In the first chapter of this book he talks about the proverbial term elephant in the room. I believe that this term to him means that race is always there but it is a topic that people do not have any interest in talking about or bringing up. People will avoid bringing up this topic at all costs because it is controversial and just plain old awkward. It will always be there and people know that but it is better to say nothing at all then something. Many people wonder why everyone just can not ‘get along’ but it is not as simple as that. Whites believe that they are better than other people just because they are white and that is the superior race. But in reality, we are not better than anyone. We are the exact same as everyone else no …show more content…
People are all different, different races, genders, social classes, and sexualities. These natural differences make people feel awkward and no one wants to feel awkward. Difference is “socially” constructed because society creates different gender rules, roles that you should take on, and behaviors depending if you are a man or women. Two types of privilege can be white privilege. White privilege means you get more benefits and have way more benefit of the doubt compared to other races. Heterosexual privilege is where you are more of a “man” than if you would be homosexual. You are both men but being heterosexual you are perceived as more manly. Both of these are unearned privileges, they come with the race and sexuality you are. What is the significance of understand the privilege in relation to solving “the trouble” we …show more content…
Johnson says “it keeps us stuck in trouble by making it so hard to talk about it.” (77). It makes it easier for women to blame men for being sexist and violent. We need to be able to overcome this issue. Some ways that we can overcome this issue that are talked about in the book are by realizing that the whole model of individualism is wrong, and that the social world is not just about individuals it is about us all together. We need to realize that it is not just an individual problem but it is our problem.
The path of least resistance is where you take the easiest path, you do not want challenges you want to do whatever will be easiest for you to do. This means to different things for men and women. For men it means showing that they are in control of themselves (93). For women it means you more just sit back and listen to what people are saying. This deals with racism, on page 95 it talks about how it is a man 's world or a white 's world. It also talks about how people of color feel like they have to talk, dress, and act like whites just so they can fit in and not get mad fun of
In conversations many people get defensive when someone says, “You have this because of your privilege” they feel as though that the person they are talking with doesn’t understand that they have worked hard for what they have, however that is not the point that anyone is trying to make. What someone in that position is saying is that although you have worked hard to get where you are your journey have been well furnished with privilege on account of your race. It is said to think about that you got somewhere in life due to the color of your skin, but it is also sadder to think that someone got declined a job, got stereotyped, or got overlooked because of their race or
In conclusion, throughout this book race takes on many different shapes, forms, and ideas. Let us not forget that racism not only exist in our community, but all around the world. Dalton Conley does a wonderful job explaining how just because you might not think something good can come out of something bad, doesn't' mean it can't.
According to the Oxford Dictionary privilege is a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.). Furthermore if you add white to privilege you get white privilege which highlights the societal privileges granted to those who are white particularly in Western culture. In the novel Ceremony by Lesli Marmon Silko captures white privilege through the highlighted differences between whites and Native Americans. The narrator Tayo is aware of the privileges that whites have in comparison to Native Americans. Tayos awareness of racism is identified by his examination of the U.S. Army uniform, his analysis of Floyd Lee, and his inspection of Leroy 's truck.
Having privileges gives out respect to those who earned it for you, as explained in the article, “Checking My Privileges”, by Tal Fortgang. Privileges are not for people who deserve them but instead it is for people who are lucky enough to have them passed onto them. Tao explains how she was handed her privileges from the hard work of her grandparents and the accomplishments of their struggling journey to give their granddaughter the privileges she has today to be thankful for. Society judges one another based on their sexuality, and color of their skin, you may judge others of the same basis without knowing the story of how they have received their privileges, because by looking at how a person looks will not give you their background story of them or their
Men are always in a competition with each other either at sports are who has the better job, house, car, wife, etc. This is easily seen now days form movies to television shows, even personal a lot of the men we know in our lives fit into the mold of what he is saying. They become in fear of not being up to a level of a man and struggle to out man others. What is important for a man to be a man is left up to what each considers to be that some are money and nice things others it is the way a man holds himself. He goes on to write that “violence is often the single most evident marker of manhood.” This goes with the competition of men. In history all the wars and battle where all started by men, not a single women from what I recall started a war. Even today in the news all political and world events are all by men. But even the media plays apart in the men of everyday life all of the movies and show’s that are geared to men are mostly violent and action packed. If one is to look at the hate crimes that take place I can’t remember any that is done by a woman. So his statement in my opinion really hits and makes a very simple but true statement about men and their
Privileges are things that a person receives that gives them an advantage over most people (Merriam-Webster). These are benefits that only certain people receive for being in a certain group or discourse. Peggy McIntosh, director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, wrote “White Privilege and Male Privilege” and states “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privileges, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege” (605). She argues that whites and males receive certain privileges, yet they do not even notice them. This shows that different races and women are still put at a disadvantage, but the people who receive the benefits are blind to the problem. Many people will argue that she is correct while some others will explain why this not is the case.
