This week, I have learned a lot about systems of privilege and inequality in women’s lives. The reason why it is easier to say that others are at a disadvantage than to admit being overprivileged is because people do not want to agree that they are doing anything wrong or are part of the problem. It is easier to blame inequality on something else rather than on yourself for taking advantage of being overprivileged.
In “White Privilege and Male Privilege,” Peggy McIntosh really made me think about what kind of privileges I carry because I am white. I usually do not think about these privileges because it is easier for me to think that African Americans are at a disadvantage instead of thinking whites are privileged. When McIntosh refers to white privilege as an “invisible package,” she is talking about a collection of assets that whites inherit that blacks do not get. This invisible package is an imaginary backpack that whites have at all times that is full of special supplies and requirements that will get you through anything easier than if you did not have the package.
Aside from race, another problem that women face is sexism. One myth that affects women’s lives is the bootstrap myth. The bootstrap myth is the idea that you can achieve economic success if you are properly motivated, work hard, and you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps. This myth implies that if you are not able to provide for your family, it is your own fault because you were either unmotivated, did not work hard enough, or you were not smart enough.
A lot of times stereotypes and ideologies are internalized. Internalizing oppression is the act of policing ourselves as well as one another, to encourage compliance with institutions that may oppress. This means we are subconsciously monitoring our behavior as well as the people around us, so that we do not say anything that is considered offensive to anyone. On the other hand, some people direct the resentment and anger they have about their situation onto those who are of equal or lesser status.
Homophobia is the irrational fear and hatred of those who love and sexually desire those of the same sex. Homophobia works as a weapon of sexism because it is joined with heterosexism. Heterosexism provides the assumption that the world must be heterosexual and display its power and privilege as the norm. Compulsory heterosexuality is the act of being pressured into societal norms to be with the opposite sex. Suzanne Pharr suggests that by being named a lesbian threatens all women because lesbians look like all women and there is no way to defend your identity. The interviewees from the “f word” all associated feminists with lesbians. Pharr explains that the word feminist equals man-hater, which equals lesbian. This equation was formed so that women are frightened off from their work on behalf of women.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
A Girl Like Me
The documentary, A Girl Like Me, was very heartbreaking to watch. Kiri Davis did an excellent job interviewing a lot of different African American girls to gather their opinions, and then conducting Dr. Kenneth Clark’s doll test again. Her test results were much like the test results of Dr. Kenneth Clark’s which, gives us the impression that children today still feel the same way about race.
Dr. Kenneth Clark and Kiri Davis’ tests both confirmed that the concept of “race” decreases self-worth in children. When the African American children were asked which doll they wanted to play with and which doll was the “nice” doll, the majority of the children pointed to the white doll as opposed to the black doll. This shows us that the children think of the white kids as being superior to the black kids. Furthermore, when the interviews were being conducted by Davis, the interviewees were describing the different levels of color. For instance, they said that if you were only half black, that was better than being 100% black or if you have lighter skin, you are considered better than those that have darker skin.
I do not think that skin color and hair texture determine a person’s value in the world. Everyone was made differently and some people are from different parts of the world. Some of the girls in the film described their hair as being kinky and how they wished that it was more like a Barbie doll’s hair. In reality, not every white girl has soft hair and I think that it is partly our societies fault for giving off the image that all white girls have beautiful, soft hair. The big picture here is that it does not matter what your skin looks like or what your hair looks or feels like. Anyone can do anything in this world no matter what you look like. I think that everyone is valued the same and it is what you do with your life that matters.
The “mythical norm” is a white, middle-class, heterosexual, abled, thin, and young adult. This description is what people in the United States perceive to be normal of women. In the film, it was very clear that the African American children compared themselves to the mythical norm because of the material conditions of our lives. For example, the subjects told stories of mothers bleaching their own daughter’s skin and getting their hair relaxed. Our society has carved out a mythical norm and now everyone that lives here is striving to be more and more like this model American. The fact is, not everyone looks like that and we shouldn’t all want to look like that.
White privilege is the advantages that people receive because they are born white. Peggy McIntosh explains it as an “invisible package of unearned assets.” McIntosh also states that it is a lot easier for a privileged person to say that other people are at a disadvantage than admitting to being at an advantage. In the documentary, the girls talk about wanting to have lighter skin closer to that of a white person. The girls also talk about the stereotypes that are associated with black females such as; having a big butt, an obnoxious personality, ghetto, loud, and not being smart. Our society has shaped our minds so that people only think good things about white people and only associate bad things with black people. In essence, white privilege is a group membership that gives off the impression that white people are at an advantage over black people.
