Privilege, Oppression, and Race Understanding
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The document discusses the concepts of privilege, oppression, and race. It provides definitions and perspectives on these topics from various experts and sources. Regarding privilege, it notes that privilege exists when certain groups are denied access to resources and advantages simply due to their social group membership rather than individual actions. On oppression, it defines it as a system that maintains advantages and disadvantages based on social groups, operating on individual, institutional, and cultural levels. The document also discusses the cycle of oppression and how stereotypes become internalized and institutionalized. Finally, it explores understandings of race from both biological and sociological perspectives.
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Privilege, Oppression, and Race Understanding
- 2. “Privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than because of anything they’ve done or failed to do. Access to privilege doesn’t determine one’s outcomes, but it is definitely an asset that makes it more likely that whatever talent, ability, and aspirations a person with privilege has will result in something positive for them.” –Peggy McIntosh On Privilege
- 3. What does it mean to have privilege? • It is defined as “unearned access to resources (social power) only readily available to some people as a result of their advantaged social group membership”. • Determining who has privilege or disadvantage is complex because cultural, social, and historical changes affect which groups are privileged and which groups are not. • Some may pass as members of an advantaged group: - For example, some people may change their names to protect themselves from discrimination. • Some may be given privileged because they are assumed to be members of an advantaged group. - For example: a bisexual person in a heterosexual relationship may be assumed to be heterosexual and thus treated differently. Understanding Privilege
- 4. On Oppression “All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” –Thomas Jefferson
- 5. A system that maintains advantage and disadvantage based on social group memberships, and operates, intentionally and unintentionally, on individual, institutional, and cultural levels. • Individual: attitudes and actions that reflect prejudice against a social group (unintentional and intentional). • Institution: policies, laws, rules, norms, and customs enacted by organizations and social institutions that disadvantage some social groups and advantage other social groups (intentional and unintentional). • Societal/cultural: social norms, roles, rituals, language, music, and art that reflect and reinforce the belief that one social group is superior to another (intentional and unintentional). Understanding Oppression
- 6. The Cycle Of Oppression Stereotypes: Beliefs about attributes that are thought to characteristic of all members of a particular group Where do we get these stereotypes? Internalization: To take in and make an integral part if one’s attitudes or beliefs Institutionalization: To make part of a structured and usually well-established system Discrimination: Actual negative or positive actions or treatment towards members of a particular group based on their membership of that group Prejudice: A negative or positive (usually negative) attitude or affective response toward a certain group and its individual members What is the core that keeps us in this cycle? How do we break this cycle? Oppression: describes policies, practices, norms, and traditions that systemically exploit one social group (the target group) by another (the dominant group) for the dominant groups’s benefit. Who is benefitting?
- 7. On Race “Whether the color of your skin is black, white, yellow, brown or purple -- the extent of this tragedy is so incredibly devastating that we had to do something.” - Bart McCracken
- 8. Understanding Race Biological Definition: • A group or population that shares common genetic characteristics physical features Sociological Definition: • Socially constructed category of people who share certain inherited physical biological traits • Race is both a myth and a reality
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