Power, Privilege and Inequality Mid-term – Flashcards

Overview: race, class, gender and sexuality are all social systems that change over time/cultures, persist, and preserve the power of some groups over others; it is hard to talk about these terms as they must first be defined and the definitions are often obscure/contested -race, class, gender etc are: complex, pervasive (in all communities), variable( always changing), persistent (prevailing over time and place), severe (serious in their consequences), power based -why talk about these four systems? They're powerful, there's push-back against them , they're relevant to now -they're process that obscure: discrimination on these obscures the fact that none are separable from each other or immutable; they create movements to fight them that make it more obscure (color-blind racism for example); members of the privileged groups can't see them as they benefits from them; in media we are obscured from seeing minority or oppressed groups -theory of oppressed groups as the "canary in the mine" for society -Domains/institutions and levels of oppression: ~ideological: media, representation, ~political ~ economic ~educational ~ cross-cutting institutions (family for ex is economic, ideological, and educational) -Social relations of control- using the domains to maintain control over a population -internalized oppression: ~self-negation: believing the pervasive negative views of your group ~negation of others: members of the oppressed group restrict each other (ex. black women who won't date black men)

overview: race and racism are still part of everyday life due to racial domination (hegemonic institutional systems of oppression) -you are not born a race: race is socially constructed *race: "a symbolic category based on phenotype or ancestry and constructed according to a specific social and historical contexts" ~symbolic because it brings things into being to represent itself, for example the native american nations, before racism there was not "native Americans", there was the Iroquois, the Cherokee, the Chickasaw etc. ~need context because racial categories change with time or place -racial domination survives by "covering its tracks' in layers of the supposed "immutability" of race, and in the essentializing belief that racism has always existed -you "preform" race or ethnicity *5 FALLACIES OF RACISM TODAY: 1) Individualistic fallacy: "racism has to do with individual actions or people" when really it's cultural, embedded in institutions etc 2) legalistic fallacy: "it's not legal anymore so it can't exist" 3) Tokenisitic fallacy: "since this token black person did well/has power there must not be racism, they're just poor because they don't work hard" 4) Ahistorical fallacy: "the legacies of historic racism don't need to be addressed as that's in the past" 5) fixed fallacy: "racism has always existed so why fight it--> it's inevitable" *racial domination: the power of one race over another ~interpersonal-can be conscious or unconscious but is between people ~institutional

-Overview: cultural messages about gender often determine the gendered experiences of bodies and thus social constructions become part of the physical world; there is no physical body separate from societal ideas/structures *essentialism: the notion that there is an underlying or enduring truth to be found in something if we look hard enough *biological determinism: the notion that women/men have evolved to be different animals, can also apply to other physical differences *embodied knowledge: knowledge of self and others via experiences of one's body -nature AND nurture create bodies -proof that gender is a social construct: gender expectations and limitations change, we went from thinking women couldn't work to expecting them to -US culture on the issue of gender is strictly dualistic: this masks the complexity of the world, and also hasn't created two equal options -2 gender systems are heteronormative , and allow for little freedom of change or choice -the issue of intersex people: ignored, denied, "fixed" -sex is not strictly biological either, there are more than 2 sexes by genes, and hormones and gestation also play roles

-overview: historical look at race/class in the US, along with gender -class in its historical origins was not, and is not now, separate from gender, it can't be. ~it's expressed in gendered terms ~it commodities women's sexuality through the uneven distribution of care work and childcare ~classes were formed by gendered marriage arrangements in which women were property and gendered inheritance practices allowed for the accumulation of wealth more easily in fewer hands ~class is defined and experienced differently by men than by women

-race as an important scientific notion began in 15th century Europe -racialization in the US began with the colonization of native Americans, who the labor and diseases eventually killed, necessitating the need to import labor (African american slaves) -the official end of slavery didn't really change much in the US -both colonization and slavery required de-humanizing discourses ~polygenism (they're not the same species) ~great chain of being ~evolution and social Darwinism -racial hierarchies became class hierarchies -Linnaeus:studied race differences to find support for racism ---> skulls -Malthus: "the poor are population control, by helping them we make them able to live long enough to procreate and make the problem (the population) larger

-originally considered a separate race on par with the Irish and blacks -gained power and were a strategic ally to the white leaders in lobbying and to enforce the black white divide-good at assimilating

