History of Feminism
In reply to the discussion: What I've learned on DU [View all]BainsBane
(54,162 posts)Your assertion that it is more acceptable to call out racism than misogyny because the former is better known is problematic on many levels. Where to begin. I'll leave aside the psychological dimensions of this statement to get at mistakes in what you believe to be known.
"The human brain naturally stereotypes" because all races and genders have prejudices against each other. There is nothing "natural" about racism or sexism. Race is not a biological category; nor is gender. Both are culturally constructed, meaning they are taught. Sex does exist biologically, but race does not. Race has become a way of expressing biological difference, but it itself is not a biological category. Many of the attributes associated with a natural state of being a woman are also the result of gender constructions and disproved by anthropological surveys of a wide array of societies. You have sought to essentialize, or imagine as natural, manifestations of social inequality.
Race is a cultural invention dating only to the 18th century. Racial categories emerged as a way of legitimating slavery in the US and anti-semitism in the area we know call Germany. George M. Frederickson's Racism: A Short History, is an old but accessible historical introduction to the subject.
http://www.amazon.com/Racism-History-George-M-Fredrickson/dp/0691116520/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358741095&sr=1-1&keywords=frederickson+race
Others here may be able to point you to readings on gender.
The invention of race as a category served to legitimate slavery by imagining that "the negroid" was an inferior, biological species. While we no longer give voice to that notion of biological inferiority, our society continues to be influenced by the pseudo-scientific notion that race exists as a biological category.
There is an exhibit touring the nation that I encourage you see. Race: Are We So Different http://www.smm.org/race/
Upcoming venues include:
2013
Spring: Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY
Summer: Available
Fall: Pacific Science Center, Seattle, Washington
2014
Spring: The Memphis Pink Palace Museum, Memphis Tennessee
2013
Spring: Museum of Science & History, Jacksonville, FL
Summer: McWane Science Center, Birmingham, AL
Fall: Available
2014
Spring: Available
Summer: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA
Fall: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA