SOC102H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Allan Hubley, Prejudice, Social Inequality
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Habits
of
Inequality
Theory
• All societies display
social inequality of varying kinds
• These social
inequalities are socially constructed: that is, collectively imagined
on the basis of a supposedly important natural difference
Socie
t
es
vary
in
Social
Inequality
• Societies vary in the degree
and kinds of social inequality they display.
–
The Scandinavian
countries show least inequality
–
Canada falls somewhere
near the middle of the pack
• Societies with the widest
variety and intensity of inequality are most likely to
display clear and long
-
lasting patterns we call
"
habits of inequality
"
The Cultural Habits: S
-
N
-
P
-
N
-
S
• All types of social inequality display similar patterns or cultural “habits”
that include the following (S
-
N
-
P
-
N
-
S):
–
Social differentiation
–
Narratives of blame
–
Practices of
oppression
–
Narratives of validation
–
Strategies of
resistance
S'='Social'Differen
tiati
on'
• Social differentiation is the practice of identifying different “kinds”of
people who are assumed to be essentially and importantly different
• E.g., Heterosexuals
vs homosexuals.
Chania (or Xania), Crete
• Last week I visited
Chania (Crete) for a family wedding
• It has been an
important commercial town for 2000 years
• Today, it is a major
tourist destination
Like elsewhere, gay and lesbian peoplehave their own parts of town
1. Dyo Lux Revolution
• Sarpidonos Street 8, Chania,
Greece
2. Tavronitis Beach Chania,
• Crowd : Locals , tourists, not
many oldies .
3. Agioi Apostoloi Beach
• Agion Apostolon Street, Agioi
Apostoloi (Nea Kydonia), Chania,
4. Rapaniana beach
• Chania, Greece3 Ratings
• Crowd : Men looking for sex.
Why do gays and lesbians havetheir own parts of town?
• LGBT communities
develop in every city and tourist town(e.g., Puerto Vallarta)
• What is the value of
cities for minority groups?
• What is the value of
institutional completeness?
Gay Jamie Hubley (Ottawa) killed himself Oct 15, 2011. Theonly openly gay boy
in his school, he had been bullied severely
• A suicide note was
posted on his online blo
• The note spoke of the
pain from both bullying and depression.
• "I'm tired of life, really.
It's so hard, I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore," his note
read.
Christopher Skinner , age 27
Lecture 6-Cities and minorities
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Christopher Skinner , age 27
• was killed on Oct. 18, 2009 after
being beaten up, then struck by a black SUV
on Adelaide St. E. between Yonge and Victoria Streets
• His family made a final appeal last
week for anyone with information on the
case to come forward
• Christopher was gay
• Was this a hate crime; no one
knows.
• The violent circumstances suggest
it may have been
The numbers problem
• Unlike women, who are a majority of the
population; and
• Unlike ethnic or racial groups, classes, or age
groups, which may all be very
large;
• The homosexual and lesbian population is very
small
–
perhaps only 1
-
2 per
cent of the total
population
• Therefore, it is particularly vulnerable to attack and
victimization
Consider the risks
• 98% of the population is heterosexual
–
Some fraction of this majority is strongly
opposed to homosexuality
• Questions:
–
How can homosexuals safely find sexual
partners?
– How can homosexuals safely judge whether and when to “come out”?
–
How can homosexuals create safe, fulfilling lives
for themselves in a dangerous
dangerous world?
Implication
• Faced with ridicule, bullying, violence and
occasionally even murder, this
group has had to develop strong protective strategies
• How and where has it done this, and by
what means?
• How has location made a difference for
homosexuals?
The protective role of cities
• Cities are often said
to be dangerous places
• Are they the worst
places for homosexuals to protect themselves, or the best?
• If suitable, where in
cities should homosexuals locate themselves?
Reliable statistics on homosexuality are scarce
• Data from the Canadian
Census of 2001 found only 34,200 same
-
sex
common
-
law couples
• Homosexuality is the
sexual orientation of only a small social minority
• Canadian, US, and other
studies suggest that only about 2
-
3% of sexually
active men and 1
-
2% of sexually active women are currently homosexual
Debates flourish about numbers
• Homosexuals in cities
are more concentrated insome neighbourhoods
• The homosexual
population may reach 10per cent or more in
neighbourhoods
where they are concentrated
• There is debate about
how properly to define and measure homosexuality
The problem they face: homophobia
• Homophobia is
conventionally defined as a fear or hatred of homosexuals
• The term bhomophobia`
implies that anti
-
gay prejudice is an irrational feeling
based mainly on fear and, consequently, a defense mechanism
Likely, this is incorrect
• Likely, opposition against
gays and lesbians is not a phobia, but a learned
subcultural attitude
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