The different "isms" such as sexism, heterosexism, and racism are creating very real schisms -- in our minds, and between people. The chasms of communication that are created by hatred and misunderstanding are socially constructed. They can be socially deconstructed too. Such rifts occur between groups of people and between whole cultures. In some pockets of the United States, social conservatism threatens to erase the social progress made since the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s. There are still people in the United States that believe that homosexuality is unnatural, even immoral. The idea that heterosexual marriage is in some way superior to homosexual marriage is rooted in outmoded religious doctrine and not in positive social progress. Within these "isms" are the chasms of misunderstanding that create social strife and inequality. Income disparity, for example, is closely linked with race as...
Women still get paid less than men, their labor undervalued to the extent at which no one even really notices anymore.
The prisons that Collins refers to must not become mental shackles. It is our personal responsibility to break free and to help others do the same by rooting out prejudice wherever it dwells. All of these readings made me feel empowered on some level, because they all call for awareness. We need to acknowledge the ways that sexism, heterosexism, classism, and racism function in society.
References
Brennan, D. Selling sex for visas.
Collins, P.C. "Prisons for Our Bodies; Closets for Our Minds." In Black Sexual Politics. New York: Routledge.
Katz, J.N. The Invention of Heterosexuality. University of Chicago.
Lareau, a. Unequal Childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press.
Levy, a. Get a life, girls. The Spectator. Retrieved online: http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/14962/sex-and-society-get-a-life-girls.thtml
References
Brennan, D. Selling sex for visas.
Collins, P.C. "Prisons for Our Bodies; Closets for Our Minds." In Black Sexual Politics. New York: Routledge.
Katz, J.N. The Invention of Heterosexuality. University of Chicago.
Lareau, a. Unequal Childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press.
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