Category: Reading Journal

Privilege is the situation where a person has an advantage, an exclusive right, or against a person or a particular group of people. In society, some people also have power over others because of their status in the community or race. Being a black  person, I do not have many privileges in society as compared to white people. Firstly, I do not have access to unlimited government services such as education and health facilities. Being a black American, I can’t attend any school with fear of any discrimination from the institution or the student. I can’t also access any hospital and receive the best treatment without prejudice from the health personnel or the hospital system. Indeed, being black do not also give me the privilege of accessing the best jobs in the American job market. As compared to white people, I can’t quickly get a job and unfortunately this does not give me a higher chance of earning more income and having high standards of living. Also being black does not give me the privilege of walking the streets without fear of arrest or harassment from the authorities. Being black makes me suspicions to the police, meaning I can’t conduct of my activities without any fear of arrest for no reason. American authorities have continually being criticized for abuse of power while handling cases of people of color.

Macroaggression is commonly defined as typical daily behavior, verbal or environmental communication, with the intention to present a negative or hostile message directed to a specific group or person. Although verbal communication appears harmless, macroaggressions are viewed as forms of everyday discrimination or covert racism. In most cases, macroaggression occurs to less marginalized in society, and it happens regularly. An example of a macroaggression is staring at a woman sexually in public. This causes a form of discomfort to the woman making it specific form aggression. Macroaggression can be either unintentional or intentional may be having a positive intention. Some of the microaggressions that I have experience include being told I don’t act like a regular black person. Another common form of macroaggression I experienced as a black person is being asked why I am driving a nice car and why I am wearing this fancy outfit. Commonly, people think that black people shouldn’t be rich, but most people usually ask me why they are rich.

In this reading, we learn gender in a social institution. A social institution is part of the society that teaches and controls the behavior and expectations of individuals. We have usually discussed that the main reason for the gender difference is due to the stereotypical definition of gender. Where do they come from? It is as if we have been automatically installed into knowing the stereotypes of gender. If we see the 12 patterns of social institutions by sociologist Patricia Yancey Martin, gender falls under all of these patterns. Gender has been in our society for a long period, it isn’t something that just came up in one’s person mind and made a theory about it, Gender has been determined also due to the factor of sex( reproduction factor) followed by almost all human race in this world and also has been internalized as the part of one’s identity, boy or girl.

This reading talks about how discrimination regarding race and gender is always kept at a macro level (institutional level through the law, policies to enforce social norms.) Different rules or culture brings a difference between gender. Back home in Nepal, in every public bus, there is a bold announcement that particular seats are reserved for females only, or even in our constitution certain amounts of seats in parties are allocated to females and underprivileged groups of people. Someone might see this as a way to encourage them but for me, it is a way of creating more gender differences. It is a direct or indirect way of showing them in less power. It is expected from males and other upper-class people to be in politics or even be a doctor or engineer but for women and other minorities, they have to separate seats for them. I am not saying that these steps shouldn’t be taken but on the other hand, it can also be seen as institutionalized discrimination.

In Nepal, there is a caste system. Particular castes are high and are considered as students of god while others are lower caste groups or so-called untouchable. The untouchable group wasn’t allowed to touch the water or food or even the place where the so-called upper caste people live. You weren’t allowed to be friends with them and if you were caught not the upper caste, but the lower caste was killed. It was normal for a long time in Nepal, especially in village areas until a new law was introduced. It was normal for untouchable people to die and it was normal for a male to hit their wives. Violence was normal for a particular group of people.

As said, nobody is born being racist or sexist but different factors and institutions play a big role in creating social norms that they are believed and followed by people all around therefore giving the definition of so-called normal.

 

 

 

The readings assignments assigned for this week were very interesting. We go back to discussing how our gender is influenced by many other things besides ourselves. Our gender is shaped and created by schools, religion , the economy and the state. All of these have influenced our experiences in life.