-hetero and homo sexuallity were invented at specific times to demarcate changing social norms and to ensure (in Victorian England at least) the lines of succession and inheritance -herterosexuality was (in essence and in its present incarnation) invented in the late 19th century (1800's) -earlier what was accepted was "pure" love, no mention of a "need" for sexuality or acknowledgement of it in polite society was allowed ~romantic love was not connected to sex at all, and often was allowed between men as long as sex wasn't involved -this is said to be partially triggered (the normalization of it in the 20th century) by the move of the family from production unit to consumer unit--> body from tool to consumer of pleasure--> sexuality -heterosexuality stresses the "opposite-ness" of the sexes -urged the repression of women as unequals

-class organizes people -economic oppression= class -there are different systems (slavery, feudalism, socialism, capitalism) that change class relations (ownership of labor, debt of labor, required but equal labor, oppression) -Marxism is an equation of domination and exploitation

-overview: in short, yes, very 1) capitalism emerged from and is dominated by white males ~segregated work force ~wage disparity ~society-wide division of care/private labor 2) Gendered and racialized practices are embedded in and replicated by substructures of capitalism ~unpaid domestic work, ~disparities in pay - masculinities (performances of) are integral to capitalism ~"real" men provide for their families, meaning "real" women shouldn't have to work ~good business people embody the male traits of aggression, strength,

-Overview: no images of poor gays in media, yet in reality many queer youth are homeless and lack networks of help, they are 3X oppressed (sexuality, homeless, poor) -oppressive txts often cite that most queer people are "better off" and have income and thus don't need "extra" help -the "queer invisible" (the poor or racially not white queers) complicate the queer movements push for normalization in the mostly white affluent world of media -many problems that hit specifically gay poor families, such as certain welfare laws and taxes that exclude them from their partners benefits that they may desperately need, are ignored -many shelters require trans people to go to the shelter their birth sex would place them in, putting them in danger

-main topic: "coming out" invisible diseases ~useful but limiting discourse by comparing sexuality to disability -society refuses to accept identities like invisible diseases without proof (often) -Similarities: ~rarely share identity with close family members ~often there is trouble accessing queer/disabled culture and resources ~ oppressive medical stigma ~both are one sided labels: the people that aren't labeled this way don't require any label at all because they're simply "normal" -identity analogies can hinder liberation movements ~ex. sex/race analogy used by feminists ~excludes people's experiences if they don't fit the paradigm -coming out is not a singular or static experience Differences: -Coming out with a disability is "primarily ....the process of revealing or explaining one's disability TO OTHERS, rather than as an act of self-acceptance facilitated by the disabled community," -coming out as disabled will sometimes result in disbelief or claims of attention seeking or trying to get benefits in a way coming out as gay wouldn't

-overview: social construction of disability influences how we experience life and thus how we physically experience our bodies How is Disability socially constructed: -social conditions like poverty , contamination, lack of resources, child neglect, and unsafe working conditions create disability ~these disproportionately impact females, the young and racial minorities -as medicine improves we keep people alive longer, thus making people live with more disabilities that would have killed them a hundred years ago -the pace of life has increased, and thus people with disabilities, especially mental ones, that wouldn't have been noticeable earlier are now noticeable -public life is designed for young white male able bodied people, so even if someone is barely disabled and normally would associate themselves that way there are times when due to the lack of accommodations in public life are forced to take on that label (these problems also usually effect the elderly, mothers with small children, and those with chronic pain) -the private public split has cordoned off those with disabilities from life to the extent that they can't advocate for themselves -the lack of representation leads to stereotypes

(1960's-1990's) *Race "is a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies" -the case of Susie Phipps -Racial formation (theory) based on the idea that though we may wish to move past the idea of race we can't because it still affects society and was part of the formation of it -Racial formation: sociohistoric process y which racial categories are created, transformed, destroyed -racial formation often leads to racial hegemony -racial project: the link between structures and representation; a representation of racial dynamic -neo-conservative: "color-blind racism" -Liberal: affirmative action -modern racism started with the discovery of the new world--> forced labor/extermination--> land theft--> import of slaves--> black white divide, racialization of society, scientific racism -Max Weber: rejected biological race insisted it was socially constructed *US racial dictatorship--> racial hegemony (common sense racism) -racism in the US has three parts 1) american identity is synonymous with white 2) organized the color-line" in US society 3) consolidated most minorities and erased them under the title "non-white" instead of East African, North African, Arab, Native, Asian etc

