race and gender essay

Many people are confident that the classifications of race and gender are socially manufactured rather than inherent and fundamental. Patrice Hill Collins argues that power structures are typically influenced by idealized family structures that serve everyone's interests. As a result, the family needs a male earner who is capable of defending the family's members, as well as a wife who can take care of the home and submissive kids. Collins points out that most people utilize the family image to defend other hierarchies, particularly those based on race and gender, even though many people find such a perfect family to be unachievable. It is in this sense that the family image is projected to picture the nation as a whole and to define its policies.

Question 2

Mezey critically scrutinizes how structures of social class and race influence the coming out process for lesbian’s children and mothers. It is evident that the revelation of one’s sexual identity varies based on race and class. One significant factor that supports the coming out process is the family support of the lesbians that want to be mothers. Nonetheless, it is made easier only in cases where the coming out does not alienate their family members. Overall, Mezey presents that middle-class white lesbians find it easy as compared to lesbians of color and working-class lesbians to reveal their orientation and be recognized by their families of origin.

Question 3

Right from the kindergarten, Latino children are faced by various disadvantages that ought to be looked into. This comes despite them having the social skills as well as the readiness to listen and learn exceptionally. However, they are let down by their verbal and cognitive skills which are abilities that strongly predict the academic success of not just Latino students but every student regardless of backgrounds. The authors argue that it is the small things that make a difference in Latino student’s educational development. They encompass asking questions, telling stories and even playing with the children interactively.

Question 4

Acker claims that the idea of inequality regimes is the analytical approach to the understanding of the making of discriminations within social structures and work organizations. This is so because inequality regimes are the intertwined practices along with courses that lead to enduring inequities in all work environments. Social structures are vital places for the reason that social inequities emanate from such settings. Even so, work organizations provide the target for most people to change the forms of inequity. It has been observed that social structures differ in the practices and developments that are deployed to realize specific objectives. Such practices and processes are what leads to gender, class and racial discrimination.

Question 5

Reproductive labor in homes refers to the activities necessary to maintain human life not just daily but inter-generationally. This is what, according to Hondagneu-Sotelo, Latina women can exceptionally execute what is required of them. A majority of the Latina women are mothers of perhaps a handful of kids. They strive to better their lives while regardless of the situations they find themselves in. These mothers, knowing they might even have better chances of finding jobs in their native countries, they sacrifice their stay to earn their hard earned money, which is then sent back to their families. Besides, they are brave women who often take the role of a transnational and transitional mother. They take care of their employer’s children as if they were their own. While they do their jobs passionately, they seamlessly integrate into the family’s culture thereby providing the very support needed to attain educational and career goals.

Question 6

Grochowski argues that there are various social factors that combine to affect the health of an individual and communities. Whether individuals are healthy or not, it is influenced by the environment and circumstances such as occupation, income, and even gender. To a great extent, an aspect of where we live, genetics, educational level and income, and even our relationships have considerable impacts on our health more than how the access to the healthcare services can have an impact. Concerning gender, both men and women are affected by diverse illnesses at varying ages. Factors such as low education levels and income are often connected with poor health, constant worry as well as lower self-esteem.

Question 7

Hurricane Katrina exposed the experiences of private illnesses and health vulnerabilities for all and sundry to see. Nothing more graphically captures this fact than the drama that surrounded dialysis patients before, during and after the massive storm. Even though their daily challenges are thrown open to deeper scrutiny, what cut across from the response of the government and medical officials was unfulfilled political and economic commitments. Various government agencies demonstrated their unpreparedness to the handling of disasters and inadequacy concerning disaster recovery plans in health perspectives.

Question 8

Muslims representation in the media has taken various forms since the Second World War. As noted by the authors, the problem is not the lack of coverage ion the news, but rather the way the news talks about them. Majorly, the media streams convey them on lines of stereotypes, something that affects public perception of the Muslims and Arab Americans. Before 9/11, the reporting of news relating to Muslims and Arab Americans was mainly guided by the traditional prejudices of society’s predominant groups, race, and religion. After 9/11, the news reporting framework completely changed particularly in the first six months and after the first anniversary of September 11. Immediately after the devastating terrorist attack, media representation was very positive, frequent, comprehensive and contextual. Nonetheless, following the anniversary of 9/11 Muslim and Arab Americans representation became stereotypical, negative and exclusive.

