4/25/09
First up, I'd like to ask for some feedback on this one. I have a lot of questions... sorry it's kind of a long post but...
Story.
Background knowledge: There is one Black kid on the distance team in track / cross country team.
The other day at practice, some of us were stretching after our run, and he says, "I'm not trying to sound racist but..."
This is when I kind of step in and say, "Jon, you can't be racist..." The comment is kind of brushed aside by him, but picked up by other people. But he finishes his thought and says "I've noticed that when it gets sunny outside or when it gets to be summer time, White people's hair gets blonder."
My friend (who took an Anthropology course last semester entitled "Race and Racism") proceeded to argue with me. "Joe CAN be a racist." I explained that because of the definition of racism (a system of advantage based on race), he can't be a racist, because since he's a person of color he is in the "oppressed" category, not the "oppressor" category. Sure, he can be prejudiced, but not racist.
Anyway, after having this conversation a second time (see earlier post), I've come to realize that racism is kind of contextual. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not sure if this makes sense. The same situation Aaron was talking about in class at the beginning of the semester (his argument: in East Saint Louis, Black people can be racist against White people) came up again.
Sooo, pretty much from these discussions with others, "-isms" all depend on the context of the situation. If you're in a location where women are the dominant sex (I'm not sure if this is true anywhere, but go with me on this one), then they can be sexist against men. Same with race. Any place where one race has power over other races - where there is a system of advantage based on race, it depends on who has the advantage.
My argument was that since we are in America, where White people are systematically advantaged, Joe cannot be racist. But, what I wonder - is could this be scaled down to a different societal level? Could this be at a community level where Aaron's example of East Saint Louis would be valid?
Another question arose during this argument (and as a result, I'd like to say neither of us backed down, but there are no hard feelings - we just dropped the subject). Who makes this definition of racism? My question is: is this a Psychological definition? Because my friend who took the Anthropology class Race and Racism was not exposed to this same definition. And she's not an ignorant person - she's really smart... so something tells me that different classes learn different definitions - or something. It just confused me so much - especially this coming from her because she has been educated on this subject, so she should know the definition of racism, assuming it's a universal definition, which it seems isn't. I'd really like some feedback on this. This is something that's been kind of bothering me for a couple of days now.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Being an Ally.
4/21/09
Allies. It's something that I most commonly heard when IWU Pride Alliance had posters around campus (that said LGBTA - or something of that nature). I never really had a definition of it, but I vaguely knew about what it entailed. It was someone from a dominant group who supported a minority or someone frequently discriminated against. After reading Ayvazian's "Interruption the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change," I realize how important allies are in fighting "-isms." She explains that it is when allies get together and say "No" is when real history starts to change.
"'When a critical mass of white people join together, rise up, and shout a thunderous 'No' to racism, we will actually alter the course of history" (600).
From a historical context, this is so true, and it's nothing I have ever even considered before. Take the right to vote, for example. The people who actually made the change had to be White men to allow people of African descent (and later, women) the right to vote.
People in the minority position, however active they may be in fighting racism, will only succeed so long as the people in power (Whites) support the view. Because, that just makes logical sense - those in power are the ones who make the changes in our country.
Although it is a very difficult task, I definitely think it is possible to make big changes to fight racism. The article showed the same results as our class earlier this year, when asked to name some prominent White anti-racists. Almost no one could name any (in our class, or in the example class in this article) (601). Maybe this says something about our education - that either students are not learning about White people who are actively anti-racist in history classes or, they are and it's more difficult to remember. I think it might have something to do with social psychology that the words "White" and "racist" go better together than "White" and "anti-racist." So White racists may be more easily remembered than White anti-racists such as Lucretia Mott or William Lloyd Garrison.
But, something I worry about, in my role as an ally is the difficult work. Ayvazian discusses that a lot of times you don't seen the effects of your hard work, or sometimes you lack a support system. Personally, I am more worried about the latter. Due to the responses I have received in the past semester, when I bring up these topics, it worries me that I will have no outlet (as I did in this class) to tell about my experiences and talk about how they have affected me.
A really great quote that the author brought up in this text that really stuck with me was:
"I will act as though what I do makes a difference." - William James.
Its a good quote to keep you motivated and keep you working toward a goal, even if you don't see the results right away. The more you work at something, the more likely you'll see results down the road. It's something I'm going to have to work on. I feel as though this class really did change me, and I would like to continue that into the future, but it's going to be hard.
Which makes me think of my action plan: I'm REALLY excited about it. I can't wait until we finally get to submit our proposal to Dr. Folse next fall. I really hope "Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" gets chosen for the first year summer reading book. I think we have a good shot at it, but I don't want to get my hopes up too high. AND how flippin' cool would it be to have Dr. Tatum come to IWU to talk about this topic. It would be awesome.
Allies. It's something that I most commonly heard when IWU Pride Alliance had posters around campus (that said LGBTA - or something of that nature). I never really had a definition of it, but I vaguely knew about what it entailed. It was someone from a dominant group who supported a minority or someone frequently discriminated against. After reading Ayvazian's "Interruption the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change," I realize how important allies are in fighting "-isms." She explains that it is when allies get together and say "No" is when real history starts to change.
"'When a critical mass of white people join together, rise up, and shout a thunderous 'No' to racism, we will actually alter the course of history" (600).
From a historical context, this is so true, and it's nothing I have ever even considered before. Take the right to vote, for example. The people who actually made the change had to be White men to allow people of African descent (and later, women) the right to vote.
People in the minority position, however active they may be in fighting racism, will only succeed so long as the people in power (Whites) support the view. Because, that just makes logical sense - those in power are the ones who make the changes in our country.
Although it is a very difficult task, I definitely think it is possible to make big changes to fight racism. The article showed the same results as our class earlier this year, when asked to name some prominent White anti-racists. Almost no one could name any (in our class, or in the example class in this article) (601). Maybe this says something about our education - that either students are not learning about White people who are actively anti-racist in history classes or, they are and it's more difficult to remember. I think it might have something to do with social psychology that the words "White" and "racist" go better together than "White" and "anti-racist." So White racists may be more easily remembered than White anti-racists such as Lucretia Mott or William Lloyd Garrison.
But, something I worry about, in my role as an ally is the difficult work. Ayvazian discusses that a lot of times you don't seen the effects of your hard work, or sometimes you lack a support system. Personally, I am more worried about the latter. Due to the responses I have received in the past semester, when I bring up these topics, it worries me that I will have no outlet (as I did in this class) to tell about my experiences and talk about how they have affected me.
A really great quote that the author brought up in this text that really stuck with me was:
"I will act as though what I do makes a difference." - William James.
Its a good quote to keep you motivated and keep you working toward a goal, even if you don't see the results right away. The more you work at something, the more likely you'll see results down the road. It's something I'm going to have to work on. I feel as though this class really did change me, and I would like to continue that into the future, but it's going to be hard.
Which makes me think of my action plan: I'm REALLY excited about it. I can't wait until we finally get to submit our proposal to Dr. Folse next fall. I really hope "Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" gets chosen for the first year summer reading book. I think we have a good shot at it, but I don't want to get my hopes up too high. AND how flippin' cool would it be to have Dr. Tatum come to IWU to talk about this topic. It would be awesome.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Going Home.
4/12/09
It happens every time I go home. Well, maybe not EVERY time. But enough for me to notice it. My dad brings race into some conversation where it's not even relevant. Friday night, I had dinner with my parents at this sports bar / tavern place where ESPN was on.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4055343
This story came on the TV. Nick Adenhart, LA Angels' pitcher was killed by a drunk driver. This guy was charged with murder. Anyway, they showed the drunk driver's picture on the TV.
My dad said something like, he looks Hispanic, doesn't he?
Completely irrelevant. I brought this up - I told him that it had nothing to do with anything - so what if he was Hispanic, White, Black Arabic, Asian, etc?
My dad agreed that it had nothing to do with the story, but just said, well, he's a murderer, that's all. Kind of this passive-aggressive tone. Really frustrating.
But, that's not all. Saturday night, we were eating dinner again, and my dad brings up this news story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090412/ap_on_re_af/piracy
Pirates took a ship's captain hostage (Today - Sunday, he was freed). This story really has absolutely nothing to do with race.
But he claims that this guy wouldn't have been captured when Bush was president because of Bush's active military. Okay. Whatever. My dad is conservative.
Next, he says that this guy is being held hostage and Obama isn't going to try to get him released because he is White.
WHAT?!?!?!? That doesn't even make sense.
And I couldn't take it. I finally said it. "Why do you make everything about race? This has nothing to do with race. And you did the same thing last night at dinner. The fact that the drunk driver was Latino has nothing to do with anything. It could have been anyone. And why do you have such a problem with Obama as a president?" It was not a pretty dinner table conversation.
The subject was dropped thereafter, and race hasn't been made an issue since. At least not in front of me. Maybe he'll realize not to say things like that in front of me. Who knows. It's so frustrating.
It happens every time I go home. Well, maybe not EVERY time. But enough for me to notice it. My dad brings race into some conversation where it's not even relevant. Friday night, I had dinner with my parents at this sports bar / tavern place where ESPN was on.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4055343
This story came on the TV. Nick Adenhart, LA Angels' pitcher was killed by a drunk driver. This guy was charged with murder. Anyway, they showed the drunk driver's picture on the TV.
My dad said something like, he looks Hispanic, doesn't he?
Completely irrelevant. I brought this up - I told him that it had nothing to do with anything - so what if he was Hispanic, White, Black Arabic, Asian, etc?
My dad agreed that it had nothing to do with the story, but just said, well, he's a murderer, that's all. Kind of this passive-aggressive tone. Really frustrating.
But, that's not all. Saturday night, we were eating dinner again, and my dad brings up this news story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090412/ap_on_re_af/piracy
Pirates took a ship's captain hostage (Today - Sunday, he was freed). This story really has absolutely nothing to do with race.
But he claims that this guy wouldn't have been captured when Bush was president because of Bush's active military. Okay. Whatever. My dad is conservative.
Next, he says that this guy is being held hostage and Obama isn't going to try to get him released because he is White.
WHAT?!?!?!? That doesn't even make sense.
And I couldn't take it. I finally said it. "Why do you make everything about race? This has nothing to do with race. And you did the same thing last night at dinner. The fact that the drunk driver was Latino has nothing to do with anything. It could have been anyone. And why do you have such a problem with Obama as a president?" It was not a pretty dinner table conversation.
The subject was dropped thereafter, and race hasn't been made an issue since. At least not in front of me. Maybe he'll realize not to say things like that in front of me. Who knows. It's so frustrating.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Affirmative Action & Group Dialogue
Thinking about our class discussion this past week, it makes me really sad to realize that that session was our last class discussion. I have really enjoyed the open atmosphere that our class has on the topic of racism. I felt that my opinion varied from the class as a whole, but I felt like my opinions were still respected.
I thought Steele had brought up some good points in his article: shocking statistics that show that affirmative action isn't working (the income gap - for every $1.00 the White American family earns, a Latino family earns $0.12, and a Black family earns $0.10. Or the fact that only 26% of Black students are graduating from a four year college in SIX years compared to the national average of 54% graduating in FOUR years).
Affirmative action isn't working, and we really need to focus on our failing education system.
But part of my stance that I made in my paper changed since our class discussion. Steele argued that affirmative action may cause lower self esteem in those receiving special treatment. Upon reading this article - I agreed with this statement. But then I read Kivel (after I finished my paper).
