Final (Gender Studies)

The Social Construction of Race

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King Jr

Race

A grouping of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into categories generally viewed as distinct by society

·      These groups tend to have shared experiences in relationship to major world events, or political, economic, and social phenomenon

·      For example, we might understand “African American” as a race, because of a skin colour, but also because Black people  in the United States have a shared experience living in the aftermath of slavery and the racism that still circulates widely after emancipation

·      The process of ascribing ethic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such

·      The process racializing is assigning traits to that person based on their physical traits

·      The facts that Lopez who is well know withing the scientific researcher

·      That race is not biological and it has no biological bases for different sex between social groups

·      Claims that scientist comply facts that intragroup differences exceed intergroup differences

·      Means- that there is greater genetic variation within population rather than between populations

·      Suggest that evidence all those characterise do not correlate strongly with genes

·      Argues that race is social- that everything we think about race is social meanings assigned-

·      That interreacting is the source of the bases of racial categories

·      That race is a social process

Racial Formation

·      That race cannot be found in the body- we sign onto bodies

·      Lopez argues that human kind can be divided into groups is social, not scientific

·      Has it roots formed in the middle ages

·      Invented in the middle ages European middle ages

·      Race was invented by Europeans

·      That race is not about skin colour- individuals might has fair skins but not classifies as white and don’t have political power otherwise-

·      Telling us about how race functions-

·      Racialization is the process

What is Racial Formation?

·      The process by which racial meanings arise has been labelled racial formation

·      Includes the rise of racial groups and their constant reification in social thought

The Social Construction of race

·      Race -  social invented

·      Race is a social construction

·      Races – socially invented categories

·      No biological link between someone’s skin colour, their geographic location, their appearance (eye shape, hair type) and other traits like intelligence, athleticism, strength, intuition

·      Musician Ray Charles inspired professor Osagie Obasogie to research how blind people ‘see’

·      Professor Osagie Obasogie interviewed over 100 peoples blind from birth about their ideas and notions about race

·      “if anything, their experiences (e.g., being warned by others to learn the race of a prospective date before accepting any invitations to go out) indicate that race as a social construct and support that it needs no knowledge of any physical differences”

·      Structural Racism- systemic racism

·      Are basically synonymous.

·      If there is a difference between the terms, lays in the facts that a structure, racism analysis pays more attention to the justice, cultural, and social psychological aspects of a currently racialized society

·      The residential school system in Canada;

·      Jim crow laws the USA

·      The exclusion of African American golfers from elite, private, gold courses in the US;

·      Institutional racism is going to occur in and between institutions

·      Though indigenous children represent 7.7% of all children in Canada, they represent 52% of all foster children in the child welfare system

Ian Lopez

·      race has no biological basis

·      Data compiled by scientists: intragroup differences exceed intergroup differences

·      Greater genetic variation exists within populations rather than between populations

·      Evidence shows that those features coded as race (stature, skin colour, hair texture, facial structure) do not correlate strongly with genetic variation

·      Race- Social

·      Social meanings assigned

·      Human interaction not natural differences is the source and continuous basis of these racial categorizations

·      Race as a social process; racial formation; racialization

·      Race as a result of an amalgamation of social forces

·      Race is a social process

·      Human interaction not natural differentiation is the source and

·      racial erases-

·      that is now call racialization

·      the idea that humankind is dived in groups is social

·      races are socially invented categories

·      no biological link to someone’s skins colour to geographic location

·      race as a result of an amalgamation of social forces

·      Example-

·      Musician Rya Charles became blind by age 7 inspired professor Osagie Obasogie to research race-

·      Talks about race is much of the same to sighted people-

·      Professor interviewed 100 people blind from birth about their idea and notions of race

·      Conclusion that race is a social construction

·      That the idea is contained

·      What is race- social construct-

·      Arguments about Lopez – argues that race is a social process, that it is not biological, race cant be found in the body but assign labels to a body

What is Racism?

·      Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race are based on the belief that one’s own race is superior

·      The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to a race as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. For example, believing that all African American men are good at basketball

·      Difference and power

·      Everyone that has power has privilege

·      Occurs between individuals, in the interpersonal level

·      Embedded in organizations and institutions through policies and procedures

Structural Racism-

·      “Totality of ways in which societies foster racial discrimination through mutually reinforcing systems of housing, education, employment, earnings, benefits, credit, media, health care, and criminal justice.” (Bailey et al, 2017 P. 1453)

Structural Racism – Systemic Racism

·      Structural and Systemic racism mean the same thing- any difference between them lays int eh fact a structural racism analysis pays more attention to the historical, cultural, and social psychological aspects of a currently racialized society-

·      Are basically synonymous. If there is a difference between the terms, lays in the fact that a structural racism analysis pays more attention to the historical, cultural, and social psychological aspects of a currently racialized society

·      Rather the social structures discriminate against people who are not white

what are examples of structural racism?

·      The Residential school systems in Canada;

·      Jim crow laws in the US;

·      exclusions of African American golfers from elite, private golf courses in the US;

·      The way that “universal suffrage” did not include indigenous North American women (nor did indigenous men receive the vote until 1960, unless they gave their status-identity as indigenous)

·      Although indigenous children represent 7.7% of all children in Canada, they represent 52% of all foster children in the child welfare systems (Government to Canada, 2020)

·      According to statistics Canada, Black and Indigenous peoples continue the face higher rates of poverty and unemployment than the rest of Canadians

·      Indigenous peoples, black, and racialized communities continue to be overrepresented in the justice system

Critique to Intersectionality theory:

·      Emma D Bellas studying the works of Maria Loang onnez- supports the logic of fusion, not the logic of intersectionality

·      Knows that intersectionality can marginalized experiences of groups

·      Several problems of how its used- specifically it is broad and vague when bright into research

·      Argue that intersectionality is limit in addressing health and inequalities

·      Intersectionality References oppression frequently, but it does not describe the overall power dynamics, or the system of oppression that causes inequities.

