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Gender Inequality In American Society

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In an ideal world, America is the land of opportunity, promise, and freedom, but in reality, American society is dominated by a materialistic, prejudiced, isolated, and consumerist culture. The atmosphere surrounding the nation promotes a social hierarchy, separates individuals into collective identities such as gender, race, religion, and wealth, and distorts our national identity. In essence, the privileged status of being an American entitles us to a false sense of superiority resulting in animosity, distrust, fear of foreigners, and egocentricity. The life of an everyday American revolves around monotonous routines entrapping individuals in an endless cycle of nothingness. Years and years of sacrifice and hard work don't amount to dreamt …show more content…

Ta-Nehisi Coates, an African-American journalist for The Atlantic, portrays first-hand, the black experience of living in America, in a letter directed to his son. He links inherent racism in America to the police brutality and prejudice prevalent today in America as the “visceral experience of racism” lays the foundation for a predominant “White America, a syndicate arrayed to protect its exclusive power to dominate and control our bodies” (Coates). White supremacy reinforces that only a select few benefit from the privilege, opportunities, and status reserved for the elite. In addition, the social hierarchy creates socio-economic divides between the affluent and the indigent. The Zoo Story, one-act play, places Peter, in the upper-middle class, as a successful executive at a publishing company, who abides by the norm- a nuclear family, a steady, high-paying job, and a superior mentality- and Jerry, the “permanent transient” in lower class, living in a run-down boarding house (Albee). Edward Albee, the playwright of The Zoo Story, exemplifies the rungs of social hierarchy through the zoo metaphor, which places separate and caged animals in the same plane with people trapped in their class. The illusion of the American Dream, the social mobility, and abundance of opportunities, are false promises reserved only for the upper elite. Thus, the great, promising …show more content…

The ideal scenario lies in the dream of equality of opportunity, where someone “in the bleakest poverty” has the same chances as anybody else, because they are American: free and equal (Stiglitz). However, “the gap between aspiration and reality could not be wider”, and the sad truth concerning the inequality of opportunity can be attributed to educational disparities (Stiglitz). The people of this nation intend to reform the educational system and seek solutions, but it’s easier to ignore and disregard the problem at hand. Instead, society remains obsessed and dependent on acquiring any goods available on the market. The desperation and irresistible urge to buy, trade, or sell binds individuals to an inescapable dependence on possessions, turning freedom to make choices and act into slavery (Burgess). The materialistic addiction cultivates social hysteria and a culture revolving around products, evident in shopper madness on Black Friday, Christmas, and other holidays. Whereas other countries have St. Peter’s Basilica or Red Square, America has the Mall of America. A cultural landmark, encapsulates the consumerist and materialistic American society. The combination of shopping, frivolity, church, and convenience transcends the historic communal marketplace. The mall’s mission

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