He forced me to think about putting myself in a similar position:
Have I ever received something based on the fact that (I'll use personal examples):
1. My father is a Vietnam Veteran (I've probably received something because of this)
2. My mother is a University of Illinois alum (I was accepted there - maybe that's why I got in?)
3. I am a Wesleyan student (my boss at the hospital is an IWU alum)
4. I am a female (maybe that helped me get into college?)
I could go on. But do I feel like I didn't deserve some of these things? Did I even think that the reason I got accepted to a university or for a job was because of one of these things? No. I felt like I deserved it. And my self-esteem was not harmed in the process. So, putting myself into this perspective makes me disagree with Steele's opinion on this section.
I really appreciate how a single group discussion can give different insights to an opinion other than your own. Discussing topics, such as racism and affirmative action, with other people can really allow you to branch out and think in different ways. I'm really going to miss this class.
But, I think I am more comfortable bringing up this topic with others since I have had the dialogue that we had in this class. I'm getting to nostalgic. I'm finished.
I thought Steele had brought up some good points in his article: shocking statistics that show that affirmative action isn't working (the income gap - for every $1.00 the White American family earns, a Latino family earns $0.12, and a Black family earns $0.10. Or the fact that only 26% of Black students are graduating from a four year college in SIX years compared to the national average of 54% graduating in FOUR years).
Affirmative action isn't working, and we really need to focus on our failing education system.
But part of my stance that I made in my paper changed since our class discussion. Steele argued that affirmative action may cause lower self esteem in those receiving special treatment. Upon reading this article - I agreed with this statement. But then I read Kivel (after I finished my paper).
He forced me to think about putting myself in a similar position:
Have I ever received something based on the fact that (I'll use personal examples):
1. My father is a Vietnam Veteran (I've probably received something because of this)
2. My mother is a University of Illinois alum (I was accepted there - maybe that's why I got in?)
3. I am a Wesleyan student (my boss at the hospital is an IWU alum)
4. I am a female (maybe that helped me get into college?)
I could go on. But do I feel like I didn't deserve some of these things? Did I even think that the reason I got accepted to a university or for a job was because of one of these things? No. I felt like I deserved it. And my self-esteem was not harmed in the process. So, putting myself into this perspective makes me disagree with Steele's opinion on this section.
I really appreciate how a single group discussion can give different insights to an opinion other than your own. Discussing topics, such as racism and affirmative action, with other people can really allow you to branch out and think in different ways. I'm really going to miss this class.
But, I think I am more comfortable bringing up this topic with others since I have had the dialogue that we had in this class. I'm getting to nostalgic. I'm finished.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saga Conversation, or Argument, Rather, on Racism
3/30/09
My last blog and my last paper left off with me wondering how to have a conversation about racism or race. Well, guess what? I finally did it. I got over my fear and just made it happen. There was a lot of arguing, but I'll write out the run-down of the situation:
I was at dinner one night after practice with the cross country / distance track team. I'm not sure what the conversation had been going on before it all happened, but, one of the guys on the team said, "You can say something racist or a racist joke and not actually be racist." Here was my turn to jump in. I had the option of just sitting there and listening to whatever conversation was about to go on, or I could say something.
Me: "John - did you just say that you can say something racist and not actually be racist?"
John: "Yeah...?"
Me: "Well, isn't saying racist things perpetuating racism? So, by doing this, wouldn't you actually be continuing racism? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."
That's how it all got started.
Somehow, the topic changed to if black people could be racist. I, of course, used my knowledge that I had gained in this class, to say no, that racism is "a system of advantage based on race." That only the oppressor could be the racist. So I explained that only white people can be racist. But then the question (very similar to what Aaron had proposed in class near the beginning of the semester) of if you're in an all-minority location, can't those people be racist against white people? I explained that that would be prejudice - not racism, because racism ("a system of advantage") exists at a societal level.
So someone tried to argue that in Australia (I think that was the example they used?) that over 50% of the population is Black - so since that country's majority is Black does that make them the domineering race? Would this "system of advantage" assist these people? I explained that I didn't know a lot about the culture and social structure of Australia, so I didn't know the answer to that question.
I tried to explain that the DEFINITION of racism was this system of advantage based on race. Then I got people arguing with me about who made the definition and why is it the definition. Geez. I just explained to them that it was the psychological definition - I didn't know otherwise. But then I tried to use the metaphor of sexism - it's a "system of advantage based on sex." I explained that men can only be sexist, not women. Wow. Did people freak out about that one. Two of my male teammates explained to me that they were not hired by female women for a job because she was sexist. I explained, well, she's not sexist because she's not putting women down, but she very well is prejudiced, and what she did is wrong. But, by the standards of the definition - she is not sexist.
This conversation was ridiculous. I really felt like everyone at the table was attacking me with these arguments that just aren't correct. It makes me think about what I can do for my action plan to help people understand actual definitions and understand what it is that they argue so passionately about. How can you make a valid argument about something if you don't even have the correct definition about what it is. I'd really like to help get rid of some of the ignorance on this campus.
My last blog and my last paper left off with me wondering how to have a conversation about racism or race. Well, guess what? I finally did it. I got over my fear and just made it happen. There was a lot of arguing, but I'll write out the run-down of the situation:
I was at dinner one night after practice with the cross country / distance track team. I'm not sure what the conversation had been going on before it all happened, but, one of the guys on the team said, "You can say something racist or a racist joke and not actually be racist." Here was my turn to jump in. I had the option of just sitting there and listening to whatever conversation was about to go on, or I could say something.
Me: "John - did you just say that you can say something racist and not actually be racist?"
John: "Yeah...?"
Me: "Well, isn't saying racist things perpetuating racism? So, by doing this, wouldn't you actually be continuing racism? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."
That's how it all got started.
Somehow, the topic changed to if black people could be racist. I, of course, used my knowledge that I had gained in this class, to say no, that racism is "a system of advantage based on race." That only the oppressor could be the racist. So I explained that only white people can be racist. But then the question (very similar to what Aaron had proposed in class near the beginning of the semester) of if you're in an all-minority location, can't those people be racist against white people? I explained that that would be prejudice - not racism, because racism ("a system of advantage") exists at a societal level.
So someone tried to argue that in Australia (I think that was the example they used?) that over 50% of the population is Black - so since that country's majority is Black does that make them the domineering race? Would this "system of advantage" assist these people? I explained that I didn't know a lot about the culture and social structure of Australia, so I didn't know the answer to that question.
I tried to explain that the DEFINITION of racism was this system of advantage based on race. Then I got people arguing with me about who made the definition and why is it the definition. Geez. I just explained to them that it was the psychological definition - I didn't know otherwise. But then I tried to use the metaphor of sexism - it's a "system of advantage based on sex." I explained that men can only be sexist, not women. Wow. Did people freak out about that one. Two of my male teammates explained to me that they were not hired by female women for a job because she was sexist. I explained, well, she's not sexist because she's not putting women down, but she very well is prejudiced, and what she did is wrong. But, by the standards of the definition - she is not sexist.
This conversation was ridiculous. I really felt like everyone at the table was attacking me with these arguments that just aren't correct. It makes me think about what I can do for my action plan to help people understand actual definitions and understand what it is that they argue so passionately about. How can you make a valid argument about something if you don't even have the correct definition about what it is. I'd really like to help get rid of some of the ignorance on this campus.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dialogue On Racism
3/24/09
Writing my "State of Dialogue On Campus" paper really made me think a lot about how much I have grown since taking this course. Before taking Psychology of Racism, I knew that racism existed, but I just didn't know how much it actually affected me. I've become more perceptive about conversations about race and racism. And racist comments and jokes bother me. A lot. But, as we talked about in class, I still don't know how to respond when I hear an off-color comment. I hear someone say something and there are so many things buzzing through my mind: "that's rooted in old stereotypes," "that's completely incorrect," "totally ignorant." Keeping silent maintains the status quo that is racism. I can't just keep silent anymore. Well, I can - I just don't want to. But I need to think about how I can have some sort of response. Someone in class said that when they're caught in this situation they just tell their friend to "quit being an asshole." That works - when you're with friends, or friends who have a sense of humor where that would be appropriate. But what about in the context of work? When you're with someone who you just know as an acquaintance? Totally inappropriate. How would you respond?
See, this is where I'm stuck. I hate offending others, but I hate staying complacent. Ugh. I'm so frustrated. Maybe this is something I can keep thinking about for my action plan?
I read the articles for class this week after completing my paper, and I realized that so many of the things that I had noticed on campus were exactly what these articles were talking about. The Worthington article "Color-Blind Racial Attitudes, Social Dominance Orientation, Racial-Ethnic Group Membership and College Students' Perceptions of Campus Climate" found that unawareness of racial privilege was associated with more positive perceptions of both Racial Ethnic Campus Climate and General Campus Climate. These students were more likely to perceive that everything is all good and dandy for ethnic minorities because they don't perceive that racism is happening in their world. I could definitely see how this could happen - I didn't even THINK about race and racial relations on IWU's campus until I was educated in this course. White students were more likely to rate RECC as higher than minority students because they simply don't have the same background of discrimination as students of color.
Also, I found the Hogan article interesting. One thing that the authors point out is that "students who enroll in diversity courses relatively early during their tenure are possibly more tolerant than students who delay completing the requirement." I definitely see how this could be true. My freshman year (I went to the University of Illinois freshman year, and then transferred) I completely avoided my US Diversity General Education requirement because I thought it would be "boring." I did a lot of growing up between freshman year and now. I was very conservative and ignorant coming into college. It's not that I was intolerant, I just wasn't really interested in learning anything about different cultures - or even my own culture. I was kind of in my own little bubble. Anyway, sophomore year, I didn't get into any of the classes I wanted to second semester, and as a result, I was forced to take my US Diversity class. The only one that was open was Women's Studies (ugh). I was kind of an anti-feminist going into the class, but the class actually changed my outlook a lot. In the end I'm really glad I took that class because it increased my interest in learning things about oppression, and sparked my interest in taking this course when I saw it listed.
The Spanierman article and the Hogan article talked about diversity classes as general education classes, and how they help students realize that there is a need for change (unfortunately all of the effects don't last). This makes students want to change, and I think more students need to be exposed to classes about race and racism to open up dialogue on campus about these topics. Making this class a general education credit (US Diversity?) would encourage more interest in the class, which would result in more students interested in gaining exposure to the problems of racism.
I don't have dialogues about racism like we witnessed in the Color of Fear video. That conversation was so moving to see everyone so open about their feelings and experiences on the topic. I was thinking about why I don't engage in conversations about race more often. Is it that much of a "touchy subject" that no one wants to go near it? No one wants to offend others? Or is it that I'm just so sheltered and all of my close friends (except one) are White?
Writing my "State of Dialogue On Campus" paper really made me think a lot about how much I have grown since taking this course. Before taking Psychology of Racism, I knew that racism existed, but I just didn't know how much it actually affected me. I've become more perceptive about conversations about race and racism. And racist comments and jokes bother me. A lot. But, as we talked about in class, I still don't know how to respond when I hear an off-color comment. I hear someone say something and there are so many things buzzing through my mind: "that's rooted in old stereotypes," "that's completely incorrect," "totally ignorant." Keeping silent maintains the status quo that is racism. I can't just keep silent anymore. Well, I can - I just don't want to. But I need to think about how I can have some sort of response. Someone in class said that when they're caught in this situation they just tell their friend to "quit being an asshole." That works - when you're with friends, or friends who have a sense of humor where that would be appropriate. But what about in the context of work? When you're with someone who you just know as an acquaintance? Totally inappropriate. How would you respond?
See, this is where I'm stuck. I hate offending others, but I hate staying complacent. Ugh. I'm so frustrated. Maybe this is something I can keep thinking about for my action plan?
