Showing posts with label gender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gender. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Privilege. I have it. You have it. Now what?
I've come to realize that I've drilled the importance of self-reflection into this blog, but not once have I described what self-reflection is, or what it looks like in the context of privilege. I'm going to try to fix that as best as I can.
Self-reflection, in layman's terms, is "meditation or serious thought about one's character, actions, and motives." It's taking a moment in your life to pause and critically contemplate the nature of your life, your self, and your actions. In a culture where we are all about self-validation, all about instant gratification, and life is constantly on the go, go, go, we have reached a destitute poverty of self-reflectors. Its gotten to a point where we don't even know what it looks like anymore. We don't even know where to begin.
Is self-reflecting self questioning?
Is it investigating? Excavating?
How long does it take?
Ten minutes?
Ten years?
I think the answer varies from person to person, but reflection in the context of privilege, in my opinion, is mostly based on observations that lead to an irreversible sort of awareness. It's an everlasting process. With different experiences, you become aware of different kinds of privilege. For example, I'd never really thought of able-bodied privilege until I started writing for this blog.
The real challenge comes when we start to deny the privilege that we have discovered, when we blow off multiple observations we've made as irrelevant to the conversation of unconscious bias.
A great example of the self-reflection process can be read in this article from the Huffington Post.
Gloria Atanmo exemplifies what it is to critically dissect observed disparities and sort them into privileges she has, many of which (such as African-American Privilege) she'd never consider a privilege previously .
Self-reflection varies on the person of course. What is reflection to me, to Atanmo, or her editor, could be entirely different from somebody else's "aha!" moment in privilege.
So what is self-reflection to you? Have you had any big "aha" moments worth that completely shifted your understanding of privilege?
Feel free to share in the comments below!
Sunday, June 21, 2015
It's no secret that women, particularly women in color, face the brunt of significant bias in their careers. But you'll be shocked to know the extent of it. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, which included 557 surveys and 67 in-depth interviews from women in science, female scientists find that they constantly have to "prove" themselves to male co-workers. Prejudice fills these labs like a hot, sticky fog, causing women to struggle not only in maintaining respect, but preserving their passions.
According to this study, there are 5 types of Bias most women in STEM have in common.
1. Prove-It-Again:
People take Women's word for it when they insist that they are competent enough to do their jobs. Not only do they have to prove themselves over and over, but they often need more evidence to prove their points than male colleges.
2. The Gender-Role Tightrope:
Women can't act too feminine or they won't be respected, but at the same time, they can't be too masculine or they'll be considered "unlikable"
3. The Maternal Wall
Women are frequently questioned and expected to start families and, if they do, they are often pressured by co-workers to work less hours so that they can take care of their children.
4. Tug-of-War
While women generally support each other in the work place, others report that they feel as if they are competing for the "women's spot" in the workplace.
5. Isolation
This one is specific to women of color, who feel as if engaging with others socially takes away from their authority. In other cases, they find themselves being excluded from things because they think they'll be uncomfortable as the only minority in the group.
In addition to this, many women of color reported people being completely open and expectant to racial stereotypes, one black biologist reported being asked by an administrator if any of her family was "into drugs or in jail" while several Latinas claimed to overhear the stereotype of Hispanics being lazy. What's even worse, many of these minorities have reported to have been mistaken for janitorial or administrative staff.
This shows the sheer impact of bias. So many assume that making these assumptions is harmless, but the truth is, they hurt. And when people are faced with these comments and assumptions on a day-to-day basis, it goes from being a nuisance to a hostile workplace.Gender and Racial bias is driving women out of a field that we desperately need more people in. It's yet another reason why we must she'd our ignorance and put bias to an end.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Those who don't identify with a defined gender often have trouble finding a comfortable, judgement free place to use the restroom. It's a plight no cisgendered person has ever experienced, but it seems, for the most part, that when people cant specifically catagorize a bathroom patron's gender, tery generally tend to treat them with animosity. When bathrooms are inclusive too all genders, the boy-girl rules don't matter, and the pressure comes off.