Question 9

Amanda Hess immediately begins her article by delving into her own personal account of online harassment. While she makes it clear every female is bound to face it, she unravels a critical aspect and source of digital inequity, which is gender. This fact is supported by the fact that feminine usernames in an online research sustained an average of 100 sexually explicit or intimidating messages every day. Manly names only incurred an average of 3.7 revealing that cyberbullying if specifically targeted on women. The impact of cyberbullying and sexual harassment to women on the internet is degrading to their self-worth, instills fear and invokes self-pity. It reveals that the present legality of the online harassment is poorly handled by the technology companies and the law enforcement agencies. This is partly because they are overwhelmingly run by men which attracts less sympathy or understanding.

Question 10

Rubin, through her article, examines the unintended consequences of public policies that lead to the upsurge of the homeless population and the mentally ill among the homeless. In the past, the mentally ill and the homeless population had a transient life that was tied to either a cycle of the economy or a sudden life event. Today, it has become an inescapable fact of life, one that the government has allowed becoming a permanent chronic condition. Various aspects have contributed to this unfortunate increase of homelessness. They include minimum wages, increasingly stratified community, reductions in public assistance and increased unemployment rates. Although the government sought to counter this challenge through several policy interventions such as the Housing Act of 1949 and the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963, less impact has been realized. What ought to be understood from the failed policies and the various government agencies is that homelessness is neither an calamity nor an artifact of some bizarre contemporary urban sickness, but rather a result of unsuccessful social policy.

Question 11

Alexander canvasses how mass incarceration has led to the continuous forms of discrimination along with the shifting of the US legal and political system. In particular, Alexander presents how the black people in America are denied their rights and freedoms of citizenships. The political and legal system has given the law enforcement exclusive powers that nearly stops black Americans in the streets with no substantial reasons given. Besides, the law enforcement has been given a lot of incentives to carry out these stops such as training and federal funding. Furthermore, the system does not provide the required handling of those arrested as should be the case. In most cases, poor detained suspects who cannot afford a decent lawyer end not getting the justice they deserve. Even so, compulsory minimum sentences end up being ridiculously disproportionate sentences. It is worrying that the laws and the Supreme Court rulings turn a blind eye to such state and even continue to facilitate this system.

Question 12

Lachmann notes that the understanding of the American geopolitical and economic decline necessitates the identification of elites who determine various spending by the government. It is only then that we can explain how the transformation of the United States politics has paved the way for those elites to exert uncontrollable influence on government agencies and resources. It is worth noting that the elites have gained control in the first place because they hold large and critical corporate and government organizations. It is through that they exercise disproportionate power in the nation. In fact, it is the conflict between the elites and the non-elites that brought about the emergence of capitalism in early modern Europe.

Works Cited

Acker, Joan. "Inequality Regimesgender, Class, And Race In Organizations." Gender & Society, vol 20, no. 4, 2006, pp. 441-464.

Alexander, Michelle. New Jim Crow. [Place Of Publication Not Identified], New Press, 2016,

COLLINS, PATRICIA HILL. "It's All In The Family: Intersections Of Gender, Race, And Nation." Hypatia, vol 13, no. 3, 1998, pp. 62-82. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/j.1527-2001.1998.tb01370.x.

Hess, Amanda. "The Next Civil Rights Issue: Why Women Aren't Welcome On The Internet." Pacific Standard, 2014, https://psmag.com/social-justice/women-arent-welcome-internet-72170.

Hondagneu-Sotelo, Pierrette. "Families On The Frontier: From Braceros In The Fields To Braceras In The Home." Latinos In The 21St Century: Mapping The Research Agenda, 2002, pp. 259-273.

Lachmann, Richard. "The Roots Of American Decline." Contexts, vol 10, no. 1, 2011, pp. 44-49.

Mezey, Nancy J. "The Privilege Of Coming Out: Race, Class, And Lesbains' Mothering Decisions."International Journal Of Sociology Of The Family, vol 34, no. 2, 2008, pp. 257-276.

"Muslim Americans In The News Before And After 9/11" With Prof. Brigitte Nacos, Dept. Of Political Science." Middle East Institute, 2017, http://www.mei.columbia.edu/mei-events-fall-2002/2002/9/19/muslim-americans-in-the-news-before-and-after-911-with-prof-brigitte-nacos-dept-of-political-science.

Rubin, Lillian B. "Sand Castles And Snake Pits: Homelessness, Public Policy, And The Law Of Unintended Consequences." Dissent, vol 54, no. 4, 2007, pp. 51-56.

Suárez-Orozco, Marcelo M. Latinos: Remaking America. Berkeley, CA., University Of California Press, 2009,.

Wailoo, Keith. Katrina's Imprint: Race And Vulnerability In America. New Brunswick, N.J, Rutgers University Press, 2010,

Wailoo, Keith. Katrina's Imprint: Race And Vulnerability In America. New Brunswick, N.J, Rutgers University Press, 2010,