Race and Gender Oppression
***We study the importance of personal and public narrative-- what Marshall Ganz calls a "Story of Self," a "Story of Us," and a "Story of Now." "Change Starts With Your Own Story: First He Came Out as Undocumented. Then As Gay. Here's What It Means For Immigration Debate," Kristin Moe, Yes! (Summer 2014). https://www(dot)yesmagazine(dot)org/issue/storytelling/2014/06/21/first-he-came-out-undocumented-gay-lgbt-dreamers-immigration
***We have also discussed the concepts of oppression and internalized oppression and noted their negative effects on the promise of American democracy. We have defined oppression as "the systematic, institutionalized, and socially condoned mistreatment of a group in society by another group or by people acting as agents for society as a whole."
The Assignment:
The task of this paper is to tell a story examining the form of oppression that most centrally affects YOUR life. (Make up a story, which should be detailed). In writing your story, you should identify the specific form of oppression you wish to discuss (what is the group being mistreated) and then write about the concrete and daily ways that it shows itself in your life. That is, from whom, in what ways, and where do you note the effects of oppression?
In your paper, you should incorporate some theoretical aspects of at least 3 of the assigned readings and videos for this class dealing with oppression. While some theoretical framing of your topic is necessary, we also want you to be as specific and personal to yourself as possible.
THEN, conclude your paper with 1-2 paragraphs outlining a SPECIFIC AND DO-ABLE plan of political action YOU could carry out that would lead in the direction of eliminating this oppression from your life and the world.
*******The strongest stories will address the following questions:
- How does this oppression affect YOU personally? How is it about YOUR life? (i.e., tell a "Story of Self")
What are some of the larger social SYSTEMS/INSTITUTIONS that create support, and perpetuate this oppression?
- Why is what you are writing about not just an isolated or peculiar thing that happens on an individual basis? That is, why is it really "oppression" as opposed to just "mistreatment?" How is this a problem that your entire group faces and not just you as an individual? (i.e., tell a "Story of Us").
- How does the oppression you experience to interact with other forms of oppression in a mutually reinforcing way? (This is sometimes called "intersectional analysis.")
- In what ways have you "internalized" the behaviors and belief systems imposed by this oppression?
- How does your personal story relate to the theoretical insights from the assigned readings? Use at least three sources from our assigned readings
- How well have you learned to apply the lessons from the hands-on learning components of this class to this topic? Have you presented a realistic plan of action that you could implement right now and that you could get others in your community to participate in? (i.e., tell a "Story of Now")
Sources:
-https://www(dot)thenation(dot)com/article/politics/civil-war-isnt-on-the-horizon-the-original-battle-never-ended/
-https://www(dot)theatlantic(dot)com/ideas/archive/2021/04/we-are-constantly-reproducing-anti-asian-racism/618647/
-https://www(dot)ted(dot)com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men?language=en#t-16105
-https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=iwQBlNVqL-E
RACE AND GENDER OPPRESSION
(Name)
(Course name)
(Date of Submission)
Race and Gender Oppression
As a male Filipino immigrant from a single-parent household the oppression that affects me personally relates to the feminization of Asian men and gender role stereotypes. Asian men continue to be portrayed as both effeminate and patriarchal. As a male Filipino immigrant, I am faced with the challenge of living up to the masculine standards set by Western hegemony. Immigrant Asian American men experience a discrepancy between their self-perception as male identities and others’ perception of their masculinity. The emasculation of Asian-American men dates back to the late 18th century when Asian male immigrants were regarded as effeminate owing to their small bodies and silk tunics. The Asian American men stood out of from other immigrants in their physical build and dressing. Their white counterparts judged them as more feminine than masculine and started constructing narratives that have continued to feminize Asian men. This gendered construction of race has an adverse effect on many Asian American men who identify as masculine but find themselves continually feminized in media representations.
Due to the typically shorter and slimmer figures of Asian men, many immigrants coming from the region fail to meet the masculine standards set by Western hegemony. Asian American male immigrants are not allowed to be who they are as men because they are considered effeminate and naturally subordinate to men from other racial groups. Media representations of Asian men promote these feminized narratives by reinforcing hyper-feminine images of them as passive, effeminate, and weak. Unlike Asian American women who are fetishized and ideally portrayed as feminine and submissive, Asian American men are rarely portrayed as the ideal masculine. For instance, media representations of the ideal man include being white, charismatic, ambitious, assertive, outgoing, and physically capable. Asian American do not fit this representation of the prototypical masculine person. A majority of films have tended to reinforce hyper-feminine images of Asian American men. For instance, most representations of Asian men in Western movies are desexualizing and tend to ridicule their masculinity with exaggerated mannerism and stunted accents. Asian men are shown as tender and effeminate in their physique, dressing, and movements.
Unlike their white counterparts who are portrayed with the traditional visual cues of masculinity such as sculpted bodies, chiseled jaw lines, and sharp cheek bones, Asian men are generally casted in subservient masculine roles. Another form of oppression that affects me personally relates to the gender roles politics surrounding career choices. The physical sciences are regarded as the traditional career choice for men and there is a social expectation that I should be doing a STEM course rather than liberal arts. Artsy courses are considered to be predominantly female and therefore there is a stigma that come with studying or working in an environment that is largely dominated by women. As a result of traditional work beliefs and family-related gender role views, I am expected to take STEM-related careers in engineering, mathematics, technology, and physical sciences. Asian men as expected to take masculine careers which involve working with machines and which pay lots of money to support their families. These gender stereotypes influence both educational and occupational choices. Fail...