Race – Racism Hockey

·      Historically, racialized people were not allowed to participate in the amateur hockey leagues

·      As a result, Black communities in the Maritimes created the Coloured Hockey League (CHL) which existed  from 1895 to 1930s

·      Players of colour were segregated

·      They faced racialized violence

·      Willie O’Ree, the first black play in the National Hockey League

·      He faced racist remarks and abuse throughout his hockey career

·      Although progress has certainly been made, hostility and racism persist-

·      “When Givani Smith played for the Kitchener Rangers in 2018, he faced intense racism from the opposing team and fans. He even received death threats and was subjected to a racist slur by a spectator who sneaked into the change room”

·      More Examples –

·      “A First nations hockey team of 13- and 14- years old’s endure racist name- calling, mocking and unfair calls at a tournament in 2018”

·      “Even more recently, a 23-year-old coach of youth hockey who is Muslim received an angry text from a white parent of one of the players he coaches. The language in the text message implied that hockey belongs to the white community and that people of colour are not welcomed and will tarnish the sport and its traditions”

All other forms of racism include:

·      Individual or internalized racism – lies within individuals

·      Are private manifestations of racism that reside inside the individuals

·      Institutional racism refers to the racial discrimination that derives from individuals carrying out the dictated of others who are prejudiced, or of a prejudiced society. For instance, hair texture, over policed neighbourhoods, racial profiling, linguistic profiling, police brutality, etc.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

·  ·      National Book Award-Winning and #1 New York Times bestselling

·      Dr. Kendi Argues

·      that there is contrast and more

·      There is contrast between racist and not racist

·      Antiracist ideas suggest that the racial groups are equals

·      Racist ideas suggest that certain racial groups are superior or inferior, better or worse than others

·      Racist policies yield racial inequity

·      Antiracist polices yield racial equity

·      Racist people expressing antiracist ideas, support antiracist policies with their actions: reparations

·      Reparations will aid eliminate the wage gap in the US (policies that reduce racial inequities)

·      Racist groups suggest that certain groups are better than others

·      Racist policies yield racial inequity

·      Recreations aid alienate – are policies that reduce racist inequities

·      Racist people express racist ideas, or support racist policies,

·      Representations will aid eliminate the wags gap in the US (policies that reduce racial inequalities

·      Antiracist people expressing antiracist ideas support antiracist policies with their actions

·      The Black Campus Movement: Black Students and the Racial Reconstitution of Higher Education, 1965 – 1972

·      Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

Angela Davis (Watch – how does change happen)

·      2007 talk

·      World transformed since her youth

·      De-icer a message in change

·      Ordinary people become collectively aware of themselves as potential agents of change, with the power to create a new world

How does change happen according to Angela Davis?

·      To reimagine the past

·      To image the future

·      To know that the way we tell the story might erase possibilities and promises

·      To make connections

·      Please get involved

·      Please try to make a difference

·      Please try to turn things around

Critical Race Theory (CRT)

·      Emerged the in the 70s in the US and began as a movement in the law

·      Early founding theorists include legal scholars: Richard Delgado, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Derrick Bell

·      Recognize that acts of racism are often consequences of systemic issues related to race, class, and power

·      Takes the stance that race is a social construction

·      Recognize the intersectionality of culture, race, gender and class

·      Plays a key role in examining racial microaggression and dysconscious racism

·      Contributions to CRT can be illustrated in the encouragement of scholars like Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Ricard Delgado to tell their own stories from the perspective of the minority

·      Scholars support the use of theses narratives and suggests using them as a tool to understand are eradicate dysconscious racism’

·      Whiteness as property is analytic construct of CRT that has roots in both the genocide od indigenous peoples in North America and the transatlantic slave trade

·      To use it as a tool to understand and eradicate conscious racism

Key Concepts

·      Dysconsciousness: an uncritical habit of mind (including perceptions, attitudes, assumptions, and beliefs) that justifies inequity and exploitation by accepting the existing order of things as a given

·      Dysconscious Racism: a form of racism that racially accepts dominant white norms and privilege-

·      A form of racism that tacitly accepts dominant White norms and privilege

·      “Gendered racism” was coined by Philomena Essed to denote a unique type of oppression that interlocks to create what Essed referred to as a “hybrid phenomenon” of discrimination

·      Gendered racism: “a type of racial and gender oppression that interconnects to create a distinct, and often more challenging, experience for women who simultaneously occupy multiple subordinated positions” ( Essed, 1991)

·      Gendered racism negatively affects many Black women’s health and identity

·      Short term and long-term exposure to racism and sexism may result in detrimental mental health

Sojourner Syndrome

·      Is an illustrative and symbolic representation that describes the multiple roles and social identities of African American women in the basis of historical denotations and adaptive behaviours that fostered survival and resilience under oppressive circumstances

Colorism

·      Lightness – darkness: socially constructed categories by those in position of power

·      A set of policies that support ideas that equities sustain light skin and dark skin people

·      Lightness- darkness are social constructed categories by those in positions of power

·      “ A powerful collection  of racist policies that lead to inequities between light people and dark people, supported by racist ideas about dark and light people.” – Ibram Kendo

·      Being lighter or dark has nothing to do with biology- it was constricted by society

Duelling Consciousness

·      W.E.B Du Bios, introduced the concept of double consciousness in 1903

·      How people struggle to separate and choose between two competing concepts od race

·      For African American people- antiracism and assimilationism

·      For white American people- segregationism and assimilationism

·      Demonstrate continue to suffer from duelling consciousness

·      Wanted to dismantle lightness are more desirable

Heller on White Privilege

·      Aids white individuals

·      Published two decades after McIntosh

·      Literature review

·      Few theorists of white privilege incorporate gender

·      Privilege is invisible to people that have it (white people)

·      Some authors emphasize class differences; some authors do not

·      Few studies explore racial privilege across class and gender differences

·      Theorists need to take an intersectional approach

·      Heller’s article is a literature review

·      That few theories incorporate gender in their research

·      To understand how research worker we need to ask a intersectional approach

·      US scholarships on race is focused on their disadvantages-

·       Referred to Racial minority

·      White privilege theory focuses on the advantages of being white

·      White means to have the best jobs, houses, etc.  –

·      While other people are marginalized and exploited

·      White is a way of achieving greater material resources- for examples, Armenians

·      Competition regarding

·      Important to understand that racialized minorities are disadvantage so others can have advantages

·      Competition occupation, income levels as a source of conflict with non-whites

·      Materially based conflict are significant for “between race” conflicts

·      Claims white privilege made by working whites motivated by:

