Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Question of the Day



Are "gender" and "race" defined by science or social constructs that force people into artificial categories?


Let's discuss...

22 comments:

AndrewPrice said...

Yes and no. No... physically, race and gender are very real. We can see the differences. So race and gender are real. And because they are genetically different, they have different traits. So we do fall into those categories and we can't pretend we don't...like Bruce Jenner or the Sideshow Bobbette in Spokane.

BUT... the human mind is a power thing for those few that choose to use it, and it lets us move beyond any amount of upbringing or instinct. Hence, there really is no such thing a gender/race destiny where you are stuck thinking a certain way or holding certain beliefs just because you have a v-jay-jay (or whatever it is now) or because your butt is a funky color.

Unknown said...

Bev.....It was back when we had the "1 drop rule." Funny how it's only for blacks. What if people had 1 drop of white blood? Would they then be white?

This is all so social construct. We have made "race" into the be all end all for many people. It is all political anyway. Look at all the "inauthentic" blacks like Clarence Thomas, Ben Carson, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell. They exemplify the black experience in America as much as any light skinned mulatto from the best schools (or African American Studies Dept's) yet they are not authentic enough for the race baiters. Unless you are down with inner city culture (violence, anti-cop, misogynistic, drugs, etc.) you aren't considered a "real" black in today's society.

I'm sick of it and don't know what the answer is. Actually I do but they frown upon that in this country for some reason. (Nicolae Ceaușescu trials)

Bob

Anthony said...

I'd say gender is a hard and fast category (barring genetic abnormalities, most people are male or female) but race isn't.

Lots of people are mixed, but in America we tend to push people into broad categories, even though they themselves don't necessarily see those categories as a unifying factor. Most people from different countries on the same continent feel the same sense of connection we feel with Canadians (perhaps less) :) .

In fairness, that is a game everyone plays. Abroad hippies from California and good old boys from Texas would both just be viewed as American. The stuff that we consider important isn't important to foreigners and vice versa.

In Guatemala there are those of European ancestry, those who are mixed, the Amerindians (think Native Americans), the Garifuna (people of African descent) and Koreans. We'd just see someone coming over from Guatemala as Guatemalan.

Race is kind of complicated and somewhat arbitrary everywhere (which is not to say that it is a purely social construct but society certainly plays a large role in it).

I apologize for the rambling tone of my post, I kind of thought about it as I typed.

AndrewPrice said...

Anthony, You make an interesting point about genetics. You can mix races to blur the lines, but you really can't mix gender. That certainly makes the male female divide a harder line.

AndrewPrice said...

Speaking of race, by the way, I'm really enjoying the implosion of this NAACP nutjob. Now it turns out that she's plagiarized artwork, lied about her father being a black man who fled the South because a white cop was hunting him, and sued Howard University for discriminating against her... because she's white. LOL!!

Critch said...

I've decided to be an Apache...I always wanted to be an Apache when I was a little kid...so why not...?

Kit said...

"Speaking of race, by the way, I'm really enjoying the implosion of this NAACP nutjob. Now it turns out that she's plagiarized artwork, lied about her father being a black man who fled the South because a white cop was hunting him, and sued Howard University for discriminating against her... because she's white. LOL!!"

Iowahawk called that last one "the best twist ending since the Crying Game."

My favorite was her attacking the book The Help, from the Gonzaga Bulletin:
------------------------------
Rachel Dolezal, a professor of Black Studies who rotates between Eastern Washington and North Idaho College, and is a leader for NIC's Black Students Association, said she wished the film had never been made. Her main dislike stemmed from all the money Kathryn Stockett, the author of the novel and a white woman, made off of this book and film.
"Follow the money trail," Dolezal said. "A white woman makes millions off of a black woman's story."
------------------------------

AndrewPrice said...

Kit, That is hilarious! I hope she does the honorable and non-hypocritical thing and gives back all the money she, a honky, made off all those black people while working for the NAACP.

Also, let me ask, in her case, does NAACP stand for Not Actually A Colored Person? What? Too soon?

AndrewPrice said...

Critch, I've decided to form my own race. I am now Andrewsiun. We/I are a superior race who need government money to somethingsomething and a reservation in uptown Manhattan.

BevfromNYC said...

Interesting answers, Andrewsians (oh, wait, is there a membership fee? 'Cause I am going to not do that if there's a membership fee)

The reason I even asked this question is because of some of the comments on other sites like HuffPo and DailyBeast. There is this disturbing trend to redefine pretty well established words to fit some political agenda. "Gender" no longer means "male" or "female" (or more polite version of "sex" much like "limb" was to "leg" in the 19th C.). It now means whatever the sayer wants it to mean - It is no even defined by sexual preference. Gender is now an emotion not a physical attribution. And kind of throws the whole feminist thing into chaos.

The same issue is occurring in defining race. Race is no longer defined by your blood ancestry, but by pure emotion. Dolezal "feels" Black, so she IS Black in her mind. It kind of throws the whole "one-drop" rule on it's head. Now you don't even need one drop, you just need to let your emotions guide your choice. That's fine, but not everyone is on board with this new definition including all of those Black children who have been called out for "act white"

And of course, definitions are always changing, but this looks like to me like more of a freak show. We are now allowing the fringe to define all of civilization. How is it that that no one so far is running through the streets screaming 'PLEASE...MAKE...IT...STOP!!!"

This also meand that the Kardashians are winning...

BevfromNYC said...

OT: has anyone seen the new KFC commercial with the new "Colonel Sanders"? Am I the only one who thinks he is really kind of child molester creepy?

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I had that same thought. The commercials also seem intent on making you hate him. Bizarre.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, Nope, no membership fee! :D

I think what you are seeing is just the left playing around in a typically hypocritical manner. If you violated some favorite law of theirs and then claimed that you felt black or some other gender, they would howl that you can't get out of your crimes that way.

This is just the left doing what they always do, letting their own abuse the system they have created to try to ensnare their opponents.

Critch said...

I could be Fukouwie....they were famous on the late show circuit awhile back.

Critch said...

Why aren't the links on the left side of my page loading?

Kit said...

"In a past radio interview on the Spokane Station KYRS, fake-black white person Rachel Dolezal insisted that people must boycott the movie Exodus: Gods and Kings because it featured white actors playing African roles."

Read more at: LINK

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

I feel like I was born to be a non-taxpayer, that's what I identify with because it feels right. The govt. is discriminating against me and needs to quit oppressing me.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

I also wanna be a Little Person now. Don't judge me, H8ters!

Critch said...

One of my favorite delusions to watch is the one that some folks believe that the Ancient Egyptians were Negro......which they weren't (Cleopatra was actually a Greek). My other favorite is mine where my Irish and Scots ancestors were rich and wealthy kings who went on great campaigns against monsters...in fact, they lived in lean-tos and stole cattle from their neighbors...but, apparently I can believe anything I want now and it has to be accepted by the world...so now I'm an Apache.

BevfromNYC said...

Oh, dear lord, now there's a Dolezal sex tape and "boudoir" sexy photos...and a possible reality show? I no longer want to be a member of the human race. I heretofore am now emotionally a ....I haven't decided yet. I will keep you posted.

AndrewPrice said...

Ben, I am SOOOOO with you on being born a non-taxpayer! :D


Bev, I saw the boudoir photos. Blech!!!

BevfromNYC said...

And now she's claiming to have been molested by her brother who made her look at photos of naked black women.

All this woman has left to claim is 1) alien abduction and 2) outing herself as a CIA deep undercover agent sent by the Bush Administration to infiltrate the NAACP and then she can run for Congress!

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