The Dynamics of Inequality: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in the United States / Edition 1

by Patricia Gagne, Richard Tewksbury

Overview

This anthology helps readers understand issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality at the individual level—by including stories by or about people who have actually experienced discrimination, prejudice, or inequality because of who they were. It then explains the historical, cultural, and institutional roots of inequality, before turning to theoretical explanations, and finally to a section on activism oriented toward social change. For United States citizens working for unity—while celebrating diversity—in the land they call home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780130976376
Publisher:	Pearson
Publication date:	11/04/2002
Series:	MySearchLab Series for Sociology Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

Read an Excerpt

What is it about the United States that makes it so unique? It may be the freedoms U.S. citizens enjoy, yet in many democracies of the world, people enjoy similar liberties. Some say the United States offers an unparalleled standard of living, but luxury is common in many nations of the world. What makes the United States different from any other nation in the world is its cultural diversity. The United States is the only nation on earth founded by immigrants and based on the premise that all who enter U.S. borders can expect to find opportunities and freedoms that, as newcomers, they would fail to find anywhere else in the world. There are differences in the amount of wealth Americans enjoy; still, each person is constitutionally entitled to the same protections as any other citizen, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, social class, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. And with very few exceptions, each person is legally entitled to the same opportunities as everyone else. Indeed, these are laudable ideals. But has the United States lived up to them?

This book suggests that U.S. society has a long way to go before equal protection under the law and equality of opportunity are realities. The articles here give voice to the Americans that freedom and opportunity have neglected. In the first section, authors talk about their personal experiences with prejudice and discrimination, demonstrating just some of the ways that inequality is perpetuated in U.S. society today. The second section offers insights into the nation's long history of inequality based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. The authors discuss racial inequality and violence, lack of political liberties for women, distrust of new immigrants, and discrimination in official government policy against gay men and lesbians. The articles in the third section examine the impact of today's dominant culture in perpetuating inequality. The authors examine belief systems, stereotypes, and prejudices and discuss some of the ways that racist, sexist, classist, and homophobic biases are perpetuated by the media and certain social groups.

The fourth section provides articles that explain some of the ways that inequalities have been built into the very structure of U.S. society. That section is divided into four subsections, which discuss how key social institutions—the economy, education, medicine, and legal system—perpetuate prejudice, discrimination, and inequality. In the fifth section, authors discuss some of the ways that violence against women, people of color, gay men, lesbians, and others is used to intimidate individuals and perpetuate the dominance of those who perpetrate violence against them. As these articles make clear, violence affects not only individual victims, but also all those who are intimidated from exercising their rights and freedoms for fear of attack.

Since the United States was founded on principles of equality of opportunity and equal protection under the law, how is it that inequalities continue? In the sixth section, authors offer explanations for inequality based on race, class, gender, and sexuality, as well as the myriad ways in which these individual characteristics and social statures intersect with one another. Such explanations are crucial to efforts to challenge, resist, and overthrow the barriers to equality that continue to exist in U.S. society.

A number of social movements of the twentieth century focused on resisting and challenging systems of domination. These and continuing efforts are the focus of the seventh section of this book. The civil rights movement made unprecedented gains in challenging the system of social, political, and economic apartheid that was part of the fabric of U.S. society. And people of color of all races benefitted from that movement's efforts. Similarly, the women's movement challenged the oppression of women, and the gay and lesbian movement resisted prejudice and worked to change institutionalized discrimination. Yet one of the most daunting challenges of the twenty-first century will be for activists to find ways to address prejudice, discrimination, and oppression that occur at the intersections of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality.

Specifically, the civil rights movement succeeded at improving the rights and liberties of African Americans, while the feminist movement increased the rights of women. Yet women of color find that they continue to be targets of prejudice and discrimination in ways neither movement has understood or anticipated. Furthermore, identity-based politics, through which people work together to improve their status—as people of color, as women, as gay men, as lesbians, as transgenders, as poor people, or as members of the working class—makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to reach beyond group boundaries. Even as these groups struggle for full and equal participation in society, each has a tendency to isolate itself from others who are different.

The only way that inequality will be successfully challenged in the twenty-first century is for these' groups and others to reach beyond the boundaries that have allowed each to work for its own members' rights. People of color, women, sexual minorities, the poor, and members of the working class must work together in coalition, focusing on the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexualities. It is only by working for unity while celebrating diversity that all people will come to enjoy the freedoms, civil liberties, and equality of opportunity that are the foundation upon which the United States claims to be founded. With this book, we hope to show some of the challenges that people in the United States have faced and continue to encounter as they strive to overcome the barriers to equality and enjoy full participation in society.

We wish to thank Nancy Roberts, Merrill Peterson, Cynthia McCloud, Deanna McGaughey, and Mark Richard for their editorial and administrative assistance in the production of this book. We could not have produced it without their valuable help. We also wish to thank the following reviewers: Susan E. Chase, University of Tulsa; Trudie Coker, Florida Atlantic University; William P. Nye, Hollins University; and Magalene Harris Taylor, University of Arkansas.

Table of Contents

(NOTE: All chapters conclude with Getting Involved activites and Site-Seeing suggestions.)