For many of us, this isn't considered to be "big news," but it should be, because it speaks volumes about the progress that is being made in the LGBTQ movement. The white house's choice to add gender inclusive bathrooms to their blueprints is a symbolic leap taken by the Obama Administration in the name of protecting LGBTQ rights, and best of all, it's a permanent symbol that will remain in the white house even after President Obama leaves office.
Way to go, guys!
Sunday, April 5, 2015
This weekend everyone on my Facebook feed seemed to be up in arms over Jaden Smith wearing a dress to coachella. I don't really understand the cause of the hype. First of all, it looks more like an over sized T-shirt than a dress, and second, even if it was a dress, who cares?
Men always seem to be dressed in women's clothing under an absurdest context, but does it always have to be absurd? After all, society allows women to cross-dress with no problem. In the words of Mark Blechner, Author of Sex Changes: Transformations in Society and Psychoanalysis " Marlene Dietrich in a tuxedo was considered very erotic; Jack Lemmon in a dress was considered ridiculous." Similar reactions to cross dressing celebrities have been gauged throughout the years, but why? Why is there such backlash? Why do we have a reaction to it all?
NYU released an analysis of this issue in 2009, suggesting that it's all a symptom of a cultural stronghold of heteronormativity.
Heteronormativity is defined as the social norm that suggests that people fall into distinct, complimentary genders. However, when people challenge the behaviors assigned to their sex, their gender roles, this in turn challenges a prevailing societal norm. When a celebrity breaks social norms there is often a widespread, out of proportion response. That's why the internet practically blew up when Jennifer Lawrence cut her hair or Jaden Smith is seen in a not-so-masculine outfit. Our society conditions us to care more about it than it really matters.
But the reality is, people aren't solid blocks of gender. Females have masculine qualities, and males have feminine qualities. People cross the (imaginary) line of boy-girl rules on a day to day basis, and nothing bad has happened as a result of it. The negative repercussions start when the judgement comes in. It starts when hate is used to emphasize little differences in each other.
The concept of violating gender roles is the same as violating racial roles, or class roles. These designations do not exist, and we should not allow others to think so by consonantly reacting to the things that do not adhere to our norms.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Last week I came across an article arguing that the word "thug" is the new "n----r."
Could this be true?
This Friday I also had the privilege of sitting in on a high school presentation of Dr. Neal Lester's "Straight Talk about the N-Word." During which, he talked about the connotations of the N-word throughout history, and why it is considered to be so offensive.
I learned that not only was it a word to express hate, but it was often just a commonplace word to describe African Americans. In early 20th Century pop culture, the n-word was usually paired with derogatory statements, pictures, or lyrics. The n-word wasn't just something people randomly yelled when they wanted to hurt African Americans (although it was frequently used for that purpose as well). It was a word used to demean and categorize a whole subgroup of people on a day-to-day basis.
I had already read the article before I went to this presentation, and as I listened, I thought of the similarities between "thug" today and "n-----" in the past.
"Thug" is a word used far too often to describe African Americans. Every time we see a black victim of violence, the media is always trying to justify their attacks by trying to prove they are "thugs." And what exactly is a "thug?" What does one have to do to be considered a "thug?" The answer depends on who you ask, but to get a basic idea, I looked it up on Google images. Here's what came up:
Notice anything they all have in common?
These are the over exaggerated images that come to mind when somebody tries to imagine a thug. Like the n-word, "thug" is a word encompassing a negative connotation, perpetuating the mistreatment of African Americans that is used in a commonplace context. Because of this, I am entirely behind the idea that "thug" shares nearly identical implications with the n-word.
Is "thug" the new "n-----r?" It could be, it's used just as commonly to say something very similar, but that's just my opinion. What are your thoughts?
Sunday, March 22, 2015
I am cisgendered. Which means that I can never fully understand what it feels like to misgendered, or how detrimental this can be to somebody's self esteem, but I do know that being recognized as the correct gender is a huge issue within the transgender community. This is why it is so important to be diligent in recognizing and supporting those who are transgendered or transitioning, and the very best way to do that is with our words. Specifically gender pronouns.
