Erin Smith
WMST250 0106
April 22, 2008
Assignment #3
Power. It’s what controls our society. It’s what establishes social status among people and who makes the rules that govern us. Everyone sees power differently, depending on one’s personal matrix of domination. Whether a person fits into marked or unmarked categories will determine how they view the centralization of power in society. Me being a white Catholic middle class female compels me to view my world in a much different way then perhaps a black low class woman would. We were offered different opportunities and were born into completely different surroundings. It is only natural that we would think differently about power sources and other aspects of society. While I am oppressed in some ways they are perhaps not as obvious or apparent as her own oppressions. Despite my oppressions not being as easily viewed, they still exist and are felt because of the limitations of power in our society.
Personally, I see power in our society concentrated in our government and other societal institutions. The government holds the ability to make the laws and create the rules that the population as a whole must respect. They also have the power to enforce these laws and punish those who do not obey them. Although our country is based on personal freedom and liberty, restrictions are still placed on us and thus there is only the appearance of complete freedom. Every citizen is allowed to do what ever he or she please, under the constraints of the law. Who makes these laws? Who is qualified enough to make decisions for the masses? Supposedly these people are those who we, as United States citizens, vote into the government to make informed decisions for all of us. However, if this were true then wouldn’t there be a good representation of all races and ethnicities in our government? Instead rich white males control our government. This has been the case since our country was established in 1776. Some may argue that our country has gone through significant changes over the years and the power has shifted. It may be true that there are more minorities then ever represented in the government today but that number is still miniscule to the percentage of white males that hold positions in the government.
Despite my seemingly unmarked matrix of domination I will most likely not hold a significant position in the government, no matter how hard I worked for it. I am not part of one of the wealthy families who are involved in the government. In order to run for Congress one must have a significant amount of money in order to run a campaign and also have a considerable following from the political world. Some might not consider this an oppression per say but I still consider it a limitation.
Socialist C. Wright Mills discussed his view of power in the American government in his book The Power Elite. He felt that the United States government was run by a small group of ‘elites’, which included the president, and a handful of other political leaders, the highest ranking military officers, and big business owners. He believed that these people controlled the government and made laws for the masses, which they believe, were most beneficial for the general public. He even thought that Congress itself was only second tier to these elites. However, he did not believe that the elites was a set group of people. He thought that new people were allowed to enter this circle of power but they must have connections and work extremely hard in order to break through the social classes. The public, in his opinion was the lowest tier and had very low influence in governmental decisions. Some may not agree with him because they would like to believe that our democracy is, as is the definition of a democracy, of, for, and by the people. Absolute democracy is not capable in a country as large as ours. It is inevitable that a group of people would take charge, not so much in a dictatorship type of way, but it is impossible to have every citizen’s voice heard. (Neubeck, 37)
Our government is not the only imperfect social institution in our country. Education is another example of one of America’s institutions that enables certain groups to be suppressed. While our country relies on the philosophy that everyone deserves the same opportunities, the systems that try to enforce this concept are imperfect as well and thus oppress certain groups of people. For instance, although all citizens are given access to education, the quality and availability of these schools differs for each person, mainly depending on their socioeconomic status and location. Public schools are offered in every socioeconomic neighborhood but schools in wealthy areas will provide a better education solely because they are able to pay higher taxes that are put into funding the school. Those who live in poverty stricken areas are unable to pay high taxes to fund their schools, if they are lucky enough to even have a school within walking distance of their homes. Another contributor to the low quality of education the lower class receives is the deficiency of teachers in those areas. Teachers want to be paid well so they migrate to areas that can provide them with a decent salary. Thus, they migrate to the wealthier areas in order to make a living. This is one of the reasons that poverty is a vicious cycle. Education is one of the key elements that help a person get out of poverty. However, a lot of people who are in poverty are not provided with schools that will help them advance in the world and some can not attend school because they have to enter the workforce in order to help financially support their family. They continue to work in the same jobs as their parents and many never have the time to go to school and therefore remain in the same situation as their parents and are unable to rise above the poverty line.