I read the articles for class this week after completing my paper, and I realized that so many of the things that I had noticed on campus were exactly what these articles were talking about. The Worthington article "Color-Blind Racial Attitudes, Social Dominance Orientation, Racial-Ethnic Group Membership and College Students' Perceptions of Campus Climate" found that unawareness of racial privilege was associated with more positive perceptions of both Racial Ethnic Campus Climate and General Campus Climate. These students were more likely to perceive that everything is all good and dandy for ethnic minorities because they don't perceive that racism is happening in their world. I could definitely see how this could happen - I didn't even THINK about race and racial relations on IWU's campus until I was educated in this course. White students were more likely to rate RECC as higher than minority students because they simply don't have the same background of discrimination as students of color.
Also, I found the Hogan article interesting. One thing that the authors point out is that "students who enroll in diversity courses relatively early during their tenure are possibly more tolerant than students who delay completing the requirement." I definitely see how this could be true. My freshman year (I went to the University of Illinois freshman year, and then transferred) I completely avoided my US Diversity General Education requirement because I thought it would be "boring." I did a lot of growing up between freshman year and now. I was very conservative and ignorant coming into college. It's not that I was intolerant, I just wasn't really interested in learning anything about different cultures - or even my own culture. I was kind of in my own little bubble. Anyway, sophomore year, I didn't get into any of the classes I wanted to second semester, and as a result, I was forced to take my US Diversity class. The only one that was open was Women's Studies (ugh). I was kind of an anti-feminist going into the class, but the class actually changed my outlook a lot. In the end I'm really glad I took that class because it increased my interest in learning things about oppression, and sparked my interest in taking this course when I saw it listed.
The Spanierman article and the Hogan article talked about diversity classes as general education classes, and how they help students realize that there is a need for change (unfortunately all of the effects don't last). This makes students want to change, and I think more students need to be exposed to classes about race and racism to open up dialogue on campus about these topics. Making this class a general education credit (US Diversity?) would encourage more interest in the class, which would result in more students interested in gaining exposure to the problems of racism.
I don't have dialogues about racism like we witnessed in the Color of Fear video. That conversation was so moving to see everyone so open about their feelings and experiences on the topic. I was thinking about why I don't engage in conversations about race more often. Is it that much of a "touchy subject" that no one wants to go near it? No one wants to offend others? Or is it that I'm just so sheltered and all of my close friends (except one) are White?
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Ebony Experiment
3/23/09
This article, that I posted the week before spring break really struck me as a couple who is very much involved in their immersion / emersion stage of Racial Identity Development. They really want to support the Black economy and help other Black people thrive in this failing economy. It doesn't say anywhere in the article that they even pay attention to White people - they're kind of off the radar and more focused on their own racial group.
What I found interesting is although this family lives in Oak Park (a relatively diverse community) which is near the city, we still see the effects of oppression that are found elsewhere. The article stated that this family had to drive fourteen miles to buy groceries. That is actually surprising to me - I would have thought that there would be more Black owned stores and companies than it appears.
I'm personally very glad I have taken this class because I am armed with the knowledge about racism, so that I don't sound ignorant like this one letter the Anderson family received:
"One anonymous letter mailed to their home accused the Andersons of "unabashed, virulent racism." "Because of you," the writer stated, "we will totally avoid black suppliers. Because of you, we will dodge every which way to avoid hiring black employees.""
Black people cannot be racist. Racism is a system where minorities are oppressed... and minorities cannot do the oppressing. It's really sad, actually that people can be so ignorant to not understand that this "Ebony Experiment" as they called it, was not to bash White businesses, but rather to help boost their fellow Black community members.
This article, that I posted the week before spring break really struck me as a couple who is very much involved in their immersion / emersion stage of Racial Identity Development. They really want to support the Black economy and help other Black people thrive in this failing economy. It doesn't say anywhere in the article that they even pay attention to White people - they're kind of off the radar and more focused on their own racial group.
What I found interesting is although this family lives in Oak Park (a relatively diverse community) which is near the city, we still see the effects of oppression that are found elsewhere. The article stated that this family had to drive fourteen miles to buy groceries. That is actually surprising to me - I would have thought that there would be more Black owned stores and companies than it appears.
I'm personally very glad I have taken this class because I am armed with the knowledge about racism, so that I don't sound ignorant like this one letter the Anderson family received:
"One anonymous letter mailed to their home accused the Andersons of "unabashed, virulent racism." "Because of you," the writer stated, "we will totally avoid black suppliers. Because of you, we will dodge every which way to avoid hiring black employees.""
Black people cannot be racist. Racism is a system where minorities are oppressed... and minorities cannot do the oppressing. It's really sad, actually that people can be so ignorant to not understand that this "Ebony Experiment" as they called it, was not to bash White businesses, but rather to help boost their fellow Black community members.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Flench Flies & Caucasians.
3/3/09 (Square Root Day!)
In the movie we watched in class last week, "Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible," there was an excerpt that discussed an Asian girl who was cast as an island girl in a school play. The island was a Pacific island, so the island girls were supposed to be an Asian race. These girls were instructed to say things like "flench flies" instead of "french fries" to further demonstrate their Asian role in the play. this girl stood up to the play's director and refused to say "flench flies" because it was so demeaning.
This same topic has come up more than once in the past week.
1. In my Neuroscience class we were discussing phenomes because we're studying the language chapter, and my professor was explaining that his mom (since she's from Thailand) could not say the "r" phenome (because it's not in her first learned language), so it sounds more like an "l."
2. My friend (who is Asian) is involved with theater at her school was recently cast as a "Pacific Island Girl" (sound familiar?). She was so excited for her new part, that she said, "AND I get to talk like an Asian and everything!" She gave me a little demonstration and laughed. I was literally shocked at how she was responding in such a different way to the racist and stereotypical way she was being treated.
3. But then I realized that the last role she played was that of a Vietnamese civilian in a Vietnam War production. Typical. Cast the Asian girl as the Asian character. Interestingly enough, in this same production, one of the other characters was supposed to be a Middle Eastern man, but they got a White guy to play his role. Strange the way theater works.
I just read a classmate's blog about the blog online fmylife.com. The story she posted reminded me of a similar experience when I was in middle school. I believe it was eighth grade, and my classmates and I were taking the PLAN test (pre-ACT test). My friend had bubbled in "Other" on her testing form. Our teacher came around and asked her, "oh, are you not White anymore?" My friend was confused, but once my teacher told her that she should have circled "Caucasian," my friend explained herself that since "Caucasian" had the word "Asian" in it, she thought that it really meant "Asian." It's interesting that as students who grew up in a predominantly White area, we learn the politically correct terms - African American, for Native American, but we never learn what's politically correct to call ourselves.
This makes me wonder. Where does the term "Caucasian" come from, anyway? Here's what Wikipedia says:
The concept of a Caucasian race or Varietas Caucasia was developed around 1800 by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, a German scientist and classical anthropologist.[5][5] Blumenbach named it after the peoples of the Caucasus (from the Caucasus region), whom he considered to be the archetype for the grouping.[6] He based his classification of the Caucasian race primarily on craniology.[7] Blumenbach wrote:
"Caucasian variety - I have taken the name of this variety from Mount Caucasus, both because its neighborhood, and especially its southern slope, produces the most beautiful race of men, I mean the Georgian; and because all physiological reasons converge to this, that in that region, if anywhere, it seems we ought with the greatest probability to place the autochthones (birth place) of mankind."[8]
WAIT. Stop. Realize that this was developed in around 1800. But, really the "most beautiful race of men?" And the birthplace of mankind? I thought the "birthplace of mankind" was somewhere in Africa. But I still have questions. Where is Mount Caucasus? And are the Georgians the same people as the people from Georgia (country between Russia and Turkey)?
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black and the Caspian sea in the Caucasus region.
The majority of Georgians are Christian, and mostly adhere to their national ancient autocephalous (since 4th century) Georgian Orthodox Church.
Strategically located on the crossroads between East and West, the Georgian people have been influenced by many civilizations throughout history. They absorbed features of other cultures and married them to indigenous traditions to produce a rich culture
Interesting. Caucasian is actually derived from Middle Eastern people, so why is it now associated with White people. The etiology of words can be really interesting, but overwhelming at the same time.
In the movie we watched in class last week, "Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible," there was an excerpt that discussed an Asian girl who was cast as an island girl in a school play. The island was a Pacific island, so the island girls were supposed to be an Asian race. These girls were instructed to say things like "flench flies" instead of "french fries" to further demonstrate their Asian role in the play. this girl stood up to the play's director and refused to say "flench flies" because it was so demeaning.
This same topic has come up more than once in the past week.
1. In my Neuroscience class we were discussing phenomes because we're studying the language chapter, and my professor was explaining that his mom (since she's from Thailand) could not say the "r" phenome (because it's not in her first learned language), so it sounds more like an "l."
2. My friend (who is Asian) is involved with theater at her school was recently cast as a "Pacific Island Girl" (sound familiar?). She was so excited for her new part, that she said, "AND I get to talk like an Asian and everything!" She gave me a little demonstration and laughed. I was literally shocked at how she was responding in such a different way to the racist and stereotypical way she was being treated.
3. But then I realized that the last role she played was that of a Vietnamese civilian in a Vietnam War production. Typical. Cast the Asian girl as the Asian character. Interestingly enough, in this same production, one of the other characters was supposed to be a Middle Eastern man, but they got a White guy to play his role. Strange the way theater works.
I just read a classmate's blog about the blog online fmylife.com. The story she posted reminded me of a similar experience when I was in middle school. I believe it was eighth grade, and my classmates and I were taking the PLAN test (pre-ACT test). My friend had bubbled in "Other" on her testing form. Our teacher came around and asked her, "oh, are you not White anymore?" My friend was confused, but once my teacher told her that she should have circled "Caucasian," my friend explained herself that since "Caucasian" had the word "Asian" in it, she thought that it really meant "Asian." It's interesting that as students who grew up in a predominantly White area, we learn the politically correct terms - African American, for Native American, but we never learn what's politically correct to call ourselves.
This makes me wonder. Where does the term "Caucasian" come from, anyway? Here's what Wikipedia says:
The concept of a Caucasian race or Varietas Caucasia was developed around 1800 by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, a German scientist and classical anthropologist.[5][5] Blumenbach named it after the peoples of the Caucasus (from the Caucasus region), whom he considered to be the archetype for the grouping.[6] He based his classification of the Caucasian race primarily on craniology.[7] Blumenbach wrote:
"Caucasian variety - I have taken the name of this variety from Mount Caucasus, both because its neighborhood, and especially its southern slope, produces the most beautiful race of men, I mean the Georgian; and because all physiological reasons converge to this, that in that region, if anywhere, it seems we ought with the greatest probability to place the autochthones (birth place) of mankind."[8]
WAIT. Stop. Realize that this was developed in around 1800. But, really the "most beautiful race of men?" And the birthplace of mankind? I thought the "birthplace of mankind" was somewhere in Africa. But I still have questions. Where is Mount Caucasus? And are the Georgians the same people as the people from Georgia (country between Russia and Turkey)?
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black and the Caspian sea in the Caucasus region.
The majority of Georgians are Christian, and mostly adhere to their national ancient autocephalous (since 4th century) Georgian Orthodox Church.
Strategically located on the crossroads between East and West, the Georgian people have been influenced by many civilizations throughout history. They absorbed features of other cultures and married them to indigenous traditions to produce a rich culture
Interesting. Caucasian is actually derived from Middle Eastern people, so why is it now associated with White people. The etiology of words can be really interesting, but overwhelming at the same time.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
White Racial Identity Development
3/1/2009
White Racial Identity Development, according to the reading from Tatum.
I. Abandoning Racism
-Contact: Actually more of a "pre-encounter" phase. This would be someone who doesn't really see race and thinks that white is "normal."
