Why “normality” has created oppression and halted progress?
Why “normality” has created oppression and halted progress.
To understand the main point of this article we must first truly understand oppression and its many types. Due to the intricacy of oppression, many people either have a rudimentary understanding of the concept or reject the philosophy and definitions underpinning it wholeheartedly. Everyone has the capacity to oppress others in a variety of ways, therefore if one wants to prevent hurting other people, it is more important to acknowledge how one's own attitudes, convictions, and behaviour may be oppressive.
The term "oppression" refers to a wide range of institutional attitudes, convictions, and behaviours that favour one group more than others.
One main form pertaining to oppression is stereotypes. Everybody harbours stereotypes and bias, and most of the time they are advantageous. They can be true perceptions and operate as short cuts for interacting in different circumstances. The problem is that these impressions may not always be true, which can result in attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours toward a person that are inappropriate for their character and way of life.
Another important aspect of oppression is privilege. A person's privileges and family history make up their heritage; they were neither chosen nor earned by them. The ability to identify one's own entitlement past and to restrain oppressive ideas, attitudes, and behaviours are among essential skills. Historical occurrences like how African Americans have been treated in the United States over the years are examples of privilege. White European Americans were mostly exempt from slavery regulations; they also had access to land and significant social influence over Black people. Due to historical precedence, these were provided to white European men and women from birth rather than having to ask for them. A person's privileges frequently go unnoticed by those who enjoy them, but those who do not are painfully obvious. For instance, unless a person has personally experienced something, if they have a loved one who is not able-bodied, or if they are aware of their own privilege due to being healthy and able-bodied, it can be common for that person to be unable to comprehend the products and services that are utilized by people who are disabled or handicapped.
One powerful group or individual frequently harms or restricts a weaker group or individual during oppression. Power can be hard to measure or comprehend beyond feeling or sensing it. There are a lot of social settings where it's easy to see who has power. Those with fewer resources can be influenced and controlled by wealthy individuals. Those with higher levels of education are more likely to control others and obtain higher-status employment than those with lower levels of education. Power, on the other hand, strongly correlates with privilege. It is possible for someone to gain power without having privilege; however, it is typically easier for someone who has a history based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, wealth, religion, or other characteristics to do so. Those who rise to power without privilege may also experience oppression in those categories where they lack privilege. Such as a wealthy minority woman who is discriminated against based on her race or sexism.
Power, privilege, and prejudice are all components of oppression. Some people are born with a lot of privileges, and if they have a history of being entitled, it may be easier for them to have power over groups that don't have that privilege. When someone with privilege has prejudices against someone, not because they know them personally but because of the stereotypes they represent, oppression becomes harmful.
The trade of carpentry is where the term "normal" got its start. Things based on "normal" numbers were constructed using a box with fixed measurements. The term was first used by eugenicist Francis Galton to describe human behaviour and characteristics. Galton was of the opinion that some people were unfit and put society in danger when they had children.
Through his work, the idea of "living up to standard" took over as the definition of "normal" from the carpentry standard. Eugenicists used his ideas because he thought that some people should be sterilized and shouldn't be able to reproduce. These people were frequently from undesirable nations, had physical disabilities, were not white, and frequently lived in poverty. Nazi Germany also used his ideas to justify genocide, Adolf Hitler's dream was to create a perfect and purified society of white, blonde, and blue-eyed Arians. The Soviet Union also used these ideas to discriminate against non-Slavic citizens of the union such as Kazakhs and Turks.
Since Galton proposed concepts that were used to create a greater-than-and-less-than series of entitlements, the concepts behind "normal" have been used as justifications for prejudices and stereotypes when considering the components of oppression. People were categorized as being lower or higher than others prior to his work, but neither terms nor published works supported these classifications.
People are compelled to adhere to predetermined standards by occupation. These standards are set by people in positions of power and privilege, frequently in ways that are unrealistic and hinder progress. An oppressive group might make it necessary for people to change their behaviour to meet these standards under certain circumstances.
For instance, heterosexist individuals frequently hold the belief that homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity, queerness, intersex identity, and asexuality are all abnormal.
When we start to believe that ideas and beliefs should only follow one path, we limit our understanding and enlightenment. Normalcy has only brought about hate and despair, we need to open ourselves up to change and progression. In order to progress we must accept other ideas in order to improve our own, as the saying goes nothing is perfect so what is normal?
Comments
Post a Comment