Diversity Questions with Peer Reviews

Throughout this course you will read scholarly work on questions of diversity, exclusion and inclusion. You will write a weekly blog reflecting upon those issues, but rather than offering an unsubstantiated opinion on these matters, you’ll be expected to offer a unique but informed opinion supported by scholarly research and empirical evidence.

You will have freedom to choose the topic and the particular angle of the issue as you wish to explore it, but there are some clear parameters you’ll need to follow.

Each blog entry must have:

1. Minimum 500 words (15% penalty for falling short of the word count)

2. 1 citation from academic source materials read that week in class. This must be cited with a page number and author. Sources may not be reused week-to-week.

3. 1 citation of an academic source (a relevant peer-reviewed article) from outside of class. See the writing guide to determine what is an appropriate source. Hint: Wikipedia is not an academic source. Sources may not be reused week-to-week.

4. 1 citation of a news media article relevant to the topic.

5. At least 1 audio or visual element that adds substantial content to support your argument. This could be a link to a video, pictures, etc.

Peer Review 1:

Kelly:

We are all born into a certain class, race, gender, socio-economic group and other identifiers that uniquely shape how we look at the world and how others look at us.  Not only does each single identifier shape a person but, we often see ourselves as many things.  We may be a black woman, a Muslim man, a poor immigrant, etc.  The separation between each identity is not always clear. Removing an individual's race from their gender, socio-economic background or other factors which shape their identity is tricky because there are social constructs which have developed over centuries.  The culture of our society and those belief systems influence our actions and reactions to our environment.  They also may influence how others treat us.

            In The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson, we read a story about a woman in the 19th century whose life is shaped by the societal expectations of women at the time.  This is a tragic story about a woman who, even against her own best instincts, follows her husband's direction because women were thought to know less than a man.  "-what is one to do? Personally, I disagree with their ideas…But what is one to do?" (648)  Ultimately, the story ends tragically but, everyone in the story is conducting themselves according to societal norms with no understanding of the inaccuracy of their beliefs.  It has only been in the relatively recent past that women have been thought of in more equal terms.  There has been a long history of bias and misinformed practice of treating women as less intelligent, weak or nervous. The social construct is still in the psyche of many women (and some men) who even today will shape their outlook based on that belief system.

            A similar concept is that of intersectionality.  This holds that individual's who are marginalized can face a dual or multi-identity.  A woman who is black can feel less empowered because of both her gender and her race.  She can’t separate herself from her race when she thinks about being a woman; she isn't simply a woman, she is a black woman. It may not even be society that is marginalizing an individual, they themselves may find it difficult to feel they are separate from an identifier.  In this week's course notes Black Skin, White Masks (1952) we hear Frantz Fanon who always identifies as black when he is in the company of whites regardless of his own understanding of his intelligence. He feels less equal because of his race.

            This intersectionality has occurred in the field of science which traditionally has not been a place where African Americans or women sought careers. There have been some black women who have successfully persevered in this field but, not without resistance and their own self-doubt.  In the article Sisters in Science, Conversations with Black Women Scientists About Race, Gender and Their Passion for Science, Diane Jordan who is a black female scientist, responded when asked about the influence of race and gender on her scientific career that, “You have to consistently prove yourself as an intellectual being…the questions or perceptions that seem to instantly enter the mind of a person of another race are, ‘What are you doing here’…Most often you are thought of as a maid or some other working-class occupation…You are always underestimated.”  When asked if she could distinguish between race and gender issues she said, “They both feel the same and they both are painful.  I can’t differentiate between them.” (132)

            The recent Women’s Movement which culminated in marches all over this country claimed to be intersectional activism, in that they did not focus on issues related just to white women.  As stated in the Washington Post article dated, July 8, 2017 by Michael T. Heaney, “organizing and policies that address a wide variety of issues, including discrimination by sex, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, nationality, disability, religion and other marginalized statuses.”  The topic of intersectionality, where we see and are seen in terms of multiple parts of ourselves is an important one and well worth further study and understanding. Intersectionality and social constructs exist.  It’s important to recognize them in our own biases as well as others and work to overcome the urge to put people into stereotypes.

References:

Gillman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-Paper. Small & Maynard 1899.

Jordan, Diann. Sisters in Science, Conversations with Black Women Scientists About Race, Gender and Their Passion for Science. Purdue University, 2006.

Heaney, Michael T. "Is the Women’s March focused on white women — or does it promote intersectional activism?" Washington Post, July 8, 2017.

Darrow Miller and Friends. "Intersectionality, the New Tribalism." https://www.bing.com/images/search

Peer Review 2:

Allen:

Sociological diversity is comprised of many things. Everything from gender, race, societal class, and religion can cause diversity between groups of people. Sociological diversity is affected from before you are even born, causing people to assume a good bit about the person you are based on these facts, and the family you are born into. One topic that is of great concern today is equality and diversity between men and women. 

In the story "The Yellow Wall-Paper," a woman is desperately crying out for medical care while her more knowledgeable and well respected husband and brother think they know what is best for her, and recommend a certain type of treatment. She continuously protests that the treatment is not only not working, but possibly causing her and her symptoms to become worse. "...but you really are better, dear, whether you can see it or not. I am a doctor, dear, and I know." (The Yellow Wall-Paper, by Charlotte Perkins Stetson, pg 652). This type of thinking is largely due to the fact that women were not taken as seriously in the time frame this was written, nor where they well respected. Even as recently as the 1950's century women were being hospitalized and institutionalized for hysteria, and it was said women were more susceptible to hysteria because they are more at risk for being lazy and irritable. Men did not need a credible reason for their wives, sisters, etc, to be hospitalized for mental health afflictions such as depression (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480686/) .     

To leave women and their mental health, there has also been many issues in diversity in regards to women in the workplace. As men used to be consider smarter and more capable, women were automatically assumed to take on the role of "care taker," while the men would leave for long hours to bring financial gains to there family. In this same way of thinking, if a person was needed for cheap labor or someone "expendable" was needed, it was often to the women they turned. These same women were often the first to be laid off when the larger numbers were no longer needed (http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/edumat/IHRIP/circle/modules/module4.htm). Today many women still suffer because when a man and a woman compete for the same full time job, the man is often chosen over the woman (https://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/NEWSTATS/latest/parttime.htm#four).  Also when a man and a woman perform the same job, often times the man will get paid at a higher rate than the woman (https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap).

In short, throughout history women have suffered because having been born women, it was assumed they were not as smart or as capable as a man. This has affected women in all aspects of their lives from their marriages to their professions, and even whether they will be hired or paid equally. This is a battle that is still being fought, and because of this, it is important that we continue to study diversity and utilize our findings to try and bring equality to all people, race, gender, and societal status aside.

Works cited:

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson

https://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/NEWSTATS/latest/parttime.htm#four  (visual aid)

http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/edumat/IHRIP/circle/modules/module4.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480686/

https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap