to the loss self esteem, language, family and culture.

The Native American women have no control over the affairs of the day as everything is under the control of this powerful machinery. The native women suffered a lot when rape was not really considered a violation of another persons body but an acceptable act. Men took advantage of this, sexually abusing these women in total disregard of their native culture. The mass media images of extremely thin women as the only acceptable body type contributed to these violations as those that didn’t have such qualities were considered inferior.

This made such women feel like they are second class citizens and had very low self esteem. Work citedAbby, Ferber, et al. The Matrix Reader: Examining the Dynamics of Oppression and Privilege. New York: McGraw Hill Publishers, 2009. Print