Published Issues 2003 --
A) Socializing the Youth; B) Others Race, Gender, and Class Issues
Volume 16, Number 1-2, 2009, ISSN 1084-8354
Part A
Guest Editor: Rhonda L. Williams and Heather Powers Albanesi
Rhonda L. Williams and Heather Powers Albanesi Introduction. Socializing our Youth (p 4-5)
Kathryn Gold Hadley How Do Parenting Practices Affect Children's Peer Culture? Examining the Intersection of Class and Race (p 6-24)
Abstract: Intersectional theory posits that class and race shape parenting practices and youth socialization. Lareau (2003) examined the link between race, class, and parenting, and proposed that middle-class parents produce overscheduled kids with undeveloped peer cultures. The findings from my ethnographic study of middle-class Chinese-American children who attended a weekend language school contradict Lareau’s. First, middle-class Chinese-American parents differed from their white and black American counterparts by adopting both middle-class and working-class parenting practices. Also, I show how these children used negotiation skills to build a creative, Pokemon-centered peer culture and resist adult attempts to limit peer-directed interactions. These findings reinforce the need to incorporate children’s agency in intersectional theory and analysis. Keywords: parenting practices; social class; Chinese-American children; peer culture
Jeremy Redford, Jennifer A. Johnson, and Julie Honnold Parenting Practices, Cultural Capital and Educational Outcomes: The effects of Concerted Cultivation on Academic Achievement (p 25-44)
Abstract: Research consistently documents a strong, positive relationship between socio-economic status and academic achievement. Annette Lareau (2003) argues that parents’ child-rearing practices have a profound effect on academic and later occupational success for children, even holding constant gender, race and school effects. In Unequal Childhoods, Lareau uses qualitative research to illustrate how a middle-class form of parenting she terms ‘concerted cultivation’ transmits cultural advantages to middle-class children, providing them vital cultural capital needed to effectively negotiate inside the educational system. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS), the current study quantitatively tests the theoretical validity of concerted cultivation. Results show that concerted cultivation significantly predicts both student GPA and standardized test scores, with parent and student habitus, in the form of expectations, playing the largest roles. Keywords: cultural capital; parenting; education; social class; inequality; academic achievement
Jessica L. Kenty-Drane Early Isolation: Racial and Economic Segregation in U.S. Public Elementary Schools (p 45-62)
Abstract: The literature shows that racially and economically segregated schools diminish educational outcomes for students in non white schools with impoverished peers (Frankenberg & Lee, 2002; Mayer, 2000). To reveal which children are apt to begin their education in high minority and poor schools, this study drew on nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Evidence documents variations in school racial and economic contexts according to children's race and social class backgrounds. Over half of Black and Hispanic first-graders attend segregated minority and poor schools while very few White first-graders do so. Additional analyses reveal that while social class is a useful predictor of educational segregation, it is less predictive for Black and Asian students than for White and Hispanic students. Keywords: race; social class; education; segregation
Melissa Swauger No Kids Allowed!!!: How IRB Undermine Qualitative Researchers from Achieving Socially Responsible Ethical Standards (p 63-78)
Abstract: Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) undermine qualitative researchers from achieving ethical standards that are promoted by youth, feminist, critical race, queer, and cultural studies. While conducting my dissertation research, I learned that although IRBs seek ethical research approaches, their restrictive requirements limit studies on youth in ways that exclude or silence them, and further marginalize disadvantaged people whom qualitative researchers want to make visible. IRB policies and procedures inadvertently block the voices of youth, homogenize youth subjects, prioritize the consent of adult gatekeepers while limiting the consent of youth, and control the dissemination of research, all in the name of protection of vulnerable subjects. Current IRB policies may steer researchers away from qualitative inquiry, especially with young people. Keywords: youth studies; youth research methods; qualitative research; Institutional Review Boards; feminist qualitative research ethic
Rhonda L. Williams Developmental Issues as a Component of Intersectionality: Defining the Smart-Girl Program (p 79-98)
Abstract: The concept of intersectionality suggests that race, gender, and class can not operate independently of each other; however, this article argues that developmental issues must also be considered as part of the intersectionality paradigm. Teaching coping and self awareness skills at an earlier developmental age may help females work through the issues of intersectionality before negative behaviors can be ingrained and manifested as they develop into adults. A program, called Smart-Girl, is described as a method in which educational and research-based best practices can effectively be used to address intersectionality developmentally among adolescent girls. Smart-Girl provides a mentor-led, small group environment, where adolescent girls learn effective social/emotional intelligence and leadership skills through an activity-based, experiential curriculum. Keywords: adolescent girls; mentorship; bullying; social intelligence
Heather Powers Albanesi Eschewing Sexual Agency: A Gender Subjectivity Approach (p 99-129)
Abstract: This article argues for the utility of psychoanalytic theory within the sociology of gender for exploring subjective meaning. Using data drawn from in-depth interviews of 83 heterosexual young men and women, the author connects the degree to which the subject expresses agency within sexual encounters to their subjective experience of gender—that is, to the specific meaning (including raced and classed meaning) and dominant emotions (conscious and unconscious) that the subject attributes to masculinity and femininity. This article presents an analysis of two cases selected from the larger study representing the subset of subjects that avoid expressing sexual agency. Keywords: sexual agency; gender identity; heterosexuality; gender subjectivity
Janice McCabe Racial and Gender Microagressions on a Predominantly-White Campus: Experiences of Black, Latina/o and White Undergraduates (p 130-148)
Abstract: Using interview data and a critical race theory approach, this paper examines racial and gender patterns in microaggressions—covert insults towards subordinated groups—that black, Latino and white women and men experienced on a predominantly-white campus. Four themes emerged: (a) views of black men as threatening, (b) views of Latinas as sexually available and exotic, (c) the classroom as a particular setting for microaggressions experienced by black women, and, (d) male-dominated academic majors as particular settings for microaggressions experienced by white women. Attention is drawn to students’ solutions to microaggressions, particularly how they bonded together to form support structures to cope with these microaggressions, and what universities can do to better support students, given these experiences. Keywords: race and ethnicity; gender; microaggressions; college students; higher education
Traci B. Abbott Teaching Transgender Literature at a Business College (p 149-167)
Abstract: Transgender identity has increasingly become a topic in the undergraduate classroom, yet the majority of the pedagogical criticism focuses on the social science or gender studies classroom. What little work has been done in a humanities setting proposes extending feminist pedagogy to include transgender theory rather than attempting to situate transgender issues as a main focus of the course. In this article I incorporate the work of these scholars in order to propose the possibilities, as well as drawbacks, of using fiction and non-fiction, including novels, poetry, films, and autobiographies, to study the variety of transgender experiences in a literature course for undergraduate business students. Keywords: transgender; pedagogy, literature; gender studies
Margaret Hunter and Kathleen Soto Women of Color in Hip Hop: The Pornographic Gaze (p 168-189)
Abstract: The lyrical content of hip hop music is a widely contested, yet understudied popular culture phenomenon. This article presents a content analysis of the lyrics of the 49 most popular mainstream rap songs over a two year period. The analysis revealed three over-arching themes regarding women of color: 1) consistent with trends in mainstream pornography, women are commonly characterized as sex workers, particularly strippers and prostitutes, 2) women’s voices are used strategically in songs to "sell" particular images of women and gender ideologies, and 3) women are often valorized for their loyalty to male partners despite danger to themselves. We find that popular rap music draws heavily from mainstream pornography contributing to a "pornification" of youth culture. Keywords: pornography; rap music; hip hop; popular culture; youth culture
Part B
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Introduction. Others Race, Gender, and Class Issues (p 191-192)
Angela J. Hattery Sexual Abuse in Childhood - Intimate Partner Violence in Adulthood - Struggles for African American and White Women (p 193-217)
Abstract: This paper, based on interviews with 35 white and African American battered women, utilizes the race, class and gender paradigm as a lens through which to examine the mechanism that leads women who’ve experienced at least one type of sexual abuse in childhood or adolescence—incest, premature sex engagement, or childhood prostitution—to employ at least one "survival" strategy that leaves them vulnerable to IPV: (1) marriage as a method of escape from incest and prostitution, and (2) seeking male protectors, through marriage and cohabitation. In many cases women chose partners who helped them escape sexual abuse, and who provided protection from the outside world but who proved to be abusive intimate partners. Keywords: child sexual abuse; intimate partner violence; childhood prostitution; domestic violence
Mark A. Whatley Never Do Today What You Can Do Later: The Effect of Participants Sex and Gender Classification (p 218-227)
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine how gender classification effects self-reported ratings of procrastination. Past research has found no differences due to biological sex but has yet to examine how gender relates to procrastination. Participants (n = 242) completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (in Spence & Helmreich, 1978) and the Procrastination Scale (Tuckman, 1991). As predicted, males and females did not differ on their procrastination scores. As predicted, participants classified as masculine reported significantly lower procrastination scores than participants classified as feminine. Implications for research are discussed. Keywords: gender differences; sex differences; procrastination; individualism-collectivism masculinity; femininity; androgyny; undifferentiation
William Arp, III Race, Incarceration, and HIV/AIDS in Louisiana: Risky Sexual Behavior Demands Mandatory Testing (p 228-237)
Abstract: This is a case study of risky sexual behavior in Louisiana State Penitentiary-Angola. This survey research attempts to reveal sexual practices and risks and any other contributing behaviors that may lead to an increase of HIV/AIDS among inmates and the public at large. Secondly, the survey sought to determine if inmates would oppose mandatory testing for HIV/AIDS in the prison environment. Survey findings revealed men having sex with men and then later with women after they were released. A significant majority of inmates surveyed wanted mandatory HIV/AIDS testing when they entered and was released from prison. Keywords: risky behavior; prisons inmates; HIV/AIDS; mandatory testing
Phoebe C. Godfrey 'Passing the Buck': The Articulation of Class Struggle through Racism, Sexism and the Connections to Fascism (p 238-256)
Abstract: This paper presents Naomi Wolf’s ten stages of fascism and applies them to an analysis of the murder of two Mexican workers in Georgia by members of the KKK in the early 1980's. The purpose is twofold; one to show that each of Wolf’s ten stages, which she sees as being recent developments, are in fact typical of the ways in which racialized minorities have been treated throughout American history and two show the ways in which issues of class struggle are articulated through the violence of racism and sexism, both in language and in actions. Keywords: fascism; racism; sexism; Klu Klux Klan; meatpacking
Allison L. Hurst The Path to College: Stories of Students from the Working Class (p 257-281)
Abstract: This paper identifies the cultural, institutional, and financial obstacles facing academically prepared high school students from the working class who wish to go on to college. Twenty-one working-class college students at a large moderately-selective public university were extensively interviewed about their experiences with the college application process. These stories highlight the ways in which class cultures, class biases and assumptions, and the educational system itself interact in ways that impede access to college. They also demonstrate the continuing importance of class in the US, and the difficulties surrounding individual mobility through education. Keywords: class; working class; higher education; transition to college; tracking; inequality; social mobility
Gail Wallace A Research Brief: Exploring Black Feminist Consciousness in the Lives of Fifteen African-American Women (p 282-288)
Abstract: This study examines the extent of black feminist consciousness in African-American women, and its relationship to the social and psychological conditions of their lives. While this will not be a causal study, I will attempt to identity themes that are common among this group. Based on open-ended interviews, I will describe African-American women’s attitudes and feminist consciousness on the one hand, and various measures of social and psychological conditions, well-being or adaptations on the other. Keywords: African American women; Black feminism; ethnographic study; social and psychological conditions; well-being; African-American women’s everyday lives
Volume 15, Number 3-4, 2008, ISSN 1084-8354
Guest Editors: George L. Amedee
George L. Amedee Introduction. Presidential Election Processes and Politics in the United States (p 4-7)
Lisa A. Eargle, Ashraf M. Esmail, and Jas M. Sullivan Voting the Issues or Voting The Demographics? The Media's Construction of Political Candidates Credibility (p 8-31)
Abstract: The authors examine news items covering presidential political candidates running for office and how the coverage varies according to the candidates’ characteristics. The data for this article comes from items appearing on the websites of four television news organizations (CBS News, CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC) for eight candidates (Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, McCain, Romney, Huckabee, and Giuliani) during the time period of August 2007 to September 2008. The authors examine these items to see what patterns exist in the content of political coverage and the coverage content varies according to candidates’ racial/ethnic, gender, and other characteristics. Results show that racial/ethnic minorities and females do receive more press coverage addressing their racial/ethnic and gender characteristics than do other candidates. However, the vast majority of news coverage tends to address issues other than candidate characteristics. Keywords: race; framing; elections
Joshua Stockley Social
Forces and the Primary Vote: Examining
Race, Gender, Age, and Class in the 2008 Presidential Primaries
Abstract: Voters generally use three evaluation methods—party identification, issue positions, and candidate evaluations. What happens when party identifications and policy differences are neutralized; by what measure do voters make their electoral decisions? Relying upon entrance and exit poll data from Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International, this paper examines the role of race, gender, class, and age in the 2008 Democratic nomination contest. The candidacy of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, in conjunction with a highly compressed, frontloaded primary schedule, affords an excellent opportunity to view the power of group dynamics and determine if the presence of a female, black, or younger candidate predicts for whom women, blacks, and younger voters vote. Are socio-demographic factors such as race, gender, age, and class predictors in an intra-party contest? Does socio-demographic voting persist regardless of the nature and timing of the contest? And, how do individuals with multiple socio-demographic constructs vote? This study finds that socio-demographic factors remain powerful predictors for voting behavior; race, gender, age, and class are important to voters and are standards that candidates will be judged by. The most powerful of these associations is race. In a candidate-centered electoral environment, candidate appearance, as defined by group membership, stands to play a heightened role in future elections. Keywords: presidential nominations; primaries; voting; women in politics; African Americans; Barack Obama; Hillary Clinton
Jas M. Sullivan and Melanie S. Johnson Race Is On My Mind: Explaining Black Voter's Political Attraction to Barack Obama (p 51-64)
Abstract: Barack Obama has appealed to a broad segment of the American society, and his campaign has energized the electoral base of the Democratic Party with a platform of "hope and change." This study attempts to measure the appeal of Senator Obama, who has received nearly 90 percent of the black vote in the primary elections. Specifically, we ask black voters to reveal their reasons for supporting the candidacy of Senator Obama. Our hypothesis is that black voters’ rationale for supporting the candidacy of Obama is more along racial lines rather than on their knowledge of his specific policy positions. Based on our survey of 300 black respondents (from East Baton Rouge Parish), we found an overwhelming support for Obama among the black electorate, and much of this support was based on racial similarity than on their detailed knowledge of Obama’s issue positions. Keywords: race; identity; voting behavior
Ronald J. Vogel and Phillip Ardoin Ask Me No Question, I'll Tell You No Lies: Does the Bradley Effect Still Exist? (p 65-84)
Abstract: Since African-Americans began competing in elections in majority white districts, researchers have postulated that some whites were reticent to tell pollsters that they intended to vote for the white candidate, causing polling to be inaccurate. Prior to 2006, it was difficult to determine empirically whether the Bradley Effect existed, and if it did, how powerful of a factor it was, since there were relatively few cases to examine. This study examines the 2006 electoral contests that pitted African-Americans versus whites, and analyzes the Democratic primaries and caucuses in the 2008 presidential race. We find that a Bradley Effect did exist in about half of the 2006 elections and in about one quarter of the 2008 primaries. However, a ‘reverse’ Bradley Effect occurred about as often. Keywords: Bradley Effect; public opinion; African American politics; election polling
Elgie C. McFayden, Jr. The Bill Clinton Presidency: Economic Impact on African Americans in the South (p 85-99)
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of federal policies and programs implemented during the Presidency of William Jefferson Clinton on the economic condition of African Americans. The primary objective of this study is to determine if policies and programs implemented by the Clinton Administration significantly improved the economic condition of African Americans in the Delta region of the United States. The Delta region is the focus of this evaluation for several reasons. First, it has a well documented and extensive history of poverty among African Americans. The Delta has a proportionally large African American population and federal policies and programs, historically, have been ineffective at significantly improving the economic condition of African Americans in the region. As such, policies and programs which have achieved even moderate success in terms of reducing poverty rates and raising income levels in the most economically depressed region in the United States may have significant policy implications for addressing economic disparity and poverty throughout the United States. This study uses income as the primary indicator to make this assessment. Keywords: African Americans; Delta region; poverty policy, Clinton Administration.
George L. Amedee Obama vs. McCain: Economic Proposals in Search for Change (p 100-109)
Abstract: This paper examines the issue of "real change" concerning the two presidential nominees and the implications for race, gender, and class concerns. An comparative analysis is used that compares McCain’s proposed policies to Reagan, the Republican’s consensus selection of economic success and Obama’s proposed policies to Clinton, the Democrat’s consensus selection of economic success. The issue of change regarding the race, gender, and class impacts of the two nominees is discussed. Keywords: economic policy; deregulation; free trade; taxing and spending; privatization; economic indicators
Rodney D. Coates Preserving the Illusion of Inclusion or Investigating a Matrix of Identity (p 110-116)
Abstract: The 2008 presidential election afforded the United States a rare opportunity to interrogate issues related to race, class and gender. Unfortunately, rather than looking at the complex and nuanced identities represented by the leading candidates—the conversations tended to mirror our biases and reductionist thinking with regard to race, class and gender. This paper explores such reductionist thinking and argues that it serves to preserve an illusion of inclusion. The paper concludes by identifying a more nuanced matrix of identity that reflects a more accurate portrayal of social reality. Keywords: race; class; gender; politics; identity; inclusion; diversity; ethnicity
Lenus Jack, Jr. Post Election Reflection - An Opportunity for Change: A Consensus for Economic and Social Stability (p 117-126)
Abstract: Euphoria has characterized the election of Barack Obama in 2008. The feeling, with some exceptions, was global. This paper is a reflection on the challenges facing President-elect Barack Obama: a slumping U.S. economy within a global recession and a demand for changes, particularly among social activists. Advocates are demanding federal legislation that will improve employment and real pay, increase the number of affordable houses, promote healthcare as a civil right and promote social justice. A perusal of the literature indicates that a growing number of Americans, in part because of a failing economy, have joined the advocates in making similar demands. Americans are demanding leadership from the federal government through federal legislation to cure the social and economic problems facing the nation. They see the election of Barack Obama as a consensus for change. The future Democratic president and Congress will be judged on those expectations. Keywords: affordable housing; healthcare; Obama; recession; social justice; unemployment; U.S. economy
Jean Ait Belkhir Afterword. Race, Gender, Class Lessons from the 2008 Presidential Election (p 127-138)
Abstract: This afterword focuses on the race, gender, and class lessons from the 2008 presidential election. I examine in detail some of the more interesting questions of the race, gender, and class implications of the 2008 presidential election. While discussing the historical meaning, breakthroughs, and areas of progress made, I also address the lack of progress in addressing economic equalities and struggles against racism, sexism, and capitalism. Keywords: presidential election; race; gender; class
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Introduction. Others Race, Gender, and Class Issues (p139-142)
Richard K. Caputo Standing Polanyi on His Head: The Basic Income Guarantee as a Response of the Commodification of Labor (p 143-161)
Abstract: This paper examines unconditional basic income schemes proposed by Philippe Van Parijs and by Ross Zucker in light of Karl Polanyi’s analysis of the 1795 Speenhamland Law and of Esping-Andersen’s use of de-commodification as a signifier of social provisioning in welfare states. It discusses tradeoffs between productive advantages of market-based economies and dehumanizing disadvantages of commodified labor. Contemporary redistributive schemes such as those of Van Parijs and of Zucker extol the productive virtues of market economies well beyond what Polanyi, who advocated for subjecting markets to social purposes, would consider acceptable. Further, Van Parijs’s and Zucker’s basic income schemes extol capitalism, perhaps mistakenly, as a means of achieving a more egalitarian social order of which Polanyi would in all likelihood approve, if such economies functioned as portrayed and were properly implemented to de-commodify labor, that is at a level considered adequate and acceptable to the society in which one lives. Keywords: basic income guarantee; commodified labor; de-commodification; market economies; social welfare states; Speenhamland Law
Carly Hayden Foster The Welfare Queen: Race, Gender, Class and, Public Opinion (p 162-179)
Abstract: The Welfare Queen is an exquisite example of the need for intersectional analysis in understanding political and social phenomenon. The Welfare Queen is a public identity with a specific social location determined by race, gender and class. Yet existing research on welfare, and public opinion about welfare, tends to focus on either race or gender—rarely both. Here I use an intersectional approach to analyze data from two nation wide public opinion surveys. My analysis of the survey data helps to fill in the gaps left by conventional approaches, as I look for the combined influences of race, class, and gender on public opinion about welfare. Keywords: welfare; intersectionality; public opinion
Valerie H. Hunt and Anna M. Zajicek Strategic
Intersectionality & the Needs of Disadvantaged Populations:
An Intersectional Analysis of Organizational Inclusion and Participation
Abstract: In this paper, using the concept of "strategic intersectionality" and data obtained from twelve CDCs operating in the Southern Arkansas Delta, we examine how inclusive they are and how effectively they meet community needs. In particular, we use an intersectional approach to explore the connection between organizational inclusiveness and capacity to achieve its institutional goals. We find that (1) given the racial, gender, and the socio-economic composition of the CDCs, on the one hand, and the characteristics of the populations the CDCs, the CDCs’ inclusiveness in the leadership positions is limited, and (2) although each organization provides the necessary services, the work that they value, empowering the community members, is impeded by their limited inclusiveness and capacity. We conclude, by discussing the implications of strategic intersectionality for organizational inclusiveness and capacity. Keywords: intersectionality; inclusion; community development; public participation; Community Development Corporations
Glenn S. Johnson, Shirley A. Rainey, and Laila Scaife Johnson Dickson, Tennessee and Toxic Wells: An Environmental Racism Case Study (p 204-223)
Abstract: Race and the geography of toxic pollution are highly correlated especially in communities of color. The authors use the environmental justice framework to examine toxic discrimination in Dickson, Tennessee where Sheila Holt and her family’s private wells were impacted by toxic chemicals from a leaky Dickson County landfill which impacted not only the health of several family members but the community as a whole. The authors provide a brief historical overview and a chronology of the events surrounding the alleged toxic chemical-trichloroethylene found in the Holts’ wells. The politics of pollution for the Holts’ family have not resulted in social justice or legal justice yet the health status of the family members is rather disturbing. The Holt family is suing government officials and private companies for negligently polluting their private wells that resulted in the negative impacts on their health. Keywords: poisoned wells; environmental racism; toxic contamination
John W. Miller, Jr. and Terri Combs-Orme How Big is your World? An Examination of Environmental Racial Composition on the Racial Identity of African American Adolescents (p 224-239)
Abstract: Do African-American adolescents who live in a predominantly African-American community racially identify themselves differently than African-American adolescents who live in a predominantly European-American community? To determine this, the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI) was given to 101 African-American adolescents. A little more than half (57%) of study participants lived in a predominantly African-American community in South Carolina and the remaining 43% lived in a predominantly European-American community in Tennessee. Results indicate significant differences in racial identity attitudes between participants in SC and TN. Results also indicated that the concepts of Ideology, Regard, and Centrality that the MIBI examines may be too complex for adolescents under the age of 15, and a new factor, Self-Importance, was identified. Keywords: African-American; identity; race; self-importance
Barbara Perry and Mike Sutton Policing the Colour Line Violence Against those in Intimate Interracial Relationships (p 240-261)
Abstract: What we seek to explore in this paper, then, are the broad public prejudices and hostilities against interracial relationships, and more concretely, how these negative reactions to sexed and raced border crossings might condition violence against those in such relationships. They provide the context and pretext in which perpetrators engage in a particular form of hate crime. We argue here that these "ethnosexual imaginings and ideologies often manifest themselves in violent behaviour intended to police the colour line, by meting out punishment to transgressors. We open with consideration of the legal and cultural discourses that provide such a hostile environment for intimate inter-racial relationships. We then turn to how this context facilitates violence directed at those involved in such relationships. Keywords: hate crime; inter racial relationships; prejudice; representations of race and gender
Doug Meyer Interpreting and Experiencing Anti-Queer Violence: Race, Class, and Gender Differences among LGBT Hate Crime Victims (p 262-282)
Abstract: This qualitative research project explores how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people determine that violence is based on their sexuality or gender identity. Data were collected from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 44 people who experienced anti-LGBT violence. Findings reveal that their violent experiences differ along the lines of race, class, and gender. In particular, LGBT people of color often found it more difficult than White gay men to determine whether violence was based on their sexuality. These findings suggest that hate crime statutes may serve the interests of White gay men more than the interests of other LGBT people. Keywords: intersectionality; race; class; gender; sexuality; violence; hate crime
Bridget E. Harr and Emily W. Kane Intersectionality and Queer Student Support for Queer Politics (p 283-299)
Abstract: This paper analyzes data from a survey of queer students at selective liberal arts colleges in the United States, to address the extent and predictors of support for queer politics among such students. Within the context of a review of the literature on racial and class biases within queer social movements, and the emergence of queer politics as a response, we document that queer students from less privileged social locations express greater support for racial and class inclusivity, as well as coalition building, within queer student movements. We consider the implications of that pattern for queer politics within student organizations and for educational practice at liberal arts colleges. Keywords: queer politics; intersectionality; college students; privilege
