Social Issues Involving Gender And Race

While there were many similarities between Du Bois and Marx there was also key differences, particularly the type of division in society and social groupings discussed. Marx was interested in how Social Classes were divided and the economic conditions which led to the subordination of the poor to the wealthy (Ritzer & Stepnisky, 2018). Du Bois took this idea a step further and studied the ways in which society was stratified by race and how minority groups were viewed and subsequently exploited by the dominant racial groups. An intersectionality existed in Du Bois’ work that was a departure from conventional Sociology up to that point. As a conflict theorist, W. E. B. Du Bois is naturally lumped in with other theorists in that field and

When it comes to healthcare racial disparities continue to be an ongoing issue. In fact racial disparities have been a topic of discussion since desegregation. The US Department of Health and Human Services, in 1984 published a report that called attention to the healthcare disparities. The report was called Heath, United States 1983(Dougher, 2015). Within the context of the report there lies a passage that describes the major disparities that are within the burden of illness and death that is experienced by African Americans and other minorities, “despite significant progress in the overall health of the nation” (Dougher, 2015). It was evident that there was a serious lack of health care minorities.

For centuries and even today, gender inequality and racial prejudice continue to exist. Throughout time these concepts have overlapped and intertwined, each other creating complex interactions and a negative influence upon society. In the 1980s, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw through her article, named Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, introduced the term “Intersectionality.” Intersectionality, is the theory of how different types of discriminations interact thus, goes hand in hand with Judith Butler, in her article titled “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” which expresses the term “gender acts” and helps decipher a probable cause of the many discriminations faced in contemporary society. Since both gender inequality and racial inequality share a common thread, I believe that what intersectionality represents will help understand Judith Butler’s view on gender classification and the dynamic it’s caused on our social and political formation.

When registering for classes for the Spring semester I looked at the required courses that I had to take based on my major. I then came across one of them which was Social Issues. The title intrigued me, so I decided to fit it into my schedule. I felt that the course would be interesting and be an enjoyable class to take. I had an idea of what the course would be about, but when I walked into the first class I was surprised how much the course would actually be covering in terms of race, class, and gender.

Race issues in the United States have plagued our country ever since our inception as a nation. Racism has fueled division, rioting, feuding, debate, and worst of all Civil War. Race issues have altered the way people work and the jobs that they are hired for. Race has also been a contributor to the rate for which one is paid. Race has also contributed to policies that support Law enforcement and or minorities. Some of these cases were; Brown vs. Board of Education (1954), the Court prohibited racial segregation in public schools. Loving vs. Virginia (1967), this decision holds that state laws prohibiting inter-racial marriage are unconstitutional. Another example, the Court found that a city school failure to provide English language instruction to students of Chinese ancestry to be considered unlawful discrimination in Lau vs. Nichols (1973). The University of California Regents vs. Bakke (1978), the Court decides that a public university may take race into account as a factor in admissions decisions. The decision holds that a state denies an African-American defendant equal protection when it puts him on trial before a jury from which members of his race have been purposefully excluded was in Batson vs. Kentucky (1986). Then a final example, Grutter vs. Bollinger (2003), In this case, the Court finds that a law school 's limited "affirmative action" use of race in admissions is constitutional. Because of racism we have also seen where we now have sub cultures in secret

Charlotte Bunch once said “Sexual, racial, gender, violence, and other forms of discrimination and violence in a culture cannot be eliminated without changing culture.” Our society experiences all of these problems and I would like to focus on the gender perspective in the 21st century and how women have had more of an influence in music than people actually realize. Men have dominated the music industry and business but women have been the underlying reason as for why men and other females have been so successful in the music scene.

Race, to many people is one thing and one thing only; the color of one's skin. But race is more than just the color of one’s skin, but it’s their biological makeup and social makeup. Biological race is the skin color we are born with along with the other genetic traits that come with certain ethnic backgrounds. Social race, however, is how society depicts your skin color and biological traits, and decides from there what social “class” you may be placed in, how you’ll be treated, and how you’ll live your life, socially. All people are biologically born the same “race” as their parents, or a mix, if the parents are different. But what determines the social race?