Education is one key example in displaying the painfully obvious separation of social classes in America. In our capitalist system there will always be one group of people who profit from our system and numerous others who consequentially suffer from it. Those in the elite, by human nature, try and maintain their status. No matter how much it may seem that those in the upper class are trying to assist those in the lower class to help them achieve a better life style, they will never do enough in order to make all the classes equal. It is the harsh reality of a capitalist society that there will always be a gap in the social classes, what we can control is the size of this gap. There is never a reason to have millions of people live below the poverty line in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. These people are being suppressed in order for the rich to maintain the lifestyle that they have become accustomed to. Many prejudicial practices arise from this attempt to preserve the luxuries that the wealthy enjoy. The groups who are suppressed have seemed to remain consistent throughout the years. They are usually minorities such as African Americans, Hispanics, or even women. They are placed into positions in which they are not offered the same opportunities as the wealthy and thus are unable to rise out of their social class and become more powerful then those currently in power, or the “elite” as Mills considered them.
Most people would not think that me, as a white, American, Catholic, middle class female is oppressed in any way. I was offered good educational opportunities and now I am attending a national ranked university. I don’t have get a job right now to support myself I am lucky enough that my parents have saved enough money in order to send me through college without relying on me to contribute a significant portion of it. I do not feel oppressed in the same way that many people would consider oppression. However, I am restricted in some aspects of my everyday life. There are certain things that I am unable to do because of my age, gender, race, or even socioeconomic status. My daily oppressions may not have anything to do with economics, but they still exist. America prides itself on offering everyone the “American dream.” Of course this “dream” differs for every individual, but on the whole it is the idea that everyone has the chance to make a good living for themselves through hard work and dedication. This of course is idealistic. Sometimes no matter how hard one tries to reach his or her goals, they do not achieve them. There are certain things that restrict people from doing anything they want, and sometimes these characteristics are out of our control.
For instance, no matter how hard I try I will never be able to become president of the United States for various reasons. None of my family has ever held a political position and social networking is one of the biggest factors is acquiring a government position like that. I also would not obtain enough money in order to manage a campaign and run for office. Another factor that would work against me is the fact that I am a woman. Although there is a woman candidate running for this election who has a good chance of being the Democratic nomination there is still a biased against women entering the government. It has always been the norm that wealthy white males dominated governmental positions and when someone tries to break the norm resistance is usually felt. We have come a long way from when our government was established but at the same time it seems that nothing has really changed at all. When our government started one majority ruled the government and that is still the case today. Those who are in the minority are still trying to establish themselves as essential parts of society and protect their rights as individuals.
Sometimes even a person’s individual beliefs are even grounds for prejudice. Throughout history people who did not hold the same beliefs as others in their society were persecuted. The most well known example of this is the Jewish people. They have a long history of persecution that originated solely because they were not Christians. Religious prejudice is one of the hardest concepts for me to understand. How can someone hate someone else just because they are of a different faith? Some people assume that Catholics are resentful of the Jewish people because it is said that the people who killed Jesus Christ were Jewish. I can only speak for myself and the other people of my religion that I know, but this is untrue.
