CH-12-13 Gender and Sexuality – SOC Sociology 2020 : Chapter Notes

This Document Contains Chapters 12 to 13 Chapter 12 Gender and Sexuality LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define sex and gender and explain why sociologists make a distinction between the terms. 2. Describe the social construction of gender roles. 3. Describe each of the three waves of the women’s movement. 4. Discuss the status of women in the U.S. in relation to income, political participation, and the work-life balance. 5. Describe the social construction of sexuality. 6. Define “sexual identity” and discuss the relationship between sexual identity and sexual behavior. 7. Discuss the status of women worldwide. 8. Discuss the impact of women in the workforce. 9. Define sexism and discuss the effects of sex discrimination. 10. Discuss the prevalence of violence against women in the U.S. and worldwide. CHAPTER SUMMARY Historically, sociologists have drawn a distinction between sex and gender in order to differentiate between biology and culture. Sex describes the biological differences between males and females. Gender describes the social and cultural significance that we attach to the biological differences of sex. Such differences have been used to justify unequal opportunity in education, employment, politics, and more. Members of groups defined as inferior in some way, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and sexual minorities, have consistently had to fight against such characterizations in order to pursue equal opportunity. Fausto-Sterling has suggested that humans have five or more sexes, or even that our notion of distinct sexes should be replaced with a continuum. Our cultural presuppositions are more often rooted in our social constructions of what is natural than in biological limitations. Because humans lack complex instincts that narrowly determine our behaviors, we construct our expressions of masculinity and femininity and reinforce those gender expressions through socialization. Working out what it means to be feminine and masculine through our interactions with others is an ongoing project. Given the interactive nature of gender, it is helpful to look at being a man or a woman as something we do in our relationships with others, rather than as something we simply are. Beginning at birth, we are socialized by our parents, friends, schools, and the media to internalize our society's dominant gender norms. The positive and negative sanctions that we experience during such interactions shape the thoughts, actions, and appearances we accept as appropriate. In the United States, women face pressure to be thin, beautiful, submissive, sexy, and maternal. Men are expected to be tough, and may be ridiculed if they do not meet their gender-role expectations. Living up to these expectations can make them inexpressive and isolated, and disadvantage them in school and the workplace. Critics of the traditional male gender role have called for men to embrace multiple masculinities, meaning that men can learn and play a full range of gender roles. These may include a nurturing-caring role, an effeminate-gay role, or their traditional masculine role. The fact that gender-role expectations can change over time suggests that masculinity and femininity are not entirely genetic in nature. Gender expectations also differ across cultures. Some cultures see women as less than fully human, and treat them accordingly. Other cultures assume the existence of three or four different gender categories, and they accept people who fill these additional gender categories as normal, not deviant. The Minangkabau society of Indonesia is an example of a culture where men and women behave not as competitors but partners for the common good. Within a society, we can find examples of how major shifts in social life were brought about by challenging assumptions about “natural” gender roles. For example, even into the 20th century it was thought that women were biologically unfit to succeed in college and the workplace. People have fought against existing cultural assumptions about what is natural in order to advance opportunity for women in politics, the economy, and other spheres of public and private life. Feminism is the term for this belief in social, economic, and political equality for women. Feminism has evolved through several iterations. The primary achievement of the first wave of feminism was securing women the right to vote in 1920. The second wave of feminism, which began in the 1960s, challenged the cultural assumption that a woman's "natural" place was to be a subservient wife and mother. These feminists opened up much greater structural opportunities for women throughout society. Third wave feminism arose in the 1990s, and shifted the focus away from a fight for equality of persons and toward a celebration of difference and acknowledgement that people have multiple identities. In sociology this approach has fostered standpoint theory, the idea that because our social positions shape our perceptions, a more complete understanding of social relations must incorporate the perspectives of marginalized voices. Intersectionality, is another influential development that states that gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class must not be studied in isolation, because they have intermingled effects on our identity, knowledge, and outcomes. The shifts that occur in how sex and gender are defined—as more complex than simple binary categories of male and female or masculine and feminine—also apply to sexuality. Sexuality denotes our identities and activities as sexual beings. In terms of identity, our sexuality represents an expression of who we are in a way similar to gender, race, ethnicity, and class. In terms of our sexual practices, sexuality shapes what we do (or do not do) and with whom. Sexual orientation refers to the categories of people to whom we are sexually attracted. Traditionally, heterosexual refers to those who are sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex, and homosexual refers to those who are attracted to members of the same sex. Bisexual refers to those who are attracted to both men and women. Over time, a new, less limiting model has presented sexuality as a continuum rather than an either-or designation. A key component of this approach is the recognition of people who are transgender—those who appear to be biologically one sex but who identify with the gender of another—as an additional category. Additionally, sociologists use the term heteronormativity to describe the cultural presupposition that heterosexuality is the appropriate standard for sexual identity and practice and that alternative sexualities are deviant, abnormal, or wrong. Socialization plays a key role in determining our sexual identity, and although many still face prejudice for their sexual orientation and gender presentation, as alternative expressions of sexuality become more accepted and less alternative, their role as master status through which all identity is filtered may become less powerful. The Kinsey Reports of the 1940s and 1950s provided the earliest in-depth research studies on people's actual sexual practices. The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) is now conducted regularly and provides more recent data. Society is now more comfortable discussing sexuality and gender than it was in decades past. This is due in part to the advent of the birth control pill, which became available in the United States in 1960. Effective birth control gives women much greater control over their lives. The use of modern birth control techniques varies greatly from country to country, however. Although the work of early sociologists such as Harriet Martineau, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett highlighted the significance of gender inequality, in the 1950s sociologists Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales argued that families need both an instrumental leader and an expressive leader. An instrumental leader is the person in the family who bears responsibility for the completion of tasks, focuses on distant goals, and manages the external relationship between one’s family and other social institutions, and the expressive leader refers to the person in the family who bears responsibility for the maintenance of harmony and internal emotional affairs. According to this theory, by focusing on instrumental leadership men free women to be expressive leaders, and vice versa. As a result of insights from feminist theorists and findings from further research, sociologists now argue that such separate abilities are not innate but are instead social constructs. Sexism is the ideology that claims one sex is superior to the other. The term generally refers to male prejudice and discrimination against women. However,, in a broadening out from the individual level, sociologists use the term institutional discrimination to describe patterns of treatment that, systematically deny a group access to resources and opportunities as part of a society’s normal operations. Women in the United States have historically experienced a consistent pattern of inequality, and looking at the workplace, income, housework, politics, and more. While their situation has improved, serious inequality persists today. Women often have difficulty finding employment in "men's jobs," many of which offer high pay and prestige, and instead are segregated into "women's jobs." The term glass ceiling refers to an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual’s gender, race, or ethnicity. The term second shift refers to the double burden—work outside the home followed by child care and housework—that many women face and few men share equitably. Women have made slow but steady progress in certain political arenas, but still face inequalities on the political stage. The likelihood of violence against women continues to be shaped in part by cultural attitudes about women, along with the relative power women possess in society. Globally, opportunity varies significantly for women, and although people in most nations agree that women should have equal rights, significant variation exists. RESOURCE INTEGRATOR Focus Questions Resources 1. How is gender socially constructed? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: sex, gender, multiple masculinities 2. How have women worked for change in the U.S.? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: feminism, standpoint theory, intersectionality. 3. How do sociologists view the relationship between sexual identity and sexual practice? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: sexuality, sexual orientation, heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, heteronormativity 4. What are the basic patterns of gender inequality in the United States and worldwide? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: instrumental leader, expressive leader, sexism, institutional discrimination, glass ceiling, second shift. LECTURE OUTLINE I. The Social Construction of Gender • A person's gender is one of the most powerful statuses he or she occupies. • From a sociological perspective, there is more to being a man or a woman than anatomy alone. A. Sex and Gender • Historically, sociologists have distinguished between sex and gender. • Sex refers to biological differences between males and females. Gender involves the social and cultural significance that we attach to those presumed biological differences. Over time, even this distinction has become too limiting to fully depict our experiences as humans. • Sex includes variation at the cellular level, the hormonal level, and the anatomical level. • Gender varies across time and place. We construct gender by attaching social and cultural significance to the presumed biological differences between the sexes. • Sex refers to who we are as males and females; gender refers to what we become as men and women. This process occurs through socialization. • Fausto-Sterling has suggested that biological sex is a continuum, not just male and female, and points to the existence of various intersexual categories. B. Gender-Role Socialization 1. Gender Displays •Human beings constantly enact gender roles. •Gender role socialization occurs through the influences of parents, other adults, older siblings, the mass media, religion, and other social institutions. • Most of the time we do not actually see the “parts” that biologically define someone as male or female; we rely instead on other indicators such as clothes and shapes to be sufficient. •Transgressing gender norms elicits a variety of reactions, often corrective and/or negative, from others. 2. Women’s Gender Roles • Women continue to face pressure to be thin, beautiful, submissive, sexy, and maternal. • In 2004 Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty found that only 2 percent of women around the world feel comfortable describing themselves as beautiful. • Television consistently portrays women as young, thin, and beautiful. • Studies of 20th century children's books found that male characters were twice as likely to appear as female characters. They reinforced stereotypes of women as helpless and passive, and of fathers as unaffectionate toward their children. 