Jonathan Collins and Thomas Hebert Race and Gender Images in Psychology Textbooks (p 300-307)
Abstract: Previous research has shown that images can have a profound effect on the manor in which humans think. Reports indicate that our self-esteem, social judgment of others, and even our ability to recall information can be affected by images. Peterson and Kroner (1992) found that images of people in general and developmental psychology textbooks were significantly biased towards White males. The present study is a update and extension of this original finding by examining the incidence of race and gender in the images used by a wide variety of psychology textbooks. We examined the images of people in a wide variety of psychology textbooks and classified the images based on gender of either male or female and skin color of White, Black, or Brown. We found that there were significantly more images of males than of females. Also, there were significantly more images of Whites than of Blacks or Browns. These results suggest that the race and gender depictions in psychology textbook images have not changed significantly in the last 15 years and that the apparent White male bias may apply to psychology textbooks in a wide variety of areas. Keywords: image; picture; textbook; race; gender; disparity; emotional affect
Chris Baker, Glenn S. Johnson, Lee Williams, Deborah G. Perkins, and Shirley A. Rainey The Highlander Research and Education Center: Utilizing Social Change-Based Models for Public Policy (p 308-335)
Abstract: Popular education, political knowledge, and culture are very important components in community-based problem solving for social change. This article provides a historical background of the Highlander Research and Education Center, a comprehensive overview of its mission for seventy-five years, a reflection of the center’s action research impact on social and economic justice in America, and a description of the practical change model used by social and civil rights activists to challenge racism, labor discrimination, sexism, gender inequality, and other inequalities in the United States. Group consciousness, collaborative research power, networking, and their ability to impact change in their lives contribute to ongoing participatory research at the Highlander Center. Action research is "learning by doing" and contributes to the practical issues that individuals experience in a problematic situation in their community. Action research assists social science, especially sociology in fulfilling its theoretical and methodological goals in research while collaborating with grassroots leaders in solving environmental and community problems. Keywords: adult education; social change; participatory research; local governance; citizen participation; participatory democracy; public sociology
A) Race, Class, Gender, and Capitalism; B) Intersection Race, Gender and Class
Volume 15, Number 1-2, 2008, ISSN 1084-8354
Guest Editors: Nathalie J. Sokoloff and Fred L. Pincus
Natalie J. Sokoloff and Fred L. Pincus Introduction. Race, Gender, Class, and Capitalism (p 4-8)
Fred L. Pincus and Natalie J. Sokoloff Does "Classism" Help Us to Understand Class Oppression? (p 9-23)
Abstract: Since the early 1980s, the concept of classism has appeared more and more frequently in the diversity literature, especially in the work of some intersectional theorists. Since there is no standard definition, classism sometimes refers to a class-based prejudice and other times refers to a class-based system of socially structured oppression. Those who employ the concept tend to see the origins of class oppression in an undifferentiated hierarchy of economic inequality as opposed to class conflict that is endemic to capitalism. In fact, those who talk about classism tend to ignore any discussion of capitalism. We argue that little is gained by talking about classism rather than capitalism since classism lacks a coherent analytical base. On the other hand, the Marxist and intersectional insights into capitalism and its intersections with race and gender systems of oppression are lost in discussions of classism. Keywords: class, classism; race/class/gender; intersectionality; diversity
Catherine Hodge McCoid Eleanor Burke Leacock and Intersectionality: Materialims, Dialectics, and Transformation (p 24-41)
Abstract: Anthropologist Eleanor Burke Leacock’s Marxist dialectical materialism helped to create the core of intersectionality and still provides a methodology to help advance transformation. Her efforts contributed to two core aspects of contemporary intersectional approaches to capitalism: 1) the acceptance of the intersectionality of oppression in all its forms—race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, etc., and 2) the general rejection of biological determinism as it relates to race, gender, and class. Using taped interviews by the author and other materials, this article examines Leacock’s influence on intersectionality in five areas: 1) women’s status in egalitarian societies, 2) race, class, and gender in schools, 3) the critique of the "culture of poverty" approach, 4) women, development, and work, 5) colonialism, race, class, and gender in Samoa. It also examines some contemporary work building on Leacock’s model, which gives class a primary position, to illustrate how her approach continues to engage on-going challenges. Within the oppressive context of Cold War America, Leacock tested and found support for the Marxist hypothesis that humans once lived in a state in which men and women were equal partners. She explored and refuted biological determinist notions that 1) in all societies women have been subordinate to men (i.e., as a result of sexual biology), and she also refuted the idea that 2) basic features of capitalism (such as competition and private ownership of property) are found in all societies and individuals (i.e., are related to human "nature"). Since so many of the contemporary forms of oppression—attacks on immigrants, the rise of religious "fundamentalism," the increasing use of rape and other torture as weapons of war, the coloring of prison populations, rising attacks on sexuality, as examples—are resurrecting the ideology of biological determinism and are class assaults with new faces, it is ever more urgent to use the tools Leacock helped to develop. Keywords: Eleanor Burke Leacock; intersectionality; materialism, dialectics; transformation; Marxism; feminism; sexism; biological determinism; class; gender; race; capitalism
Susan Ferguson Canadian Contributions to Social reproduction Feminism, Race and Embodied Labor (p 42-57)
Abstract: Recent methodological advances in Canadian Social Reproduction Feminism foreground labor as a foundational concept of social theory and, as a result, address the structuralist bias critics of the paradigm have identified, while still grounding theory in a comprehensive analysis that accounts for specifically capitalist relations. Yet, to fully address issues of racialization, this broad and dynamic concept of labor needs to be extended and complexified. Along with accounting for the sex-gender dimensions of labor, we need also to attend to its socio-spatial aspects. In other words, it’s not just what we do to reproduce society, but where we do it that counts in an imperial capitalist world. And Social Reproduction Feminism, with its expansive definition of labor and its comprehensive focus on the full spectrum of practical activity, is uniquely positioned to accommodate such complexity without forfeiting attentiveness to social relations of class and/or capitalism. It has the potential, therefore, to provide intersectional analyses with a methodology that brings "both capitalism and class back into the discussion." Keywords: social reproduction theory; feminist methodology; intersectionality; labor; race; gender
Jill R. Williams Spatial Transversals: Gender, Race, Class, and Gay Tourism in Cape Town, South Africa (p 58-78)
Abstract: This paper examines the circulation of gay capital within gay and lesbian tourism in Cape Town, South Africa. Using participant observation of a gay shebeen tour as an example, I describe new forms of gay and lesbian tourist-activism emerging in Cape Town and analyze their impact on the racialized spatial economy of gay leisure space. Taking the complicity with capitalism inherent in tourism for granted, I demonstrate that capitalist impulses mediated by activist motivations can create radical, even anti-colonial, social moments and argue that in the context of South Africa it is particularly noteworthy that emerging forms of "queer capitalist tourism" are disrupting class and racial boundaries in ways not accomplished through the political activism that resulted in the inclusion of constitutional protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Amid increasingly visible and violent homophobia, queer capitalist tourism is facilitating transversal queer alliances and making important contributions to building a grassroots movement that can unite the previously fragmented gay and lesbian communities in South Africa. Keywords: race; class; gender; capitalism; sexuality; South Africa; queer; gay
Earl Smith and Angela J. Hattery Incarceration: A Tool for Racial Segregation and Labor Exploitation (p 79-97)
Abstract: This paper examines the system of incarceration in the contemporary United States. We argue that the current system of incarceration is not only racialized and gendered, but also serves as a tool for segregating or cordoning-off African Americans from mainstream, White society. As a tool of segregation, incarceration not only removes African Americans as competition in a tight labor market, but takes those who were formerly "unexploitable" and transforms then into labor that can be exploited for profit through their work in prison industries. We suggest that the use of incarceration as a tool of capitalism can be considered a contemporary form of racial, labor exploitation similar to the slave plantation economy that was critical to the development of the U.S. economy. Keywords: incarceration; racial segregation; exploitation; capitalism
Payal Banerjee and Frank Ridzi Indian IT Workers and Black TANF Clients in the New Economy: A Comparative Analysis of the Racialization of Immigration and Welfare Policies in the U.S. (p 98-114)
Abstract: Today’s service-oriented labor market is commonly viewed as segmented on the basis of differences between high-wage/high-skill and low-wage/low-skill sectors. Research suggests that this division also has deep racial connotations since many racial minorities and immigrants of color are concentrated in low-wage occupations. This paper extends our understanding of gender, class, and racial cleavages in the U.S. economy by showing how the racialized and feminized status of immigrants of color employed in the high-wage and high-skilled sector informs their marginalization in ways that reflect some of the experiences of racial minorities in low-wage work. We propose a model for conceptualizing the intersection of state policy and racial feminization as a common institutional epicenter that organizes the terms of exploitation and segregation of minorities and immigrants of color situated in both the high and low wage sectors in comparable ways.2 Keywords: TANF; H-1B Visas; dual labor market; race; gender; immigration; welfare; international labor; IT; Indian immigrants; globalization; migration
Shannon M. Monnat and Laura A. Bunyan Capitalism and Welfare Reform: Who Really Benefits from Welfare-to-Work Policies (p 115-133)
Abstract: The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 promoted employment as one of the key strategies for lifting families out of poverty and off welfare. The welfare to work policies implemented under the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program require that most TANF recipients be employed in order to receive benefits. Throughout the past few years sociologists have been increasingly questioning whether all individuals on welfare benefit equally from welfare to work policies. Accordingly, this paper presents a socio-demographic portrait of employed mothers on welfare. Specifically, we use state-level data from the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) to address the following questions: 1) What role does race play in employment and earnings for mothers who receive welfare?; 2) In what ways does marital status intersect with race to facilitate or restrict employment and earnings?; and 3) Who are the biggest beneficiaries of policies that require individuals on welfare to work? Critical race and intersectional theories are applied to help explain the findings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings and directions for future research. Keywords: welfare; race; racism; capitalism; intersectional theory; critical race theory; employment
Ronald L. Mize Interrogating Race, Class, Gender and Capitalism Along the U.S.-Mexico Border: Neoliberal Nativism and Maquila Modes of Production (p 134-155)
Abstract: Applying the race, gender, class framework to economic development along the U.S.-Mexico border necessitates a critical interrogation of how late capitalism and neoliberal development projects define state-society relations best described as "neoliberal nativism." Situating neoliberalism in the context of the U.S.-Mexico border region, the processes of border militarization, border crossings and citizenship, maquiladora circuits of production, and the non-actualized transformative potential of cross-border labor coalitions are defining the terrain as thoroughly gendered, raced, and classed. A new era of nativism is defining the rhetoric of border security and leading to the increased militarization of the border. The subsequent criminalization of "illegal aliens" rests upon US citizens’ racializations of those residing south of the border and disproportionately endangers Mexican women and children. The callous view of viewing Mexican women as disposable bodies is on display in Cuidad Juarez where the maquildora murders have resulted in the brutal murders of 300 women from 1993 to 2005. The labor process of U.S. distribution centers and the circuit of commodities in a post-NAFTA era are also examined in articulation with the gendering and cross-national racialization of the maquila workplace. Keywords: U.S.-Mexico border; neoliberalism; globalization; international migration; nativism, NAFTA; maquiladoras
Zulema Valdez Beyond Ethnic Entrepreneurship: An Embedded Market Approach to Group Affiliation in American Enterprise (p 156-169)
Abstract: The traditional ethnic entrepreneurship paradigm suggests that resource mobilization based on ethnic group membership and the particular structural conditions of the economy and society combine to facilitate ethnic enterprise. Yet, this model remains largely descriptive and imprecise with respect to how and why class and ethnic resources and structural opportunity matter. Furthermore, this approach neglects to consider the likelihood that other non-ethnic social groupings distinct from ethnicity, such as those rooted in class, gender, or racial group affiliation, might also influence entrepreneurship. To address these concerns, this article introduces an "embedded market" (Block, 2003; Polanyi, 1944) approach that situates the role of group affiliation within the context of American capitalism. This approach begins with the premise that the role of group affiliation in economic action originates in and is maintained and reproduced by the social structure of the capitalist system in which it is embedded. Specifically, the embedded market approach reconsiders ethnic group membership, along with other politically-influenced social groupings (e.g. class, gender, nativity, and race) as non-essential relationships of reciprocity. In this conception, group affiliation provides the basis for compensatory relief in the form of social capital to augment market uncertainty in the modern market economy. This article uses the case of Latina domésticas to demonstrate the compensatory role of group affiliation and its corollary social capital in facilitating ethnic and "non-ethnic" enterprise in American capitalism. Keywords: ethnic entrepreneurship; social capital; race, gender, class; domésticas
Nicki Lisa Cole Global Capitalism Organizing Knowledge of Race, Gender and Class: The Case of Socially Responsible Coffee (p 170-187)
Abstract: What knowledge travels along, and is injected into, the global commodity chain of coffee, on its path from tree to cup? In this paper I examine the discourse and imagery employed by the socially responsible niche of the global coffee market to determine what the final product itself tells us about its roots, its travels, and the web of capitalist relations of production and consumption that surrounds it. I analyze the packaging, promotional and informational materials, and web text of coffee websites and find that the patterns of the discourse of socially responsible coffee suggest knowledge of coffee farmers, global capitalism, and the consumer self that pivot around axes and intersections of race, gender, and class. I argue that the contours of this discourse serve to rearticulate the dominant relations of global capitalist production and consumption in everyday life in the United States. Using racialized and culturally essentialized depictions of coffee farmers and their locales, I argue the discourse and its imagery rearticulates the established global division of labor between the global south and north. The discourse and imagery functions as an extension of colonial paternalist ideology that rests on the presumed need of coffee farmers, and is juxtaposed against benevolent consumers, who the discourse describes as socially responsible, ethical beings who do good by participating in the global system of capitalism. Keywords: consumer goods; ideology; race; gender; class; culture; capitalism
Brian Dolber Unmaking 'Hegemonic Jewishness': Anti-Communism, Gender Politics, and Communication in the ILGWU, 1924-1934 (p 188-203)
Abstract: The International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) was at the forefront of shaping Jewish working-class culture in the early twentieth century. By the 1920s, however, the structural shifts within the larger political economy were challenging the nature of the Jewish working-class community as a racialized counterpublic. While the male leadership of the ILGWU embraced these changes and advocated for a centralized, expert-led model of communication within the union, Jewish women took a more progressive approach and fought for a model of labor education that facilitated the maintenance of a democratic, ethnic counterpublic in the face of mass culture. The ultimate triumph of the male leadership within the union culminated in the commercialization of its largest effort in mass education—radio station WEVD. It also signaled the transformation of a local, ethnic working-class culture into part of White, consumer society. Keywords: labor history; public sphere; Jewishness; mass culture
Jason T. Eastman and Douglas P. Schrock Southern Rock Musicians' Construction of White Trash (p 205-219)
Abstract: Based on interviews, song lyrics, websites, and observation of concerts, we examine how southern rock musicians construct themselves as poor, rural, white men. While popular culture often uses negative stereotypes to degrade poor whites, we show how southern rock musicians reclaim what they view as positive attributes of "white trash." They do this by embracing symbols of southern white trash (including the confederate flag), glorifying rural poverty, and celebrating drunken violence. We bring a focus on capitalism into our analysis by uncovering how class is central to southern rockers’ racialized and gendered identity work, situating them as marginalized workers in a culture industry, and drawing out implications for class reproduction. Keywords: intersectionality; music; identity work, white trash
Zine Magubane The Mammy and the Panopticon African American Women in the Self-Help Movement (p 220-236)
Abstract: This paper argues that contemporary capitalist culture uses the bodies of African American women to communicate and reinforce ideologies about how to properly motivate and discipline the self in a capitalist society. Its guiding premise is that the self-help movement, in its varied forms, promotes the idea that human beings should function as their own Panopticons, continually policing themselves and subjecting themselves to ruthless self-surveillance (Bartky, 1990). Panopticism is an idea that grew out of Jeremy Bentham’s Panoopticon, an architectural plan for a prison, school, or asylum whereby the structure is built so that inmates can be put under constant surveillance. The paper uses the reality television show, Starting Over, and the internet based message boards associated with it, to argue that the bodies of African-American women are being cast as the feminine voice and gaze of the Panopticon who alternately chastises and advises, criticizes and cajoles. Keywords: mammy; reality television; African Americans popular culture; Black women in Popular Culture; race; class; gender and popular culture
Jean Ait Belkhir Afterword: Race, Gender and Class and Marxism (p 237-243)
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Introduction: Intersection Race, Gender and Class (p 244-245)
LaToria Whitehead, Rueben C. Warren, Glenn S. Johnson, and Francesca M. Lopez Mississippi Head Start Mothers: An Environmental Justice Case Study (p 246-264)
Abstract: Minimal progress has been made in understanding the relationships between the environment and health. However, increasing evidence suggests that there is a disproportionate burden of environmental exposures among Black, Hispanic, Native Americans and low-income groups of all racial and ethnic backgrounds that may result in health disparities. The Environmental Justice Framework assists in understanding this study which focuses on the association between adverse living conditions of Head Start mothers and their environmental awareness. Children are the most vulnerable population impacted by negative health risks from early and continual life exposures to environmental contamination. The Head Start program has effectively mitigated many of the effects of poverty by providing low-income children with life skills for a healthy and productive life. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the demographic factors of Head Start mothers and their environmental awareness. Data from this analysis were taken from a 1996, 77-item survey instrument. The survey was designed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, of Head Start families related to the environment and environmental health. The survey was distributed in 20 counties, to 804 Head Start households that were selected at random out of a total of 5000 households enrolled in the Mississippi Action for Progress Head Start (M.A.P.) program. The number of parents who responded was 763 out of 804 (95% response rate) female-headed households, who were participants of the Mississippi Action for Progress Head Start Program. Although race and age were important factors influencing the environmental awareness of the mothers, the educational level of the mother was not. These findings suggest the need for environmental health enrichment programs for Head Start mothers, children and staff. Study results should be utilized for follow-up research to empower Head Start mothers, particularly Black mothers to increase their political involvement in health and environmental related activities. Keywords: environmental justice; environmental health; environmental awareness
Mark A. Whatley The Dimensionality of the 15 Item Attitudes Toward Women Scale (p 265-273)
Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the factor structure of the 15 item Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS). College undergraduates (n = 360; 50% female) were given Spence and Helmreich’s (1978) short, 15 item version of the AWS. The results of the factor analyses suggest that the AWS is measuring a unitary attitude toward women in American society and remains unidimensional for both male and female participants. Results also show a positive shift in attitudes toward the roles and rights of women by both men and women. Researchers requiring an attitudes toward women measure will find the 15 item AWS practical. Keywords: attitudes toward women, culture, sex differences, factor analysis, individualism-collectivism
Brandelyn Tosolt Differences in Students' Perceptions of Caring Teacher Behaviors: The Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender (p 274-288)
Abstract: This article reports the findings of a study investigating differences in 825 sixth-grade students’ perceptions of caring teacher behaviors based on the intersections of student race, ethnicity, and gender. While this research is based on Noddings’s ethic of care in schools (2005), it responds to concerns that her theory is mono-cultural (Thompson, 1998; 2003) by reorienting "[theories of care] in ways that systematically account for race, class, gender, cultural, and other differences" (Thompson, 1998:528). The findings of this research suggest that perceptions of teacher caring do vary based on the intersections of student race, ethnicity, and gender. Further investigations are needed into perceptions of teacher caring among specific subgroups of students. Keywords: middle school; students’ perceptions; ethic of care; gender, race; ethnicity
Volume 14, Number 3-4, 2007, ISSN 1084-8354
Guest Editors: Joane Nagel and Meredith Kleykamp
Joane Nagel and Meredith Kleykamp Introduction. Race, Gender, Class, Sexuality, and War (p4-9)
V. Spike Peterson Thinking through Intersectionality and War (p10-27)
Abstract: Intersectional analysis attempts to more adequately theorize how social divisions (of ethnicity/race, class, gender, sexuality, age, etc.) interact and affect each other, without reducing one to another. "Triad analytics" is introduced here to emphasize affective investments and the mutual constitution of subject formation (who we are), cultural concepts (how we think), and embodied practices (what we do). I argue that pervasive gender coding privileges not only (some) men but also subjectivities, conceptual frames, and embodied activities that are characterized as masculine. These analytical starting points are used to explore RGC and S in colonial and contemporary contexts of militarization and war. The process reveals how "official war stories" do political work with material consequences: constructing enemy "others," legitimating calls to war, justifying extremes of violence, and normalizing RGC and S forms of subjection. Keywords: intersectionality; oppression; race; gender; class; sexuality; violence; militarism; militarization; war; imperialism; "war on terror"; socialization; feminization; masculinism
Joane Nagel and Lindsey Feitz Deploying Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality in the Iraq War (p28-47)
Abstract: The U.S. military demographically diverges from the U.S. population along several dimensions. The armed forces are disproportionately non-white, less educated, much younger, overwhelmingly male, and officially straight. Although the U.S. armed services integrated racially more than a half century ago, military culture reflects its long history of celebrating masculinity, maintaining classed hierarchy, and enshrining heterosexuality. When the United States attacked Iraq in March, 2003, another longstanding feature of military demography was changing: there were an unprecedented number of American women serving in the U.S. armed forces. In this paper we examine some of the implications of the increased number and role of women in the U.S. military. We focus on one front in the Iraq war that is situated at the intersection of gender, race, class, and sexuality: the propaganda campaign to win the hearts and minds of the American people. We argue that early in the war, servicewomen were deployed as "damsels in distress" to dramatize U.S. servicemen’s courage and gallantry and Iraqi men’s cowardice and depravity. We find that this gender deployment was designed to resonate with race, gender, class, and sexual themes in the larger U.S. society and in American history. We conclude that the damsels in distress saga illustrates the capacity of military organizational social structure to sustain particular patterns of gender and power relations even in the face of demographic changes in its personnel. Keywords: race; gender; class; sexuality; militarism; Iraq war
Mady Wechsler Segal, Meredith Hill Thanner, and David R. Segal Hispanic and African American Men and Women in the U.S. Military: Trends in Representation (p48-64)
Abstract: During the planning for the All-Volunteer Force (AVF), social analysts anticipated an overrepresentation in the Army of those disadvantaged in the labor force, including African Americans and those of all races from lower socio-economic statuses. Using Department of Defense data, such as those available in DoD's annual reports on Population Representation in the Military Services, and unpublished data provided to the authors by the Office of the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), we document in this paper the current representation of Hispanic and African American men and women in the armed forces. Since the start of the AVF in 1973, African Americans have served in the U.S. military, especially in the Army, in numbers greater than their percent of the population. This disproportionate representation has been especially clear among military women. Recently, accessions of African Americans have declined. At the same time, Hispanics, who constitute a growing segment of the U.S. population, have been underrepresented in the military, especially among the officer corps. Hispanics now comprise a larger percentage of military women than men. We analyze the trends in representation over time and the differences among the U.S. armed forces. We also discuss explanations and implications for these trends and anticipate the future. Keywords: military; army; race; ethnicity; Hispanic, representation; gender; African Americans
Meredith Kleykamp Military Service as a Labor Market Outcome (p65-76)
Abstract: The volunteer military is a labor market institution operating at a unique nexus of race, gender, and class. In this research note I discuss some of the labor market consequences of the race-gender-class composition of the American armed forces between 1973 and 2000 demonstrating the impact of military service on employment rates over the history of the All-Volunteer Force. The failure to count those enlisted in the military among the ranks of the employed distorts our understanding of patterns of employment in the U.S. Because African American men serve in disproportionate numbers in the military, failing to count their military employment ignores substantial numbers of black men voluntarily working for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, and thus leads to over estimates of the black-white employment gap. The rapid expansion of military service by young black men happened at precisely the time that the labor market outcomes for this group deteriorated. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as many as 8-9% of black men age 16-35 were serving in the military on active duty, yet this military employment was not factored into official employment statistics. As a consequence, civilian employment rates underestimated the total employment (including military service) by as much as 6 percentage points among young black men. Keywords: employment; labor markets; inequality; social stratification,; race; military sociology; armed forces
Patricia A. Gwartney Race, Gender, Class, and Perceptions of Terrorism in the Immediate Aftermath of September 11, 2001 (p77-97)
Abstract: This research represents the first empirical investigation of gender, race, and social class intersections in attitudinal and behavioral responses to the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Structural positions of privilege appear to cushion the dread associated with terrorism threats, but race and gender intersections do not ameliorate their effects. Research in the psychology of risk perception frames the analysis. Data come from a representative survey (n=802) conducted eight to 12 weeks after 9/11. Keywords: terrorism; intersectionality; attitudes
David E. Rohall and Morten G. Ender Race, Gender, and Class: Attitudes toward the War in Iraq and President Bush among Military Personnel (p99-116)