·      Compensation for white race exploitation and

·      A judgment that material condition with non-white people

·      It is a literature review she post 2 decades ago

·      What does white privilege theory examine- the advantages of being white

·      Racial minorities are disadvantage, why -  so you examine the systems and equities that put them there

·      Why is it important of understanding the advantage or disadvantages - because race and class intersect,

·      Identifies how whiteness and class work together

Heller on US Scholarship on Race

·      Most research focuses on the disadvantages associated with being a racial minority

·      White privilege theorists: examine the advantages of being white

Heller on the intersections of Race and Class

·      Whiteness as a way of achieving greater material resources. For instance, the example of Armenians (see page 114)

·      Competition regarding occupation, income levels as a source of conflict with non-whites

·      Materially based conflict as significant for “between race” conflicts

·      Claims to white privilege made by working whites motivated by:

·      Compensation for “within race” exploitation and a judgement that material conditions with non-whites is

Class Neutral

·      Class neutral (include McIntosh): white privilege as universal to all whites

·      Begin with the premise that is white privilege already exists

·      Problems with this approach is that white privilege appears natural, inevitable, timeless

Class specific

·      White privilege – dependent on class

·      Locates white privilege historically

·      Groups of white privilege-

·      Locates the construction of white privilege; white privilege is actively constructed

·      White privilege as outcome of direct struggle between groups

·      White privilege requires active efforts by white to ensure segregation of the labour market by attempting to deny non-white equal access to desirable employment

·      federal policies designed to subsidized whites (see the film, Race: The Power of an Illusion The Hose we Live in

Importance of septicity

·      Not all manifestation is racial privilege are universally accessible to whites

·      If not historically located, it may appear that racial oppressions inevitable

·      Without looking at resistance, it overstates the power of the dominant group

·      Without paying attention to class, implies that there is internally unity among whites (not so)

·      White can be oppressed by other whites

·      Intersectional analysis is necessary

Mcintosh

·      “Racism puts others at disadvantage. One of its corollary aspects white privilege situates white individuals at an advantage position”

·      Wrote these policies during the context of second wave feminism

·      Mcintosh Coined the term “white privilege” in 1988

·      Wrote this piece during the context of second wave feminism

·      Women of colour found themselves marginalized of racism in the feminist movement-

·      Felt excluded from the narrative and ignored

·      The contest she is writing- responding to the claims of ignorance

·      Made her sight ways other own privileges

What is White privilege?

·      Invisible package of unearned assets

·      Provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, blank cheques

·      Daily conditions, taken for granted, such as access housing, jobs, opportunities, what people think of her, access to power

·      Skin colour is an asset

·      Feeling like belonging

·      Social systems working for whites

·      White privilege systemically empowers certain groups; systems that confers dominance because if one’s “race”

What can we do to lessen white privilege? (gives some people advantages but no everyone)

·      Changing Social and political systems

·      Understanding that you are at an advantage and what those advantages are

·      Give up the myth of meritocracy

·      See whiteness as a racial identity

·      Race and sex advantage are not the only privileges at work: there is age advantage, physical advantage heterosexual/sexual orientation

·      Disapproving of the system is not enough to change it; individual acts can palliate but cannot end these problems

·      We need to redesign social systems

Meritocracy

·      Coined by British sociologist Michael Young 1958, in the rise of mercies 1870-2033

·      A social systems

·      Considered foundation of the American Dream

·      Implies that martyrial deserves any privileges that occur

·      To avoid inequalities. Based on social markers

·       The myth of meritocracy

·      Marxists – meritocratic sets up a way for working-class acceptance that they are working class and always will be –

·      Meritocratic ideology sets up a way for working-class acceptance that they are working class and always will be

·      In school – everybody has the chance- resources have a change to apply to a university-

·      But don’t have an equal opportunities, support systems, money, etc

·      Require a certain grade point average, white Ohers can’t afford tutors and additional assistance

·      Telling us that sex and race advantages are the only ones

·      Disapproving of the systems is not enough change it

Peggy Mcintosh on White Privilege

·      Mcintosh analysis is not intersectional

·      Privileges listed “more about skins colour” than about class

·      From Mcintosh’s perspective, people may share her class (Colleagues at the University)  but who are not equally advantaged

·      White privilege distorts the humanity of the holders of powers and that of less powerful groups

·      Need to have an intersectional view point

Othering

·      Othering: the reductive (that is, reducing a complex person or group to a dew traits or qualities) action or labelling a person or group as “not one of us” or as not labelling to the dominant, accepted group. Othering is done by reducing a person or group to a set of undesirable traits such as:

o   either pre-modern or barbaric

o   out of control (can’t obey laws, disposed to committing crimes)

o   irrational, and thus not able to self-govern or be autonomous

o   violent, and unable to control their sexual urges

·      in the process of othering, the dominant group occupies the more desirable and opposing set of traits. If the marginalized group (here, the other) is reduced to the traits above, then the dominant group becomes:

o   modern (uses technology, advances scientific discovery, produces great work of art and literature)

o   not violent and not barbaric (obeys the law, does not subject people to violent punishment)

o   rational, in control of their sexual urges

·      while othering can refer to race and racialized groups, it is also a process that excludes anyone who deviates too dare from what we understand as “normal” (even though we all know “Normal is an impossible construct). Consider how we stereotype and understand

·      people with disabilities;

·      people who are poor or with low social economic status;

·      inmates

·      and other marginalized groups

The house we live in

·      What we perceive as race are the physical attribute of a person

·      That by looking at the persons appearance they can figure it more about someone other than physical appearance

·      When you look and see race, you don’t actually see race, that is a cultural lens

·      Race means nothing but markers of race does, unless they are given social meaning and public policy that act upon those characteristics- that creates race

·      Race is the laws and chances that give certain people opportunities and others non or very little

·      23 million that came to north American was from

·      Immigrants became the symbol for what American was becoming

·      Minorities were stereotypes as lazy, stupid, and would mostly work as labourers

·      Scientific race theory began to take off-

·      And people began to look at groups of people more racialized-

·      Hierarchy within races – white on top and minorities on the bottom

·      The idea that hose difference was rooted in biology and could not be changed-

·      1890 and 1920 thousands of African American were lynched

·      1910 a new term to describe the transformation of Europeans- the melting pot-

