Reading Reflection #4

"Communities across the country have fought against things like contraceptive ads on television and sex education in schools"

I was first taught about sex education when I was in the sixth grade. Back then sex to me was irrelevant and I didn't care about it. I just looked at it as another lesson my teacher was giving to me that I would most likely have a test on. I was more focused on playing outside in the dirt and wrestling with my friends. Even when watching television I never used to pay attention to contraceptive commercials, they didn't seem any different then the other commercials that were on tv, they were just taking time away from the show I was watching. After sixth grade I went three years again until I took health class my freshman year of high school. My health class was more in depth with discussions and visuals then in the sixth grade. But to be honest I still didn't care that much about sex and the different diseases you can get. The best part I can remember was the demonstration of how to put a condom on a banana. One thing I do know was that I was never taught about different kinds of sexuality. Everything was male and female. I guess growing up in such a secluded place it didn't cross the teachers minds that they should teach us about different people. When teachers did mention homosexual people it seems like they always made it seem like it was a choice that they made, and it wasn't a biological ordeal. Newman writes in this chapter that, "a growing body of literature is providing some evidence that sexual orientation is not chosen but is biologically determined." Even after reading specific evidence that homosexuality is a biological makeup of different genes I still don't know if I'm completely on the bandwagon. I say this not to be a jerk, but if it is a biological makeup then how do they explain people that are bisexual. The way I understand bisexual is that you can choose to prefer men or women. The word "choose" is where I still don't understand how it can be a biological makeup and not someones choice. Although I may be by myself in wondering things such as this, Newmans discussion in chapter four about homosexuality and sex education in schools made me think back to when I was a kid that just didn't care and understand.

Observation Journal #2

The other day my friend was telling me about how at the college he is attending they were trying to recruit different people to play on the hockey team. They spotted a really big guy that they figured would be perfect for their team. He also added that he was black and they had no diversity on their team so they thought it would be perfect to get some different people to play with them. They approached the kid and started talking to him about hockey and whether he wanted to play or tryout for the team. When they started talking with him they quickly found out that he had no interest in playing hockey because it might break his nails he said (which were painted a nice shade of pink and blue my friend added) this took them by surprise. He also said that the guy was very nice and they didn't treat him any differently then any other person. I was telling this story to some of my friends here and one of the girls flipped out on me saying how I was being politically incorrect and that even if the kid was gay he could play hockey. I never once said he couldn't play hockey in my story, nor did my friend. The girl just kept on going about how I was a horrible person and I was being homophobic because I wouldn't want a gay person to be on the same team as me. I just let her keep going on and on, and when she was done I simply asked if she was finished and she got up and stomped away. The remaining people in the room just had blank stares on our faces and didn't get what she flipped out about. I never once said he couldnt play hockey, I was just saying how my friend was taken buy surprise to find out this guy was gay, which I probably would have been too.

This event was significant to me because the longer I am in this social work class it seems like the more I notice people reacting to different things I choose to say. Before I started this class I would have most likely kept going on and fighting with this girl but I chose to ignore it because its her views and I will never be able to change her attitude towards it. While I was witnessing her freaking out on me and calling me names that if you ask me were more offensive then being taken by surprised about the hockey guy, I didn't interupt her I just let her vent and say what she wanted to say. I would have typically interrupted her and let a few of my thoughts in there but I just didn't feel like dealing with it. This even didnt change my opinion towards anything because I dont think there was anything wrong with the story. My friend was being racist, discriminating, or any other word you can think of that would be negative towards a person. When I told the story I wasn't being mean either, I was just saying how it would have caught me off guard as well. I guess some people just are really sensitive towards subjects that to me dont bother me because I have more important things to get worked up about then listening to someones story.

Reading Reflection #3

"The words are so silly, so juvenile, so utterly pathetic that they hardly qualify as racial slurs at all, let alone slurs on a par with those that have been historically deployed against people of color."

I can't say that I have ever personally been called a "honky" or "cracker" however if I was I know I wouldn't take it seriously. I believe you can have reverse racism in different areas but to have reverse racism at a name calling level is almost impossible. Its like the saying that you used when you were a kid, "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". Racial slurs are thrown around so much in our everyday lives that it doest even phase me when I hear a white person say the word "nigger". Even on television racial slurs are used and not bleeped out. The first one that comes to my mind is a Dave Chapelle skit with a white family with the last name of Nigger. This reading wont change my belief that you cant have reverse racism because I believe it can happen in areas other then name calling, for example an educational scholarships that are for a certain race only. You can look at this as racist, prejudice, discrimination, whatever you want in the end the words may be different but the impact is all the same. In reality one would like to see peace between all races and not have a problem with it anymore, but it's almost impossible to ever accomplish this task. Granted racial slurs have come down many notches it will never reach equality for everyone. There will always be one person out there that will complain about something just to stir the mix back up.

Chapter 2: Identities and Inequalities

"How do you know if a person is male or female?" (Newman pg. 52)

Throughout our lifetimes I can assure that you have asked either yourself or your friends if a person you see is male or female. I actually did it the other day. You have to admit, sometimes with the different styles in todays society it is hard to tell the difference. I grew up with being taught basically all the things that Newman stated in the opening paragraph: males are supposed to have shorter hair, facial hair, and a penis. Females are supposed to have long hair, wear dresses, and have a vagina. I fall right in the stereotype that didn't know the difference between gender and sex, I always thought they were the same thing just different names. After reading the chapter it now makes more sense to me what the difference is.

