Friday, February 25, 2011
Being American, Being a Black American, Being a Female American
Brittany’s post from last week got me thinking. A few classes ago we were talking about W.E.B. Du Bois, I think, and were discussing what it is to be “American”. We discussed how being an American in a way presupposes being a white male. Due to this individuals must identify with not only being American but also with whatever it is that makes them deviate from the “norm”. This leads to a black male to identify himself as “black” in addition to being “American”, and a white female to indentify as both a “woman” and an “American”. If this is the case, women and non-white individuals must be aware of these roles with which they identify. White males, on the other hand, merely identify with being “American” and do not have to deal with the conflicting identities. This relates back to Brittany’s post because while maybe children aren’t aware of it, they might still experience the conflicts of identities that we described in class. While white children aren’t aware of racial injustice as they are not subject to it, black children see it more readily and experience it in some capacity. I think this difference persists into young adulthood to the point that white college students might disagree with what is the supposed “norm” of racial interactions while black students tend to agree with them. Whites, especially males, are just less aware of social inequalities and such because they are not on the receiving end. Whites who believe they don’t treat people different based on race (regardless of if they do) are always going to refute certain claims of how people act because they are not subject to social inequalities and identify with the race that is responsible for most social injustice, yet they do not participate in it. A black or female student might be more willing to agree with certain assertions because while they might not participate in it, they definitely experience being subjected. It can be very difficult for whites to recognize social inequalities when they are never subject to them.
Posted by kip geddes at 2:54 PM