3. Men’s Gender Roles • Men’s roles are socially constructed much like those of women. • Stay-at-home fathers are still rare. • Men must prove their masculinity at work and in sports. • Males who do not conform often face criticism and humiliation. • Men pursuing nontraditional jobs often encounter negative responses from others. Examples: Male nurses, male preschool teachers. • Some scholars suggest that these traditional roles may be putting men at a disadvantage. Today girls outperform boys in high school and are more likely to go to college. • Multiple masculinities is the idea that men learn and play a full range of gender roles. C. Gender across Cultures • Gender expectations differ across cultures, suggesting that masculinity and femininity are not strictly determined by our genes. Some cultures assume the existence of three or four gender categories. • Margaret Mead was the first to show that gender roles can vary greatly from one physical environment, economy, and political system to the next. • Such findings confirm the influential role of culture and socialization in gender-role differentiation. D. Reimagining Sex and Gender •Recognizing that gender is social, and therefore subject to change, opens up many possibilities. •Major changes in society have been brought about when we have challenged “natural” social norms. Example: Women were once excluded from universities because they were considered biologically incapable of intellectual thought; now women outnumber men in institutions of higher education. •Men have been considered incapable of nurturing but prove to be sensitive and capable caregivers in practice. II. Working for Change: Women’s Movements • People have fought against existing cultural assumptions about what is natural in order to advance opportunity for women in politics, the economy, and other spheres of public and private life. • Feminism is the belief in social, economic, and political equality for women. A. The First Wave • The feminist movement was born in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. • Early feminists faced ridicule and scorn as they fought for legal and political equality for women. • The 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote in 1920. B. The Second Wave • The Second Wave of the feminist movement emerged in the 1960s and came into full force in the 1970s. • The Feminine Mystique, The Second Sex, and Sexual Politics were all influential books. • The political activism of the 1960s—and the sexism they found within allegedly progressive and radical political circles—led many women to reexamine their own powerlessness and convinced them to establish their own movement for women’s liberation. • “Consciousness-raising groups” sought to elevate awareness among women of the problems they faced and to develop a sense of sisterhood. • Reproductive rights were a core issue, still reflected today in the battle over abortion rights. C. The Third Wave • The Third Wave emerged in the 1990s as a celebration of difference, including differences of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and class. • For the Third Wave, feminism is understood to include a varied and pluralistic range of ideas. • One influential idea—standpoint theory—argues that because our social positions shape our perceptions, a more complete understanding of social relations must incorporate the perspectives of marginalized voices. • A second influential idea—intersectionality—argues that gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class must not be studied in isolation, because they have intermingled effects on our identity, knowledge, and outcomes. III. The Social Construction of Sexuality •Shifts in our thinking about the relationship between gender and sex are also reflected in our thinking about sexuality. •Married, monogamous heterosexuality was once understood as an unquestioned norm in the U.S., but times have changed. •Sexuality denotes our identities and activities as sexual beings. A. Sexuality and Identity • Sexuality is shaped through social and historical processes. • Though alternative expressions of sexuality have always been a part of American life, such relationships have only recently been acknowledged, mostly through the activities of the gay rights movement. • Binary sexual categories of gay and straight have given way to more inclusive categories. • Sexual orientation refers to the categories of people to whom we are sexually attracted. • Heterosexuals are those who are attracted to members of the opposite sex; homosexuals are attracted to those of the same sex; and bisexuals are those attracted to both men and women. • Over time, in response to the limitations of these classifications, a new model has presented sexuality as a continuum rather than an either-or designation. • Transgender people appear to be biologically one sex but identify with the gender of another. • Heteronormativity is the cultural presupposition that heterosexuality is normal and natural while alternative sexualities are abnormal, deviant, or wrong. • Heteronormativity is a form of ethnocentrism. • Socialization plays a key role in determining our sexual identity and as with gender, we face significant pressure to obey dominant norms for masculinity and femininity. • As alternative expressions of sexuality become more accepted and less alternative, their role as master status through which all identity is filtered may become less powerful. B. Sexuality in Action • The Kinsey Reports provided the earliest in-depth information about human sexuality. • The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) provides more recent data. • Both studies reveal a wide range of sexual orientations and practices. A significant finding of the NSFG was that simply having had same-sex experiences does not necessarily result in a same-sex identity. • One of the most significant developments in the history of human sexuality was the invention of the birth control pill. It was approved for use in the United States in 1960 and helped spark the sexual revolution. • Greater control over fertility also increases the likelihood of extending basic human rights and protections to women in countries around the world. IV. Gender and Inequality • Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales argued that families needed both an instrumental leader and an expressive leader. • The instrumental leader is the person in the family who bears responsibility for completion of tasks, focuses on more distant goals, and manages the external relationship between the family and other social institutions. • The expressive leader is the person in the family who bears responsibility for the maintenance of harmony and internal emotional affairs. • In this view, women become anchored as wives, mothers, and household managers while men become anchored in the occupational world outside the home. • Sociologists now argue that such separate abilities are not innate but are instead social constructs. • The key sociological task is to analyze how gender expectations are created and maintained. A. Sexism and Discrimination • Sexism is the ideology that claims one sex—usually male—is superior to the other. The term generally refers to male prejudice and discrimination against women. • Institutional discrimination is a pattern of treatment that systematically denies a group access to resources and opportunities as part of a society's normal operations. • All the major institutions in the United States— including the government, the armed forces, large corporations, the media, universities, and the medical establishment—are controlled by men. B. Women in the United States • In 1976 the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that women in the United States have experienced a consistent pattern of inequality, and this concern is still valid today. 1. Labor Force Participation • In 2011, 58 percent of adult women in the U.S. were in the labor force vs. 43 percent in 1970. • Sixty-four percent of mothers with children under age 6 were in the labor force vs. 39 percent in 1975. • Occupational segregation often confines women to sex-typed “women’s jobs.” Example: In 2011, 98 percent of dental hygienists and 86 percent of librarians were women. • Women are underrepresented in “men’s jobs,” which offer greater financial rewards and prestige. • The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual's gender, race, or ethnicity. 2. Income • Women do not earn as much on average as men, even when they are in the same occupations as men. • While women are at a disadvantage in male-dominated occupations, men are at an advantage in female occupations (the glass escalator). • The gender gap persists even after controlling for age, education, marital status, specialization, work experience, and hours worked per year. 3. Home and Work • Women do more housework and spend more time on childcare than men. Even in households where the wife works and the husband does not, wives still do more housework. • Sociologist Arlie Hochschild used the phrase second shift to describe the double burden of work outside the home followed by childcare and housework that many women face and few men share equitably. • Women spend 15 fewer hours per week in leisure activities compared to men. • Feminists have advocated greater governmental and corporate support for childcare, more flexible family leave policies, and other reforms. 4. Politics • Women got the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. • A higher percentage of women vote than men, but women remain noticeably underrepresented in elected office. Examples: As of 2013, only 5 of the nation’s 50 states had a female governor; • However, women are making slow but steady progress in the political arena in the United States. Examples: By 2013, a record 18 percent of the members of Congress were women: 77 in the House and 20 in the Senate. 5. Violence Against Women • Violence against women is a global problem, though the rate of violence varies from place to place. • It is difficult to know the full extent of the problem because such violence often goes unreported. • Violence remains a significant problem for women of all ages in the U.S. • Violence against women is shaped by cultural ideas about women along with the relative status and power of women. B. Women Around the World • Opportunities for women vary significantly around the world. • Women grow half the world’s food but rarely own land. • Women constitute one-third of the world’s paid labor force, but are generally found in the lowest-paying jobs. • Women perform much of the exploited labor in developing nations. • Feminization of poverty is a global phenomenon. • Women in other industrial nations also struggle with the balance between home and work, especially regarding housework. KEY TERMS Bisexual A category of sexual orientation that includes those who are sexually attracted to both men and women. Expressive leader The person in the family who bears responsibility for the maintenance of harmony and internal emotional affairs. Feminism The belief in social, economic, and political equality for women. Gender The social and cultural significance that we attach to the biological differences of sex. Glass ceiling An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual’s gender, race, or ethnicity. Heteronormativity A term that sociologists use to describe the cultural presupposition that heterosexuality is the appropriate standard for sexual identity and practice and that alternative sexualities are deviant, abnormal, or wrong. Heterosexual A category of sexual orientation that includes those who are sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex. Homosexual A category of sexual orientation that includes those who are sexually attracted to members of the same sex... Institutional discrimination A pattern of treatment that systematically denies a group access to resources and opportunities as part of society’s normal operations. Instrumental leader The person in the family who bears responsibility for the completion of tasks, focuses on more distant goals, and manages the external relationship between one’s family and other social institutions. Intersectionality Gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class must not be studied in isolation, because they have intermingled effects on our identity, knowledge, and outcomes. Multiple masculinities The idea that men learn and play a full range of gender roles. Second shift The double burden—work outside the home followed by childcare and housework—that many women face and few men share equitably. Sex The biological differences between males and females. Sexism The ideology that one sex is superior to the other. Sexual orientation The categories of people to whom we are sexually attracted. Sexuality Denotes our identities and activities as sexual beings. Standpoint theory Because our social positions shape our perceptions, a more complete understanding of social relations must incorporate the perspectives of marginalized voices. Transgender People who appear to be biologically one sex but who identify with the gender of another. ADDITIONAL LECTURE IDEAS 12-1: Gendered Spaces Daphne Spain’s Gendered Spaces (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1992) is an example of looking at gender from the microlevel of everyday behavior. After dinner, the women gather in one group, perhaps in the kitchen, while the men sit together elsewhere in the house, perhaps watching a televised sporting event. Is this an accurate picture of day-to-day social life in the United States? According to architect Daphne Spain, it certainly is. Indeed, the physical separation of men and women has been common; whether in the Mongolian ger (or hut), the longhouses of the Iroquois tribes of North