When I tell someone I’m Catholic and that I attended a Catholic high school immediately they assume things about me. Since Christianity is an unmarked category their assumptions are not negative as sometimes those of marked people are. Many people assume that because I went to a Catholic high school that I am very religious and that I abide by all of the Catholic teachings and agree with all the Catholic doctrines. This assumption could not be farther from the truth. While I was raised in a Catholic family my family encouraged me to make my own decisions regarding religion and various other things and never pressured me to think or believe a certain thing. I know a lot of families place a lot of pressure on their children to have the same faith and beliefs as they did; this was not my case however. I do still consider myself Catholic in the sense that that’s how I was raised and that’s where my education came from. However, all those years in Catholic school actually made me rethink my beliefs and forced me decide for myself which doctrines to believe. Catholicism is very strict on their constituents upholding all traditions and beliefs, so in the eyes of many extreme Catholics I would not be considered a true Catholic. I believe this is why many people leave the Catholic Church; it doesn’t leave any room for people to make their own decisions and decide things for themselves. The Church also puts people in marked and unmarked categories. Although it says it is accepting of everyone it does not accept a person’s choice to be homosexual among other things such as a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. This causes a lot of hardship for not only the person who is directly involved in the act but the people in their lives as well. Because I am heterosexual I have not personally felt the oppression of being a gay Catholic. However, my uncle is homosexual and I saw the extremely hard time he went through when he finally decided to come out to his family. My grandparents are extremely Catholic and thus it was tremendously hard for them to accept that their son was going against the norms that the church had set out for them. The issue of abortion is more relatable for me solely because I am a woman. I have a hard time complying with restrictions that are placed on me. I am not firmly pro-choice or pro-life but I believe that individuals should have the right to make this decision for themselves. Due to the fact that the church is a heavy determinant of some people’s choices of what to do or what to believe, it is a huge power structure in our society. Not only the institution of the church itself, but religion in general. Religion is one of the most defining characteristics of a person. In some cases it governs their actions but regardless whether a person is raised in a very strictly religious family or in a household of atheists religion (or lack their of) influences the person they become and affects their actions and their lifestyle. A power structure is just that, something that has an influence in a person’s actions and lifestyle. Religion, in my case, has not restricted me but nevertheless it still molded me into the person I am today.
Another aspect of the matrix of domination that separates one person from another is gender. I am a female, which is a marked category in our patriarchal society. Women used to have a lot fewer rights and privileges in society. The evolution of women’s rights throughout the history of America is impressive and went from placing women in the home to placing them in the business world right next to the men. Although women in our society are given many of the same opportunities as men and are now in high-ranking positions of large corporations and even political positions, there is still a slight bit of oppression being felt. Women are still seen as inferior to men and are paid less money for the same job title. Recently women make about 75 cents to a man’s dollar. This would be understandable if men and women held different positions and performed different tasks this is not the case however. Women are just as qualified as men to do most jobs. Yes, it is true that men are more qualified to do jobs that require physical labor but this is only because most men are naturally built bigger then most females and are able to handle more physical labor. However, it is harder to achieve a high paying in the workforce if you are a woman because of the assumptions that come along with your gender. Some employers assume that a woman candidate is not only not as intelligent as another candidate who is a man, but also that she might leave her job in order to start a family. This cannot be assumed for all women and it could also be assumed for some men.
Over the years women has become much more likely to get a career outside of their house. Also, more women are attending college then men now. Possessing a higher educational degree allows them to get hired at the big companies and corporations. This allows women to be able to provide for themselves more then they have been able to in previous years. This is one of the main reasons why women are now getting married later and later. The original reason why companies wouldn’t pay men and women the same salary was because men were the main providers for their families. This is no longer true so this should be changed. There is no reason why a woman should make any less money then a man doing her exact same job. Women work just as hard as the men in their positions and dedicate the same amount of time out of their lives to advance in their careers.
Being a female myself is an oppression and advantage all at the same time. It is true that some people view women as meek creatures who need to stay home and care for the families while the their husband provides for them, but these views are ever-changing. It makes it that much more of a success to make be successful as a woman, knowing that some people didn’t think you could do it. It is extremely satisfying to know that you proved someone wrong, especially when they were saying that someone was incapable of doing something. Another in some instances I feel restricted by my gender I think it is able to be overcome. I don’t feel that because I am a woman I am not able to achieve the goals I have set for myself. Perhaps I have adjusted my goals throughout my life in order to account for my limitations but I am still following the path I wanted to in my life.