Overall, the American Anthropological Association’s project was very interesting and depressing. I am angry that our values, cultures, and behavioral practices have trained us to think that one race is better than another. Since we have already inherited this way of thinking, it will be harder to change everyone’s mythical norm. As I learned from the tolerance activity, once you have learned prejudices and stereotypes, they resist to any change. If we want to change our vision of differences, we must strive towards equality and change our mythical norm. We should not be training our children that one race is better than the other.
Dr. Kenneth Clark and Kiri Davis’ tests both confirmed that the concept of “race” decreases self-worth in children. When the African American children were asked which doll they wanted to play with and which doll was the “nice” doll, the majority of the children pointed to the white doll as opposed to the black doll. This shows us that the children think of the white kids as being superior to the black kids. Furthermore, when the interviews were being conducted by Davis, the interviewees were describing the different levels of color. For instance, they said that if you were only half black, that was better than being 100% black or if you have lighter skin, you are considered better than those that have darker skin.
I do not think that skin color and hair texture determine a person’s value in the world. Everyone was made differently and some people are from different parts of the world. Some of the girls in the film described their hair as being kinky and how they wished that it was more like a Barbie doll’s hair. In reality, not every white girl has soft hair and I think that it is partly our societies fault for giving off the image that all white girls have beautiful, soft hair. The big picture here is that it does not matter what your skin looks like or what your hair looks or feels like. Anyone can do anything in this world no matter what you look like. I think that everyone is valued the same and it is what you do with your life that matters.
The “mythical norm” is a white, middle-class, heterosexual, abled, thin, and young adult. This description is what people in the United States perceive to be normal of women. In the film, it was very clear that the African American children compared themselves to the mythical norm because of the material conditions of our lives. For example, the subjects told stories of mothers bleaching their own daughter’s skin and getting their hair relaxed. Our society has carved out a mythical norm and now everyone that lives here is striving to be more and more like this model American. The fact is, not everyone looks like that and we shouldn’t all want to look like that.
White privilege is the advantages that people receive because they are born white. Peggy McIntosh explains it as an “invisible package of unearned assets.” McIntosh also states that it is a lot easier for a privileged person to say that other people are at a disadvantage than admitting to being at an advantage. In the documentary, the girls talk about wanting to have lighter skin closer to that of a white person. The girls also talk about the stereotypes that are associated with black females such as; having a big butt, an obnoxious personality, ghetto, loud, and not being smart. Our society has shaped our minds so that people only think good things about white people and only associate bad things with black people. In essence, white privilege is a group membership that gives off the impression that white people are at an advantage over black people.
Overall, the American Anthropological Association’s project was very interesting and depressing. I am angry that our values, cultures, and behavioral practices have trained us to think that one race is better than another. Since we have already inherited this way of thinking, it will be harder to change everyone’s mythical norm. As I learned from the tolerance activity, once you have learned prejudices and stereotypes, they resist to any change. If we want to change our vision of differences, we must strive towards equality and change our mythical norm. We should not be training our children that one race is better than the other.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tolerance
I was very surprised about the IAT results. I did not think that I was bias towards most of the subjects. At first I just thought that it was the order in which the questions were asked and how fast I could react to them. After reading the tutorial, I learned that once stereotypes (or exaggerated beliefs) and prejudices are learned, they resist to any change.
I think that this assignment was used to open up the course of women’s studies because it shows us how the media, culture, and people have transformed our ideas of certain things. I think that we can learn a lot of things from this testing product because it hides our identity as well as our ability to justify our answers. I think that this assignment teaches us that we may think that we are unbiased about a lot of things but the fact is, we have inherited these opinions, prejudgments, and attitudes without even knowing. The tutorial also stated that because we have grown up in a predominately white country, we have formed attachments to our own group.
It is important to think about our prejudices and biases in order to realize that our culture and the media and the people around us have transformed us. It is also important to think about these things so that you can try to change your opinion about people and give everyone an equal chance in your eyes. It is not fair to judge people before you meet them. I do not think that some prejudices and biases are more acceptable than others. If the group or person knew what I was thinking about them, it would hurt their feelings no matter what the opinion was.
I also took the Arab-Muslim IAT and the Sexuality IAT in addition to the Gender-Career test. I picked these tests for no particular reason. I decided to take the Arab-Muslim test simply because my boyfriend is Arab and I feel as though I have learned a lot about their culture. I picked the sexuality test because I wanted to see if I had a strong preference towards straight people. Overall, this experience was really eye opening and the tutorial taught me a lot about how we develop stereotypes, prejudices, and biases.