·      That minorities would assimilate into a American- but could not “melt in the pot”-

·      Whiteness was key to citizenship- that only free white immigrants could become American citizens

·      Whiteness was not the matter of skin colour, to be white it was to gain the full rewards it citizenships-

·      Virginia law defined the law as someone with 1/16 of someone with African American heritage

·      Race is a social political construction

·      1922 when Japanese business man for white citizenship-

·      He came from Japan and went to Berkley and has a family in Hawaii and applied to become an American citizen in 19-

·      He was determined- by 1920 a series alien land x that non-Americans citizens could not have land and the full protection of American laws-

·      Argues that race shouldn’t matter for citizenship, but that their beliefs did-

·      The supreme court ruled we could not be a citizen because he was not white-

·      The court said white is not science but subjectively understood by the common man

·      3 before for Asawa’s case that science is why he could not be considered white, this case they said that it wasn’t science, but a subjective perspective of hoe people saw was white

·      South Asians that have citizenship and land were stripped of them

·      In 1952 when racialization laws was undone -  Asawa was already gone

·      1924 congress (what was the law called) passed a law that banned immigration until 1965

·      “The house I lived in” called for national unity

·      Europeans immigrants were leaning whiteness were more than skin colour

·      Race has long played a goal in real-estate

·      Neighbourhoods that were far away from minorities residences got green by ones that were “minorities” neighbourhoods got red-

·      The ones in the green got good ratings and ones in the red got back ones

·      An integrated neighbourhood was an undesirable neighbourhood.

·      Federal government nationalized red lining- it was constructing whiteness-

·      It now meant living in the subards- which the government banned POC from living in

·      Public housing was build exclusively in central city- that were called vertical ghettos-

·      The government were marginalizing large populations of POC in these neighbourhoods

·      In 1978 Richard signed the law that removal of racial language in laws

·      41.00 minute into the movie-

Indigenous Feminism, National identity, and Decolonizing

·      Race –  is a group of humans based on traits that are determined significant-

·      A grouping of humans based on traits that are socially determined to be significant. People in a recoil group have a shared history with major world events (colonization, experience of war, or global/national politic)

·      Ethnicity- a category of peoples that identify with each other based on traits geography location, language. Culture-

·      A category of people who identify with each other based on shared traits like ancestry, geographic location, language, an or culture

·      Indigenous – a relation of humans who are the original inhabitants in a geographical location-

·      In relation to humans, a group who were the original inhabitant of a geographic space/region

Razack- It happened More than Once: Freezing Deaths in Saskatchewan

·      Examines inquests and an inquiry into freezing deaths in Saskatchewan

·      Highlights the racial, spatial economies that result in freezing death of aboriginal people ins Saskatchewan

·      To think about freezing deaths interns of space and movement

·      It is almost always violent

·      Aboriginal presence the city contest settler occupation-

·      To think about freezing deaths as a space and movement- why-

·      Moving from life to death but al cold to warm and safe to unsafe areas-

·      If it’s out of its jurisdiction it’s not their problems

·      Argues that Aboriginal population is considered surplus humanity in Saskatchewan

·      Aboriginal population faces intense policing, which leads to their evictions and expulsion from the city and later on death

·      Proposes that freezing deaths are outcome of what is understood as a waste disposal both in law and society

·      Vaste number if indigenous number in freezing death are rarely investigated and charged

·      If the legacy against indigenous Canada in widely know in Canada- why is it still called a inclusive country-

·      Lack of education, if you don’t acknowledge it than you don’t need to deal with it, people in power can keep their power if they don’t acknowledge the problems

·      While Canada it must be safer, if is a dangerous response-

·      Thus begs the question- it legacy of genocide, residential schools, trauma, poverty, and oppression against indigenous peoples is widely know in Canada, why do we still cling to the deal that Canada is a just an inclusive country

·      That not all Canadians enjoy safety and legal rights- such an indigenous peoples

Razack – A Site/Sight We Cannot Bear: The Racial/Spatial Politics of banning the Muslim Woman’s Niqab

·      Freedom and self-expression with individuality

·      Unique individuals first, then as members of a group or groups

·      Choosing how to dress, and for many women

·      Muslim women wearing the niqab make many choices from within a different framework

·      In the west (including Canada),we associate freedom and self-expression with individuality

·      We tend to see outlives as unique individuals first, then as member of group or groups

·      An important part of this freedom is choosing how to dress, and from anu women, this style of dress is sexually charged, Women’s fashions tend to be more revealing then men’s

·      Muslim women wearing the niqab make many choices from within a different frame work

·      We tend to see this difference as threatening – we are so accustomed to our own type of freedom (freedom to dress is western fashions, for example) that we see this difference as threatening different, as a sign that muslins women need to be saved

·      Niqab bans – the result of Othering

·      For us to continue think that “west is best” (we in Canada are fere, democratic, equal) we feel need to locate another group as inferior and needing to be saved

·      Niqab bans are thus the result of othering-

·      Other those who are not like us

·      What is Canadian identity-

·      Has to do with the global caparisons to being nest to the states\

·      We tend to rely on others

·      That Canadians are more democratic,

·      We are better than the US mentality

·      In many ways we font really fight violence

·      Razack urges us to think about other and change out mindset

·      Razack Is deeply critical that would ban the Niqab

·      Many scholars and activists banning things would that free the person, but would further marginalize them-

·      If they can wear their niqab, they wont go out

Razack’s argument

Muslin who wear the niqab (full face vail) are seen as threating to Canadian society

Banning things do not empower or free the person who is impacted but the ban, it marginalizes

Eugenics

·      the qualities of the human species can be improve by encouraging the reproduction of those considered “fit” and discouraging the reproduction of those considered “unfit” – Francis

·      Francis Galton coined the term in 1883

·      A set of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the human population through controlled breeding

·      Based on the belief that the qualities of the human species can be improved by encouraging the reproduction of those considered “fit” and discouraging the reproduction of those considered “unfit”

Sterilization: definition

·      a permanent medical procedure such as tubal ligation, that prevents pregnancy

Forced or coerced sterilization

·      refers to the sterilization of individuals without their free prior and informed consent. This can include the use of threats, misinformation, lack information, or other forms of pressure to influence people to seek or permit sterilization

