There are two types of people in society, those whom question the realities endured daily and those whom go about life accepting their place in the world, not questioning it. When learning about social justice, one realized that society is not perfectly functioning like one might assume. One professor Bobbie, Harro broke down socialization into different stages of life and organized it into a cycle which exposes oppression, power, prejudice and privilege, all of which are still prominent in today whether people choose to accept it or not. Through his many stages, he discusses how oppression, power, and privilege are recreated through socialization. Harro’s Cycle of Socialization is a system that states that everyone is born into social …show more content…
As one begins to grow and mature, one begins to identify with a group of people and start to realize what is accepted behavior. These influences can come from our parents, loved ones, the schools we attend or even the area, which we live. This stage begins to influence how we look at differently at each type of group and begin to develop prejudices. This step opposes the idea of culture relativism, for this is an idea that no one culture is better than another (Brown, 2008). However this is an idea most assume America participates in. But it is in this stage that people are taught the type of people whom they should socialize with and the type of people they should be frightened of. This is also when we start seeing different privileges being granted, typically favoring whites. For example, if there are two college students fighting, one black and one white, the cops are more likely to side with the white teenager and place blame on the black one. This white privilege is typically an invisible knapsack, which most are not aware they have (McIntosh, 1988). This knapsack gives whites preference, they are more likely to be selected for a job, they are more likely to get paid more and they are even more likely to be treated better. To the end of the cycle we have the Results stage. This is when people typically self examine, and realize that the government does
(Spade, 5). This operation of norms is used to justify the exclusion of powerless populations from "programs that distribute wealth and life chances" and attempts to validate "the targeting of these same populations for imprisonment and violence" (Spade, 5). In reality, biology destines some groups to flourish, to acquire enhanced opportunities, and to be treated in a way that benefits their success. At the cost of this group, comes the groups that are being held back and facing an inevitable doomed future; the norms produce "security for some population and vulnerability for others" (Spade, 5). Through dividing power based on individuals' biology, the sexist and racist mindsets are reinforced and the "conditions of violence, exploitation, and poverty" are upheld (Spade, 5).
The cycle of socialization is a process through which social identities are created, and in effect, each individual represents and is affected by their social identity. According to the cycle of socialization, the first stop in the socialization process is outside of one’s control—one is socialized even before they are born. Our social identities are predetermined, and we are born in a world with roles, rules, and assumptions already in place. Our family and role models teach these rules and roles to us, for they are the shapers of expectations, values, and norms. The first step in the cycle of socialization is directly related to mental models. In the beginning of the socialization process, we are taught certain rules and roles to
Throughout the past couple of weeks, the readings revolved around oppression. These readings have talked about oppression as being pervasive, restrictive, hierarchical, intentional, unintentional, institutionalized, and so much more. These examples show us how oppression is taking over our society, and it is going to take a lot for it to finally disappear. One way that individuals believe oppression can start to deteriorate is through the process of social justice. The end game of social justice is to make sure there is equality for everyone present in our society today. Yet, we know that having social justice present is a process that will not happen overnight. By breaking down and analyzing oppression, it could help many individuals understand
Our social world, with its rules, practices, and assignments of prestige and power, is not fixed (….) By writing and speaking against them, we may hope to contribute to a better, fairer world (Delgado et al. 3)
Humans have been subject to privilege and oppression in virtue of their membership to social groups. The two proposed solutions are either to work toward the elimination of those social categories which underwrite privilege and oppression, or work to eliminate privilege and oppression on the basis of social categories, while maintaining the categories themselves. This paper will argue that we should adopt neither suggestions as they are essentially faced with the same objections and would fail under theoretical and empirical tests. Instead, this paper will provide a progressive suggestion for action in consideration of Spinner-Haldev’s account for enduring injustice.
In Young’s “Five Faces of Oppression,” she describes that oppressed people cannot express their own needs, thoughts, and capacities in the same way as non-oppressed people. She puts forth five categories of oppression, including exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence, which serve to engender and maintain oppressive forces. Young also describes how oppression is deeply embedded into the norms and rules of our society, which is related to “The Cycle of Socialization” article by Harro, which describes how humans are socialized from birth based on their social identities. Based on these messages and the systems in place to maintain oppression, oppression is not only systemic and structural, but also very individualistic and personal.
As Collins states, “whether we benefit or not, we all live within institutions that reproduce race, class and gender oppression” (Ferber et al., 2009). It’s our personal experiences with each of these types of oppressions that give us insight into our own lives and the roles we play in being both the privileged and the oppressed. As Allen Johnson points out, “privilege is always a problem for people who don’t have it and for people who do, because privilege is always in relation to others. Privilege is always at someone else’s expense and always exacts a cost. Everything that’s done to receive or maintain it – however passive and unconscious – results in suffering and deprivation for someone” (Johnson, 2016).
Oppression and discrimination has plagued our society since early times. As a collective society one would think that over time oppression and discrimination would turn into acceptance and equality. Conversely, our society has taken sluggish steps towards diversity, acceptance and equality. Our society is focused on labeling people and putting them into limiting boxes. Oppression occurs across various groups of people based on gender, sex, race, religion, and disability. Members of these diverse groups are discriminated among work places, schools, and other places. Work places and schools promote diversity and non-discrimination, however little seems to be practiced. Oppression across generation leaves damaging consequences hindering society in the growth towards a more accepting environment.
