Mantsios uses statistical evidence, data, and multiple examples (myth and reality) in the article to explain these class divisions. With the fact that class standings determine the outcome of life chances, there are also issues of race and gender that corresponds into class. In society today, sexism and racism still exists, and no matter what position of class women and members of minorities are in, institutional forces will hold them down precisely because of their gender or race. This makes the chances of being poor in America for women and minorities much higher. White males have a much higher chance of not being poor rather than white females and other races.
It is the same as an American citizen who has rights that are a privilege that comes with being a citizen. It is not a person's fault that they are an American citizen and have certain privileges over someone who is not a citizen, nor is it the fault of a white person to have certain privileges because they were born in a dominant white world. The problem now becomes what do we do about it. If we open up our eyes and see that this is a fault in our society we could improve the situation. This can be seen in other nations as well.
Racial and Ethnic Inequality * Explain the following statement: Race is a social construction. Race defined by Macionis (2010) as “a socially constructed category of people who share the biologically transmitted traits that a society defines as important” (pg. 56) has been used to rank members of society in hierarchies usually with the person doing the ranking at the top and persons considered in a different race or ethnicity below them. Societies have been defining races for decades using those groupings as a source of power. These groupings often translate into economic and social exploitation and sometimes genocidal policies, such as the cases in Rowanda, Darfur and as described by Macionis (2010) in Germany “Adolf Hitler and his
Concrete Responses The essays included present a compelling but biased study within the context of class, race and gender. History shows racism has been clearly practiced in the past; however much has been done to correct the unbridgeable and immutable differences in race, gender and class status in the United States. Rothenberg emphasizes, in the collection of essays, past views of Euro-Americans’ superiority in intelligence and abilities over darker skinned races. Throughout the history of the United States, discrimination against race and gender has been documented thus creating various classes according to race and gender. Racism has been defined as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2010).
As most Indians viewed Indians from other tribes as less than human, so did America view African slaves or precisely, anyone of a color other than white. Because of this, it was justified to use slaves by their masters to establish and advertise higher status and wealth. The bigger their plantation was, the
European colonizers in search of sugar, human labor, and other goods came into contact with native populations who were “people of color.” In order to maintain control of these populations, the natives were distinguished as inferior human beings mainly due to their different cultural practices as well as not being white (Henry, 2007). As Europeans encountered
For example, in the United States in the 1950’s, it was common for middle class white Americans to be considered “good”, whereas non-white Americans living in poverty were to be considered “bad” or even “dangerous”. Moreover, they are defined by power relationships wherein the dominant culture exerts power over the minority cultures through defining a specific race, class, gender, or sexuality and thus excluding from the society’s resources or something of this sort. Weber also explores the relationship between the social makeup of race, class, gender, and sexuality and then the effect that has on the individual. For example, in the United States in the 1970s, the middle class was almost exclusively made up of white heterosexual families and the upper class even more so. Today, the middle and upper classes are available to any race or sexuality.
Jeff Badu History 281 Section AD1 2/4/13 Paper #1 The Pursuit of Power In the book Whiteness of a Different Color, Jacobson made a strong argument on how race was not only something biological, but a social construction and a forever evolving, unstable process. This means that the color of your skin did not necessarily define who you were, but how society viewed you based on your appearance and actions determined your race. Also, different people such as the Irish faced different obstacles throughout different times in order to gain their citizenship and be socially accepted as “white”. Jacobson’s book does not support the idea that all immigrants encountered the same obstacles with the different examples he provides and the term “whiteness of a different color” refers to how different racial groups were fighting in order to be considered white. Different racial groups had to struggle throughout different time periods in order to gain their “whiteness”.
America’s interracial and intercultural composition, prejudice, and tension between different groups has been inevitable, especially since whites (Anglos) emigrating from England felt they were innately superior and dominant over people from other nations and people of color. This paper will focus on the difficulties experienced by two racial minorities, Native American and Asian American, and will review how racism and culture conflict affected these two groups. Native Americans and Asian Americans found themselves in uniquely different positions in America. Native Americans has been the original inhabitants of this land, but found themselves outnumbered as Anglos and Hispanics arrived and claimed the land as their own. Native Americans found themselves to be in the minority and were slaughtered or enslaved by the newcomers.
Colorism in the United States The United States has a well documented and widely known legacy of slavery, racism, and discrimination. Most of this oppression has been endured by the minority races, ethnicities, and the “lower class” social groups of the U.S. These oppressed groups have largely comprised African Americans, Native Americans, and other non Anglo-Saxon culture groups. One of the largest obstacles African Americans have had to face in the United States of America is the injustice of slavery and racism, along with the ongoing socio-political and economic ramifications which ensue. At the core of this injustice is white supremacy—the racist ideology that, in the words of sociologist Charles S. Johnson (1941), contrasts “the evil and ugliness of blackness… with the goodness and purity of whiteness” (257).