today in class i introduced the term “feminization of poverty”
TW gendered racism, sexual violence.
and some young men of color in my class wanted to challenge the idea that women dont get paid the same as men (b/c they dont go into the same field). when i shared that men who go into fields stereotypically assigned to women (i.e. nursing) they still often get paid more and are promoted more.
they wanted to use the fashion industry as “women-centered” i told them that was an illusion. look to who owns the fashion magazines, they are NOT women, but racially white men. make a list of some of the top fashion designers in the world and they will mostly be men (versace (inherited by a daughter), armani, oscar de la renta, jason wu) are not sold at jcpenny or macys like dkny is…..
some of them were in shock. they really wanted to hold onto this idea that there is a women’s centered job/space in our society.
then one asked: what about oprah?
i said oprah is an exception to the rule, that does not mean the rules dont apply and those rules are built upon structural, systemic and institutional bias of all sorts. can we name another WOC or POC like oprah on her level?
no we couldn’t
someone tried to say tyra. i asked if tyra had the same wealth and social capital as oprah, and compared to their time in the field, it’s not possible (esp. since we talked about how wealth is generated via informal loans, gifts, inheritance, properties, etc.). plus there are professional athletes that make more than tyra do a year. there’s no comparison.
it’s always so interesting how this always shifts a bit. another MOC student asked abt women in combat and “what if someone in her crew likes her?”
i said “um, that’s not her fault.” the class laughed and the dude (who spoke of being brokenhearted in one of his paper b/c of unrequited love) and asked “but what if shes’ not there she wont be a distraction”
and i had to break down how that idea is flawed. that it privileges the man soldier b/c he’s a man and assumed to be better than the woman soldier. it also assumes that men cannot control themselves.
what abt the safety of the woman soldier? what if she’s told the man soldier in her crew “no” numerous times and he’s pissed. will he have her back when it gets down to it? or will her safety be in jeopardy (and that’s just on the combat situation) what about when they are in downtime? is she still safe? if those questions are not asked, than their is still biased thinking going on.
he stayed after class to talk more about this combat example. i shared w/him how many women vets are returning and sharing experiences of sexual assaults and rapes among crew members of similar or different rankings. he was surprised.
i tell ya, the ways some of our youth imagine what’s going on scares the fuck out of me.
it’s also scary to see the MOC hold on to so many illusions of power that they think they have (when they really don’t it’s just part of the rules white men have created (which always made me wonder ‘how are latino men are the only ‘machistas’ if white men made the rules?) to keep WOC in a particular “place” (place is abstract in my mind) and they are really tools in that larger system of power). to see them hold onto and not want to give that pseudo-power up. i know it’s a process of unlearning, of realizing their worth and power as intellectual beings that challenge and deconstruct and question and change.
sometimes teaching sociology and justice and oppression is exhausting, and it’s difficult to witness some of the steps to consciousness-raising. esp those early ones. so much patience, assessing what the right amount of space/distance is for each student, and maintaining an environment that is based on being comfortable asking controversial questions is a struggle and many folks dont see what kind of work moving through that struggle w/many youth takes.
its an hour class and i feel worn out the entire day!