-racism is not permanent/unchangeable -origins of racism are in Europe in the modern era -racism has historically been viewed as a person on person problem, it's NOT ~acts as if racism is personal and a-political and can be solved on a personal level... not true ~racism relies on institutions and politics to exist -today "color-blindness" and revisionist views of history have made it possible to ignore racism *racial determinism: says you can draw strict race lines to categorize people monogenism-->polygenism-->social Darwinism--> eugenics -nationalism= common people sharing common gals and possessing common ancestry (rises in nationalism have worsened racism, for example in Europe) there are two types of racism (according to Goldberg) 1) naturalism- inherent, physical, Hobbsian, 17-19th century) 2) historicism: a matter of culture, Locke

-myth-level or meta-meaning: not obvious, implied or connotative -meanings "float" in that they change meaning depending on context, time, and intent -people who are different, "them" and not "us", are often described using a BINARY SYSTEM of good and bad terms, -black men/women are often sexualized and made to be emotional or primitive to fit in with stereotypes and make racism easier -images alone don;t carry any meaning more than the meaning given through media and or context/culture *intertexuality: when an image depends on being "read" in relation to similar, contrasted, juxtaposed or close images -Why does difference mater: 1) from linguist perspective: difference is essential to meaning, without difference meaning would not exist because there would be no contrast 2) theory of language: we need difference because we construct meaning through a dialogue with the "other" 3) anthropological: culture depends on giving things meaning by assigning them to different positions with a classification system--> social groups impose meaning on their world by ordering 4) Psychoanalytical: "other" is fundamental to the creation of self and "us" as objects and to sexual identity ~one must relate/view oneself through the other to understand the self *3 main western interactions with black people in history: 1) contact between Europe and west Africa-slaves 2) European Colonization of Africa between WW1 and WW2 3) flood of third world immigrants post WW2 to Europe and US -McClintock-commodity racism (Pears Soap ex) *signifying: acting out a stereotype, as in African American culture mocking whiteness -balcks often reduced to signifies by media (stereotypes) *5 main black stereotypes ~Toms: good, calm, obedient ~Coons: good for nothing, funny, crazy, lazy ~The tragic Mulatto: mixed race woman, acceptable to be attracted too because she' half white, tormented by her race ~Mammies: sassy black servant ~Bad bucks: violent, aggressive, sexual, scary--> "black youth" stereotypes now -Said-Orientalism -stereotypes effect at two levels: conscious and unconscious, and sometimes in trying to fight the conscious one you can confirm the unconscious ones, (infantilization of black men, they reacted with machisimo, confirming the unconscious bias that black men were violent or hyper sexual) *fetishism: -Sarah Baartman, making an object stand in for a larger thing/idea, placing specific power in an object *disavowal: the strategy by means of which a powerful fascination can be indulged and denied (usually using a fetish) -looking a Sarah Baartman "for science" -MEANING ALWAYS CHANGES/FLOATS *ways to counteract stereotypes: 1) make your own culture 2) add positive images to the existing media (transcoding) 3) work within the system

-whites don't question race b/c they have racial privilege -blacks don't question the existent of it because for them it's very real -thus those people on the borderlands are the ones questioning race -race changes across time -pluralism, alternative to assimilation, you hold onto both cultures -once a group starts to "become white" they abandon the other non-white races -psychological wage: even low paid whites have a "psychological" wage of social respect

-people internalize racism and patriarchy -women's movements oppress black women example: conflict over the vote Sojourner Truth's speech: -white women protested -jobs: hostility between white women and black women -white american woman's experience has become synonymous with american women's experience -did not want to discuss racism and confuse the issue of the "goodness" of white women vs the "badness" of racist patriarchal white men -out of fear of white men's attraction to black women white owners hated their black slaves

-black women, as the intersection of two oppressed groups, experience a specific form of discrimination ex: court cases -sojourner truth -the controversy over "The Color Purple"

overview: corporations. the rich. duh.

-ongoing racial discrimination -the underclass came into existence out of slavery, do though it's economic it is still racially based -problems with affirmative action, as the black underclass never makes it far enough to take advantage of it

-HISTORICISM -ethnomethodology and symbol interactionism -material feminism -critiques: 1)normalist 2) lacks a theory on systematic inequality 3) lacks (internal) causes of sexuality etc (leaves too much to society and not personality)

-sexual binary sucks -theory from analysis of US/Mexico border -living between the worlds makes you an outsider in both, ex: bisexuals -Where do you draw the line?

-the story of that lesbians marriage to a black woman -race bending and queerness are similar -queer theory of "f*** you" can be applied to race

-media stereotypes or lack of any representation -it's not "impairment" (the physical abnormality) that stops people from achieving but "disability" (the social construct around it)