The Justice System: Race, Class, Gender Exam 2

Race

A social classification system that assigns meaning and status to perceived physical differences.

Ethnicity

A shared cultural identity connected to ancestry, language, traditions, history, or national origin

Social Construction

The process through which societies create categories and meanings that come to seem natural or permanent.

Example: No other country do not use the same race/ethnicity categories as we do

Colorism

Preference for lighter skin and the devaluation of darker skin, including within racial or ethnic minority groups

Stereotype

A generalized belief that assigns assumed behaviors, attitudes, appearances, feelings, or motives to all members of a group

Prejudice

A pre-judgment, feeling, or attitude toward a person based on perceived group membership

Discrimination

Action based on stereotypes or prejudice that treats people differently or denies opportunity, access, or dignity

Plessy v. Ferguson

The 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that constitutionalized “separate but equal” and provided legal support for racial segregation until it was later overturned

Slaves codes…

controlled enslaved people and protected slavery as a racialized system of property and labor

Black codes restricted…

the freedom, movement, labor, and civil rights of newly freed Black people after the Civil War

Convict leasing used criminal law & forced labor to…

recreate conditions similar to slavery, particularly for Black men

What example does the textbook include as a system of racial injustice?

Japanese American “relocation camps” or “concentration camps”

White Privilege

Unearned advantages and forms of protection that accompany being classified as white within a society structured by racial inequality

When it comes to white privilege, whiteness becomes the…

unstated norm against which other groups are compared

When it comes to white privilege, white people are often treated as…

individuals who can speak from a universal point of view rather than as members of a racial group

Dominant institutions and cultural images are often created in ways that…

center white experiences and perspectives

Naturalization through ideology

The process through which the dominant group’s social position appears normal, neutral, or earned rather than privileged and socially constructed

Black Americans experience worse average…

outcomes than white Americans across social welfare, health, employment, and education

Minority communities face disproportionate exposure to…

air pollution, lead poisoning, municipal waste, pesticides, and asbestos

Environmental Racism

Policies and practices that place environmental hazards disproportionately in racialized communities or provide unequal environmental protection

Civil rights legislation changed the law but did not…

automatically end discrimination, institutional inequality, or racialized outcomes

Latino experiences in the justice system are often less fully documented than Black-white disparities because…

ethnicity and race data are collected inconsistently

The criminalization of immigrant groups can increase…

fear, isolation, underreporting, and vulnerability to victimization

The Red Cross’s wartime segregation of blood donations shows how…

racial ideology entered institutions that presented themselves as neutral or scientific

What legal doctrine resulted from Plessy v. Ferguson?

seperate but equal

What is colorism?

preference for lighter skin & devaluation of darker skin

Why do U.S. Census racial & ethnic categories demonstrate social construction?

The categories vary across countries and historical periods rather than reflecting fixed biology

Name four conditions that help create white privilege

Whiteness as norm; white universal viewpoint; invisible property interest (irrelevant); white-centered dominant images

What historical systems of racial injustice are emphasized in this chapter?

Slave codes, Black codes, convict leasing, & Japanese American relocation camps

Which four areas show worse average outcomes for Black Americans rather than white Americans?

social welfare, health, employment, & education

Sex Assigned at Birth is…

a classification—usually female or male—made at birth using physical traits

Sex assigned at birth does not…

determine a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, masculinity, or femininity

Gender Identity

A person’s internal sense of gender, which may be woman, man, nonbinary, another identity, or no gender

Gender Expression

The outward presentation of gender through clothing, behavior, appearance, voice, or social roles

Sexual Orientation

A pattern of romantic, emotional, or sexual attraction; it is distinct from gender identity

Cisgender

A person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex assigned to that person at birth

Biological Essentialism

The belief that each sex has innate, unique, and fixed traits that extend beyond cultural or social conditioning

Patriarchy

A social system in which men—especially socially dominant men—hold disproportionate authority and control in major institutions

Sexism

Beliefs, practices, and institutional arrangements that rank or treat people unequally based on sex or gender

Benevolent Sexism

Apparently positive or protective beliefs that idealize women while reinforcing dependence and traditional gender roles, such as paternalism and chivalry

Misogyny

Hostility toward, contempt for, or punishment of women and people perceived as violating patriarchal gender expectations

Misandry

Hostility toward men

Feminism

A group of perspectives and movements seeking to understand and end gender oppression and inequality

Women can be treated as a sociological minority group even though they are a numerical majority because…

minority status concerns power, not population size alone

Gender discrimination remains a concern in…

higher education & other institutions

How do formal voting rights illustrate unequal timelines?

The Fifteenth Amendment recognized Black men’s voting rights in 1870, while the Nineteenth Amendment recognized women’s voting rights 50 years later in 1920.

In practice, racism & other barriers continued to restrict access to voting.

Male Privilege

Unearned advantages associated with being socially recognized as male within patriarchal institutions and cultural expectations

Examples of male privilege include…

1) not having one’s competence or commitment questioned because of decisions about children

2) lower everyday fear of sexual harassment or assault

3) medical research centered on one’s sex

4) being treated as gender-neutral or as speaking for all humanity

Cisgender Privilege

Advantages that come when a person’s gender identity fits social expectations tied to sex assigned at birth

Heterosexual Privilege

Advantages that come when heterosexuality is assumed, normalized, and institutionally supported

Intersectionality

The principle that race, class, gender, sexuality, and other systems interact.

For example, a white woman may experience sexism while also receiving white privilege

How do hate-crime protections vary by state?

Not every state law includes gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity

Incel

Short for “involuntary celibate.”

Participants in the extremist online subculture blame women and society for their inability to form romantic or sexual relationships

Some incel communities endorse…

misogyny, rape, or pedophilia, publicize violent beliefs or intentions online, and have been linked to acts of terroristic violence

Men are the largest group of violent offenders against…

other men, women, sexually assaulted males, & sexually assaulted females

Gendered violence harms people of all genders but is disproportionately perpetrated by…

men

How do paternalism & chivalry function as benevolent sexism?

Belief in innate, fixed, sex-specific traits beyond cultural conditioning, such as that women need to be protected by men against men.

Which major institutions remain disproportionately controlled by men, especially white men?

Academia, gov, business/finance, & the military

What beliefs & behaviors characterize the extremist incel subculture discussed in the chapter?

Blaming women & society, misogyny, support for sexual violence, online threats, & links to terroristic violence

Against whom are men the largest group of violent offenders?

Other men, women, & sexually assaulted males & females