sexism Essay Example For Students

sexism Essay INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPSbyDevaceo S. MitchellEnglish 1123Professor BrownApril 19, 1999Mitchell 2OutlineThesis: Stereotypical society still views interracial relationships as controversialbased on their relevance to social, racial, political issues, and personal experiences. I. Social ReactionsA. Racism, Stereotypes, ControversyB. Relation to Actor-Observer TheoryII. Race ReactionsA. Third-World Opinions on Interracial RelationshipsB. Cross -Cultural Perceptions III. Political AspectsA. Place of Loyalties IdentitiesB. Politicization of Dating/ Marriage ChoicesIV. Personal ExperiencesA. Filipino (mother)/ Swedish (father)B. Mexican (father)/ German (mother)C. African-American (father)/ Caucasian (mother)V. ConclusionMitchell 3INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPSLiving in a world where society controls the greatest influence on individual mindset,interracial relationships are viewed by some as a racial barrier and to others as a formof multicultural diversity. Relationships today are evaluated differently and produce mixed personal reactions. Because of such differing mindsets, society will never be united under one sole positive perception of any given relationship. For point of discussion, an evaluation of interracial relationships will be performed. Stereotypica l society still views interracial relationships as controversial based on their relevance to social, racial, political issues, and personal experiences. Firstly, we will deal with social reactions to interracial dating. Interracial dating is still a very controversial issue in the United States society. Much of this is due to the prolonged racism and stereotypes. Racism is defined as the preconception that a person or the basis of race, performs inadequately or has negative characteristics ( Woodson 13). A theory that is often related to interracial relationships is the actor/observer theory. This is the tendency to attribute our own behavior to external, situational factors, but to attribute the behavior of others to the internal dispositional factors such as choice or will. An example of this is if a child is dating someone of another race and the parents do not like the person who their child is dating, the parents and the child may argue about the situation. The parents inter traits from behavior, have a tendency to perceive their teen as stubborn, difficult, rebellious and too independent. Both the parents and the teens see thei r behavior as being motivated by external factors. External factors, such as movies, television, and magazines, influence society about interracial relationships and dating Mitchell 4 (Hewett 9). It is proven that 71% of African-American-white marriages are between black men and white women.This is probably due to the factors like the sports illustrated swimsuit issue, which portrays white women as the ultimate sex symbol (Bode 43). A stereotype often heard is that African-American men have a sexual prowess that white men lack. Likewise, Asian women tend to date white men due to the stereotype that they are submissive. Many of these stereotypes have been brought up by television, media, and other forms of communication. If you can get past the stereotypes and preconceptions, then one can accept interracial marriages and relationships (Bode 43). Another interracial relationship topic is race reactions. Although a lot of the information pertains solely to white and black, studies have shown that there still exists a conflict with interracial dating and marriage. Studies have also shown that a commonly held belief involved in intra-third-world interracial dating is not as talked about but also more acceptable (Dutton54). Everyone wants to talk about the controversial thing white, non-white dating. With a certain segment of the third world community, it is more accepted because at least its third world. In some interviews held about the controversial Wall of Shame which provoked a deeper look into interracial dating, some interesting ideas were brought up. For instance, several individuals perspectives on the issue suggest arguments for or against interracial dating are not grounded in close-minded views or an unwillingness to experience cross-culturalism. Rather, notions of the community, solidarity, self-esteem, and standard s of beauty played a more important role in formulating opinions about dating between Mitchell 5different races (Rosenberg 33). Some individuals may not accept interracial dating due to a desire to maintain solidarity within an ethnic community. Moreover, others see the ethnic communities as a source of strength and unity for many students, and shared values within these communities are of much importance. Moreover, the third world community also displays the need to maintain a notion of solidarity. The reason the third world community and