Reflection of my stand point in the world

 

Introduction

Am born in a world where one has to identify them self with a certain category for the sake of having an identity. As an individual it is important for me to analyze myself using the various categories assigned to human beings. Some of these categories that I and other individuals can use to analyze themselves include; physical characteristics, gender, and race. These categories are responsible for how the society and world at large views us. Physical characteristics as a category is responsible for the prejudice people who fall under this category face. under the gender category people are categorized as male and female. Race is another category that is used to analyze individuals it categorizes people according to their skin color and structure of their faces. These categories are most of the time responsible for making one uncomfortable due to the misunderstanding that arise from the different beliefs people hold concerning them. However, analyzing oneself using these categories is important since it helps show us that someone’s life and standpoint may differ from ours.

Physical characteristics

The first thing people notice about me are the features of my body, these features include height, skin tone and how my features are formed. It is also very quick to notice if my body has a deformity. At many times people have been judged and looked down upon due to a physical deformity, before anyone can learn anything else about them. Through history, people with physical deformities have been stigmatized because they possess undesirable attributes (Marini, & Stebnicki, 2012). Society believes that these physical characteristics are the central key to how someone behaves and defines their personality. I have not fallen victim to the discomfort caused by grouping people according to this category but I am not blind to the discomfort people experience when they are judged and categorized according to their physical features 

A lot of prejudice has been shown to people with physical disabilities but currently, society is working toward reducing the prejudice that individuals who are judged according to their physical characteristics face. Having been born with physical features that do not have a deformity is a privilege for me but not everyone is so lucky. According to Halvorson (2015), the best way to mitigate similarity bias is to find commonalities with those who appear different. The prejudice these people face kills their confidence making them retreat to their shells, refusing to be heard and this completely affects communication. The society should take it upon themselves to make these people who are categorized using their physical characteristics comfortable.

Gender

            Gender is a category that categories human being according to their sexuality, male or female. Also looking at a person before categorizing them any further it is easy to identify what gender they are. For many years debates on who is the superior sex between a woman and a man have resulted into full- brown battles, over the centuries women have been made to feel like they come from a different planet. People fail to consider that the root of these problem are in the way these two genders communicate. Communication between these two genders may be hindered by the way they attempt to express themselves. It is upon these two sexes to recognize their difference in communication that the misunderstanding between them can be solved (Meghan,2010).

            The anger brought about by inequality that women face can only be understood through social and historical context. Throughout history, women have been denied the right to express their anger in a male dominated culture. Many therapists have associated this as the outcomes of living in a world where they are the subordinate ones. The culture has denied women the right to express their anger publicly while that right has been accorded to men. Using a national probability sample of 2031 adults, Catherine Ross and Maricke Van Willigen found out that women compared to men have high levels of anger caused by factors such as economic hardship and parental responsibilities, this shows that women’s anger result from experiencing social inequality (Worell, 2001).

 A development report undertaken in 1995 helped to shed light on the facts that the place of the woman is not respected nor recognized. The report came to conclusions such as; women work for long hours compared to men. It was also noted that most of the work done by women remain unpaid and unrecognized (Samantha, 1999). However, progress that society is making is promising a future where categorizing people according to their gender will not lead to discrimination. I have at many times been looked down on because am a woman, men seem to undervalue me and most of them consider themselves superior to me. I believe that most of the women have been hurt by the belief people hold that they are the subordinate sex. I also feel that as a woman I have been denied the freedom to express my anger. Also, when I try to pitch an idea to a man that idea is ignored and looked down on, communication with the male gender has also been hard since they want to be accorded respect that they are not willing to accord us in return.

Race

Human beings are categorized according to race judging from their skin colors and structures of their faces. one race has a certain distinctive character that separates it from the others. It is believed that the traits of race are inherited biologically. Example of race include. Black, white, Asian and Latin. This act of categorizing humans according to race has led to racism where one discriminates others who are not from their race (Memmi, 2000). This discrimination on the basis of race results to inequality among people from various groups.

 The society holds a myth that categorizing people on the basis of race is important and gives one a sense of belonging and a group to identify with. However, that is not the case since categorizing people this way has caused discrimination that makes one uncomfortable. Categorizing people on the basis of race is also based on incorrect biological assumptions. The history of the United States is evidence that categorizing people according to race results to a lot of discrimination. The whites enslaved the black simply because the white viewed their race more superior compared to the black (Memmi,2000). The uncomfortable feeling created by categorizing people into different races hinder communication in such away that people from different race cannot co-exist in peace in work places and in schools.

            Having experience the cruelty of racism first hand I know how it feels to be made uncomfortable in one’s own skin feels. As someone who comes from a black race living among people who come from the white race I completely know how been disregarded and looked down feels. In my high school years, I felt discriminate a lot having been the only girl in the class who was black. Having everyone refer to me as the “black girl” did not at all make me comfortable. Communicating with the rest of my class was hard since they already looked down on me. Race is one of the barriers to communication since people refuse to look beyond their races (Memmi, 2000).

Conclusion

Human beings have been categorized according to their gender, race and physical characters. This categorization has made humans uncomfortable in some circumstances. These feeling of being uncomfortable has hindered effective communication People have been judged due to their physical characteristics, this prejudice makes people with deformity retreat into their shells thus refusing to be heard. We are living in a society that has already established the roles of each gender. Women are often subject to prejudice and have been undervalued and seen as the subordinate sex, the inequality that exists between these two genders hinder communication since the women have been denied freedom to express their anger. This has made women uncomfortable although ways to promote female gender are being put in place. Categorizing people on the basis of race is the major cause of racism in the world. Some races feel superior to others thus arousing discomfort and this discomfort always results to disrupted communication between people of different races Categorization of human is good since it gives them an identity but it also causes discomfort which is responsible for the breakdown of communication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Halvorson H. G & David R (2015). Harvard Business Review; Beyond Bias

Marini, I, & Stebnicki M. (2012). The Psychology and Social Impact of Illness and Disability.

Meghan, M. (2010). How Does Gender Affect Communication? Retrieved from;             https://pairedlife.com/etiquette/Gender-and-communication

Memmi, A. (2000). Race, Rights, and the Asian American Experience. New Brunswick: Rutgers.

            New York: Springer Pub. Co.

Samantha, R. K. (1999). Empowering women: Key to third world development. New Delhi M D

            Univ.Press

Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopedia of women and gender: sex similarities and differences and the    impact of society on gender. San Diego, Calif: Academic press .

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