I am a Somali American living in the US. My cultural identity has been shaped by many different factors, such as being a black Somali woman, and never seeing my ethnicity, race, religion in any kind media. Being a first-generation Somali woman immigrant has greatly shaped the person I have become, sociology explains the reason for social and economic and gender-based inequalities that come from being an immigrant and/or a minority. Through concepts like social stratification and gender stratification, societal imbalances between different groups is explained. These strategies consider the people who are left behind and the reason they are.
I learned from a young age that I would have to work harder to receive the same opportunities as everyone else. Although, there are many positive and negative perspectives of having many identities, I ultimately believe it's unique and important to see and understand what comes with many identities. A minority is, “any category of people distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates”. As a Black, Muslim, immigrant, woman, I belong to many different minorities, all of my identities are disadvantaged, which makes it harder for me to do better in this society. The acknowledgment of each and every one of these is important to me because it has greatly shaped the person I have grown to be.
Discrimination is defined as an, “unequal treatment of various categories of people”. All my life I have been discriminated against for the color of my skin and my heritage. I have experienced institutional prejudice and discrimination through my schools, the police, and hospitals. At my schools I would notice how the teachers would treat the white students in comparison to how they would students of color like myself. I would have to ask my teachers for an explanation of why I was receiving a lower score when I did the same work as a nonblack student. When being spoken to by the police I would have to change my tone in order to seem more “innocent” and less like a “threat”. At the hospital I always have to advocate for myself more than I should when I am clearly ill. These are just examples from my daily life as someone with multiple identities that many people will see as a threat.
Women constantly forced to prove their equivalence to men, misogyny is very common in all parts of the world. I am the only daughter in my family and I have three brothers, I am expected to do all the chores and cook without complaining. I am consistently criticized for everything I do just because I am a woman. My extended family would ask me why I am even going to school if I’m just going to drop out and raise a family. The stigma of being a woman in this society and my family are different, but also the same. It is important to recognize how women of color are seen as lesser than white women. In traditional feminism, it only caters to white women. Black women were never even thought of when the concept of feminism came about. Feminism has changed over the years especially in its definition it is more inclusive now being defined as, “a support of social equality for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism.” over time intersectional feminism has come about and for someone like me who has many identities along with being a woman it goes a long way.
Social stratification is defined as, “ a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy”. This relates to me because I am from a lower class family and by the standards of society we were placed into it. I am from a family of immigrants that traveled here for a better life. My hard working father has to be paid minimum wage salary because it is harder for him with his limited English. Through this hierarchy the economic fate for each person in each category is decided, this considers even the most educated people. People with the same degree as them but come from a majority group will always make more, this is where all my identities collide most. A perfect example of multiple identities putting me at a setback.
I am the intersection of all things seen as inferior throughout our society. All my identities are seen as a stigma and this motivates me to work harder now because I know I don’t have the same opportunity as everyone else. This society shames people for things we cannot control such as, our race, class, and gender, a chance decided by biology and society pinned against every minority. In order for us to achieve we need to understand and accept each other regardless of these aspects, while acknowledging they exist.
The natural ranking of minorities along with people living in poverty the concept of social stratification further explains this being defined by Pearson as “a system by society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy…” it also explains that people have the misunderstanding of the result of success, and comes with unexplainable results. They believe success comes from effort and talent when in reality it has more to do with a great amount of opportunity and resources. Being an immigrant gave me this perspective sooner rather than later because I saw first-hand a result to effort ratio in school of students higher social classes and were Caucasian. This prepared me for the rest of my life and the unexplainable effort I would have to put in to even be considered as a peer rather than as someone who had no chance of catching up.
It is very difficult for impoverished countries to leave poverty and build themselves back up because of global stratification the international hierarchy between high power countries and those in poverty. Although, this is clearly exploitation it is seen as politics this is defined by Pearson as, neocolonialism, “a new form of global power relationships that involves not direct political control but economic exploitation by multinational corporations.” as politics continues to mix with businesses it is clearly leaving the lower class behind. This is a form of abusing power. Countries who currently have power and money continue to use it to gain more power of other countries they know do not have as many resources. This causes for there to be economic exploitation and strains in relationships between them.
Gender inequality is one of the most common forms of inequality feminism is needed, feminism is “the support of social equality for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism.” This was first needed in the 1840s when women were going against slavery and it is very disheartening to think nearly two centuries later it is still needed. The oppression of women is in the lowest progress seen to history and it is so necessary to acknowledge.
The lack of wealth spread is a preconceived result gender stratification translated as “the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women.” It goes onto explain that through gender inequalities women are proven to be more limited than men in almost every aspect of life no matter the effort they put in. Every system uplifts men whilst pinning women down and against each other, it is difficult for people who benefit from this to understand that biological characteristics make it so it is far more difficult for one group to become successful. Growing up as a woman is already difficult but growing up as a woman of color from a different country is incomparable. You not only have to learn another language and other customs but you have to learn to understand in a country where equality is so greatly emphasized why are women still forced to prove themselves.
While great divides in America have come a long way it is important to recognize they still exist very much and should be addressed. Whether it is women’s rights where women still do not make as much money as a man with the same degree and same job position do or it is immigrant’s still being seen as helpless and “aliens”. There is still so much more to do because the divide between the lower and higher class is getting worse as time goes on when in reality it should be getting smaller. As long as these things still exist not only is it unfair to be an American under these circumstances but it is unsafe.