-Disintegration: This usually happens when that person develops a relationship with a person of color. They realize that there are differences and they see inequalities.
-Reintegration: The person gets frustrated and blames the victim.
II. Developing a Positive White Racial Identity
-Pseudo-Independent: Understands the power structure, develops coalitions with groups of color. They're trying to find out who they are by surrounding themselves with people of color
-Immersion / Emersion: Immerse oneself in their own culture and family history.
-Autonomy: A positive sense of White racial identity is developed and secured.
I'm really glad I was exposed to learning about White racial identity development because I was starting to feel like White people don't develop a racial identity based on the readings from class. However, I can easily place myself in this White Racial Identity Scale. I would consider myself to be in the "Disintegration" phase. I think before taking this class I was in the contact phase. I didn't really think of myself as White and I never considered race. This class has taught me to take a different perspective in my evaluations of the world around me and has exposed me to learning more about people who are different than me.
I hope it doesn't seem like I'm passing judgment, but some of the people in the video we watched in class (Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible) seemed absolutely ridiculous. Mostly the people in the Pseudo-Independent stage, I guess, really. There were people who acted like they were all high and mighty just because they were taking a step toward racial equality and they're not people of color. I remember one person who talked about being at a race conference and they were one of few White people there. She said something along the lines of, "Hey at least I'm here, there's obviously not as many White people who care about these issues like I do." Some of these people seemed like their involvement in racial equality movements were so superficial, and for the wrong reasons. It was like they just wanted to be given a pat on the back for their hard work.
And I know not everyone has to go through all the stages listed above, but it kind of bothers me that so many White Folks go through this Pseudo-Independent stage. I'm thinking (hoping, maybe) that when I complete my White Racial Identity Development, I will skip the Pseudo-Independent stage because of my knowledge of it. I think it is possible to be involved in multicultural activities and join coalitions with people of color at the same time you're attempting to understand who you are as a White person by learning more about your cultural heritage (like in the Immersion / Emersion stage). I don't think its necessary to try to find out who you are by immersing yourself in a totally different culture. It doesn't work. That was already proven in the Racial Identity Development Theory for People of Color. Why would White people be expected to make that failed attempt? Obviously it's important to promote racial equality, which is part of the Pseudo-Independent stage.
Learning this theory makes me interested in becoming a more fulfilled person by understanding who I am as a White Person, not just as a person, or whatever. White racial identity and White pride are not fostered in our society because they have historical ties to White Supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan. We need to not be afraid to have racial pride or not fear racial development. It's time we as a nation grow up.
White Racial Identity Development, according to the reading from Tatum.
I. Abandoning Racism
-Contact: Actually more of a "pre-encounter" phase. This would be someone who doesn't really see race and thinks that white is "normal."
-Disintegration: This usually happens when that person develops a relationship with a person of color. They realize that there are differences and they see inequalities.
-Reintegration: The person gets frustrated and blames the victim.
II. Developing a Positive White Racial Identity
-Pseudo-Independent: Understands the power structure, develops coalitions with groups of color. They're trying to find out who they are by surrounding themselves with people of color
-Immersion / Emersion: Immerse oneself in their own culture and family history.
-Autonomy: A positive sense of White racial identity is developed and secured.
I'm really glad I was exposed to learning about White racial identity development because I was starting to feel like White people don't develop a racial identity based on the readings from class. However, I can easily place myself in this White Racial Identity Scale. I would consider myself to be in the "Disintegration" phase. I think before taking this class I was in the contact phase. I didn't really think of myself as White and I never considered race. This class has taught me to take a different perspective in my evaluations of the world around me and has exposed me to learning more about people who are different than me.
I hope it doesn't seem like I'm passing judgment, but some of the people in the video we watched in class (Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible) seemed absolutely ridiculous. Mostly the people in the Pseudo-Independent stage, I guess, really. There were people who acted like they were all high and mighty just because they were taking a step toward racial equality and they're not people of color. I remember one person who talked about being at a race conference and they were one of few White people there. She said something along the lines of, "Hey at least I'm here, there's obviously not as many White people who care about these issues like I do." Some of these people seemed like their involvement in racial equality movements were so superficial, and for the wrong reasons. It was like they just wanted to be given a pat on the back for their hard work.
And I know not everyone has to go through all the stages listed above, but it kind of bothers me that so many White Folks go through this Pseudo-Independent stage. I'm thinking (hoping, maybe) that when I complete my White Racial Identity Development, I will skip the Pseudo-Independent stage because of my knowledge of it. I think it is possible to be involved in multicultural activities and join coalitions with people of color at the same time you're attempting to understand who you are as a White person by learning more about your cultural heritage (like in the Immersion / Emersion stage). I don't think its necessary to try to find out who you are by immersing yourself in a totally different culture. It doesn't work. That was already proven in the Racial Identity Development Theory for People of Color. Why would White people be expected to make that failed attempt? Obviously it's important to promote racial equality, which is part of the Pseudo-Independent stage.
Learning this theory makes me interested in becoming a more fulfilled person by understanding who I am as a White Person, not just as a person, or whatever. White racial identity and White pride are not fostered in our society because they have historical ties to White Supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan. We need to not be afraid to have racial pride or not fear racial development. It's time we as a nation grow up.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Electrocardiograms and Faculty Make Up
2/26/09
I work in the Emergency Department at BroMenn. I'm a nursing tech, and one of our duties is to take Electrocardiograms (EKG's). The EKG asks you to fill out patient information, including race before you can begin the analysis. Anyway. The options include: Caucasian, Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific, Native American, Oriental, and a few others (which I cannot remember off the top of my head).
You have to enter in a specific age and name for the patient, but just by hitting "enter" through the fields "gender" and "race," surprisingly (not really) you get Male and Caucasian. Again, another example of how the norm is White Male, anything else needs to be clarified.
When I first started operating the EKG machine, when I saw "Oriental," it really made me mad. Oriental is a term reserved for OBJECTS. An Oriental rug, for example. A PERSON is Asian or a Pacific Islander. I'm not sure if these things would have upset me as much as if I had not been enrolled in this course when I started working at the hospital.
Another thing we talked about in class this week that kind of made me curious as to the racial faculty make up at Wesleyan. Here's what I found (faculty - staff photo gallery):
252 White
5 Latino
9 Black
1 Pacific Islander
1 Spanish
8 Asian
5 Middle Eastern
281 total
89.7% white
Anyway, upon my calculations of this, I realized that there are probably some faculty members who define themselves according to a different race, and I was unsure of how to classify these people. Race is really difficult to define. I had a lot of difficulty defining people as Middle Eastern or Latino, or Pacific Islanders. It would be interesting to send out a survey and ask the faculty how they define themselves and find out the actual percentage of the IWU faculty.
I asked three of my suitemates what they thought the percentages were, and the responses I got were 70%, 80% and 90%. The two who said 70% and 80% were very surprised.
I did this same exercise with magazines for the media project, but I will wait to disclose my results until after my presentation.
I work in the Emergency Department at BroMenn. I'm a nursing tech, and one of our duties is to take Electrocardiograms (EKG's). The EKG asks you to fill out patient information, including race before you can begin the analysis. Anyway. The options include: Caucasian, Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific, Native American, Oriental, and a few others (which I cannot remember off the top of my head).
You have to enter in a specific age and name for the patient, but just by hitting "enter" through the fields "gender" and "race," surprisingly (not really) you get Male and Caucasian. Again, another example of how the norm is White Male, anything else needs to be clarified.
When I first started operating the EKG machine, when I saw "Oriental," it really made me mad. Oriental is a term reserved for OBJECTS. An Oriental rug, for example. A PERSON is Asian or a Pacific Islander. I'm not sure if these things would have upset me as much as if I had not been enrolled in this course when I started working at the hospital.
Another thing we talked about in class this week that kind of made me curious as to the racial faculty make up at Wesleyan. Here's what I found (faculty - staff photo gallery):
252 White
5 Latino
9 Black
1 Pacific Islander
1 Spanish
8 Asian
5 Middle Eastern
281 total
89.7% white
Anyway, upon my calculations of this, I realized that there are probably some faculty members who define themselves according to a different race, and I was unsure of how to classify these people. Race is really difficult to define. I had a lot of difficulty defining people as Middle Eastern or Latino, or Pacific Islanders. It would be interesting to send out a survey and ask the faculty how they define themselves and find out the actual percentage of the IWU faculty.
I asked three of my suitemates what they thought the percentages were, and the responses I got were 70%, 80% and 90%. The two who said 70% and 80% were very surprised.
I did this same exercise with magazines for the media project, but I will wait to disclose my results until after my presentation.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Dick Gregory
2/15/2009
Tonight I went to see the Dick Gregory talk at the Hansen Student Center. I had never heard of him before seeing posters and hearing my classmates talk about the upcoming talk. He is an African American comedian and civil rights activist. In the past, he worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for the civil rights movement and with civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr. He talked a lot about some serious issues, but always put a sense of humor about each topic. For example, he said that if he were president, he would dig up the rose garden and plant a watermelon patch – poking fun at the historic Black stereotype that black people enjoy watermelon. This reminded me of the movie "Ethnic Notions" that we viewed in class. I always think it's clever the way people can use historical references to create jokes. He also described how far Black society has come in that “Black History Month” used to be “Black History Week,” but the month that was chosen was February – conveniently the shortest month of the year. Everyone in the audience laughed. It was really interesting the way that he could create something funny out of a very serious topic.
I noticed a lot of difference between Gregory’s style of comedy and the mainstream White American comedy. There were times when the Black people in the audience would laugh at a joke Dick made, but not the White people. A lot of his jokes were aimed at the Black community, so the White people didn’t seem to understand the joke as the Black people did. This reminded me of the list of "Things Black People Like" versus the list of "Things White People Like." There are some things that are just cultural differences and neither group has enough exposure to the "other side" to really get the jokes.
Some touchy topics he was able to joke about included the Kobe Bryant rape scandal as well as teachers having sex with their high school students. However, there were instances that he talked about important topics but didn’t joke about them. For example, Black men make up 4% of the United States population, but account for 82% of the American deaths due to prostate cancer; and Black women account for 6% of the United States population, but account for 98% of the instances of thyroid tumors in America. The reasoning for these thyroid tumors, he explained, was because of all the hair straightening products and procedures Black women perform on their hair to get it to look less "nappy" and more like a White person's hair. This is like something that we discussed in class. Standards of beauty seem to glorify the White, blonde, thin woman. Years and years of using hair products and bleaching creams (as in China and Jamaica, he explained) in an attempt to become more "White" / beautiful, according to society's standards has actually taken a negative toll on health.
Another thing that was interesting to me was that he talked about the civil rights movement in a way that I had never thought of it before. Black men were given the right to vote before White women were. White women didn’t get their rights until the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement wasn’t just for the advancement of people of color – it helped out women’s rights, too.
Dick’s talk was an interesting experience. It was kind of interesting to be in the minority at the event (most of the audience was African American). Overall, it was a funny and also enlightening experience.
Tonight I went to see the Dick Gregory talk at the Hansen Student Center. I had never heard of him before seeing posters and hearing my classmates talk about the upcoming talk. He is an African American comedian and civil rights activist. In the past, he worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for the civil rights movement and with civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr. He talked a lot about some serious issues, but always put a sense of humor about each topic. For example, he said that if he were president, he would dig up the rose garden and plant a watermelon patch – poking fun at the historic Black stereotype that black people enjoy watermelon. This reminded me of the movie "Ethnic Notions" that we viewed in class. I always think it's clever the way people can use historical references to create jokes. He also described how far Black society has come in that “Black History Month” used to be “Black History Week,” but the month that was chosen was February – conveniently the shortest month of the year. Everyone in the audience laughed. It was really interesting the way that he could create something funny out of a very serious topic.
