Fabric of Oppression

Throughout our class we delved deep into four theories, but there were several, still important, theories that warrant more discussion. The fabric of oppression is another "theory of socialization that describes the structural arrangement of privileges, resources and power" (24). An interesting aspect of the article is the statement that this theory is a "liberal or left political understanding" (24). Now, I'm not a stanch supporter of the right wing movement, but I do not understand how this statement can be supported. This would definitely be an avenue that I would love to investigate.

From the fabric of oppression definition, I drew some parallels between this theory and the culture of power. The fabric of oppression is a "systematic phenomenon that creates some groups that are dominant or privileged by it and other groups that are targeted or oppressed by it" (24). Much like the culture of power, it is plausible to be in the dominant group and benefit, but not be aware or behave in a manner that is mean, prejudiced or hateful. In the same way, "one can be part of a targeted group without ever experiencing a hateful act" (24). Another key aspect that although one may belong in a dominant group does not guarantee wealth, power and success, but greatly improves the chances. On the other hand, being part of a targeted group, does not literally translate to failure, but once again increases the chance for it.

A key aspect of the fabric of oppression is that there is institutionalized oppression. This institutional oppression, which can be legal, illegal or self-perpetuating, is different from internalized oppression. This type of oppression occurs "when an individual takes the external misinformation, stereotypes and negative images" (26). This is never voluntary, but is a result of the mass misinformation given to the dominant group. What I found most interesting was the manner in which this misinformation is perpetuated, a process called hegemony. It is not through force,  but rather the values taught in religion, education and media institutions. The example of 1960s women not being forced to stay home, but thinking they needed to stay home, because they had been socialized to do so, actually frightened me. The 60s are not too far off . . . what in our society do we think is normal, but has actually just been socialized into us?

The most glaring part of the article was the bird cage diagram analogy. Applying the diagram to me, I am half and half of both groups. My gender (female), socioeconomic class (working class) and race (Latin) keep me in the bottom of the cage. While my sexual orientation (straight), bodily ability (able-bodied) and religion (agnostic) have me on the top of the cage. The line, "regardless of where any of us sits in this picture, we are all inside the cage", shook me up! It is once again vital for all of us to look inside and examine everything we have "thought" is right!

The Connections: Life, Knowledge & Media

What are your childhood memories of December holidays?

       

Do you remember green trees, Merry Christmas greetings, and mistletoe? 

              

                Or did you celebrate with a menorah, dreidels, or a kenora? 

These very relevant, and revealing, questions are the beginning of this week's article, The Connections: Life, Knowledge and Media. This article was different from previous articles in the manner it included both questions that delved into personal history, but also a very broad teaching of several theories that are applicable to this field. Most interesting were these theories, which elevate the topics of our class to another level, dare we say, to some high-caliber academia.

Looking back at the first questions, the article states that individual answers will be a "critical element in the establishment of your personal identity and your sense of where you belong in your neighborhood, school, community and culture" (8). Looking at it from a personal level, I was lucky to have had some cultural openness during the December holidays, since I attended a school with a large attendance of Jewish kids. Many a times I have played with dreidels ("Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay; and when it's dry and ready, the dreidel I shall play"), lit menorahs, and celebrated the eight days! In my opinion, nothing is better than that, since they receive a gift per day, not only one! The article continued to delve into more personal history, while at the same time punctuating the text with theories such as the Social Learning Theory, Social Self, Liberation Theory, Cultural Competence Theory, Fabric of Oppression and Cycle of Oppression. Along with these theories, the article delves into how individuals react to, and are shaped by, the media. This special arena is highly applicable to our class, as video games are an integral part of the media.

Intrigued by this idea, I thought of applying the questions in the article to video games. The first media activity asked the number of Asian American characters portrayed. Applying this to video games, I have played games with Asians, but not to the extent of other characters. Albeit, I am not saying they do not exist, but they are also not predominant. Another media activity of the article was the analysis of women's appearances. With the standards they showed, most of the characters that I have seen in video games are vixens or damsels, heavily buxom, petite waist, etc. Granted, I don't play an abundance of video games, so I began to question myself, and decided to do some research to back up my thesis. So far, what I have found, seems to support this stipulation. A NewScientist article states that compared with the US Census, the characters of video games are highly misrepresented. The article can be found in the Tech Section, but I am including the charts below.

It's interesting to note how the elderly are almost not represented at all, even though they are a growing number of video gamers! Also this data supports that white males are mostly represented in video games, with the last graph showcasing the stark difference between the representation of Hispanics and their population percentage.

Once again, we must reconstruct our knowledge of the world to accurately portray all individuals!