Theories of Difference: Pt 1

This week talking about theories of difference has brought up the challenge of getting out of my own mind. If you’re thinking that this sounds impossible, it just might be. What I mean by this is that when trying to understand concepts such as race, gender, sexuality, etc. it is difficult to think outside of the way we have been socialized. A more specific example would be thinking of gender in terms of a spectrum as opposed to a binary, it is difficult for the mind to do especially without any bias. The reason I said this might be impossible is because I am not sure that it is possible to eliminate one’s personal bias. I also think it might be impossible to completely eliminate the effects of socialization.

This week in Adams we read about “whiteness,” this is a construct of socialization that I think will be difficult to overcome. George Lipsitz put it best when he called whiteness “the unmarked category against which difference is constructed.” In America we don’t even acknowledge it, but white is the standard that everything and everyone are compared to. This makes accepting and overcoming difference much more difficult. Since Europeans first came to the Americas they set a precedent of promoting whites ahead of every other group of people. In recent years this has presented itself as a narrative of white innocence. This narrative has presented itself in multiple ways first in youth like Christopher Fisher, who feel that they can get away with unforgivable acts because of the privilege that their skin color gives them. Secondly it has shown up in legislation with the best of intentions, affirmative action. Entitled white people have continued to fight affirmative action on the basis that it is “racist.” Instead of supporting legislation that promotes equity and gives opportunities to minorities, there are white people who would rather promote their own self-interest.

Perhaps just as difficult to understand as racial differences is gender differences. Although short, the poem of Lee Mokobe was powerful. In just a few lines he is able to explain his internal struggle to understand himself and how he fit into the world. Being a twelve year old that knows you’re of the wrong biological gender, the last thing you would need is criticism and isolation. Yet, this is the way we choose to treat those who do not fit into our gender binaries. Instead of celebrating our differences, we shame them for being themselves. Although talking about a separate population, I felt that Mia Birdsong’s talk touched on similar feelings. She talked about populations that are within the scope of two inequalities. Her focus though was not on the things that they lack, but rather what they can provide. She tells us that we are getting people’s story wrong and that people in poverty have a lot to offer. She urges us to appreciate their financial difference, even though in America being a low income family is not celebrated. People’s differences whether they chose them or not, are a part of who they are. They not only form an individual, but a society. Without difference, we could find no common ground or understand how truly similar we are. Difference is beauty, not shame.

Adams, M., Blumfeld, W., Castañeda, C., Hackman, H., Peters, M., Zúñiga, X. (2013). Readings for Diversity and Social Justice. New York, NY: Routledge.

Birdsong, M. (2015, May). Mia Birdsong: The story we tell about poverty isn’t true [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.ted.com/talks/mia_birdsong_the_story_we_tell_about_poverty_

isn_t_true/transcript?language=en

Mokobe, L. (2015, May). Lee Mokobe: A powerful poem about what it feels like to be transgender. Retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/lee_mokobe_a_powerful_poem_about_what_it_feels_like_to_be_transgender?language=en