Social and Political Identity Research Paper

Rebecca Escutia
7/27/16
Social and Political Identity Paper
Social and Political Identity Research Paper

Privilege, Power and Difference is a book written by a White male who discusses forms

of racism and privilege. Allan G. Johnson addresses how people avoid talking about racism and

discrimination because of fear. Racism is often a sensitive topic for people to discuss for fear of

the unknown. The unknown reaction is often brought up in this book. The unknown comes from

fear that people have when they come across race, difference and privilege.

Privilege is when a group has a value that is denied to others due to the group that society

labels an individual with. When labeling an individual with a group based on past experiences

can lead to stereotyping. Stereotypes and culture can determine if an individual is privileged or

oppressed.

Oppression is when an individual is denied of equal rights because of the group they are

identified with by those who are in a privileged group.

Johnson talks about the Matrix of Domination where certain privileges cancel out other

privileges depending on the social situation. This just means that any individual can belong to

both privileged and oppressed groups at the same time. Having an advantage of race, gender, and

belonging to the dominant group of sex orientation can have a positive impact on an individuals

social economic status and income.

Capitalism uses class, differences and privilege to rank an individual as an employee

which determines their hourly wage or salary. This defines an individuals social economic status

through inequality which can affect the class they belong to making them less fortunate than

others. A white male would obviously have an advantage over a white female. A white male

would also have an advantage over a male of color. However, this is where both privilege and

oppression come into place to compensate for lack of class and privilege. For example, a male of

color has male privilege but is oppressed at the same time because of his race.
Social and Political Identity Research Paper

Many organizations are male dominated, male identified, and male centered. These

dominate groups do not face the challenges of others which leads to a misinterpretation of

experience. Minority groups are not given the opportunity to express the difficulty and

challenges they face in society compared to those who are privileged. Privilege doesn't

necessarily make anyone a bad person. Johnson mentions in his book that privilege is handed

down to a child within a family. Privilege is attached to a social category which people are

unaware that its happening. While people who suffer oppression struggle with low income,

difficulty getting loans approved and having a hard time finding a stable career, people of

privileged groups view this as a personal problem as to why someone of a different race, or

gender get paid less, or are in a lower class and it is up to that person to do something about it to

better their lives.

Johnson mentions in his last chapter of the book that people in this society are in denial

of their own privilege and others oppression. This makes things difficult to change

discrimination because people with privilege refuse to admit they are privileged and that takes

away the opportunity for others to speak of oppression. Privilege is a social norm in the

privileged world and may go unnoticed because they have been used to their way of living since

they were children. There may be some people who do admit to being privileged but decide to

take the path of least resistance and stay quiet about the problem for fear of bringing attention to

the issue. Bringing attention to the issue can cause them to lose the privilege they have, and

become rejected by others in their own group for breaking ranks. People may choose to stay

silent because they think they are not part of the problem or the solution. Johnson believes that

removing silence could potentially cause change in society. Staying in silence about sensitive

topics such as racism, sexism, and ableism will not put an end to discrimination.
Social and Political Identity Research Paper

Lakota Woman is an autobiography written by Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes. This

book is about a Native American woman, who shares her experience trying to survive in a world

against her kind. She struggles to overcome poverty and oppression in order to live in a world of

acceptance as an American Indian.

This books is mainly about discrimination in gender roles and racism. Mary explains how

she was afraid of white people because of confrontations taking place between indians and

whites during the Indian civil rights movement. She mentions different confrontations where

security guards, police officers and state troopers often shadowed, and harassed them simply for

their race and the way that they dressed. The white troopers enjoyed raping these woman and

then dumping them in the middle of nowhere and letting them figure out on their own how to get

back. There are many identities that take place which consist of race, gender, and occupation.

Whites versus indians, males sexually harassed females, taking advantage of them against their

own will, and using their power in authority to get away with dehumanizing these women. Some

girls would take the path of least resistance because they were too shy or afraid to speak out

about the issue. The ones who would reach out for help ended up in court with a closed case and

nothing to resolve the issue.

There was also a gender discrimination within their own kind. The native american

males considered their native american women only worth for cooking food and bearing

children. If these women refused to give the indian males what they wanted, then they would

ignore them and have nothing to do with the indian females.

This book also expresses a sense of capitalism. Mary explains how there were trading

post in the reservations where things cost more than the stores in the cities. These trading post

would sell beads to the Indian craftworkers at six times the price they buy the beads from New
Social and Political Identity Research Paper

York. They would pay the Indian artist in cans of beans and turn around to sell their jewelry for

more than they paid the workers to make the jewelry. This put Native Americans in poverty and

oppression with very little money which lead them to shoplift to get ahold of things in need.

Mary encountered the American Indian Movement when she was 37 years old. She

explains how they stereotyped white people to be all the same. Until they learned that every race

has their good and their bad people just like their own. The indians learned to become more

accepting and built some respectful relationships with whites and chicanos.

During the American Indian Movement, the native americans who were involved took the

path of greater resistance to demand a change for equality. A large amount of them traveled in a

pact and stood up to the police, guards and the government with their demands.

I learned a lot from reading these two books. The Privilege, Power, and Difference book

opened up my eyes to how privilege and oppression play a role in this society. I learned about

Capitalism and how we are ranked as employers and now have an understanding as to which

class I am ranked in according to society. I may be oppressed due to gender and race but i can

use my privilege in a work field with linguistics. Using my bilingual skills can benefit me to

work in an area in need of bilingual assistance. For example, with my current employer, you can

only work for the program if you are bilingual in a second language. I have a value that is denied

to others simply over language. Although I have a good and stable occupation I am still

oppressed by social class. I was born into a low income family, and I continue to be identified as

low income. Even though I'm over the poverty line I still struggle financially to support my

family of five.

Lakota Woman gave me an insight of a new culture I never knew anything about.

Reading about the experiences Indian females go through was heartbreaking. The way children
Social and Political Identity Research Paper

are taken away from their families and get sent to boarding school, or are placed in foster care

impacts the stress and self esteem on both the parents and the children. Reading how the author

mentions that Indian women are sterilized without their consent so they will not be able to bring

in more children of their culture is beyond my belief. This is taking away their rights as a human

being. Native Americans may still be oppressed to this day, however taking the path of greater

resistance helped them gain some equal rights which include health, housing, employment and

education.

I do believe that breaking silence can cause a change. Change cannot happen over night,

in a month, or in a year, but accepting small changes in our society can be a start. After all, its not

what is said that creates discrimination, but more of what is unsaid. Just like in voting for a

president, some people vote and others, like myself choose not to vote thinking it will not make a

difference. Not voting can make a difference and this is the same as staying in silence because

we feel we are not part of the problem or the solution.

Our country has come a long way from where it was years ago, the social construct of

females staying home to raise the children and attend the household chores is no longer the

dominate norm. These females are starting to get an education, and getting careers for

themselves to help get their family out of poverty. Marriage is also a big change in our society.

There is such thing as sexism, heterosexism, and transgender oppression. People often looked

down upon those involved in same sex relationships because it conflicted with a social

construction, now it has become legal to marry someone of the same sex.

None of these rights were allowed during our ancestors time but laws, social constructs

and discrimination can all change within time if we stand up for our rights, fight for our rights

and educate society about Privilege, Power and Difference.