Sexism: My example of sexism came from a
conversation on Facebook with my friend. She posted on her status about how she
doesn't think that it's right that grants are given to her strictly for her
gender. She argued that it should be given only based on academic performance.
She had a valid point but I couldn't help but retort that we need to try and
achieve more diversity in academia. With more diversity, education can go even
further.
Racism: I saw a very clear example of this in my Intercultural communication class. We watched the primetime television special called "True Colors." It was about two friends who went separately to live in society. One was white and the other black. It should how differently they were treated when trying to rent a house, buy a car, go shopping, and applying for jobs. It was an eye opening experience to see how prevalent racism is in our society still to this day.
Racism: I saw a very clear example of this in my Intercultural communication class. We watched the primetime television special called "True Colors." It was about two friends who went separately to live in society. One was white and the other black. It should how differently they were treated when trying to rent a house, buy a car, go shopping, and applying for jobs. It was an eye opening experience to see how prevalent racism is in our society still to this day.
Ageism: I wanted to give a personal example of this.
I attended drill for the National Guard this weekend and conducted a PT
(Physical Training) test. The rubric for grading the test is based on gender
and the age of the solider. It's a fair and easy enough scale but many soldiers
judge others based on their ages for their PT scores. If a 40 year old scores a
high score on a test, it's not because they are in shape. It's because they
don't have to do the same requirements as the younger soldiers. This works both
ways too. If a 20 year old fails the test, the older soldiers give them a hard
time. You should be expected to do well if you're young. The expectations are
the ageism not the rubric.
Heterosexism: I wasn't as aware of this problem
until I took a gender communication class. I never realized just how prevalent
it was in society until then. An example I thought of was when the professor
taught the class about CIS gender. A CIS gender is someone who identifies with
the gender they were born with. Almost everyone in the class asked questions
like, "So you mean like normal?" How does that make everyone who
isn't CIS gender feel? Are they not normal?
My grammar mistake for the week is a funny one. I
couldn't help but crack a smile at the improper use of their.
I would like to see the film that you mentioned. I have an adopted, African-American brother. He is only six years old but I always worry about how he is going to be treated as he grows up. My parents live in South Jordan so it is almost whites in their neighborhood. I often wonder how it will be for him when he tries to get a job in that area or what parents are going to think when their daughter is dating one of the only black guys in the school. I hope all goes well for him but I think there will be times when he will definitely face racism.
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