As Everyday Feminism argues, using the correct gender pronouns is essential to becoming an effective ally for the LGBTQ community. People want to be called the right pronouns. It sounds like an easy concept to grasp, after all no "sir" wants to be called "ma'am" and the same applies in vic versa. But misgendering means a whole lot more to those who are transgendered. Like I said, I personally believe that this is a feeling no cisgendered person can come close to fully understanding, however, this is an article that really put things into perspective for me. It's called "What You Are Actually Saying When You Ignore Somebody's Gender Pronouns" Check it out!
As Everyday Feminism argues, using the correct gender pronouns is essential to becoming an effective ally for the LGBTQ community. People want to be called the right pronouns. It sounds like an easy concept to grasp, after all no "sir" wants to be called "ma'am" and the same applies in vic versa. But misgendering means a whole lot more to those who are transgendered. Like I said, I personally believe that this is a feeling no cisgendered person can come close to fully understanding, however, this is an article that really put things into perspective for me. It's called "What You Are Actually Saying When You Ignore Somebody's Gender Pronouns" Check it out!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
As one who grew up in a Hispanic family, operating among a multi-language environment was never anything strange to me. I have members of my family who are fluent in both English and Spanish, and others who can only speak one or the other. For most of my life, I operated under the belief that the language somebody spoke just was. I never really focused on the fact that I could understand my mother when she was talking to my aunts, but I couldn't understand my grandmother when she was talking to my great aunts. To me, all these verbal barriers weren't a matter of inferiority vs. superiority, it just meant that I couldn't understand certain people's gossip. However, it has recently come to my attention that as a society, we do value those who speak the same language as us a little more than we should.
The multi-language warning label on your hair dryer may lead you to think different, but America mostly operates as a single-language country. For those who don't speak English, it is difficult to do day-to-day tasks that require communication, an uphill battle to get an education, and nearly impossible to get a well-paying job. On top of this, many who face this language barrier in America are personally attacked for failing to learn our "mother tongue." This is a form of discrimination called linguiscism. We've all heard somebody at one time or another say that only "true Americans" speak English. While many of us don't have such extreme tendencies of liguicism, we all have some kind of unconscious bias when we encounter people who don't speak the same language as us, or who have accents that make them difficult to understand.
Whether its a completely different language, or some different dialect of American English, a lack of fluency in our own language often goes hand-in-hand with being labeled incompetent or uneducated.
I met my turning point in linguistic perception when I was seventeen years old. I asked my mother why none of her siblings were fluent in Spanish, and she said the reason why was because they were banned to speak Spanish in their house. My grandfather, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, was often bullied for his lack of fluency. To him, banning Spanish was not only a form of protecting his children, but a way of guaranteeing their success. Since then, I have been told by many of my Hispanic peers that the same thing has happened in their household.
It is shameful to see just how far we let lingucisim get by. In privilege talks, linguiscism is mostly scanned over, but it is one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination in our country.
Linguiscism is a difficult concept to combat, because many feel that the only way to counter it would be to learn as many langauges as possible so that we can all understand each other. While that would be great, that is not a realistic expectation for most people. Honestly, just like any form of discrimination, the very best first step one can take is to practice empathy and to watch for the unconscious bias within oneself. Tolerance isn't a quality exclusive to multi-langauged individuals, and this extension of empathy can mean far more than any words ever could. When we allow these actions speak louder than words, the dialect we're using hardly even matters.
The multi-language warning label on your hair dryer may lead you to think different, but America mostly operates as a single-language country. For those who don't speak English, it is difficult to do day-to-day tasks that require communication, an uphill battle to get an education, and nearly impossible to get a well-paying job. On top of this, many who face this language barrier in America are personally attacked for failing to learn our "mother tongue." This is a form of discrimination called linguiscism. We've all heard somebody at one time or another say that only "true Americans" speak English. While many of us don't have such extreme tendencies of liguicism, we all have some kind of unconscious bias when we encounter people who don't speak the same language as us, or who have accents that make them difficult to understand.
Whether its a completely different language, or some different dialect of American English, a lack of fluency in our own language often goes hand-in-hand with being labeled incompetent or uneducated.
