Answers to Questions
For the most part, diversity is widely accepted in our society nowadays. Hence, the global community in general is growing more accepting and inclusive of people from different backgrounds. The same holds true in the business world. Businesses in general are reaching out to a wide range of people nowadays to show that they are tolerant of the notion of diversity and to attract more customers, thereby increasing business revenue. Businesses nowadays aim to serve products and services that are inclusive of almost any potential customer so that no one feels left out regarding the services that the businesses offer. However, there are still businesses that specialize to serve certain clientele because they need to uphold the reputation they have accumulated over the years. For example, Abercrombie is not known for catering for overweight people. When they introduced clothing lines for such people, however, some of their loyal customers have abandoned the name (Carter, 2013).
Discrimination nowadays is largely perpetuated by images propagated by the media. Negative stereotypes that exist in the media, such as flamboyance of homosexuals, stinginess of Jews, the funny accent of East Asians and the like subtly reinforce the prejudice against these people leading to discrimination. In addition, the unconscious desire to conform to what society thinks is normal has also affected the discriminatory beliefs since people perceived as different are thought of “uncool”. To combat these, there is a need to stop perpetuating negative images in the media and instead promote a general mindset change of being welcoming and non-discriminatory in the society. Fostering an environment where everyone feels welcome greatly decreases the issue of discrimination in general.
Response Essay
In Allan Johnson’s essay “The Social Construction of Difference” in the book Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, he explores the concept of normality as defined by the society. Essentially, there are no universal guidelines for the definition of normality; what is deemed as ‘normal’ is ultimately up to the community in question. Being seen as normal by the society connotes that what you are more or less conform to the general idea of averageness, which comprises of all the attributes that are treated as common by the society in question. For example, in black communities in Africa, there is no notion of being black, or white; skin color is entirely unimportant to them as majority of their society is comprised of people with skin color similar to them. However, this situation is drastically different when it comes to multiethnic culture like America where race is still treated as a large issue of concern, despite the general idea of diversity. In other words, the definition of normality is largely a social construct.
If normality is a social construct, then the concepts that come along with it—privilege and oppression—are ultimately social constructs as well. Ideally, no race, orientation, physical ability, or sexual orientation should be treated as advantageous over the other because basically we all are humans that can more or less think, act, and perform like any other person on the planet. However, the idea of normality brings its counterpart, the idea of non-normality. From this stems the concept of privilege and oppression. Those who are seen as normal by the standards of society are seen as privileged, while those who do not conform to society’s ways are being subtly oppressed.
The example of straight vs. curly hair may be a light one compared to more pressing issues, but it illustrates the point. When people are being discriminated for things that they cannot control, they feel helpless. Of course, the people who are not being oppressed would not understand the ramifications of oppression, because they will never experience it in the first place.
Society in general tends to see some attributes as inherently privileged compared to others. Johnson enumerated four primary attributes which are seen as favorable in the society: being white, being male, being heterosexual, and being abled. Possessing one or more of these qualities openly opens up a wider range of possibilities and an increased level of acceptance from the members of the society. Being white does not mean that you are not immediately conflated to the stereotypes of black people being criminals and thugs. Being male means that you will never be questioned about your homemaking or driving skills. Being heterosexual means never having to worry about what society thinks of your partner. Having full control of your body means that you have a wider range of job opportunities and the like.
Because of this, people who do not possess any of these characteristics must learn to accept the fact that they will be judged on a regular basis over those characteristics. Whenever someone sees these attributes of theirs, the assumptions and stereotypes associated with that attribute will be ingrained in the first impression of the viewer and thus they must prove themselves first to overcome that impression. However, that only works if the viewer is accepting and open-minded. If the viewer possesses an authoritative and vindictive personality, then those impressions will never be erased at all. This state of events further perpetuate the idea of privilege and oppression, thus creating a never-ending cycle. For example, I have a gay friend. When I first learned that he is gay, I assumed that he would be flamboyant. However, that is not the case, although he has slightly effeminate tendencies. We group of friends are largely accepting of his sexual orientation, but sometimes when I am with him I notice that some people, especially straight guys tend to avoid him whenever they see signs of his homosexuality.
Yes, privileged people also have to conform to what society expects of them, such as males being assumed to be stoic and unemotional. However, Johnson notes that this should not be considered as oppression. While it may not be true, this should be also treated as discrimination and this is the reason why they are double standards in the society today.
Despite the existing notions of normality, privilege, and oppression, we as a society can still promote the idea of diversity if we learn to appreciate the value of respect. If we learn how to respect other people regardless of their race, sexual identity and orientation, gender, and the like, then discrimination, whether it be positive or negative could be done away for good.
References
Carter, M. (2013, December 3). Abercrombie & Fitch adding plus sizes only adds more problems. Retrieved from .http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/12/03/abercrombie-fitch-adding-plus-sizes-only-adds-more.aspx
Johnson, A. G. (2000). The social construction of difference. In M. Adams, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice (pp. 15-20). NY: Routledge.