I noticed a lot of difference between Gregory’s style of comedy and the mainstream White American comedy. There were times when the Black people in the audience would laugh at a joke Dick made, but not the White people. A lot of his jokes were aimed at the Black community, so the White people didn’t seem to understand the joke as the Black people did. This reminded me of the list of "Things Black People Like" versus the list of "Things White People Like." There are some things that are just cultural differences and neither group has enough exposure to the "other side" to really get the jokes.
Some touchy topics he was able to joke about included the Kobe Bryant rape scandal as well as teachers having sex with their high school students. However, there were instances that he talked about important topics but didn’t joke about them. For example, Black men make up 4% of the United States population, but account for 82% of the American deaths due to prostate cancer; and Black women account for 6% of the United States population, but account for 98% of the instances of thyroid tumors in America. The reasoning for these thyroid tumors, he explained, was because of all the hair straightening products and procedures Black women perform on their hair to get it to look less "nappy" and more like a White person's hair. This is like something that we discussed in class. Standards of beauty seem to glorify the White, blonde, thin woman. Years and years of using hair products and bleaching creams (as in China and Jamaica, he explained) in an attempt to become more "White" / beautiful, according to society's standards has actually taken a negative toll on health.
Another thing that was interesting to me was that he talked about the civil rights movement in a way that I had never thought of it before. Black men were given the right to vote before White women were. White women didn’t get their rights until the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement wasn’t just for the advancement of people of color – it helped out women’s rights, too.
Dick’s talk was an interesting experience. It was kind of interesting to be in the minority at the event (most of the audience was African American). Overall, it was a funny and also enlightening experience.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
On Being White... or Asian...
I looked at the blogs http://blog.stuffblackpeoplelove.com/ and http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ since we talked about them in class briefly. Interestingly enough, blogs such as http://www.asian-central.com/stuffasianpeoplelike/ and http://stufflatinpeoplelike.com/. I bet there are more out there, but I just skimmed for a little bit.
It was interesting, per our class discussion, that if you like something on one list, that would make you more "black" or "white" (or Asian, or Latino, etc.), depending on which list.
What one of my classmates brought up, was that her roommate said that although she wasn't White, it was like she was, since she seemed like she was more "White" than "Asian." I had a similar encounter a couple of years ago. I met the girl who would become one of my best friends from freshman year of college on facebook the summer before we started school. We were living on the same floor and had the same major. Upon talking to one another we realized we not only had the same taste in music, but we both played the piano, were cubs fans, loved sushi and boba tea, and ran cross country in high school. I was convinced we were practically twins. I didn't really look a whole lot at her facebook pictures, since I didn't really know her. But I was really surprised to find out that she was Asian rather than White. It was like in the first reading we had of this semester - everything is assumed to be White unless otherwise specified. I didn't really think much about it after the first time we met. She acted "White," whatever that is, rather than Asian. Except for the fact that she was pre-med. Anyway, I had my first serious discussion about race with her. Well, not really a serious discussion, but I guess it was just my first actual discussion about race. She told me that she never really felt "Asian" despite the fact that her parents were immigrants from the Philippines. In high school she did "White" things like run cross country, listen to indie music, and go to concerts. She was smart and took school seriously, but wasn't notorious for studying all the time like the typical Asian stereotype.
And if I remember correctly, this conversation continued with my response, "Yeah, you don't really seem Asian, it's more like you're White." It's really interesting for me to pick apart my past experiences and think about them in a new light.
What is being "White" anyway?
According to The Full List of Stuff White People Like (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/):
* #121 Funny or Ironic Tattoos
* #120 Taking a Year Off
* #119 Sea Salt
* #118 Ugly Sweater Parties
* #117 Political Prisoners
* #116 Black Music that Black People Don’t Listen to Anymore
* #115 Promising to Learn a New Language
* #114 America
* #113 Halloween
* #112 Hummus
* #111 Pea Coats
* #110 Frisbee Sports
* #109 The Onion
* #108 Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music
* #107 Self Aware Hip Hop References
* #106 Facebook
* #105 Unpaid Internships
* #104 Girls with Bangs
* #103 Sweaters
* #102 Children’s Games as Adults
* #101 Being Offended
* #100 Bumper Stickers
* #99 Grammar
* #98 The Ivy League
* #97 Scarves
* #96 New Balance Shoes
* #95 Rugby
* #94 Free Healthcare
* #93 Music Piracy
* #92 Book Deals
* #91 San Francisco
* #90 Dinner Parties
* #89 St. Patrick’s Day
* #88 Having Gay Friends
* #87 Outdoor Performance Clothes
* #86 Shorts
* #85 The Wire
* #84 T-Shirts
* #83 Bad Memories of High School
* #82 Hating Corporations
* #81 Graduate School
* #80 The Idea of Soccer
* #79 Modern Furniture
* #78 Multilingual Children
* #77 Musical Comedy
* #76 Bottles of Water
* #75 Threatening to Move to Canada
* #74 Oscar Parties
* #73 Gentrification
* #72 Study Abroad
* #71 Being the only white person around
* #70 Difficult Breakups
* #69 Mos Def
* #68 Michel Gondry
* #67 Standing Still at Concerts
* #66 Divorce
* #65 Co-Ed Sports
* #64 Recycling
* #63 Expensive Sandwiches
* #62 Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
* #61 Bicycles
* #60 Toyota Prius
* #59 Natural Medicine
* #58 Japan
* #57 Juno
* #56 Lawyers
* #55 Apologies
* #54 Kitchen Gadgets
* #53 Dogs
* #52 Sarah Silverman
* #51 Living by the Water
* #50 Irony
* #49 Vintage
* #48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
* #47 Arts Degrees
* #46 The Sunday New York Times
* #45 Asian Fusion Food
* #44 Public Radio
* #43 Plays
* #42 Sushi
* #41 Indie Music
* #40 Apple Products
* #39 Netflix
* #38 Arrested Development
* #37 Renovations
* #36 Breakfast Places
* #35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
* #34 Architecture
* #33 Marijuana
* #32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
* #31 Snowboarding
* #30 Wrigley Field
* #29 80s Night
* #28 Not having a TV
* #27 Marathons
* #26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
* #25 David Sedaris
* #24 Wine
* #23 Microbreweries
* #22 Having Two Last Names
* #21 Writers Workshops
* #20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
* #19 Traveling
* #18 Awareness
* #17 Hating their Parents
* #16 Gifted Children
* #15 Yoga
* #14 Having Black Friends
* #13 Tea
* #12 Non-Profit Organizations
* #11 Asian Girls
* #10 Wes Anderson Movies
* #9 Making you feel bad about not going outside
* #8 Barack Obama
* #7 Diversity
* #6 Organic Food
* #5 Farmer’s Markets
* #4 Assists
* #3 Film Festivals
* #2 Religions their parents don’t belong to
* #1 Coffee
Now, the Full List of Stuff Asian People Like (http://www.asian-central.com/stuffasianpeoplelike/stuff-asian-people-like-full-list/):
· #106 Talking at the Worst Times
· #105 Internet Stardom
· #104 Staying Open on Christmas Day
· #103 Naming Daughters After Jewelry
· #102 Being Modest about ***
· #101 Being or Not Being Asian
· #100 Reserved
· #99 MSG
· #98 Studying Overseas
· #97 Model Poses
· #96 Kirkland Bottled Water & Brita Water Filters
· #95 Resenting Asian Women for Dating Caucasian Males
· #94 Jay Chou
· #93 Choreographed Dancing
· #92 University of California
· #91 Multilingualism
· #90 The Number 9
· #89 Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle
· #88 Numbers (8-8-08)
· #87 ‘Lah”
· #86 Not Having Pets
· #85 Arranged Marriages
· #84 Child Labor
· #83 Not Moving Out
· #82 Mangosteen
· #81 National Scatology
· #80 Aiya!
· #79 Plastic Furniture Covers
· #78 Sriracha Sauce
· #77 Techno
· #76 Fresh Food
· #75 Dumplings
· #74 Middle Finger Pointing
· #73 Bleached Hair
· #72 Disneyland
· #71 Tennis
· #70 Nice Guys
· #69 Badminton
· #68 Chili
· #67 Goldfish
· #66 Taking Pictures
· #65 Being Blunt
· #64 Not Taking the Last Piece of Food
· #63 Squatting
· #62 Moth Balls
· #61 Variety Shows
· #60 Wontons
· #59 Pale Skin
· #58 Golden Poop Charms
· #57 Gambling
· #56 Procrastination
· #55 Sappy Music Videos
· #54 False Humility
· #53 The Wok
· #52 Dance Dance Revolution
· #51 Higher Education
· #50 Western Culture
· #49 Language Proficiency
· #48 House Hunting
· #47 The Child
· #46 Cutting In Line
· #45 Nagging
· #44 Fortune Cookies
· #43 Spring & Egg Rolls
· #42 Final Fantasy
· #41 Eye Enlargement
· #40 White Girls
· #39 Glasses
· #38 White Guys
· #37 Piano & Violin
· #36 Aging Cookware
· #35 Peace Sign
· #34 Fish Sauce
· #33 Jet Li & Bruce Lee
· #32 Speaking Loudly
· #31 Rice
· #30 Cash
· #29 Slurping
· #28 Hoarding
· #27 Jackie Chan
· #26 Comparing People
· #25 Staring at People
· #24 Chopsticks
· #23 Durian
· #22 Asian Buffets
· #21 Growing Stuff In Own Yard
· #20 Bad Pronunciation
· #19 Arriving Late
· #18 Handwashing the Dishes
· #17 Asian Supermarkets
· #16 Not Wearing Shoes Indoors
· #15 Nintendo Wii
· #14 Honda Civic
· #13 Pimped Out Cars
· #12 Basketball
· #11 Eagle & Tiger Balm
· #10 Boba
· #9 Asian Comedians
· #8 Karaoke
· #7 Anime
· #6 Korean Soap Operas
· #5 Bargains
· #4 Bowl Haircuts
· #3 Academics
· #2 Purikura Photos
· #1 Cute Plush Toys
I think it's interesting to look at these lists and compare them to the things my friend and I had in common. Most of the stuff I mentioned previously is on the White list (indie music, Wrigley Field, Sushi, coffee) with the exception of Boba tea, which is on the Asian list.
Now, I kind of feel uncomfortable trying to analyze where my friend was in her racial development at the time of this conversation, but here goes. At this time, her father wanted her to be a doctor, but she actually wanted to be a music major. She was taking the typical pre-med classes until her sophomore year when she decided to go into nursing, instead.
On page 53 of Tatum's book, she describes the four identity statuses in the identity search process:
1. Diffuse: little exploration
2. Foreclosed: parents select your roles
3. Moratorium: an active exploration of roles
4. Achieved: a state of strong personal commitment to identity after an active exploration
I think my friend was in the Foreclosed state when I met her first semester freshman year. Second semester when she was actively exploring different majors, she was in the Moratorium state. Now, that she has finally decided on nursing and is actively pursuing that path, she is now in the Achieved state.
However, this is just in relation to her identity as a college student. She may very well be in different states when it comes to other aspects of her life such as dating or socially.
It was interesting, per our class discussion, that if you like something on one list, that would make you more "black" or "white" (or Asian, or Latino, etc.), depending on which list.
