Gender, A, And Social Orientation

Whether it is on TV or movie screens, the faces of white actors and actresses have always been prevalent in the media. For generations, many teenagers have been exposed to countless movies with white people in major roles. Moreover, the few roles that are cast to minorities feature the characters in their stereotypical personas (Bonilla-Silva 179). Even in advertising, Asians are placed in business settings, upholding the hard-working Asian stereotype (Taylor and Stern 50). As Taylor and Stern mention in their paper, the “model minority” has made the issue of stereotyping seem less important for Asians. The majority of these actors that are examined, regardless of race, are typically middle-age and well established in their acting careers. However, there is a lack of research behind Asian youth acting and their perceived roles. To account for this knowledge deficit, I examine how whiteness influences the media to portray youth actors as individuals that stray from their stereotypes in an attempt to achieve whiteness. My research site centres around Fresh Off the Boat (FOB), a comedic television series featuring a Taiwanese family. The title of the show Fresh Off the Boat or “FOB” is also a term used to describe a person that is considered too ethnic and as a term of denigration. I utilize Pyke and Dang’s categorization of “FOB” and “whitewashed” to analyze the narrator, Eddie Huang. I chose to limit my research primarily to the first “pilot” episode where the audience is

He states that online social marketing networks have provided the media for exposure to a global audience and has bred an unprecedented cultural confidence in its black originators. No longer do people of color have to strive to be identified as white to afford the opportunities that were associated with being white (e.g., better paying jobs, education, homeownership, etc.) to change their socio-economic status in life. White is no longer a threat or an ideal. The rise to mega wealth by people of color or ethnicity through sports and music has enabled them to move into social circles previously occupied by only the privileged upper white class. Minorities and immigrants no longer care about assimilating white American culture and behavior but are remaking culture in the image of white America’s multiethnic, multicolored heirs. Again, Hsu identifies this as a shift of white power and incorporates alarmist statements into his article such as warning that “colored migration is a universal peril, menacing every part of the white world.” He uses the election of Barack Obama as an example of the gradual erosion of “whiteness” in America and refers to whiteness as the touchstone of what it means to be an American.

Is whiteness only a matter of skin pigmentation? Nyack (2007) questions what would happen if we were to see whiteness as more of an organizing principle. Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS), she explains, provides a radically different way to think about race and challenge whiteness as the universal norm. If, additionally, we think of whiteness as a social construct that includes white culture, ideology, racialization, experiences and emotions, we can understand that CWS “focuses on problematizing the normality of hegemonic whiteness which has allowed whites to deflect, ignore or dismiss their role, racialization and privilege in race dynamics”

In the article, “Behind 2016’s Turmoil, a Crisis of White Identity” by Amanda Taub, she exploits issues regarding Caucasian citizens; she starts the argument by mentioning how whites are typically perceived as the default race. Taub continues by explaining the truth about white citizens using race labels to give hem the highest social ranking. She quotes Robin DiAngelo who calls the loss of this title “white fragility”, or the realization that Caucasian people are average citizens who cannot use their race as a social ranking. Taub clarifies that it is not bigotry, but the result of rapid change of immigration and diversity; they cannot handle the amount of change in so little time, creating this aura of existential crisis. In the end, whites

Race construction in the United States has been socially constructed since the founding of the republic. Racial differences and the development of various ethnic identities have been affected by the rigidity of racial categories in the United States, these include American Indian or Alaskan Native, black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Asian Pacific Islander, and white. The racial divide in the United States is predominantly between whites and blacks but many Americans fall into the “racial middle”, a term coined by Eileen O’Brien to bring attention to the population of Americans that do not identify as either white

American society consists of many equal races, yet people believe that as a white American, I am more privileged than others. However, I have learned that race is not the only factor that determines my status or position in life. In addition, the concept of white privilege is not as prominent in younger generations. Despite the assumptions made by others about the privileges whites are given, there are circumstances where being white negatively impacts me.

Derald Wing Sue and David Sue (2003), conducted several interviews asking people what it meant to be “white” or European American. Many of the white respondents took offense to the question, others were unsure of what was being asked. However, when the same question was asked of minority groups

Sociologists reject the idea that behavioural differences between men and women are biologically determined. Outline the key grounds for this rejection and discuss what this means for a sociological understanding of gender.