One last characteristic of my self that I think affects my everyday life and the opportunities that I am given is my race. I am white, which is an unmarked characteristic of the matrix of domination. I have never had to deal with the issue of racism in my personal life. I obviously still acknowledge it but I have not experienced it for myself mainly because I am white. However, because the effects of racism on certain people I have felt some reverse racism. Sometimes I assume because I am white that some people in the African American community dislike me solely based on how other people in my race act towards them. I honestly am accepting of all people no matter what their race but they assume that I act like some of the other white people they have met.
Many of my own characteristics in the matrix of domination are unmarked, also my characteristics is where power is mostly held. In my opinion wealthy white males possess the most power in our society whether it’s in the government or big business corporations. Although I am a woman I feel that this is not so much of a restriction anymore. However, I do not believe that female will ever become an unmarked category. The genders may never be completely equal. Perhaps in future years women will become more powerful then men, but then men would be a marked category so essentially it would be extremely difficult to have complete equality of the genders.
I had never really taken the time to consider where I found power in society or where in the realm I fit until we started discussing it in class. Because I fit into most unmarked categories I wasn’t really forced to take a look at my own personal oppressions. It seems that if you are in these common categories that people are not as willing to acknowledge your oppressions because they are not as harsh as those who maybe live in poverty or experience racism on a daily basis. I agree that these people’s oppressions are much worse then mine but I still think that the limitations I experience because of my gender, race, religion, age, etc, are still important and worth noting. Although it is completely unfair that certain people, based solely on personal factors, can be restricted from doing certain things, but I think that while the groups who are labeled marked may change there will always be inequality in our society. Hopefully over the years we can work on it and lessen the degree of oppression that these marked categories feel. I think the most important thing to take out of analyzing one’s place in society is realizing that everyone experiences oppression in some way and that everyone views power structures in completely different ways.
Works Cited
Neubeck, Kenneth J. Social Problems: A Critical Approach. 5th ed. Boston: McGrawHIll 2007. 36-39.
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Shannon Hassin
WMST250, Sec.#0106
April 22, 2008
Assignment 3B: The Analysis of Everyday Life
One can belong to a social class that can be both dominant and oppressed, depending on the context that it is viewed in. In some situations, being in a particular group can provide positions of influence, privileges, the power to make more important decisions than those that fall into groups lower on the social structure, and many opportunities not available to people of other social groups. Yet, in other situations people of these same social classes may find themselves constrained with limited options, out of the loop of decision-making, limited opportunities and even discrimination within social class.
Being in a group that has a position of power allows its members to have choices, influence over others ability to create/develop new policy, privilege of economic opportunities, and ability to obtain goods. When one belongs to a social class that has power and influence over others, that social class puts limits on others in their own decision-making options, economic opportunities, and influences. The complexion of person’s occupation and the degree needed to obtain this occupation predominantly govern the social class they are suitable for. The more mastery and leadership in their occupational field, the higher their status.
According to Oxford American Dictionaries, power is defined as the ability to do something or act in a particular way. In our society power is in the hands of the people at the top of the social class structure. The social class structure is largely based on income, education, and occupation. Socioeconomic status is also determined on wealth, ownership of land and property, family background, and life aspirations. At the top of the social class structure, are the elites. The elites are those with the most wealth and have the best standing in our society. Therefore, they have the most authority and influence in federal institutions. Most of the people that belong to this class are CEO’s, as well as politicians. Subservient to the upper class follows the upper middle class. The upper middle class, also called the professional class, consists of mostly professionals, meaning college degrees and graduate degrees are commonly held within this class. Following this upper middle class is the lower middle class, which is composed of semi-professionals and craftsmen. Due to limited college education, the lower middle class consists of semi-professionals and craftsmen with an average standard of living. This is the second most heavily populated class of our population. Following, is the working class, which is the largest class in the United States’ class structure. People in this class are in this class because of their income, lack of mastery, and labor-intensive type of work. Based on your position in this structure of classes determines much of your lifestyle.
