One’s identity has the ability to play a central role in one’s schooling experience and in return, affect the way they perceive the world around them. Growing up in an Asian household located in a predominately Asian American neighborhood located in the San Gabriel Valley, I always identified myself strongly to my race and took pride in being a first generation Asian American child. Race has definitely affected my schooling experience in many different ways, both positively and negatively. In addition, there were a variety of other aspects such as stereotypical gender roles and socioeconomic class status which factored into the way I learned in the U.S. education system. In this paper, I will examine how race, class, and gender played a big role throughout my schooling experience. Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by people of the same ethnic race and culture. I was raised in the small city of Temple City where a lot of older generation Asian immigrants resided, which resulted in my schools being mostly dominated by the first generation Asian American population. Because of this similarity of race and culture with my peers, it was fairly easy for me to bond with other students as well as feel comfortable within the realms of my schools and neighborhood. I had little trouble learning and participating in classrooms and also was able to be very involved in leadership positions in extracurricular programs at my high school which was a good learning experience for me.
Some people define race as if it is something solid or concrete, but what they don’t see is that it is a “social fabrication”(Mathew Desmond, Mustafa Emibayer,2009;2). Race is based on the difference in physical appearance which is determined, for example, by the most apparent trait; skin color. Inequality emerges when people living, whether on the same sovereign terrain or across continents, are not treated with the same amount of respect and not given the chance to engage their rights in a free and fair manner. Race and inequality are often linked together because of the “issues that began in the 1800s”(NFB;Journey to Justice;2000) such as racial segregation. Over the years issues of race and inequality have
The intersection of dominant ideologies of race, class, and gender are important in shaping my social location and experiences. By exercising my sociological imagination (Mills, 1959), I will argue how my social location as an Asian American woman with a working class background has worked separately and together to influence how I behave, how others treat and view me, and how I understand the world. The sociological imagination has allowed me to understand my own “biography”, or life experiences by understanding the “history”, or larger social structures in which I grew up in (Mills, 1959). First, I will describe my family’s demographic characteristics in relation to California and the United States to put my analysis into context. I
THESIS: Race differences in identity and social position were, and are, more important than class differences in American society.
This project is comprised of rhetorical commentary overview, that is used to examine and develop a better understanding of the terms, race and racism in society (critical race theory) (Stefancic and Delgado 1995, 177). By using the critical race theory and examining incidents of police misconduct, this will determine whether or not race plays a crucial factor. Additionally, this project encompasses a vast knowledge of the criminal justice system and the police departments of the United States of America. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that “police work is dangerous, difficult, and unappreciated, but there is no excuse for the type of behavior recorded on videotape” (Brooks 1991). The main focus of this research is to review cases that have been reported in the media, in order to come to a comprehension of why there is a higher proportion of minorities being killed by police officers. By incorporating the critical race theory and qualitative data, there will be a contribution on how to solve these societal issues.
The reality is Asian American is still struggling in racism nowadays. In “Unraveling the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth”, Stacey Lee revisited the four identity groups in academic high school and discussed how the “model minority” stereotype influence relationship between race and how different races view racial
Even though a hundred years is just a blip in time on the cosmic scale, living from 1889 to 1999, as Sarah Louise "Sadie" Delany did, is not something to be overlooked. In fact, Sadie and her younger sister Annie Elizabeth Delany’s (also known as Bessie) total age was 213 years old! That is incredibly aspiring, given the fact that these two women witnessed a century of oppression and subjugation. Having Our Say is the story of these remarkable sisters, with the opening of the film showing us the sisters as old women in 1991 and then flashing back to their early lives in chronological order. Starting from their early childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, this biographical film explores the relationship between race, class and gender and how each aspect influenced the sister’s lives for better or for worse.
Growing up, I was surrounded by a very homogeneous society. My small town was not diverse and I became one of few minorities of that population. I learned and accepted that I was one of the only Asians in my school.