Day by day, there are situations in which race is an upfront issue. Robert Jensen discusses the realities of being white in America. More than just realities, Jensen confronts the problem of being white and urges fellow white Americans to acknowledge the real issue of racism: themselves. The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism, and White Privilege is an insightful consider where whites go wrong and how they can go right. Given the advantages that white Americans have, Jensen gives examples of how to accept it for what it is and use it for the greater good.

In Mary Bucholtz’ book White Kids, she discusses the stature of whiteness in the United States as hegemonic, unmarked, and culturally absent, making it situational and unstable. Bucholtz suggests that to counteract that, the students she studied in her field work adopted many different identities and identifiers, such as levels of popularity and racial backgrounds, the use of language, and the physical styles with one chooses to present.

After reading chapters five and six in the Sue text, I feel that minority groups understand what it means to be “White” much better than the majority of White people do. I believe this is because they have to deal with what it means to not be White on a daily basis, in a culture where whiteness equates to power and privilege. White privilege unfortunately works like that- Whites are unaware of its oppressive force, as it does not affect us- because we created it. If I am honest, I have realized that I was unaware of many aspects of my own White privilege. For the purpose of this paper, since political correctness infers that Caucasian is an outdated term (Dewan, 2013), and to answer what my race is accurately, I am White.

Throughout history, humans have always been expected to act a certain way depending on their sex. These societal expectations are called gender roles. (Rathus, 2010, p.447). These roles begin to develop even before a child is even out of the womb. A mother may decorate their nursery pink if they are having a daughter because “girls like pink,” and “boys like blue.” Gender roles should not be confused with gender stereotypes. A gender stereotype is a narrow way of thinking about how men and woman are obligated to behave. For example, men have always been considered to be the breadwinners of the family. Females, on the other hand, are seen more as the gentle homemakers that stay home to clean and take care of the children. (Rathus, 2010, p.447). These types of stereotypes have caused certain out-of-the-home jobs to be mainly categorized for either women or men, causing an even more distinct line between the genders.

The subject of race, within the field of sociology, can often be viewed as both a fluid concept and a cultural experience. Contrary to popular belief, race is not biological, but is a socially constructed category of people that share the same biological traits. Race can often change over time and is formed primarily by our personal views and the views of others. These can range from ethnicity to self-presentation and feelings of place within society. One example of the fluidity of race can be seen based upon the classification of the White or Caucasian race. In today’s culture, this race has been drastically increased to include a vast array of “white” individuals.

Children learn at a very early age what it means to be a boy or a girl in our society. As children grow and develop, the gender stereotypes they are exposed to at home are reinforced by many elements in their environment and are thus perpetuated throughout childhood followed by adolescence. One major societal issue uprising with the way children are raised in today’s society is the gender specific dressing for boys and girls. The history with gender specific dressing is a one sided masculine enforced point of view for centuries. As children move through childhood and into adolescence, they are exposed to many factors which influence their behaviors and attitudes regarding gender roles. It is difficult for a child in today’s society to grow to adulthood without experiencing some form of gender bias or stereotyping. The question lies whether the view of gender specific dressing shall change or stay the same. As society continues to evolve and grow so does the tolerance of new uprising views for the general purpose of equality and freedom to do as pleased. Children regularly learn to adopt gender roles which are not always fair to both sexes. These attitudes and behaviors are generally learned first in the home but then reinforced by their environment, school experience, and media viewing. Nonetheless, the strongest influence on gender role development seems to occur within the family setting. Culture, values, and beliefs are the parents early role for passing on, both overtly

As evident from the generalized patterns found in differences in behaviour and outlook observed between the sexes, it may be tempting, as has been done in the past, to conclude that gender is an unavoidable aspect of human existence as determined purely from one 's genes. Indeed, human physiology is subject to sexual dimorphism; statistically significant differences in brain size and rate of maturation of specific substructures in the brain exist between males and females (Giedd, Castellanos, Rajapakese, Vaituzis, & Rapoport, 1997), yet these physical differences fail to explain how individuals form their concept of their own gender, and why they tend to conform to their perceived gender roles as defined by the society in which they live, when these roles are ever-changing. Thus, it is important to differentiate between the physical and nonphysical traits, and how the labels of femininity and masculinity should not confuse the two aspects. As defined by Unger (1979), “sex” would be used to refer to the biological differences in males and females, while “gender” describes socioculturally determined, nonphysiological traits which are arbitrarily designated as being appropriate for either females or males. With more recent awareness and interest in matters of gender nonconformity and individual gender identity, new research now explains how these concepts of gender are shaped by social influences (Perry