The matrix of domination is a “sociological theory that explains issues of oppression that deal with race, class, gender, and other forms of classification such as sexual orientation, religion, and age (Wikipedia).” These categories also consist of dimensions of difference involving race, gender, class, sexuality, able-bodiedness, language, religion, nationality, and age. Based on where one falls in each of these categories, they can be marked or unmarked, which directly leads to their social class location. According to your social class location in these different groups directly correlates to your place in society. In accordance with the ditto presented to us in discussion section, the unmarked categories are white, young, male adults, of the upper or middle classes, heterosexual, temporarily able-bodied/able-bodied, standard English language, Protestant Christian, and United States citizens. These characteristics are what I believe people in the upper class with all the power in our society possess. The people who are unmarked are the powerful, privileged people at the top of the class structure, which are mostly the dominant, white men. The marked people are the subordinate, oppressed, powerless people including women, people of color, non-Christian, not straight, of lower class, able bodiedness, age, nationality, and language.
In each of these categories there are both sources of power and oppression. In my life being a woman in our society has both a source of power and oppression. A source of power comes from my choice of field to study and the economic and professional options available to me. A source of oppression is simply being a woman in a male dominated society and all the aspects of sexual discrimination and sexist feelings that exist. Being that my parents are in the upper middle class, it in a way puts me in it as well. I have many benefits of being above most people in American society. I live a very comfortable life and I realize how well I live compared to most people in our country, as well as in the world. A downfall of being in this level of the social structure is that my family and I are located below the upper class. Being Caucasian definitely contributes to forms of power in our society and world. The society in which we live is mostly a white dominated society and that is why being of the white race is an unmarked, dominant trait. Not being of the Caucasian race constitutes many attitudes of racial discrimination, prejudice, and affirmative action from other races. In terms of religion, I have a stereotype against me that happens to contribute to a source of power in my life. People of the Jewish religion are said to be very intelligent, which helps my reputation. However, in general, society does not have outstanding views on the Jewish people and their beliefs. One’s position within these classifications contributes to which power and oppression is based.
In all truthfulness, I never thought I was being oppressed in any way, shape, or form. However, after completing the exercise in class on intersectionality and identifying our social class location, seeing which categories in the matrix of domination were marked and unmarked, I realized that my religion as well as my sex causes me to be marked. Based on my location in these two marked categories I came to a realization on how my life is effected immensely and how I am presented with some benefits, yet some complications based on my position within these classes.
The greater dimension of difference that I am marked in is obviously gender. Being a female is extremely difficult. Living in a male dominated society and world makes most tasks in a woman’s life complex. Women are constantly confronted with sexism and sex discrimination, especially in the workforce. When entering the job market women find their options for occupations limited and sometimes restricted. Due to sex, women are not permitted to take on certain jobs because women are seen as less educated and inferior quality to a male employee. Therefore, women are underrepresented in occupations historically defined as “men’s jobs,” which often pay more.
This especially affects me and my future plans of career. Since I was a young girl, I have always dreamed of becoming a professional, specifically in the medical field. Over time I have evolved from aspiring to be an orthopedist to an ophthalmologist. Even though much education is needed in these fields, because I am a woman, I will never be treated equally. In the medical field as well as in many other professional fields, women are almost always paid less then men. Therefore, even though I may have equal qualifications as a male doctor, he will still be paid more.
In my sociology class, we read an article titled ‘Tales Out of Medical School,” by Doctor Adriane Fugh-Berman. Fugh-Berman talks of her experience of being a female medical student at the well-known, prestigious medical school at Georgetown University School. Through many examples, she talks about not only how female bodies were used inappropriately, but also disrespectfully. She also notes on how female body parts were thrown into a “cadaver waste” basket showing that not only is the female body is insignificant and disrespected, but also that any diseases or illnesses that females may have are unimportant and having to cure these health issues are of no significance. In addition, Fugh-Berman discussed how, because she was a female medical student, she was not allowed to take a class on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, therefore, leading to an unfair biased educational experience. I recall reading this article and being so disgusted not only because female medical students were denied of the same education as the male medical students and the fact that female illnesses were disregarded and not taught, but mostly because I consider this field a prominent choice of career. If I go on with my aspirations am I not going to be given the same education because I am a female?
