Blog #4
September 24, 2009
After doing a few of these blogs, I am finding myself noticing a great deal more about our world and how not only women but other segments of our population are impacted by discrimination. It is interesting to me how much society leans on free speech to speak ill of those who are different. After doing the reading the last few weeks, I realize how much I really do not see in the world around me. I never really noticed how much we use race or sexual orientation as a way to describe someone. It’s like we all automatically assume that when we talk about a man or a woman, that he or she is white, able-bodied and heterosexual–because it is mainstream. So if anyone’s characteristics deviate from the norm, we have to clarify by saying-a black woman, handicapped teenager or a gay man. To define someone by their sexual orientation, which in no way describes their outward physical appearance is unfair in my opinion. Unfortunately, this is a result of the norms society has formed where differences must be acknowledged and similarities are assumed. I sometimes wonder if we could come up with another way to define a person without acknowledging these elements. In times when race/sexual orientation have no bearing on what the person is being mentioned for, why does it have to be brought up? Why assume that whenever I talk about a woman that she is white? Do we have to reference a person’s sexuality when we talk about them also? How can we define eachother in a way that plays up on our strengths and positive aspects or even our personalities–without acknowledging those differences that are apparent in each and every one of us?
