Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter?

Title: Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter Authors: Margaret L. Andersen, Patricia Hill Collins Publication: Wadsworth

The critical issues mentioned in “Why Race Class and Gender Still Matter” are how inequalities are going to be spoken about in the book “Race Class and Gender” and about how race, class, and gender still effect society today. Another critical topic in this chapter is Hurricane Katrina and how that brought the poverty level and status of minorities in the country to light.

Lastly, this chapter explains how the author expects the reader to look at race, class, and gender as they read the rest of the book and to look at the experiences of every group from that particular perspective.

This book was intended for under-graduate and graduate sociology or political science students. The purpose of chapter one was to explain the point of the book. It was an expository introduction that told why race, class, and gender needs to be examined and studied.

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According to this book race, class, and gender “shape the experiences of all people in the United States.” There are ways in which different groups can be both privileged in one way while disadvantaged in another. Americans have started describing these different groups using the term diversity. Diversity awareness has started initiatives to prove diversity is pleasing and important, and that it should be celebrated. One more important topic discussed in this chapter is the directions to study exploitations and exclusions of some groups along with the inclusion of others.

The thesis of “Why Race Class and Gender Still Matter” is that developing knowledge of how the progressively universal center of society effects the configuration of race, class, and gender interactions will inspire inclusive outlooks in the United States. The author’s language ability is voice-intimidating. The author uses very advanced language. Specific words I found difficult to understand were matrix, salient, domination, and framework. The author provides evidence when talking about Hurricane Katrina and the damage that hurricane did. However, most statements are not backed up with evidence of studies or statistics. The author employs the logic of problematic.

I found this reading to open my mind up for what is to come in the future weeks of this class. Since it was only the opening chapter I did not find anything to be implicit or explicit. My biggest question is what is meant by a matrix of domination? This chapter says “we use the approach of a matrix of domination to analyze race, class, and gender.” I realize that it refers to levels in the social structure of the U.S. but how are these levels defined and what makes one disadvantage worse than another?

Sociology Essay: Race & Ethnicity

Racism- the act of discriminating others based on race; has existed throughout human history and will continue to exist as long as people subjectively see races as real categories of people. Thus I would like to talk about the issue of racism in Singapore.

Singapore is renowned for its multi-racial society. People around the world are amazed at how our different races have been able to coexist and live together in harmony. But there is more than meets the eye. Though there aren’t outwardly expressions of displeasure amongst the different races, Singaporeans do practice racial biasness, more often than not without themselves even realising it. For this topic, I would like to talk about the news of an assistant director that was fired for her racist comments.

According to the article, NTUC assistant director, Amy Cheong, was sacked after she posted offensive comments online. She put up a public status on her personal Facebook timeline, complaining about a Malay wedding that was being held at a void deck near her home. In her status, she related Malay weddings to high divorce rates, and asked how society could “allow people to get married for 50 bucks”, peppering with vulgarities. She also allegedly wrote, “Void deck weddings should be banned. If you can’t afford a proper wedding then you shouldn’t be getting married.” Cheong’s Facebook account has since been deactivated, and she has apologised publicly. However, her post has sparked a furious backlash from the citizens.

The reason for Amy Cheong posting the racist comments on her Facebook is due to her prejudice toward the Malays. According to the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective, Prejudice is a product of labelling and perception. These labels create selective perception of others, and overpower with emotion while blocking out rational thoughts. Consequently, self-fulfilling stereotypes are created. From this, “she related Malay weddings to high divorce rates, and asked how society could allow people to get married for 50 bucks” and “Void deck weddings should be banned. If you can’t afford a proper wedding then you shouldn’t be getting married”, Amy Cheong labels the Malays as lowly and that their weddings are substandard. Hence, we could tell that she is prejudiced towards the Malays.

Prejudice and Discrimination tend to come together. The presence of one often signals the existence of the other. For instance, complaints like “dirty, smelly” Bangladeshis are frequently heard from Singaporeans who use public transport. The influx of foreign workers to Singapore may have resulted in strong sentiment by the locals against the workers, subsequently resulting in discrimination towards these workers by the locals.

The Functionalist view states that prejudice serves a function by creating in-group solidarity. It also states that prejudice creates a common enemy and serves to define discriminated groups as dysfunctional. In this case, Singaporeans, in general, form an in-group unity by ostracising the Bangladeshis and regarding them as dysfunctional because they are “dirty” and “smelly”. Therefore, the Functionalist view shows how a racial group is discriminated by others.

References:

Tan, J. (2012). NTUC fires assistant director for racist comments. Retrieved January 20, 2012, from http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-assistant-director-says-sorry-for-racist-post.html

Seah, C.N. (2005). Racism lives on in Singapore. Retrieved January 20, 2012, from http://www.littlespeck.com/content/people/CTrendsPeople-051003.htm