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stigma sociology essays
stigma sociology essays
effects stereotypes have on people
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Linguistic reappropriation is when a word is used in a negative connotation in relation to a minority. These disparaging words have been labelled informally as slurs. A slur is defined as “an insulting or disparaging remark or innuendo.” (Merriam-Webster,. n.d.) A minority party becomes oppressed through the use of these slurs because they often cause observers, not of that group, to view the minority differently often in a negative way. The view of outside parties coupled with the use of the word cause the oppressed group to have a sense of a lack of power. Power is essential to a group morale because without power, a group's will become oppressed and an individual can develop a lack of self esteem. Therefore, a member of an oppressed group will often suppress their true nature in order to avoid being persecuted. Reappropriation or "Reclaiming the Slur" is become a common practice amongst oppressed groups today, some reclaimed words include nigger (nigga), queer, dyke, slut, and bitch. However, there are instances when linguistic reappropriation can be both helpful and harmful to a minority party through the creation or removal of a groups power.
The theoretical model of reappropriation outlined by the experiments written in the article “The Reappropriation of Stigmatizing Labels: The Reciprocal Relationship Between Power and Self-Labeling” allows a better understanding of how slurs are reappropriated. The experiments conducted during the study (Galinsky, Wang, Whitson, Anicich, Hugenberg, Bodenhausen., 2013.) explain that self labeling is vital to the reappropriation of slurs. Self labelling causes the observing parties to view a certain minority as more powerful because they self labelled. The article (Galinsky et al., 2013...
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Galinsky, A. D., Wang, C. S., Whitson, J. A., Anicich, E. M., Hugenberg, K., & Bodenhausens, G. V. (2013). The Reappropriation of Stigmatizing Labels: The Reciprocal Relationship Between Power
and Self-Labeling. Psychological Science (Sage Publications Inc.), 24(10), 2020-2029. Retrieved from SPORTDiscus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 14, 2013.
Gringo. (n.d). In Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved November 22, 2013 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gringo
Schwartz, A. (2008). Their language, our Spanish: Introducing public discourses of ‘Gringoism’ as racializing linguistic and cultural reappropriation. Spanish In Context, 5(2), 224-245. Retrieved from
http://library.macewan.ca/
Slur. [Def. 1]. (n.d). In Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved November 22, 2013 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slur
Gloria Anzaldua, wrote the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” communicating and describing her adolescence in a society brimming with sexism, cultural imperialism, racism, low self-esteem, and identity formation. The reason one comes to America is to finer themselves academically, and intellectually. One must learn to speak English to live among the American’s, because that is the language they speak. Though, no one has the right to deprive you of your familiar tongue. At a young age, Anzaldua was scolded, even mistreated for speaking her native “Chicano” tongue. Anzaldúa described this ignorance, cruelty, and discrimination when she states: “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess – that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler.” She overcomes this hostility throughout her life.
Esmeralda Santiago incorporated several Spanish terms within her memoir When I was Puerto Rican. Based on the author’s choice to preserve certain terms, one can infer that the Spanish language contains words with deeper meanings. Apart from being deeper meanings, these meanings often go beyond the surface level and have several implications. Often, we find that terms from different languages translate strangely or without the same meaning. It is evident that these possible outcomes influenced Santiago’s decision to preserve the Spanish language within her work. Throughout the memoir, the reader encounters several instances of Santiago’s utilization of certain Spanish terms. Santiago chose to preserve these terms in an effort to effectively
Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...
In her book “Borderland/La Frontera, The New Mestiza” by Gloria Anzaldua, Gloria talks about what it means to be able to identify, culturally, one’s self. So what does it mean to be able to identify one’s self with a specific culture? What about when the culture you identify yourself with, to other cultures, isn’t legitimate? In her writing, Gloria expresses the struggles of Chicanos trying to find their own identity with language. By showing how she had to use several different styles of English and Spanish growing up, the rejections of both American and Mexican cultures, and by showing how the Chicano language finally came about, Gloria is able to effectively convey this point.
We’ve all done it: walking down a hallway, judging someone or thinking someone is less than what we perceive ourselves to be based on the color of their skin or how they are dressed, or even their physical features. The author of The Language of Prejudice, Gordon Allport, shares how we live in a society where we are ridiculed for being less than a culture who labels themselves as dominant. This essay reveals the classifications made to the American morale. Allport analyzes in many ways how language can stimulate prejudice and the connection between language and prejudice.
Changing attitudes towards race relations forced a change in the manifestation of racist ideologies. Bonilla-Silva also discusses the style of color-blindness. He asserts that due to the change in post-Civil Rights era thoughts on discrimination, whites had to change their language when talking about racism so as to promote white privilege in a non-racist manner. He argues that color-blind racism has “technical tools that allow users to articulate its frames”
The essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua is relevant to today’s society, because it brings to discussion important social issues such acculturation, racism, and sexism. A major social event that she lived through and was an advocate of was the Chicano movement, which influenced her in her writing. This essay is not only written solely using her intelligence and research, it also comes from personal experience. Furthermore, she says that she will not be silenced anymore, that all people deserve the right to freedom of speech and the freedom to their culture. Not to have to submit to the dominant cultures found here in the United States. This essay is directed towards two groups
In keeping with that foundation, racial microaggressions can be defined as the brief and everyday slights, insults, indignities and denigrating messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned White people who are unaware of the hidden messages being communicated (CITE). These messages may be sent verbally ("You speak good English."), nonverbally (clutching one's pu...
Gonzalez, Araceli. “Discussion #2.” Chicano Studies 10. University of California Davis. Wellman 229. 8 October 2013.
Although our society is slowly developing a more accepting attitude toward differences, several minority groups continue to suffer from cultural oppression. In her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explores the challenges encountered by these groups. She especially focuses on her people, the Chicanos, and describes the difficulties she faced because of her cultural background. She argues that for many years, the dominant American culture has silenced their language. By forcing them to speak English and attempting to get rid of their accents, the Americans have robbed the Chicanos of their identity. She also addresses the issue of low self-esteem that arises from this process of acculturation. Growing up in the United States,
Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed.). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.
This is highlighted in how words such as ‘crazy’ and ‘mental’ are used in the context of everyday language and are used by young children to discredit peers, ‘this signifies that stigmatisation permeates our language throughout the lifespan’ (Hinshaw 2007 p.xi).
Thoit, Link, Bruce G., and Jo C. Phelan. "Labeling and Stigma." Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Springer Netherlands, 2013. 525-541.
Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 271-273). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.
Williams and Williams-Morris (2000) discuss the stigma of racism as being an attack on the ego identity of its victims.