What one of my classmates brought up, was that her roommate said that although she wasn't White, it was like she was, since she seemed like she was more "White" than "Asian." I had a similar encounter a couple of years ago. I met the girl who would become one of my best friends from freshman year of college on facebook the summer before we started school. We were living on the same floor and had the same major. Upon talking to one another we realized we not only had the same taste in music, but we both played the piano, were cubs fans, loved sushi and boba tea, and ran cross country in high school. I was convinced we were practically twins. I didn't really look a whole lot at her facebook pictures, since I didn't really know her. But I was really surprised to find out that she was Asian rather than White. It was like in the first reading we had of this semester - everything is assumed to be White unless otherwise specified. I didn't really think much about it after the first time we met. She acted "White," whatever that is, rather than Asian. Except for the fact that she was pre-med. Anyway, I had my first serious discussion about race with her. Well, not really a serious discussion, but I guess it was just my first actual discussion about race. She told me that she never really felt "Asian" despite the fact that her parents were immigrants from the Philippines. In high school she did "White" things like run cross country, listen to indie music, and go to concerts. She was smart and took school seriously, but wasn't notorious for studying all the time like the typical Asian stereotype.
And if I remember correctly, this conversation continued with my response, "Yeah, you don't really seem Asian, it's more like you're White." It's really interesting for me to pick apart my past experiences and think about them in a new light.
What is being "White" anyway?
According to The Full List of Stuff White People Like (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/):
* #121 Funny or Ironic Tattoos
* #120 Taking a Year Off
* #119 Sea Salt
* #118 Ugly Sweater Parties
* #117 Political Prisoners
* #116 Black Music that Black People Don’t Listen to Anymore
* #115 Promising to Learn a New Language
* #114 America
* #113 Halloween
* #112 Hummus
* #111 Pea Coats
* #110 Frisbee Sports
* #109 The Onion
* #108 Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music
* #107 Self Aware Hip Hop References
* #106 Facebook
* #105 Unpaid Internships
* #104 Girls with Bangs
* #103 Sweaters
* #102 Children’s Games as Adults
* #101 Being Offended
* #100 Bumper Stickers
* #99 Grammar
* #98 The Ivy League
* #97 Scarves
* #96 New Balance Shoes
* #95 Rugby
* #94 Free Healthcare
* #93 Music Piracy
* #92 Book Deals
* #91 San Francisco
* #90 Dinner Parties
* #89 St. Patrick’s Day
* #88 Having Gay Friends
* #87 Outdoor Performance Clothes
* #86 Shorts
* #85 The Wire
* #84 T-Shirts
* #83 Bad Memories of High School
* #82 Hating Corporations
* #81 Graduate School
* #80 The Idea of Soccer
* #79 Modern Furniture
* #78 Multilingual Children
* #77 Musical Comedy
* #76 Bottles of Water
* #75 Threatening to Move to Canada
* #74 Oscar Parties
* #73 Gentrification
* #72 Study Abroad
* #71 Being the only white person around
* #70 Difficult Breakups
* #69 Mos Def
* #68 Michel Gondry
* #67 Standing Still at Concerts
* #66 Divorce
* #65 Co-Ed Sports
* #64 Recycling
* #63 Expensive Sandwiches
* #62 Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
* #61 Bicycles
* #60 Toyota Prius
* #59 Natural Medicine
* #58 Japan
* #57 Juno
* #56 Lawyers
* #55 Apologies
* #54 Kitchen Gadgets
* #53 Dogs
* #52 Sarah Silverman
* #51 Living by the Water
* #50 Irony
* #49 Vintage
* #48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
* #47 Arts Degrees
* #46 The Sunday New York Times
* #45 Asian Fusion Food
* #44 Public Radio
* #43 Plays
* #42 Sushi
* #41 Indie Music
* #40 Apple Products
* #39 Netflix
* #38 Arrested Development
* #37 Renovations
* #36 Breakfast Places
* #35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
* #34 Architecture
* #33 Marijuana
* #32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
* #31 Snowboarding
* #30 Wrigley Field
* #29 80s Night
* #28 Not having a TV
* #27 Marathons
* #26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
* #25 David Sedaris
* #24 Wine
* #23 Microbreweries
* #22 Having Two Last Names
* #21 Writers Workshops
* #20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
* #19 Traveling
* #18 Awareness
* #17 Hating their Parents
* #16 Gifted Children
* #15 Yoga
* #14 Having Black Friends
* #13 Tea
* #12 Non-Profit Organizations
* #11 Asian Girls
* #10 Wes Anderson Movies
* #9 Making you feel bad about not going outside
* #8 Barack Obama
* #7 Diversity
* #6 Organic Food
* #5 Farmer’s Markets
* #4 Assists
* #3 Film Festivals
* #2 Religions their parents don’t belong to
* #1 Coffee
Now, the Full List of Stuff Asian People Like (http://www.asian-central.com/stuffasianpeoplelike/stuff-asian-people-like-full-list/):
· #106 Talking at the Worst Times
· #105 Internet Stardom
· #104 Staying Open on Christmas Day
· #103 Naming Daughters After Jewelry
· #102 Being Modest about ***
· #101 Being or Not Being Asian
· #100 Reserved
· #99 MSG
· #98 Studying Overseas
· #97 Model Poses
· #96 Kirkland Bottled Water & Brita Water Filters
· #95 Resenting Asian Women for Dating Caucasian Males
· #94 Jay Chou
· #93 Choreographed Dancing
· #92 University of California
· #91 Multilingualism
· #90 The Number 9
· #89 Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle
· #88 Numbers (8-8-08)
· #87 ‘Lah”
· #86 Not Having Pets
· #85 Arranged Marriages
· #84 Child Labor
· #83 Not Moving Out
· #82 Mangosteen
· #81 National Scatology
· #80 Aiya!
· #79 Plastic Furniture Covers
· #78 Sriracha Sauce
· #77 Techno
· #76 Fresh Food
· #75 Dumplings
· #74 Middle Finger Pointing
· #73 Bleached Hair
· #72 Disneyland
· #71 Tennis
· #70 Nice Guys
· #69 Badminton
· #68 Chili
· #67 Goldfish
· #66 Taking Pictures
· #65 Being Blunt
· #64 Not Taking the Last Piece of Food
· #63 Squatting
· #62 Moth Balls
· #61 Variety Shows
· #60 Wontons
· #59 Pale Skin
· #58 Golden Poop Charms
· #57 Gambling
· #56 Procrastination
· #55 Sappy Music Videos
· #54 False Humility
· #53 The Wok
· #52 Dance Dance Revolution
· #51 Higher Education
· #50 Western Culture
· #49 Language Proficiency
· #48 House Hunting
· #47 The Child
· #46 Cutting In Line
· #45 Nagging
· #44 Fortune Cookies
· #43 Spring & Egg Rolls
· #42 Final Fantasy
· #41 Eye Enlargement
· #40 White Girls
· #39 Glasses
· #38 White Guys
· #37 Piano & Violin
· #36 Aging Cookware
· #35 Peace Sign
· #34 Fish Sauce
· #33 Jet Li & Bruce Lee
· #32 Speaking Loudly
· #31 Rice
· #30 Cash
· #29 Slurping
· #28 Hoarding
· #27 Jackie Chan
· #26 Comparing People
· #25 Staring at People
· #24 Chopsticks
· #23 Durian
· #22 Asian Buffets
· #21 Growing Stuff In Own Yard
· #20 Bad Pronunciation
· #19 Arriving Late
· #18 Handwashing the Dishes
· #17 Asian Supermarkets
· #16 Not Wearing Shoes Indoors
· #15 Nintendo Wii
· #14 Honda Civic
· #13 Pimped Out Cars
· #12 Basketball
· #11 Eagle & Tiger Balm
· #10 Boba
· #9 Asian Comedians
· #8 Karaoke
· #7 Anime
· #6 Korean Soap Operas
· #5 Bargains
· #4 Bowl Haircuts
· #3 Academics
· #2 Purikura Photos
· #1 Cute Plush Toys
I think it's interesting to look at these lists and compare them to the things my friend and I had in common. Most of the stuff I mentioned previously is on the White list (indie music, Wrigley Field, Sushi, coffee) with the exception of Boba tea, which is on the Asian list.
Now, I kind of feel uncomfortable trying to analyze where my friend was in her racial development at the time of this conversation, but here goes. At this time, her father wanted her to be a doctor, but she actually wanted to be a music major. She was taking the typical pre-med classes until her sophomore year when she decided to go into nursing, instead.
On page 53 of Tatum's book, she describes the four identity statuses in the identity search process:
1. Diffuse: little exploration
2. Foreclosed: parents select your roles
3. Moratorium: an active exploration of roles
4. Achieved: a state of strong personal commitment to identity after an active exploration
I think my friend was in the Foreclosed state when I met her first semester freshman year. Second semester when she was actively exploring different majors, she was in the Moratorium state. Now, that she has finally decided on nursing and is actively pursuing that path, she is now in the Achieved state.
However, this is just in relation to her identity as a college student. She may very well be in different states when it comes to other aspects of her life such as dating or socially.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Interracial Dating & Track
2/3/2009
This weekend, I was reading Beverly Tatum's book "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the cafeteria?" I was at a track meet, and a topic that she touched on was interracial dating. She gives an example of a Black girl who lived in a predominantly White neighborhood who complained about not being able to date (and also never had dates to any dances) because there were no other Black boys available to date. This got me thinking about interracial dating and how "taboo" it seems to be in our society. I asked a couple of my teammates if they had ever dated (or hooked up with) someone who wasn't in their racial group. Everyone I talked to said, "no, I haven't." One of the girls even told me a story about a different (White) girl who dated a (Black) guy on the track team last year. This relationship wasn't something that was publicized, but the people that she knew were very skeptical about the situation, telling her that she could do better, or just wondering why she would even consider dating a Black guy.
This was interesting to me, because out of everyone I had talked to I was the only one who had dated or "hooked up with" someone outside of my race. But, then as I was disclosing this information, I said, "Well one guy is half-Asian, and the other guy is Middle Eastern, but he acts like he's White." I stopped, and realized what I had just done. I had just justified these two guys by explaining that they were more "White" than someone else in their racial category.
I wanted to create a survey to give out - to find out what the percentage of my peers have dated someone outside of their race. I also wanted to find out how they were treated, or even how their friends / family / peers reacted to that situation. I don't know if this is valid or not, but just an idea.
Which reminded me. I have a friend at home who was "kind of seeing" this guy at school who was half-Asian. But, her friends at school and at home "jokingly" harassed her about it, and so now this relationship has completely fallen apart. I'm not sure if it was due to the reactions she was getting from this, or if it just wasn't meant to be. But I'm sure how her peers and friends reacted to the relationship had some effect on how it turned out. She actually told me not to date someone who wasn't White because I would probably regret it, like she did. Interesting, because I don't regret dating anyone who I have ever dated.
Anyway. I was also thinking about what we talked about at the end of class today. The Eberhardt & Fiske book talked about Aversive Racism and how to strike back against it. A solution that was offered was to increase a common ingroup affiliation that unites people of different colors. A common cause of Aversive Racism is an in-group bias, where people think that their group is better than the other group, not that the other group is worse. I think that this could actually work. The difficulty in this would be actually creating the group that is appealing to both students of color and White students. So many organizations that are aimed at integrating people of all cultures fail miserably because often White students don't feel that they belong, or have no desire to belong due to their already privileged position in society. I have found this to be true in my own personal experiences. It wasn't until college that I became friends with people outside of my race, and I think it was because we were part of a common in-group. For example, Freshman year, I had friends of different races that were people on my dorm floor. When I came to Wesleyan, I became friends with people outside of my race because they were on my cross country or track team.
A side note about track:
Although the track team is one big, giant team, it's really segregated between events. There's the distance people (those that do cross country in the fall), the sprinters (separated between short sprinters and the long sprinters), the jumpers, the pole-vaulters, and the throwers.
