education

A Brief History of the Social Construction of Race in the United States Ancient societies did not divide people into racial categories, although other categories of organization (such as religious affiliation or class status) were common. When the United States was formed, freedom and equality—regardless of religion or class status—were radical new ideas. At the […]

What Is Race? In order to understand racism, we first need to address our ideas about race itself. Many of us believe that race is biological; in other words, that there are distinct genetic differences between races that account for differences in traits such as sexuality, athleticism, or mathematical ability. This idea of race as

Vocabulary to practice using: racism; structural; institutional; peoples of Color In this chapter we examine racism. One note before we begin: Race is a deeply complex sociopolitical system whose boundaries shift and adapt over time. As such, “White” and “peoples of Color” are not discrete categories, and within these groupings are other levels of complexity

Patterns to Practice Seeing 1. Think about all of the most popular television shows about friendship between women. What race and class are most of the women? What activities organize these women’s days? What seems to be the most important aspect of life to them? 2. How often do you hear women speak up publically

Extension Activities 1. The authors argue that one of the most common patterns in dominant culture that makes oppression difficult to see is the focus on individual people or issues, rather than on broader patterns. Identify a well-known 164 individual from a minoritized group who has been held up as “making it” and generate a

According to the authors, oppression is difficult to see. Discuss some of the reasons why this is so. Discussion Questions 1. According to the authors, oppression is difficult to see. Discuss some of the reasons why this is so. 2. Pick a social group and describe how that group is represented in advertising, music videos,

  Rachel Lloyd (b. 1975) Lloyd is the founder and executive director of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS). She is an activist, international speaker, and nationally recognized expert on child sex trafficking in the United States. She played a foundational role in the passage of the 2010 Safe Harbor Act for Sexually Exploited Youth,

  Discourses of Sexism in Music Videos If we add music videos to this popular-culture landscape, we can see that media is so extraordinarily consistent in its rigid gender divisions that it is virtually impossible to escape sexist messages. Our concerns here are not with sex per se, nor with a return to prudish mores,

conscious awareness. Signifier: A sign or symbol that conveys specific cultural meaning. Signifiers connect to larger discourses that work together to construct that meaning. Another typical character and plot sequence is in the subgenre of romance movies (often called “chick flicks”). The script usually follows the fairy-tale story line: The main character is a young

Discourses of Sexism in Movies Because we all share the same socialization through the wider culture, familiar stock characters and plots are an effective way to quickly communicate an emotion, story element, or plot tension. For example, if a director wants to convey ideas about a “studious female,” he can quickly signal this idea by