Notice it’s melon-flavored gum.
race/ethnicity
Over at the New York Times, Peggy Orenstein wrote a light article about the social construction of race, ethnicity, and culture through the lens of multiracialism. This figure (in Hawaii, Hapa means “half”) shows the states with the highest percentages of people claiming to be multiracial:
For background: 2000 was the first year that the Census allowed us to mark more than one race… talk about the social construction of racial categories!
This commentary by Dan Charnas on Obama’s speech and the public reaction (found here) might inspire an interesting class discussion on race, politics, and getting along:
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/808451[/vimeo]
White People, Get Over Yourselves from Dantrification on Vimeo.
Thanks to Lawgeek for sending this our way!
.
This image, getting lots of negative attention in the blogosphere, is advertising a new Chinese restaurant in Rhode Island:
Warning! This image may not be safe for your workplace.
This 3-page ad for Brooks Brothers uses the tagline “Generations of Style.” I think it’s useful because the ad naturalizes the passing down of class (both economic class and classiness) from generation to generation, thus justifying class inequality. Also notice the racial segregation in the images.
NEW (Dec. ’09)! Ted K. sent in this contemporaneous commercial for Rice Krinkles:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs-P_u7taMI[/youtube]
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
While we’re on the topic of the current presidential campaign…
I’ve noticed something interesting about the images and phrases used to criticize Clinton and Obama. Why does the majority of anti-Clinton rhetoric use sexist images and language? And how prevelant is the (expected?) matching racism in the anti-Obama rhetoric and images? Why, instead, does Obama’s national allegiance and patriotism come into question? I think this would make for a great class discussion on intersectionality, an what prejudices are perceived to be “socially acceptable.”
Some possible questions for discussion:
- Is it more socially acceptable to be overtly sexist than overtly racist? Why?
- Why might it seem to be more okay to question someone’s patriotism/nationalism than to be overtly racist? What is the difference?
- What is really racist that doesn’t immediately appear racist?
And the images– again these come from Facebook groups with tens of thousands of members. See also previous images of Hillary Clinton here and here.
“Fly, my pretties, fly! Bring me the presidency”:
And now for Obama…
And here are some attacking Barack Obama’s nationality and patriotism:
And the infamous image (more info from snopes.com):
Text:
With Tactel you can make a statement for all to see. The incredible range of tactel fabrics create imaginative, distinctive fashions. All with a luxurious soft touch and feel. Look for Tactel in today’s leading designer collections.
We don’t get it. Is there even something to get? Discuss.
Over at the New York Times, Peggy Orenstein wrote a light article about the social construction of race, ethnicity, and culture through the lens of multiracialism. This figure (in Hawaii, Hapa means “half”) shows the states with the highest percentages of people claiming to be multiracial:
For background: 2000 was the first year that the Census allowed us to mark more than one race… talk about the social construction of racial categories!
This commentary by Dan Charnas on Obama’s speech and the public reaction (found here) might inspire an interesting class discussion on race, politics, and getting along:
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/808451[/vimeo]
White People, Get Over Yourselves from Dantrification on Vimeo.
Thanks to Lawgeek for sending this our way!
.
This image, getting lots of negative attention in the blogosphere, is advertising a new Chinese restaurant in Rhode Island:
Warning! This image may not be safe for your workplace.
This 3-page ad for Brooks Brothers uses the tagline “Generations of Style.” I think it’s useful because the ad naturalizes the passing down of class (both economic class and classiness) from generation to generation, thus justifying class inequality. Also notice the racial segregation in the images.
NEW (Dec. ’09)! Ted K. sent in this contemporaneous commercial for Rice Krinkles:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs-P_u7taMI[/youtube]
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
While we’re on the topic of the current presidential campaign…
I’ve noticed something interesting about the images and phrases used to criticize Clinton and Obama. Why does the majority of anti-Clinton rhetoric use sexist images and language? And how prevelant is the (expected?) matching racism in the anti-Obama rhetoric and images? Why, instead, does Obama’s national allegiance and patriotism come into question? I think this would make for a great class discussion on intersectionality, an what prejudices are perceived to be “socially acceptable.”
Some possible questions for discussion:
- Is it more socially acceptable to be overtly sexist than overtly racist? Why?
- Why might it seem to be more okay to question someone’s patriotism/nationalism than to be overtly racist? What is the difference?
- What is really racist that doesn’t immediately appear racist?
And the images– again these come from Facebook groups with tens of thousands of members. See also previous images of Hillary Clinton here and here.
“Fly, my pretties, fly! Bring me the presidency”:
And now for Obama…
And here are some attacking Barack Obama’s nationality and patriotism:
And the infamous image (more info from snopes.com):
Text:
With Tactel you can make a statement for all to see. The incredible range of tactel fabrics create imaginative, distinctive fashions. All with a luxurious soft touch and feel. Look for Tactel in today’s leading designer collections.
We don’t get it. Is there even something to get? Discuss.