Another aspect of life in which women are treated unfairly regarding work is the “second shift” as well as the glass ceiling. The majority of working women face the double burden or the “second shift”. After a long hard day of working outside the home, they still have the obligation to care of their children and housework. This “second shift” of work is mostly never equally distributed between the male and female. It is almost always the woman who is in charge of cooking, cleaning and taking care of other household chores in the home. The idea of the “glass ceiling” comes into play with women in the workplace. The “glass ceiling” is an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the person’s gender, race, or ethnicity. This can be compared to the “glass escalator,” which refers to males that work in predominantly female places. Rather than being discriminated because of their sex, they are promoted to the best position possible. This shows that no matter what work environment males are in, they are dominant of the two sexes. As a result of the “glass ceiling” and the “glass escalator,” this reveals the fact that as a result women earn less than men and that women are more likely to be poor over men. Although this does not directly affect me right now, not too far in the future it will.
Women are constantly being oppressed by sources of medias well. Whether in popular television shows or simply in magazines, women are constantly reminded of how they should look and act. In magazine advertisements and commercials, all the women wearing that certain outfit or modeling that product has that ideal, tiny figure with perfect skin complexion, hair and eye color. The media is constantly showing women that this is what it means to be beautiful and “perfect.” As a result of this, women put extreme measures of pressure on themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially to change themselves to fulfill this non-existent measure of “perfect,” typically generated by a computer program. When walking through the tunnel of oppression, a video showing how an average woman was completely transformed into a beautiful model with not only a complete make over, but also the work of a special computer program. What is most sad about this is that women in our society, including myself, try so hard each and every day to become this vision of “perfect,” while in the meantime there is no one perfect out there. The fact is, that with mainstream media, a simple mouse click can change the appearance of these women to look perfect and broadcast it to the masses. With that said how is it their decision on what constitutes as perfect?
Additionally, women are viewed today the way they are, because of how we are presented in aspects of music and music videos. In the tunnel of oppression, they picked out the line of the very popular song “Crank That,” by Soulja Boy that is repeated constantly throughout the song. The poster described not only what the line meant, but also provided a picture to diagram the whole process. This really shocked me and caused me to say “whoa” out loud to myself. I imagine I was so surprised because I liked the song without realizing what this line actually meant. As a woman it is obviously really offensive and ostracizing. I am actually still kind of upset at myself for liking this song so much to the extent where I would always play it, while being so ignorant of what it actually meant. The way women are so subordinate in our society as a comparison to men is unbelievable. Throughout the whole song the rapper uses this derogatory phrase, but what is more outrageous is that this is not the only song. Many rappers and singers use derogatory terms referring to females in their song lyrics and what is even worse is the way their music videos portray females. These music videos have woman dressed provocatively wearing little to no clothing creating a general image of how women should look and act towards men. As a result of what women are wearing and how they are being spoken to in these videos, this portrayal creates a course of action of which men think they can use towards women.
Overall, women are the subordinate sex in our society. On an everyday basis every woman is probably discriminated against or looked down upon because she is simply a female rather than a male. Although as women we all face this same sort of discrimination, there are other women who have other discriminations in which they face based on their religious beliefs, race/ethnicity, sexuality, as well as the other categories in the matrix of domination.
The second dimension of difference that I am marked for is my religious background. I am 100% Jewish. When someone is anything but the majority in this world, there is always a good deal of stereotypes put against these groups, particularly those of the Jewish religion. For a good part of my life I was sent to Hebrew school to learn about Judaism, the Jewish culture, and its values. We were constantly taught about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. We were reminded of how Jewish people were looked down upon, ostracized, and hated in that specific time in history. They also did not fail to make sure we knew that these feelings have not ceased to exist. In today’s Protestant Christian society, Jewish people are a minority and are still not looked upon in a likeable manner.
