Part 1: Reflections on individual differences
1a. My growth edge this week places emphasis on the learning of why. In the last module, we learned about the how. How minority groups are overlooked within psychology, how privilege impacts race, and how to be more mindful of our impact on others. This week’s modules gave us an insight into why and what continues to happen that cause minority groups and their inequalities to be overlooked in psychology. We also looked into why we identify with “our people” and then what social categories we also identify with.
1b. After listening to “The Power of Categories,” I realize “my people” are my tribe, they are like me, we share the same goals, and we like doing similar activities. My people are those that are spiritual, love traveling and trying new foods, and are dedicated and determined to change the world positively. I think others would categorize me as a black woman who is calm, kind, truthful, and very caring of people. I have been in situations where these labels have been too constriction. For example, people see me as soft, kind, and quiet. When faced with injustice people assume, I am acting out of character because I assert myself and get loud. These labels that people see don’t always fit me.
1c. When thinking about culture as a protective factor, I thought back to the text where Ayunerak et al. (2014), mentions how the Yup’ik culture believed that sickness, injury, bad luck, and misfortune have a spirit. The text goes on to mention how the spirit of suicide visited their tribe and they were able to overcome it by having the elders protect their young, in the same way musk ox's encircle their young. This gathering of the community with the same goal in mind saved many lives and brought the people in the community together. I’ve always believed we are stronger in numbers. My culture has empowered me many times throughout my life. It never lets me forget that I am a strong black woman who can do anything that I put my mind to and that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. My culture brings us together in times of need, similar to the Yup’ik tribe when the spirit of suicide visited them. My culture, at times, has been a hindrance. There have been things that I’ve done that are outside my cultural norm that has led people to look down on my actions.
1d. After reading the chapter by Bryant-Davis and Comas-Diaz (2006), I’ve determined that I don’t meet all the criteria for being a womanist. I do identify with love, spirituality, and strength as seen in womanists. I celebrate life through my arts, as I create art in many forms and through dance, as I’ve been a professional dance throughout my life. I am community orientated and my goals in life are always to unite people. I do want the wholeness and survival of the entire people but with that comes the issue of racism. I agree that the fights against racism and sexism are necessary and central, but I do feel at this time the fight against racism should be higher on the hierarchy. At this time in the world, black men and black women are being killed unreasonably, after fixing this issue we can then move onto the issues between man and woman.
Part 2: What are we not seeing?
2a. Whiteness is the result of having a Euro-American worldview and allowing this narrow perspective to shape lives. Whiteness is put on a pedestal and seen as the default standard. Whiteness is invisible because it adopts the denial of differences as seen in the study of color blindness (Sue, 2004). This prevents the discernment of discrimination and inequalities experienced by people of color. People are conditioned to attribute whiteness to the standard of which everyone should reach. People are even rewarded for remaining unaware and oblivious of their Euro-cultural beliefs. They also continue to lack the knowledge and empathy of how their actions may unfairly oppress people of color.
2b. My reaction to Sue’s (2004) statement was a lightbulb coming on in my head, suddenly dots had connected in my brain. I’ve personally wondered why white people denied their advantages associated with being White”, I now realize that one reason is due to the negativity associated with this. Sue mentions that white people live the illusion of fairness. This is the belief that everything is fair and just, and that people reach the top based on their merit and perseverance. They don’t have to think about their race and the system works for them. This claim affects people of other cultures because they are then viewed based on the Euro-American cultural standard. This assurance of being the superior group results in the group being unable to see, understand, and empathize with the experiences and viewpoints faced by those in the out-groups. This also leads to the lack of change for those who cannot experience the same privileges as those of the white race.
The invisibility of Whiteness has impacted my life as I often time have to code-switch. I think to myself that this type of behavior or speech is too black for this environment or group of people that I’m talking to. My culture is not accepted due to whiteness as seen as the standard of America. There are also times where I experience a lack of empathy, for instance, at work. Currently, protests are going on around the world concerning the death of George Floyd, my white co-workers don’t understand why these protests are happening and lack the empathy to understand why my mental health is negatively affected by this.
Ayunerak, P., Alstrom, D., Moses, C., Charlie, J., & Rasmus, S. M. (2014). Yupik Culture and Context in Southwest Alaska: Community Member Perspectives of Tradition, Social Change, and Prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 54(1-2), 91–99. doi: 10.1007/s10464-014-9652-4
Bryant-Davis, T., & Comas-Diaz, L. (Eds.). (2016). Womanist and mujerista psychologies: voices of fire, acts of courage. Washington, District of Columbia: American Psychological Association.
Spiegel, A., & Miller, L. (2015, February 6). The Power Of Categories. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/384065938/the-power-of-categories
Sue, D. (2004). Whiteness and Ethnocentric Monoculturalism: Making the "Invisible" Visible. American Psychologist, 760–769. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.761