Abstract: This study compares attitudes toward the war in Iraq and President Bush’s handling of the war among service members by race, gender and class using data from the 2003 Military Times Poll, examining similarities and differences to trends found in civilian data. Overall, at the time of the poll, most service members reported that they believe that the U.S. should have gone to war in Iraq and approved of the President’s handling of Iraq. However, initial analysis shows that Whites, men, officers, and Marines show the greatest support, following trends found in civilian polls addressing issues of race and gender. Advanced analysis shows that some of these findings continue while controlling for political ideology and other background characteristics. Specifically, being African American continues to be negatively associated with war support controlling for all other factors. The impacts of gender and class, as measured by rank, are reduced substantially when controlling for political ideology. These findings partially support the idea that minorities in society have less vested in the use of force in foreign policy and thus should report less support for such endeavors. Keywords: attitudes; Iraq War; public opinion; military
Second Lieutenant Erin Morgan Masculinity and Femininity in the Corps (p117-130)
Abstract: Cadets at the United States Military Academy live within a very distinct microcosm of American society. With a culture all their own, members of the Corps of Cadets grow up in an Academy whose historical tradition and present mission of producing officers for the U.S. Army shapes cadet behaviors, norms and ideals. Among these is the conceptualization of masculinity and femininity and the relative place and value of gender notions within the Academy and military service. An in-depth investigation of cadet opinions, stereotypes, behaviors, and personal experiences highlights current conceptualizations of gender in the Corps and evinces why actual clear feminine ideal defining the mannerisms valued and expected of a woman in military service does not exist. Keywords: masculinity; femininity; gender roles; gender; women in the military; women in service academies; West Point, USMA
ENS Stephanie M. Young A Final Period to the Union: The Militarism and Militarization of the United States of America and its Effects on the United States Coast Guard and its People (p131-138)
Abstract: Looking at past examples as well as more recent events, the military and its dogma has always held implications for society, specifically women. Today, these military implications hint at a new American militarism which lends to a renewed militarization of society as well. The militarism on our society shines through a broad spectrum of American life: from our education system to business protocols. Its reign is limitless and presides over the whole of American culture. When the military functions under its own doctrine they are fully functional, however, danger surfaces when the concepts that govern the military are disseminated to the very society it is obligated to protect. As a humanitarian force, the Coast Guard has always saved lives. Yet, with this militarization that America has embraced, the Coast Guard itself has been reshaped into a full fledged fighting force that is absorbing military ideals. Originally, a provider of protection and humanitarian services, the United States Coast Guard, has shifted to security "services" which comes as a detriment to its people and society. Keywords: militarism; militarization; United States Coast Guard; masculinity
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Introduction. The Sociology of Inequality: Intersection of Race, Gender & Class (p139-141)
Diane C. Keithly and Shirley Rombough The Differential Social Impact of Hurricane Katrina on the African American Population of New Orleans (p142-153)
Abstract: The post-Katrina recovery of the city of New Orleans presents many unprecedented challenges for public policy and planning experts. The purpose of this paper to evaluate the differential social impacts of Katrina on minority populations in the city using the work of three classical social theorists, Ferdinand Toennies, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim. Social theory is discussed and applied to the subject of the displacement of the city’s minority population to asses the nature of the loss of social ties in these communities. It is also suggested that these social impacts need to be addressed by the planning efforts for the recovery. This paper attempts to outline social costs in terms of the qualitative social ties which were devastated by Katrina, and the subsequent massive flooding and displacement of minorities. Keywords: disaster; Katrina; New Orleans; disaster policy
Pamela Waldron-Moore, Anthony McKinney, Ariel Howard, and Amanda Brown A Question of Social Justice: The case of Louisiana Communities and their Struggle for Environmental Sustainability (p154-174)
Abstract: All too often environmental justice is excluded from considerations of social justice. Recently, however, scholars have attempted to place it squarely in the center of that debate. Our study examines the question of environmental activism in the context of social justice. We are concerned with why individuals who are environmentally burdened are less than politically active and, further, if political inactivism does not itself explain why people of color in New Orleans communities continue to be targets of environmental racism. In a survey conducted by a small group of students, one hundred and twenty-two persons were interviewed with a view to determining variance in environmental activism among ordinary citizens in New Orleans. Two variables predicted activism: residency status and perception of personal threat. Overall, the data explained 32% of the variance in environmental activism and facilitated general policy recommendations. In a related study, another student group found that the more politically inactive African-Americans were, the greater the likelihood that they would reside in environmentally hazardous communities. Since both samples included a majority of African-Americans across different class lines, they offer interesting insight into perceptions of social justice as a race neutral ideal. Keywords: social justice; environmental justice; environmental racism; political activism; perception of threat; residency; race; class
Celia B. Banks The Sociology of Inequality (p175-188)
Abstract: This paper presents a discussion about social inequality. Mills’ (1959/2000) sociological imagination provides in a theoretical discourse into the existence and perpetuation of social injustice. Cultural perspectives formulate a historical explanation of classism, racism, gender inequality, and cultural dominance. The study lends awareness to the body of knowledge about social differences that yield states of inequality. It is hoped that this information will assist in uncovering root causes of a social phenomenon that has had a devastating impact on human relations over the course of history. Keywords: apartheid; bell curve; child violence; Christian; culture; dominance; Engels; ethnocentric; Eurocentrism; feminism; gender; inequality; Marx; Muslim; natural law; race; racism; sexism; slavery; social; sociological imagination; sociology; stratification; DuBois; superiority; womanism; women
Deanna Jacobsen Koepke Race, Class, Poverty, and Capitalism (p189-205)
Abstract: The term stratification is used to discuss the distribution of resources that are valued in a society. In the United States, our society is stratified and structured along race, class, and gender lines, such that some lives are considered more valuable than others. Resources and opportunities are unequally distributed among our citizens. The U.S. economy is not structured to care for the people who have fewer resources. Thus, we have a substantial group of citizens who are underprivileged. They are not only poor, but also out of the mainstream and less able to participate in society. This paper explores the classism, poverty and racism that exist in our country and how they intersect under capitalism. Keywords. race; class; poverty
Richard K. Caputo Sex at an Early Age: A Multi-System Perspective (p206-227)
Abstract: Data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to assess the association between family, self, proximate extra-familial, and distal extra-familial system factors and abstinence/virginity and age of first sexual intercourse (N=1,854). In addition to family, findings point to the robustness of sociodemographic correlates of gender, race/ethnicity, and SES on abstinence and timing of sexual initiation. Key Words: abstinence; adolescent sexuality; families; race/ethnicity; SES
Sarbani Banerjee and Amitra Hodge Internet Usage: A Within Race Analysis (p228-246)
Abstract: The majority of North Americans have more access to the Internet today as compared to ten years ago. Schools, libraries, homes, coffee houses, and workplaces are equipped with the technology needed to get people online. This paper addresses a need to shift the focus from describing the digital divide, unequal access to the Internet, to the focus of describing the digital divide in usage. Research suggests that differences in usage do exist between social categories, such as race/ethnicity, gender, education, income, region, and age. This paper attempts to go beyond previous research studies by exploring the usage of the Internet by sex, education, income, and age within the racial categories of white and non-white. Data for this study is from the Current Population Survey. Our findings indicate that differences do exist within the categories of white and non-white. Furthermore, the study presents the findings of what people engage in while on the Internet. Keywords: Internet usage; Internet access; race; digital divide; racial divide; social equity
Enobong Hannah Branch The Creation of Restricted Opportunity due to the Intersection of Race & Sex: Black Women in the Bottom Class (p247-264)
Abstract: In Horton, Allen, Herring, and Thomas’ (2000) study of the black working class, a historical picture is painted in which black women are shown to be uniquely disadvantaged as it pertains to economic position more so than either black men or white women, their experiences parallel neither group. The factors that precipitated this pattern are the concern of this paper. In particular, I propose an integrative theory of race, gender, and class that is based on the utilization of one’s occupation as an indicator of economic class. I will then explore the intersection of race and gender in historically creating the disadvantage experienced by black women in the American occupational structure. The advancement of black men, I argue, occurred under the guise of male privilege although they were black and the advancement of white women occurred under the guise of white privilege although they were female, however, black women were both black and female, thus there was no guise, no point of privilege by which they could have advanced. Hence we see their increase in the bottom class during the time when the rates for black men and white women were decreasing. Keywords: intersectionality; race; class; gender; black women; inequality; work; occupational segregation; domestic service; social stratification/mobility
Volume 14, Number 1-2, 2007, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editors: Jean Ait Belkhir and Lenus Jack, Jr.
Jean Ait Belkhir and Lenus Jack, Jr. Introduction. 2007 Race, Gender & Class Conference: Hurricane Katrina (p4-6)
Jerome Scott and Walda Katz-Fishman America through the Eye of Hurricane Katrina - Capitalism at its "Best" What Are we Prepared to Do? (p7-16)
Abstract: This essay, written in the months immediately after the human-made disaster of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, contextualizes the destruction of human life, community, and environment in history, economy, power, and peoples’ struggles. The horrific destruction reflects the intentional abandonment and criminalization of the poor, working class, communities of color—African American, Indigenous, immigrant—especially women, children, elders, and environmental crisis over centuries. It teaches us two critical lessons. One, that the economic and political system of global capitalism, including the U.S. government at all levels, is broken and cannot be fixed. Two, that only a powerful bottom-up movement led by those most adversely affected can reconstruct New Orleans and the Gulf Coast around a transformative vision rooted in twenty-first century economic, political, and social realities that addresses their needs and hopes. The U.S. Social Forum, as part of a global movement building process, held in Atlanta June 27 to July 1, 2007 was an important moment in building movement and lifting up the voices, visions, and struggles of the people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Keywords: Hurricane Katrina; capitalism; exploitation; electronics; oppression; race; class; gender; militarism; privatization; movement building
Glenn S. Johnson and Shirley A. Rainey Hurricane Katrina: Public Health and Environmental Justice Issues Front and Centered (p17-37)
Abstract: Hurricane Katrina is referred to as America’s worst national catastrophe or the greatest man-made disaster in history. It was a catastrophe in terms of loss of life, major structural damage and disaster-related morbidities. The infrastructure in the region was damaged which resulted in thousands of individuals lacking access to food, clean water, housing, and sanitation. The entire world was riveted and horrified as they watched on their televisions the poor and underserved black victims suffer from a devastating storm. Katrina exposed the world to the deteriorating infrastructure and systemic poverty of the Gulf Coast States. The federal government response to this disaster is that they are not doing enough and they are very slow. The environmental justice framework is used to analyze the public health issues surrounding Hurricane Katrina. Key Words: public health; environmental justice; toxic environments
Quincy Thomas Stewart and Rashawn Ray Hurricane Katrina and the Race Flood: Interactive Lessons for Quantitative Research on Race (p38-59)
Abstract: The catastrophe that affected the gulf coast region is the most significant domestic natural disaster in recent history. Although the initial response to this event was unsatisfactory to many, policymakers and relief organizations subsequently picked-up their efforts to alleviate the larger social and economic effects of Hurricane Katrina. For many scholars, the hurricane and the ensuing flood of New Orleans presents a unique environmental phenomenon that will structure the lives of gulf coast residents and other Americans for several decades. The Katrina phenomenon, however, mirrors a social catastrophe that has structured the lives of Americans for over three centuries—race. Just as the hurricane and ensuing flood penetrated the lives of New Orleans residents, the concept of race has permeated American social institutions such that racial classification shapes the breadth of individuals’ social interactions and life chances. Accordingly, the recent natural flood can be viewed as a physical microcosm of a larger social flood of how race structures the lives of all Americans. This article analyzes the parallels of these two floods to shed light on the processes that maintain and recreate social inequality, and to guide future research on racial outcome disparities among Gulf Coast residents and evacuees in particular, and U.S. residents in general. Keywords: race; inequality; regression; quantitative methodology
Revathi I. Hines Natural Disasters and Gender Inequalities: The 2004 Tsunami and the Case of India (p60-68)
Abstract: This research examines the link between gender and natural disasters. Specifically, it studies the 2004 Tsunami, that occurred in the Indian Ocean, and the inordinate impact it had on females in India. There are two fundamental gender issues that are examined in this paper: (a) The reasons why more women than men were impacted by the 2004 tsunami, and (b) The post-tsunami challenges that were faced by women. Through the research it is observed that following the tsunami, gender concerns were overlooked and social realities were ignored. As a result, women were marginalized in the process. The absence of any concrete gender analysis at the governmental level, indicates the nonchalant attitude toward gender concerns. Keywords: tsunami; gender; India; natural disasters; disaster challenges; gender challenges
Ophera A. Davis and Marie Land Southern Women Survivors Speak about Hurricane Katrina, the Children and the What Needs to Happen Next (p69-86)
Abstract: This essay is a compilation of fifteen interviews with women ranging in age from 20 to 70. The women are from New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi. The women are African-American, Austrian born-Caucasian, Caucasian-American, and Jewish. The women were identified through agencies and alliances. The women were asked to participate in a study to offer their opinions and experiences as Gulf Coast states residents about Hurricane Katrina. Since women’s voices are sometimes overlooked or not heard, this essay will give the women a chance to speak frankly in their own voices. Keywords: women; Hurricane Katrina; interviews; qualitative study; African American women
Diane C. Keithly Surviving the Recovery: The Role of Expectation and Belief in Rebuilding New Orleans (p87-95)
Abstract: The subject of the recovery of New Orleans is discussed with the aim of broadening the perspective on the recovery effort by looking at the antecedents to the storm, in particular, land loss in Louisiana and examining historical examples at other natural disasters in the region. The discussion also includes the social impacts on the community and the role of Robert Merton’s concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy and W.I. Thomas’ definition of the situation in shaping the future of New Orleans. Perceptions influence beliefs and, ultimately, beliefs about the city’s future will partly determine its future. Keywords: Katrina; New Orleans; disaster; recovery
Michael Radcliff SUNO Family Vows to Fight the Systematic Destruction of the School and its Legacy (p96-99)
Glenn S. Johnson and Shirley A. Rainey Hurricane Katrina Impact on Three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Voices from Displaced Students (p100-119)
Abstract: Hurricane Katrina not only destroyed the Gulf Coast States but devastated higher education for African Americans at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the region. Students, faculty, administrators, and staff at these institutions were displaced across the United States. This paper provides a HBCU student perspective of the hurricane and how many of them evacuated from the region. These students’ perspectives are placed in the environmental justice framework to provide not only an African American perspective of this horrific storm but a more comprehensive analysis of the impact of the storm environmentally, politically, socially, and economically. This paper also discusses lessons learned from this horrific storm and offers some recommendations to address the needs of the impacted universities. Keywords: environmental disaster; displaced students; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Race, Gender and Class Lessons from Hurricane Katrina (p120-152)
Abstract: In the public imagination, natural disasters do not discriminate, but are instead "equal opportunity" calamities. Hurricanes may not single out victims by their race, or gender or class but neither do such disasters occur in historical, political, social, or economic vacuums. Instead, the consequences of such catastrophes replicate and exacerbate the effects of extant inequalities, and often bring into stark relief the importance of political institutions, processes, ideologies, and norms. In the words of New York Times’ columnist David Brooks, storms like Hurricane Katrina "wash away the surface of society, the settled way things have been done. They expose the underlying power structures, the injustices, the patterns of corruption and the unacknowledged inequalities. The last two decades alone have provided a series of examples that demonstrate the vast inequalities of U.S. democratic system, particularly as they are manifested along racial, gender and class lines. A truly race, gender and class left would want to eliminate class inequality. But, in the race, gender and class trinity class is the odd factor. Mainstream race, gender and class social and academic activists want to get rid of race and gender inequality but "forget" class inequality. Keywords: Hurricane Katrina; race; gender; class; poverty; women of color
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Introduction: Race, Gender & Class as Organizing Principle (p153-156)
Aimee Van Wagenen The Promise and Impossibility of Representing Anti-Essentialism: Reading Bulworth Through Critical Race Theory (p157-177)
Abstract: There is now little contest in the social sciences over rejecting racial essentialism in theory and analysis of race. There is, however, contest and confusion over what exactly it means to reject racial essentialism. Is it appropriate to define and employ racial groups as a category of analysis given that there is no scientific basis for racial categorization? Is racial identity meaningful and viable as a concept if a rejection of essentialism is where one begins analysis? Do we have any epistemological basis for persisting in using the terminology of "race" and "races"? The consequences for social analysis that stem from rejecting racial essentialism are as yet unclear. In this essay, I focus in particular on the consequences for representing racial subjectivity. I first review the scholarly consensus on rejecting racial essentialism and several theoretical alternatives proposed in the literature for representing an anti-essentialist racial subjectivity. I then consider the film Bulworth as a popular representation of an anti-essentialist racial subjectivity. I find promise and impossibility in both the theoretical and popular representations. Keywords: critical race theory; essentialism; racial subjectivity; popular culture; film
Filomina Chioma Steady The Black Woman and the Essentializing Imperative: Implications for Theory and Praxis in the 21st Century (p178-195)
Abstract: This article analyses the achievements and essentializing imperatives and challenges still facing Black women in Africa and the African Diaspora. It argues that race is and continues to be an organizing principle in a global political economy that is both racialized and gendered. These results in four main types of essentialisms that continue to be maintained by hegemonic paradigms and ideologies: These are essentializing through corporate globalization; essentializing through stereotypes and the branding of Africa; essentializing through environmental injustices and environmental racism and essentializing through the social construction of disease. It maintains that essentializing and post-modernist frameworks are integrated and not mutually exclusive and should be interrogated together by activist academics. Keywords: Black women; African feminism; womanism; corporate; globalization; essentializing imperatives; environmental justice; HIV/AIDS; racialized and gendered global system; stereotypes; climate change; toxic colonialism; toxic terrorism; African women in politics; achievements of Black women
Adia Harvey Wingfield The Modern Mammy and the Angry Black Man: African American Professionals' Experiences with Gendered Racism in the Workplace (p196-212)
Abstract: This paper explores the ways that Black professionals experience racism in the workplace as a gendered phenomenon. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 23 Black professional workers, I compare the ways that racism is gendered for Black men and for Black women. I also explore the ways that gendered racism constructs responses to racial affronts. I argue that exploring the gendered nature of racism offers a more precise assessment of how racism in the workplace impacts minorities. Keywords: gendered racism; Black professionals; controlling images
Amal Ibrahim Madibbo Race, Gender, Language and Power Relations: Blacks within Francophone Communities in Ontario, Canada (p213-226)
Abstract: This paper examines how Antiracism and Black feminism enable us to conceptualize the situation of Blacks in the dynamics of power, namely, the distribution of economic and social resources within the Francophone communities in Canada. Black Francophones constitute a racial minority situated within the French-speaking official minority. This populace is discriminated against by the predominantly white and Anglophone State and by white Francophones. To conclude, Antiracism and Black feminism allow us to thoroughly analyze the power relations across race and gender relations. However, the specific case of Black Francophones as a double minority affirms that language should be integrated in the antiracist analysis to better understand the social reality of racial minorities that are located within linguistic minorities. Keywords: race, gender, language, power, equity, racial minorities, linguistic minorities, immigration, Canada
Shonda K. Lawrence, Desiree Stepteau-Watson, and Cynthia Honoré-Collins An Exploratory Study: Incarcerated Mothers with Daughters Involved in Child Welfare (p227-235)
Abstract: This study explored outcomes for girls who experienced both maternal incarceration and child welfare system involvement. Incarcerated women with daughters between the ages of ten and seventeen participated. This secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey offers information about mother-daughter contact and relationship, antisocial behavior, school performance and teen pregnancy. Increasing numbers of incarcerated mothers has serious implications for the well being of their children. Findings suggest that dual system involvement results in higher rates of antisocial and delinquent behavior, including carrying weapons, drug and alcohol use and violent physical behavior. Keywords: adolescent girls; child welfare; delinquency; maternal incarceration
Jacquelyn Mitchell and Rufus Sylvester Lynch Re-Uniting Low-Income African American Fathers with their Children: A Transdisciplinary Model to Address the Legal Conundrums Embedded in the Social Challenges (p236-252)
Abstract: Stimulated by national policy and funding, attention to the issue of fatherhood is increasing. Fatherhood programs often focus on constructions of "responsibility" that mandate absent fathers to emotionally and/or financially support their children. However, the multifaceted legal conundrums embedded in the social barriers to "responsible" fatherhood that are faced by fragile and marginalized non-custodial fathers are rarely comprehensively addressed. These forensic barriers extend beyond criminal justice system issues, to consumer, traffic, housing and other issues that plague fragile populations. This article advances a transdisciplinary fatherhood programming model that emerged from monitoring data during implementation of a "responsibility"-based design. The original design was expanded to more effectively address imbedded legally-related impediments to re-uniting non-custodial fathers with their children. Practice, policy, and programming implications are explored. Keywords: fatherhood; non-custodial fathers; forensic barriers
Danielle Taana Smith and Kijana Crawford Climbing the Ivory Tower: Recommendations for Mentoring African American Women in Higher Education (p253-265)
Abstract: The focus of this study is to determine the availability of mentors for African American female administrators who hold or have held senior-level administrative positions in higher education in New York State. We examine whether or not these African American female administrators were given the opportunity to work with mentors at their institutions. If they were not given this opportunity, we attempted to determine how they maintained their positions without the aid of mentoring, and how and if mentoring could have facilitated their career development. This study also examines how mentoring could have eased the strain felt by African American women in these high level positions. Keywords: African American women; mentoring; academic administration; higher education
Richard K. Caputo Federal Taxation of Individual Capital & Labor Income in the United States, 1978-2003 (p266-280)
Abstract: Taxable income from dividends, capital gains, and wages & salaries in the United States are examined in light of the major tax reform efforts of the Reagan administration in 1986 and that of the G.W. Bush administration in 2001. Since affluent citizens are more likely to benefit from capital gains and dividends, questions are raised regarding the fair distribution of the tax burden between capital and labor. Key Words: tax fairness; income taxes; capital gains; dividends
Jas M. Sullivan and Ashraf Esmail Black Social & Political Activism: An Exploratory Study (p281-298)
Abstract: While prior studies have often defined social activism as protesting or marching and political activism as voting, we define social and political activism with multiple measures. For each type of activism, we create an additive index that includes various social and political activities. In this research, we ask the following question: do black information networks, political involvement of church, and nationalist identity affect social activism and political activism of blacks? Using the 1993 Black Politics Study data, the results suggest that black information networks and church’s political involvement were strong predictors of both social and political activism; however, nationalist identity was not significant. Keywords: African-American; social and political activism
Megan Durell, Catherine Chiong, and Juan Battle Race, Gender Expectations, and Homophobia: A Quantitative Exploration (p299-317)
Abstract: Using a convenience sample of New York City residents, this study explored the relationship between traditional gender role expectations and homophobic attitudes. Hierarchical regression modeling was employed for analyses. We found that (1) Blacks reported higher levels of homophobia than their White, Latina/o, and Asian counterparts; (2) among the variables considered, the traditional gender role expectations measure was the sole common significant predictor among all four racial groups; and (3) great discrepancies exist across racial groups in the relative importance of the demographic variables considered. Therefore, we concluded that a more nuanced understanding of homophobia, including its relationship with gender roles, needs to be investigated with strong attention to racial heterogeneity. Keywords: gender roles; homophobia; race
Julie Morton Fighting War: Essential Skills for Peace Education (p318-332)
Abstract: In a world rife with conflict, our schools ought to provide students techniques for successful cooperation and problem-solving. To teach peace effectively, educators need to target dialogue, critical thinking, and creative planning skills consistently, so that students can practice productive ways of addressing turmoil and tension. Keywords: conflict transformation; conflict resolution; peace education; peace skills
Adele N. Norris, Yvette Murphy-Erby, and Anna Zajicek An Intersectional Perspective in Introductory Sociology Textbooks and the Sociological Imagination: A Case Study (p333-344)
Abstract: A key role of sociology is to examine the interplay of history, individual biography and the broad patterns of social relations. An intersectional perspective developed by women of color, especially African-American women, to account for the complexity of people’s social locations is an integral component of the sociological imagination. Introduced to mainstream sociology in the 1990s, intersectionality perspective focuses on the interaction of class, race, gender, and age inequalities in shaping people’s experiences. In this paper, we examine whether a paradigm shift has occurred in mainstream sociology to incorporate an intersectional perspective. To address this question, we conducted a case study analyzing discussions of U.S. poverty in 15 most popular introductory sociology textbooks published between 2000 and 2007. We found that poverty is discussed in the context of racial/ethnic, gender, and age inequalities. Importantly, with a few exceptions, these inequalities are discussed separately, impeding the realization of the sociological imagination. We conclude by proposing a dialog between intersectionality perspective and mainstream sociology. Keywords: intersectionality; inequalities; sociology; poverty
A) Race, gender, and Class: For What? B) Current Examples of Intersectional Approaches
Volume 13, Number 3-4, 2006, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editors: Vasilikie Demos and Anthony J. Lemelle, Jr.
