The Radical Notion That Women and Ethnic Minorities are People

Anybody would think that with the profound influence of feminism and equal rights campaigns, women and ethnic minorities would be on an equal par with white middle class men.  It is true that the rights of these groups in Western societies have evolved thanks to the rise of various movements, but there is still a long way to go until racist-patriarchal values are overthrown and equality for all is achieved, not just in contemporary societies.

Unfortunately, it is still a commonly held view that women and ethnic minorities are inferior to men and white ethnic groups, particularly those from the upper-middle classes.  It is claimed by some communities that ethnic groups and women should not have rights until they can ‘prove’ that they are deserving.

But when did white middle class men prove that they were deserving of their rights and supremacist privilege?

These views of inferiority are based on sexist and racist stereotypical assumptions that still pervade society today.  The simple fact that these attitudes still exist shows how there are people who are ignorant to the suffering and exploitation of others due to people like themselves who hold and maintain outdated ideological beliefs.

I am of the opinion that many of these views are perpetuated by mainstream media, which still regularly portray women as meek sexual wallflowers in need of saving by men, and ethnic minorities as the cause of many societal issues.  The media is a tool of social control which nobody seems willing to take responsibility for: it can create a degree of passivity or a reluctance to take action on social problems, numbing our response to violence and maintaining a view that the world is a corrupt, evil and negative place.  Consequently, our consumption of such media forms casts a vote for the type of world we wish to live in, solidifying representations of groups in society based on traditionally accepted roles as inherent truths.  This perpetuates gender and racial stereotypes in the media. 

When the value of ethnic minorities is diminished to how their cultural values are a threat to their host society, how immigrants are supposedly ‘stealing’ many of ‘our’ jobs and the increase in criminal activity, we are then seen to be accepting a one-sided, superficial and exaggerated depiction of the real variety, depth and complexity of ethnic groups. 

When the value of women is continuously reliant on whether a woman fits the ideal of sexual beauty and whether she fulfils what society has socialised us into expecting from her sexually, we create a society in which the goal of a woman is to be sexually appealing.  The feminine contribution to society is reduced to looking or being sexy. 

This view of women, ethnic minorities and their opportunities and roles in society must change.

Oversimplified and inaccurate portrayals of these groups have profoundly affected how we perceive and relate to one another and how we value ourselves.  This is why we still need to fight for equality, not just in our own modern states, but in less developed countries where minorities and women are (more often than not) unaware of their rights enshrined in local law.