Gender Reflection

Gender Discussion (Reflection Example)

To me, intersectionality is very interesting because it calls to attention privilege gaps in our culture. By acknowledging that we have different life experiences based from criteria of gender, race, sexual orientation, class, disability, etc. we can understand the world view of those around us better. How these different categories intertwine, or intersect, is your social location which in part determines your place in society. In the U.S. the default, or hegemonic, group of people with the most privilege are the white, heterosexual, working class, able bodied, males. As an individual strays from the dominant categories their privilege in this country is reduced. For myself, I am a white, able bodied, male from a working class family. These factors give me privilege, however, I am gay and any sexuality other than heterosexual is not hegemonic, so this takes away some of my privilege. Overall, because I fit a majority of the hegemonic categories of intersectionality I have had a privileged life experience. For example just because my parents are white and have a white sounding last name, they can run their small business without racial prejudices affecting their business. Their ability to run a successful business allowed me to grow up in nice neighborhoods, which allowed me to go to nice schools, which has granted me a good education, which allowed me to be accepted to CSUSM, and so on. In the same way, gender’s role in intersectionality is dependent on many the other layers of identity. Different races, ethnicities, and nationalities can have compounding systematic oppression. In the United States, being a white woman, is a different experience than being black or Latina. Women of color experience more institutional oppression than white women, making women of color often having to work harder to achieve the same accomplishments. This chapter made me ask, is it possible to not have a hegemonic gender?