Special Issue Managing Editor: Timothy Dowd
Vasilikie Demos and Anthony J. Lemelle, Jr. Introduction: Race, Gender, and Class for What? (p4-15)
Heather Dillaway and Sarah Jane Brubaker Intersectionality and Childbirth: How Women from Different Social Locations Discuss Epidural Use (16-41)
Abstract: Analyzing unpublished primary data from two separate qualitative studies, the authors employ an intersectionality framework to compare the experiences of two different samples of birthing women. Examining commonalities and differences in how women perceive and decide about epidurals in the hospital setting, the authors argue that feminist critiques of the medicalization of childbirth should be expanded to address race, class, and age as structures of oppression and privilege that shape women’s reproductive experiences. Findings are based on qualitative analyses of 19 interviews with predominantly White, middle- to upper-class women in a Mid-Atlantic state and 51 interviews with African American teens in a Southern state. Generally, Southern teens emphasized medical risks associated with the epidural and based decisions to forego the epidural on concerns about their wellbeing. Alternatively, Mid-Atlantic adults defined the epidural as a safe way to avoid the pain associated with childbirth and subsequently chose to use the epidural. The findings challenge many feminist critiques of medicalized childbirth, suggesting that conceptual approaches that focus only on gendered oppression and women in privileged locations fail to fully explain the birthing experiences of diverse groups of women. The authors conclude that understanding women’s perceptions of and decisions about epidurals (as well as other aspects of childbirth) is only possible if we pay attention to commonalities and differences among birthing women. This article is an exercise in how to move beyond gender and compare diverse women’s childbirth experiences. Keywords: childbirth; epidural; intersectionality; social location; race; class; age; qualitative research
Marla H. Kohlman Intersection Theory: A More Elucidating Paradigm of Quantitative Analysis (p42-59)
Abstract: Intersection theory, a theoretical paradigm which calls attention to the interlocking forces of race, class, and gender, among other master status characteristics, is used to predict that respondents report having been targeted for sexual harassment under circumstances that are quite different from one demographic group to another. Sexual harassment is interpreted as primarily a power relation such that workers in less powerful positions are expected to be more vulnerable to targeting. This study may be distinguished from most studies utilizing intersection theory as a theoretical paradigm because it is a quantitative analysis of a broad, national set of data, the General Social Survey, rather than qualitative analyses or a meta-analyses of existing studies. It is predicted that the results reported in general additive models of sexual harassment mask the experiences of race, class, and gender as an interlocking force which differentially shapes the experiences of men and women in the labor market and society overall. The findings reported illustrate that these patterns vary substantially by race and gender, which provides firm support for the usefulness of intersection theory as a theoretical paradigm of analysis which should be more often utilized to shape the modeling of quantitative analyses. Keywords: intersectionality; theory; sexual harassment; race; gender; labor force
Tiffany Taylor and Barbara J. Risman Doing Deference or Speaking Up: Deconstructing the Experience and Expression of Anger (p60-80)
Abstract: Most social scientists conceptualize anger as a negative emotion, a form of distress with negative consequences. In contrast, feminist activist writers often conceptualize anger as a potential source of oppositional consciousness and subsequent empowerment. This research project weaves together sociological theories of anger as a negative emotion, activists’ notions that anger among the oppressed is a source of energy for resistance, and add an intersectionality approach that suggests groups with different material and social standpoints will experience anger differently. Our findings suggest that racial and class statuses are important for how people feel and express anger. But, our findings also suggest, somewhat surprisingly, that gender does not, by itself or in interaction with other social statuses, affect the feeling or expression of anger. Gender, race and class disadvantage affect the experience or expression of anger in quite distinct ways. This supports the argument that different underlying social processes can shape gender, race, and class inequality. Keywords: emotions; anger; race; class; gender; intersectionality
Chong-suk-Han Being an Oriental, I Could Never be Completely a Man: Gay Asian Men and the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality and Class (p82-97)
Abstract: In recent years, scholars have noted the influence that race has played in the construction and maintenance of gender for men of color. In this paper, I examine how contemporary narratives continue to feminize Asian men and the consequences that this feminization has, specifically, on gay Asian men. In doing so, I examine contemporary narratives about Asian men to show how they are constructed and narratives created by gay Asian men to show how that gendered construction of race has a negative effect on their emotional and physical well-being. Keywords: race; sexuality; gender; class; gay Asian men
Suzanne Bouclin Dancers Empowering (Some) Dancers: The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender in Organizing Erotic Laborers (p98-129)
Abstract: In this case study of an Ottawa-based erotic dancers' affiliation, the author centers the voices of informants while critically engaging with their discourses around, and approach to, crafting better working conditions. Informants reveal their experiences of economic exploitation, managerial control, and making compromises in light of the new industry practices. In response, they have organized to resist unfair labour conditions. Though the dancers' affiliation has created a space in which women can feel empowered and has been instrumental in crafting municipal by-laws regulating the industry, it overlooks other relationships of privilege that further complicate individual women's decision to engage in certain labour practices. Specifically, the author concludes that race, class and gender does matter in the context of organizing marginalized and stigmatized workers. Namely, women's location around varying axes of disadvantage may hinder their ability to make more meaningful choices within constraining work environments. Correspondingly it may temper the relevance of dancers’ affiliations to their everyday working lives. Keywords: marginal labour; intersectionality; feminist methodologies; sex work
Marcia Texler Segal and Theresa A. Martinez Teaching from a Race, Gender, and Class Perspective: A Dialogue about the Rationale, Rewards, and Challenges of Developing a Collection of Readings from Which to Teach (p130-142)
Abstract: In the form of a dialogue between two sociologists from different ethnic and academic backgrounds and generations, developing an anthology for use in courses that employ an intersectional perspective, the authors discuss the reasons for teaching from this perspective. They recount how they came, personally and professionally, to understand the integration of race, gender, and class. Teaching from an RGC perspective is presented as both challenging and rewarding. The anthology was developed by drawing on readings successfully used in classes with the authors endeavoring to strike balances between quantitative and qualitative and between theoretical and imaginative pieces. The process is presented as collaborative and feminist. Keywords: intersectional; teaching; race; ethnicity; gender; class
Brian D. Polkinghorn and Thomas E. Boudreau Bones of Contention: Applying an Identity Affirmation Conflict Reduction Model to a Case Study of Repatriating of Ancestral Remains (p143-161)
Abstract: There are many examples of violent intergroup conflict that have arisen out of specific situations or "flash points." However, once the "flash" subsides and the conflict continues there needs to be further exploration and refined explanation as to why the conflict has not abated even when the original reasons may have been adequately addressed. What residual forces can sustain a conflict and further drive escalatory dynamics? One plausible explanation is the propensity for individuals to cluster with similar others (members of their primary identity groups—race, gender, class, ethnicity etc.) in times of conflict in an effort to coalesce against a mutual adversary. Groups often then perpetuate the conflict by enforcing and maintaining hostile, dehumanized and objectified identity images of the "other" long past the original exchange. There are two assumptions being made in this article about many complex social conflict settings. First, sociological and social psychological mechanisms create in-group and out-group identity dynamics along with subsequent labels that are then played out within and between numerous identity groups. Second, variations in identity exist within and among these groups creating distinct forms of identity that during times of protracted conflict become more rigid. Together, these two assumptions ground part of the origins and proliferation of conflict in identity. The thesis of this article is that if identity can drive conflict and violence then it can be a factor in conflict and violence reduction. In particular this article argues that a conflict between groups can be lessened by the explicit identity affirmation by one group of the other group’s identity, including recognition of its past pain, defeats and collective losses, when appropriate. Using a case of conflict between an American Indian tribe and local law enforcement illustrates a new conflict reduction model consisting of: Leadership, Recognition, Validation and the Transparency of Future Time. This model is a variation of the ARIA model developed by Jay Rothman (1997) though it is quite different in content and application. Keywords: conflict transformation; identity affirmation; conflict de-escalation; conflict reduction; conflict model
Article added by RGC Editors
Michael D. Parsons and Maria Plakhotnic Invisible to the Majority: The Search for Critical Race Theory in the Higher Education and Policy Literature (p162-175)
Abstract: This paper evaluates CRT’s impact on the higher education policy literature. The first section of the paper explains why it is important to consider the influence of CRT. This is followed by definition of CRT. The third section presents the methodology. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications. Keywords: critical race theory; higher education; public policy
Guest Editor: Juan Battle
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Introduction: Current Examples of Intersectional Approaches (p176-179)
Juan Battle and Darla Linville Race, Sexuality and Schools: A Quantitative Assessment of Intersectionality (p180-199)
Abstract: Many studies focus on the social problems of adolescents with same-sex attraction. Several variables have been found that impede their academic achievement for a variety of reasons, including poor attendance, physical or verbal harassment by students or teachers, and dropout. Little attention has been paid to non-heterosexual sexual attraction or behavior as a source of resilience and motivation for academic achievement. Situated in research about the "achievement gap" or "opportunity gap" between Black and White students and current research on the social and academic atmosphere in schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning students, this study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave I dataset. This study found that among students who do not have same-gender sexual attractions, race was a significant factor in predicting a decrease in positive school attitudes. However, among students with a same-gender sexual attraction, race ceases to be a factor in predicting positive school attitudes. For Black students, same-gender attraction may function as a protective factor against negative educational expectations. Keywords: gay and lesbian; same-gender attracted; youth; schools; academic achievement; cultural capital; achievement gap; resilience; Black
Antonia Randolph "Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful": Black Masculinity and Alternative Embodiment in Rap Music (p200-217)
Abstract: This study examines the manifestation of subordinate men’s masculinity in popular culture by analyzing the construction of Black masculinity in rap music. The data for this research comes from a content analysis of lyrics from playa rap—a genre of rap music characterized by its focus on consumption, adornment, and sensual pleasure. Playa rap’s promotion of an alternative form of masculine embodiment points to the limitations of hegemonic masculinity as a lens for understanding subordinated men. Some argue that while playa rap may seem at first glance to endorse non-hegemonic modes of embodiment, others argue that its lyrics actually promote an embodiment that is in service of the hegemonic goals of controlling women and displaying capitalistic success. While playa modes of embodiment may ultimately have hegemonic goals in mind, the path they travel reveals the particular constraints Black men face when asserting male dominance. In other words, the research takes masculinity in rap as produced, not primordial. Keywords: Black masculinity; rap music; non-normative gender
Antonio Pastrana, Jr. The Intersectional Imagination: What Do Lesbian and Gay Leaders of Color Have To Do With It? (p218-238)
Abstract: This paper examines the complexities of intersectional politics, how they have affected U.S.-based lesbian and gay (LG) social movement organizing, and how key people of color within this movement talk about the presence of secondary marginalization through the lens of race. In-depth interviews with four leaders of color within the LG movement were conducted in order to understand what the author calls the intersectional imagination—a form of analysis that attempts to make connections between individual- and group-level oppressions from a perspective that is embedded in the actual lived experience of oppression. Interview participants talked about the multifaceted nature of the "mainstream" and how it manifests itself in movement organizing. It can limit a movement’s goals, and it can be used to explore new ways of conducting the work of organizing. Similarly, discussions about leadership both encouraged participation in "mainstream" organizations and advanced a need for new models for thinking about what leadership means. Keywords: intersectionality; intersectional politics; LGBT social movements; secondary marginalization
Joe L. Lott, II. Racial Identity and Black Students' Perceptions of Civic Skills (p239-254)
Abstract: This research investigates the impact of racial identity on Black students’ perceptions of their civic skills. Even though 50 years ago they were one of the most active civic groups, Black students are a group whose civic participation has sharply declined between the 1970s and 1990s. The sample comprised 276 Black students who attended either a historically Black college/university (HBCU) or a predominantly White institution (PWI). Hierarchical regression analyses found that Immersion-Emersion and Internalization stages of the Black racial identity scale (B-RIAS) significantly explained Civic Skills. This study has implications for racial identity development and offers a more expansive theoretical framework about how to think about civic participation and Black students. Keywords: Black racial identity; Black college students; civic skills; citizenship
Michael A. Lewis and Eri Noguchi The Female Corp of Volunteers: How gender and Labor Supply Interact to Affect Civic Participation (p255-267)
Abstract: Using nationally representative samples of female (N = 3,309) and male (N = 2,491) full and part-time workers from a survey conducted by the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, this research examines the interaction effect of gender and labor supply on civic participation, measured as number of times one has volunteered in community activities. Utilizing hierarchical multiple regression analysis, we found that a reduction in labor supply increases females’ civic participation but has no effect on males. Keywords: gender; civic participation; voluntarism; labor supply
Shelly Brown-Jeffy The Race Gap in High School Reading Achievement: Why School Racial Composition Still Matters (p268-294)
Abstract: This study, a multilevel analysis of 4,065 students from 219 schools in the High School Effectiveness Study, examines the association between school racial composition and the Black-White achievement gap in reading achievement during a time in history when American schools began to resegregate and achievement differences between White and non-White students began to widen. Results indicate that the Black-White gap in reading achievement in schools with less than 10% Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American students enrolled is substantial, especially in comparison to schools with 25-54% Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American students (where the Black-White gap is relatively small and all students have higher average reading achievement). Racial integration is beneficial for Black student achievement, especially in the racially diverse suburban school with a mix of Black, Hispanic, Native American, White and Asian students that most approximates the racial mix of the United States. Keywords: racial differences; education; academic achievement; achievement gap; minority groups, race
Sabrina W. Tyuse and Julie Birkenmaier Promoting Homeownership for the Poor: Proceed with Caution (p295-310)
Abstract: Several aspects of the financial marketplace are presently converging to promote low-income and minority homeownership in the United States. These include programs by the federal government and the mortgage lending industry, which allow lower income families to purchase homes. However, current lending patterns may adversely affect disadvantaged populations. This paper discusses various homeownership strategies that are designed to help families purchase and retain their home. It also explores the history of mortgage lending, the effects of credit history on homeownership, equity building, and subprime and predatory loan practices. Based on the findings, this paper summarizes the social implications and offers recommendations to improve homeownership policy. In addition, specific suggestions for educators and advocates, policy makers, and researchers are offered. Keywords: homeownership; race; credit; subprime and predatory lending; social welfare
Rodney U. Garrett Effects of Mentoring on the Quality of the Doctoral Experience at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Results of Groundwork Investigation (p311-327)
Abstract: This study describes the effects of mentoring on the quality of the doctoral experiences in education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The study focused only on the 14 HBCUs that offer doctoral degrees in education. Twelve of the 14 eligible institutions agreed to participate in the study. Forty-seven doctoral students who were in their third year of study or close to completion participated in the study. These respondents completed a survey that was utilized in a national study of doctoral students at predominately white institutions and Ivy League institutions conducted by Golde and Dore in 2001. The researchers determined that mentoring had a positive effect on the quality of doctoral education offered at HBCUs. Keywords: Historically Black Colleges and Universities; doctoral students; minority colleges, minority students
Sandra L. Barnes An Analysis of Black Church Usage of Black Liberation and Womanist Theologies: Implications for Inclusivity (p329-346)
Abstract: Black Liberation and Womanist theologies represent biblical interpretations used to educate, equip, and empower marginalized groups. Their emphasis in combating various forms of oppression positions them as potential exemplars for social action. This project examines whether contemporary Black churches employ Black Liberation and Womanist theologies and the church, clergy, and member profiles as well as congregational environments conducive to such sermonic references. Findings based on Faith Factor 2000 Project data suggest that congregational environment, rather than profile indicators, explain the tendency to reference such theologies. Furthermore, churches considered priestlier in stance are just as poised to posit such theologies as their prophetic counterparts. Findings inform current research regarding changes in Black Church theological emphasis and provide implications for increased inclusivity. Keywords: black church; inclusivity; liberation theology
Race, Gender and Class: A Potpourri in Psychology; and Others
Volume 13, Number 1-2, 2006, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editors: Thomas Hebert and Elliott Hammer
Thomas Hebert and Elliott Hammer Introduction to Race, Gender, and Class: A Potpourri in Psychology (p4-6)
Yuki Aizawa and Mark A. Whatley Gender, Shyness, and Individualism-Collectivism: A Cross-Cultural Study (p7-25)
Abstract: For the past two decades, many researchers have paid much attention to the diversity of cultures and suggested cultural syndromes may help explain cultural differences in social behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the construct of shyness in three different cultures. Sixty Japanese, 33 Chilean, and 53 American participants were asked to complete a measure of individualism-collectivism (Triandis, 1995) and shyness (Cheek & Buss, 1981). As hypothesized, the Japanese reported greater shyness than Chileans and Americans. Men and women in all the three cultures showed different attitudes and emotional expressions based on cultural differences between individualism and collectivism. Keywords: culture; individualism; collectivism; shyness; social anxiety; gender
Alisha Ali A Framework for Emancipatory inquiry in psychology: Lessons from Feminist Methodology (p26-35)
Abstract: Psychological science has been plagued by a disengagement from social issues including racism, sexual discrimination, and poverty. This disengagement is in part a consequence of dominant methodological approaches which are in many ways incompatible with the investigation of societal factors. This paper explores the need for an emancipatory methodological framework within psychology that can allow the discipline to actively respond to social problems while still retaining the ideals of scientific rigor. Drawing upon feminist models of methodology, a viable framework is proposed. The enactment of this framework is considered in light of certain challenges to the integration of socially relevant issues into mainstream psychological research. Keywords: feminist methodology; psychological science; social change
Priscilla D. Allen and Katie Cherry Race Relations in the Nursing Home Setting (p36-45)
Abstract: The increasing number of older adults in society and projected increases in the number of older persons for the future mark an important demographic trend. The number of frail or disabled elderly people who will require nursing home care is expected to increase significantly over the next few decades. Understanding the impact of gender and ethnicity on staff-client relationships in the nursing home setting is a critical challenge for social scientists. This paper examines caregiver and resident relationships in the nursing home where a growing immigrant, non-White staff, cares for the dominant White consumer population. The extant nursing home race relations literature is reviewed with a focus on historical and cultural disparities, utilization, and experiences between caregivers and residents. Implications for practice and directions for future research are considered. Keywords: nursing home caregiving; race relations; long-term care
Shanette M. Harris Body Image Attitudes, Physical Attributes and Disturbed Eating among African American College Women (p46-58)
Abstract: This research examined relationships among body image attitudes, physical qualities and eating variables for a sample of African American women. Eighty-seven voluntary participants completed a personal profile form, subscales of the Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ), the Body Cathexis Scale, and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI). Body attitude measures were consistently associated with body mass in a direction to suggest that heaviness or high weight levels produce body dissatisfaction and unfavorable fitness and appearance evaluations. Likewise, Bulimia, Drive for Thinness and Body Dissatisfaction eating disordered subscales were positively associated with body mass. Two canonical variates were extracted from the relationship between eating disorder correlates and body attitudes. These results show that variation exists among African American college women associated with differences in relationships among eating disturbances, physical attributes and body attitudes. Keywords: Black women; African American women; African Americans; women; females; eating behavior; eating disorders; eating disturbances; eating dysfunctions; body; body attitudes; body image; body mass; body satisfaction; weight; appearance; fitness
Jason Reed Gender Differences in Political Attitudes and Persuasion (p59-69)
Abstract: This paper presents a theoretical discussion of whether men and women inherently possess different attitudes about political objects and issues. Drawing upon theories and empirical work from social, cognitive, and evolutionary psychology, a framework is presented to suggest that men and women should generally possess differing political attitudes due to both societal and personal factors. Specifically, Social Dominance Theory suggests that existing social ideologies will contribute to men and women developing differing political attitudes, and an associative network model of cognition developed by Judd and Krosnick (1989) suggests that individual levels of attitude strength or expertise with a political attitude object will contribute to different political attitudes for men and women. The paper then uses the dual-process persuasion theory of the Elaboration Likelihood Model to present a single framework for attitude change applicable to both men and women despite the likelihood of gender differences in political attitudes. Theoretical and practical implications of these frameworks are discussed. Keywords: persuasion; political attitudes
Teresa R. Robbins Changing Minds but not Politics: The Influence of Intergroup Interactions on Racial Policy Attitudes about African Americans (p70-86)
Abstract: This research used the intergroup anxiety model (Stephan & Stephan, 1985) as a framework to examine the relationship between two antecedents and two outcomes of intergroup anxiety. I predicted that among European American (EA) respondents, satisfaction with living in a neighborhood with a high proportion of African American (AA) residents (an indicator of positive prior interactions) and working together with predominantly AA neighbors to solve a common problem (an indicator of a cooperative reward structure) would be associated with external attributions about the disadvantaged social position of AA and with greater support for government aid to AAs. Consistent with expectations, secondary analyses of national election data revealed that increased neighborhood intergroup contact was associated with external attributions toward AAs among respondents who were satisfied with their neighborhood, and among respondents who had cooperated with neighbors. However, neither the quality nor the reward structure of prior interactions correlated with attitudes about government aid to AAs. Keywords: intergroup anxiety; ethnic attitudes; political attitudes
Alecia M. Santuzzi and Janet B. Ruscher Distancing from Incompetent In-Group Members: Evidence for the Black Sheep Effect in Ethnicity and Nationality (p87-95)
Abstract: The present study examined how White university students living in the United States evaluated student university applicants given differences in applicants' nationality, ethnicity, and competence. Consistent with the black sheep effect (Marques & Yzerbyt, 1988), ratings for an incompetent in-group applicant (i.e., White applicant living in the Unites States) were lower in comparison to ratings for other incompetent or competent applicants. These results demonstrated that BSE may be relevant to not only racial identity, but also other aspects of social identity (e.g., nationality). BSE seemed to be stronger when the "black sheep" was of both the same racial category and the same nationality as participants, compared to when only one of either race or nationality was the same or when both race and nationality were different from participants. Therefore, BSE might increase as the degree of overlap in individuals’ social identities increases. Keywords: black sheep effect; social identity; racial identity; in-group evaluation
Sondra E. Solomon and Donald A. Saucier Perceived Effectiveness of a Bias Awareness Program (p96-107)
Abstract: An awareness program consisting of three event types (colloquia, workshops, and film sessions) was created to reduce bias on campus. Participants reported their perceptions of the effectiveness of the individuals who conducted events, their perceptions of the events as learning experiences, and their changes in thoughts, feelings, and behavioral intentions after attending events. Participants reported that all program event types’ speakers and facilitators were at least moderately effective, and each event type was at least moderately effective as a learning experience. Results indicated that workshops were especially effective and were more likely than colloquia or films to produce changes in thoughts, feelings, and intentions to behave differently. Keywords: prejudice reduction; bias awareness; tolerance
Arthur A. Stukas, Jr. Principled Stands Against Racism (p108-123)
Abstract: A procedural paradigm was created to demonstrate a particular reaction to racism, the principled stand, defined as explicit disagreement accompanied by an abstract or moral principle. After watching a videotape about discrimination, White participants who scored low on the Modern Racism Scale (McConahay, Hardee, & Batts, 1981) discussed prejudice with a confederate in an unstructured format. The confederate delivered one of three racist scripts, revealing different motivations for his racism, or a neutral control script. Rates of principled stands and other verbal reactions were examined. Results demonstrated that women were more likely to take principled stands than men, although when they took them, men took stronger stands than women. Principled stands occurred frequently and were consistent as a response to differently motivated racism. Implications for research and society are discussed. Keywords: prejudice; racism; social interaction; disagreement
DeMarquis Hayes, Michael Cunningham and Jacques Courseault Race Related Barriers for African American Males Pursuing Higher Education: Implications for Psychology (p124-132)
Abstract: This manuscript draws attention to the gender gap between African American males and females in higher education. In doing so, a review of information regarding African American males from the early school years to college is discussed. Information is presented that highlights how race and gender specific issues affect the number of African American males pursuing advanced degrees that lead to careers in higher education. The manuscript examines barriers preventing African American males from pursuing advanced degrees and offers suggestions for improving participation of African American males in higher education generally and in psychology specifically. Keywords: African American males; higher education; gender gap
Sherry B. Schnake, Daniel J. Beal, and Janet B. Rusher Modern Racism and Intergroup Bias in Causal Explanation (p133-143)
Abstract: Intergroup bias emerges in causal explanation, such that ingroup but not outgroup members often are credited for positive behaviors and forgiven for negative behavior. When two potential explanations for behavior appear, conversational conventions predict that individuals weight the later explanation most heavily in their judgments. Previous work on conversational conventions, however, finds that people follow conversational conventions when they best support intergroup bias. The present study investigated the extent to which individual differences in prejudice moderated this pattern. European American participants who were determined to be low or high in modern racism read about the behaviors of European American and African American actors. When mitigating external explanations for negative behaviors or disposition-crediting explanations for positive behaviors were provided last, individuals high in modern racism tended to rely upon conversational conventions only for European American actors. That is, high modern racists’ selective reliance upon conversational conventions forgave ingroup members for their faults, and tended to credit them for their virtues; consistent with intergroup bias, they did not extend this courtesy to outgroup members. Keywords: modern racism; intergroup bias; attribution
George Ansalone Tracking: A Return to Jim Crow (p144-153)