1. The Personal Experience of Inequality.

Ragtime, My Time, Alton Fitzgerald White. The End of the Line, Samuel G. Freedman. Coming Out Now, J. Baker and N. Joseph. Race, Skin Color, and Body Parts, Ta'Shia Asanti. Becoming a Man: The Personal Account of a Female-to-Male Transsexual, Mark Rees.

2. Linking the Past with the Present.

The Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity in Corporate America, George Davis. Alabama Prison Chain Gangs: Reverting to Archaic Punishment to Reduce Crime and Discipline Offenders, James F. Anderson, Laronistine Dyson, Willie Brooks, Jr. Gender and the “American Way of Life”: Women in the Americanization Movement, John F. McClymer. The Hidden Half: A History of Native American Women's Education, Deirdre A. Almeida. Lesbian/Gay Rights and Immigration Policy: Lobbying to End the Medical Model, William B. Turner. Lifting the Ban on Gays in the Civil Service: Federal Policy Toward Gay and Lesbian Employees Since the Cold War, Gregory B. Lewis.

3. How Inequality is Perpetuated: Culture and Its Impact.

The Problem of the Color Line, Anna Quindlen. The Enemy Within: The Demonization of Poor Women, Ruth Sidel. Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Social Class, Thomas J. Gorman. The Beauty Myth, Patricia J. Williams. Never Too Buff, John Cloud. Racial Warriors and Weekend Warriors: The Construction of Masculinity in Mythopoetic and White Supremacist Discourse, Abby L. Ferber. The Hardening Face of Anti-Semitism, Mark Sappenfield, James N. Thurman, William Echikson, Corinna Schuler, Tom Regan, Peter Grier. Overcoming Reservation about Leaving the Reservation, Michael Ridgway.

4. Barriers to Equality.

40 Acres and a Mule, Dalton Conley. A Busted Trust, Colman McCarthy. How the Government Killed Affordable Housing, John O. Norquist. Race in the Workplace, Robert J. Grossman. Institutional and Racial Barriers to Employment Equity for Hispanics, Jerry Yaffe. Temps Are Here to Stay, Jan Larson. Women in Management: How Far Have We Come and What Needs to be Done as We Approach 2000? Jeanne M. Brett, Linda K. Stroh. Designing Mom-Size Jobs, Joan Williams. Where Are the Civil Rights for Gay and Lesbian Teachers? Christine Yared. Conformity Pressures and Gender Resistance Among Transgendered Individuals, Patricia Gagne, Richard Tewksbury. Pain Relief in U.S. Emergency Rooms Is Related to Patients' Race, Deborah Josefson. The Health of African American Men, John A. Rich. Inadequate Housing: A Health Crisis for the Children of the Poor, Joshua Sharfstein, Megan Sandel. Construction of Masculinity and Their Influence on Men's Well-Being: A Theory of Gender and Health, Will H. Courtenay. The Impact of Medical and Sexual Politics on Women's Health, Linda Gannon. Stigma, Health Beliefs and Experiences with Health Care in Lesbian Women, Patricia E. Stevens, Joanne M. Hall. Busing Rolls to a Stop, Lucille Renwick. Racial Desegregation: Magnet Schools, Vouchers, Privatization, and Home Schooling, Loretta F. Meeks, Wendall A. Meeks, Claudia A. Warren. Gender Equity: Still Knocking at the Classroom Door, David Sadker. Back Seat Boys, Christian Science Monitor. Triumph Over Trauma, Sabrina McIntosh. New Facts on Racial Profiling, Jeffrey Prescott. Police Brutality Must End, The Progressive. Too Poor to Be Defended, Economist. Requiem for a Public Defender, Alan Berlow. An Ethnographic Assessment of the Policing of Domestic Violence in Rural Eastern Kentucky, Neil Websdale. Out in This World: The Social and Legal Context of Gay and Lesbian Families, Katherine Arnup. Legal Scholars of Gay Rights Offer Strategies to Combat the 'Apartheid of the Closet," D.W. Miller.

5. Violent Barriers to Equality.

Coming Out of Hatred, Mark Flanigan. Dancing to Hate: White Power Music, Bob Herbert. The Code of the Streets, Elijah Anderson. Factors Contributing to Juvenile Violence in Indian Communities, Larry EchoHawk. In Their Own Words: Battered Women's Assessment of the Criminal Processing System's Responses, Edna Erez, Joanne Balknap. Wife Rape: A Social Problem for the 21st Century, Kersti Yllo. “Honey, We Don't Do Men,” Denise A. Donnelly, Stacy Kenyon. The Execution of PVT. Barry Winchell: The Real Story Behind the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Murder, Thomas Hackett.

6. Theoretical Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexualities.

Simple Justice: Affirmative Action and American Racism in Historical Perspective, J. Blaine Hudson. Invisible Masculinity, Michael S. Kimmel. Race, Gender, Class in the Lives of Asian Americans, Yen L. Espiritu. Reflections on Race, Class, and Gender in the U.S.A., Lisa Lowe (interview with Davis). Embattled Terrain: Gender and Sexuality, Judith Lorber.