Sterilization

·      Emerges from the eugenic movement

·      It was implemented in Ontario and in northern Canada

·      It was passed in Alberta in 1928 to 1972

·      It was passed in British Columbia from 1933 to 1973

·      It was imposed in disabled individuals labelled as having intellectual or physical disabilities, those institutionalized in state-run facilities immigrants, especially from eastern Europeans countries, and on indigenous peoples

Targeted by eugenic policies

·       “Feeble minded”

·      “Mentally defective” or

·      “Sexually promiscuous”

·      A supposedly low IQ failure to conform to socially accepted gender roles were considered indication of “unfitness”

Target Group

·      Abled peoples labelled as having intellectual or physical disabilities

·      Instituted in state-run facilities immigrants, especially from Eastern European countries

·      Indigenous people

·      Unwed mothers

·      The poor

·      Individuals with substance use problems

·      Black men and women were also in those groups

Non-legislated sterilization in Canada

·      Ontario about 400 women and 1000 men were sterilized

·      Northern Canada

·      1966 to 1976 hundreds of sterilizations were performed in indigenous women across 52 northern settlements

One famous law case of that of Ms. Leilani Muir, the first who dared to sue the Alberta gov, in 1995. At ten years old, she was sent to a school for mental defectives on assessment of being an abused child. Where she was held over a decade against her will, on reason she was ill (further tests proved she was not). Ms. Muir later discovered she had been sterilized through appendectomy

First Wave Feminism and the Sterilization Act

·      Goal was to obtain women’s suffrage, the vote, and was predominantly white middle class women

The famous Five

·      Emily Murphy

·      Nellie McClurg

·      Henrietta Muir Edwards

·      Irene Parbly

·      Louise McKinney

·      the primary of motherhood

·      to bring children into the world and ensure that they constructed a world that was better for them to live in

·      lobby for the adoption of eugenics practice was in line with their race, preservation position

·      3 feminist they focused their pursuits on racism, prohibition, and showed interest in problems with mental disorders-

·      Nellie Emily and Louise McKinney-

·      Argued that women with mental illness were not considered qualified to mother the race

·      Loving for adoption was in line with the race prerevision

·      Consequently, for the adoption

·      that these suffragettes claimed to believe in the privacy in motherhood and shares the notion of maternal feminism

·      they were a part of the eugenic movement and they are not as good as we thought

·      both Emily murphy and Louise McKinney strongly endorsed the implementation of sterilization laws within the Alberta governing body

·      important to point out that first wave feminist went from celebrated, worshipped, and respected for their roles and contributions to “being critiqued for perpetuating stereotypes of women and seeking to protect the interests and privilege of the ruling Anglo-Saxon class”

·      coercive sterilization is a trace of settler colonialism-

·      and should be addressed in the context of the systemic discrimination and institutional racism against indigenous women

Karen Stote - The Coercive Sterilization of Aboriginal Women in Canada

·      making the argument that Aboriginal women sterilization should be an act of genocide

·      that one on the many privileges made to undermined and remove Aboriginal peoples of their land and resources

·      should be understood as one of the many policies implement it to undermine Aboriginal women, and to remove Aboriginal peoples from their lands and resources

·      both eugenics and first wave feminism were supportive of an acting state legislation for sterilization in Canada

·      “Mother of the race” and “moron girl”

·      some of the most celebrated feminist in Canada created a niche for themselves “as colonial agents by reinforcing sexist and racist notions of womanhood, and by participating in the colonization of Aboriginal women”

·      the coerced sterilization of indigenous women is deeply entrenched to the broader context of racism and colonialism

·      the legacy of colonization, including the residential school system is gendered

·      should be interpreted as an act of genocide

Imperialism-

·      is the act of acquiromng or holding colonies or dependencies. One country exercises power over another, whether through settlement, sovereignty, or indirect mechanisms of control. Does not necessarily involve movement of people, but rather control of resources

Colonialism-

·      is a practice of domination, which involves subjugation of one people to another, usually involves the settlement of citizen form colonial power

Colonialism = Indian act

·      The Indian Act: is the principal statue through which the federal gov. administers Indian status. Local first nations, gov and the management of reserve land an communal motions

Colonialism = Residentials School System

·      the purpose of residential was to assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream Canadian society by disconnecting them for their families and communities and severing all ties with languages, customs, and belief’s

Colonialism = Sixties Scoop

·      large numbers of Aboriginal children were removed from their families and taken into care by child welfare agencies. Many children were put through various adoption processes mainly with white families

Colonialism = Violence Against Indigenous Women

·      missing and murdered indigenous women and girls

·      according to the 2004 general social survey, between 1997 and 2000. The homicide rate for indigenous women was nearly seven times higher than the rate for non-indigenous women

Highway of Tears

·      is along highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George, British Columbia

·      around 18 women have gone missing or have been found murdered along the stretch of this highway since 1969

·      that RCMP have officially linked 18 murders or missing women to the highway of tears in their investigations

·      unofficially the number of women who have went missing are far more than 18

·      the highway of tears is along highway 16 between prince

·      it is known to many of its local residents as the highways of tears

·      pig tan- was suspected of targeting sex workers and vulnerable women downtown Vancouver-

·      many women were indigenous women and women struggling with mental health

·      even trailed him to the meat plant where is disposed of the bodies-

·      the police are aware of this but are not doing anything

·      as a result of racism, poverty, and inadequate public transportation, making them vulnerable to violence

·      the name is in reference to the number of mostly indigenous women who have gone missing or have been found murdered along this stretch of highway since 1969

o   Survival Strength, Sisterhood: Power of Woman in the Downtown Eastside

o   This video follows some women in Vancouver downtown East Side, a poor community where indigenous people are developing their own strategies of resilience and survival

Ian Dowbiggin(2008) argued in his articles the sterilization movement and global fertility  in the twentieth century, “imperialism, eugenics, and maternal feminism, frequently in

Searchers: Highway of Tears (only covers from prince Rupert and prince George)

·      2002 when the highway of tears was talked about more publicly-

·      When a white women went missing, people started to discuss the highway of tears more publicly

·      Prince George is the largest city in northern BC and from there to prince Rupert it is 724 km from

·      Beehive burner - used to be used in mills to depose of wood chips-

·      Ray thinks it might be used to depose of bodies

·      Private investigators are governed by statue such as executing warrants-

·      E panna- was made to investigate the missing and murdered girls on highway of tears

