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Omi And Winant Racial Identity Analysis

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We live in a label obsessed society, from the brand of clothes we wear to questioning the gender identity of someone we encounter, labeling is a part of our everyday life. Unfortunately, this culture of hyper-awareness and stereotyping has perpetuated cycles of inequality and discrimination as well as left lasting negative effects on our society. This paper will examine Omi and Winant’s “Racial Formation in the U.S. From the 1960s to 1990,” Water’s “Black Identities,” Oliver and Shapiro’s “Black Wealth/White Wealth," and Lorber’s “The Social Construction of Gender,” as a guide to further understand the inequality created, specifically racial and gender inequality, by our hyper-aware and quick to stereotype society.
Everywhere we go we label things. For example, when we are shopping we may judge various items on the basis of their label or brand reputation. It does not stop with those items at the store, however, we also judge our fellow shoppers, those cashiers that check us out, as well as practically every one or thing we encounter. Nearly everyone is guilty of seeing another person and needing to immediately classify him or her into categories such as gender, race, age, etc. Nevertheless, why are we so quick to judge other people and things? I believe that these naturalized behaviors are a result of being apart of a hyper-aware and obsessive labeling society. …show more content…

In Oliver and Shapiro’s “Black Wealth/White Wealth," the authors speak about how past racism has really displaced black wealth today; in addition to the inequality blacks continue to face. In comparison to whites, discrimination of blacks has put them at a disadvantage, especially when it comes to accumulating wealth. Therefore, whites have a higher chance of accumulating and passing on their

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