Hegemony is the explanation that people consent to and are complicit in their own subordination. But why would people accept and support a system that oppresses them? It is because the dominant systems of oppression are perceived as normal, natural, inevitable, and unchangeable; the way things are and always will be. Hegemony naturalizes ideology and renders it as common sense. There are several myths of neutrality: education, legal system, media, and political parties. Education is the cultural bias of standardized tests. Legal system is only certain acts are criminalized and only certain ideological subjects are convicted. Media is only certain ideologies are represented; which makes us wonder, what is missing from televisions? Political parties are non-party candidates get unequal airtime.
Hegemony helps us understand gender ideology, race ideology and class ideology. The stereotypes are as follows*:
Gender Ideology -
Girls: clean, polite, quiet, caregivers, babysit, play with dolls, dance, sing, color coded, bows in hair, play dress up, protected, emotional, sensitive, and lady-like
Boys: leader, bold, strong, quick, problem-solver, no crying, contributor, responsible, physical chores, more freedom, aggressive, athletic
Women: caregivers, compassionate, "independent", "self-sufficient", lonely, sex symbols, supporters, people careers, helpless, emotional, physically attractive, and quiet
Men: breadwinner, decision maker, unemotional, unattached, controlled, authorized, balanced, charming, strong, protective, assertive, aggressive, logical, rational, disciplinary
Race Ideology -
Black: not proper, uneducated, big families, athletic, religious & spiritual, outspoken, driven, speak in slang, code switch, dangerous, flashy
White: rich, educated, stuck-up, trust-worthy, white-supremacy, less athletic, athletic in golf, hockey, bowling, Nascar, tennis, "creepy", "crazy", American Psycho, well-spoken, vindictive, cocky
Class Ideology -
Middle: jobs, make a living, ambitious, driven
Working: irresponsible, lazy, "free-loaders", minorities, active voters
Upper: Republicans, educated, rich, materialistic, undeserving, throw-away mentality, high spenders, white
(*I do not adhere by or agree with these stereotypes)
Ever since I can remember I have been interested in the 'girly' things of life. There's a set of "standards" and "expectations" that follow each one of us as we grow up based on our gender, race and class. For example, when someone is expecting a girl baby, gifts will be pink while gifts for boys will be blue. Future gifts for girls will include Barbie dolls, princesses, clothes, jewelry, etc and future gifts for boys will be cars, trucks, GI Joes, etc. Girls are excited about their wedding day at a young age, while boys could care less. Here is a video of a little girl arguing with a little boy about them getting married:
No comments:
Post a Comment