·      Alberta went missing in 1989-

·      Her sister Claudia talks about what happened that day-

·      Her sister went to a party with her friends and was never seen again-

·      The police won’t tell her about anything, Ray tells her more information than the police-

·      The RCMP updated her on the case after 9 years-

·      Romana Wilson went missing on highway 19 outside of smithers in 1995-

·      Her family now lives in prince George-

·      Ray has given information to the police, but no new updates has been made-

·      Wilson was going to meet up to her friends and going to a graduation party

·      Aialah was 14 when she was murdered on the highway of tears-

·      Hers was found quickly after it happened-

·      Most people are not found for a while

·      2006 when aialah went missing-

·      Mary Tegee became feed up and knew they needed to do something-

·      She says that if it was affecting white people, the RCMP would be more on top of it-

·      Steven Harper says that it is an Aboriginal issue, but she says it’s a Canadian issue-

·      Carelessness of this issue

·      When they cut the funding of A-Panna that was investigating the indigenous women and girls-

·      Almost saying that it’s not a government issue

·      Survival strength, sisterhood: power of women in the down

Linda Tuhiwai Smith-

·       Tihiwau smith is a Moari scholar

·      Her article “decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous peoples”

Decolonizing

·      Critically explores the basis of Western research and the positioning of indigenous peoples as other

According to Linda Tuhiwai, to decolonize means

·      Contests and re-write dominant narratives about indigenous peoples

·      Contests western centric research methods and ways of thinking m to include an indigenous world view

·      Tell historically accurate stories of colonialism, exploitation, and genocide of indigenous groups

·      Work to create and maintain the conditions where indigenous peoples can be self-determining and self-governing peoples;

·      Redistribute land and resources to end the systemic poverty of indigenous groups

·      Factor healing from this history of genocide

Sarah Hunt: Embodying Self-Determination: Resisting Violence Beyond the Gender Binary

·      Sarah hunt is telling us to rethink dominant conceptions of violence and gender

·      She wants to center and discuss the erasure of Two Spirit and transgender people both by the state and by indigenous communities in a way that avoids damage centered research

·      She argues that two thirds of indigenous languages have words for more than two genders

·      Hunter is trying to tell us to not look at damage centered research; she is telling us to look at indigenous peoples as agents, as change makes, as philosophers, poets, writers, film makers, as active agent in the world

·      Hunter is telling us to avoid damage-centered research

·      Sarah argues that Two-spirit and trans people pose a threat to heteropatriarchy because they do not facilitate the hierarchy; the state, and the church attempt to erase transgender and two-spirit people through the institutionalization of binary gender roles

·      Hunt states that residential schools imposed racialized and binary gender roles on children’s bodies making them Indian boys and girls (through separation; gendered uniforms; teaching gender roles)

Gender and Labour - Labour Segregation

We must make haste, for when we home are come, we find out work but just begun; so many things for our attendance

Mary Collier 1688-1762

·      The first working -class woman poet to be published in England

·      She is best known for her 1739 poem “the woman’s labour”, which she wrote: the woman’s labour”, which she write in response to Stephan Ducks’ poem the thresher labour

·      Reminds us that the world of work has been gendered and will remain gendered if nothing is done

·      Ducls was another working class- poet, who criticized he sewas the laziness of woman working in the fields

·      Collier’s poem, describing back-breaking labour by, and exploitation of female workers is one of

·      Mary collier poem described  back breaking labour of women was one of the first feminist critiques in English literature

·      The woman’s labour

·      The world of work has been gendered for as long we know as remain gendered today

·      The woman’s labour provides into the 18

Marylin Wang- Unpaid Workers: The Absence of Rights

·      A professor at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand

·      A feminist, an author, an activist for woman human rights and environmental issues

·      A long-time activist for LGBTQ rights

·      The youngest woman elected to the New Zealand parliament

·      Provinces a gender analysis of the average time spent on unpaid work in Finland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada

·      Reveals the serious policy consequences caused by ignoring the economic importance of women’s unpaid work and the environment when calculating the GPD (gross domestic product)

·      Unpaid, underpaid, or differently paid full-time caregiving work

·      Makes the analysis the average time spent on unpaid work of men and woman in Finland, Australia, and Canada

·      Providers a gender of the average spent on unpaid work

·      Reveals the serious policy consequences caused by ignoring the economic importance of woman’s unpaid work and the environment

·      Unpaid work in the main forms of employment if four sectors –

o   Subsistence production

o   The household economy

o   The informal sector

o   Voluntary and community work

GPD

·      Total monetary or market values of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period

·      It is typically calculated on an annual basis

·      It is sometimes calculated on a quarterly basis as well

·      The Gross Domestic Product (GPD) in Canada was worth 1643.40 billion US dollars in 2020, according to official data from the World Bank. The GPD value of Canada represents 1.46 precent of the world economy

The Second Shift: definition

·      Woman with dual responsibilities as wage earners and unpaid household workers work “the second shift”
woman still do the bulk of domestic work

Unpaid work/invisible work

·      Women do most of the daily chores-

·      Cooking

·      Clean up

·      Ironing

·      Gardening

·      childcare

·      Eldercare

·      provisional cuts from the government increases these responsibilities

Time Spent by Woman in Elder-Care in Canada

·      caring for ageing parents, costs Canadians $33 billion annually

·      women are still bearing the brunt of the caregiving work

·      43.5 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in 2016

·      65 percent of care recipients are woman

·      Upwards of 75 precent of all caregivers are woman and may spend as much as 50 percent more time providing care than males (Institute of Aging, 2016)

Woman Changes in Work Pattern

·      Work part-time

·      Change jobs

·      Reduce their jobs

·      Reduce their hours

·      Turn down career opportunities

Gender Ideologies about Breadwinning/Female Roles

·      Many North American families still believe in the traditional; male breadwinning/female housewife model

·      Work is often seen as a testing ground of masculinity, and earnings can be its index

·      Gender ideologies about breadwinning are in flux but remain resilient

·      Woman’s employment also continues to be affected by gender ideologies

·      If the husband makes less than the wife, both partners may engage in deviant neutralization ----

·      Maybe they Understand her income or be exaggerating  his to preserve the idea of the male breadwinner