Abstract: More than fifty years after the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools are "inherently unequal"; equality of educational opportunity still remains an almost unattainable goal in American schooling. For many, this distressing problem is the direct result of the growing pervasiveness and popularity of educational tracking, the separation of students by ability and curricula. This article explores the historical roots of tracking and suggests that its evolution and continued presence in our society represents a veiled attempt and defective strategy for attaining separate but equal education in the schools. It underscores the research findings that call attention to the negative student outcomes in the area of affective and cognitive development for disadvantaged students in tracked classes. Finally, it concludes that the educational limitations of the Jim Crow Era including differential resource allocation and teacher expectations, a differentiated curriculum as well as the negative impact on student self-concept and career trajectory, are facilitated by the educational structure of tracking. Keywords: ability grouping; social inequality; tracking
Alma Thornton, Bernestine McGee, Sahasporn Paeratakul, Kirkland Mellad, Gina Eubanks, Betty Fomby, Jeff Gossett, and Kimberley Bardell The Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors on Psycho-Social Beliefs (p154-167)
Abstract: This study examined four major psycho-social variables, health belief, social influence, health locus of control, and self efficacy in rural lower Mississippi Delta residents. Socio-demographic variables of race, education and income were used to measure differences in perception of attitudes of importance of others in shaping normative beliefs, placement of primary responsibility for health outcome (locus of control) and beliefs about staying healthy and preventing diseases. Two hundred sixty eight (268) Delta residents were systematically surveyed resulting in 249 usable interviews. Chi Square analysis was used to assess differences. Differences in health belief, locus of control, social influence and self-efficacy were found to vary by race, education, income and food assistance status. Significant differences were found between (1) race and food assistance status and health belief; (2) race and social influence; (3) race, food assistance status, education and health locus of control; and (4) race, food assistance status, income, education and self-efficacy. Key words: self efficacy; locus of control; health belief; socioeconomic status
Jean Ait Belkhir Introduction to Others (p168-169)
Kris Acheson Black Shepherd, White Sheep: A Phenomenological Study of a Southern Church (p170-190)
Abstract: Much recent literature has noted the invisibility of Whiteness and the normalization of White supremacy in the US. This body of work is often especially applicable to life in the rural Southern US. Recent critical literature suggests that interrogating examples of the disruption of normative Whiteness could offer powerful opportunities for social change. In the context of the White supremacist South, then, an important task is finding and examining instances where the everydayness of Whiteness is challenged, where people are made uncomfortable because the unspoken rules of race relations are broken. This essay explores an instance of radical disruption of the invisibility of Whiteness—a Black pastor of a predominantly White church in the rural South. Using phenomenological methods, I interrogate the phenomenon of a Black man pastoring White Southerners as that experience is described in a set of narratives written from various perspectives within the church (a church member, a church elder, and the pastor himself). Through a reduction and interpretation of themes in the narratives, I arrive at conclusions about the nature of the phenomenon and various ways of experiencing it in an attempt to find ways to combat personal and systemic racism. Keywords: whiteness; racism; phenomenology; religion; lived experience; visible identity; South
John Penny and Laurie Gaillard Mentoring African American Women in Higher Education Administration (p191-200)
Abstract: This paper gives a brief overview of networking and the role that the mentor/mentee plays in it. It defines networking and mentor. Also included are the value of mentoring, the old boys system, characteristics of mentors, actions taken by mentors to ensure productive relationships, responsibilities of mentees, leadership skills developed and, African American women. An appeal is made to African American women/men in higher education administration who have succeeded to become mentors. Keywords: mentor; mente; African American women; higher education administration; networking
Ashraf Esmail and Jas M. Sullivan African American College Males and Females: A Look at Color Mating Preferences (p201-220)
Abstract: This paper explores color-preference attitudes among African-American males and females in the areas of interpersonal attraction and mate selection. The hypothesis underlying the study is that, as lightness in skin color increases, so, too, the perception of attractiveness and the association of positive characteristics with light skin color. This research utilizes interviews to explore whether or not African-American males report a preference for light-skinned women and whether or not African-American females report a preference for light-skinned men. The findings indicate that African-American males choose marriage partners according to the skin color complexion of their father. However, in terms of women they find most attractive, they select according to the skin color complexion of their mother. Among African-American females, the findings indicate that while it is true that they chose males that were medium to dark skin complexion, other factors such as height, hair, lips, eyes, style of dress were more important that merely the color of one’s skin. Keywords: African-American; interpersonal attraction; mate selection
Alvin D. Mitchell The Effects of the Marshall Hypothesis on Attitudes toward the Death Penalty (p221-247)
Abstract: Previous research has partially supported the Marshall Hypothesis’ contention that most people in America support the death penalty because they are not knowledgeable of the debatable issues involved. These issues include retribution, morality, public opinion, deterrence, cost, irreversibility, and discrimination. Other topics include fear of crime and the media’s exacerbation of the crime problem. All of these issues and topics can influence attitudes toward the death penalty. If Americans knew the substance of these issues and topics, their attitudes may change in regard to the death penalty. In 2003, Governor Ryan of Illinois first issued a stay of execution, then a moratorium, and later a commutation of death sentences for all inmates on death row in the state of Illinois. In addition, he fully released other inmates who were found guilty and sentenced to death. Interestingly, however, Governor Ryan, a republican believed wholeheartedly in the death penalty. Governor Ryan’s attitude mirrors the contention of Justice Thurgood Marshall: If people are knowledgeable of the death penalty and its application, then support for the death penalty will wane. If Governor Ryan’s attitude changed toward the death penalty after Marshall’s effect, then it is possible that others will change their attitudes toward the death penalty. This study revisits the Marshall Hypothesis using students at a large, multicultural community college in the southern region of the United States. Keywords: capital punishment; death penalty; Marshall Hypothesis
Sudipta Das Life in a Salad Bowl: Marriage, Family Life, and Economic Choices in Asian-American Communities in the United States (p248-272)
Abstract: This study attempts to isolate its focus on marriage, family, and economic choices among the six largest Asian American groups: Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Asian Indians, Koreans, and Vietnamese. Through available statistical data on the lifestyles of the first-generation Asian American immigrants and on that of their U.S.-raised or U. S. born children as well as from ethnic insight, the study attempts to show how patterns are changing in these particular areas from the past to the present. Marriage and family choices are becoming intertwined with choices of rapid economic advancement in some ethnic groups, which are electing to indulge in behavioral and structural assimilation with the host society for social stability and economic gain. In defining trends characteristically identified as "Asian American," this study also seeks to identify the practices within each ethnic group constituting this collective rubric. Keywords: Asian; Asian-American; endogamy; paternalism; patriarchy; ethnic marriage; ethnic family life
Peter B. Anderson and William Sorensen "Drinking more than Normal in order to Make it Easier to Have Sex with Someone": A race, Gender, Class Analysis of College Students Living On and Off Campus (p273-287)
Abstract: In this study the authors focused on the question; how will "drinking more than normal" and subsequent sexual activities fluctuate by the intersections of race, gender, and class? In addition, we were interested in determining how safer sex practices would differ by the intersections of race, gender, and class and how the additional variable of place (living on or off-campus) would interact with the target variables. The results show that even though having sex is the common denominator between the two dependent variables, they represent two different mechanisms to achieve sex and are mediated by different factors. Drinking to have sex is mediated by the interactions of gender, class, race, and age. Having multiple sex partners is mediated primarily by place, and by the intersection of class and age. In our study lower class Black males reported the fewest times drinking in order to have sex and the lowest number of sex partners in the past year compared to other groups. In ancillary analysis, men were more likely than women to drink to have sex with a casual partner and women were more likely than men to drink to have sex with a steady partner regardless of, and controlling for race, class, and age. Keywords: sex; alcohol; risk; race; gender; class; place
Race, Gender, and Class in Public policy, Planning, and Administration
Volume 12, Number 3-4, 2005, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editor: George Amedee
George Amedee Introduction to Race, Gender, and Class in Public Policy, Planning, and Administration (p4-8)
Joan Marshall Wesley, Matthew Dalbey, and William M. Harris Urban Segregation in the Deep South: Race, Education, and Planning Ethics in Jackson, Mississippi (p11-30)
Abstract: Segregation has retrenched itself in Jackson, Mississippi, the largest city in the largest metropolitan area in the State. As a social phenomenon, segregation has survived through tradition, lingering attitudes, public policy in economic and job development, educational decision-making, and land-use changes such as suburbanization and sprawl. This paper explores the historical roots and current status of segregation in the public schools, the city and the metro area. Coming from a posture informed by ethics in planning and public policy, the authors examine efforts by a local grass roots organization and an affirmative education policy, both aimed at reducing segregation in the public schools. Programmatic and creative remedies are offered as possible ways to dismantle racial segregation. Keywords: planning ethics; planning policy
Rita Henry-Brown and Nycole Campbell-Lewis Examining Barriers to Career Advancement Among Females of Color in the Federal Career Service (p31-46)
Abstract: The present study focuses on the glass ceiling phenomenon as it affects the advancement of females of color in the federal career service. Three theories are offered to explain the barriers to career advancement: human capital, sociopsychological, and systemic. Mentoring, job commitment, and geographical mobility variables are discussed as potential barriers to career advancement. Strategies for advancing females of color through the pipeline to upper management levels, policy implications and directions for future research are discussed. Data for this analysis were obtained from the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. The total sample consists of 8,400 randomly selected federal employees in the General Schedule/General Management grades 9 through 11 and the Senior Executive Service. Keywords: glass ceiling; career advancement
James C. Harvey Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity for Blacks in Higher Education and the university of Michigan Cases (p47-55)
Abstract: This paper assesses the status of Affirmative Action in higher education as an equal opportunity tool for bringing African Americans into the mainstream of America. The key cases leading up to the Michigan Case are presented and the significance of these cases in their attempt to achieve diversity. An assessment of the current and future status of Affirmative Action in Higher Education is presented in light of the Michigan case and the reaction to its decision. The subsequent political and legal fallout from the case is discussed with a final determination of the current and future strength of Affirmative Action in higher education. Keywords: Affirmative action; diversity; plaintiffs; quota system
Tazinski P. Lee The Myth and Reality of Affirmative Action: A Study Using the Perceptions of Female Police (p56-72)
Abstract: In spite of the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, Title VII provisions and various executive orders prohibiting discrimination in human resource practices, female police officers remain heavily concentrated in the lowest level positions of many police departments in the United States. To date, the only solution for improving the employment status of women in policing has been affirmative action. While affirmative action plans/initiatives have lead to some improvements in female officers’ statuses, additional progress could be made if the plans were strongly enforced by all police departments. This work explores police officers’ perceptions of the impact that affirmative action plans/initiatives have had on the recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention of female officers. Using convenience sampling, 109 currently employed sworn male and female police officers from the three largest police departments in a rural area of the South were surveyed. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were used to analyze the findings. The data revealed that the number of female police officers in the departments studied was small. The data suggests that there is a lack of enforcement of affirmative action plans/initiatives by each department. Keywords: Affirmative Action; quotas; glass ceiling; gender discrimination; representative bureaucracy; small town
Ruby
Cooper Lipscomb Child
Support Policy Reformation: A Policy Analysis (p73-84)
Abtract: This article addresses the quality of the current child support policy because it is vitally important to the nation’s future. A significant number of children is living apart from at least one parent, and therefore is eligible for child support (Children’s Defense Fund, 2003). Based on a review of the literature, an analysis of our nation’s child support system is presented. In addition a proposal for reform is recommended. Keywords: Child Support; social policy; single- parent families child welfare
George Amedee Closing the Transportation Divide: Linking TANF and Transportation (p86-106)
Abstract: This paper examines the status of the transportation related problems associated with TANF’s success. The paper draws on findings from previous studies on journey to work and welfare to work guidelines and strategies being employed to address the transportation challenges of TANF recipients. Data collected from a survey of 1,688 TANF recipients as part of the Mississippi TANF Implementation Study, the experiences of Washington State’s Department of Transportation On-the-Job Training and Supportive Services and information collected on funding commitments to this program nationwide are also presented in a discussion of the link between transportation and jobs. A large majority of TANF recipients are largely young minority females with children who lack timely and dependable transportation from central city and rural areas where 2/3 of them reside to suburban areas that are becoming the primary focal point for the growth in employment nationwide. To adequately address the needs of TANF workers, the study found that both rural and urban area services must address transportation problems associated with trip chaining, temporal mismatch, and information gap issues. The study also found that states have responded with a wide range of creative and innovative programs to address job access and reverse commute needs. In spite of proliferation of new transportation strategies, the most serious problems facing TANF recipients that was identified in this study is finding and maintaining decent paying jobs. The ability to maintain work was also identified as a problem. The study recommends the expansion of nontraditional jobs for females in heavy construction and technology jobs under the DOT OJT Program and expansion of funding to ease barriers in transitioning from welfare to work in heavy construction areas. Other recommendations include an increase in funds for job access and reverse commute programs, building day care facilities near employment locations in the suburbs, and opening up housing and public transportation opportunities for low income families in suburban communities. Keywords: TANF-Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; TEA21- Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century; OJT- On the Job Training
Cynthia P. Honoré-Collins The Impact of African American Incarceration on African American Children in the Child Welfare System (p107-118)
Abstract: Over the past decade, much has been written and discussed on the disproportionate number of African Americans in United States social systems. This paper highlights the issue of the increasing numbers of incarcerated African Americans, and the impact that it has on out-of-home placement for African American children. This paper presents literature that explores and describes the history of this trend. Discussion centers on statistics and trends on African American incarceration and out-of-home placement of children with incarcerated parents. Questions for future research are presented and strategies of advocacy, empowerment, and transformation are suggested to address the disproportionate representation of African Americans in the criminal justice and child welfare systems. This paper also discusses the implications of this problem for social workers, policy makers, and social scientist. Keywords: African Americans; prison; incarceration; child welfare; out-of-home placement; foster care
Joyce
Buckner-Brown and Augustine O. Agho An
Examination of U.S. Federally Funded Television Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
in Changing AIDS Risk Behaviors in African American Populations (p120-138)
Abstract: During the period of January 1996 through June 1999, African Americans accounted for 50% of all AIDS diagnoses and 57% of all diagnoses, Using the Transtheoretical Model of Behavioral Change as a conceptual framework, this study examined English language Public Service Announcements (PSAs) disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to determine whether televised broadcasts aimed at general and African American audiences followed a logical sequence from awareness to motivation, skill building, and maintenance. Findings indicated that PSAs provided factual information, but failed to move beyond factual information to presenting messages that promoted, motivated, and reinforced behavior change. There were no statistically significant differences in the variables examined between the PSAs targeting African Americans and those targeting the general population. Keywords: HIV/AIDS Televised Public Service Announcements; Transtheoretical Model; minority health; health promotion; African Americans; Stages of Behavior Change
Pamela Leong The African-American Church and the Politics of Difference: Creating an Oppositional Religious Culture in the Context of HIV/AIDS (p139-154)
Abstract: This ethnography examines how an African-American congregation in Los Angeles has created an oppositional religious culture in the context of the AIDS pandemic. The congregation is able to address the unique needs of its marginalized members because it engages in a variety of tactics that appear to challenge the status quo. It destabilizes and subverts gender and sexual categories, fosters open dialogue and the disclosure of secrets, affirms and legitimizes differences, reinterprets theology, and openly challenges and resists systems of oppression. As a separatist religious organization, the congregation offers alternative and oppositional religious and social culture, providing familiar and empowering sites for the unique experiences of individuals who are low-income, black, GLBT, and HIV-positive. Keywords: African-American church; black church; religion; HIV/AIDS; congregational culture; sexuality; GLBT; gender
Carmen M. White Tourism as an Ethnic Landscape and the Landscape of Ethnic Tourism: The Case of Fiji (p155-175)
Abstract: The contemporary organization and content of tourism in Fiji has colonial roots as deep as the oppositional identities of this nation’s two numerically dominant populations—indigenous Fijians and Fiji Indians—configured in national discourse as "comparative reference groups." This article will show how the tourism industry in Fiji has become a site for a type of ethnic tourism where these essentialized identities are expressed both discursively and structurally. The article also provides a historical context for the advent of mass tourism in Fiji, outlining how Fiji tourism emerged in the context of a racially segmented labor market rationalized by a wider colonial order. Colonially constructed notions of racial difference would not only legitimate a hierarchically structured ethnic division of labor in tourism, but would be accommodated, amplified and focalized in tourism discourse. While industry campaigns channel a tourist gaze upon Fijians as the embodiment of noble savagery and redeemed primitivity, the physical presence but discursive erasure of Indians in tourism constitutes its own narrative. Meanwhile, the structural dominance and visual exclusion of the local European elite barely differentiates them from the overseas enterprises that dominate the industry. This article also explores such by-products of Fiji tourism’s colonial origins as Fijian preclusion from local consumption of tourism. Keywords: ethnic tourism, Fiji; Fijians; noble savagery; South Pacific; tourism discourse
Race, Gender and Class and Poverty: Causes and Consequences
Volume 12, Number 2, 2005, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editor: Francis O. Adeola
Francis O. Adeola Introduction. Poverty: Causes and Consequences (p3-9)
Katherine A Luther, Deseriee A. Kennedy, and Terri Combs-Orme Intertwining of Poverty, Gender, and Race: A Critical Analysis of Welfare News Coverage from 1993-2000 (p10-33)
Abstract: Over the years, welfare has become highly intertwined with ideological beliefs involving gender, race, and poverty. As the nature of welfare transformed to include non-white recipients, the perception of welfare recipients as single "worthy white widows" was replaced by the "lazy African-American breeders." This study examined how television news may have appropriated this negative image in its coverage of the changes in the U.S. welfare system that took place during the 1990s. News stories presented by the major U.S. television networks from 1993 to 2000 were examined. The analysis showed that news stories tended to depict the typical welfare recipient as being female and black, and often depicted the recipient as responsible for her welfare status. Keywords: welfare, legislation, news, framing.
Karen Christopher The Poverty Line Forty Years Later: Alternative Poverty Measures and Women’s Lives (p34-52)
Abstract: The official U.S. poverty line is the standard measure of economic disadvantage in the U.S. Yet with its multiple shortcomings, this measure underestimates economic hardship. This article uses a multiracial feminist framework to apply alternative poverty measures to women, people of color, and women of color. Compared to the official U.S. poverty measure, alternative poverty measures almost always produce heightened measures of economic disadvantage for these groups. While the official U.S. poverty rate more severely underestimates poverty among White and Latina women, Black women— particularly Black single mothers—live the most deeply in poverty. The article ends with a discussion of policy implications. Keywords: poverty, gender, race/ethnicity, multiracial feminism.
Francis O. Adeola Racial and Class Divergence in Public Attitudes and Perceptions about Poverty in USA: An Empirical Study (p53-80)
Abstract: This article focuses on differences between Blacks and Whites in attitudes, perceptions, and opinions concerning the roots of poverty in the United States. First, the extent of poverty, its trend, and demographic distributions are presented. Next, individual, cultural, genetic, human capital, and structural theories of poverty are discussed. Hypotheses from these theories are formulated and tested using multiple nationally representative data-sets in tandem with empirical information from the U.S. Census Bureau. The results indicate there is a growing trend in poverty in the United States, especially since 2000, with racial minorities, children, female headed households, and foreign-born segments of the population disproportionately represented among the poor. Poverty remains concentrated in the South than any other region of the country. While Americans in general perceived government spending on the poor as too little, they placed the blame of poverty on the poor themselves. In a multivariate discriminant analysis (MDA) performed, significant differences were found between Blacks and Whites in attributions of poverty with the former identifying structural level failures and the latter indicating personal and psycho-social deficiencies as the roots of poverty. The only hypothesis not supported in the analysis is the IQ hypothesis. A holistic perspective blending both the individual and structural variables are recommended for future research. Keywords: poverty, PRWORA, human capital, social Darwinism, The Bell Curve, IQ, discriminant analysis, public opinions, race and ethnicity.
Richard C. Caputo The GED as a Signifier of Later Life Health and Economic Well-Being (p81-103)
Abstract: Guided by human capital, socialization, and institutionalization theories, this study examined later life health and economic well-being of General Education Development (GED) certificate recipients. Relying on study sample (N=4,848) obtained from the Health and Retirement Study, Early 2002 release, GED recipients were found to have significantly worse later life outcomes than high school graduates on measures of cognition, depression, physical illnesses, and household income and to have significantly better later life outcomes than high school dropouts on measures as depression, independent activities of daily living, and household income. Findings suggest that GED recipients, who are more likely to be poor than conventional high school graduates though less likely than non-credentialed dropouts, should not be lumped together with them and that potential and subsequent GED recipients and high school dropouts should be given special consideration to prevent deleterious outcomes in later life. Keywords: educational outcomes, economic well-being, GED, health, high school dropouts.
Shirley Rombough and Diane Keithly Native Americans, The Feudal System, and the Protestant Work Ethic: A Unique View of the Reservation (p104-120)
Abstract: Native Americans experience high rates of poverty and lower levels of education and income in comparison to white Americans and other minority groups. This paper traces the history of Native Americans in relation to federal policies which disrupted native culture and created reservations. A review of literature suggests some surprising results. Recent findings point to a growing interest in Native American culture and a growing population on reservations. Reservation life appears to be attractive but perhaps for reasons that are less than apparent. The authors note similarities between the cultural disruption wrought by the rise of the Protestant work ethic and capitalism in feudal Europe and the experiences of Native Americans in relation to larger American culture. Parallels between traditional feudal society and reservation life today are made for the purpose of explaining what continues to keep people living on reservations. Keywords: Native American, feudal system, capitalism, reservation, minority groups, traditional society
Lynn Fujiwara Mothers without Citizenship: Asian Immigrants and Refugees Negotiate Poverty and Hunger in Post-Welfare Reform (p121-141)
Abstract: This article examines the impact of food stamp cuts for Asian immigrants and refugees through the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Drawing from field work conducted from 1996-1998 in the Bay Area of Northern California in Asian immigrant community organizations allowed for a more nuanced examination of Asian immigrant families negotiating poverty. I argue that the targeting of non-citizens as undeserving of public benefits not only jeopardized human rights to immigrants, it reflects the existing and persistent devaluation of immigrant families who experienced higher levels of hunger and food insecurity due to welfare reform. This focused analysis of the loss of food stamps to immigrant families highlights the intersecting forces of race, gender, class, and citizenship formed through social policy that reinforces the persistence of poverty within immigrant communities. Keywords: immigration, welfare reform, poverty, women, citizenship, Asian immigrants and refugees.
Emily R. Cabaniss and Jill E. Fuller Ethnicity, Race and Poverty Among Single Women: Causes and Complications (p142-162)
Abstract: Poverty is an enduring problem in the United States that remains at the center of many research agendas. While much attention has focused on identifying segments of the population most at risk for experiencing periods of economic deprivation, such as single women, less attention has been devoted to examining the reasons behind greatly differing poverty rates across groups. Among poor women in the United States, some racial and ethnic minority groups suffer considerably more hardship and longer durations of poverty than other groups. Our work strives to synthesize theoretical perspectives toward a more complete explanation for why unmarried women of color are prone to being poor. It suggests a way of conceptualizing the unique impacts of cultural pressures and structural constraints that become amplified as they filter through individual circumstances and compound the effects of poverty for some groups of women. Considered in this work are: culture of poverty and assimilation theories, structural and feminist perspectives, as well as popular and situational explanations for poverty. Keywords: ethnicity, race, poverty, gender.
Ruby C. Lipscomb The Challenges of African American Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren with Implications for Research and Program Development (p163-177)
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to highlight the increasing and important role that grandparents play in raising their grandchildren without the children’s parents present. African American grandparents are disproportionately affected by this trend. The theoretical underpinnings in this article suggest that the African American family is a social system embedded and interwoven with the wider society or macro system. Grandparent caregivers and their grandchildren are viewed as subsystems. The social factors and forces in the wider society that lead to grandparents assuming the primary caregiver role are presented in order to enhance the understanding of their unique challenges. Social service support systems are discussed as well as recommendations for future program development and research. Keywords: African American, caregiver, gender, grandparents, grandchildren, class, race.
Paul C. Mocombe Where Did Freire Go Wrong? Pedagogy in Globalization: The Grenadian Example (p178-199)
Abstract: Recent debates in education theory have centered on the poststructural emphasis of the decentered (heterogeneous) subject within the cultural structure of schools. Emphasizing the dialogue, recent pedagogical practices have avowed, between constructed identities within schools, theorists of this poststructural persuasion attempt to demonstrate the resistance posed by constructed identities to integration into the capitalist structural logic of schools. This essay, on the contrary, argues that Paulo Freire’s dialogical pedagogy, as contemporarily practiced in American post-industrial workplaces and schools, speaks to the continual role of education as an instrument that is used to facilitate integration, rather than as a liberating force against the partiality of its capitalist ideological structure. So where did Freire, and by my association poststructural theorists, go wrong? This essay, through a world-systems approach, offers a rereading of Freire’s emphasis on dialogue, as practiced in the American and Grenadian contexts, which not only refutes it in favor of the antidialogical model or the "Banking system," but demonstrates, contrarily to the poststructural emphasis, how dialogical pedagogy is utilized, within existing configuration of post-industrial capitalist power, to foster normalization (i.e., homogenization) amongst diverse "cultural" identities (race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality), rather than to liberate them. Keywords: pedagogy, Paulo Freire, globalization, world-system.