Of course, these team divisions don't go without racial divisions. It's hard to find a Black person on the distance squad (although, we have one, which I'll talk about shortly), and we joke around that Black people supposedly have the "X Factor": they're fast sprinters.
Now, this Black guy on the distance squad is a Freshman. Last spring, and this summer, before school started, people were contemplating whether he would be friends with "us" or the "Black track kids." It was a legitimate question. It was something we all wondered. There were only two people of color (both of Middle Eastern descent) on the distance squad, and this new Freshmen class would "greatly increase our racial diversity" (there were two other Freshmen people of color - both of Asian descent).
Anyway, what ended up happening, is he IS in fact friends with "us," and he's one of the most popular kids on the team. I remember one of the readings from last week talking about how Black kids in predominantly White schools can either be rejected or very popular due to the "Athlete Factor." (This actually happened in my high school - there was a new Black student our Junior year and he was REALLY good at football, and he immediately rose in popularity because of the "Athlete Factor.") Anyway, I don't think the "Athlete Factor" is really what's going on in this situation because we're all athletes. I think part of it is that he's a really funny guy, and the other part: it's not all that common to see a Black guy running distance.
Back to what I was saying... Anyway, I think my involvement with IWU track has changed the way that I perceive people of other races. Despite team segregation, I see my sprinter, jumper, and thrower teammates as just that - my teammates. I think my coach does a very good job of trying to keep everyone connected and feeling like a team despite our different events. This includes people of other races. When I participated in track and field in high school, the team was VERY, VERY segregated and I hardly saw anyone who wasn't "distance" as a teammate. I can now honestly say that I believe I have more of a "track in-group bias" (which includes people of color as well as White people) than a "white in-group bias." So, I guess what I'm saying is this particular experience is what makes me believe that if a multiracial group is developed that all people will consider the "in-group," then we will have a means to stop racism and social segregation.
Very long post. Thanks for bearing with me.
This weekend, I was reading Beverly Tatum's book "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the cafeteria?" I was at a track meet, and a topic that she touched on was interracial dating. She gives an example of a Black girl who lived in a predominantly White neighborhood who complained about not being able to date (and also never had dates to any dances) because there were no other Black boys available to date. This got me thinking about interracial dating and how "taboo" it seems to be in our society. I asked a couple of my teammates if they had ever dated (or hooked up with) someone who wasn't in their racial group. Everyone I talked to said, "no, I haven't." One of the girls even told me a story about a different (White) girl who dated a (Black) guy on the track team last year. This relationship wasn't something that was publicized, but the people that she knew were very skeptical about the situation, telling her that she could do better, or just wondering why she would even consider dating a Black guy.
This was interesting to me, because out of everyone I had talked to I was the only one who had dated or "hooked up with" someone outside of my race. But, then as I was disclosing this information, I said, "Well one guy is half-Asian, and the other guy is Middle Eastern, but he acts like he's White." I stopped, and realized what I had just done. I had just justified these two guys by explaining that they were more "White" than someone else in their racial category.
I wanted to create a survey to give out - to find out what the percentage of my peers have dated someone outside of their race. I also wanted to find out how they were treated, or even how their friends / family / peers reacted to that situation. I don't know if this is valid or not, but just an idea.
Which reminded me. I have a friend at home who was "kind of seeing" this guy at school who was half-Asian. But, her friends at school and at home "jokingly" harassed her about it, and so now this relationship has completely fallen apart. I'm not sure if it was due to the reactions she was getting from this, or if it just wasn't meant to be. But I'm sure how her peers and friends reacted to the relationship had some effect on how it turned out. She actually told me not to date someone who wasn't White because I would probably regret it, like she did. Interesting, because I don't regret dating anyone who I have ever dated.
Anyway. I was also thinking about what we talked about at the end of class today. The Eberhardt & Fiske book talked about Aversive Racism and how to strike back against it. A solution that was offered was to increase a common ingroup affiliation that unites people of different colors. A common cause of Aversive Racism is an in-group bias, where people think that their group is better than the other group, not that the other group is worse. I think that this could actually work. The difficulty in this would be actually creating the group that is appealing to both students of color and White students. So many organizations that are aimed at integrating people of all cultures fail miserably because often White students don't feel that they belong, or have no desire to belong due to their already privileged position in society. I have found this to be true in my own personal experiences. It wasn't until college that I became friends with people outside of my race, and I think it was because we were part of a common in-group. For example, Freshman year, I had friends of different races that were people on my dorm floor. When I came to Wesleyan, I became friends with people outside of my race because they were on my cross country or track team.
A side note about track:
Although the track team is one big, giant team, it's really segregated between events. There's the distance people (those that do cross country in the fall), the sprinters (separated between short sprinters and the long sprinters), the jumpers, the pole-vaulters, and the throwers.
Of course, these team divisions don't go without racial divisions. It's hard to find a Black person on the distance squad (although, we have one, which I'll talk about shortly), and we joke around that Black people supposedly have the "X Factor": they're fast sprinters.
Now, this Black guy on the distance squad is a Freshman. Last spring, and this summer, before school started, people were contemplating whether he would be friends with "us" or the "Black track kids." It was a legitimate question. It was something we all wondered. There were only two people of color (both of Middle Eastern descent) on the distance squad, and this new Freshmen class would "greatly increase our racial diversity" (there were two other Freshmen people of color - both of Asian descent).
Anyway, what ended up happening, is he IS in fact friends with "us," and he's one of the most popular kids on the team. I remember one of the readings from last week talking about how Black kids in predominantly White schools can either be rejected or very popular due to the "Athlete Factor." (This actually happened in my high school - there was a new Black student our Junior year and he was REALLY good at football, and he immediately rose in popularity because of the "Athlete Factor.") Anyway, I don't think the "Athlete Factor" is really what's going on in this situation because we're all athletes. I think part of it is that he's a really funny guy, and the other part: it's not all that common to see a Black guy running distance.
Back to what I was saying... Anyway, I think my involvement with IWU track has changed the way that I perceive people of other races. Despite team segregation, I see my sprinter, jumper, and thrower teammates as just that - my teammates. I think my coach does a very good job of trying to keep everyone connected and feeling like a team despite our different events. This includes people of other races. When I participated in track and field in high school, the team was VERY, VERY segregated and I hardly saw anyone who wasn't "distance" as a teammate. I can now honestly say that I believe I have more of a "track in-group bias" (which includes people of color as well as White people) than a "white in-group bias." So, I guess what I'm saying is this particular experience is what makes me believe that if a multiracial group is developed that all people will consider the "in-group," then we will have a means to stop racism and social segregation.
Very long post. Thanks for bearing with me.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Stereotypes
1/27/2009
The images portrayed by the media are dynamic. They change with the times. We watched a part of the film "Ethnic Notions." This film described and depicted the images of Black Americans before, during, and after slavery in America. Some of the common images were:
-The Black Mammie: an overweight, asexual, strong woman, who is very loyal to her white family.
-The Sambo: the laughing, carefree, lazy man.
-Jim Crow: a dancing man with tattered clothing.
-Zip Coon: a buffoon, who tries to dress well and is trying to fight slavery.
-Pickaninny: an animalistic child who is often depicted in trees or by a river.
-The Brute: a violent, and animalistic person who is out of control due to the lack of enslavement.
The intentions of these depictions were to justify slavery as well as entertain people. I thought these depictions were sickening. But, following the film, we discussed how these images have either lingered or changed over time. The modern stereotypical images are often brought about by the Hip Hop or Rap culture. We see Black women depicted as very sexy and beautiful, as demonstrated in music videos. The stereotypical black man is either seen as a rapper (again, along with the Hip Hop culture) or as a criminal (as discussed in the reading).
The Kivel reading discusses how Blacks are generally feared. An example given in the reading was, when a Black man walks near you, do you clutch your purse / wallet, or if you're in the car, do you lock your doors. This behavior, for many, is a natural "instinct" that has been ingrained into our culture from the images portrayed in the media. Black men are seen as dangerous in our culture. This stereotype aids in racial profiling. Why else would we have such a higher of percentage of Black men imprisoned than the ratio actually is in the free society?
This same stereotype is left-over from the "Brute" image seen during the reconstruction period after the Civil War / Slavery. Blacks were seen as violent, dangerous individuals. Some films even depicted Black men chasing after White virgin women.
What's interesting is that, as Kivel says, most (80%) assaults / batteries / rapes are committed by people that the victim knows. And it's usually someone of the same race (often its a significant other, or other family member).
Often we justify our fears of other races by the usage of stories. You hear people say, "It's unfortunate, but my one negative experience (with a particular race) was..."
Well, I was thinking about that. And realized, I don't have any outstanding negative experiences with people of a different race than me. And it's because, the most negative experiences (not that there are really all that many) I've had with people are with people who are White, like myself. Then I started to wonder why that was. And I realized, it's because for the majority of my life, I've been surrounded by people just. like. me. Despite not having any negative experiences with people outside my race, I found myself answering "yes" to some of Kivel's questions: "Have you ever been in your car when a person of color drove past? Did you reach over to lock your car door?" Kivel explained that these reactions were woven into our cultural fabric. But, I think that the education (social education, outside of the school setting) I received about different races was very biased. I now understand much more than I did when I was in third grade and am able to make decisions for myself instead of just thinking that the "right" viewpoint was what my father would say about the O. J. Simpson case, for example.
As uncomfortable as the movie "Ethnic Notions" made me feel, I'm really glad it got me thinking about stereotypes in a new way. I don't usually think about the ways that people outside of my own group are depicted in the media. But, it's good to be aware.
The images portrayed by the media are dynamic. They change with the times. We watched a part of the film "Ethnic Notions." This film described and depicted the images of Black Americans before, during, and after slavery in America. Some of the common images were:
-The Black Mammie: an overweight, asexual, strong woman, who is very loyal to her white family.
-The Sambo: the laughing, carefree, lazy man.
-Jim Crow: a dancing man with tattered clothing.
-Zip Coon: a buffoon, who tries to dress well and is trying to fight slavery.
-Pickaninny: an animalistic child who is often depicted in trees or by a river.
-The Brute: a violent, and animalistic person who is out of control due to the lack of enslavement.
The intentions of these depictions were to justify slavery as well as entertain people. I thought these depictions were sickening. But, following the film, we discussed how these images have either lingered or changed over time. The modern stereotypical images are often brought about by the Hip Hop or Rap culture. We see Black women depicted as very sexy and beautiful, as demonstrated in music videos. The stereotypical black man is either seen as a rapper (again, along with the Hip Hop culture) or as a criminal (as discussed in the reading).
The Kivel reading discusses how Blacks are generally feared. An example given in the reading was, when a Black man walks near you, do you clutch your purse / wallet, or if you're in the car, do you lock your doors. This behavior, for many, is a natural "instinct" that has been ingrained into our culture from the images portrayed in the media. Black men are seen as dangerous in our culture. This stereotype aids in racial profiling. Why else would we have such a higher of percentage of Black men imprisoned than the ratio actually is in the free society?
This same stereotype is left-over from the "Brute" image seen during the reconstruction period after the Civil War / Slavery. Blacks were seen as violent, dangerous individuals. Some films even depicted Black men chasing after White virgin women.
What's interesting is that, as Kivel says, most (80%) assaults / batteries / rapes are committed by people that the victim knows. And it's usually someone of the same race (often its a significant other, or other family member).
Often we justify our fears of other races by the usage of stories. You hear people say, "It's unfortunate, but my one negative experience (with a particular race) was..."
