Social Justice: Inclusivity

Last week we talked about inclusivity as a part of social justice. There are various ways that one can identify him or herself.  You can be an athlete, Christian, musician, artist, singer, or all of these combined. We talked about ascribed identity. It is the social status that one is assigned at birth. As the name implies, it is not a position that is chosen, but is a position that is assigned. Some factors that can determine ascribed status are: age, sex, appearance, race, group and kinship. The practice of assigning statuses exits cross-culturally. Social Group Membership is being a part of a group that receives or does not receive certain benefits. Some of these groups can either be privileged or oppressed. Oppression can take the form of barriers and disadvantages used to keep a group in line. This makes me think of Nazi Germany, when Jews weren’t even allowed to own and operate stores. They had to wear a Star of David on their garments to let people know that they were Jewish. This is certainly a form of oppression, and at this time, being Jewish was a major disadvantage in Germany. These people would be considered targets. Targets are people who do not have privileges or power. Institutions are created by societies, and they mold the way the people within that community grow and learn, among many other things. Systems that arise within these institutions include: sexism, racism, classism and much more. The effects of these activities can be seen all over a society. It can be seen in healthcare, the media, family, the education system, and business to name a few. Though there is a lot of oppression out there, there are also many privileges that can be seen. Privileges are unearned advantages. Being white can be considered an unearned advantage. Being a man can be an unearned advantage. Like targets in oppressed groups, there are people in privileged groups who receive power. These people are called agents. Privilege can also be seen all over society. Something that happened to me makes me think of this topic. My roommate and I were at a Pride event and upon leaving, were harassed by people waiting in the parking lot. They yelled harsh and profane things at us and one of them stepped up and got close to my friend. My friend, needless to say, got very angry and I thought she was going to throw a punch. My roommate intervened and told all of us to get into the car and leave. While we were driving away, these people threw beer bottles at the back window and shattered it. My roommate and I drove home covered in shattered glass. This is an example of oppression that is not so subtle. These people assigned us each statuses and we were targets in that moment. Just being associated with that group gave each of us major disadvantages. The police never found those people, but it really opened my eyes to the disadvantages of the LGBTQ community.