Besides educational and socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity is a status that is incredibly impactful in teenagers lives and it is singlehandedly the most influential social status in the lives of teenagers today. Race and ethnicity determines what others think of a person on first sight. The way our society is structured has created preconceived biases within all people against certain races. These biases and prejudices are what cause the oppression of certain races. Similar to education and socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity effects jobs people can obtain, the places they live, and how people are treated. People of color have been long oppressed in the United States, when teenagers began to emerge as an age group only white teenagers were focused on in the media, it was said that “As far as the national market was concerned, there was no other kind of teenager… Black teenagers were still invisible as far as mainstream society was concerned” (Palladino). The same was said for Mexican-American teens, “For instance, Mexican-American ‘pachucos,’ the would-be bobby soxers of a less prosperous community, offered a very different image of teenage life, an image rarely seen at the time, outside of social worker reports or professional journals...Like other minority youth, pachucos, were just not considered part of the ‘American’ scene” (Palladino). The United States has been built on the ideals of white supremacy, meaning that race and ethnicity determines whether one
The institutional and cultural influences that generate these ideas of privilege and oppression are derived from the cycle of socialization. Before children are even able to comprehend what race is, the cycle of socialization is already shaping their views on society and social identities. Bobbie Harro illustrates the cycle of socialization by stating, “the socialization process is pervasive, consistent, circular, self-perpetuating and often invisible” (41). This makes the cycle extremely influential for the creation of our social identities in our society. In my personal experience, I vividly remember my parents taking extra precautious in poor black communities when I was younger to ensure my safety. Although their only intention was to promote my wellbeing, indirectly they established the notion that poor black people are dangerous. Obviously it’s erroneous to claim all black people are dangerous, but this is evidence of the beginning stages of the cycle of socialization taking action.
Iris Marion Young, an American political theorist, is the author of “The Five Faces of Oppression” (1990). In this book, Young explicates the unjust effects of oppression in today’s societies. By definition, oppression is described as prolonged cruel or unjust treatment by a ruling group inflicted on another group. One of the five forms of oppression is marginalization. This type of oppression may be the most dangerous one because it socially excludes an individual from the participation of society based on race, religion, disability, appearance or affiliation with a particular group. I agree with Young’s idea of justice, in which a person should not be treated in an oppressive or demeaning manner, all due to the current social structure of marginalized individuals roles in society.
Social injustices occur on a daily basis ranging from minor racial slurs to violence and abuse. It is easy to see why Primo Levi is astonished with the actions that we humans place on each other. The articles US Inner-city Apartheid by Philippe Bourgois and Difference and Other Infections of the Day by Alisse Waterston show clearly the prejudice and inequality that take place on a daily basis around the world.
Institutional racism is a global phenomenon. The never-ending list of disadvantages minorities face on a day to day basis is catastrophic. Nevertheless, one thing that can be done is to improve awareness. Institutional racism should be recognized by those higher in social status since minorities only make up a smaller percentage of the earth’s population. This limits the amount of control they have, leading to systemic oppression and restricting the number of opportunities people of color can have. From redlining to mass incarcerations to police brutality, minorities are left with a disadvantage to nearly all the social institutions. However, for white Americans, that is not the case. White privilege is not something that white people do, create or enjoy on purpose, it’s the apparent preference of white skin over people of color. This benefit leads to the “perks” in life, creating the foundation for this institutionalized racism. In the literary works, "Master Harold and The Boys," "White boy Privilege," and "incident," the outcomes of white privilege and how it affects people of color
Although some individuals may wish or even naively claim that we live in a post-racial society, the reality in twenty first century America is that individual and institutional racism continues to take a horrible toll on young people of color, who are at greater risk of race-based violence, unjust criminalization, as well as economic, political and educational discrimination. The powerful advantages that come from being born white are immeasurable and painfully real. It is critical that white individuals recognize the depth of their privilege, but doing nothing more than that can appear self-congratulatory, and as an attempt to exempt them from responsibility. An example of one writer’s over-simplification of white privilege can be found
As humans, our natural instincts for categorization give us a sense of safety- a sense of being in control. Even from the beginning, children are trained to understand which blocks fit into which slots, and where things are supposed to be put away. We find satisfaction in categorizing things even when we don’t realize we are doing it, such as with people. Thus creating the recent raging topic of inequality. Not to say inequality has not been present since the beginning. However, it is only in relatively recent times that people have started to stand up and fight for their well-deserved rights. These people are enervated by the lines drawn between themselves and others. Most of life consists of stereotyping others to understand them with a simple and formative ideal, but people are much more complex than a single idea. We should not be afraid of the differences that stand between one and another, but rather recognize it and use it for mutual growth. By understanding why we are different, we will no longer live in fear. In Chloe Neill’s book, Veil, she combines the perpetual workings of this fear and how the people affected by it react to its power. Akin to the inner workings of America, we all follow the same universal ideal. Freedom. However, there is a percentage of us that are blindly content with their own freedoms while forcing the repression of another.