However, on the other side, within the category of religion, there are three main denominations, which are known as Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism. Each of these denominations has different laws based on their religious observance that control their lives. I am a reform Jew. Reform Jewish people are called liberal or progressive in many countries. What makes this denomination of Judaism different is that, when it comes to following the Hebrew Bible, they do not follow it as strictly and they don’t let it dominate their lives as much as other denominations. In general, Reform Judaism does not believe in the adherence to the commandments of Judaism, but they maintain much of the values and ethics of the Jewish religion.
One advantage in which I have power within my religious marking is that I am a Reform Jew. Since adherence to the Jewish values and ethics is not quite exact and strict as in the Orthodox and Conservative denominations, women are still seen subordinately. Since Reform Judaism is more liberal, it allows people to have the freedom to move and do what they choose. Reform Jewish women have more power and opportunity as opposed to Orthodox Jewish women. For example, Orthodox women cannot wear pants. They must always wear a dress or a skirt even when exercising at a local gym. Along with not wearing pants, Orthodox women also wear wigs to make sure that no one, but their husbands, see what they really look like. In contrast, Reform Judaism believes that women and men are equal. Women are allowed to take on certain rituals and positions that were conventionally held by men, where as in the Orthodox denomination women cannot attain these positions.
Even though I am a more liberal Jew, within my marked category, I am oppressed and discriminated against. The more devout denominations in Judaism primarily Orthodox Jews are not extremely partial to the denominations of Conservative or Reform Judaism. Since Orthodox Jews are so strict and regimented in following the Torah and its laws, Orthodox Jews view those in other denominations which are not as strict, as not even being Jewish. Orthodox Jews’ believe that the practices of other denominations of Judaism, are unacceptable and irrational as being legitimate Judaism. My denomination of Judaism and its other followers, in their eyes, are viewed as unbelievers and not true Jewish people. It is unfortunate and disgraceful that although we are all Jewish people, with the same principals and beliefs that if someone is not one hundred percent into it, that they are criticized and not even considered the religious background they are.
A stereotype usually put against Jewish people, are that they are generally all well educated and intelligent. Since people abide by stereotypes most of the time, this is technically good for my reputation. It is also good since I am planning on going into the medical field. Within the medical field there are many Jewish people who practice. Jewish doctors are known to be the best of all doctors and therefore, this would help my chance of making it in this difficult world. I never thought I would say it, but this is a stereotype I would not mind having on me.
Like I stated earlier, prior to this assignment I thought nothing of any source of oppression in my life. In my discussion section when we went to see the tunnel of oppression I saw some things that helped me to see that I, as a Reform Jewish woman, am in fact, oppressed. One exhibit in the tunnel of oppression that struck me most was probably the caricature of each of the same character but of different ethnicities. They showed a Mexican one, a Jewish one, and an African American one. Each of the drawings to show each ethnicity had the traditional stereotypes and views of how people from these ethnicities looked. For example, they had a Jewish person with a yammakah, bigger nose, and payoths. The drawing representing the Mexican ethnicity had a Mexican sombrero and mustache, while the one of an African American had dark skin and bigger lips. I found this representation a bit offensive since not all Jewish people have those characteristics. In addition, there was a recording of different peoples voices playing saying offending slang terms for each of the ethnicities. When I first heard it I was appalled and taken back as to where it was coming from.
In today’s society, power is based upon people’s sex, sexual preference, religion, race/ethnicity, economic class, language, able-bodiedness, as well as nationality. The people in our society with the most power are straight, white males of the upper class. They have the most wealth and prestige, so therefore they have all the power. Everyone else who does not fit into these categories is marked and seen as dominated by this stronger, dominant, more privileged class of population. I am marked in the categories of sex and religion. Since I am not only a female, but I also practice the least strict version of Judaism, I am marked. What I learned from this assignment that you can be marked in each of the eight different categories, but within those categories that you are marked in, you can be further marked as well as discriminated by people who are in the same situation. No matter what, I am marked for life.
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