Every institutions influence are categorized between micro politics, meso-politics, and macro politics. To start of micro politics refers to the negotiation over power in our everyday life’s. Macro politics on the other hand refers to the negotiation over power but by groups weighing institutions and like I mentioned before these institutions can consist of school, religious sources and even our workplace. Macro politics refers to laws, policies, and cultures power to influence and re enforce social norms into people. These institutions have impact our life’s since it shapes people from different genders or even races differently. For example we have institutionalized discrimination which in a way influenced beliefs and prejudices people which leads to systemic inequalities. Another important point I found in the reading is that institutions use cultural ideology. Cultural ideology refers to the use of ideas , values , beliefs etc in order to guide their behaviors.

The reading “The manifest of racial, gender and sexual-orientation micro aggressions” is very interesting and it caught my attention greatly. It explains how our daily life implicated intentionally or even unintentionally discrimination against different groups of people by behavior, verbal acts and even environmental acts which is micro aggression. There are various ways as to how this can happen and the example that was talked about in the reading that I found really interesting was Kathleen’s situation. This specific example refers to her as a woman and the discrimination that was unintentional. At her job interview men were treated with respect and called Mr. which is a sign of respect and the importance of that person but with women they were called my their name as if they weren’t treated professionally. Also she was told that she didn’t need a job she needed a man which was once again very disturbing since women are seen as depending on a man and not having any successful jobs. We live in a society where women are not always treated with respect or according to their job position and where they must depend on men rather then having their own professions. Men are always seen as powerful and dominant.

Derald Wing Sue in “Microaggressions in everyday life: race, gender, and sexual orientation” explains how our daily interchange implicates intentional or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group and this action is called “microaggression”, its cans be based on race and gender. The one that formed on race is named racial microaggressions that is quotidian slights, insults, indignities and denigrating communication addressed to people of color by ignorant white people These messages may be sent orally, nonverbally or environmentally. We have also Gender Microaggressions that built on gender that are some

Harmless comments that can ton up overtime period and affect a person’s sense of self and identity. The author supports her studies by saying people of color usually face microaggressions in their daily reaction with friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and employers. Those negatives interchange make them feel excluded, untrustworthy, second-class citizens, and abnormal therefore Microaggressions has a Harmful Impact on people of color, it affects their opportunities, their well-being, and their sense of agency.

“An Introduction to Gender in Social Institutions” by “Victoria Pruin DeFrancisco & Catherine Helen Palczewski” in “Communicating Gender Diversity: A Critical Approach” talks how someone’s performance of gender through communication, body, and language are characteristics by social institutions. These traits emphasis who we are today and what is our gender role in society. Those social institutions are evolved between micropolitics that is settlement over power, meso- politics touch on to the power apply by groups within institutions, and to make sure those power respected they established rules, law, norms and policies called macropolitics.

Prejudice Versus Institutionalized Discrimination, those institutions have negative affects and push people intentionally to bias unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social, or religious group and those intentional or unintentional discriminatory mistreatment are formed by society and its institutions.

Institutional control those social Institutions make sure those norms, rules, policies are being execute and assist gender expectations and discriminations by prime class. the supreme ideas, values, beliefs, perceptions, and understandings from these institutions known to a group of a society that lead their behaviors even if it come in contradiction with himself or herself. It is achieved generally by mind control or control if ideas.

Institutionalized Gendered/Sexed Violence, we lived in society where men are expected to be violent and women are not these stereotypes make us insensitive to domestic violence toward a woman in a household because this is society’s norm and culture. These institutions of violence have a big impact on woman happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Microaggressions is “everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.” Microaggressions can be based on economic status, disability, gender, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Racial and gender are the 2 most common types of microaggression used today. For example, Assigning intelligence to a person of color on the basis of their race, Which is very common. Asking an Asian person to help with a Math or Science problem indicates that all Asians are intelligent and good in Math / Sciences. 

