A Class Divided(raism, gender) - Essay Example

Insert Revelations about racial privilege from the documentary and Peggy McIntosh’s Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack of Privilege in terms of: How it Works: The documentary reveals racial privilege as being perpetuated through socialization. This is illustrated by the fact that in the first video, it is interesting that the young children in class are already aware of racial stereotypes such as the attachment of eye color to intelligence and derogatory racial terms. One of the most powerful tools of socialization is the family (PBS Frontline, A Class Divided: the Daring Lesson).

In the second video (Day 2), the participants concede to the fact that some of the racial stereotypes are learnt from home (PBS Frontline, A Class Divided: Day 2). McIntosh also points at educational curriculum as being responsible for the entrenchment of racial privilege. According to McIntosh, the dominant subculture is not taught about the privileges that it has. In this light, the white population is not taught about the privileges that it has as is the case with the male population. The import of this is that the dominant subculture or population will be less serious in addressing the reality of racial privilege since they are unaware of the problem (McIntosh, 1).

How Racial Privilege Affects Those Who Have It and Those Who Do Not Racial privilege is presented as having the potency to breed and exacerbate hatred. This is seen in Day 1 of the presentation A Class Divided. After the instructor plays with the mind of the students by portraying blue-eyed children as les intellectually gifted than their brown-eyed counterparts, she collects feedback on her students’ feelings. The students describe their feelings at the time as bitter, hateful toward the teacher or hurt (PBS Frontline.

A Class Divided: 14 Years Later). There is also a way in which racial privilege appears to have a stigmatizing effect on its victims. First, McIntosh shows clearly how stigma has compelled men into being able to consent to the reality or notion of the oppression of women’s rights without supporting the idea of the receding upholding of men’s welfare, interests and rights (McIntosh, 1). At the session with the Corrections Department employees entitled How Adults Reacted and in the fifth presentation, the students admit to having felt powerless and caged because of the instructor’s constant presentation of the blue-eyed as underprivileged (PBS Frontline, A Class Divided: How the Adults Reacted).

Reflections on the Privileges That I Have One of the privileges that I have is class. Coming from a middle income earning class in the United States means the ability to access decent education and life. While the United States has made strident policy measures to ensure that low income earners can access decent education (for instance through the No Child Left Behind Policy) and quality of life, yet there are privileges that come with financial empowerment that middle income earning families have compared to low income earning families.

Apart from allowing me to access relatively decent education and life, there is no other way hailing from a middle income earning family benefits me since I have to work hard as well to be successful. Seeing that the largest fraction of the US population is middle income earning, there is no way I feel distinctively unique, conspicuous or privileged from others. Works CitedMcIntosh, Peggy. Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack of Privilege (Class Notes)PBS Frontline. A Class Divided: The Daring Lesson.

Retrieved on August 1, 2014, from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=top5&utm_source=top5 Electronic PBS Frontline. A Class Divided: Day 2. Retrieved on August 1, 2014, from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=top5&utm_source=top5 ElectronicPBS Frontline. A Class Divided: 14 Years Later. Retrieved on August 1, 2014, from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=top5&utm_source=top5 ElectronicPBS Frontline.

A Class Divided: How the Adults Reacted. Retrieved on August 1, 2014, from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=top5&utm_source=top5 Electronic