When I read “Checking My Privilege” written by Tal Fortgang, a freshman at Princeton University, it made me stop and think. What does privilege mean, how should it be used and does it affect me and my life? Fortgang never really states the exact meaning of the word privilege but goes on to complain about the mistreatment of the word and how it is a form of reverse racism; could that be true, I wondered? However, he also claims that privileges do not exist based on race or gender, and that is something I do not agree with. I imagine many people will not agree with his stance on the word privilege or mine, as a matter of fact. Mainly because the word privilege has a different
The way I have come to understand what the Matrix of Privilege and Oppression means, is that everyone everywhere feels both privilege and oppression at the same time, and how much they feel of it depends on where they are on the scale of oppression and what position in society that they are in. This could mean that a Black man whom is judged by his skin color every day and it heavily oppressed in many ways, ends up getting into a college over a white man because of the school wanting to be a more diverse campus. The white man does not get judged by his skin color on a regular basis, but it did not work out well for him while applying to schools.
Intersectionality is complex. For example, I experience race differently as a black female than a black man does. And similarly, a white woman experiences sexism differently than me. Despite the four systems of oppression that were discussed, there are also many ways in which I am privileged. As someone who conforms to gender norms, is heterosexual, able-bodied, credentialed, young, middle class, and fertile, my standing in society is a lot higher than most. The unique thing about intersectionality is both the oppression and privilege have made me into who I am today and have ultimately changed me for the better.
... that occurs by men upon women is neither stopped nor prevented because our society has yet to decide whether it is within gender roles for a man to act this way or whether this violence must be changed. In society today, violence is accepted by some people, as a way to maintain control, which is why men still believe that sexism is the right way to act like the ideal man.
Before I read this chapter and read the questions given, I would have said that I don’t have privilege. The reason is because I am a woman of color and we are rarely afforded a sought after thing
“Black, white and brown are merely skin colors. But we attach to them meanings and assumptions, even laws that create enduring social inequality.”(Adelman and Smith 2003). When I first heard this quote in this film, I was not surprised about it. Each human is unique compared to the other; however, we are group together based on uncontrollable physical characteristics. Eyes, hair texture, and skin tone became a way to separate who belongs where. Each group was labeled as having the same traits. African Americans were physically superior, Asians were the more intellectual race, and Indians were the advanced farmers. Certain races became superior to the next and society shaped their hierarchy on what genes you inherited.
He refers to all the immigration groups in a judgmental way. He complains about the intelligence levels of the Italians, how dirty and deceitful the Jews are, and even the immaculate cleanliness of the Chinamen. Although he does possess quite a bit of bigotry that boarders on the line of prejudice when it comes to African Americans he recognizes that they are suffering from racism and he sympathizes with th...
The part exhibited the patterns of gender authorization as well as gave a basic comprehension of the impacts of gender brutality. Expositions like Kristin Anderson and Debra Umberson 's "Gendering Viciousness: Manliness and Power in Men 's Records of Aggressive behavior at home" strengths men to investigate how they are performing gender and the impacts this has, on the ladies they cherish as well as all alone comprehension of themselves and the part that sexism plays in keeping up patterns of sexual
The critic goes on to note that men in Faulkner's works tend to undermine women and their roles in society. Women are oppressed and are usually controlled by men. The women try to fight the men in their society and are trying to find a way to escape from their grasps. They are hesitant to stand up to the men and instead they tend to hide away. Backman notes that, "The will to confront reality seems to be losing out to the need to escape"(p.184).