The most important issues in the world today are race, class, gender, and power. These issues affect the lives of all people on the planet. When President Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term in office as the President of the United States, the election symbolized the ways these issues were brought to the surface. These issues were important in helping Barack Obama win the election. Most of the voters were women, and most women preferred Barack Obama. This is because Obama does not hate women, like many Republicans do. Some Republicans hate women so much, that they believe it is okay to force a woman to have a baby that she does not want. Moreover, many Republicans believe that a woman should be a good housewife. Another issue that was important in the 2012 presidential election was race. Race was an important issue because many people hated Obama only because he was not white. People who could not find a reason why they did not like Obama just said, "He is bad for America," or "He is not a good leader." What they really meant to say was, "He is black and that makes me uncomfortable. I will pretend I am not a racist though." People are in denial of their prejudices and do not understand that racism underlies the way they think about Barack Obama. The election of Barack Obama has empowered millions of African-Americans in the United States.

The turn-of-the-century W.E.B Du Bois wrote his seminal text The Souls of Black Folk in response to what was then called the 'Negro Problem.' The 'Negro Problem' was the question of whether African-Americans should be treated as equal within the firmament of American society and whether integration or separate but equal were more viable doctrines. Du Bois wrote against such advocates of acceptance like Booker T. Washington, and instead demanded parity for his people in terms of opportunities. In the first essay of Du Bois' book entitled "Our Spiritual Strivings," Du Bois writes of his frustrations as a young, African-American child who was intelligent and thoughtful yet all too well aware of how his race would limit his ability to pursue his studies although he

Social construct may be defined as the social mechanism or a category which has been created by the society. It may either be a perception which is created by an individual or an idea which is constructed as a result of the culture. The present society has created a large number of constructs which are not good. In this paper, the discussion will be done on the social construction of race and gender and the problems associated with the same. In addition to this, how can social construct forms to be the basis for discrimination and prejudice will be discussed? Further, racism and sexism will be discussed with examples. Further discussion will be done on patriarchy and its role in racism and sexism will be added.

Race, gender and class defines our experience. Studies have shown that, even though, these three aspects define who we are, they are interwoven. Each of these three aspects affects our decisions which could be either positive or negative. Class, race and gender as an individual is determined by our parents and If any of these changes, it would automatically change every aspect of the individual.

In our society, we constantly are divided between a “dominant” group and an “inferior” group, whether it is by class, race, gender, sexuality, and so forth. Many people have been a victim of injustices and prejudism unless they are a part of what is known as the dominant group. There are a few theoriest who have used their platform (which they had to work hard for) to discuss important social issues. Two of the few are William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B) Du bois and Dorothy E. Smith. Although they faced different challenges and have faced different forms of discrimination, we can see how both of their theories are very similar (and somewhat different) from one another. Because of them, we are able to think about the real issues of our society and its effects on an individual.

The 21-st century is characterized by the continuous economic downfall. The relationship between race, class and gender should be evaluated to identify the life chances of people to improve their relative position in our socially stratified world. The increased rates of unemployment, homelessness and poverty show that our society requires implementing a transformative approach to reduce social stratification. The term social stratification is applied to identify and asses different forms of inequality that exist in the US society. Patricia H Collins suggests, “while a piece of the oppressor may be planted deep within each of us, we each have the choice of accepting that piece or challenging it as part of the 'true focus of revolutionary change'” (p. 680). Inequality has become a universal feature of our society; therefore, it exists everywhere and concerns race, class, and gender as the key categories of society.

1, To say that race and gender are socially constructs means that while both race and gender help shape the world in which we live, society can alter their meaning and significance. They have power because we give them power. Race is a social construct because, by definition, society can and does arbitrarily define it. For example, when American society forbidden interracial marriage (Conley 331), and determined an individual's race using the “one drop rule,” where someone is considered black if even their most distant ancestor was black. This is an example of how race can be imposed upon someone without his or her own individual endorsement. Race is not even biologically sound. Wayne Joseph was a man who was born and raised black, yet from

Throughout our semester together, our Social Issues class has discussed many different aspects of race, class and gender. We have had many opportunities to discuss and share our opinions on different topics and problems we face today. During this course, my outlook on life and other people has changed significantly. The use of projects and papers has further enlightened me to understand the perspective of others. The readings that we have been given each week have proven themselves very beneficial and have assisted greatly in furthering my awareness towards different races, classes and genders.