Module 2 - ED115

why privilege is hard to talk about

* at odds with dominant American ideologies such as individualism, it challenges our belief in America as a meritocracy where people are uplifted according to their skill and effort. *Acknowledging one's privilege can make people feel it invalidates their personal achievement, struggles cannot be attributed to oppression *Denial that differences make a difference. *Unearned privileges go unnoticed to members of the dominate group because the advantages they receive are seen as the "norm" * Guilt, shame, and discomfort about privilege, think of themselves as the oppressor

Heterosexual privilege

* can be open about their relationship without risking discrimination * don't risk that one aspect of their identity will ruin their lives * do not risk being harassed because of their sexual orientation * live where they want * do not need to worry about whether they will fit in at work

Male Privilege

* held to a lower standard than women * men are charged lower prices for new and used cars * can assume they won't get sexually assaulted * more likely to be given early opportunities * can succeed without people being surprised * can assume that their gender will not affect their work environment

Economic deprivation

- characterized as a lack of resources - if one could get a good quality of education, with fewer resources than being denied access to resources would not be oppressive

Freedom deprivation

- freedom of options - cannot be the core because more options do not mean better options - Freedom of deprivation is closely aligned with inequality of opportunities in that Capabilities are the real freedoms that people have to achieve their potential doings and beings.

Why is oppression wrong?

- limits the self development of the oppressed - People are born with potential and it is good for people to develop that potential and it is unjustified when some people, in virtual of belonging to a (nonintrinsically harmful) social group are deprived of this opportunity - Oppression is nothing less than an obstacle to human flourishing. Thus it meets the criteria of capturing the gravity of the injustice

Criteria for the core of oppression

- the wrong must be an essential property that is found among all cases of oppression, 2 characteristics: 1. it is found in all cases of oppression 2. it explains why we would consider certain case of oppression to be an oppression * be able to explain why we would consider hypothetical cases instances of oppression * must capture the gravity of the injustice * must be objective, meaning that it would still be wrong even if those who are oppressed do not object * should be non reducible or stated differently should not instrumentally harmful for some other wrong

Health inequality

Access to quality health care and health outcomes are uneven patterned among the rich and the poor. However, recent research suggest that disparities amongst similarly income people exists along racial lines.

reading: Concepts of inequality

Alfonso

inequality of consumption

Effects what people can have access to in terms of material goods or things money can buy. For example, some have multiple homes while others our homeless.

Violence

Everyday violence reminds social groups of what happens when they resist oppressive conditions

capability framework

He proposed that well-being should be defined and measured in terms of the beings and doings valued by people and the freedom to choose and to act - depends on circumstances

Inequality of outcomes

Inequality of outcomes occurs when individuals do not possess the same level of material wealth or overall living economic conditions. - concerned with the finish line lens of: - income - consumption - security

Five Faces of Oppression (Young)

Oppression, according to Iris Marion Young, refers to structural phenomena that immobilize or diminish a group. Group/social group are central to Young's theory of oppression, which Young describes as, a collective of persons differentiated from at least one other group by cultural forms, practices, or way of life.

Political Inequality

Political inequality is evident in the substantial between-group differences in civic engagement and access to political power and rights. Political participation is strongly determined by socioeconomic status (as measured by education and income)

Psychological Harm

Psychological harm of oppression is characterized by attacking the mind by which the oppressed internalize (believes) their inferior and subsidiary roles. Other theorist refers to this as Internalized Oppression. - The Core of Oppression should not be defined by a state of mind because if it were, then a remedy could be therapy, which would be unacceptable. - lacks explanatory power and objectivity

Marginalization

Refers to being left out of the labor market. Those who are unable to get and keep steady employment - because of disabilities, education levels, age, historic discrimination, lack of jobs in neighborhoods, the conditions of poverty, etc. - are experiencing marginalization.

Inequality of opportunities

Refers to the unequal distribution of life chances and experiences across social groups - factors that are outside of the individuals control - concerned with ensuring a common starting place - status - capabilities - liberty

Exploitation

The central concept of exploitation is domination occurs through a steady process of the transfer of the results of labor of some people [i.e. workers] to the benefit of others [i.e. owner of capital]. this relation of power and inequality is produced and reproduced through a systematic process in which the energies of the have-nots are continuously expended to maintain and augment the power, status, and wealth of the haves.

oppression is a double bind

The double-bind is described as situations in which options for the oppressed are reduced to a very few and all of them expose one to penalty, censure or deprivation.

inequality

The state of not being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.

Chen - Core of Oppression

There is a consensus that oppression is an institutional hierarchy that unjustly harms lower tier groups. However, there isn't an agreement on how best to describe, the word harm The point of asking the question, what is the core of oppression is to answer the question, why is oppression wrong?

Cultural dominance/imperialism

This refers to the way that one group's experiences, cultural expressions and history are defined as superior to all other groups' experiences and histories. - universal, representing "the best" in all of humanity

Oppression

Unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power especially by the imposition of burdens; the condition of being weighed down; an act of pressing down; a sense of heaviness or obstruction in the body or mind". - occurs when individuals are subject to political, economic, cultural, or social degradation because they belong to a certain social group - this results from structures of domination and subordination - oppression is often discussed in the same context as dehumanization and exploitation

Microscopic view of the Birdcage

When one looks at a birdcage one wire at a time (microscopic view) it's hard to see how the cage can contain or restrict a bird from escaping - by looking at one wire at a time you ignore all of the other barriers that work together to keep one in an oppressed position

macroscopic view of the birdcage

When taking a Macroscopic view of the birdcage it becomes obvious that the bird is surrounded by intersecting wires that are systematically related to create confining barriers.

Meritocracy

all citizens have the opportunity to be recognized and advanced in proportion to their abilities and accomplishments key concepts: - justness - fairness - impartiality - equitableness

oppression

an injustice that unjustly harms lower tier social groups

sociocultural inequality

as indicated by differential access to dominant cultural capital—engenders significant probabilities that dominant, privileged, and/or elite social groups have disproportionate access to high-status positions or resources.

Funtionalist theory

believe that inequality is inevitable and desirable and plays an important function in society. Important positions in society require more training and thus should receive more rewards. Social inequality and social stratification, according to this view, lead to a meritocracy based on ability.

Social Deprivation

dehumanization, which entails the denial that a group possess the complete range of human capabilities, needs, and wants that are valued at that time as important to being a human being. - cannot be the core because it cannot explain why a hypothetical case is oppressive and has implausible implications

Equality of outcomes

describes a state in which people have similar economic conditions

inequality of income

different people receive different wages, either for different jobs or for the same job, as profits from capital investments, or as government subsidies, transfer payments, or private charity

equality of opportunity

exist when life's outcomes depend only on factors for which a person can be consider responsible.

conferred dominance

gives one group power over another such as men over women, whites over blacks etc

self determination

involves having the freedom and opportunities to make and enact choices of practical import to ones life, that is choices about what to value, who to be, and what do.

powerlessness

refers to the way in which workers are divided into jobs with autonomy and authority and jobs with little or no autonomy and authority. Workers in lower-status jobs experience more powerlessness (both on the job and in the sphere of politics) than workers with professional jobs. Women and people of color are overrepresented in lower status jobs

inequality of liberty

some people are subjected to more threats and interference than others. Some people can break the law, for instance by using illegal drugs, without consequence, while others are imprisoned and subjected to the whims and demands of institutional forces and individuals with strength or authority.

inequality of status

some people get more respect than others. Some people are treated with disdain and denied the prerequisites of basic human dignity. Some people are ignored and invisible, while others get more attention than they may want.

inequality of security

some people live more precarious lives than others. Some people are systematically subject to more frequent risks of loss, or have less assistance or fewer resources to fall back on should things go badly.

Self Development

the development of one's capacities in accordance with one's true values. A person's capacitates include a variety of abilities (musical , logical, interpersonal, etc.). - Self-development is an objective and intrinsic good that encompasses a wide variety of life-pursuits and activities

Cultural Hegemony

the domination of cultural industries by elite groups

Core of oppression

the main harm of oppression or the fundamental harm of oppression

Marylin Frye's perspective on oppression

the root of the word "oppression" is the element "press"... something pressed is something caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict, or prevent the thing's motion or mobility. mold. immobilize. reduce. - Frye defines oppression as the pervasive and systematic mistreatment of people on the basis of their membership, or perceived membership, in certain groups. - people focus on specific incidents of oppression rather than the historical, political and social systems

socioeconomic inequality

the unequal distribution of economic resources (e.g., money, usually measured by income or wealth, and access to credit), opportunities to build human capital (e.g., from schooling, technology, and job training), and social resources (e.g., access to social capital and information).

social inequality

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society - caused by inequality of outcomes and inequality of opportunities

unearned entitlements

things of value all people should have, but when restricted to certain groups results in privilege of "unearned advantage"

political deprivation

to lack the opportunity to participate in collective decision making - lack of opportunity to hold decision making positions - lacks explanatory power

Able-bodied privilege

❑Nondisabled people have greater access to education and health care. They are less likely to be singled out based on stereotypes that underestimate their abilities and be put in "special education" classes that don't allow them to develop their full potential ❑Nondisabled people can live secure in other people's assumptions that they are sexual beings capable of an active sex life, including the potential to have children and be parents. ❑Nondisabled people can ask for help without people assuming they will need help with everything. ❑Nondisabled people can succeed without people being surprised ❑Nondisabled people can assume that when they need to travel from one place to another, they will have access to means of transportation.

The Paradox of privilege

❑Privilege is rooted in societies and groups as much as it is rooted in people's personalities and how they perceive and react to one another. ❑Privilege is more about social categories than who people are. Therefore, a person can be privileged without feeling privileged. ❑Belonging to a privilege category improves the odds in favor of certain kinds of advantages or preferential treatment, but it does not guarantee anything for any given individual

aspects of privilege

❑Privilege provides disproportional access to resources, the ability to influence, and to power. ❑Privileges are given by systems to individuals on the basis of position and/or identity. ❑To have privilege is to be allowed to move through your life without being marked in ways that identify you as an outsider, as exceptional, as "other" to be excluded, or to be included but always with conditions.

understanding white privilege

❑White Privilege as the "Power of Normal" ❑White Privilege as the "Power of the Benefit of the Doubt" ❑White Privilege as the "Power of Accumulated Power"

white privilege

❑Whites are less likely than Blacks (and perhaps Latinos) to be arrested; once arrested they are less likely to be convicted and, once convicted, less likely to go to prison, regardless of the crime or circumstances. ❑Whites are more likely than Blacks to have loan applications approved ❑Whites are charged lower prices for new cars and used cars than are people of color, and residential segregation gives whites access to higher-quality goods of all kinds at cheaper prices. ❑Whites have greater access to quality education and healthcare. ❑White representation in government and the ruling circles of corporations, universities, and other organizations is disproportionately high. ❑Whites can choose to be conscious of their racial identity or to ignore it and regard themselves as simply human beings without a race.

privilege

❑exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the group they belong to, rather than something they did or failed to do.