I met my turning point in linguistic perception when I was seventeen years old. I asked my mother why none of her siblings were fluent in Spanish, and she said the reason why was because they were banned to speak Spanish in their house. My grandfather, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, was often bullied for his lack of fluency. To him, banning Spanish was not only a form of protecting his children, but a way of guaranteeing their success. Since then, I have been told by many of my Hispanic peers that the same thing has happened in their household.
It is shameful to see just how far we let lingucisim get by. In privilege talks, linguiscism is mostly scanned over, but it is one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination in our country.
Linguiscism is a difficult concept to combat, because many feel that the only way to counter it would be to learn as many langauges as possible so that we can all understand each other. While that would be great, that is not a realistic expectation for most people. Honestly, just like any form of discrimination, the very best first step one can take is to practice empathy and to watch for the unconscious bias within oneself. Tolerance isn't a quality exclusive to multi-langauged individuals, and this extension of empathy can mean far more than any words ever could. When we allow these actions speak louder than words, the dialect we're using hardly even matters.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
This Buzzfeed article has been trending for a while, and I've felt the need to share it since the first time I came across it. José's story is as shocking as it is tragic. Most importantly, it is representative of the unconscious bias that many of us have.
It is unlikely that each one of the hundreds of employers José contacted consciously decided not to hire him because he had a Hispanic name. Scenarios like this happen all the time due to an unconscious bias perpetuated by the stereotypes associated with members of each race. John, Joe, or George are perceived as more professional than Juan, José, or Jorge because employers often associate ethnic names with the stigma of an ethnicity. In José's case, he was assumed to be a migrant worker, and immediately dismissed. Bias, whether conscious or unconscious, hurts people all the same. It's important to be aware of the different kinds of bias so that we can try to identify them in ourselves and others, and then fix the problem from there.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
In the past couple of months, we have gone over a number of forms of privilege (white, thin, able-bodied, class, ect.) and the actions and fallacies that cause major disparities in our society. While examples of these actions and fallacies mostly include racism, discrimination and hate crimes, there are more out there. That's why, today, I want to dive into the power of words.
We all know that the old "sticks and stones" rhyme we used to hear in elementary school is about as accurate as claiming that the sky is magenta. Words can cause some serious damage. Currently, our culture is littered with damaging words that are not only offensive, but active in the perpetuation of the inequality overwhelms this country. One specific sub-group which faces the brunt of this epidemic is the disabled community.
When it comes to words of offense, there are some that are not up for debate. For example, "faggot" or the n word. Words like these have been known to be spoken out of hate, and, generally speaking, we've come to the consensus that we're not supposed to say them. However, there are still many harmful words that have slipped under the radar of offense simply because they don't offend us. For example, "crazy," "retard," "cripple," "bipolar," and "spaz." Many of us hear, or even say, at least one of these words on a day to day basis. As ordinary as they may seem, however, they still have a derogatory effect. This is called ableist language.
Imagine if somebody used "crazy" to describe their mother who had Alzheimer's, or if somebody called a veteran missing one of his legs a "cripple." That would be extremely offensive! Why is then, that these words are acceptable to use in other contexts? The answer is that they really aren't, it is just assumed that they are because there are so few activists against ableist language. Ableism really is something that we should work towards avoiding. There specific terms that cut into specific groups more than others. Just as we abstain from saying racial slurs, or homophobic phrases, we should extend the same act of diligence to the disabled community by choosing alternatives to ableist language.
For some examples of non-ableist alternative, check out the chart from Upworthy!
We all know that the old "sticks and stones" rhyme we used to hear in elementary school is about as accurate as claiming that the sky is magenta. Words can cause some serious damage. Currently, our culture is littered with damaging words that are not only offensive, but active in the perpetuation of the inequality overwhelms this country. One specific sub-group which faces the brunt of this epidemic is the disabled community.
When it comes to words of offense, there are some that are not up for debate. For example, "faggot" or the n word. Words like these have been known to be spoken out of hate, and, generally speaking, we've come to the consensus that we're not supposed to say them. However, there are still many harmful words that have slipped under the radar of offense simply because they don't offend us. For example, "crazy," "retard," "cripple," "bipolar," and "spaz." Many of us hear, or even say, at least one of these words on a day to day basis. As ordinary as they may seem, however, they still have a derogatory effect. This is called ableist language.