“Micropolitics refers to the negotiations over power in everyday interactions between people.” In other words, it’s the exercise of power in everyday life, Where individuals’ everyday actions and social interactions occur. Like deciding who is going to do housework or use the remote control. It Focuses on patterns of social interaction at the individual level.

 “Mesopolitics, mesa meaning middle range, refers to the power exerted by groups within institutions to ensure that individuals follow the institutions’ rules or to challenge those rules.” It’s Where individuals interact within groups. For example schools, communities, neighbourhoods and workplace. It Consists of larger groups that interact directly with the individual. Focuses on relationships between middle-level social structures and the individual.

“Macropolitics refers to laws’, policies’, and culture’s power to enforce social norms.” It’s the exercise of large-scale power, Where we observe the wider social structures, social processes and their interrelationships. For example, social institutions such as media, law, workplace institutions and government.  It helps to shape the social and cultural world.Examines how these collective groups relate to the wider society of which they form a part and is evident at national and international level.

Various factors have created a quota of fixed judgments on the behavior of each sex, for instance, ménage, media, and religious organizations. The rules that are taught in the factors above are supported by each other; principles taught by the family can get the equivalent support from the other factors especially school and the media. This, in turn, normalizes what is being disciplined. The trepidation that we would feel as a result of repudiation from the public and can weaken those who are indecisive about things in their everyday life. Society’s sway has ultimately molded some to have a one-track mind which makes a full rotation to what was stated previously about our fixed quota of judgments on the behavior of each sex/gender/sexuality. Gender is constructed from families to the economy, state, and again mold/shape us all.

Micropolitics, macropolitics, and mesopolitics of civilization and of course their all-around impact make it unyielding, to fracture the bias hold and methodical imbalance involving gender. Becoming Alice and diving into the rabbit hole that is our social institution, will aid in the deletion of the ideas of gender and sex, a perfect idea example would be the dominance of one sex atop the other; ascendency. The manifestation of racial, gender and sexual-orientation micro-aggressions was definitely an interesting chapter to me, there were times that I felt and was discriminated against mainly because I am an ebony woman in America even though I was born here; skin color of course and hair (rocking out with my afro out) is a popular factor of judgment. Regardless of that, I ignore the looks and comments because at the end of the day those are strangers and I do not benefit from them. Micro-aggression has separate forms from, race to religion; there is a lot of micro-aggression in our society presently both intentionally and unintentionally. Secondly, we have gender micro-aggression and micro-aggression towards other social groups i.e. LGBTQ+ and others because they represent a compact segment of the inhabitants. If we can treat others, with the principles that the constitution is supposedly built on then attaining a peaceful and corresponding society won’t be unachievable.

 