America, or recreational facilities on contemporary college campuses. Spain notes that gendered spaces in workplaces in the United States reflect our society’s traditional division of labor into “men’s work” and “women’s work.” But, as with historic patterns of racial segregation, the spatial segregation of women and men does not lead to “separate but equal” status. Instead, it serves to reinforce the dominant position of men in the workplace in terms of financial rewards, status, and power. Drawing on her own research and on studies in a variety of disciplines, Spain concludes that: • Women are more likely to supervise employees who share the same workspace or work in adjoining areas than men are. Men tend to supervise people who work elsewhere. These differences are evident even when both men and women have the same job descriptions. • Women in the workplace are often grouped in open spaces (in the “secretarial pool”) or are without offices altogether (nurses and schoolteachers). By contrast, men are more likely to work in “private” offices. These spatial arrangements have obvious implications in terms of status and power. • Even when women have private offices, the spatial characteristics of these offices often underscore their subordinate position in the workplace. Higher-status jobs within an organization, usually held by men, are accompanied by greater control of space. This is evident when an office has an entrance with a door that closes and locks, a back exit, no glass partition, soundproofing, a private telephone line, and so forth. In summary, Spain found that “women typically engage in highly visible work—to colleagues, clients, and supervisors—subject to repeated interruptions” (227). Viewed from an interactionist perspective, these spatial conditions reflect and reinforce women’s subordinate status relative to men. The closed doors of men’s offices in managerial and professional jobs not only protect their privacy and limit other employees’ access to knowledge, but they also symbolize men’s dominant position in the workplace. 12-2: Feminization of the Banking Industry Sociologist Brian Rich looks at the growth of women’s participation in the banking industry between 1940 and 1980. Drawing on census and industry regulatory data, he examines “the feminization process,” which he defines as women’s proportional gains in a paid employment category. He notes that the banking workforce went from 30 percent female in 1940 to over 70 percent female in 1980. To consider the reason for this dramatic shift, he considers three models to explain the process: human capital, the dual labor market, and gender queuing. The human capital model would explain the change in sex composition of the banking labor force as the result of new job-to-worker matches. The substitution of female for male workers occurs when skill and other productivity characteristics of the jobs change in ways that favor the human capital stocks that women offer more than those offered by men. The dual labor market model would see the banking industry jobs as becoming less desirable and therefore more likely to be filled by women, who are at a disadvantage in competing against men for more desirable jobs. The gender-queuing explanation would argue that employers came to prefer women in the labor force because of qualities that differentiate them from men, and that, at the same time, women were more likely to seek out those jobs. While similar to the dual labor market approach, queuing portrays the process as one in which the participants, men and women, play a more active role, rather than one in which changes comes from above (the banking industry). Source: Brian L. Rich. 1996. “Explaining Feminization in the U.S. Banking Industry, 1940–1980.” Sociological Perspectives 38: 357–380. 12-3: Glass Ceiling Commission Concludes Study Created by the first President George Bush, the bipartisan Glass Ceiling federal commission investigating workplace discrimination concluded its work in 1995. During its three years of study, the Glass Ceiling Commission had identified a variety of major barriers to executive advancement for women and racial minorities. These included the following: • Lack of mentoring. • Initial placement and clustering in relatively dead-end staff jobs or highly technical professional jobs. • Lack of management training. • Lack of opportunities for career development. • Lack of opportunities for training tailored to the individual. • Lack of rotation to line positions or job assignments that are revenue producing. • Little or no access to critical development assignments, including service on highly visible task forces and committees. • Different standards for performance evaluation. • Biased rating and testing systems. • Little or no access to informal networks of communication. • Counterproductive behavior and harassment by colleagues. The final report called on chief executives of companies to take a variety of steps to remove these barriers, including the following: • To commit themselves to making the workforce more diverse. • To include diversity in all strategic business plans. • To use affirmative action as a tool to select, promote, and retain qualified individuals. • To prepare minorities and women for senior positions. • To educate the corporate ranks. • To adopt high performance practices in the decision-making process. • To share information about the organization. • To have policies that support family life. The report recommended that the federal government lead by example by promoting women and minorities to senior management and decision-making positions. See Department of Labor. 1995. Good for Business: Making Full Use of the Nation’s Capital. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office and Department of Labor; A Solid Investment: Making Full Use of the Nation’s Human Capital. 1995. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Also see Karen De Witt. 1995. “Jobs Cited for Minorities and Women.” New York Times: B14. 12-4: Rape Myths We know that sexual assault is extremely common in the United States: 1 in 6 women will experience rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. The incidence of sexual assault in the U.S. is so high partly because sexual violence tends to be tolerated and excused by the culture. This tolerance is supported by a series of myths that diminish the severity of rape, blame the victim, or otherwise obscure the facts about sexual assault. Myth 1: Rape is about sexual passion. Rape is about dominance and power, not about the rapist’s erotic feelings for the victim. For the rapist, an attack may be sexually arousing, but this is because, for him, sexuality and dominance are linked. For victims, on the other hand, sexual assault is an act of terrifying violence. The idea that rape is the result of uncontrollable passion has likewise been proven wrong. Rapists can control their behavior and often plan their assaults. Myth 2: Victims are partly to blame for their rapes. This is a very common and damaging myth about rape. When victims are blamed for their attacks, the victims’ clothing or sex lives are often cited. In fact, most assailants plant their attacks and do not simply act in the heat the moment. In addition, women and men are entitled to wear anything they like without giving up their right to personal safety, and U.S. law forbids the use of a victim’s sexual history in a court of law as justification for sexual assault. Sometimes a victim’s use of alcohol or drugs is used to excuse a violent sexual assault, and some perpetrators take advantage of men or women who are too drunk or high to resist an attack. A victim who is drunk or high is still a victim, however. What’s more, an intoxicated person may be deemed incapable of meaningful consent, and in which case sexual contact with that person becomes sexual assault. In still other instances, victims are blamed for an assault because they have consented to sex with the perpetrator in the past. Involvement in a relationship does not justify rape, however; past and current sexual partners, including spouses, must have consent for sexual contact. The problem of victim blame is the source of great stress for assault survivors and one of the chief reasons why rape is underreported. Myth 3: The victims enjoyed the rape. We know that rape is a source of terrible trauma, not pleasure, for its victims. In addition to the physical effects of rape—which may include vaginal bleeding and other injuries, STIs, and pregnancy—the psychological effects can be devastating. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), rape survivors are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression. 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol. 26 times more likely to abuse drugs. 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide. Myth 4: Rape is not a serious crime. In the United States, rape is a violent felony that, until 1977, could be considered a capital offense punishable by death. Though rape is no longer a capital crime, conviction of a felony carries a prison sentence and can disqualify the convicted person from voting, holding office or even getting a visa. Myth 5: Only women are raped. Though most rape victims are female, about one in ten victims are male. This means about 3% of men will experience rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. We don’t know as much about male victims of sexual violence as we do about female victims, partly because the crime is so underreported. Rape myths are incorrect and they support a culture of tolerance and victim blame in relation to sexual assault. Sociological research suggests that acceptance of rape myths affects the likelihood of a potential perpetrator to commit a crime. In addition, the acceptance of rape myths by a victim adversely affects his or her ability to cope with the traumatic event. The good news is that understanding the facts about sexual assault and educating our peers can have an immediate and positive effect on our communities. Sources used for this essay include: Chapleau, Kristine M. and Debra Oswald. 2010. “Power, Sex, and Rape Myth Acceptance: Testing Two Models of Rape Proclivity.” Journal of Sex Research 47.1: 66–78. (Retrieved from EbscoHost on August 31, 2010); Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. Retrieved August 31, 2010 (www.rainn.org). 12-5: Reproductive Justice The kinds of reproductive healthcare issues white, middle-class women identify as important are likely to be different than those poor women or women of color consider most vital. Both sets of concerns are valid and important, but sometimes the concerns of women who belong to a more powerful group overshadow those of women who belong to a less powerful group and shape social understanding of an issue. The contemporary reproductive rights movement has arguably been shaped by dominant-group concerns. This movement has tended to focus on the rights of women to limit the number of children they have, emphasizing abortion rights and the need for information and education about birth control. While women of color and poor women recognize the importance of being able to control the birth cycle, their concerns tend to be broader. To begin with, being educated about birth control is not the same as having access to it. Poor women—and we know women of color are over-represented among the poor—may not have access to many forms of birth control. Neither abortion rights nor education about contraceptives is meaningful to people who cannot pay for them. Other kinds of reproductive healthcare may also be out of range for women with limited economic means, including the kinds of healthcare that enable a healthy pregnancy, birth, and childhood. Without access to, for example, pre- and post-natal healthcare, reproductive choices are limited for some women even when birth control and abortion are available. There is also the problem of social stigma. In general, middle-class majority-group women are likely to face pressure to have children and complete pregnancies, and may even be stigmatized as selfish when they do not want children. Women of color and poor women face a different reality. Instead of being criticized when they do not reproduce, these women are often criticized when they do. Women of color are frequently stereotyped as hyper-sexual beings who already have too many children, and poor women are sometimes stereotyped as “welfare queens.” Both face prejudice in relation to their right to reproduce. Though there are some arguments among scholars about the extent of the practice, scholars like Dorothy Roberts and Andrea Smith write about the use of forced or coerced sterilization on African American women and Native American women—as well as women on welfare. Sterilization prevents women from having children, and in these instances sterilization targeted women who were deemed unfit mothers because of their race or class. Roberts and Smith argue that sterilizations were systematic, not just the result of the malfeasance of particular doctors. Many people feel that reproductive freedoms are meaningless when some women can’t exercise them. They emphasize the needs of poor women and women of color to ensure for themselves and their communities a full range of reproductive options—both to limit their families and to grow their families. Women who argue for this broader understanding of women’s reproductive needs are fighting for what they call “reproductive justice.” Sources used for this essay include: Roberts, Dorothy. 1997. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. N.Y.: Pantheon; Smith, Andrea. 2005. Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide. Cambridge, MA: South End Press. 12-6: The Five Sexes When Anne Fausto-Sterling wrote her now-famous essay “The Five Sexes,” she was not so much arguing that human beings can be definitively categorized into five sexes, as she was arguing for the complexity of human sex differences. In “The Five Sexes, Revisited,” she returns to and updates her argument. The second article, like the first, focuses on intersex people, people who are born with biological features of both males and females. Intersex can range from true hermaphrodites through genetic males or females who have some biological features associated with the opposite sex. Though intersexuality is not very common, as many as one baby in a thousand is born with chromosomal, hormonal and/or physical features that blur the male-female dichotomy. The typical practice, Fausto-Sterling points out, is to treat all intersexuality as a medical issue. For hermaphrodites or other children born with very ambiguous genitalia, the practice has been to assign a sex to the child, perform surgery to make the genitalia fit the assigned sex, provide hormone therapy when deemed necessary, and raise the child as a member of the assigned sex. The appeal of this approach is obvious. In a society uncomfortable with sexual ambiguity, an intersex child and her family may face stigma. The problems, however, are numerous, Fausto-Sterling argues. To begin with, though many sex assignments appear to be successful, some are not; and the implications for people whose genitals have been surgically modified can be profound. Also, however, sex assignments tend to rely on stereotypical and idealized notions of masculinity and femininity. If we look at idealized concepts of male and female from a critical distance, we realize that many people who are not intersex also vary from the stereotyped ideal: women can be muscular, men can have high voices, women can have facial hair, men can have small testes. To make a surgical assignment of an infant based at least partly on these stereotypes is to intervene for social rather than medical reasons. Sources: Fausto-Sterling, Anne. 1993. “The Five Sexes.” Sciences 33.2: 20-25; Fausto-Sterling, Anne. 2000. “The Five Sexes, Revisited.” Sciences 40.4: 18-23. 12-7: The Cost of Prejudice Lesbian and gay parenting has been the cause of heated controversy, and many states have attempted to limit gay, lesbian and bisexual (LGB) fostering and adoption either directly or by limiting foster parenting and adoption by unmarried couples. In states where LGB individuals are able to foster and adopt children, policies are often unclear in relation to couples. Even in states where the laws support LGB fostering and adoption for both individuals and couples, particular agencies may have an unstated policy that impedes such adoptions. It is also likely that individual employees may evaluate gay and lesbian households differently than heterosexual households, resulting in fewer placements within LGB households. Policies and practices that differentiate between heterosexual and homosexual families solely on the basis of sexual preference assume that children fare poorly in such families. Research, however, does not support this assumption. Studies examining the welfare of children who grow up in LGB households have found no evidence that children’s welfare in such households is compromised. Children of LGB parents are as psychologically well adapted, cognitively well-developed, and capable of positive social relationships as the children of heterosexual parents. In fact, some studies have suggested that children in LGB households may have a number of advantages—since LGB parents are frequently older, more educated and financially better off when they become parents. Prejudice against prospective LGB parents prevents thousands of children from being placed in family homes. According to a 2006 report by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, more than 100,000 children were awaiting adoption in 2005, and only a small portion were living in the context of a foster family at the time. According to a 2007 report by the Urban Institute, unplaced children are expensive for the state. To begin with, recruiting foster and adoptive parents is costly. The longer this process takes, the more costs accrue. In addition, congregant care is more expensive than foster care. The price paid by children who are unable to find permanent family placement can be far-reaching. Instability of placement is correlated with more emotional and psychological problems, greater likelihood of academic failure, low income, need for assistance in adulthood, and more problems in social relationships. Sources used for this essay include: Macomber, Jennifer Ehrle and Kate Chambers. 1997. “Adoption and Foster Care by Gay and Lesbian Parents in the United States.” The Urban Institute. Retrieved August 29, 2010 (www.urban.org/publications/411437.html); Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. 2006. “Expanding Resources for Children: Is Adoption by Gays and Lesbians Part of the Answer for Boys and Girls Who Need Homes? Policy Perspective.” Retrieved August 29, 2010 (http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/policy/2006_Expanding_Resources_for_Children.php) TOPICS FOR STUDENT RESEARCH AND CLASSROOM DISCUSSION 1. Ask students to search for evidence in advertising, movies, and television shows that reinforce the traditional feminine gender roles. How do these gender roles vary by race, class, or age? Which women are portrayed as least feminine? Most? 2. Ask students to search for evidence in advertising, movies, and television shows that reinforce the traditional masculine gender roles. How do these gender roles vary by race, class, or age? Which men are portrayed as most stereotypically masculine? Least stereotypically masculine? 3. Ask students to search for evidence of gender inequality in reality TV, and discuss the various sociological views regarding gender roles. 4. Ask students to search for evidence of sexism in recent news stories (e.g., stories about divorces, lawsuits, or criminal cases), and discuss institutional discrimination directed toward women. 5. Ask students to research salary scales of traditional male and female occupations for comparisons, and discuss the disadvantages and advantages of gendered employment. 6. Ask students to search for evidence of heteronormativity in reality TV, and discuss the various sociological views regarding age norms. 7. Ask students to search for evidence of heteronormativity in recent news stories (e.g., stories about divorces, lawsuits, or criminal cases), and discuss institutional discrimination directed toward LGBT people. 8. Ask students to spend one week writing down any derogatory comments or stereotypes directed at the LGBT community that they encounter. Have the students share their results with the class. Are they surprised by the comments? Had they noticed them before? What do their findings suggest about the climate for LGBT people in their community? 9. Have students ask their friends and classmates if they know when women got the right to vote and under what circumstances. Did the students themselves learn about women’s suffrage in school? Did their friends? Did their teachers emphasize this date as important? How much space was it given in their history text? What does our treatment of this history tell us about our culture? 10. Have students watch all or part of Still Killing Us Softly IV. Ask students to look closely at the culture of their peer group. What evidence do they see that the dynamics Kilbourne describe affect the people around them? REEL TALK Beginners (Focus Features, 2010, 104m). Graphic artist Oliver Fields struggles to come to terms with his father Hal’s late-in-life realization that he is attracted to men and subsequent relationship with a younger man, Andy. Lessons from this experience inform Oliver's romance with Anna, a French actress. The film also deals with aging and death in the form of Hal’s terminal cancer Director: Mike Mills. Hal: Christopher Plumber. Oliver: Ewan McGregor. Anna: Mélanie Laurent. Andy: Goran Višnjić. Topic: Sexuality Chapter 13 Race and Ethnicity LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define minority, racial, and ethnic groups. 2. Discuss the social construction of race. 3. Discuss prejudice and its correlation with racism. 4. Discuss discrimination and institutional discrimination, and their impact on social relations. 5. Discuss the sociological perspectives regarding racial and ethnic inequality. 6. Describe the various patterns of intergroup relations. 7. Describe the various population patterns of racial and ethnic diversity in the United States. 8. Discuss the relative economic positions of various racial and ethnic groups in the United States. 9. Describe the patterns of immigration to the United States and elsewhere. CHAPTER SUMMARY Intergroup relations based on ethnic and racial background have played a powerful role in shaping both interaction and opportunity in the United States. A minority group is a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than members of the dominant or majority group have over theirs. (This includes groups, such as women, that are actually numerically superior to the dominant group.) The term racial group describes a group that is set apart from others because of physical differences that have taken on social significance. Ethnic groups are set apart from others primarily because of their national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Race as a biological category does not exist. The racial categories we typically take for granted grow out of sociocultural traditions and historical experiences that are specific to various groups. Racial formation is a sociohistorical process in which racial categories are created, inhibited, transformed, and destroyed. In this process, those who have power define groups of people according to a racist social structure. The social construction of race refers to the process by which people come to define a group as a race based in part on physical characteristics, but also on historical, cultural, and economic factors. Race is often used to justify unequal access to economic, social, and cultural resources. Often this is done through the use of stereotypes—unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within that group. In the 2010 Census more than 9 million people in the United States reported that they were of two or more races, highlighting the flaws in our traditional ideas of distinct racial categories. The distinctive characteristics of ethnic groups can include language, diet, sports, religious beliefs, and various traditions, norms, and values. Some examples of ethnic groups within the United States include Hispanic, Jewish, and Irish Americans. The distinction between racial and ethnic minorities is not always clear-cut. Many racial groups express themselves culturally, and some ethnic groups self-identify as a race. Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often a racial or ethnic minority. Sometimes prejudice results from ethnocentrism—the tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others. Racism—the belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior—is one important and widespread ideology that reinforces prejudice. Some sociologists suggest that color-blind racism, which uses the principle of race neutrality to perpetuate a racially unequal status quo, is at work in the United States, meaning that the commitment to the concept of equality actually serves to perpetuate inequality. Discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. While prejudice is a way of thinking, discrimination involves action. An extreme form of discriminatory behavior, hate crimes are criminal offenses committed because of an offender's bias against an individual based on race, gender, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or sexual orientation. In 2011 alone more than 60 percent of the 7,254 hate crimes reported to authorities involved racial or ethnic bias. The glass ceiling refers to an invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of qualified people in a work environment based on their gender, race, or ethnicity. The existence of the glass ceiling shows that even highly educated and qualified minorities face discrimination. Racial profiling—police action initiated based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on someone's behavior—is another form of discrimination. Dominant groups enjoy privileges at the expense of others. Sociologists are becoming increasingly interested in what it means to be “White,” because White privilege is the other side of the coin of racial discrimination. The persistent patterns of inequality in the United States suggest that institutional discrimination (denial of opportunities and equal rights to some people as part of the normal operation of society) is at work. Affirmative action programs have been instituted to overcome past discrimination by actively recruiting minority group members and women for jobs, promotions, and educational activities. Prejudice and discrimination help to preserve the existing system of inequality. Exploitation theory argues that such practices are a basic part of the capitalist economic system. According to the contact hypothesis, in cooperative circumstances, interracial contact between people