Race Class And Gender In Society

Every day I step out of my dorm room I see that society and even the world its self is not just black and white, there and many shades of grey entwined into the whole picture. It is almost easy to see why the world is so wrapped up in who is better than the other. Race, class, gender, and even religion are where the answers lay to that particular question.

When I think about race the first thing I think is skin color, even though I know that a persons’ race goes much deeper than that. Every day there is a hate crime committed because one person didn’t like what the other looked like. This isn’t a new development by any means it has gone back as far as History can write it’s self. To some their race makes them superior or better or even more deserving of certain privileges. It is odd to think that this is almost a normal thought process to some individuals. I can speak from experience that growing up in Texas has conditioned me to think a certain way. There is a word called xenophobia and it means to fear a certain race. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I have a particular fear of Hispanics more particularly Mexicans. Growing up I have witnessed and been involved in several events that have led me to believe certain things just because they look the way they do. Today when I see a person that is Mexican or Hispanic I get a feeling of hatred and it does bother me, but not enough to change my mind set so it seems.

Another answer can be found when looking as class. A person’s class does more than just give them a title. It affects their attitude and even their way of life. When looking at a poor person I tend to think lazy, or dirty. Then when I see a person of high class or great wealth I think successful or hard working. This is not the case all the time. As I said earlier I sometimes view the world in black and white. A person’s class is always changing throughout their lifetime; how am I to know if the poor person was once a person of wealth or high rank in society? I don’t and even though I don’t I know I don’t always ask myself that question. I do think that everyone has the power to change their rank in society to a certain extent. Bad things do happen and they happen to both bad and good people. A person’s class should not be the determining factor to are they a good person or not. Someone’s class is their title not who they are as an individual.

Gender is also another issue that I see. I would have to say that gender is just male or female. But again the world has many different views than just me. I see on a constant basis how much gender impacts someone’s life style. I think that gender even goes into a person’s sexuality. The most accepted forms are if you are a guy then you like girls and if you are a girl you like guys. Homosexuals and transgender’s are frowned