Yesterday we had a very interesting input about the Racism and Patriarchy which is present in our society.

Racism is something that I rarely come across in day to day life. This is what I think because as I go through each day I don’t see anyone acting in a racist manner. However while I can’t recall specific examples I know at some point I have heard someone make a racist remark. The lecture made me think about all the times you read about and see on the news the issues which all stem from racism. People make out that in this day in age racism is not one of the most prominent issues in society. Yes; it does not take place in the same form as what we seen in 1995 with the Civil Rights Act in America but it is something  that is more present than many people realise. The presentation made me think that maybe I don’t notice as much because I have never been the victim of any racist behaviour and because of this I can’t presume to know the extent of fear and horror many individuals all over the world have went through. Having studied higher history at the school I learned all about the Civil Rights movement and I remember then I couldn’t look at some of the videos or images that showed what went on. Emmet Till was brought up in the lecture and seeing the image again made me realise the brutality that was present because of the colour of someone’s skin. I can’t comprehend how someone could do this to a child just because of the colour of their skin; I don’t understand why people were treated in such a disgraceful manner because of this. But has this really changed? The Stephen Lawrence case of 1993 shows that black teenagers still face unprovoked brutality because they are black. Stephen Lawrence was stabbed repeatedly by a group of white youths in London. The police also made little effort to pursue the attackers and they were not convicted until 18 years later. 18 years Stephen’s parents went without any sort of closure. Stephen Lawrence’s mum said something that really startled me; she said they investigated her son’s murder “like white masters during slavery”. When I read this in the Giddens ‘Sociology’ reading, it opened my eyes as it made me ask myself if times have really moved on because if they had surely attacks like this one wouldn’t occur. Slavery was a thing of the past and it was a great oppression which black people faced across the Atlantic World and for his mum to feel that the police cared so little about his death to compare them to the white slave masters shows the extent of inequality they faced. We have to ask ourselves if it would be different if it was the other way around and a group of black youths attacked a white boy and I have to say I do think more effort would have been made. I am not saying this knowing this would certainly be the case but it is embedded in society that people assume black youths are more likely to be criminals. I do believe if it was the reverse, the case would have been handled differently. Both the lecture and reading touched on the fact that racism often takes the form of institutional racism which we seen in the police force during this case. I see racism as not being socially acceptable in the way it was in the past but still takes place often but in a more subtle way that not everyone is aware of.

I understand that as a professional I have to be aware of the forms of racism which takes place all over the world and  the affect this has on different individuals. As a future teacher equality is extremely important.  Everyone should be treated with equal respect but I know in many aspects of life this is not the case; but the classroom is somewhere that everyone will be treated equally. Racism is something that while I understand what it is and the many cases of when it takes place; I fail to understand how people can think and act in a racist way.

“Train your wife in 5 easy lessons”:

This was a quotation from a newspaper headline shown on the lecture presentation about patriarchy. The quote has relation to the 20th century portrayal of woman as house wives and the idea that they did what their husbands wanted and didn’t have opinions that were important. This idea to me is ridiculous and sometimes it is hard to remember their was a time when woman did not have the same rights as men. Woman were inferior to men. I am passionate about the fact both men and woman should be treated equally. Today we still see men’s achievements being more publicised than woman’s and woman’s sport not being as popular as men’s. There is still a fraction of inequality between the two genders and I feel it is important to understand that we have come a long was since how woman were portrayed in ancient Greece but it is something that has been embedded into society since then. As professionals it is important to encourage that boys and girls are equals; they can both pursue any careers they want to and there isn’t anything you can’t do just because you are a woman or just because you are a man.

I conclude by discussing the idea that men should hold the door for a woman with the “ladies first” idea. I see holding the door open for someone as a polite thing to do but have heard discussion previously that they shouldn’t need to do that because woman want to be treated equally. But wouldn’t you hold the door for anyone no matter of their gender if it was the right thing to do in that situation? I know I would hold the door for a woman or a man because it is just polite and men and woman should be respectful of each other.