of equal status will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes. There are six characteristic patterns of intergroup relations. Genocide is the deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation. Expulsion is the systematic removal of a group of people from society. Amalgamation describes the process through which a majority and a minority group combine to form a new group. Assimilation is the process by which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture, as is practiced by minorities when conforming to the standards of the dominant group. Segregation refers to the physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social events. The Republic of South Africa perpetuated a form of segregation for many years by severely restricting the movement of Blacks and other non-Whites by means of a wide-ranging system known as apartheid. Pluralism is based on mutual respect for one another’s cultures among the various groups in a society, and allows minorities to express their own cultures without prejudice. The largest racial minorities in the United States are African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. African Americans have struggled for centuries against various forms of discrimination. One of many noteworthy aspects of their struggle is the concept of Black power—a political philosophy promoted in the 1960s that called for the creation of Black-controlled political and economic institutions. African Americans continue to face much discrimination and other challenges today. As of 2011, according to official government statistics, 27.6 percent of African Americans were in poverty compared to 9.8 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. Native Americans represent a diverse array of cultures. There are approximately 2.5 million Native Americans in the United States. Asian Americans are often held up as a model or ideal minority group, a subordinate group that has succeeded economically, socially, and educationally despite past prejudices and discrimination. However, this characterization minimizes the degree of diversity among Asian Americans. In 2012, it was estimated that there were up to 1.8 million Arab Americans in the United States. Most are not Muslim. Latinos represent both the largest ethnic group and the largest minority in the United States. In 2011, there were almost 52 million Hispanics in this country. Jewish Americans constitute about 2.1 percent of the population of the United States. This is the world’s largest concentration of Jews. In the United States and elsewhere, Jews face anti-Semitism (anti-Jewish prejudice). White ethnics, such as Italian Americans and German Americans, make up a significant segment of the U.S. population. Many White ethnics only identify sporadically with their heritage. Symbolic ethnicity describes an ethnic identity that emphasizes concerns such as ethnic food or political issues rather than deeper ties to one's ethnic heritage. According to the UN, there are 191 million international immigrants in the world. One consequence of global immigration is the emergence of transnationals—people or families who move across borders multiple times in search of better jobs and education. Clear racial and ethnic biases have been built into immigration policies of many nations, including the United States. RESOURCE INTEGRATOR Focus Questions Resources 1. What are minority groups, racial groups, and ethnic groups? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: minority group, racial group, ethnic group, racial formation, stereotype 2. In what ways do minorities experience prejudice and discrimination? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: prejudice, racism, color-blind racism, discrimination, hate crime, racial profiling, affirmative action 3. What are the sociological perspectives regarding racial and ethnic inequality? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: exploitation theory, contact hypothesis 4. What are the major patterns of intergroup relations? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: genocide, expulsion, amalgamation, assimilation, segregation, apartheid, pluralism 5. What are the major racial and ethnic groups in the United States? IN THE TEXT Key Terms: Black power, model or ideal minority, anti-Semitism, symbolic ethnicity 6. What are the issues regarding immigration in the United States and elsewhere? LECTURE OUTLINE I. Racial and Ethnic Groups • Intergroup relations based on ethnic and racial background have played a powerful role in shaping both interaction and opportunity in the United States. • One of the factors shaping opportunity is access to valued material, social, and cultural resources, a factor strongly influenced by the social status of the group to which one belongs. • A minority group is a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their own lives than the members of the dominant or majority group have over theirs. • Sociologists consider groups that lack power to be minority groups even if they represent a numeric majority of the population in a society. • Race and ethnicity have historically served as markers of minority group status. • A racial group is a group that is set apart from others because of physical differences that have taken on social significance. Examples: Whites, African Americans, Asian Americans. • An ethnic group is one that is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Examples: Jewish Americans, Polish Americans. A. Race • Race as a biological category does not exist. All humans share the same basic genetic material. 1. Social Construction of Race • The racial categories that we typically take for granted grow out of sociocultural traditions and historical experiences that are specific to various groups. Different groups define racial categories in different ways at different times. • Racial formation is a sociohistorical process in which racial categories are created, inhibited, transformed, and destroyed. In this process, those who have power define groups of people according to a racist social structure. Example: Creation of Native American reservation system in the late 1800s. • The social construction of race is the process by which people come to define a group as a race based in part on physical characteristics, but also on historical, cultural, and economic factors. Example: “One-drop rule” in the 1800s. • Race is often used to justify unequal access to economic, social, and cultural resources based on the assumption that such inequality is somehow “natural.” • This often happens through the use of stereotypes, which are unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group. They are often used to justify inequality. 2. Multiple Identities • The increasing number of people who identify as bi- or multiracial demonstrate the limits of our racial categories. • In the 2010 Census more than 9 million people in the United States reported that they were of two or more races. • Racial categories used by the Census Bureau have varied over time, providing additional support for the notion that our definition of race is not so much determined by biology as it is subject to historical and cultural forces. • The Census Bureau's expansion of racial categories points toward a growing awareness of population diversity, and reflects the struggle by many individuals—especially young adults—against social pressure to choose a single identity, and instead openly embrace multiple heritages. Example: Tiger Woods created his own category—Cablinasian—a combination of his Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian ancestry. B. Ethnicity • Ethnic groups are set apart from others based on national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Distinctive characteristics can include language, diet, sports, and religious beliefs, along with various traditions, norms, and values. • The distinction between racial and ethnic minorities is not always clear-cut. • Sociologists maintain that membership in a racial or ethnic group has a powerful impact. II. Prejudice and Discrimination • Bias-related incidents grow out of attitudes people have about other groups. A. Prejudice • A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often a racial or ethnic minority. • Prejudice tends to perpetuate false definitions of individuals and groups. • Sometimes prejudice results from ethnocentrism, the tendency to assume one’s own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others. • Racism is the belief that one race is supreme and that all others are innately inferior. It reinforces prejudice. • When racism prevails in a society, members of subordinate groups generally experience prejudice, discrimination, and exploitation. • Over the past three generations, nationwide surveys have consistently shown growing support among Whites for integration, interracial dating, and the election of minority group members to public office. Nevertheless, there are persistent patterns of unequal treatment. People claim not to be prejudiced, yet many fail to practice equal opportunity. • Some suggest that color-blind racism, which uses the principle of race neutrality to perpetuate a racially unequal status quo, is at work. B. Discrimination • Prejudice often leads to discrimination—the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. • Prejudice is a way thinking, while discrimination involves action. 1. Discriminatory Behavior • Prejudiced attitudes should not be equated with discriminatory behavior; either condition can be present without the other. • A hate crime is a criminal offense committed because of the offender’s bias against an individual based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or sexual orientation. • In 2011 alone, over 7,000 hate crime offenses were reported to authorities. Overall, approximately 60 percent of those crimes involved racial or ethnic bias 2. The Glass Ceiling • An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual’s gender, race, or ethnicity. • Continues to affect women and other minority groups today. • Researchers have found that having more diversity increases performance in groups; firms with more diverse boards also are more profitable than those that are more homogenous. 3. Racial Profiling • Any police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on a person’s behavior. • Occurs when law enforcement officers assume that people who fit a certain description are likely to engage in illegal activities. • Often based on very explicit stereotypes. • Authorities continue to rely on racial profiling despite overwhelming evidence that race is not a valid predictor of criminal behavior. African Americans are still more likely than Whites to be frisked and handled with force when they are stopped, yet Whites are more likely than Blacks to possess drugs, illegal weapons, and stolen property. • Efforts to stop racial profiling came to an abrupt halt after September 11, 2001, in the face of widespread suspicion toward Muslim and Arab immigrants. C. The Privileges of the Dominant • An often-overlooked aspect of discrimination. • White privilege is the other side of the coin of racial discrimination. • Peggy McIntosh came up with a long list of unspoken advantages to being White. D. Institutional Discrimination • The denial of opportunities and equal rights for individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society. • Consistently affects some minorities more than others. • Passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations and publicly owned facilities on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, and gender) was an attempt to eradicate discrimination. • 1987 Supreme Court ruling held that federal prohibitions against racial discrimination protect members of all ethnic minorities—including Hispanics, Jews, and Arab Americans—even though they may be considered White. • Affirmative action programs are aimed at overcoming past discrimination by recruiting minority members for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities. • Some argue that advancing one group over another merely shifts the discrimination to another group. • Discriminatory practices continue to pervade nearly all areas of U.S. life. • Discrimination permits members of the majority to enhance their wealth, power, and prestige at the expense of others. III. Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity • Prejudice and discrimination contribute to the maintenance of the existing social order by reinforcing the dominant culture. A. Social Order and Inequality • Beliefs and practices are perpetuated through the acceptance of the dominant ideology that supports them. This provides a moral justification for maintaining an unequal society that routinely deprives minority groups of their rights and privileges. Example: Southern Whites’ justification of slavery. • Exploitation theory views racial subordination in the United States as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism. • In this view, racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs, thereby supplying the capitalist ruling class with a pool of cheap labor. By forcing minorities to accept low wages, capitalists can restrict wages of all members of the proletariat, increasing the likelihood that working-class members of the majority group will develop racist attitudes toward working-class members of minority groups, whom they view as threats to their jobs. Thus they direct their hostilities not toward the capitalists, but toward other workers, thereby not challenging the structure of the existing system. • A society that practices discrimination fails to use the resources of all individuals. The search for talent and leadership is limited to the dominant group. • Discrimination also aggravates social problems such as poverty, delinquency, and crime. • Challenging prejudice and discrimination involves questioning taken-for-granted views of the world in which people have invested their faith and trust. Examples: U.S. women in the 1950s, civil rights movement. B. The Contact Hypothesis • States that in cooperative circumstances, interracial contact between people of equal status will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon old stereotypes. People begin to see each other as individuals and to discard the broad generalizations characteristic of stereotyping. • The trend in U.S. society is toward increasing contact between individuals from dominant and subordinate groups. • Another possible way to eliminate or reduce stereotyping and prejudice is the establishment of interracial coalitions that are built on equal roles for all members. C. Patterns of Intergroup Relations • There are six characteristic patterns of intergroup relations. 