Well, I was thinking about that. And realized, I don't have any outstanding negative experiences with people of a different race than me. And it's because, the most negative experiences (not that there are really all that many) I've had with people are with people who are White, like myself. Then I started to wonder why that was. And I realized, it's because for the majority of my life, I've been surrounded by people just. like. me. Despite not having any negative experiences with people outside my race, I found myself answering "yes" to some of Kivel's questions: "Have you ever been in your car when a person of color drove past? Did you reach over to lock your car door?" Kivel explained that these reactions were woven into our cultural fabric. But, I think that the education (social education, outside of the school setting) I received about different races was very biased. I now understand much more than I did when I was in third grade and am able to make decisions for myself instead of just thinking that the "right" viewpoint was what my father would say about the O. J. Simpson case, for example.
As uncomfortable as the movie "Ethnic Notions" made me feel, I'm really glad it got me thinking about stereotypes in a new way. I don't usually think about the ways that people outside of my own group are depicted in the media. But, it's good to be aware.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Colorblindness & Children
After reading the literature for class and attending class today, there were two concepts that left quite an impression on me.
1. The topic of "colorblindness." The movie that we viewed in class today at the end of it was advocating this topic. And media reports say that my generation is the most "colorblind" of any previous generation. But after completing the readings, these statements were troubling to me. There is no such thing as colorblindness. Social Psychology says that stereotypes and prejudices are not only natural, but beneficial (Confronting Racism text). They help to understand the environment quickly. It's actually an evolutionary survival tactic. Everyone notices race. I know I notice race all the time - especially if I am the minority... or if the majority of people in a situation are white and there is only one, or very few people of color. The problem with stereotypes is that they are often inaccurate.
But, the text offers a solution to change stereotypes and prejudices. It is a more effortful solution, but it seems like it would work. Every time you meet someone, you form a stereotype. But you should try to get to know that individual, ask him or her questions, to get the "real" person, not just what your split-second perception is of that person.
Personally, I would love to do this. And I'm an outgoing person, so I think this is feasible for me. But, like everyone else (at least I assume), I get scared. I stutter my words and get nervous about what to say (this usually isn't a problem for me). I think it can be fair to say that sometimes when I'm exposed to someone new who is different than me, I get shy. I'm not really sure what this means. But, that's where my thoughts are going now.
2. The early recognition of race in children. There were two examples in the reading that really stuck out to me. The first was a class of kindergartners were asked to draw a picture of a Native American / Indian. All of their pictures included feathers and often times, weapons.
This interested me because in my elementary school experience, we studied Native Americans in third grade. We were taught to use the term "Native Americans" rather than "Indians" because it was the "right thing to say" or that "they liked that term better." This was in third grade. Now, flash forward about five years. I was babysitting and one of the kids was in third grade at the same elementary school I attended. I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but I said something about the "Indians" (I usually use the term "Native American," but I wasn't sure that the children I was babysitting for would be familiar with that term). The third grader corrected me and told me that we should call them "Native Americans." I think it's refreshing to know that schools now-a-days are teaching more racial history as well as proper terminology.
Another example in the text that had to do with children and race was in the Kivel text. The story about the little girl who brought in a black barbie doll for show and tell. Her classmates responded with comments describing how ugly the doll was and how it was "not Barbie." This reminded me of a different time when I was babysitting. I was playing Barbie Dolls with the children, and I often chose the Barbie Doll with dark brown hair and tan skin because I thought that she was pretty (and not like all the other Barbies with the yellow hair that all looked the same to me). One time, the little girl asked me, "Why do you always choose the ugly Barbie?" I was really taken aback by this question, because this girl thought that only the light-skinned, blonde barbies were the pretty ones. It's interesting that even slight differences in skin tone and hair color can make all the difference in childrens' eyes.
1. The topic of "colorblindness." The movie that we viewed in class today at the end of it was advocating this topic. And media reports say that my generation is the most "colorblind" of any previous generation. But after completing the readings, these statements were troubling to me. There is no such thing as colorblindness. Social Psychology says that stereotypes and prejudices are not only natural, but beneficial (Confronting Racism text). They help to understand the environment quickly. It's actually an evolutionary survival tactic. Everyone notices race. I know I notice race all the time - especially if I am the minority... or if the majority of people in a situation are white and there is only one, or very few people of color. The problem with stereotypes is that they are often inaccurate.
But, the text offers a solution to change stereotypes and prejudices. It is a more effortful solution, but it seems like it would work. Every time you meet someone, you form a stereotype. But you should try to get to know that individual, ask him or her questions, to get the "real" person, not just what your split-second perception is of that person.
Personally, I would love to do this. And I'm an outgoing person, so I think this is feasible for me. But, like everyone else (at least I assume), I get scared. I stutter my words and get nervous about what to say (this usually isn't a problem for me). I think it can be fair to say that sometimes when I'm exposed to someone new who is different than me, I get shy. I'm not really sure what this means. But, that's where my thoughts are going now.
2. The early recognition of race in children. There were two examples in the reading that really stuck out to me. The first was a class of kindergartners were asked to draw a picture of a Native American / Indian. All of their pictures included feathers and often times, weapons.
This interested me because in my elementary school experience, we studied Native Americans in third grade. We were taught to use the term "Native Americans" rather than "Indians" because it was the "right thing to say" or that "they liked that term better." This was in third grade. Now, flash forward about five years. I was babysitting and one of the kids was in third grade at the same elementary school I attended. I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but I said something about the "Indians" (I usually use the term "Native American," but I wasn't sure that the children I was babysitting for would be familiar with that term). The third grader corrected me and told me that we should call them "Native Americans." I think it's refreshing to know that schools now-a-days are teaching more racial history as well as proper terminology.
Another example in the text that had to do with children and race was in the Kivel text. The story about the little girl who brought in a black barbie doll for show and tell. Her classmates responded with comments describing how ugly the doll was and how it was "not Barbie." This reminded me of a different time when I was babysitting. I was playing Barbie Dolls with the children, and I often chose the Barbie Doll with dark brown hair and tan skin because I thought that she was pretty (and not like all the other Barbies with the yellow hair that all looked the same to me). One time, the little girl asked me, "Why do you always choose the ugly Barbie?" I was really taken aback by this question, because this girl thought that only the light-skinned, blonde barbies were the pretty ones. It's interesting that even slight differences in skin tone and hair color can make all the difference in childrens' eyes.
Politics & Race - The Inauguration
1/20/2009
So today was Inauguration Day. Inauguration of our first president who is a person of color. So far one out of forty four US presidents has not been white. We briefly discussed the minority make up of the senators throughout the years in class this evening, so I decided to do a little research:
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/minority_senators.htm
There have been six African American senators, five Asian American senators (all from Hawaii except one), six Hispanic senators, and three Native American senators. This is such a sad number considering there have been about, what 2000 senators in US history?
Anyway, I watched the Inauguration speech today, and I thought it was just so moving. The camera panned the crowd and the crowd was so emotional - the mixture between the emotions running through the crowd and the words President Obama was saying were so moving that I actually started to tear up. Maybe it was just since I'm more aware of race now than I ever have been before, but I noticed many people of color in the crowd. Not just Blacks, but all races - Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, White... Obama really spoke a lot about inclusion and "bringing everyone to the table." It really seems like he has a very diverse group of supporters, and I think this is the first step toward something great in our country. I think America has made a huge step against racism in electing a man of color to be the leader of our country.
So today was Inauguration Day. Inauguration of our first president who is a person of color. So far one out of forty four US presidents has not been white. We briefly discussed the minority make up of the senators throughout the years in class this evening, so I decided to do a little research:
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/minority_senators.htm
There have been six African American senators, five Asian American senators (all from Hawaii except one), six Hispanic senators, and three Native American senators. This is such a sad number considering there have been about, what 2000 senators in US history?
Anyway, I watched the Inauguration speech today, and I thought it was just so moving. The camera panned the crowd and the crowd was so emotional - the mixture between the emotions running through the crowd and the words President Obama was saying were so moving that I actually started to tear up. Maybe it was just since I'm more aware of race now than I ever have been before, but I noticed many people of color in the crowd. Not just Blacks, but all races - Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, White... Obama really spoke a lot about inclusion and "bringing everyone to the table." It really seems like he has a very diverse group of supporters, and I think this is the first step toward something great in our country. I think America has made a huge step against racism in electing a man of color to be the leader of our country.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Exposure to Race
1/13/08
So I just started this blog for my psychology of racism class. We just had our first class and even that got me thinking a lot about how my life has been affected by race. I guess I hadn't really thought a whole lot about it until we met in class.
We were asked in class to think of our first experience with race. As I tried to think of one, it became apparent that I grew up very sheltered. The first interaction I could remember was in first grade when I developed the "Asians are smart" stereotype because the only non-white girl was an Asian girl who was the smartest person in our class. My elementary school really had no people of color. In third grade, a Mexican family moved in, and I remember beginning a prejudice - it was what everyone did. Everyone talked about her because she couldn't speak English, she lived in the low-income apartments, and smelled different. In retrospect, it's sad, really, seeing children at such a young age developing such poor habits.
I had more interactions with different ethnicities as a child than different races - I would estimate that about 95% of my community is white and Christian. When we found out the new girl was Jewish, it was really exciting for everyone since she was different than everyone else. Everyone wanted to be friends with her because she was not like the rest of us.
But, sadly enough, I don't think it was until high school until I actually had friends outside of my own ethnicity, and even so, they weren't close friends. It wasn't until my first year of college that I was very good friends with someone outside of my race. My best friend from freshman year is Philippino. It's interesting that I actually had my first "real" discussion about race with her. She told me that she didn't see herself as "Asian", she felt like she was more white than Asian despite her parents being immigrants to America. It was kind of similar to what was said in class this evening. One of the students said that despite his Asian ethnicity, he felt a greater connection to being white than Asian since he grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and hung out with all white kids at school.
I realize I have grown up very sheltered, and some may say "in a bubble", but I believe my college experience is really opening me up to new types of people and new experiences. The classes I'm taking and the friends I'm making are allowing me to become more open-minded. It's a good change, and I like it.
So I just started this blog for my psychology of racism class. We just had our first class and even that got me thinking a lot about how my life has been affected by race. I guess I hadn't really thought a whole lot about it until we met in class.
We were asked in class to think of our first experience with race. As I tried to think of one, it became apparent that I grew up very sheltered. The first interaction I could remember was in first grade when I developed the "Asians are smart" stereotype because the only non-white girl was an Asian girl who was the smartest person in our class. My elementary school really had no people of color. In third grade, a Mexican family moved in, and I remember beginning a prejudice - it was what everyone did. Everyone talked about her because she couldn't speak English, she lived in the low-income apartments, and smelled different. In retrospect, it's sad, really, seeing children at such a young age developing such poor habits.
I had more interactions with different ethnicities as a child than different races - I would estimate that about 95% of my community is white and Christian. When we found out the new girl was Jewish, it was really exciting for everyone since she was different than everyone else. Everyone wanted to be friends with her because she was not like the rest of us.
But, sadly enough, I don't think it was until high school until I actually had friends outside of my own ethnicity, and even so, they weren't close friends. It wasn't until my first year of college that I was very good friends with someone outside of my race. My best friend from freshman year is Philippino. It's interesting that I actually had my first "real" discussion about race with her. She told me that she didn't see herself as "Asian", she felt like she was more white than Asian despite her parents being immigrants to America. It was kind of similar to what was said in class this evening. One of the students said that despite his Asian ethnicity, he felt a greater connection to being white than Asian since he grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and hung out with all white kids at school.
I realize I have grown up very sheltered, and some may say "in a bubble", but I believe my college experience is really opening me up to new types of people and new experiences. The classes I'm taking and the friends I'm making are allowing me to become more open-minded. It's a good change, and I like it.
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