Family, school, religious institutions, and media forged certain ideas, beliefs, and norms on how each gender should act, behave, and processed within a normal social constitution. all the rules learned within the family gets the same support from school and media and make it look normal to everyone. ”Gender/ sex difference sexist because of larger social forces, particularly institutions and the communication that exists within and between them.”
for example, a woman should be a nurturer and men should be the housemaster. all these institutions support the same idea so it makes it normal and if it’s questioned it becomes a taboo. The fear of being rejected from a certain society make us weak individuals who can’t make their own decision from choosing their clothing, lifestyle because of the influence of the society, the capitalism, and the advertisement that shapes our mind to think that if I’m wearing certain designer jean or bag I will look and feel confident, and therefore attract more friends and family member’s admiration.” Gender is created, not just within families or interpersonal relationships but also within the structure of all major social institutions, including schools, religion, the economy, and the state….These institutions shape and mold the experiences of us all. (p.30; italics in original).
The co-existence of the micropolitics,macropolitics, and the mesopolitics in the society and their influence throughout all the institutions like school, work, religious places makes it impossible to break free from this gender bias and  from the systematic inequalities. For example the existence of the systemic sexism that forged the idea that women pay more for their items that men and even for car services and maintenance. I remember that I used to go to a mechanic to fix my car and I feel that I was in his place every other week fixing something just because I had no clues about cars and of course he was charging me more than he did when my husband came and argued with him the charged and  of course he did adjust them.
one must dig deep down our social institution and try to erase the ideas of gender and sex, like the idea of  hegemony that reflects the dominance of one  sex over the other in the social institution. For example when the woman gets married she needs to take her husband’s name. When I got married I was against this idea because it made me feel like I have to erase who I’m as a person. After all, my name represents me so I choose to keep my name, maybe that this can seems strange but this was my way of keeping my identity as a complete woman.
The manifestation of racial, gender, and sexual orientation micro-aggressions chapter was very interesting to me. I have certainly felt and lived difficult situations where I was discriminate either because I was an Arabic woman, a mother of two that need to take care of her kids instead of working and going to school, or even when parking my car where most people think that men have more training and expertise in parking cars than women. Sometimes I chose to ignore them and move on and sometimes I had to react nicely and responded that I’m a woman who seeks more knowledge to educate herself and be a good support for her children’s future educationally and financially.
Micro-aggressions can be based on different factors from gender, race, social class, sexual orientation, social group, or religion. Our society holds a lot off micro-aggressions toward a lot of people intentionally or unintentionally, for example, the racial micro-aggression in the death of George Floyd and the debate of Black Life Matter and their suffering just because of their skin color. second, the gender micro-aggressions where women and men are treated in the work placed based on their sex rather than their merit. we rarely see a nurse men because it’s reserved for women who are nurturer based on their sex, on the other hand, the president and C.E.O job are more for men because they are considered to have the power and the knowledge to lead. Third, we see the micro-aggressions toward a marginal social group like Spanish, Muslim,poor, gay, lesbian, bisexual because they represent a small portion of the population and look at strangers and different.
Micro-aggressions are omi-present and will still be as long as we treat whoever is different as a minority and with inequality instead of opening our door and mind to learn from them . Liberty, equality is what our constitution is built on, and if we follow these fundamentals we can reach a peaceful ,unique,and  a homogeneous society.

In the introduction “Gendered/Sexed bodies”, the chapter discusses the hypermasculinity of the American Tennis player, Serena Williams. “Sexualization of Williams’s body’s size and shape, and violent animalistic descriptions of William’s strength. ” There is this ongoing theme of sexualization and even fetishization of the Black body. The Black body is a symbol of fear and the fact that Serena William is both Black and woman makes her perfect catalyst. Since women are meant to be portrayed as weak and vulnerable, Serena’s physical strength and appearance deny every depiction of what a woman should be. Her Blackness also contradicts the concept placed by the dominant group that Black people are inferior. Cohen’s “Monster Culture” cosigns with this theory when he states, “Through the body of the monster fantasies of aggression, domination, and inversion are allowed safe expression in a clearly delimited and permanently liminal space. Escapist delight gives way to horror only when the monster threatens to overstep the boundaries to destroy or deconstruct the thin wall of category and culture.” In other words, the human bodies, are only free when it’s within the reach of the oppressor. As long we the oppressed abide by their guidelines and satisfy their desire we’ll be somewhat of value. However, if you dear cross the boundaries places you will be taunted, harassed, scorned and unfortunately in some events, killed. This correlates with Black history and how it was considered not a crime to rape the enslaved. Black bodies were dehumanized, objectified, and were a symbol of pleasure, amusement, and property.

In the reading, “Theories of gender and sex”, I was able to relate to the concept of social learning. In my culture and upbringing, children were spanked whenever they had done something that was disapproved by their parents or guardians. This was just one-way children were able to assess right from wrong. However, in my opinion, I believe this punishment came with other problems. Whenever I did something wrong and I knew that it would lead to spanking, I would try to hide or lie to my parents. I learned ways to around getting punished but in a dishonest and suppressive way.