1. Genocide • The deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation. Examples: Turkey and Armenians, Nazi Germany, United States and Native Americans. 2. Expulsion • The systematic removal of a group of people from society. Examples: Vietnam and Chinese, Serbian “ethnic cleansing” of Croats and Muslims, Sudan and Darfur. 3. Amalgamation • Results when a majority group and a minority group combine to form a new group. Often occurs through intermarriage over several generations. Example: A + B + C → D. • The term “melting pot” is not an adequate description of the United States. 4. Assimilation • Process through which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture. Example: A + B + C → A. • Generally practiced by minority group members who want to conform to the standards of the dominant group. Example: Name changing to hide religious or ethnic heritage. 5. Segregation • The physical separation of two or more groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social events. Example: Apartheid in South Africa, Blacks in the American South in the early 20th century. • Residential segregation is still the norm in the United States. The average White lives in an area that is at least 83 percent White; the average African American in a neighborhood that is mostly Black; the average Latino in an area that is 42 percent Hispanic. • Segregation directly limits people’s economic opportunities. 6. Pluralism • Based on mutual respect for one another’s cultures among the various groups in a society. Example: A + B + C → A + B + C. • Pluralism is more of an ideal than a reality in the U.S. • Switzerland exemplifies the modern pluralistic state. IV. Race and Ethnicity in the United States A. Racial Groups • The largest racial minorities in the United States are African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. 1. African Americans • As of 2011, according to official government statistics, 27.6 percent of African Americans were in poverty compared to 9.8 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. • Contemporary institutional discrimination and individual prejudice against Blacks are rooted in the history of slavery. • Enslaved Blacks could not own property or pass on the benefits of their labor to children. • End of the Civil War did not bring real freedom and equality. Southern states passed “Jim Crow” laws to enforce official segregation; upheld by Supreme Court as constitutional in 1896. Also faced lynching campaigns, often led by the Ku Klux Klan. • During the 1950s and 1960s, a vast civil rights movement emerged. Examples: Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded by Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). • Black power movement rejected the goal of assimilation into White middle-class society, defended the beauty and dignity of Black and African cultures, and supported the creation of Black-controlled political and economic institutions. • Most children from middle-class African American families end up earning less than their parents, compared to only 32 percent of White children from comparable backgrounds. • African Americans are underrepresented in many high-paying, high-prestige occupations such as physician and architect. • Although progress has been made, African Americans also still underrepresented in politics. • Election of Barack Obama is a major breakthrough in the glass ceiling. 2. Native Americans • Today about 2.5 million Native Americans represent a diverse array of cultures distinguishable by language, family organization, religion, and livelihood. • Life remains difficult for the 562 tribal groups in the United States. One Native American teenager in six has attempted suicide, a rate four times higher than the rate for other teenagers. • Some Native Americans have chosen to assimilate, but by the 1990s, an increasing number of people were openly claiming a Native American identity. Since 1960, the count of Native Americans has tripled, suggesting Native Americans are no longer concealing their identity. • Introduction of gambling on Indian reservations has transformed the lives of some Native Americans. But about two-thirds of recognized tribes are not involved in gambling. 3. Asian Americans • A diverse group, and one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population. • Often held up as a model or ideal minority group, supposedly because they have succeeded economically, socially, and educationally despite past prejudices and discrimination. • In reality there is a great deal of diversity across different groups of Asian Americans. • Even given high overall levels of attainment in education and income, those of Asian descent can still face a glass ceiling. a. Vietnamese Americans • Came to U.S. largely after Vietnam War and U.S. withdrawal in 1975. • Have gravitated toward larger urban areas. • Almost 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, sharp differences of opinion remain among Vietnamese Americans, especially older ones, concerning the war and the present government of Vietnam. b. Chinese Americans • Encouraged to immigrate to U.S. from about 1850 to 1880. Thousands were lured by job opportunities created by the discovery of gold. But as competition for jobs grew, they became targets of a bitter campaign to limit their numbers and restrict their rights. Example: Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. • Currently, about 3.5 million live in the U.S. c. Japanese Americans • About 757,000 live in the U.S. The first generation Issei were largely males seeking employment opportunities. • Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 had severe repercussions. Detention of Japanese Americans in “evacuation” camps caused them severe financial and emotional hardship. • In 1988, the Civil Liberties Act required reparations and apologies from the federal government for interned Japanese Americans. d. Korean Americans • About 1.5 million live in the U.S. • The initial wave of immigration occurred between 1903 and 1910 with laborers going to Hawaii. The second wave occurred following the Korean War in 1953; most were wives of U.S. servicemen and war orphans. The third wave is ongoing, with immigrants holding professional skills. • In the early 1990s, apparent friction between Korean Americans and African Americans attracted nationwide attention. Example: Spike Lee’s movie Do the Right Thing. 4. Arab Americans • Immigrants and their descendants from 22 countries in North Africa and the Middle East. • Arabic language is the single most unifying force. • There are currently about 1.8 million Arab Americans. • The Arab American population is concentrated in certain areas of the U.S. • Most Arab Americans are Christian, not Muslim. • For years, and especially after 9/11, Arab Americans have been subject to profiling and surveillance by law enforcement. B. Ethnic Groups • Members may not be hindered by physical differences from assimilating into the dominant culture, but still face many forms of prejudice and discrimination. 1. Hispanics • Represent the largest minority in the U.S. More than 51 million in the U.S. in 2007. • Latino population now outnumbers African-American population in 8 of the 10 largest cities. • Language barriers contribute to educational problems and low economic status of Hispanics. a. Mexican Americans • The largest Hispanic population. • Largely Roman Catholic, which reinforces barriers between Mexican Americans and White Protestants. However, the Church helps many immigrants develop a sense of identity and assimilate into the dominant culture. b. Puerto Ricans • Second-largest segment of Latinos in the U.S. • Have held American citizen status since 1917. • Many have migrated to New York and other eastern cities. • Those living in the continental U.S. earn barely half the family income of Whites. Reverse migration began in the 1970s. • Statehood discussions have resulted in continuing commonwealth status. c. Cuban Americans • Immigration began in earnest after Castro’s seizure of power in 1959. First wave included many professionals; more recent waves have been less likely to be skilled professionals. • In April 2009, President Obama signed a bill easing economic and travel restrictions. 2. Jewish Americans • About 2.1 percent of U.S. population. • U.S. has the world’s largest concentration of Jews. • Many became white-collar professionals. • Anti-Semitism, anti-Jewish prejudice, has often been vicious in the U.S. • A study of 50 U.S. Jewish communities found a median intermarriage rate of 33 percent. 3. White Ethnics • Make up a significant segment of the U.S. population. • Includes about 47 million of at least partial German ancestry, 35 million of Irish ancestry, 17 million of Italian ancestry, and 9 million of Polish ancestry. • Many identify only sporadically with their heritage. • Symbolic ethnicity refers to an emphasis on concerns such as ethnic food or political issues rather than on deeper ties to one’s ethnic heritage. • White ethnics and racial minorities have often been antagonistic to one another because of economic competition. V. Immigration • According to the UN, there are 191 million international immigrants in the world. • The constantly increasing numbers of immigrants raise troubling questions for the world’s economic powers. A. Immigration Trends • Migration of people is not uniform across time or space. War or famine may precipitate large movements of people, either temporarily or permanently. • Currently, seven of the world’s wealthiest nations shelter about one-third of the world’s migrant population. • Immigrants continue to face obstacles due to their relative lack of resources, especially immigrant women. • Transnationals are people or families who move across borders multiple times in search of better jobs and education. B. Immigration Policies • Clear racial and ethnic biases have been built into immigration policies. • Since the 1960s, U.S. policy has encouraged the immigration of relatives of U.S. residents and of people who have desirable skills. • Previously most immigrants to the U.S. were from European countries, but for the last 40 years they have come primarily from Latin America and Asia. • Fear and resentment of racial and ethnic diversity is a key factor in opposition to immigration. • The long border with Mexico provides ample opportunity for illegal immigration to the U.S. • In the wake of 9/11, immigration procedures were complicated by the need to detect potential terrorists. KEY TERMS Affirmative action Positive efforts to recruit minority group members or women for jobs, promotions, and educational opportunities. Amalgamation The process through which a majority group and a minority group combine to form a new group. Anti-Semitism Anti-Jewish prejudice. Apartheid A former policy of the South African government, designed to maintain the separation of Blacks and other non-Whites from the dominant Whites. Assimilation The process through which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture. Black power A political philosophy, promoted by many younger Blacks in the 1960s, that supported the creation of Black-controlled political and economic institutions. Color-blind racism The use of race-neutral principles to perpetuate a racially unequal status quo. Contact hypothesis The theory that in cooperative circumstances interracial contact between people of equal status will reduce prejudice. Discrimination The denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or other arbitrary reasons. Ethnic group A group that is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns. Exploitation theory A belief that views racial subordination in the United States as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism. Expulsion The systematic removal of a group of people from society. Genocide The deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation. Hate crime A criminal offense committed because of the offender’s bias against an individual based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or sexual orientation. Minority group A subordinate group whose members, even if they represent a numeric majority, have significantly less control or power over their own lives than the members of a dominant or majority group have over theirs. Model or ideal minority A subordinate group whose members supposedly have succeeded