Imagine if somebody used "crazy" to describe their mother who had Alzheimer's, or if somebody called a veteran missing one of his legs a "cripple." That would be extremely offensive! Why is then, that these words are acceptable to use in other contexts? The answer is that they really aren't, it is just assumed that they are because there are so few activists against ableist language. Ableism really is something that we should work towards avoiding. There specific terms that cut into specific groups more than others. Just as we abstain from saying racial slurs, or homophobic phrases, we should extend the same act of diligence to the disabled community by choosing alternatives to ableist language.
For some examples of non-ableist alternative, check out the chart from Upworthy!
Sunday, February 8, 2015
So the Super Bowl was exactly one week ago, which means I may be late to the party, but I still felt like Alway's "Run Like a Girl" ad was worth mentioning. Growing up, "Like a girl" was always something I heard with a negative connotation, but it never really put me down, I just accepted it. I was a girl and therefore I ran slower, I couldn't throw, I wasn't as smart. Looking back, I know that it isn't the phrase that is harmful, but the perpetuated stereotypes that I was fed growing up. A couple of my friends and I were going over this topic last week and many recalled vivid memories of their parents putting an overbearing emphasis on being feminine when they were younger.
What makes this ad so important isn't just the empowering message it gives to young girls. As the advertisement already shows, the girls featured in this video are virtually unaware of the gender bias ringing in the statement "like a girl." The key to this video's success is it's true audience: adults, current or future parents and members of society who actively reinforce these stereotypes. Sure, it's inspiring to girls, but it also challenges members of society to re-think the phrase "like a girl" and to rethink these stereotypes in general. If it's simple for a group of kids, then it should be simple for us too, right?
Kudos to the #LikeAGirl campaign that is moving in so many ways!
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Earlier this week, I was surfing the internet and came across the Cisgender Privilege Checklist released by Oberlin College. This is so important. We hear about white privilege, class privilege, and male privilege all the time, but too often is the full extent of gender privilege truly considered. I could not imagine the amount of pain that comes with the feeling of being a prisoner in my own body. It's heartbreaking to think of, and what's worse is that people rarely ever think about it. Really, cisgendered privilege seems to be the redheaded stepchild of privilege discussions. And yet it's something that most of us have. We really need to step it up. Not only should we be more mindful of this privilege, but more active in the way we acknowledge it. The transgender community is so unapologetically discriminated against, if there's any minority group that deserves some extra compassion and empathy, it's them.
We'll dive deeper into cisgendered privilege in some later posts, but for now I highly encourage everyone to read through this checklist as well as this one, posted by ASU's Project Humanities. Both do an excellent job of describing all the bullets most of us dodge as cisgendered folk.
We'll dive deeper into cisgendered privilege in some later posts, but for now I highly encourage everyone to read through this checklist as well as this one, posted by ASU's Project Humanities. Both do an excellent job of describing all the bullets most of us dodge as cisgendered folk.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
It's another example of how society wants to define something that they don't get to define. Yes, it may have been hard for her family to accept her the way she saw herself, but the reality is that "he" was a "she" and not amount of make-up or changes to hair can change that.
This article makes me think of babies who are born with two types of genitalia and the practice for several years was for doctor's to simply pick a gender and make the necessary assignments surgically. The idea is that gender is only about body parts, that it has nothing to do with the soul or what "feels" right to us. People who've been brave enough to challenge their own biology have made it clear that this thinking is flawed.
What's the take away? As a nation we shun things like arranged marriages because people should be able to choose to be with someone who they feel right about being with. We don't have to defend why we don't want to marry one person, but do want to marry another. However, what happens when someone feels something much, much stronger, like the sense that inside they're a female though their biology is make? We try to discount those feelings because of our own discomfort.
Bias is not just about race. It's about so much more.