the individual minority communities are so strong is believed to be because of their size. Because theyre so small, they need to hold on to their sense of community, which would be shattered if someone dated interracially. A lot of strong social networks are formed around these communities simply because theyre small and exclusive to their individual race (Mathabane 75). Moreover, according to on colored person, a lot of what is talked about withi n a community of color is oppression. Interracial dating is therefore seen as contradictory. There is, once again, that strong need to stick together because of a common bond that is shared that whites dont understand. The lack of understanding would consequently cause tension within an interracial relationship. It has also been shown, through studies, that interracial within the minority community is more acceptable than dating outside of the minority community. This perhaps is a consequence of that common bond that is shared within minority groups (Davol 83). Another aspect of tensions with interracial dating is political. Some individuals interpret loyalties and identities through who a person dates. The politicization of dating choices, however, takes something personal and private and makes it public and political (Wyeth 67). Nothing EssayThe following experiences have been experienced by three members of different racial backgrounds. All experiences are interpreted by their point of view. First to be mentioned is a female student whose mother is Filipino and father is Swedish. The second scene mentioned concerns a male student whose mother is German and father is Mexican. Finally, the third experience to be mentioned concerns a female student whose mother is Caucasian and father is African-American. There was a conflict with my dads side of the family because of a racist uncle. He saw my mom, my brother and I as ruins to the perfect Aryan blood line. He always saw my mom as an airhead even though she was currently a practicing nutritionist and lawyer, but couldnt see her or her race any other way, states the female student with a Filipino mother and Swedish father (Rosenberg 59). The male student says, When I dated a black female, my father was bitter, harsh and didnt accept it as well as if I had dated a white female. Whenever this black female called my house and I wasnt home he wouldnt transfer the message to me. After questioning my parents about the noticeable situation my mother replied that they had no problem with the relationship. My father refused to speak about the subject. Growing older, he has fixed in his mind that black race has brought him trouble and he feels that the black race today is somewhat intimidating (Rosenberg 59).Mitchell 9 The young lady with an Af rican-American father and a Caucasian mother stated, When shopping with my mom, people would often assume that I was adopted or sometimes that I wasnt even her child. One example would be when I was younger and I got lost in a department store and a store clerk tried to help me find my mother. I pointed a blond-haired white woman (which was truly my mother) and the clerk said noshe couldnt be your mother and continued looking for a dark-skinned mother. My mom and dads mother would not get helped at a gas station together while being in the south, because racial mixing was not accepted. This was around 1975 (Rosenberg 60).As can be seen, interracial relationships are still a controversy in some parts of the U.S. Many cultures do not want their children dating descendants of other races, however, the controversy pertaining to interracial relations is held to a lower level than in past history. In fact, interracial dating and marriage are much more acceptable today inalmost all aspects of cultural diversity on social, racial, political, and personal issues. Mitchell 10WORKS CITEDBode, Janet. Different Worlds: Interracial . New York, NY: F. Watts, 1989Davol, Marguerite W. Black and White, Just Right. New York, NY: Putnams, 1995. Dutton, John R. Children of Conflict: Study of Interracial Sex Marriage. New York,NY: Dutton, 1975. Hewett, Lorri. Lives of Our Own. New York, NY: Dutton Childrens Books, 1998. Man Keung, Ho. Building a Successful Intermarriage between Religions, Social Classes, Ethnic Groups, or Race. San Francisco, CA: B.F. Publishing, 1987. Mathabane, Gail. Love in Black White: Triumph of Love over Prejudice and Taboo. New York, NY: Random House, 1994. Rosenberg, Maxine B. Living in Two Worlds. New York, NY: Putnams, 1997. Toyomi, Igus. To Mrs.Gibson.. San Francisco, CA: Childrens Book Press, 1995. Woodson, Jacqueline. If You Come Softly. New York, NY: Putnams, 1998. Wyeth, Sharon D. Ginger Brown, Too Many Houses. New York, NY: Random House, 1995. Wyeth, Sharon D. The World of Daughter McGuire. New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 1994. Yep, Laurence. The Cooks Family. New York, NY: Putnams, 1998.