Stereotypes

Someone recently complained that this blog has turned too political. I’m sorry (I’m not), I disagree (it’s not political enough), stop reading (I might even be proud enough to mean that). When I discuss what may be termed a “political” issue, it is because it is a matter that bothers me, that clutters my mind in such a way that it supersedes humor. I’m not sure whether others also feel like I’ve pulled a bait and switch, that I lure you with entertaining personal anecdotes then hammer you with “radical” perspectives on identity, but that’s my reality – that’s what’s in my head and what I have to babble about, if you will. I exist in a world of both amusement and contemplation, and I’m not about to abandon either. Perhaps what is problematic about the blog format is that these topics often lend themselves to more of a discussion than an edict, so if you take issue with what I say, feel free to comment.

Naturally, this preface exists before what some might deem a political post. Not politics in the strictest sense, mind you, but political in the way that it’s a topic that upsets some and can lead to somewhat hostile conversation.

As referenced previously, I'm taking a course that deals primarily with race, with some educational theory tossed in for good measure. This professor's reputation precedes him: previous students have raved about the professor to the extent that half the class enrolled because of recommendations. The professor has some pretty progressive ideas on race, which is exciting. What's disappointing, however, is that this enlightened individual holds some pretty old fashioned views on gender and how people should act based upon this distinction.

A peer of mine offered an apt criticism to the professor that he kept trying to discuss racial identity as if it existed in a vacuum, wherein one's life experiences could be traced to a single attribute. In other words, eir point was that Mexican-Americans cannot simply speak to the Mexican-American experience, since they are simultaneously a gender, sexuality, weight, height, etc, which of course means that their experience differs from the Mexican-Americans who fit into other categories. I had one of those head nodding moments that I try to reserve for the best of the best. If you're not considering all facets, you're not grasping the entire picture.

In that same class, we spent an hour and a half discussing racial stereotypes, systematically discrediting them. I appreciated that the professor highlighted the idea that a stereotype is a stereotype, and you can't just choose to believe those that you like. It's very common for the same student who is understandably irritated at the notion that all black people are drug addicts to later assert as a fact that all black people naturally have good rhythm. There's no, "But that one's true." You either have to accept both the good and the bad or dismiss them all. At any rate, I tried a similar activity in my own classroom last year to varying success, so I'm glad to have new ideas on how to tweak my approach.

Not ten minutes after this activity concluded, I'm not sure what train of thought the professor got off on exactly, but then he makes the following statement: "There's no such thing as a nice male. It's not possible. You'll find women who will go out of there way to be nice, but if a man is being nice, he wants something." Upsettingly, probably half the class either laughed or nodded knowingly. I couldn't believe it. How can you preach about not making blanket statements about groups of people based on race then shortly thereafter throw in a sweeping generalization about one's sex? It makes me mad not only because I know genuinely nice males, but it's this mentality that lets men off the hook when they feel like being assholes, which is socialization at its worst. You couldn't get away with it if you said members of a specific racial group "couldn't possibly be nice," so why is it acceptable to do that with gender?

I should have said something. I tend to get pretty timid about questioning instructors as, presumably, they have thought about these issues even more than I have before leading the discussions. I've sat on it, however, and now it sits on me. True education flows in all directions and, for progress' sake, I will have to speak up. Y'all just get to hear it first.