Monday, November 17, 2014
I came across this picture a couple of months ago online and I thought it was priceless. Not priceless as in hilarious, just...invaluably accurate. Although, not all of us are circles.This, of course isn't just limited to circles, I'm sure further down the wall there were some triangle holes and square holes, maybe even some nonagonal holes, but the point is, it takes a certain quality to get past certain "walls."
These qualities are what we call privilege. Unlike in this picture, it isn't so blatantly obvious who has what privilege, but I believe that it boils down the concept of privilege and some basic no no's pretty well.
Insisting something is easy is one of the worst ways that we can impose our privilege on others. Sometimes, it doesn't matter how hard you work or how confident in yourself you are. You will always be a triangle, and that hole will always be circular. There is nothing more aggrivating than having somebody insist that, regardless of your qualities or the issues you face in your life, you have the ability to simply walk through any obstacle in life as if they were tailor made to let you pass. It's like saying every person in every financial situation can afford to buy a house, or that anybody can get married without any issues, or that under every employer equal work means equal pay. None of these are true, but so many times we find ourselves slipping up by assuming that things are as easy for everyone else as they are for us.
Be mindful of who you are and what you say to others, because the cruel reality is that we don't have equal opportunity across the board. That's the basic concept of privilege.
Sometimes that's a little hard to get, but I feel as if this comic does a really great job of simplifying it so I had to share.
Thoughts?
Friday, September 19, 2014
Last night I had the honor of hearing Nikki Giovanni speak to
a crowd of about 1300 people at the Mesa Arts Center. Her talk was punctuated by numerous comments that were both humorous and insightful. Several of which
I’m sure I’ll be mulling over for many, many months. There was one thing she said though, that
brought me so much hope. Hope, is something I've
been struggling with lately.
Before Giovanni’s talk, I attended a private reception in her
honor. A colleague and I were discussing
how sometimes it feels as though things in the world are getting worse. Beheadings are becoming an almost weekly occurrence. In certain parts of the country, a black boy,
or even girl, who happens to be near someone with a gun is suddenly in grave
danger. The Ebola epidemic is growing at
an exponential rate and is showing no signs of slowing. Nearly 300 Nigerian school girls are still missing - probably being raped and tortured while we all go on with our lives.
My colleague and I wondered if it simply appeared that things were getting
worse because of advances in social media coupled with the 24 hour news
cycle. He put forth the idea that maybe a hyper focus
on certain new stories can actually perpetuate violence or wrong doing. By the time we finished our conversation and
got in line to get some food, a thoughtful, albeit weighty silence had come
over us.
Then we went to hear Giovanni speak. If you've never had the chance to hear her give a talk, find a way to do so before you die.
She is hilarious, dead serious, and full of innovative ideas for addressing global and local problems - all while never taking herself too seriously. She's an everyday woman who just happens to be armed to the tenacity to take on just about anything.
After giving her talk, she and Dr. Lester sat
on stage and he fielded questions from the audience and asked a few of his own
as well. One of the things he asked Giovanni was whether or not she thought we are losing our humanity. She was quick to joke that to ask whether or
not we’re losing our humanity assumed that we had some in the first place.
But after a few laughs she said something that brought me
such peace. She said that when people
are running a race and get to the point where they can see the finish line,
they often feel as if they should be running faster.
Since the finish is so close they begin to sense that maybe they should already
be there, that they should already have arrived.
For the most part, we can see the finish
line. Yes, there are people who still
hate homosexuals, Jews, people of color, and the like. However, those individuals have found themselves
living on the fringe of society. Most people
consider them to be extremists, disturbed, or grossly uninformed. No doubt, there is still a lot of work to do
in terms of bias, acceptance, and living in a world where people are not unsafe
or unaccepted simply because of who they choose to marry or how they choose to
love.
But most of us want to get there.
We can see the finish line.
Some people think we already crossed it and therefore just need
to stop talking about it. That's another post, but even in that dilemma there is hope. We want the same thing. We just disagree on how close we are to achieving it.
I do believe that we still have a ways to go, but I can see the finish line. Most of us can see the finish line. That is a far, far cry from where we were as
a nation just sixty years ago.
Thank you, Nikki Giovani, for reminding me that even though
we’re not there yet, we still have cause to celebrate.
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