On being a member of a dominant and subordinate group

On being a member of a dominant and subordinate group

I am a black male heterosexual living in New York. Jackson (2012) questions the impact of political events since 2000 in trying to change the stigma against black men in the USA. The election of a biracial man whose black roots stood out sharply was seen as a step in the right direction for the country. However, Forman (2017) notes that to date, there is still predominant incarceration of black males in the US, pointing to systemic racism driven by stereotypes. The statistical backing creates a general air of suspicion that was seen in the death of black males such as George Floyd. Statista places the number of blacks fatally shot by police between 2017 and 2020 at 105. The dangers of being a black male in the US are thus well defined.

Heterosexuality, on the other hand, sets one in a dominant social group when speaking sexuality. Arguments for the natural state of heterosexuality have driven up hate against homosexuals creating a heterosexual privilege in society (Cole et al., 2012). Additionally, other sexual forms such as male homosexuality have been associated by medical experts to chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS, driving up hate against them, and reaffirming the position of heterosexuality as the only right sexual orientation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography Annotation

Jackson III, B. W. (2012). Black identity development. CL Wijeyesinghe & B. W. Jackson, III. New perspectives on racial identity development: Integrating emerging frameworks, 33-50.

Jackson (2012) surmises the development of the black male identity over time. He concludes that recent events suggest that American society could be putting a stop to the stigma against blacks. He attributes some of these changes to global racial dynamics that are positively impacting America. However, his arguments don’t reflect the current reality in the antiracist riots hitting America.

Forman Jr, J. (2017). Locking up our own: Crime and punishment in Black America. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Forman tracks the historical facts associated with the high crime rates, over-policing, and disproportionate convictions of black males in America. He notes that equal protection of the law is not assured to black males in America. However, the details of the book describe a period in the US that is slowly fading away.

Altman, D., Aggleton, P., Williams, M., Kong, T., Reddy, V., Harrad, D., … & Parker, R. (2012). Men who have sex with men: stigma and discrimination. The Lancet, 380(9839), 439-445.

Altman et al. (2012) revisit the association between AIDS and homosexuality. They note that the initial discovery of the virus in gay men has driven reluctance in dealing with the problem and by extension, continued stigma against gay men. They note that homosexuality is regarded in America and most societies in disgust and seen as moral filth.

Cole, E. R., Avery, L. R., Dodson, C., & Goodman, K. D. (2012). Against nature: How arguments about the naturalness of marriage privilege heterosexuality. Journal of Social Issues, 68(1), 46-62.

Cole et al. (2012) examine how the arguments for the natural heterosexuality have driven up hate against other forms of sexuality and given the privilege to heterosexuality. They argue that media content makes arguments that marriages are the natural thing because they lead to procreation, creating the notion that other forms of sexuality are unnatural thus wrong.