·      Both members of a couple may regard her worth as more flexible than what it was

How does the Second Shift Impact Woman’s Health

·      Working 60 hours or more triples the risk id diabetes, cancer, heart trouble, arthritis, hypertension, and asthma for men and woman

·      For men long hour work only appears to contract the risk of arthritis

·      So why do ling hours take a different toll on the body based in gender-

·      Woman generally assume greater family responsibilities than men

·      Therefore, when woman working long hours, they may be experiencing more time pressure and stress than men, and thoer health consequently might be more affected

·      Diabetes, cancer, heart trouble, arthritis, asthma

·      “Therefore, when woman work long hours, they may experience more time pressure and stress than men, and their health consequently considered over a long timeframe” -  Ohio State University (2016)

Findings

·      39 percent of mothers said they have taken significant time away from work to care for family member

·      56 percent of fathers say chores are spilt evenly between parents, but half of moms say they do more around the house

·      Women are twice as likely as men today to assume the responsibility for caring for a seriously ill family falls primary on woman

·      Mothers spend twice as much time on childcare as fathers do

·      Mothers are more likely to interrupt their careers to attend to family needs than fathers are

Most Common Occupations for Woman – 2019

·      Retail salespersons

·      Administrative assistants

·      Registered nurses

·      Cashiers

·      Kindergarten/elementary teachers

·      Receptionists

·      Secretaries

·      Housekeepers

·      Child-care workers

·      Customer service representatives

·      Managers

Most common occupation for men in 2019

·      Transport truck driver

·      Retail salesperson

·      Retail and wholesale trade managers

·      Janitors/building superintendents

·      Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations

·      Carpenters

·      Physicians

·      Construction trades helpers and labourers

·      Automotive service technicians’ truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers

Gender segregation

·      Woman and men’s concentration in different occupations-

·      Reflects the gender differences in employment opportunities

·      “Woman and mens concetration in different occupations, industries, jobs and levels in workplace hierarchies” – Barbara Reskin, 1993

·      gender segregation has been indented as the earning gaps between men and woman

·      male dominated occupations are those that comprise 25 percent or fewer woman

·      in the United States only 7.2 percent of woman worked full time in male dominated industries

·      In the United States, male dominated occupations pay more than female occupations

Second definition of gender Segregation

·      Given by Barbara Reskin, 1993

·      Argues that genders segregation of women’s and men’s concentration in different occupation, industries, jobs, and levels in workplace hierarches

There are two types of gender segregation-

·      Horizontal – refers to the segregation within occupation in different fields that are roughly similar in terms of education and skill requirements-

·      Truck driver and secretarial work or

·      Engineering and teaching

·      Vertical – refers to the segregation associated with difference in education,

·      Differences of education, experiences, and skill-

·      Law –

o   Legal secretaries

o   Clerks

o   Paralegal professionals

o   Lawyers

o   And judges

·      Women have lower pay and states

·       experiences, and skill withing the same fields

·      Both contribute to gender in quality and gender pay gap

·      That women do not have the same opportunities in the labour market in either term of wages and opportunities

·      And segregation remains the most major

·      In construction men made up the majority of the labour workforce-

·      And women’s make up the majority of childcare jobs

Occupational Segregation

·      Occurs in workplaces where some jobs are primarily male dominated, and others are primarily dominated by women

Occupation Segregation overrepresentation

·      Women- clerical service, professional occupations

·      Men- crafts and related trades, plants and machine operator, assembler jobs

Underrepresentation of Woman in the Physician and Scientific Domain

·      Women have comprised almost 50 percent of medical school graduates since 2004, but they only, make up 35 precent of all physician workforce

·      Women represent half the graduates of STEM programs but represent less than 25 percent of STEM faculty

·      Within medical specialties, women represent far higher number of physicians entering primary care specialties than nonprimary care specialities  

·      63 precent of pediatricians are women, compared to just 18 percent of cardiologists and 5 percent of orthopedic surgeons

Gender Disparity in Promotions

·      Women are not promoted as quickly or to the same level of leadership as men

·      About 18% of department chairs and deans are women

·      The exclusion of women from, and the concentration of men in, leadership positions creates extreme power differentials in academic medicine (Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 2020)

Underrepresentation on Leadership/Politics

·      Women hold 91.4 percent of board seats

·      In 2016, 56 percent of corporate boards were filled entirely by men, while another 28 percent of corporations has only one woman member. Just 15.2 percent had more than one woman

Underrepresentation in STEM – U.S. and Canada

·      In Ontario careers in the STEM fields are not equally represented by women, having approximately 2.5 times more men

·      In 2016, in Canada 23% of science and technology workers were woman

·      Woman make up only 24 percent of those employed in STEM occupations in the US

Why has gender segregated market emerged in the workforce?

·      Differential socialization of young men and women

·      Sex- typed tracking in educational systems

·      Sex-linked social control at the workplace, at the hiring stages and beyond

·      The practice of directing male and female students into different paths in regard to societal norms

Impacts of Segregation on Wages (Veterinary medicine)

·      1890s it was defined as a male dominated field in medicine

·      Late 60s only 5 percent of veterinary students were woman

·      Today that number us closer to 80 percent

·      The number of female veterinarians has more than double since 1991

·      The number of make veterinarians has declined by 15 percent

·      Woman are the majority of the veterinarian (57 percent int eh us and 59 percent in Canada)

·      In 1970 veterinarians had the same pay as physicians

Impact of Segregation on Wages (Computer programming)

·      1940s woman were hired as keypunch operators (jobs seem “clerical”)

·      It became attractive to men, who began to enter the fields, consequently driving wages up considerably and untimely pushing woman out

The Gender Wage Gap

·      Refers the difference in earnings between women and men in the workplace

·      That the wage gap has narrowed overtime in Canada and other countries-

·      Women of colour, indigenous, people with disabilities, and more it affects that more

Gender Gap 1998 – 2018

·      Community and government services (8.5%)

·      Professional occupations in education services (7.7%) and,

·      Professional occupations in business and fiancé (7.2%)

·      These three higher-paying occupational groups employed a larger share of core-aged woman in 2018 than in 1998

Persisting Inequities Among the Sexes in Canada

·      A 2015 UN Human Rights report raised concerns about “the persisting inequalities between woman and men” in Canada, including the “high level of the pay gap” and its disproportionate effect on low-income women, visible minority woman, and indigenous woman

·      Canada has also tumbled down the World Economic Forum’s global gender gap rankings, to 35 the place, from 19 place two years earlier

·      The gender wage gap narrowed between 1998 and 2018-

·      According to statistics Canada much of this change was caused by two factors: the changes in distribution of men and women across occupations

Is the wage gap disappearing?