I think that this assignment was used to open up the course of women’s studies because it shows us how the media, culture, and people have transformed our ideas of certain things. I think that we can learn a lot of things from this testing product because it hides our identity as well as our ability to justify our answers. I think that this assignment teaches us that we may think that we are unbiased about a lot of things but the fact is, we have inherited these opinions, prejudgments, and attitudes without even knowing. The tutorial also stated that because we have grown up in a predominately white country, we have formed attachments to our own group.
It is important to think about our prejudices and biases in order to realize that our culture and the media and the people around us have transformed us. It is also important to think about these things so that you can try to change your opinion about people and give everyone an equal chance in your eyes. It is not fair to judge people before you meet them. I do not think that some prejudices and biases are more acceptable than others. If the group or person knew what I was thinking about them, it would hurt their feelings no matter what the opinion was.
I also took the Arab-Muslim IAT and the Sexuality IAT in addition to the Gender-Career test. I picked these tests for no particular reason. I decided to take the Arab-Muslim test simply because my boyfriend is Arab and I feel as though I have learned a lot about their culture. I picked the sexuality test because I wanted to see if I had a strong preference towards straight people. Overall, this experience was really eye opening and the tutorial taught me a lot about how we develop stereotypes, prejudices, and biases.
Monday, January 21, 2008
The "F Word"
After interviewing three people, I have a much better understanding about how feminists are viewed. When I asked what they thought of when they heard the word feminist, I got very similar answers. All three of them, in some way, said it is someone who has strong feelings about women’s rights but it comes with a negative connotation. One interviewee stated that they only knew extreme feminists who were very sensitive about women’s rights. A different interviewee compared feminists to vegans in that they will only do things a certain way. They all made feminists sound bad.
When I asked my three interviewees what they would think if I told them that I was a feminist or wanted to become one, I got different reactions. One person said that they wouldn't mind at all and they would support me or even become one with me. The other two people sounded like they would be uncomfortable with me becoming a feminist and sounded like they were going to throw me in the category of being an extreme feminist.
My perception of women’s studies and what it means to be a feminist are very much the same. I think that you can take the two terms as literal as you want. I think that anyone can be as little of a feminist or as much of a feminist as they want. Women’s studies is simply just an area of study and I can either be really excited about the class or just a little excited. In the end, I am participating in women’s studies, and I can become a feminist if I want. However, I do not consider myself a feminist right now because I am not active in supporting women’s rights and I do not particularly think that women get treated a lot differently than men these days.
When I asked my three interviewees what they would think if I told them that I was a feminist or wanted to become one, I got different reactions. One person said that they wouldn't mind at all and they would support me or even become one with me. The other two people sounded like they would be uncomfortable with me becoming a feminist and sounded like they were going to throw me in the category of being an extreme feminist.
My perception of women’s studies and what it means to be a feminist are very much the same. I think that you can take the two terms as literal as you want. I think that anyone can be as little of a feminist or as much of a feminist as they want. Women’s studies is simply just an area of study and I can either be really excited about the class or just a little excited. In the end, I am participating in women’s studies, and I can become a feminist if I want. However, I do not consider myself a feminist right now because I am not active in supporting women’s rights and I do not particularly think that women get treated a lot differently than men these days.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Intro Post
Hello everyone,
My name is Michele White. I am a sophomore majoring in Business Management. I was born in Alexandria and have lived in the same house all my life in Fairfax, Virginia. I am taking this class from Blacksburg. I chose this class because I needed to fulfill a requirement and also because I am interested in learning about feministic views. I have never taken a WS class before. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I hope to hold a position in management for a major company. Something interesting about me is that I am on the Virginia Tech Swimming and Diving team as a diver. I do not know much about this subject but I am looking forward to learning about what women have already accomplished. I do not have any reservations about this course thus far. I do feel that men think that they are superior to women although, times are changing and I think that most people are recognizing that women can do the job just as well as men. I am looking forward to starting this class!
-Michele
My name is Michele White. I am a sophomore majoring in Business Management. I was born in Alexandria and have lived in the same house all my life in Fairfax, Virginia. I am taking this class from Blacksburg. I chose this class because I needed to fulfill a requirement and also because I am interested in learning about feministic views. I have never taken a WS class before. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I hope to hold a position in management for a major company. Something interesting about me is that I am on the Virginia Tech Swimming and Diving team as a diver. I do not know much about this subject but I am looking forward to learning about what women have already accomplished. I do not have any reservations about this course thus far. I do feel that men think that they are superior to women although, times are changing and I think that most people are recognizing that women can do the job just as well as men. I am looking forward to starting this class!
-Michele
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