Negative Implications of Issues of Race and Gender

Negative Implications of Race and Gender
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Negative Implications of Issues of Race and Gender
Since time immemorial, race has been a dominant element in the United States. The term refers to categories of people based on various characteristics, such as skin color, genetic heredity, and physical features. To be precise, race is a social construction that denies or provides privileges and benefits to particular groups of people (Roediger, n.d.). In America, the notion of race was integral in early society. Its primary function was to justify the new economic system of capitalism that extensively depended on forced labor. The U.S. census recognizes six distinct categories of race, White, Black or African American, American Indian, Asian, Hawaiian, and others (PPT, The Social Construction of Race, n.d.). On the other hand, gender, according to the Western perspective, is the male and female procreative differentiation (Lorber, 1994). Ideally, the aspect of gender centrally focuses on the history of women. In other words, it explores how historical events and eras impact women differently compared to men. Conventionally, people have interchanged gender and sex, but in recent years, historians have formulated a distinct differentiation between the two. They define sex as the biological makeup of individuals while referring to gender as the identity individuals choose to identify with. Over and above, gender is an ideology that orders people socially (PPT, The Social Construction of Gender, n.d.). To be specific, issues of race and gender have had profound implications in the United States, including discrimination, oppression, violence, and revolutions.
Racial and Gender Discrimination
Racial Discrimination
Talking about race in America without roping in discrimination is equivalent to chasing the wind. This is because the two are intricately interwoven, and many individuals and communities have confronted discrimination based on their race. Racial discrimination, a form of racism, is as old as the United States. Since the founding of the United States, the race that has borne the brunt of racism is the African American. As a matter of fact, some sections of the Constitution and institutions have reinforced the practice at one time or the other. For instance, in 1847, the Virginia Criminal Code prohibited the education of African Americans. Part of the decree stipulated that any white person found assembling Black people, whether free or slaves, to educate them would be liable for a jail term or fine (Library of Congress, n.d.). By the same token, racial discrimination meant that Black people could not gain employment in certain areas. In addition, they could not travel together with White people or dine in the same hotels. Moreover, some White communities sneered at the prospect of intermarrying with Black people. Any family member who disobeyed this regulation had to endure severe repercussions, including being disowned or disinherited.
In recent years, the U.S. government has expressed its commitment to eliminate racial discrimination. In 1966, the government signed the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) (Human Rights Watch, 2022). The principal goal of the convention was to stem the spread of racial discrimination. Despite such efforts, the vice continues to thrive and has adopted subtle forms as opposed to its overt nature of the past. The subtle forms include economic disadvantages experienced by minority groups and routine discrimination in employment. In addition, there is segregation and housing discrimination that lead to unequal education opportunities for minority people. In addition, criminal and health systems continue to exhibit elements of racial discrimination. In sum, compliance with ICERD is still elusive nearly sixty years after its signing and is grossly inadequate in some key areas, including reparative justice, the criminal legal system, and the police department.
Gender Discrimination
Similarly, gender discrimination is deeply rooted in the history of America. Like racial discrimination, it dates back to the 18th century. Undoubtedly, women have been on the receiving end as far as gender discrimination stretches. During the early years of the United States as a nation, women had to contend with a wide range of discrimination and harassment. For instance, they were subject to unequal employment opportunities, which relegated most of them to house duties. In the early 20th century, for instance, only 20% of all women were in gainful employment (Yellen, 2020). Further, only 5% of those with gainful employment were married, which underscores the role of social norms in propagating gender discrimination. This shows that some men would never allow their wives to work outside their homes for one reason or the other. One fundamental aspect that precluded women from meaningful jobs was the lack of adequate education. This resulted from the fact that society failed to prioritize women’s education, and less than 2% of women below 24 years enrolled in higher education institutions. Even though the situation has drastically changed in the recent past, women still encounter discrimination in acquiring meaningful jobs. Some employers still hold onto the misplaced belief that some work should exclusively remain a preserve for men.
Additionally, as intimated by Fausto-Sterling (1993), women in the 19th and early 20th centuries were not allowed to exercise their suffrage rights. For some unknown reason, the men and institutions of that era deemed it inappropriate to allow women to vote. The hardline stance only changed following relentless efforts by women activists in the early 20th century. After women engaged in a series of protests, petitions, and agitations, the government, through the 19th Amendment, allowed women to vote. Further, institutional discrimination against women, particularly from marginalized communities, has been dominant in the United States. For instance, Black women have suffered immensely from decisions undertaken by some public institutions. A classic example happened in the 1970s when the district court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Black women against General Motors. In their submissions, the plaintiffs argued that the car dealership's seniority system perpetuated discrimination against Black women (Crenshaw, 1989). Despite presenting a concrete case against the company, the court overruled the women, most presumably because of their gender. Indeed, examples of discrimination against women in the United States are many and varied, and enumerating would be a fool’s errand. Probably, ...