·      The wage has remained stagnant since 2000

·      In an annual basis, Canadian women continue to earn only about 72 percent of what men earn

·      British Columbia is the worst province in Canada for gender gap in hourly wages: statistics Canada

·      PEI was the only province were there was no wage gap between sexes

·      Factors that led to continued gaps were the number of woman working part-time and the distribution of men and women across industries, with construction, manufacturing and mining remaining higher paid male dominated industries

·      On an annual basis, Canadian women continue to earn only about 72% of what men earn

·      On an hourly basis the gap narrows but remains significant, with woman earning on average 87% of men’s hourly wages

·      The wage gap is not a myth

What are the Causes for the Wage Gap

·      Discrimination, sexism, expectations for childcare, gender segregation

·      Discrimination, inaccessible child -cater (decline in women’s earning, childcare sometimes cost more than rent, etc.)

·      Women’s work is simply not values as highly as the work that is assigned to men

·      In every field women tend to be concentrated at the bottom of the pay scale

·      Withing any occupational category, women are less likely than men to get the promotions, that being higher wages

·      Women cluster at the bottom of the pay scale even with highly pay occupations such as medicine

British Columbia worst province in Canada for gender gap hourly wages: Statistics Canada

·      “given that women in Canada have sur[assed men in education achievement , diversified their field in study of post-secondary institutions and increased their representation in higher-status occupations the persistence of gender-based wage inequality warrant continued attention,” the report states

·      A statistics Canada report showed that, on average, Canadian women earned $4.13 or 13.3% percent less than their male counterparts, with women in B.C facing the largest gap, 18.9 percent, followed by women in Alberta, 17.6 percent. P.E.I was the only province where their wad no wage gap between the sexes

·      The report found that Canadian women aged 25-54 earned on average $26.92 an hour in 2018 while men earned on average $31.05, a difference of 13.3%. in 1998, the difference was 18.8%. the average wage for a man in B.C in 2018 was $31.73 compared with $25.83 for a woman

·      Factors that led to the continued gaps were the number of woman working part-time and the distribution of men and women across industries, with construction, manufacturing and mining remaining higher-paid male-dominated industries

The Glass Ceiling

·      Women face twin barriers of the glass ceiling and the sticky floor

·      Which combines to kept hem stuck at the bottom and unable to reach the top

·      The glass ceiling keeps that without being prompted and multiplied when intersectional issues are brought into the equation

·      Keeps women from being promoted as equally as men

·      Other intersectional effects, like race, sex

·      most men are in a position to hire, they may unconsciously  or consciously pick to hire someone who is white, male or abled body

The Glass Escalator Effect

·      Men entering female jobs tend to rise in disproportionate number

·      Men entering female dominated occupations tend to rise in disproportionate number

·      Men working as bures, social workers, librarian, elementary teach

The Rise the Glass Ceiling

·      Sociologists call the

·      When men enter a more female dominate occupation people expect that they will face the same discrimination as women do, but they don’t and just surf across the glass ceiling

·      Conceptualization given by sociologists-

·      That men rise along the glass escalator and get promotions

The Sticky Floor

·      Keeps women and other groups trapped in low wage positions with little opportunity for upward mobility

·      The chilly climate-

·      Equity of access does not necessarily guarantee equality of treatment within any given institution

·      An inhospitable workplace for a person of the wrong sex, through exclusionary, isolating, dismissive, or generally cold behaviours, based in cultural notions of gender appropriate labour

·      Is a concept used to draw attention to the equality of access that does not necessarily guarantee equal

Represent the hostile working environment withing marginalized communities

The Motherhood penalty

·      A term coined by sociologists say that when working mothers have disadvantages in pay and holds them back in leadership positions

·      The motherhood penalty may play a big part in holding women back form leadership positions and contribute with the wage gap

·      In the U.S women are nervous to tell their bosses that are pregnant because of the concern of being held back from leadership positions or other consequences they may face

Childcare - Vancouver

·      In 2018 B.C launched a fee reduction program which aimed to cut daycare costs by up to $350 a month per space depending on a child’s age and the type of childcare facility

·      The money would go to daycare with savings passed in to parents

·      The provincial government also began converting 2,500 spaces at 53 universal childcare prototype sites into $10 a day for spot eligible parents

·      the median fees cost of full time,  full-day-childcare in Vancouver in 2012 ranged from $760 to &1,047 per month depending on the child’s age

·      the median cost of full-time, full-day-childcare in Vancouver last year was about $1,400 a month for an infant, $1,407 for a toddler, and $1,000 for a preschooler

·      Toronto and the surrounding areas reported median feeds of up to $1,685 a month last year

Gender Segregation and Discrimination

·      Women’s work is simply noy valued as highly as the work that is assigned to men

·      In every field women tend to be concentrated at the bottom of the pay scale

·      Within any occupational category, women are less likely than men to get promotions that bring them higher wages

·      Women cluster at the bottom of the pay scale even with highly paid occupations such as medicine

·      Women in clinical departments make 76 cents on the dollar compared to men

·      Woman in basic science departments earn 90 cents on the dollar compared to men (AAMC, 2020)

Cost of childcare in Vancouver

·      Vancouver has a median monthly fee increase of 5.3 percent, the eight highest increase in Canada

·      Burnaby has the third highest increase in Canada at 7.1 percent, while Surrey was fourth at 6.3 percent

Advantages of affordable and accessible childcares in B.C

·      Allows mothers to return to the workforce after having a child

·      Improve the economic independence of mother

·      Financial independence allow women to leave abusive relationships, access education, and take control of their own moving us closer to gender equity and social justice

·      Women gain financial independence, so their families are less likely to live in poverty

·      Benefits businesses by reducing stress and absenteeism among employees who are parents

·      Enables mothers to return to work after parental leave

·      Sets us up on a path for a stronger economy in the future, as more children are supported are supported to reach their full potential