Quantitative Approaches to Race, Gender, and Class Analysis
Volume 12, Number 1, 2005, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editor: Bart Landry
Bart Landry Introduction (p4-10)
Kei M. Nomaguchi Are There Race and Gender Differences in the Effect of Marital Dissolution on Depression? (p11-30)
Abstract: In this article, I examine whether there are race and gender differences in the effect of marital dissolution on depression, using panel data of a nationally representative sample of black and white Americans. To examine group differences, two procedures are used, including (1) OLS regression models with interaction terms on the full sample, and (2) t-tests of differences in coefficients for the effect of marital dissolution on depression from separate subgroup regression models. Results suggest that regardless of race, women are more likely than men to increase depression upon becoming separated/divorced, and there are no significant race differences within each gender, and there is no interaction between gender and race. Although black-white differences in gender relations in marriage led to speculations that blacks may differ from whites in gender difference in psychological responses to marital dissolution, results suggest that regardless of race, women are more vulnerable than men to marital dissolution. Keywords: depression, gender, interactions, marital dissolution, race, gender, class, RGC perspective
Bradford Booth and David R. Segal Bringing in the Soldiers Back In: Implications of Inclusion of Military Personnel for Labor Market Research on Race, Class, and Gender (p34-57)
Abstract: This paper takes issue with the common methodological practice of excluding military personnel from populations being analyzed on the basis that such persons represent members of an "institutionalized population", not subject to the choices and constraints found within the labor market. This practice represents an ‘institutionalization’ of another sort—the perpetuation of a norm of research design that has its roots in an era when armed forces personnel were conscripted, but that is no longer realistic. We propose an alternative conceptualization, arguing that, because the military represents the nation’s largest employer of African American men, the inclusion of service members in labor market research—particularly on racial inequality—helps our understanding of this area of inquiry. Data from the 1990 U.S. Census are used to test the hypothesis that individual military service is associated with reduced earnings inequality among black and white men employed full time. Findings indicate that, controlling for key individual characteristics including education and potential work experience, racial earnings inequality among men is significantly lower within the military. This suggests that by excluding military personnel from research designs, labor market scholars may be neglecting a factor that bears on our understanding of racial inequality. Military effects on racial inequality among women workers are also examined. Keywords: race, gender, class, intersectionality, labor markets, inequality, social stratification, military personnel, military sociology
Erika Laine Austin Women's STD Prevention and Detection practices: The Specificity of Social Location (p59-81)
Abstract: Limited research has focused on women’s prevention and detection of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), due to the emphasis on the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. Existing public health research on women’s sexual health practices treats race/ethnicity and social class as separate explanatory factors, with a focus on the practices of minority and impoverished women. This work uses an intersection approach to problematize the traditional use of race/ethnicity and social class in public health research by creating multiplicative interaction terms to represent the unique social locations created by the intersection of the systems of patriarchy, racism, and capitalist exploitation. Logistic regression models reveal several significant interaction terms, suggesting that race/ethnicity and social class interact in meaningful ways to predict women’s sexual health practices. Keywords: race, gender, class, intersection theory, women’s health, sexually transmitted diseases
Brett A. Magill Generalized Expectancies for Control among High-School Students at the Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender (p82-96)
Abstract: The present study examines the effects of race, class, and gender on perceptions of control among high-school students from the perspective of intersection theory. Using a subset of data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (N = 4818) and a four-item measure of internality-externality, attributions of control were examined as they vary by race, class, and gender. Interaction effects were also examined and age was used as a control. Statistically significant but small main effects were found for race, class, and gender with blacks, working-class individuals, and women demonstrating greater externality than whites, individuals of higher class situation, and men. Statistically significant age effects were also noted while no interaction effects were found. It is concluded that racism, patriarchy, and capitalism as systems of power create inequalities in the lives of individuals that diminish the degree to which individuals see themselves in control of their experiences. Keywords: locus of control, internality, externality, race, gender, class, intersection theory
Jennifer Castro and Bart Landry Race, Gender, and Class Variation in the Effect of Neighborhood Violence on Adolescent Use of Violence (p97-120)
Abstract: Over the past few decades, countless youth have been exposed to chronic neighborhood violence, yet few studies have examined the effect of this exposure on adolescents’ own assaultive behavior. Whether and how exposure to neighborhood violence increases the likelihood of adolescent violence has importance to criminological theory and policy. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that the strength of this effect may vary by the race, gender, and class of the adolescent. To date, no known quantitative analyses have examined the effect of neighborhood violence on adolescent use of violence across intersections of race, gender, and class. By conceptualizing neighborhood violence as a source of negative and noxious strain, the present study integrates elements of general strain theory with an intersectionality approach. Using multivariate regressions, we analyze the effect of neighborhood violence on adolescent use of violence across intersections of race, gender, and class—while controlling for other predictors of adolescent violence. We conduct our study using self-report data from 3,214 juveniles interviewed as part of the 1995 National Survey of Adolescents (Kilpatrick & Saunders, 1995). Results provide support for intersectional variation in the effects of experiencing and witnessing neighborhood violence on adolescent use of violence. Keywords: race, gender, class, intersectionality, neighborhood violence, general strain theory
Bart Landry Notes on Teaching Race, Gender, and Class Methodology to Undergraduates (p121-124)
Juan Battle, Wanda Alderman-Swain, and Alia R. Tyner Using an Intersectionality Model to Explain the Educational Outcomes for Black Students in a Variety of Family Configurations (p126-151)
Abstract: Using a nationally representative sample from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) and a theoretical model of intersectionality, this research examines the longitudinal effects that a variety of single-parent households have on the educational outcomes of Black males and females. We found that: (1) in general, parental configuration in the 8th grade has no impact on educational achievement in the 12th grade or two years after high school; (2) in general, economic capital is more important in predicting educational outcomes than parental configuration; (3) Black male students in divorced households or one-parent households in the 8th grade have better outcomes in 12th grade than do their male counterparts in married or two-parent households; and (4) race, gender, and class are simultaneously intersecting categories in the family experiences and educational achievement processes of Black students. Keywords: education, family, black, intersectionality, gender, race, class, NELS, students
Danielle Taana Smith Developing Entrepreneurship among African Americans: The Effects of Urban Residence (p152-168)
Abstract: This study examines the impact of urban residence on the likehood of self-employment for African Americans and Whites. Geographic region and urban residence are used as variables that reflect the social and economic development of the community, as more stable and organized communities are expected top offer social networks that are more effective for goal achievement to individuals in those communities. Demographic variable are education, labor force experience, gender, age, marital status and the presence of children in the household. The aim of the study is to aid in the understanding of how African Americans can use entrepreneurship as a means of achieving social and economic parity with main-stream Americans. Data analyzed are from the 1993 through 2000 Current Population Surveys: Annual Individual Level Files (CPS). The research questions are: How does urban residence affect the likehood of self-employment? Do differences exist based on race? Keywords: African American, Entrepreneurship, Urban Residency
Gail Wallace American Sociological Association Race, Gender and Class Section Survey Report (p170-175)
Volume 11, Number 4, 2004, ISSN 1082-8354
Jean Ait Belkhir and Christiane Charlemaine Introduction (p4-7)
Abigail A. Fuller What Difference Does Difference Make? Women, Race-Ethnicity, Social Class (p8-29)
Abstract: The tendency to universalize the experiences of white, economically privileged women is problematic for several reasons. It ignores the ways that women’s experiences in the workplace; in the family; with reproductive rights; and with violence differ by racial-ethnic group and social class. It is blind to the "gendering of ethnicity" that occurs when stereotypes of women (and men) of color are sexualized. We have a moral obligation to recognize these differences, and we increase the effectiveness of social change efforts on behalf of women when we do so. Keywords: gender and race-ethnicity, gender and social class, reproductive rights, violence against women, women’s movement
Paul C. Mocombe Who Makes Race Matter in Post-Industrial Capitalist America? (p30-47)
Abstract: Since the 1960s, the radical era out of which contemporary understandings of black consciousness as Du Boisian double consciousness (i.e., the so-called adaptive-vitality school) or biculturation (both African and American) emerged, there has been one other school of thought on the matter—that of the pathological-pathogenic school, which argues that in its divergences black American consciousness is nothing more than a pathological form of, and reaction to, American consciousness rather than a dual (both African and American) hegemonic opposing "identity-in-differential" (the term is Gayatri Spivak’s) to the American one. The purpose of this essay is to understand black consciousness by working out the theoretical and methodological problems from which these two divergent paradigms are constructed in order to give a more sociohistorical, rather than biological (i.e., racial), understanding of black consciousness, which, I believe, will better equip us to understand for whom and for what purpose contemporary race matters matter. Keywords: practical consciousness, identity-in-differential, pathological-pathogenic, adaptive-vitality, structuration
Mary Patrice Erdmans Looking for Angel: White Working-Class Women Lost Between Identities (p48-62)
Abstract: In 2003, Angel and Jim celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary. Married at age 20, Angel had six children and defines herself primarily as a mother, a Catholic, and a wife. She worked outside the home after her children were grown, but her husband’s skilled labor position provided most of the family income. This essay looks at the ways scholars overlook women like Angel, white working-class women who were or are stay-at-home moms. When scholars study white women, the privilege of whiteness or the disadvantage of gender often overshadows class differences. When class is discussed, it is more likely to be the poor class or middle class, with the working class folded into one of these bimodal humps; or working-class women are linked with women of color, while middle class women are myopically white. When the white working-class woman does appear in the literature she often does so as a minority white, that is, as an immigrant or ethnic. And finally, while there are numerous studies of white working-class women in the work place, very few examine the private domestic sphere. In my conclusion, I explore the benefits to finding Angel: 1) focusing attention on the classed society in which we live challenges the myth of meritocracy; 2) understanding the private lives of women at home expands our concept of resistance; and 3) attending to the race-class-gender dynamic of white working-class women requires that we develop more complex understandings of identities that include both privilege and disadvantage. Keywords: white working class, gender, private sphere
Philip S. S. Howard White Privilege: For or Against? A Discussion of Ostensibly Antiracist Discourses (p63-79)
Abstract: There has been a recent flurry of ostensibly antiracist work from the newly named domain of Critical Whiteness Studies. Much of this work attempts to undermine white dominance through a focus upon the diversity and uneven privilege within/among those positioned as white. Using a critical anti-racist/anti-colonial discursive framework, this paper offers an analysis and critique of these projects as they play out in key writings of those Critical Whiteness Scholars who would examine "White trash" as the quintessential paradox of whiteness, and those who would "rearticulate whiteness" to include oppositional white identities. The paper argues that these projects, despite their intentions, are fundamentally flawed through a particular understanding of (anti) essentialism, and may actually further (the normalization of) white privilege. Keywords: antiracism, critical whiteness studies, essentialism, white privilege
Gregg Barak Class, Race, and Gender in Criminology and Criminal Justice: Ways of Seeing Difference (p80-97)
Abstract: This article/essay was originally derived as a symposium speech or presentation at the Second Annual Conference on Race, Gender, and Class Project held on October 20, 2000 in the city of New Orleans. The purpose of this communication was/is to share with non-criminologists the ways in which criminologists and other students of crime and justice approach the study of the relations between class, race, and gender as well as the influences or impact that these may have on the formation, enforcement, and application of criminal justice and the administration of criminal law. In the process of exposing the inequalities of crime, culture, and production, four criminological approaches to the study of class, race,, and gender are identified. Keywords: class, criminal justice, criminology, gender, and race
Alvin Mitchell Determinants of safety in Urban and Suburban Areas (p98-111)
Abstract: This study examines the determinants of safety. More specifically, this study examines the impact that both fear of crime and racism in citizens’ feelings of safety within urban and suburban areas. Before addressing the determinants of safety, I examined two critical factors that shape public perceptions of safety: 1) the media role in exacerbating the public’s innate fear of crime and 2) the influence of politicians in generating the public’s fear for their own safety. I argue that these two factors are intertwined and contribute to citizens’ fear of crime, which leads to racism. Therefore, I am hypothesizing that racism is a stronger determinant of feelings of safety in the suburbs than urban cities because suburbanites are more likely to equate crime with a negative stereotype. In this paper I test this possibility with data from the 1996 Quality of Life survey conducted by the University of New Orleans and find that perceptions of crime and racism do affect feelings of safety. Keywords: racism, symbollic racism, crime, determinants, safety
Ed. A. Muñoz, Barbara J. McMorris, and Matt J. DeLisi Misdemeanor Criminal Justice: Conceptualizing Effects of Latino Ethnicity, Gender, and Immigrant Status (p112-134)
Abstract: Contemporary sentencing research has de-emphasized analyses of misdemeanor sentencing decisions, precluding discussion on the implications misdemeanor convictions may have on other aspects of criminal justice. In this study, bivariate and multivariate statistical strategies are employed to examine the independent and interactive effects of Latino ethnicity and immigrant status for males and females on over 8,000 misdemeanor cases filed during 1992 in three Nebraska non-metropolitan counties. Latinos/as, in comparison to their White counterparts, were more likely to be charged with a greater number of more serious misdemeanors other than simple traffic violations. This resulted in harsher punishment for Latinos, but not for Latinas. Interactive effects again demonstrate the need for more theoretical and methodological rigor in the examination of race/ethnicity in criminal justice decision-making as significant differences were found between non-immigrant and immigrant Latinos/as. Findings suggest that increased attention to the enforcement and adjudication of misdemeanor criminal codes may prove fruitful towards reducing the disproportionate incarceration of non-White racial/ethnic minorities. Keywords: misdemeanor sentencing, Latino, Mexican, immigrant, discrimination
Maria Balderrama, Mary Thierry Texeira, and Elsa Valdez Una Lucha de Fronteras (A Struggle of Borders): Women of Color in the Academy (p135-154)
Abstract: The "lived contradictions" of female faculty of color is the focus of this paper. Quantitative data paint the picture of the existing institutional inequities (salary, tenure/promotion quality of life) that place and keep women of color in economic and scholarly ghettos. One African American woman scholar and two Chicana scholars describe their experiences of struggle and survival as they cross the border into higher education while maintaining their commitment to social justice that is at the core of their scholarly work and practice. Scholars such as Bowles & Gintis and Albert Memmi ground this piece by suggesting that differential treatment along race, class and gender is systemic and part of the historical ideology of academia with the U.S. We end with practical implications for practicing and maintaining the hope of humanizing academe. Keywords: race, feminism, academe
Paul Douglas Mahaffey The Adolescent Complexities of race, Gender, and Class in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye (p155-165)
Abstract: The examination argues that out of Toni Morrison’s first three novels The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye is the most qualified as a work of adolescent literature that discusses how race, gender and class affects the young, black female despite its "adult" content. Pecola Breedlove seeks a nurturing relationship in an adult world of white, assimilationist attitudes but only finds rejection and misery because of her particular racial, gender and class status. This rejection ultimately silences Pecola, destroys her state of child-like innocence (accentuated by her passionate desire for blue eyes), and forces her into the harsh realities of the adult world while retaining the mental thoughts of a child. The examination uses specific moments from the text that highlight race, gender and class attitudes from various adults to demonstrate that the path to adulthood for the adolescent is especially treacherous for the young, black female. Although Morrison’s work is one dealing with the tragic circumstances in a adolescent females life that severely scars her for the rest of her life, The Bluest Eye also contains the story of the young black female Claudia and her sister Freida who are able to overcome the oppressive attitudes of the adult world and find their own subjective voices. Claudia’s voice is the one that implicates not only the adult community but also her and her sister in Pecola’s mental destruction. This presentation of a young person’s life argues for The Bluest Eye’s inclusion on an adolescent reading list. Keywords: race, gender, class, adolescent, literature, adolescent development, intra-racism, assimilation
Sarita Davis The Politics of Prayer, pantyhose and Friends in High Places: A Black Womanist Perspective on Workfare (p166-183)
Abstract: Structurally unemployed Black women represent one of the largest subgroups participating in Welfare-to-Work. As these programs put increasing emphasis on the single outcome of participants post program earnings, less attention is given to the Job Search process. The Job Search process is arguably the most critical step between Training and Employment. While the content of training rests in the hands of the instructors (i.e. labor market analysts and job coaches), the Job Search process literally goes uninformed by it's local body of experts, the Job Seekers themselves. The purpose of this paper is to propose an applied model of Job Search gleaned based on the practices, experiences, and strategies of the most economically, politically and socially marginalized stakeholders, in this case Black female Job Seekers. While this is a pilot attempt, much can be gained by centering Workfare, Employment Training and Job Search in the lived experience of its more challenged participants, more grounded and realistic program practices, policies, and outcomes can be developed. Keywords: Job Search, Black womanist perspective, Workfare, Welfare-to Work, concept mapping
Judy Aulette, Sean Langley, and Albert Aulette Finding Strategies for Winning Reparations for African Americans (p184-199)
Abstract: Slavery and Jim Crow fit the international definition of crimes against humanity justifying reparations be paid to African Americans by the private businesses and U.S. government that benefited directly from these crimes. But the movement faces an uphill battle in winning public support. This research surveys student opinions of reparations with the intention of determining ways to best build that support. We found that race, gender, knowledge about reparations, and the belief that racism persists all affect opinions of whether the U.S. government or private institutions should pay reparations to African Americans. We conclude that organizers should build on their strengths by drawing on African Americans and women for support. We also suggest that unlike other successful bids for reparations from groups like Japanese Americans and Holocaust survivors, African Americans will have to convince the public that the crimes against humanity are not just in the past but persist today. Keywords: reparation, African Americans, slavery, Civil right movement
Race, Gender, and Class in Education (Part III)
Volume 11, Number 3, 2004, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editor: Phyllis L. Baker
Phyllis L. Baker Introduction (p3-6)
Elaine R. Cleeton and Glenda A. Gross Linking teaching and Diversity in a Public Liberal Arts College: Students Describe lecture, Discussion, and race in the Classroom (p7-18)
Abstract: In this study we examine white student classroom experiences of learning and diversity at predominantly white (92%) Public Liberal Arts College (PLAC). PLAC is committed to offering its students a collaborative learning experience valuing diversity. Forty-eight semi-structured student interviews were designed and conducted by fourth-year sociology majors with students representing all academic disciplines and racial groups enrolled at the college. Analysis of the interviews conducted with 35 white students found the subjects reported racial diversity to be unrelated to their college education, lecture-test pedagogy to be the best way to teach and the most difficult way to learn, participation in class discussions to be difficult, and the presence of students of color in the classroom to make discussions of race difficult, if not impossible. We argue that to make diversity part of the college experience, PLAC must encourage professors to work collaboratively with students, developing students’ interactive skills, in order to undertake dialogues about segregation and racism in the U.S. Keywords: teaching; learning; critical, collaborative, feminist pedagogy; discussion; race; identity; liberal arts; white college students
J. Bruce Burke and Michelle Johnston Students at the Margin: Searching for American Dream in higher Education (p-19-35)
Abstract: The American dream of higher education as a road to a better life for everyone is often denied to a substantial portion of the population. Our estimate is that up to 33% of American students are minority students who experience marginalization in the low expectations the teaching profession has for their success in education. This article is written by two professional teacher educators and university administrators who have been struggling with the issues of marginalization throughout their careers. In our analysis, structural change, social change and economic changes are required to forge educational reforms creating an academic culture more sensitive and supportive of minority students. Underneath reform efforts, we find the struggle between individual and corporate responsibility that has characterized the American dilemma. Neither blaming the victim nor rugged self-reliance will create the social capital needed for restructuring American education. We draw on some of the stories of our own successes and failures in educational reform. Throughout the discussion, we embrace a deeply felt hope for achieving a fair and just educational system for all Americans. Keywords: marginalization; educational reform; changing institutions by restructuring
Gillian S. Richardson, Diana Lawrence-Brown, and Susan Mary Paige Rejecting Pygmalion: The Social and Cultural Capital of Working-Class Women Ph.D. Students (p36-53)
Abstract: In this work the quthors analyze the strengths and tensions associated with working-class status in terms of negociating the academy. They utilize autobiographical methods drawing from their personal and family histories, framed in social, cultural, and educational contexts. The findings on the influence fo social and cultural capital fall into the following categories: 1) The emergence of class consciousness; 2) Educational experiences and aspirations; 3) Reconciliations of working-class and academic identities. Keywords: social class; working-class; social capital; cultural capital; academics
Kamini Maraj Grahame Contesting Diversity in the Academy: Resistance to Women of Color teaching race, Class, and Gender (p54-73)
Abstract: This paper analyses the experiences of women of color faculty in the women’s college unit of a university as it sought to diversify its faculty, staff, student body, and curricula. The predominantly white student body resisted the presence of these women and their efforts to teach curricula on race, class, and gender. In addition to student resistance, these women encountered obstacles associated with hiring, promotion, workload, colleagues’ perceptions, and their overall position within a gendered and racialized social order. The paper proposes that even well intentioned institutions must engage in more radical efforts at transformation, closely scrutinizing and addressing their own structural practices of resistance, and exercising vigilance to safeguard inclusive curricula in the current climate of assault on diversity. Keywords: institutional ethnography; diversity; resistance; higher education; women of color
Sandra J. Jones A Place Where I Belong: Working-Class Women's Pursuit of Higher Education (p74-93)
Abstract: This paper examines the meaning of education for a specific group of working-class women. Education is often considered a way out of the working class and into higher status professions. However, a relatively small percent of women move up to such a degree. As a way to explore the experience of mobility and the ways in which class informs women’s subjectivities, with particular attention to gender and race/ethnicity, I interviewed ten women professors from the working class. Inductive analysis revealed a distinct orientation to education informed by the particularities of participants’ working-class backgrounds. Higher education was perceived as "a way out" and "a place where I belong." Participants were drawn to higher education, not only as a way out of oppressive conditions, but by a desire for intellectual work. This paper examines a subset of findings related to critical moments of awareness and concludes with implications for higher education and future research. Keywords: social class; working class; women; education; mobility
Donnell Butler When Race matters: The Influence of Sex and Socioeconomic Status on Perceived racial and Ethnic Variation in College Enrollment (p94-111)
Abstract: Existing conclusions regarding racial variation in college enrollment implicitly assume that sex and socioeconomic status have similar effects on college enrollment across racial groups. Using data from the 1988 through 1994 surveys of the National Education Longitudinal Study, the author departs from these assumptions and finds that sex, socioeconomic status, and their interaction have different effects on college entry depending on a student's ethno-racial background. Moreover, the analyses reveal that while Asians are able to overcome certain obstacles known to deter college enrollment, Blacks are unable to reap the benefits of resources typically associated with college enrollment. Keywords: education; college; college enrollment; race, ethnicity; sex; gender; socioeconomic status; class
Richard K. Caputo Professional studies vs. Liberal Arts & Sciences: Family background, Head Start Participation, and High School Curriculum as Predictors of College Major (p112-126)
Abstract: Many studies have examined differences by sex and race/ethnicity in the choice of college major within the arts, sciences, and engineering fields. In this paper, data on choice of major, participation in Head Start, and high school curriculum are used to examine the extent to which observed differences by sex and race/ethnicity reflect the effects of distal and proximate pre-collegiate preparation (as reflected respectively in pre-k and high school educational experiences), controlling for family background and other factors. One conclusion is that white and black women are more likely than white men to major in professional studies. The paper discusses positive and negative implications of the findings, especially in regard to greater gains by women in male dominated professions and the loss of academically oriented female students from such fields of study as liberal arts and education. Keywords: college prep curricula; Head Start; liberal arts; professional studies; science majors
Douglas R. Hotek and Phyllis L. Baker Tomorrow's Industrial Workers: A Career and technical Skills Assessment of recent Mexican Immigrants in Rural Iowa (P127-139)
Abstract: This paper contributes to literature on race, gender, and class in higher and postsecondary education primarily through an analysis of survey data on the skills of recent Mexican immigrants in a small town in Iowa. These data are supplemented with qualitative data on the immigrants’ commitment to family, work, and Iowa. We found that, contrary to general sentiment, at least half of the recent Mexican immigrants in Marshalltown, Iowa have substantial aptitude to develop vital industrial skills needed by the community to maintain its economic vitality. We recommend the use of an innovative skills training program that applies bilingual, modular, and multi-media instructional technologies. We argue that an understanding of race, class, and gendered oppressions coupled with research from social scientists and industrial technologists can be powerful and effective in working toward improving the lives of marginalized persons, particularly those who lack in career, technical, and English language skills. Keywords: immigration; Mexico; post secondary; training; skills; industry; Iowa
George Ansalone Educational Opportunity and Access to Knowledge: Tracking in the US and Japan (p140-152)
Abstract: Tracking or the separation of students by ability and curricula, has been the topic of a contentious debate in the United States which has spanned the greater part of the last century. Proponents of tracking view it as a means of increasing societal efficiency by contributing to the proper selection and channeling of national resources. They also point to the increased academic achievement, which they contend is produced by the tracking. On the other hand, opponents argue that this structure contributes to social and cultural reproduction in society by enabling race, gender and class to determine who learns "what" and "how." Additionally, they assert that tracking denies lower track students, who are predominantly economically disadvantaged, the equal educational opportunity and access to knowledge that is required for academic and career success. This article attempts to shed light on the debate by providing a cross-cultural perspective. It examines student outcomes from elementary schools in Japan, where tracking is rarely practiced, to those in the US, where tracking is pervasive. Hopefully, this comparative approach will help us to assess the full impact of this educational structure. Keywords: tracking; ability grouping
Paul E. Green A Comparative Examination of Historically Disadvantaged Institutions in the Republic of South Africa and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Unites States (p153-176)
Abstract: The "mis-education" or "schooling" of a traditionally marginalized group of people is a circumstance shared by the Republic of South Africa and the United States. Traditions of separate and unequal education resulted in vast disparities between academic achievement and proficiency rates in both countries resulting in constrained economic, educational and community development. While their histories of legalized apartheid were distinct, laws, policies and practices legitimized separate educational institutions, namely Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs-US) and Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs-RSA) which served the educational needs of its citizens for well over a century. Decades of inadequate funding of lower and postsecondary institutions in the Republic of South Africa and the United States have forestalled educational access and opportunities now vital to the economic progress and growth of these nations. What role will institutions of learning (universities, elementary and secondary schools) play in a desegregated South Africa’s system of employment, public accommodations and education? Can the ethnic universities in South Africa learn from the experiences of HBCUs in the United States? Moreover, can the history of HBCUs and the struggle of African Americans for equal access and equal educational opportunity provide a model for HDIs in South Africa? Keywords: higher education; education access/opportunity; equality; equity; marginalization; South Africa; United States; Historically Disadvantaged Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Race, Gender and Class in Media
Volume 11, Number 2, 2004, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editor: Cecelia Baldwin
Cecelia Baldwin Preface (p5)
Jean Ait Belkhir Introduction (p6-8)
Guy Berger Problematizing Race for Journalists: Critical Reflections on the South African Human Rights Commission Inquiry into Media Racism (p11-35)
Abstract: How journalists report race and racism was at the center of the South Africa's Human Rights Commission Inquiry into racism in the media. A critical analysis of the conceptual assumptions in the Inquiry’s Final Report, however, reveals serious limitations to the enterprise. In particular, the flawed conceptualizations plus the generalized character of the findings are of little help in assisting the momentum of eradicating racism in South African media, and for linking race transformation to issues of class, gender, sexual orientation and xenophobia. This article identifies the problems as a race essentialism and a racism relativism, and argues instead that journalists need the concept of racialization in order to change their reporting. The argument upholds the desired role of the South African media as one that contributes to a non-racial, as opposed to a multi-racial, society. Keywords: race, racism, apartheid, media, journalism, human rights, inquiry.