economically, socially, and educationally despite past prejudice and discrimination. Pluralism Mutual respect for one another’s cultures among the various groups in a society, which allows minorities to express their own cultures without experiencing prejudice. Prejudice A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority. Racial formation A sociohistorical process in which racial categories are created, inhibited, transformed, and destroyed. Racial group A group that is set apart from others because of physical differences that have taken on social significance. Racial profiling Any police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on a person’s behavior. Racism The belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. Segregation The physical separation of two groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social events; often imposed on a minority group by a dominant group. Stereotype An unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within the group. Symbolic ethnicity An ethnic identity that emphasizes concerns such as ethnic food or political issues rather than deeper ties to one’s ethnic heritage. ADDITIONAL LECTURE IDEAS 13-1: The Complexity of Racial and Ethnic Identity Race and ethnicity are not static, biological categories. They are very fluid and socially constructed. The diversity of the United States today has made it more difficult for many people to view themselves clearly on the racial and ethnic landscape. Obviously, the reason is that this “landscape” is not naturally but socially constructed and is therefore subject to change and to different interpretations. While our focus is on the United States, every nation faces the same dilemmas. Within little more than a generation, we have witnessed changes in labeling subordinate groups from Negroes to Blacks to African Americans, from American Indians to Native Americans or Native People. However, more Native Americans prefer the use of their tribal name, such as Seminole, instead of a collective label. The old 1950s statistical term of “people with a Spanish surname” has long been discarded, yet there is disagreement over a new term: Latino or Hispanic. As with Native Americans, Hispanic Americans tend to avoid such global terms and prefer the use of their native names, such as Puerto Ricans or Cubans. People of Mexican ancestry indicate preferences for a variety of names, such as Chicano, Mexican American, or, simply, Mexican. Some advocates for racial and ethnic groups consider names a very important issue with great social significance. If nothing else, others argue, changes in names reflect people taking over the power to name themselves. Still others see this as a nonissue, or as editor Anna Maria Arias of Hispanic magazine termed the debate, “It’s stupid. There are more important issues we should be talking about” (Bennett 1993: A10). In the United States and other multiracial, multiethnic societies, panethnicity has emerged. Panethnicity is the development of solidarity among ethnic subgroups. The coalition of tribal groups as Native Americans or American Indians to confront outside forces, notably the federal government, is one example of panethnicity. Hispanic/Latinos and Asian Americans are other examples of panethnicity. Is panethnicity a convenient label for “outsiders” or is it a term that reflects a mutual identity? Certainly, many people are unable or unwilling to recognize ethnic differences and prefer umbrella terms like “Asian Americans.” For some small groups, combining with others is emerging as a useful way to make themselves heard, but there is always a fear that their own distinctive culture will become submerged. While many Hispanics share the Spanish language and many are united by Roman Catholicism, only one in four native-born people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban descent prefers a panethnic label over nationality or ethnic identity. Yet the growth of a variety of panethnic associations among many groups, including Hispanics, continues. There is even less agreement about how to identify oneself in racially conscious America if one is of “mixed ancestry.” Roberto Chong, who immigrated to the United States, has a Chinese father and a Peruvian mother. He considers himself “Hispanic,” but others view him as “Asian” or “Latino Asian-American.” Few intermarriages exist in America, and social attitudes discourage them, but such unions are on the increase. Interracial marriages have climbed from 44,598 in 1970 to 54,251 in 1994 and interracial births doubled from 63,700 in 1978 to 133,200 in 1992. In a race-conscious society, how are we going to respond to these multiracial children? As the mother of one such child, Hannah Spangler, noted, how is she to complete the school form as Hannah starts first grade in Washington, DC? Hannah’s father is White and her mother is half Black and half Japanese. We may be slowly recognizing that the United States is a multiracial society, but we are not prepared to respond to such a society. Add to this cultural mix the many peoples with clear social identities who are not yet generally recognized in the United States. Arabs are a rapidly growing segment whose identity is heavily subject to stereotypes or, at best, is still ambiguous. Haitians and Jamaicans affirm they are Black but rarely accept the identity of African Americans. Brazilians, who speak Portuguese, often object to being called Hispanic because of that term’s association with Spain. Similarly, there are White Hispanics and non-White Hispanics, some of the latter being Black, and others, like Robert Chong, Asian. As the future of African-American people in the United States unfolds, one element of the population complicating racial identity, generally unnoticed thus far, may move into prominence. An ever-growing proportion of the Black population consists of people of foreign birth. In the 1980 census, 816,000 foreign-born Blacks were counted, or 3.1 percent of the Black population, the highest ever recorded. Yet by 1994, the number had nearly doubled to 1,596,000, which constituted 5.1 percent of the Black population. Fully 10 percent of the foreign-born population arrived in the preceding four years with the primary sources of the immigration being the island nations of the Caribbean. The numbers are expected to increase, as is the proportion of the African-American population that is foreign born. Diversity exists to a significant degree within the Black community today, reaffirming the notion that race is socially constructed. Another challenge to identify is marginality, which refers to the status of being between two cultures, as in the case of an individual whose mother is a Jew and whose father is a Christian. Incomplete assimilation, as in a Korean woman’s migrating to the United States, also results in marginality. While she may take on the characteristics of her new host society, she may not be fully accepted and may therefore feel neither Korean nor American. The marginal person finds himself or herself being perceived differently in different environments, with varying expectations. In a family circle, the marginal person’s ethnic heritage is clear, but in the workplace, different labels may be used to identify this person. As we seek to better understand diversity in the United States, we must be mindful that ethnic and racial labels are just that: labels that have been socially constructed. Yet these social constructs can have a powerful impact, whether self-applied or applied by others. Sources used for this lecture include the following: Philip Bennett, “Ethnic Labels Fail to Keep Up with Reality,” Cincinnati Enquirer (November 8, 1993): A10; Janet Marcini Bilson, “No Owner of Soil: The Concept of Marginality Revisited on Its Sixtieth Birthday,” International Review of Sociology 18 (Autumn 1988): 183–204; Bureau of the Census. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 55; Rodolfo O. de la Garza, Louis De Sipio, F. Chris Garcia, and Angelo Falcon. Latino Voices: Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban Perspectives on American Politics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992; Yen Le Espiritu. Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992; Kristian A. Hansen and Amara Bachu, “The Foreign-Born Population: 1994,” Current Population Reports, ser. p-20, no. 486. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995; Susan Kalish, “Multiracial Births Increase as U.S. Ponders Racial Definitions,” Population Today 24 (April 1995): 1–2; David Lopez and Yen Espiritu, “Panethnicity in the United States: A Theoretical Framework,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 13 (April 1990): 198–224; Joanne Nagel, “Constructing Ethnicity: Creating and Re-creating Ethnic Identity and Culture,” Social Problems 41 (Spring 1994): 152–176. Michael Omi and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1994; Robert E. Park, “Human Migration and the Marginal Man,” American Journal of Sociology 33 (May 1928): 881–893; Everett V. Stonequist. The Marginal Man: A Study in Personality and Culture Conflict. New York: Scribner, 1937. 13-2: The Shared History of Blacks and Irish Americans Americans’ conceptualization of race, and of how the Irish fit into racial categories, has changed a great deal in the past 150 years. Chronicling the intertwined history of Irish Americans and African Americans is an excellent way to illustrate the social construction of race. Both racially and socioeconomically, Blacks and Irish Americans today would seem to be two very distinctive groups. African Americans experience significant racial discrimination, and are impacted by the residual effects of past institutional discrimination. By contrast, Irish Americans are not socially stigmatized for their Irish ancestry, as is suggested by the wide acceptability of intermarriage between Irish Americans and other White ethnics. Irish Americans have also been economically and politically successful, as indicated by the fact that a prominent Irish American (John F. Kennedy) was elected President. In the mid-19th century, however, Irish immigrants and freed Black slaves had far more in common. Like Blacks, Irish immigrants were subject to a great deal of racial discrimination. Although considered White, as Celts they were believed to be racially different from Whites of Anglo-Saxon descent. Descriptions of Irish at the time even gave them physical traits that made them distinct from “other” White people, like a low brow, upturned nose, dark skin, and small physical size (Jacobson 1998). Moreover, free Blacks and Irish immigrants suffered the same racial discrimination and low social status. Both groups were subject to derogatory names that referenced the other group. Blacks were called “smoked Irish,” while Irish were called “niggers turned inside out” (Ignatiev 1995: 41). Irish and Blacks often lived together in the same neighborhoods, where the Irish were just as impoverished as the Blacks. One study found a high concentration of both Blacks and Irish in a 19th-century neighborhood with the highest mortality rate—and one of the highest crime rates—in all of New York City. Both groups competed for the same jobs, and even lived together in the same homes (Hodges 1996). Not surprisingly, interracial couplings were fairly common as well, both in the United States and in Jamaica, where Black slaves and Irish indentured servants were sent to labor (Blockson 1977, Jamison 2003). The sources listed below—including a website documenting the intertwined history of these two groups—address both the shared history of Blacks and Irish, and the eventual political efforts of Irish Americans to extricate themselves from the association with African Americans. Sources used for this essay include: Charles L. Blockson. Black Genealogy. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1977; Graham Hodges, “ ‘Desirable Companions and Lovers’: Irish and African Americans in the Sixth Ward, 1830–1870,” in The New York Irish. Ronald H. Bayor and Timothy J. Meagher (eds.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, pp. 107–124; Noel Ignatiev. How the Irish Became White. New York: Routledge, 1995; Matthew Frye Jacobson. Whiteness of a Different Color. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998; S. Lee Jamison, S. Lee, “How Green Was My Surname,” New York Times (March 17, 2003); Tangled Roots website www.yale.edu/glc/tangledroots. 