7. Social Movements and Resistance.

A New Civil Rights Agenda, Joyce A. Ladner. Dismantling Environmental Racism in the U.S.A., Robert D. Bullard. The Ugly Side of the Modeling Business, Deborah Gregory, Patricia Jacobs. Race, Gender, and Class: The Challenges Facing Labor Educators, Bill Fletcher, Jr. Women of Color in Leadership, Helen Zia. The Rise of the Workplace Movement: Fighting for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Rights in Corporate America, Nicole C. Raeburn. The Promise of Stonewall, Ann-Marie Cusac. Whose Movement Is It? Mubarak Dahir.

Preface

What is it about the United States that makes it so unique? It may be the freedoms U.S. citizens enjoy, yet in many democracies of the world, people enjoy similar liberties. Some say the United States offers an unparalleled standard of living, but luxury is common in many nations of the world. What makes the United States different from any other nation in the world is its cultural diversity. The United States is the only nation on earth founded by immigrants and based on the premise that all who enter U.S. borders can expect to find opportunities and freedoms that, as newcomers, they would fail to find anywhere else in the world. There are differences in the amount of wealth Americans enjoy; still, each person is constitutionally entitled to the same protections as any other citizen, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, social class, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. And with very few exceptions, each person is legally entitled to the same opportunities as everyone else. Indeed, these are laudable ideals. But has the United States lived up to them?

This book suggests that U.S. society has a long way to go before equal protection under the law and equality of opportunity are realities. The articles here give voice to the Americans that freedom and opportunity have neglected. In the first section, authors talk about their personal experiences with prejudice and discrimination, demonstrating just some of the ways that inequality is perpetuated in U.S. society today. The second section offers insights into the nation's long history of inequality based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. The authors discuss racial inequality and violence, lack of political liberties for women, distrust of new immigrants, and discrimination in official government policy against gay men and lesbians. The articles in the third section examine the impact of today's dominant culture in perpetuating inequality. The authors examine belief systems, stereotypes, and prejudices and discuss some of the ways that racist, sexist, classist, and homophobic biases are perpetuated by the media and certain social groups.

The fourth section provides articles that explain some of the ways that inequalities have been built into the very structure of U.S. society. That section is divided into four subsections, which discuss how key social institutions—the economy, education, medicine, and legal system—perpetuate prejudice, discrimination, and inequality. In the fifth section, authors discuss some of the ways that violence against women, people of color, gay men, lesbians, and others is used to intimidate individuals and perpetuate the dominance of those who perpetrate violence against them. As these articles make clear, violence affects not only individual victims, but also all those who are intimidated from exercising their rights and freedoms for fear of attack.

Since the United States was founded on principles of equality of opportunity and equal protection under the law, how is it that inequalities continue? In the sixth section, authors offer explanations for inequality based on race, class, gender, and sexuality, as well as the myriad ways in which these individual characteristics and social statures intersect with one another. Such explanations are crucial to efforts to challenge, resist, and overthrow the barriers to equality that continue to exist in U.S. society.

A number of social movements of the twentieth century focused on resisting and challenging systems of domination. These and continuing efforts are the focus of the seventh section of this book. The civil rights movement made unprecedented gains in challenging the system of social, political, and economic apartheid that was part of the fabric of U.S. society. And people of color of all races benefitted from that movement's efforts. Similarly, the women's movement challenged the oppression of women, and the gay and lesbian movement resisted prejudice and worked to change institutionalized discrimination. Yet one of the most daunting challenges of the twenty-first century will be for activists to find ways to address prejudice, discrimination, and oppression that occur at the intersections of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality.

Specifically, the civil rights movement succeeded at improving the rights and liberties of African Americans, while the feminist movement increased the rights of women. Yet women of color find that they continue to be targets of prejudice and discrimination in ways neither movement has understood or anticipated. Furthermore, identity-based politics, through which people work together to improve their status—as people of color, as women, as gay men, as lesbians, as transgenders, as poor people, or as members of the working class—makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to reach beyond group boundaries. Even as these groups struggle for full and equal participation in society, each has a tendency to isolate itself from others who are different.

The only way that inequality will be successfully challenged in the twenty-first century is for these' groups and others to reach beyond the boundaries that have allowed each to work for its own members' rights. People of color, women, sexual minorities, the poor, and members of the working class must work together in coalition, focusing on the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexualities. It is only by working for unity while celebrating diversity that all people will come to enjoy the freedoms, civil liberties, and equality of opportunity that are the foundation upon which the United States claims to be founded. With this book, we hope to show some of the challenges that people in the United States have faced and continue to encounter as they strive to overcome the barriers to equality and enjoy full participation in society.

We wish to thank Nancy Roberts, Merrill Peterson, Cynthia McCloud, Deanna McGaughey, and Mark Richard for their editorial and administrative assistance in the production of this book. We could not have produced it without their valuable help. We also wish to thank the following reviewers: Susan E. Chase, University of Tulsa; Trudie Coker, Florida Atlantic University; William P. Nye, Hollins University; and Magalene Harris Taylor, University of Arkansas.