Concept Identification Project

Topic: Homophobia

Description:

My roommate for college is a gay man and a really good friend of mine. When I went back to my hometown from college, I told some friends that my new roommate was gay. One of the guys stated, “I would NOT be able to live with a gay guy. He’ll look at you while you change and think about you. I would be afraid he would try to make a move. That really sucks for you.”

Relation to class material:

Two class concepts which relate to this incident are heterosexism and the luxury of oblivion. In our notes, Gregory Herek defined heterosexism as “the ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any non-heterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationships, or community.” My roommate is a completely normal person, and you would never know his sexual orientation unless he told you. Because he is gay, others may automatically assume the worst about him and deny his non-heterosexual identity. My hometown friends thought being gay is ‘unnatural’ and thought of him as some sort of creep.

This incident also relates to the luxury of oblivion. My roommate has had to deal with these messages throughout his life that his sexual orientation is abnormal and wrong. Finding love for him could be considered deviant by many in society. As a heterosexual, I never have to deal with questioning my preferences or being judged for liking a certain gender.

Insight gained from incident:

This interaction made me sad and question why people have homophobic beliefs. It is absurd that people judge another person for liking the same sex. We only have one life, so why judge someone for finding love and trying to be themselves? It is also very frustrating, because people will define my roommate by his sexual orientation. For example, when I say “my roommate,” people have asked, “which one? The gay one?” I believe much more must be done to lessen the stigma related to the LGBTQ+ community. However, I think that my generation is doing a much better job of being inclusive.

Topic: Racism

Description:

In the wake of George Floyd’s death and the explosion of the Black Live’s Matter movement, rapper Lil Baby released a song titled “The Bigger Picture” as a response to black people’s treatment in America. One of the lyrics in particular stood out to me: “We just some products of our environment, how the f**k they gon’ blame us? You can’t fight fire with fire I know, but at least we can turn up the flames some. Every colored person ain’t dumb, and all whites not racist. I be judging by the mind and heart, I ain’t really into faces.”

Relation to class material:

This song relates to the concepts of racism and oppressive practices like redlining. In class, we learned that racism is a system in which one race maintains power over other groups. We also talked about how many people are not openly racist but support a system which strongly benefits whites over other groups. In the song lyrics, Lil Baby acknowledges that all whites are not racist, but he believes whites must recognize the system of racism in America and work towards change. He relates the Black Lives Matter of today to the Civil Rights Movement through his message. By stating, “You can’t fight fire with fire I know, but at least we can turn up the flames some,” Lil Baby acknowledges that violence is not the answer but they can get their message across through protesting.

The song also relates to oppressive practices such as redlining. Areas which were redlined are still underserved and populated by minorities today. Many people today do not realize the history of redlining and believe that minorities just decide to live in poor communities together. This is why Lil Baby states, “We just some products of our environment, how the f**k they gon’ blame us?” People must come to realize that crime and poverty for minorities is a product of oppressive practices over time.

Insight gained from incident:

“The Bigger Picture” was a very powerful song to me. It makes me angry that blacks are treated so poorly in America because of the color of their skin. The poverty of minorities today is due largely to government policies. I think the push for black rights is amazing. Nobody should ever have to worry about their life when being pulled over by a police officer. In society, every race and ethnicity should feel welcomed. It is events like the George Floyd murder and stories portrayed by black individuals that make me realize our society has not come as far as I thought.

Topic: Classism

Description: An article titled “Class Differences” by Tori DeAngelis explained findings of the psychology behind class. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/02/class-differences

Relation to class material:

This relates to the concepts of classism and internalized classism. Classism involves a set of practices that assign value to people based on their socioeconomic status. Tori DeAngelis explains that social class is a lens in which we see ourselves and others. Our social class can determine our views and how we influence society. For example, researchers state that people of wealth tend to see the world as fairer, and they tend to endorse punishment over rehabilitation over criminal offenses. On the other hand, people of lower class may believe other people’s power tends to have more influence over their lives. Overall, lower class people are assigned to have less value by others in society.

