Race, Gender, and Culture: Defeating the Dichotomies.

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Race, gender, and culture: defeating the dichotomies
Equality is guaranteed by the law regardless of one’s race, gender, culture or religion and this has been one of the principles to promote equality and human dignity for all. Studies on the interplay of race, gender and culture increasingly focus on dichotomies even as there are other factors, which explain the relationship between race, gender and culture (Simpkins 25). Nonetheless, the struggle for gender equality also requires focus on class and culture, which influence attitudes and beliefs where there is inequality because of discrimination on the basis of race and gender. Defeating the dichotomies on race, gender, and culture provides insights on contradictions and insights on how they are linked to inequality and discrimination.
Even though, the US is diverse country and there is broad support for equality there is still discrimination on the basis of race and gender, one of the areas that has been explored to better understand the place of minority groups in the country is whether they have equal opportunities like the majority. The article “Minority Rights” includes two divergent viewpoints on whether the guarantee for equality in laws and the constitution is adequate, and whether the experience of minorities’ today shows that discrimination is still prevalent. Debate and scholarly work on racial discrimination has mostly focused on the treatment of African- Americans where there have been major gains to undo discrimination especially after the adoption of the Civil Rights, but there is still concern that not all groups are treated equally under the law.
Incorporating race and gender –sensitive perspectives when promoting equality is more effective when there is focus on the influence of culture. Groups differ depending on race, gender, language, religious beliefs and culture, yet it is in open minded society where there is broad agreement that there is a need to end discrimination (Dagkas 224). This is also evident in the policies adopted in different societies to deal with gender inequality and discrimination. Additionally, encourage people from diverse backgrounds makes it easier to highlight and address issues of discrimination, inequality, and marginalization.
Being in a more inclusive society depends on laws, policies, attitudes, beliefs and culture, and ending discrimination requires focus on the interaction of race, gender, and culture. To create a more socially inclusive society, there is a need three is a need for greater support of equality among various stakeholders (Tate 55). Law influences social change, but those who focus on the dichotomy of race, gender and culture sometimes assume that those in power are reluctant to embrace changes. In other words, the instruments of power can reinforce inequalities.
Racial minorities, women and members of the LBGTQ are more likely to experience discrimination because of who they are, and are most vulnerable when people are indifferent to discrimination. Dichotomies focus on differences including how the race, gender and culture dichotomies help explain inequality and discrimination. There have been positive changes in race relations after the passage of the Civil Rights, but there is still a challenge to end discrimination on the basis of race. The role of race in the experience of different people provides insights on why discrimination and inequality still persists, but there are multiple factors that influence discrimination, but the dichotomy framework is inadequate to explain this.
Discourse on gender dichotomy has mostly focused on the masculine/feminine dichotomy, highlighting how power imbalance is associated with discrimination mostly towards girls and women. Gendered representations tend to be stereotypical yet this poses a challenge towards ending discrimination (Tate 76). Nonetheless, the representations maybe useful in promoting gender and racial equality as male and female members of a society are depicted differently in a society. When analyzing gendered representations it is necessary to consider the context in societies, as people have diverse norms and values, which influence how the representations are conveyed.
In feminist discourse domination is singled out as one of the factors, which helps explain female and male relations and even how different minorities are treated. According to Haaken (6) “gender serves as the prototype for other systems of domination, including those based on class”. While notions on domination and control, helps to understand the place of different group in society, the race, gender and culture dichotomy does not explain how changes in attitudes influence how women and minorities are treated as there is an assumption that males inherently seek to dominate (Haaken 7).
Creating inclusive societies free from discrimination allows members of the society to fully participate without facing discrimination. Even though, the law may disadvantage women and racial minorities, myths, and stereotypes further make it difficult to deal with cultures associated with perpetuating discrimination. Sometimes, even those supporting equality and ending dissemination base their decisions on beliefs and negative stereotypes about certain groups of people. Nonetheless, supporting inclusion in political participation is crucial to reduce and eliminate discrimination against women and racial minorities.
The notion of the otherness influences attitudes and beliefs on whether a group of people is recognized and accepted in a society, where race, gender and culture are markers of otherness. People discriminate when they focus on otherness and feel that they are justified in marginalizing and supporting discriminatory practices against those who are different from them (Dagkas 225). Looking beyond our differences helps to address race and gender inequalities as people are brought together by what is common to them and not drive apart by their differences. Additionally, respect for otherness is one factor, which links the dichotomy of race, gender, and culture as people are discriminated against for being different.
The minority group in any society has primordial characteristics that are different from the majority, and in the U.S. this represents non white people. At the same time, those in power also influence policies, some which favor some groups than others. As such, women discrimination is an issue that arises when there is prejudice against them in daily life and how they are treated by the law. Both race and gender are intertwined and may influence how people are treated. Equal treatment under the law is important, and there are policies that burden women and racial minorities, more than the majority. The idea that there is fairness then means that an individual or group should be discriminated against and everyone should enjoy equal opportunities.
The complexity of the relations between race, gender and culture go beyond the dichotomies since there is a danger that stereotypes generalize about social relations. For instance, the notion that racial and gender minorities are v...