I feel that people never really can fully change their natural sex, and their gender is the same thing as their sex. If a person is born a male then their gender is male. They can just choose to be more feminine then masculine, and act as the opposite gender and sex but in my eyes they can't change. I'll use my sister fore example to state my point. My sister is into trucks, athletics, batman, etc. every stereotypical male aspect you can think of. However, she is still a girl, she wears dresses, and has long hair. All because she likes the things that boys are into doesnt mean she views herself as a boy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I disagree with Newmans point of view that people can change their gender throughout life. Your born either male or female, and your gender goes hand in hand with your sex.

My Friends vs. Me

When thinking about this assignment I first thought it would be rather easy to pick up on a conversation amongst my friends that had some racial slur, or derogative comment thrown around within the bulk of a mainly pointless discussion. However, I didn't expect I would be the person I would be writing about. I've never really had a problem with people calling each other a fag, queer, etc. mainly because I would partake in the commenting. The other day I was at my girlfriends apartment sitting there with her roommates on the couch watching a television show. I'm not sure exactly what the show was but I do know that it had two guys who in my opinion sounded more feminine then most guys normally sound. Without thinking about what I was going to do I stood up and went to the bathroom, but on the way I made the comment somewhere along the lines of, "that guy is such a fag listen to the way he talks." Now it normally would have ended there or continued with a comment along the same lines from another one of my friends, but this wasn't the case this time around. Later that evening when I returned to my apartment Melissa called me up saying how her friend was really upset that I made a comment like that. Now to me I couldn't understand why she would be upset when I've heard her friend say the word gay, and not in the context about how happy she was.
To stop beating around the bush I guess my point is I never really thought about how my comments could offend someone that I didn't know from a personal standpoint. I still argue the fact that when used in the same context fag vs. gay is the same thing. There both three letters long, and have different meanings so to me there alike. And to be frank I'm probably not going to stop acting the way I am around my friends, but I'll try to fix my language around others that I don't know closely.

Exploring the Depths of Racist Socialization

I first off have to say that I completely agree with the article that Tim Wise constructed. The thoughts that were running through my head when reading it were saying that I finally read an article that sounds like something I would say. You may take this in a negative way just like he said but I completely agree that every single individual sometime in their life has said a racial slur, had a negative thought about someone that was different then you, and generalized a group of people that isn't like them. And, I will be the first to admit that I have done all three of these things, probably within the last month. I'm not saying that its something I'm proud about, but theres no sense in denying something you know you are guilty for. Being a conservative and disagreeing with many of the viewpoints that people have within the state of Vermont makes it rather difficult for me to state what I feel. This article pretty much summed up a lot of the thoughts that I have always wanted to say when discussing something controversial. I feel that the article hits a really good point about how every person is guilty from something that they deny they would never think about doing. Coming from a very secluded part of the state as far north-east as you can get I have a viewpoint that most people in Burlington "claim" they don't have. Although it may not be as serious as calling a black person a nigger, I've had liberal teachers who are pro same sex marriage, green everything, save the trees, everyone is equal, call me a redneck from the NEK. Now as far as I can see thats a generalization and putting someone that is different then yourself in a group that you don't agree with, or you could even say that its a form of racism.
Comparing the first chapter of our book and this article by Tim Wise I would have to say that Wise was able to hit most of the points that Newman hit, without having such a strong bias. Wise included the fact that he didn't agree with racial slurs, but at the same time was able to say that people need to stop acting like their so innocent. The read was also much more interesting because I was able to relate it to myself, at the same time understand what people were thinking on the side that I don't always agree with.
After reading this article my attitude and opinion didn't change. If anything I feel that I have a stronger opinion towards the issues that were discussed. I'm just glad that I was able to finally read an article that related with the views that I have thought about for a while, but wasn't completely bias towards one side or the other.

Chapter One

"The conflict perspective addresses this deficiency by viewing the structure of society as a source of inequality, which always benefits some groups at the expense of other groups" (pg. 23)

When reading through chapter one I felt that David Newman was focusing on only one side of the situations that he was discussing. Throughout the chapter he hits the points that our society as a whole has a negative view towards things that one may find out of the circle of normality. For example, he continually brings up the fact that homosexual differences are basically not getting the recognition and respect that they deserve. I personally feel that homosexuality is getting a vast amount of recognition throughout our society, both pro and con. Growing up in Canaan, VT (the most north-easterly part of the state) I have a very different opinion then Newman towards topics such as homosexuality, race, and gender. Throughout the chapter I feel that Newman didn't express the views of people against same sex marriage, racism, etc. leaning towards a bias that if your not for what a certain group is for then your in the wrong, making a certain group of people benefit from another group of people giving them the upper hand.
I feel that Newman should have added the point of view from people that were against topics such as same sex marriage allowing those thoughts to open up into other peoples minds and maybe allowing people to better understand where they are coming from. In many discussions that I've had with people about controversial topics I feel that it always comes down to the same thing, people have their own beliefs and opinions. If another person doesn't agree with something you said they are going to automatically consider you a narrow minded person that isn't cultured. When in reality they have no clue if they are cultured or not.