Michael Welch, Eric Price, and Nana Yankey Youth Violence and Race in the Media: The Emergence of "Wilding" as an Invention of the Press (p36-48)
Abstract: In addition to reinforcing racial stereotypes while reporting incidents of crime, the media also resorts to sensationalism whereby it invents new forms of menace. To illuminate the significance of inventions in newsmaking, we embarked on a content analysis of youth violence and race in print journalism. Specifically, we attended to the emergence of "wilding" in the New York City press beginning in 1989 when the term first appeared to describe the rape and assault of the Central Park jogger. Our study tracked the use of the term in four New York City newspapers through 1998 from which we expose elements of racism deeply imbedded in prevailing criminal stereotypes. As a term stylized by the media, "wilding" is explored further in the context of moral panic and the putative threat of social and economic disorder. Keywords: moral panic, content analysis, race, youth violence.
Lillie M. Fears Differing Reactions to Female Role Portrayals in News Editorial Photographs (p59-77)
Abstract: This study examines general perceptual stereotyping of black and white women when they are exposed to news editorial photographs featuring black and white women. Results suggest that black women do, indeed, perceive black and white women in photos differently than do white women. In addition, factor analyses revealed that the images of black women in the sample tended to cluster around four image types (factors)—the leader, the upstanding woman, the charmer, and the careerist. These findings are important in that they extend previous gender portrayal studies which typically have resulted in categories for stereotypes, such as the dumb blonde, that have been applicable only in prescribing the social and familial roles of white, urban, middle class women. Keywords: women, female, African American, black, stereotype, portrayal, image, perception, photograph, reaction, visual.
Lucy Ganje and Lynda Kenney Come Hell and High Water. Newspaper photographs, Minority communities & the Great Grand Forks flood (p78-89)
Abstract: Images of the 1997 flood in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, grabbed the nation’s attention. Thousands of people were displaced and millions of dollars in property damage incurred. The cities’ daily newspaper, the Grand Forks Herald, documented the disaster in spite of the loss of its own facilities and the homes of many staff members. The newspaper was ultimately awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for this coverage. This article examines the newspaper’s photographic representation of the area’s minority community over a two-month period immediately before, during and after the flood. It reviews the impact of media coverage during a disaster and discusses media responsibility in the portrayal of diverse communities during times of crisis. Keywords: content analysis, community diversity, disaster, newspaper photographs, photographic representation, media responsibility.
Jane Caputi and Lauri Sagle Femme Noire: Dangerous Women of Color in Popular Film and Television (p90-111)
Abstract: A number of critical works address the sexual politics of dangerous women in popular films: "monstrous feminine" horror or science fiction imagery and violent, predatory femme fatale types in the film noir. Yet all too these deal inadequately if at all with racial significations. Despite even the linguistic commonplace that horrors is "dark" and femmes fatales and the films they appear in are noir, many theorists neglect critiquing representations of dangerous, monstrous and violent women of color. Yet much of the standard imagery associated with the white femme fatale actually is rooted in colonialist and racist projections. The very characteristics that make the white woman "bad" or "noir" are those qualities that according to a racist/sexist viewpoint are especially endemic in women of color: primitive emotions and lusts, violence, sexual aggression, masculinity, lesbian tendencies, promiscuity, duplicity, treachery, contaminating corruption, sovereignty, and so on We provide some analysis of the racial politics of femme fatale imagery and offer textual readings of several narratives grouped around three types of femme noire: the Virgin/Cannibal, Dragon/Lady and Queen/Bitch. Femme noire stereotypes are often read as confirming women’s base inferiority, immorality and monstrosity and can inspired hatred, scapegoating, and retaliation. Yet, many viewers resist these conventions, identify with the defiance and energy of these "bad" women, and elaborate conventional stories from the perspectives of the "other." Keywords: femme fatale, film, women of color.
Kiesha Warren, Mark Orbe, and Chad Kimmel Experiencing Difference: Theoretical Analysis of Interracial Conflict (p112-129)
Abstract: At the heart of this study is the question "how do different cultural groups view conflict?" Our analysis has established that a pattern does exist between African-American men and women, and non-African-American men and women. We use the "different eyes/ lenses" thesis in order to theoretically and sociologically understand the "differences" in interpretation that exist between the two groups in regard to interracial conflict. Keywords: race, gender, conflict, intercultural conflict, reality television.
Ebony M. Roberts Through the Eyes of a Child: Representations of Blackness in Children's Television Programming (p130-139)
Abstract: Images of Black people and culture are generally negative or nonexistent in children’s television programming. Past research suggests that such images can distort a child’s self-image and damage his or her developing self-concept. Using content analysis, this paper examines the potential influence of two popular children’s programs, Sesame Street and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, on the impressionable minds of Black children. It is argued that popular culture representations of Black people and culture in children’s television programming have a potentially negative influence on Black children’s developing self-concept. Keywords: Black children, self-concept, children’s television programming, Sesame Street, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Shiela Reaves, Jacqueline Bush Hitchon, Sung-Yeon Park, and Gi Woong Yun "You Can Never Be Too Thin" - or Can You?: A Pilot Study on The Effects of Digital Manipulation of Fashion Models' Body Size, Leg Length and Skin Color (p140-155)
Abstract: This pilot study examines whether awareness of the digital manipulation of photographs may mitigate the effects of "the thin ideal" in fashion magazines. Digital manipulations of four fashion photographs altered models' body shape, skin color and leg length. Subjects were exposed to both original and manipulated versions. Focus group discussion and individual surveys suggest that whereas women find thin models with dark skin (whether Caucasian or African American) attractive, they prefer authentic, unretouched images in advertisements. In addition, a questionnaire measured the erosion of body dissatisfaction and found that female subjects were significantly happier with their bodies once they had seen both the thin and restored images side by side, and thereby recognized the impact of digital manipulation. They were also more likely to protest the practice of digital editing in magazines to editors and advertisers. Findings are discussed with regard to the importance of enhanced media literacy as an antidote to magazine editorial policy that favors artistic freedom over truth in digital editing. Keywords: ethics of digital manipulation, thin ideal, eating disorders.
Chia-When Chi and Cecelia Baldwin Gender and Class Stereotypes: A Comparison of U.S. and Taiwanese Magazine Advertisements (p156-175)
Abstract: Female portrayals in print advertisements were compared and contrasted in the United States and Taiwan. Gender stereotypes in the media remain consistent even decades after the women's movement began in the 1960s and the 1970s in both countries. Culture plays a crucial role in the production of stereotypical portrayals in different countries during different stages of the social progress. Keywords: communication, mass communication, advertising, gender, sexist portrayals.
Race, Gender, Class and the 1992 L.A. "Riots"
Volume 11, Number 1, 2004, ISSN 1082-8354
Jane L. Twomey Introduction (p3-5)
Austin Long-Scott Understanding Race, Class and Urban Violence: Why Journalists Can’t Do More to Help Us Understand (p6-22)
Abstract: This essay from a long-time race relations and social issues reporter explores the cultural, structural, organizational and ideological forces that make it difficult for journalists to be insightful when covering urban violence involving issues of race and class. Keywords: riot, journalism, class, race, gender, popular culture, Kerner Commission, Hutchins Commission.
William S. Solomon Images of Rebellion: News Coverage of Rodney King (p23-38)
Abstract: This research studies the social construction of race and class, by the mainstream U.S. news media, in their coverage of the Los Angeles police beating of Rodney King. It examines all of the news reports in The New York Times and The Washington Post, from the date of the beating, March 3, 1991, to the verdict in the first trial of King’s assailants, April 29, 1992. It finds that a dominant news frame articulated the parameters of acceptable thought — that the beating was neither an aberration nor a reflection of deep-seated societal codes of racism, but instead a problem of a troubling pattern within the Los Angeles Police Department. Subsequently the news frame shifted to a more conservative outlook, by reporting favorably on the assailants’ lawyers’ portrayal of King as a symbol of a savage wilderness whose residents the authorities must control, for the common good. Keywords: news, hegemony, racism, social class.
Jeffrey D. Brand Assurances from the Pulpits: The Churches of Los Angeles Respond to the 1992 riot (p39-55)
Abstract: In the aftermath of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, churches played an important role in guiding and assisting recovery efforts. The local and national press noted the efforts of religious leaders and reprinted portions of their messages to congregations and to the public at large. This study explores the texts of sermons preached to congregations on the Sunday following the riots. The goals of this study are to evaluate how religious leaders responded to this crisis and how they promoted an active role for their congregations in the recovery process. This study reveals some of the potential influences that religious leadership may have in times of crisis and the messages appropriate for such situations. Keywords: rhetoric, epideictic, sermon, religion, crisis
Bill Yousman "Can We All Get Along?" The Los Angeles Uprising, Classical Theories of Social Psychology and Dialectics of Individual Action and Structural Inequality (p56-74)
Abstract: This essay reviews and critiques three classic theoretical perspectives in social psychology in order to achieve a dialectical understanding of both the individual and societal factors that were central to the police beating of Rodney King and the subsequent Los Angeles uprising of 1992. The argument is made that a properly dialectical approach allows observers to include both individual processes and socially motivated factors and influences when attempting to analyze real world phenomena. Keywords: deindividuation, scapegoating, realistic group, conflict, social identity theory.
Jane L. Twomey Searching for a Legacy: The Los Angeles Times, Collective Memory and the 10th Anniversary of the LA "Riots" (p75-93)
Abstract: How is the 1992 Los Angeles urban unrest remembered 10 years later? What is the role of the media in shaping and preserving a community’s collective memory of the events? In an attempt to investigate these questions, this study examines the Los Angeles Times’ role in public memory of the riots by examining the newspaper’s 10th anniversary commemorative series "Legacy of the Riots: 1992-2002." Drawing upon the literature on collective memory and journalism, this study finds that the Los Angeles Times negotiated collective memory of the events and used this negotiated memory to contextualize and explain conditions in the city 10 years after the riots. The study suggests that further research should focus on the ability of media to frame memory, and what the implications of that framing might be. Keywords: collective memory, framing, hegemony, 192 Los Angeles riot, Los Angeles Times
James Spencer Los Angeles Since 1992: How did the Economic Base of Riot-Torn Neighborhoods Fare After Unrest (94-115)
Abstract: This article first reviews the literature on the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and identifies the lack of empirical work on neighborhood economic inequality as a gap in the literature. Using recently released Zipcode-level economic data from the US Census Bureau it then estimates the density and per capita levels of manufacturing, retail and service jobs in riot areas prior to and after 1992. A comparison of these levels with the levels for the Los Angeles region as a whole and with the poor areas of Los Angeles County that did not experience rioting suggests that the relative position of the riot neighborhoods to the region is the same today as it was prior to the riots. Moreover, the comparisons suggest that the job base of both the riot neighborhoods and the other poor neighborhoods has lagged behind the region since the early 1990s at the same time that socio-economic characteristics have also worsened. Keywords: Los Angeles riots, spatially, concentrated poverty, neighborhoods, economic base, public policy.
Max Herman Ten Years After: A Critical Review of Scholarship on the Los Angeles Riot (p116-135)
Abstract: Among the diverse assortment of journal articles and book chapters written shortly after the events of April 28 to May 2 1992 of Los Angeles, a pattern clearly emerges; a division among those who purported to study the "riots" in an "objective" empirical manner proclaimed by the positivist social science tradition, those who saw the "rebellion" as a means of investigating issues of ethnic identity, competition and cooperation, and those who utilized the "uprising" to address inequalities of power in the larger society. The former, whom I loosely refer to as positivists, relied on statistical analyses of "official data" to express the underlying logic of "urban unrest" or "civil disorder." The second camp, which I label "multiculturalists," employed ethnographic methods to examine the underlying motivations of various ethnic group members who acted as participants and/or victims during the "rebellion." The third and final group, whom I refer to as postmodernists, were mostly concerned with representing the voices of those at the margins of society, took a skeptical stance toward "official" sources, and treated the trial of LAPD officers and the subsequent riot as texts to be analyzed from the multiple perspectives of differently situated actors. They saw the "uprising" as indicative of race, class and gender oppression at the local, national, and global level. Keywords: riots, sociological theory
Tiffany Dyan Kuniko Monroy and Daniel J. Meyers Fanning the Flames? Riot Commissions and the Mass media (p136-157)
Abstract: When outbreaks of civil violence occur, the mass media are often criticized for their coverage of the events and how it may contribute to inflaming conflict. These criticisms are sometimes concretized in the reports of governmental commissions, like the Kerner Commission, that are appointed to study the violent outbreaks and make recommendations about how to avoid rioting in the future. It is unclear, however, if the critiques of the mass media lead to any change in the media's approach to reporting unrest in the future. This study takes as its starting point the recommendations made by two riot commissions in the 1960s and then examines later riot coverage (following the Miami Arthur McDuffie killing and the Los Angeles Rodney King case) to determine to what extent later media behavior reflects the commissions' recommendations. The results indicate, among other things, a relatively low incidence of scare headlines and rumors, but more substantial problems related to racial portrayals of aggressors and the representation of social actors' perspectives in the articles. Keywords: mass media, riots, Rodney King, Arthur McDuffie, Kerner Commission.
Shannon Campbell, Phil Chidester, Jamel Bell and Jason Royer Remote Control: How Mass Media Delegitimize Rioting as Social Protest (p158-176)
Abstract: This study investigates newspaper coverage of contemporary riots. An analysis of the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and the Cincinnati riots of 2001 demonstrates the media's role in situating riotous activity within very specific frames. The authors contend that newspaper coverage of recent riots represents a shift in the way media frame rioting. Race riots of the 1960s are often linked to and situated within the social protest frame by media (the authors contend that a great difference exists between the Civil Rights Movement and the race riot). Contemporary riots like those in Los Angeles and Cincinnati are most often framed as ineffective, illogical protests against established order, and not as mechanisms for progressive social change. Keywords: riot, race, police, brutality, newspaper, mass media.
Privilege and Race, Gender, and Class
Volume 10, Number 4, 2003, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editors: Abby L. Ferber and Dena R. Samuels
Abby L. Ferber and Dena R. Samuels Introduction to RGC's special edition on Privilege (p3-4)
Dena R. Samuels, Abby L. Ferber and Andrea O'Reilly Herrera Introducing the Concepts of Oppression & Privilege into the Classroom (p5-21)
Abstract: Traditionally, inequality has been explored and taught from the perspective of those who are the victims of oppression. More recently, however, race, gender and class theorists have focused on the multiple levels of oppression that impact people’s lives, and how each is connected to a corresponding system of privilege and domination. This article argues for the importance of incorporating the concepts of both oppression and privilege into the curriculum; provides a series of suggested activities, which will assist instructors in introducing these topics into their classrooms; and explores some of the many challenges facing instructors addressing race, gender and class in the classroom. We argue that bringing privilege into the discussion can potentially minimize student resistance, and open up new space for social change. Keywords: race, gender, diversity, privilege, oppression, teaching about privilege, student resistance.
Charles A. Gallagher Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America (p22-37)
Abstract: This paper examines the social and political functions colorblindness serves for whites in the United States. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with whites from around the country I argue that colorblindness maintains white privilege by negating racial inequality. Embracing a post-race, colorblind perspective allows whites to imagine that being white or black or brown has no bearing on an individual’s or a group’s relative place in the socio-economic hierarchy. Starting with the deeply held belief that America is now a meritocracy, whites are able to imagine that the material success they enjoy relative to racial minorities is a function only of individual hard work, determination, thrift and investments in education. The color-blind perspective removes from personal thought and public discussion any taint or suggestion of white supremacy or white guilt while legitimating the existing social, political and economic arrangements which privilege whites. This perspective insinuates that class and culture, and not institutional racism, are responsible for social inequality. Colorblindness allows many whites to define themselves as politically progressive and racially tolerant as they proclaim their adherence to a belief system that does not see or judge individuals by the "color of their skin." Keywords: race relations, colorblindness, white identity, white privilege.
Steven D. Farough Structural Aporia & White Masculinities: White Men Respond to the White Male Privilege Critique (p38-53)
Abstract: argue that in order to comprehend how social power operates in everyday life and identity formation, one must understand how the material effects of language are crucial to this process. To demonstrate this, I use the poststructuralist theoretical concept "structural aporia" to analyze how white men’s reactions to critical discourses on white masculine privilege are arranged through the logical structure of discourse itself. Structural aporia refers to a logical impasse produced within the regulatory effects of discourse. The use of structural aporia will help demonstrate both how the structure of discourse produces confusion and contradictions within the narratives of white men as they address the white male privilege critique, and how racialized, gender, and economic power operate at the level of identity formation. Keywords: poststructuralism, white masculinity, racial identity, power, white male privilege.
Mary Bernstein, Constance Kostelac and Emily Gaarder (p54-74)
Understanding "Heterosexism" Applying Theories of Racial Prejudice to Homophobia using Data from a Southwestern Police Department
Abstract: This paper proposes an "institutional matrix" (IM) model as a sociological way to understand heterosexism. We draw on theories of racial prejudice to illustrate the relevance of self-interest, stratification beliefs, and a sense of group position for understanding heterosexism. Next, we present the IM model, elaborating the concept "sexual project" as a way to link the construction of interest and threat to concrete organizational and institutional locations. Last, we illustrate the utility of the IM approach by examining its ability to explain attitudes toward lesbian and gay civil liberties among a select group of police department employees. Keywords: homophobia, heterosexism, police attitudes, lesbian and gay politics.
Kristine De Welde White Women Beware!: Whiteness, Fear of Crime, and Self-Defense (p75-91)
Abstract: This article examines the interrelationships between whiteness (white femininity here) and fear of crime. Through ethnographic research on a women’s self-defense course, I show how fear of crime functions as disciplinary power for many women before the course and how after the course these fears are challenged with a reinstatement of (race and class) privilege. The self-defense discourses and practices presented in the course subvert dominant understandings of women’s vulnerability. However, this culture of fear and susceptibility to crime is able to be challenged by these women’s reinstatement of "white safety zones" that reaffirm entitlement and privilege. I suggest that what is most silent, these women’s privilege, lends insight into what is most salient about white femininity and fear of crime. Keywords: white femininity, whiteness, fear of crime, white privilege, self-defense.
Pancho McFarland Challenging the Contradictions of Chicanismo in Chicano Rap Music and Male Culture (p92-107)
Abstract: An analysis of 470 Chicano rap song texts reveals a strong tendency toward the influence of a patriarchal dominance paradigm in urban Chicano youth culture. The patriarchal dominance paradigm is based on "either/or" dichotomous thinking and often results in an aggressive, even violent, disposition toward those deemed "other." The attitudes evident in many songs mirror the hypermasculine and misogynist worldview presented in the dominant media and in much of the expressive culture of ethnic Mexican men. The promotion of Chicana feminist cultural production and a dialogue between feminists and Chicano rap fans can challenge this paradigm and present images of gender and justice that differ markedly from those presented in the dominant media and patriarchal aspects of Chicana/o culture Keywords: Rap, Chicanismo, Chicana feminism, violence, youth, media, resistance
Amy St. Martin and Becky Thompson Cuban Tourism: In the Name of Progressive Politics (p108-119)
Abstract: The Cuban government’s encouragement of tourism partly reflects Cuba’s need for foreign capital made necessary by the decades-long blockade levied against the country by the United States. Ironically, progressive support of Cuba manifested in this travel is undermining Cuba’s struggle against racism and patriarchy. In this article the authors examine how, under the guise of supporting a socialist country, tourism has become an embargo-era means of upholding inequalities. The authors open up the discourse of the romance with the Cuban revolution that many progressives play out in their imaginations and a Cuban nationalist discourse, both of which make it difficult to talk openly about internal hierarchies. This becomes another privilege of tourists, in adopting closed discourses on Cuban nationalism, as they do not have to live with the realities that extend from colonization and the U.S. occupations, or the present day policies that produce social inequalities for many Cubans. The authors conclude with suggestions of ways that progressive delegations can break rather than re-inscribe patterns of domination. Key words: racism, prostitution, progressive politics, Cuba, tourism, multiracial feminism, blockade against Cuba, socialism, colonization, imperialism, Cuban revolution.
Steven M. Samuels and Dena R. Samuels Reconstructing Culture: Privilege and Change at the United States Air Force Academy (p120-144)
Abstract: In the wake of the sexual assault scandal at the U.S. Air Force Academy, many changes are being implemented to create a safer environment for female cadets. These changes have been lauded by some and resisted by others, specifically those who feel threatened by a potential loss of power. Here, we explore and analyze the Academy environment and the implemented changes using the framework of privilege. Suggestions are offered as to how to attain a more thorough transformation with this framework. As the reconstruction of Academy culture progresses, incorporating the concept of privilege could help group members to more fully understand the necessity of the modifications and be more willing to become agents of change. Keywords: integration of women in military academies, sexual assault, privilege, cultural change at USAFA
Paul Gorski Privilege and Repression in the Digital Era: Rethinking the Sociopolitics of the Digital divide (p145-176)
Abstract: The digital divide has been historically been understood too simplistically, as gaps in physical access to computers and the Internet among various identity groups. As a result, approaches for ending digital inequities, such as adding more computers to all schools and classrooms, have failed to take into account the historical and current social, cultural, political, and economic systems of power and privilege of which the digital divide is a symptom. This article examines this problem in the context of a greater picture of race, gender, class, language, and ability privilege, moving toward a more progressive approach for dismantling the digital divide. Keywords: technology, equity, access, digital divide, Internet.