In Anderson and Collins’, chapter on “Why race, class, and gender still maters” encourage readers to think about the world in their framework of race, class, and gender. They argued that even though society has change and there is a wide range of diversity; race, class and gender still matters. Anderson and Collins stated, “Race, class, and gender matter because they remain the foundation for system of power and inequality that, despite our nation’s diversity, continue to be among the most significant social facts of peoples lives.” (Anderson and Collins, 2010) When I was a little girl, I never knew that people were classified in to groups such as race, class, gender. I knew there were people that had a different color of skin than
Wong has focused his study on ethnicity and psychological development, one of many approaches and only a small portion of how ethnicity influences development; I will include some personal thoughts of mine as well as concepts I have learned from class and other readings. Some things to keep in mind when accessing a child and his/her performance in the classroom are social situations and psychological processes—including stereotypes, experiences of ethnic discrimination, ethnic identity, and
This article discusses the thought and preconceived notions that race is the major determining factor of the health outcomes of persons living in Baltimore, an urban area. However, what was found is that the place matters. Furthermore, what I was able to understand in greater depth is that there are deeply rooted racial issues in the United States of America despite the legislation that has been passed to eliminate such issues. In addition, what I was able to dissipate was that the researchers were not able to determine which was more important or prevalent, race or place in seeking to accomplish health equity.
My community, Friendship, was rightfully named after the Civil War, when emancipated slaves, white merchants and farmers, and Native Americans lived together in accordance. Currently, I do not believe that the perspectives of all members of the community exemplify the ideology on which the community was founded. I do not believe that it is okay for me, as a black female, to be treated as though I am inferior to those that I am surrounded by. I want the stigma behind race and gender in my community to be minimized to nothing.
Destiny, a black girl, always talks about how much trouble she got into during high school. She received many detentions and suspensions just because she likes to speak what is on her mind. She admits that she may have gone a little too far at times, but sometimes it just was not fair for the things she was being punished for. During middle school, she found a program called Whyld Girls. This program helps girls in poverty to be more aware of their surroundings. Destiny learned about birth control, how to survive high school, and how to apply and get into college. After joining this program, Destiny started getting better grades in school and receiving fewer detentions. Black girls do tend to have more of an outspoken attitude but that does not mean they should be suspended from learning. This essay will be discussing the sexism between men and women, and the classism and privileges between white and black people. The lives of black girls do matter and more people within our societies need to be aware and take a stance on how these girls are being treated on a daily basis.
At a young age, we are taught to adhere to norms and are restricted to conform to society’s given rules. We are taught that straying away from stereotypes is anything but good and encouraged to build our lives upon only these social rules. Recently, stereotypes based on genders have been put into the limelight and have become of high interest to a generation that is infamously known for deviating from the established way of life. Millennials have put gender roles under fire, deeming it a form of segregation and discrimination by gender. Researchers have followed suit. Mimicking millennial interests, numerous studies have been published that detail the relationship between gender, stereotypes, and the effects of the relationship between the two. Furthermore, gender roles have been used as a lens to study socialization; tremendous amounts of interest have prompted studies on the inheritance and dissemination of norms, culture, and ideologies based on the stereotypes that cloud gender. For sociologists, determining the extent of the impact of gender stereotypes on socializing our population has become a paramount discussion. Amidst many articles, the work of Karniol, Freeman, and Adler & Kless were standouts and between the three pieces, childhood served as a common thread; more specifically, these researchers studied how gender roles impact socialization from such a young age.
1, To say that race and gender are socially constructs means that while both race and gender help shape the world in which we live, society can alter their meaning and significance. They have power because we give them power. Race is a social construct because, by definition, society can and does arbitrarily define it. For example, when American society forbidden interracial marriage (Conley 331), and determined an individual's race using the “one drop rule,” where someone is considered black if even their most distant ancestor was black. This is an example of how race can be imposed upon someone without his or her own individual endorsement. Race is not even biologically sound. Wayne Joseph was a man who was born and raised black, yet from
For this paper I will be discussing class, race, gender, sex, and how they relate to feminism. The first theme that I will be looking into is the role that social class and gender play in how others view us. The second theme that I will be delving into is the role that social class and gender play in how we view ourselves, and how this effects our role in society. Finally, the third theme that I will be looking at is the harmful nature of letting our differences divide us. I will use A Question of Class by Dorothy Allison to discuss the effects that class can have on how people view you, and on how you view yourself. I will use the reading Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference by Audre Lorde to show how we let our difference divide us and how we can work to change that. Both of these readings will be used to show the damaging effects that letting our difference come between us can have.