13-3: Reducing Social Conflict: Robber’s Cave Experiment Social psychologists Muzafer Sherif and Carolyn Sherif and their colleagues created three summer camps for boys (in Connecticut, upstate New York, and Robber’s Cave, Oklahoma) in order to see how group harmony could be established or reestablished. Although somewhat different experiments were conducted at each camp, the central findings were identical. Boys aged 11 or 12 were chosen from different schools to attend what they thought was a typical summer camp. Upon arrival, the boys were separated into two groups: the Eagles and the Rattlers. They were occasionally brought together to compete. As the competition grew fiercer, physical encounters and raids followed. Intergroup conflict, even though experimentally created, clearly led to mutual disrespect between the two groups, just as it does in society. The question of greatest interest to Sherif and Sherif was how to reduce conflict. Appeals to higher values were found to be of limited value, just as “be good to your neighbor” messages do not remake society. Conferences between group leaders did not work; when some boys who were leaders agreed to stop the hostilities, their followers showered them with green apples, feeling that they had given up too much. (White, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian leaders who compromised also encountered antagonism.) When the two groups of campers were brought together in highly pleasant situations, such as meals with special desserts and movies, food and garbage fights took place. (Similarly, in society, when both majority and minority groups interact in rewarding circumstances, such as receiving federal aid, group competition continues.) Sherif and Sherif finally succeeded in reducing conflict by introducing a common task, a superordinate goal that needed to be reached. A superordinate goal is an objective of great significance that overshadows other aims. For example, the experimenters told the boys that the water supply had been “mysteriously” cut off; only if everyone helped could the source of the cutoff be located. A series of such events brought the boys together with no sign of the previous hostility. Interviews with the boys verified that a reduction in intergroup conflict had occurred; instead of selecting their best friends almost exclusively from their own group, Eagles chose Rattlers and Rattlers chose Eagles. Other studies using adults, sometimes in multiracial groups, have had similar results. However, great care has to be taken in generalizing from this type of study. First, Sherif and Sherif note that the goal cannot simply be a common goal that either group could attain on its own. The superordinate goal must be a compelling one for the groups involved and unattainable except by joint effort. Second, it is not enough to manipulate words and make people think that intergroup cooperation is necessary; common efforts and a concerted plan of action are also necessary. Third, the research setting does not make clear what would happen if the superordinate goal were not reached. Research needs to be conducted to see if each group would blame the other, leading to a rise in tension, or if mutual sympathy would improve relations. In terms of the larger society, the Robber’s Cave study cautions us against optimism about the effectiveness of appealing to higher values, holding “brotherhood” conferences, or rewarding everyone equally. Furthermore, the likelihood of positive change is nil so long as Blacks and Whites view life as a “zero-sum game,” a game in which someone’s gain is automatically someone else’s loss. (A federal grant to an Italian neighborhood, for instance, may be seen by Blacks as less money available for them.) In our society, competitiveness is difficult to escape. Superordinate goals would have to be identified and made attractive to everyone. To achieve this would, admittedly, require a restructuring of a society whose very foundations often encourage racism. See Sherif and Sherif. Social Psychology. New York: Harper and Row, 1969, pp. 228–266. 13-4: Partial Assimilation—Jews During Christmastime Sociologist Walter M. Gerson has examined the cross-pressures experienced by Jewish-American families at Christmas, pressures that have been termed the “December dilemma” and “coping with Christmas.” The pressures vary by age (the Jewish child versus adult), residence (living in a Jewish or non-Jewish community), type of business, and type of Jewish faith. Gerson details the strain-reducing mechanisms Jewish people use to deal with the difficulties they experience during Christmas. These include: 1. Value hierarchy. Jews can teach their children that Hanukkah is extremely important for Jews, while Christmas is equally important for Christians. 2. Insulation. To some extent, Jews can isolate themselves from Christians during the holiday season by remaining in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods or traveling to areas where many Jews are likely to be on vacation. 3. Compartmentalization. Some Jews, while maintaining their traditional religious beliefs, may “pick and choose” among Christmas festivities in order to resolve cross-pressures. For example, they may decide to send out Christmas cards while refusing to buy Christmas trees. 4. Redefinition. Some Jews view most aspects of the Christmas celebration as social, and not religious, symbols. This may also be true for some Christians because of the development of Christmas as a highly commercialized holiday. 5. Patterned evasions. Jewish families may keep their children home from school when there are classroom Christmas parties. Such actions often have the tacit approval of school officials. 6. Hanukkah. The Jewish festival of Hanukkah, which often occurs shortly before Christmas, may take on greater significance in societies in which Jews live among a Christian majority. Hanukkah can serve as an alternative rationale for exchanging gifts, sending cards, and decorating homes. These adjustments vary with each individual and family and are not the same for all Jewish Americans. Nevertheless, the Christmas season is a time when many Jews feel marginal, or like outsiders, in an overwhelmingly Christian nation. See Walter Gerson, “Jews at Christmas Time: Role-Strain and Strain Reducing Mechanisms,” in Gerson (ed.), Social Problems in a Changing World. New York: Crowell, 1969, pp. 65–76. 13-5: The New Immigrants Not since 1910, at the peak of the last century’s great wave of immigration, has the ratio of newcomers to U.S. citizens been as high as it is today. In particular, those new immigrants who are remaining in the New York City metropolitan area are more diverse, have changed traditional settlement patterns, and have not followed the traditional politics of the earlier immigrants. Classic old ethnic neighborhoods that had successfully resisted change for half a century now belong to no one and to everyone. They are a clashing, colorful, polyglot, multiethnic collection of microcommunities, whose members sometimes come together on neutral ground. The earlier wave of immigrants was largely composed of Italians, Jews, Irish, Polish, and German ethnics, but the new wave includes Koreans, Hmong, Chinese, Ecuadorians, and other Latin and South Americans, Indians, various Middle Easterners, West Indians, and Africans from numerous countries. They are oftentimes moving into the same ethnic neighborhoods that housed the earlier immigrants, but the communities are no longer as homogeneous as they once were. For example, in one Queens elementary school, Spanish-speaking children leave for special instruction with a Spanish-speaking teacher in their academic subjects, and in the afternoon the Korean and Chinese children are pulled out of the classroom to study in Korean and Chinese. While those children are gone, other teachers rotate in the class to help those who speak Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, and other languages. The new wave of immigrants has altered traditional settlement patterns. Earlier immigrants settled in relatively homogeneous inner city communities and did not venture to the suburbs until their second or third generation. However, many new immigrants are moving directly to the suburbs surrounding New York City and bypassing the inner city enclaves. In addition, these new immigrants are breaking the stereotypes of being poor, uneducated, huddled masses. Many of the new immigrants are economically diverse, equipped with graduate degrees and work visas, and gifted in science and technology. In one middle class New Jersey suburb of New York City, the Asian population has climbed from 1 percent to 10 percent since 1980. Almost 10 percent of the children in the school system are not native speakers of English, and 41 languages are represented in the community, including 11 from the Indian subcontinent and 4 from China and Taiwan. One consequence of the changing characteristics of the immigrants and their settlement patterns has been in the area of community politics. Since the new immigrants are more fractured and diverse, it has been more difficult for them to unite into a political movement. For example, Dominicans comprise roughly 6 percent of the New York City population, West Indians about 8 percent, Chinese about 4 percent. Unifying these and many other groups is a politician’s nightmare. Nevertheless, coalitions are forming that are spanning ethnic divides, as the new immigrants realize that they share common problems in the changing political landscape. See Susan Sachs, “From a Babel of Tongues, a Neighborhood,” New York Times (December 26, 1999): 1, 32; also see David Chen, “Asian Middle Class Alters a Rural Enclave,” New York Times (December 27, 1999): 1, B9; also see James Dao, “Immigrant Diversity Slows Traditional Political Climb,” New York Times (December 28, 1999): 1, B11. 13-6: The Complexities of Race and Nationality: The Case of Peruvian Japanese Miscarriages of justice have frequently befallen some racial groups. As noted in the text, the 1988 Civil Liberties Act authorized payments and a presidential apology to each surviving Japanese American World War II internee beginning in 1990. Japanese Peruvians in the United States have not received the same positive, though belated, treatment. Approximately 1,800 Japanese Peruvians were brought from South America to the United States during World War II, with the full cooperation and involvement of United States officials, and sent to internment camps. In her book Years of Infamy, Michi Weglyn speculates that the United States wanted the Japanese Peruvians for potential hostage exchanges with Japan or as a possible “reprisal reserve.” One of the Japanese Peruvian internees, Libia Yamamota of Richmond, California, spoke of her experiences at “day of remembrance” programs in San Francisco and San Jose in 1993. These programs are annual events held in remembrance of the internment. In 1943, Yamamota was only seven and a half years old and lived with her parents and two siblings in Chiclayo in northern Peru. In January 1943, Peruvian authorities took her father into custody. The rest of the family was rounded up in July and sent to the Justice Department’s internment camp at Crystal City, Texas. They were to remain there for four years, until 1947. Their ordeal did not end with the war and the closure of the camps. After 1945, Japanese Peruvians were caught in a complicated legal tangle because Peru would not allow them back, and the United States government, despite having brought the Japanese Peruvians here and holding them in custody, decided that they were in the United States illegally and could not stay. According to a government commission, most were deported to Japan, the only country that would accept them, even though many of them had never been to Japan. After years of legal uncertainty, in 1952 many Japanese Peruvians finally won permanent resident status from the U.S. government. After the Civil Liberties Act was enacted in 1988, Yamamota applied for and was ruled eligible for redress payments. Yet the Office of Redress Administration (ORA) has ruled that many other Japanese Peruvians are not eligible. The difference is apparently a legal technicality involving whether they were granted permanent resident status retroactive to their date of entry to the United States. The ORA estimates that about 20 percent of the approximately 330 formerly interned Japanese Peruvians who remain in the United States are not eligible for redress payments. “We are all in the same situation,” says Yamamota, referring to the Japanese Peruvian internees. “It’s not fair that some are included [in the redress payments] and some are not” (Ota, p. 20). See John Ota, “50 Years Later, Many Internees from Peru Still Denied Redress,” Asian Week (February 12, 1993): 1, 20; Michi Weglyn. Years of Infamy. New York: Quill, 1976. TOPICS FOR STUDENT RESEARCH AND CLASSROOM DISCUSSION 1. Ask students to search for evidence of racial stereotyping in television shows and commercials, and discuss institutionalized discrimination. 2. Ask students to research Department of Justice statistics on hate crimes for frequency and geographic patterns, and discuss how prejudice leads to discriminatory behaviors. 3. Ask students to provide examples of how government officials have tried to justify racial profiling to combat terrorism, and discuss the section on racial profiling. 4. Ask students to report on any past experiences in which they changed their opinion about a person after working or socializing with them, and discuss the contact hypothesis. 5. Ask students to identify Black comedians that use racial humor as a base for their routine, and discuss whether Black comedians’ making fun of Blacks encourages amalgamation, assimilation, segregation, or pluralism. REEL TALK Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company, 2013, 85m). The true story of 22-year-old Bay Area man Oscar Grant on the last day and night of 2008 as he gets a head start on his resolutions, which include being a better son to his mother, whose birthday falls on New Year's Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend, and being a better father to his 4-year-old daughter, Things start out well for Oscar as he encounters friends, family, and strangers, but spiral out of control during his final encounter of the day when an altercation with police officers at the Fruitvale BART station ends in tragedy; an event that eventually resonated across the entire nation. Director: Ryan Coogler. Oscar: Michael B. Jordan. Topic: Race. Instructor Manual for SOC Sociology 2020 Jon Witt 9781260075311, 9781260726787, 9780077443191