Within a lower class, people develop internalized classism, which is acceptance and justification of classism by working-class and poor people. Researchers in the article state that lower class people believe social forces are outside of their control, so they must learn to rely on other people’s help. People of lower class may believe that they are in a permanent position, and they have to adjust to other people’s wishes so that they can survive.

Insight gained from incident:

This article really showed me how much one’s social class can influence their psychology. I can understand why it would be very hard for a person born into a lower class to live the “American Dream” and become wealthy. Not only are people of lower class born with limited resources, they also have to battle other people’s expectations of them. They eventually learn to have those same expectations for their selves. Also, it is usually wealthy people who have power to influence policy, so someone of a higher social class will have less compassion towards the lower class.

Topic: Ableism

Description:

My grandfather lost his leg in an accident at an early age. He has told me about how losing his leg has affected him in life. He is one of the strongest people I know.

Relation to class material:

My grandfather’s accident relates to the concepts of stereotypes and disabilities. He was born normally, and he lost his leg in an accident at the age of seventeen. As a result, he has had to wear a prosthetic leg for most of his life. Sometimes his leg would be painful, so he needed to use crutches to get around. It was very frustrating for him, because some people would apply stereotypes to him when out in public even though he lived a happy and fairly successful life. Even when he was not using crutches, people would rush to open doors for him. He did not want people’s pity, and he did not want people to think of him as fragile.

Also, many people fail to realize that being able-bodied can be temporary, and they treat people as if they will never obtain a disability. It has only been in recent years in which buildings have had adequate facilities for people of disabilities. During one of my brother’s football games in high school, the only two or three handicap spots available in the entire parking lot were taken. My grandpa parked in a handicap area which was for van accessibility. While it may not have been completely legal, there was an inadequate amount of handicap spots, and he could not walk very far. There was still enough room for someone to be dropped off for the game in the area. During the game, someone keyed his car for parking in that area even though he had a handicap license plate.

Insight gained from incident:

It is infuriating to me how our society views people with disabilities. People fail to realize that at some point in their own lives they may obtain a disability. I am glad we our moving towards more accessibility in buildings, however a stigma still remains. People may think that people with disabilities cannot still live full or enriching lives. We need to start seeing all people as varying in abilities and welcome difference.

Topic: Ageism

Description:

An article titled “Workplace Age Discrimination Still Flourishes in America,” by Joe Kita explains that a large part of the population is over the age of 50 but age discrimination is still an issue today.

https://www.aarp.org/work/working-at-50-plus/info-2019/age-discrimination-in-america.html

Relation to class material:

The article relates to the concepts of employment/employer perceptions and functionalism. In the notes, it is discussed that the positive traits that older employees provide are not the most important traits to employers. Also, the EEOC does not follow through on laws protecting older generations. In the article, it is stated that the EEOC is understaffed and has to deal with many other sorts of discrimination. Compounding this issue is the employer perceptions and lack of underreporting. The article goes on to argue that as we live in a youth-dominated society in the advent of technology, older generations are becoming more and more discriminated against. Employers believe the youth are better to hire, and older workers often fail to report discrimination in the workplace.

Age discrimination relates to functionalism, because younger people feel that older workers lose their function in society as they age and lose mobility. According to the article, a study found that older people who do not feel useful are three times more likely to develop and disability and four times more likely to die prematurely. Older people are discriminated against as they age, and this discrimination can lead to detrimental health effects.

Insight gained from incident

As a young person, I find it very easy to forget age discrimination is a common practice. I never hear about anybody winning age discrimination cases. Also, when I sit and think about ageism, there have definitely been instances where I have heard of ageism but just thought of it as normal. I have often thought “Well, of course you’re going to want a young person for the job.” I often fail to realize that people should not lose opportunities just because they grow older. Everyone ages, so it is only fair that everyone is given equality of opportunity.