This text highlights the complexity of identity and challenges the normalcy of binary systems. It also shares the importance of being aware of our own biases and prejudices.  One concept I would like to highlight from the text is on Class. When the text states, “Contrary to the fact that white women as a group are the largest recipients of welfare.” It unveils the misleading narrative that Black people and P.O.C are the main groups that utilize government assistant. This adverse narrative paints minorities as weak, incapable, lazy, and inferior and it also keeps us in a state of oppression. In the literary element “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ignites awareness of social ignorance to other cultural values and moral obligation that differs from our own. It also places importance on one’s individual truth and story, most importantly it challenges us to start the narrative of a story with “secondly”. This is to imply that there is more to the story than what has been told and manipulated in favor of the storyteller.

Another concept I would like to highlight is the sex/gender/sexuality system notion.  When the text states, “Because “mothering” is not seen as work, but as a woman’s “natural” behavior, she is not compensated in a way that reflects how difficult the work is.” It raises the awareness of the socially imposed relationship between women and motherhood.  In the literary work, “Reason, Gender and Moral Theory”, Virginia Held dismantles the male perspective in philosophy when she states, “Women have been seen as emotional rather than rational beings, and thus is incapable of full moral personhood”. Held reveals the misogynistic views of philosophers and stoicism. She captures how women throughout history/philosophy were often portrayed as weak and incapable of being logical due to their “sentimental nature”.  I challenge this theory because it is declared and dismisses the complexities of womanhood. There are plenty of women who may not want to have children and are not compelled to become mothers or wives. There isn’t just one concept/ single story female gender/womanhood nor there a just one way of expressing it.

The third concept is Transgender and intersex. This has enlightened my understanding of boundaries placed on the human body. This concept reminded me of the literary work “Monster Culture” by Jefferey Jerome Cohen. Throughout the text, Cohen incorporates the monster’s desire to be interpreted and understood without placing it in a class that fits the status quo.

This week’s readings were very interesting. Starting off with ‘Identity Terms’. I learned that language is always evolving, and deeply personal to each person who chooses the terms with which to describe themselves. When discussing race we discover that the term, people of color, is utilized to allude to anybody nonwhite, and the term, black, is utilized to allude to individuals who comes from Africa or are African American. When conversing with, or about individuals who are debilitated, consistently express an individual first stating, except if told in any case by the individual themselves.This is because an inability doesn’t characterize you. Furthermore, sexuality goes is many different flavor and an individual can identify themselves as any of the following “Queer,” “Bisexual,” “Pansexual,” “Polyamorous,” “Asexual,” or all term for all LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) individuals. The outer influence of an individual should not define no body’s sexuality, but from within. For example a transgender person is a person born of a specific sex and grows older to discover that they feel like the opposite sex. When this happens, the person chooses to operate and physically become how they feel inside and that is how a person should pick their sex.

 

One of the theories in the “Feminist Philosophy of Language” was “ 2.5 Generics” it really caught my attention. For example “Generic statements are ones such as “cats are furry”, or “a cat has fur”, which are neither universal generalizations (there are furless cats) nor existential generalization (the claim being made is clearly stronger)”.  This demonstrate that we as individuals speculate or even categorize individuals or things creating an illusion that because humans have hair all human need to have hair. This exclude those that does not have hair is creating the illustion that everyone need to have hair and if you don’t there is something wrong with you.

Also “Sex Marking” is very evident in our everyday lifes.  It is clearly that there is too emphasis placed on gender when there doesn’t need to be. For example, male dominance requires the belief that men and women are importantly different from each other, so anything that contributes to the impression that sex differences are important is therefore a contributor to male dominance. That is why words such as congressman or businessman tries to reinforces the “male dominance”

Furthermore, some cultures dress and tell their kids that a boy has to dress like a man, with hats, dark neutral colors, that pink is for girls and blue for boys. Yet those are standers and requirements created by society and is delivered by how we communicate. In reality, what you wear does not define who you are or your gender. As the community continues to study gender and communication, we can continue to progress and have a better understanding of human sexuality and gender.