Race, Class, And Identity

Identity is defined as “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is” (Oxford University Press). Personal identity deals with questions that arise about ourselves by virtue of our being people. Some of these questions are familiar that happen to all of us every once in a while: What am I? When did I begin? What will happen to me when I die? There are many different categories that define us as people (Olson). Our Race, Class, and Culture define who we are so much that it affects how we should live our life.

Throughout the essay, Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections, I found Kwame Anthony Appiah’s claims about social scripts to support my idea that we present ourselves differently depending on the circumstance. There are times when we try to play into the majority, as well as times where we try and fall into the minority; we choose which group we want to highlight depending on which will get us where we want to go.

I’ve never taken into consideration how all of my experiences growing up has really formed the person that I am today. I’ve never really taken the time to think about my story of intersectionality until I took this class. I never realized how my inner, outer, experiential, relational, and developing identities have really constructed the person that I have become today. Many of my identities have influenced and changed my life especially my identities in social class, race and ethnicity, religion, citizenship and immigration status, first language I learned, my gender, and my gender expressions.

On January 13th, 2017, Chancellor Ralph Hexter of UC Davis emailed students in response to Martin Shkreli and Milo Yiannopoulos not being allowed speak at a campus event due to heated protests. The controversial Yiannopoulos is a open critic of many social justice movements, like feminism and Black Lives Matter. He’s specifically said during his events at his tour that muslims are rapists, publically yelled at a muslim for wearing a hijab, and promotes Blue Lives Matter. ('I Just Want to Burn It down') Additionally, Shkreli is a businessman who is now a convicted felon. So in response, many students were outraged and deeply upset by this organized event. In the email the Chancellor quoted the ACLU, explaining that we “can organize effectively to counter bad attitudes, possibly change them, and forge solidarity against the forces of intolerance.” However this will cause violence and make many feel patronized by the words spurred out by public speakers, like Yiannopoulos and Shrekli. Even though inviting people of different views seems like unifying people from all backgrounds, when people are content with their hatred and speak them out openly, it causes more complication. The opposite side wants to cover their ears and find the nearest exit. To be realistic, any young student won’t be welcoming with open arms to close minded speakers, especially if it seems as the main thing they desire is to get a rise out of you. The most efficient way to unify people is being respectful

Race is a social-constructed terminology where it categorizes people into groups that share certain distinctive physical characteristics such as skin color. However, race and racial identity is unstable, unfixed and constantly shifting, as race, typically, is a signifier of prevalent social conflict and interest. Although, many, particularly anthropologists and sociologists, argue in the aforementioned point of view, some – mainly white population -- believe that racial characteristics are biologically inherited.

Does being born connected to a certain race, class and culture define you as a person and the way you should or shouldn’t live your life. Does being in a certain class make you have class? In the paper I plan to give examples of how race, class and culture affected the African American culture.

1. Describe the difference between race and ethnicity. What roles do race and social class continue to play in the United States?

Michael Omi and Howard Winant’s arguments from “Racial Formations” are about how race is socially constructed and is shown in Caucasia by Danzy Senna. Michael Omi and Howard Winant believe that race is socially constructed in society; therefore, the meaning of race varies within different cultures and societies. According to Omi and Winant, influences such as, media, school, politics, history, family and economy create society’s structure of race. In Caucasia, media, family and school are forces that create race by stating how one should conform to social norms for different racial groups.

THESIS: Race differences in identity and social position were, and are, more important than class differences in American society.

In Anderson and Collins’, chapter on “Why race, class, and gender still maters” encourage readers to think about the world in their framework of race, class, and gender. They argued that even though society has change and there is a wide range of diversity; race, class and gender still matters. Anderson and Collins stated, “Race, class, and gender matter because they remain the foundation for system of power and inequality that, despite our nation’s diversity, continue to be among the most significant social facts of peoples lives.” (Anderson and Collins, 2010) When I was a little girl, I never knew that people were classified in to groups such as race, class, gender. I knew there were people that had a different color of skin than

Race, Gender, and Social class are all common interests in our American Society since before the Civil Rights Movement until now and will continue to be. Many theories have been developed with the intent to analyze these concepts of human life, and genetics within the scope of society. Critical Race theory, a modern take on the subtle racism and discrimination in institutional society and our American law, is one of these theories that construct the ideas relating race, gender and social class to American society. All groups of people are affected by racism and discrimination throughout the United States. Arab Americans and the Sioux, Native American Indian group, are two groups I will analyze in relation to Critical Race theory.

Omi and Winant’s discussion from “Racial Formations” are generally about race being a social construct and is also demonstrated in the viewing of Race - The power of an illusion. Omi and Winant have both agreed that race is socially constructed in society. Ultimately this means that race is seen differently in different societies and different cultures. Media, politics, school, economy and family helps alter society’s structure of race. In the viewing , also media as well as history seemed to create race by showing how social norms have evolved in different racial groups.

Fundamentally, gender, racism and class are three controversial social issues that have for a long period triggered heated debate in the American society. In essence, this issues concern the daily lives of American citizen and immigrants disregarding their class, social status, educational level or the position they hold in the society. Therefore, it is imperative that these issues are analyzed comprehensively in order to take an informed stand about the impact they have to the society. This paper, seeks to critically examine how gender, racism and class are addressed in the two movies “Bread and Roses “and ”Hammering it”.

I took the time today to read the article titled “What is Race” by Victor M. Fernandez, RN, BSN and found myself agreeably intrigued and in admiration of his thoughts regarding race. Victor touched on an extremely insightful and significant topic; one that most people have sturdy opinions about. Race – what is it? What does this mean to you? What does it mean to our upcoming careers in the nursing field? I trust that how we characterize and assess our awareness of race is due exclusively to how we were raised. I do not mean merely what we were taught from our family or culture about race, but to a certain extent how we have lived it, and how it has lived around us. “Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide

Race, a term for which the general public has no formal definition for but is rather more presumably a social, rather than a biological construct. A confusing boxed phenomenon sought about by social conformity of agreeing to believing a certain idea exists. Throughout time, humans have constantly thirsted for self-definition and identity. The concept of races ultimately has developed over time and is inextricably linked to power. Although some may presume race is a biological construct, these romantic critics are often too dogmatic in their provincial ideologies. Unlike race and racial identity, the economic, political and social, meanings of race or belonging in a group have not been as fluid. Race in my eyes is a vague term used to define a vast group of people by historically contingent, ancestral, or socially significant fundamental elements.