Interdisciplinary Topics in Race, Gender, and Class
Volume 10, Number 3, 2003, ISSN 1082-8354
Jean Ait Belkhir, Christiane Charlemaine, and Lenus Jack Jr. Introduction (p3-6)
Bernice McNair Barnett Angela Davis and Women, Race, & Class: A Pioneer in Integrative RGC Studies (p9-22)
Black women in America, from slavery to emancipation, from Reconstruction to the Great Urban migration, and from civil rights to other movements for social justice, have a long history of survival-resistance through performing multiple leadership roles, especially educating, training, and imparting their knowledge to others (Barnett, 1993; 1995; Brewer 1993; Hine and Thompson 1998). Hence, it is a pleasure to introduce a Black American woman leader in civil rights struggles, activist-intellectual, knowledge constructor, professor, philosopher, and global citizen-scholar. Dr. Angela Yvonne Davis is being honored a pioneer in integrative race, gender, class studies reflected by the 1981 publication of her book Women, Race, & Class. This pioneer award is a long time coming; but, I am reminded of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who said: "We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."
Teresa Scherzer The Race and Class of Women's Work (p23-41)
Abstract: The labor process of hospital nursing is a key theoretical site to examine the intersectionality of race, gender, and class. This paper synthesizes historical and sociological accounts of nursing, in order to explicitly demonstrate how race, gender and class together created nursing as race- and class-stratified "women’s work." Drawing on theoretical frameworks that emphasize the intersectionality of oppression, I analyze how race, gender, and class 1) shaped different occupational structures and labor processes in hospital nursing, and 2) structured conflicts and inequalities between capital and labor, and between different groups of nursing workers. I argue that nursing is a key site for identifying and addressing the historical conflicts and inequalities among all working people. Keywords: nurses, workers, intersectionality, labor process, racial division of reproductive labor.
Patricia K. Jennings and Clarence R. Talley A Good Death?: White Privilege and Public Opinion (p42-63)
Abstract: Our overarching goal is to critique existing public opinion research on euthanasia from a race, class, and gender perspective. We believe that current public opinion research on this topic is grounded in a privileged standpoint that centers the concerns of white educated persons. This tendency perpetuates the exclusion of issues that may be relevant to subordinate groups and this generates two possible outcomes. First, the opinion of persons subordinated by race, class, and/or gender (and the experiences that contribute to the formation of opinions on euthanasia among subordinate groups) is rendered invisible in public discourse on this issue. Second, in those instances where the opinion of subordinate groups is made visible, these opinions are often treated as deviations from a white "normative" position. Keywords: euthanasia, terminally ill
Marta I. Cruz-Janzen Out of the Closet: Racial Amnesia, Avoidance, and Denial-Racism among Puerto Ricans (p64-81)
Abstract: Although Puerto Rico is portrayed as a racial paradise, where race is subordinate to national and cultural identity, nothing could be further from the truth. Racism runs deep, with a long history fueling the racial rancor between White/light-skinned and Black/dark-skinned Puerto Ricans. People of apparent Black heritage flood the prisons and penal systems, live in the poorest and most oppressive conditions, and are known as less able to obtain upwardly mobile jobs, even when qualified. There is a strong association between Black and poor, slums, crime, unemployment, etc. Many Puerto Ricans, including dark-skinned ones, are quick to negate the existence of racism among them while regarding those of apparent African ancestry as inferior. They believe that a successful life means lighter-skinned generations of children. They are quick to negate an African root even though most have varying levels of African ancestry and the African presence permeates most aspects of their daily life. Keywords: Borikén, classism, colonialism, colorism, commonwealth, España/Spain, Hispania/Hispanic, Iberia, jíbaro, Latinegra/o, Latina/o, mestizo, negra/o, Puerto Rico, race, racism, self-condemnation, Taíno(s).
Juanita Johnson-Bailey Every Perspectives on Feminism: African American Women Speak Out (p82-99)
Abstract: This study examines the attitude and beliefs of nine African American women regarding the relevance of feminism to their lives. The participants live and work in two Southeastern cities in the United States: a small city of approximately 200,000 and a major metropolitan area of approximately three million. The study sketches their experiences of feminism against the backdrop of their daily lives, reviewing the women’s perceptions as compared to the ideas presented in the literature by feminist scholars. The study revealed that African American women see themselves as different from White women and do not feel that the feminist movement in this country addresses the concerns of the average African American woman. In addition, while they feel that they are oppressed as women, they also felt that White women participate in this subordination as do African American men. Keywords: Black feminism, divided sisterhood, insider/outsider status, exoticism.
Tom Meisenhelder African Bodies: "Othering" the African in Precolonial Europe (p110-113)
Abstract: This paper attempts a "genealogical" analysis of European precolonial constructions of the African "other". My focus is on the early formation of the European discursive regime concerning the "African," a symbolic framework that still haunts what is said and thought about Africans by Europeans and North Americans. An cautionary introductory note may be necessary to avoid any possible confusion: my subject is not subSaharan or nonArabic Africans, but early European imaginings of them; not African reality, but the European imagination. Keywords: African, Africans, Europeans, North Americans, precolonial,
Xiongya Gao Women Existing for Men: Confucianism and Social Injustice against Women in China (p114-125)
Abstract: Prejudice against women had existed in China long before Confucianism. However, it was Confucianism that turned the marriage system into bondage of women, treating them as possessions for their husbands. As the most influential school of thought in China, Confucianism was held as the dominant social ideology by almost every feudal dynasty from approximately 200 B.C.E. to 1911, when the Qing Dynasty was toppled, and by the nationalist government, which ruled the country from 1911 to 1949. As such, it has been the chief codifier of women's behavior in China. Confucius was not the first one to view women as, at best, subhuman beings. According to Yutang Lin (1935), a famous Chinese scholar, "The fundamental dualistic outlook, with the differentiation of the Yang (male) and the Yin (female) principles, went back to the Book of Changes, which was later formulated by Confucius" (137). Keywords: Confucianism, social injustice, Chinese women.
Zhidong Hao What can we do with Individual and Institutional Racism and Sexism in the Tenure and Promotion Processes in American Colleges and Universities? (p126-144)
Abstract: It should be no secret that discrimination of women, minority, and part-time faculty exists in the nation’s institutions of higher learning. This article explores three ways professors can improve in limiting if not eliminating individual and institutional discrimination in the tenure and promotion processes. They are 1) practicing individual awareness of white and male privileges; 2) practicing awareness of the general patterns of individual and institutional behavior, and of what people can do to change that behavior; and 3) creating a caring community of difference by emphasizing humanity, integrity, fairness and justice in the probationary period, evaluation of candidates, and tenure denial. This is a qualitative paper based on interpretive data derived from many individual cases in the literature. Keywords: tenure, promotion, discrimination, racism, university professors, professional autonomy, white privilege, male privilege, diversity, community of difference.
J
essica Trubek, Judith Y. Singer, Joya A. Carter, Kimberly A. Scott, Ron McLean, Alan Singer, Pedro Sierra, and Heidi Kling Dialogue: Does a Teacher (Educational Researcher, Counselor or Other Professional)'s Race, Gender, Class Ethnicity and Ideology Belong in the Classroom (p145-172)Abstract: This dialogue was inspired by an articled published in the Winter 2001/2002 issue of the newspaper Rethinking Schools. In the article "She’s For Real," Tracy Wagner explained her decision to discuss that she was a lesbian with students in an eighth grade class while she was a student teacher. As part of a lesson on stereotyping, Wagner said to students, "Really? This is what gay and lesbian people look like? Because I’m gay, and I don’t look like this." Later in the article, Wagner reflects that "(t)hinking back, I have to admit that I told the students about my sexual orientation for my own emotional well being, to live up to my beliefs of what it meant to be a teacher." She also argues "that this disclosure resonated profoundly in our classroom. I could feel it in small ways, each and every day—the way students more eagerly shared their poetry; the way they chose the more private of two journal entries to read." The full text of the article is available at www.rethinkingschools.org/Archives/16_02/real162.htm. Our dialogue uses Wagner’s decision to divulge her sexual orientation as a starting point to discuss whether teachers and other professionals should allow their personal lives, ideas and concerns to enter their classrooms, professional practice and research. In their book, We Make the Road by Walking (1990), Myles Horton and Paulo Freire discuss the question whether it is possible or desirable for teachers to be "neutral." Freire asks: "A biology teacher must know biology, but is it possible just to teach biology? What I want to know is whether it is possible to teach biology without discussing social conditions" (104). Horton believes: "There’s no right I could claim that anybody else in the world can’t claim, and I have to fight for their exercising that right just like I have to fight for my own. That doesn’t mean I have to impose my ideas on people, but it means I have a responsibility to provide whatever light I can on the subject and share my ideas with people" (105). In a similar vein, historian Howard Zinn argues "objectivity is neither possible nor desirable. It’s not possible because all history is subjective, all history represents a point of view. . . Objectivity is not desirable because if we want to have an effect on the world, we need to emphasize those things which will make students more active citizens and more moral people" (Miner, 1994:150). Perhaps professionals can never truly be neutral, but is it a goal we should aspire to achieve? Even if we can never divorce who we are from what we do, how much should we allow our selves to enter the lives of our students, our clients or our work? Keywords: gender, sexual identity, point of view, neutrality.
Lisa D. Brush Impacts of Welfare Reform (p137-192)
Abstract: This essay critically assesses the impacts of recent welfare reforms in the United States. I argue that this task requires more than data on individual outcomes. Welfare reforms change the rules of the game and the material bases of struggles over work, relationships, privilege, and equality. I assess the impacts of welfare reform on class, race, and gender. Dismantling welfare decisively shifts the balance of power between workers and employers. The rhetoric and implementation of welfare reform have racially disparate impacts, and systematically reproduce racist notions of worthiness, need, and job-readiness. Welfare reform has complex and contradictory effects on women, men, and gender power. Understanding these structural effects is central to discerning the impacts of welfare reform and envisioning alternatives. Keywords: welfare reform, structural change, decommodification, lenses of gender, welfare racism.
Race, Gender and Class in Social Work
Volume 10, Number 2, 2003, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editor: Beverly Favre
Beverly Favre Introduction: Race, Gender and Class in Social Work (p3-7)
Jacquelyn
Mitchell and Rufus Sylvester Lynch
Abstract: Social and economic justice are concepts that have historically served as vital anchors for the social work profession. However, contemporary social workers seem ill-equipped and disinclined to engage the vital social economic justice battle generated by the legal-political contexts of the 21st century. The authors explore the emblematic posture of social and economic justice that is reflected in social work practice, the literature and educational policies. A case is advanced for moving the profession beyond the rhetoric of social and economic justice and toward an earnest quest to make the profession’s historical mission manifest. Keywords: paradigms of oppression social and economic justice social work advocacy social work mission.
Taryn Lindhorst and Ron Mancoske Race, Gender and Class Inequities in Welfare Reform (p27-40)
Abstract: The public discourse on welfare reform has been covertly driven by issues related to race, gender and class. Enacted in 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act instituted a series of policy changes that have resulted in the end of welfare as a safety net program. The main goals of welfare reform are based on an individualistic view of poverty and do not take into account macro structural inequalities related to gender and race. While the policy has shown success in reducing caseloads, poverty itself has remained largely unchanged, and the well-being of the most economically disadvantaged continues to worsen. Keywords: Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA), TANF, welfare reform, racial inequities, gender inequities.
David N. Cramer and Joy Smith McElveen Undoing Racism in Social Work Practice (p41-57)
Abstract: This is a study of the meanings of race and racism in the social work profession as portrayed from 1980 through 2000. An exploratory research design using full text journals available on the Internet was used to identify the population and to select a purposive sample of articles written on race and racism. The results revealed that there was a paucity of articles written on this subject within the time frame indicated. The research also revealed that there were more articles written in the 1980s than in the last decade. Additionally, more articles in the 1980s offered developing definitions of race and racism than those in the 1990s. Keywords: race, racism, social work.
Makungu M. Akinyela and Delores P. Aldridge Beyond Eurocentrism, Afrocentricity and Multiculturalism: Toward Cultural Democracy in Social Work Education (p58-70)
Abstract: This article begins with an observation that African American social workers, working in Black communities are confronted with the dilemma that much of the grounding of social work training in US schools is rooted in a framework that is both culture and class biased in favor of the European upper middle class majority. The authors contend that schools preparing social workers for the field have a responsibility to overcome the Eurocentric educational focus in core curriculum. We further argue that to do this, social work education faculty must be predisposed to value such a change in the pedagogy of schools of social work. While critiquing both multicultural and Afrocentric solutions to the dilemma, the authors pose the corrective paradigm of cultural democracy as a needed pedagogical framework in social work education that will encourage both accountability by the powerful and empowerment of the oppressed. Key words: Multiculturalism Afrocentricity, accountability, empowerment, social work.
Cheryl Mills Reducing Overrepresentation of African American Males in Special Education: The Role of School Social Workers (p71-83)
Abstract: To date, absent from the ongoing debate surrounding overrepresentation of African American children in special education has been the role and responsibilities of school social workers. As leaders and coordinators of interdisciplinary teams that are responsible for identification, placement and assessment of children, social worker professionals occupy a strategic position in determining which children are placed in special education. This paper aims to contribute to the developing discourse on overrepresentation by examining the role of current practices and highlighting challenges within the education system that inhibit the ability of social workers to respond effectively to this issue. Establishing professional boundaries, avoiding professional drift, and operating within the profession’s code of ethics are discussed as factors critical to effective practice of school social work in the reduction of overrepresentation of African American males. Keywords: school social work, overrepresentation, special education, African American males, social work education.
Michèle Weber An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Perceives Gender Inequities on Financial Stress in Black Marriages (p84-95)
Abstract: This study evaluates the impact of perceived gender inequities on the financial stress in Black marriages. A mixture of the Adlerian marital theory and racial consciousness composes the theoretical framework used to advance a model to help counselors and therapists understand and assist Black couples faced with these inequities. Thirteen Black couples were obtained from a church in Atlanta, and a counseling agency in College Park, GA. The design is a Cross-Sectional Survey design O. The findings showed that the participants did not experience much financial stress but were aware of gender role inequities at home.Keywords: financial stress, African American / Black couples, gender role, marriage.
Michelle Emery Blake and Suzie T. Cashwell Use of Poetry to Facilitate Communication about Diversity: An Educational Model (p96-108)
Abstract: The article addresses the use of poetry to enhance group communication about issues of gender and cultural diversity. The authors present a three-hour workshop module and discuss preliminary evidence of its effectiveness.Keywords: poetry therapy, gender, cultural diversity.
Michael Forster and Tim Rehner Delinquency Prevention as Empowerment Practice: A Community-Based Social Work Approach (p109-120)
Abstract: "Neighborhood University" is the community building dimension of the Family Network Partnership, a delinquency-prevention program of the School of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi. Neighborhood University serves as a bridge between low-income, predominantly African-American neighborhood residents and the resource-rich university community. Distinct "centers" for recreation, the arts, academics, technology, health, nutrition, business and civic engagement unite youth, families, students and faculty for mutually transformative experiences. Despite serious challenges, results are encouraging, with delinquency rates down and community capacity significantly enhanced. Neighborhood University and the Family Network Partnership offer replicable models of cost-effective community based social work practice. Keywords: delinquency prevention, youth development, community practice, university-community partnership
Ben Menes Robertson Spirituality: The Process of Awakening (p121-130)
Abstract: There is an ancient African belief system, which says that humans are on a journey toward spiritual enlightenment. However, for the last eight hundred to a thousand years humans have apparently been thrown into a virtual time warp disconnected from any real sense of what is really important in life. This research focuses on some of the knowledge and wisdom once cherished by indigenous people because it kept them grounded in reality. For example, the reader will be exposed to the customs of Kenya, a country on the continent of Africa, relative to spirituality and rituals for maintaining contact with the creative force of the universe for the individual and the community. In all, the reader should emerge from this research with a clearer understanding of spirituality, the creative force of the universe and his/her role in maintaining the preceding relationships. Keywords: spirituality, religion, seventh sense, awakening and consciousness.
BJ Bryson and Victoria A. Bennet-Anyikwa The Teaching and Learning Experience: Deconstructing and Creating Space Using a Feminist Pedagogy (p131-146)
Abstract: The classroom is a dynamic location for knowledge construction through shared experiences. Feminist pedagogy is introduced as a teaching methodology responsive to classroom diversity by creating space for students’ experiences and promoting student voices. Deconstruction of teacher/learner dualism between primary instructor and doctoral student illustrates feminist pedagogy in action during a teaching practicum. Keywords: doctoral student, feminist pedagogy, research, social work, teaching.
Caroline Tolbert, Trudy Steuernagel, and Ridge Bowman Direct Democracy, Race/Ethnicity and Health Care Policy (p147-170)
Abstract: Direct democracy is an increasingly important venue for state policymaking; and may provide a catalyst for health care reform, as it has in other policy. This essay examines the role of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic factors in shaping support for California's universal health care Proposition 186. The question becomes, does race/ethnicity matter in voter support for policies, such as health reform, that do not specifically target minority populations? The findings highlight a racial, economic class, and ideological divide in support for health care reform providing universal coverage. While only 30% of whites voted for Proposition 186, over 40% of all other minority groups (blacks, Latinos, and Asians) supported the initiative. This includes Asians who tend to have a higher socioeconomic status than other minority groups. Equally interesting is the breakdown of the vote by income. Of those respondents earning under $15,000 annually, almost a majority (45%) supported this policy, compared to only 24% of those earning $100,000 or above. Of those earning between $15-29,000, almost forty percent voted for Proposition 186. This reveals a stark socioeconomic class divide in support for universal health care. Table 4 reveals a clear pattern of support for universal health care relative to the race and economic status of the respondent, but gender appears to play only a minor role. Keywords: direct democracy, health care policy, race/ethnicity.
Book Review: Ronda M. Bryant (p171-175)
Race, Gender and Class in American Politics
Volume 10, Number 1, 2003, ISSN 1082-8354
Guest Editor: John C. Berg
Jean Ait Belkhir, Christiane Charlemaine, and Lenus Jack, Jr. Preface: Race, Gender & Class in American Politics (p3-8)
John
C. Berg Introduction
Denise A.
Pierson-Balik
Abstract: In this paper I illustrate how the emphasis on the perils of teen motherhood and out-of-wedlock births in welfare reform has reintroduced a new theory of social eugenics that can be seen as akin to eugenics theories popular at the turn of the nineteenth century. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 revives eugenics language used by such groups as the American Eugenics Society in the early 1900s. By deeming the behavior of poor women as morally questionable, politicians and public opinion have legitimated the use of family caps, abstinence-only education, strict work requirements, punitive sanctions, and even proposals for voluntary temporary or permanent sterilization in return for life-sustaining benefits. Keywords: welfare policy, welfare reform, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, TANF, abstinence education, illegitimacy, eugenics, work requirements
Ange-Marie Hancock
Contemporary Welfare
Reform and the Public Identity of the “Welfare Queen”
Abstract: The term public identity represents an attempt to translate into political psychological terms more theoretical concepts such as "controlling images" (Collins, 1990) and "cultural narratives" (Lubiano, 1992) that have been used to denote the impact of public discourse on the lived experiences of citizens. I argue that the creation and dissemination of public identities are a critical part of political culture’s role in democratic deliberation and political outcomes. Substantively, in this paper I argue that political elites and dominant groups on opposite sides of the welfare reform issue draw on a common public identity of single poor African-American mothers, the "welfare queen" as a proxy for welfare recipients in general. Using floor debate transcripts from the Congressional Record, I conduct a content analysis of the 1996 debates concerning welfare reform, finding evidence to support the existence of a broad consensus concerning welfare reform in the form of the public identity of the "welfare queen," and a substantive link to political outcomes. Keywords: welfare reform, public identity, Black women, public policy
Richard A. Couto It Takes a Pillage: Women, Work, and Welfare (p60-78)
Abstract: The experience of the Appalachian region over the past fifty years makes clear that poverty, low family income, single parenthood, and children in poverty—a pillage—may push women into a highly unfavorable labor market. The same experience makes equally clear that work force participation in areas with high unemployment, low income, high rates of poverty, and female-headed households is unlikely to end the poverty of working women and their families. These conditions and results are not only lamentable but also instructive about the current welfare reform effort. They suggest that welfare reform will mean that the majority of welfare-to-work transitions will move from one form of poverty to another even in good economic times; new and more severe forms of poverty will ensue when markets are left to distribute work, income, and wealth; and women and children will bear the brunt of the new poverty and unmitigated market capitalism. The article suggests public policies to make personal responsibility efficacious. Keywords: Appalachia, coal mining, global economy, poverty, welfare, welfare reform, women and work
Susan M. Behuniak
How Race,
Gender, and Class Assumptions Enter The Supreme Court
Abstract: A significant path by which race, gender, and class biases enter and influence the U.S. Supreme Court is through the construction of "social facts," a process by which the Justices draw assumptions about reality as they understand it. Using social facts theory, this article illustrates, by reference to the end-of-life cases, the practices that lead to the introduction of raced, gendered, and classed biases as facts in judicial decision making, and how their incorporation undermines the promise of equality. Keywords: Supreme Court and equality, Social Facts, Right to die, Euthanasia, Assisted suicide, End-of-life cases, Legal bias, Medical bias, Law and racism, Law and sexism, Law and classism
Carl Swidorski
The Supreme Court’s Legal (Mis)construction
of Race, Gender and Class, 1865-2000
Abstract: This article focuses on the key role of the Supreme Court in constructing the identity of African Americans, women, and working people through the exercise of its institutional power of judicial review. From the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, until the1950s, the Court interpreted the universal, egalitarian, constitutional categories of "citizen" and "person" to create unequal legal identities based on one's race, class, and gender. The "liberal" Supreme Court of the 1950 to 1975 period transformed the law of equal protection to grant formal equality to African Americans and women. However, this formal equality was premised on the denial of the historical and particular specificity of the lived experiences of African Americans and women. Consequently, the Court in the past twenty years has facilitated a conservative attack on even formal legal equality. Moreover, the legally irrelevant category of class has, and will continue to, structurally limit the legal gains which have been achieved. Keywords: race, gender, class, Supreme Court, Fourteenth Amendment, segregation, discrimination, civil rights, voting rights, African American
TeResa Green
A Gendered Spirit: Race, Class, and Sex in the
African American Church
Abstract: Although Black churches have throughout history been involved in seeking justice and equality for African Americans, the inequality of Black women within Black churches remains an unresolved issue. In focusing on Black male contributions, the role of Black women has often been marginalized. Even though the principal programs of the Black church rely disproportionately on women for their support and success, all of the traditional Black religious denominations tend to have basically female congregation and mostly male leadership. For the most part, Black male ministers have been silent on the role of women in the church. This article will assess the roles of Black women in Black churches and examine the historical evolution of that role. Keywords: African American churches, Black churches, African American Women, Black Women, gender and religion, sexism and religion, womanist theology, feminist theology
Laura Katz Olson Whatever
Happened to June Cleaver? The Fifties Mom Turns Eighty
Abstract: June Broson Cleaver represents the quintessential American woman of the 1950s. Because of social pressures, women were encouraged to stay at home and make marriage and motherhood their primary career. These were reinforced by institutional barriers, legal restrictions and business practices that limited women’s employment options considerably. Thus women were expected to be dependent on their husbands financially. Those who did work were relegated to low-paid jobs that offered few—or no—benefits. At the same time, the vast majority of African American females had to work to support themselves and their family; they were among the lowest paid employees, barely earning a subsistence wage. This article shows how women of the 1950s, who followed the "prescribed rules", fared during their retirement years. Because of their labor force situation as well as the structure of the Social Security System, based on female dependency and male workforce and retirement patterns, a significant percentage of single older women—especially minorities—end up living in poverty or near-poverty conditions. Keywords: nineteen fifties, domesticity, marriage and motherhood, female employment, African American women, Social Security, older women.
Craig Curtis
An
Exploration of Critical Criminology and the Policy Making Process (p144
Abstract: Crime is one of the most salient policy areas in American today. A great deal of public attention, media coverage and legislative energy is devoted to reduction of crime, but the problem is resistant to current solutions. Despite the well documented failure of our current crime policy in the scholarly literature, no significant changes in policy or approach are contemplated. The future likely holds more of the same, i.e., severe sentences, a continued disparate impact on minorities, and continued high crime rates. Politicians and appointed officials are unwilling to admit that our current set of solutions are flawed in a fundamental fashion. Radical perspectives, based on class conflict and feminism, offer much promise. It is the position of this essay that ignoring the contributions of radical perspectives on crime policy and deviance in the marketplace of ideas increases the likelihood that our society will fail to develop practical and effective solutions to the unreasonably high levels of crime which plague our society. Keywords: criminology, critical, radical, feminist, crime policy
José Marichal Examining Race and Gender Based Representation Using Federal Awards Assistance Data (p163-184)
Abstract: The preponderance of research on race and gender based representation in Congress has focused on the connections between a member’s voting record and constituent policy preferences. This approach ignores the variety of different behaviors engage in that are relevant to representation. In this paper, I examine the role that a member’s race and gender play in allocational representation (Eulau 1977), or the ability of a member to secure domestic awards for members of her district. Using an OLS regression analysis, I examine if and how race and gender matter in allocational representation. I find that member ideology and district characteristics play a larger role in determining acquisition of new awards than does race and/or gender. Keywords: Congress, African-Americans, women, representation