tBlog -

posted by: Cutter (reply)
post date: 08.26.06 (10:11 am)

looking back at this, I think that it says something about who I was at the time I wrote the entry that I felt the need to put the word "white" in parentheses before the word doctor. That I felt the need to does actually say something about my own racist programming.

It would have been less potentially offensive to non-white people if I'd have not used the parentheses. With the parentheses, it implies that "white" was an afterthought... as if part of me thought that the word wasn't even really needed... which could be interpreted that I thought that because he was a doctor, of course he was white!

SirThinksalot is working overtime I think.

posted by: Cutter (reply)
post date: 08.26.06 (1:26 pm)

...to say nothing of the fact that instead of saying "a (black) nurse", or "a black nurse", I said "a black woman" didn't strike me as potentially offensive at the time.

*smacks self*

posted by: lindy (reply)
post date: 08.27.06 (6:21 am)

Goodness, Cutter. This is right by the balls. And it's perfect. I feel like throwing up when I see a white guy claiming to be unbiased by justifying that he tells white jokes too. There is a right way to acknowledge our differneces and there are so many wrong ways. For quite a few years, I tried to achieve the idea of being color blind, but.. that seems to completely negate the black struggle for equality that has yet to be achieved. The same applies for women's equality and other minorities. I got angry at a black woman some time ago for discriminating against me, but in my head, I kept tossing around all the abstacles she's probably come up against before I crossed her path. I would hope that people are only interested in knowing their baby's gender ahead of time out of curiosity and in order to pick out nursery colors.. anything else is inappropriate and proves we have a long way to go. Excellent post, sir.

posted by: Cutter (reply)
post date: 08.27.06 (7:18 am)

Reply to: lindy
Pink for girls and blue for boys is completely sexist and helps to hand down the already existing stereotypes.

You can never know your baby's gender ahead of time. Gender (Masculine and Feminine) is something that is determined by society, based on a person's behavior and choices. There are many feminine men, and many masculine women. Both are treated poorly, of course.

The baby's sex, is stereotyped by whether or not the baby is growing an outy, rather than an inny. Based on that stereotype, the baby is then usually forced to adhere to the "appropriate" gender stereotype, after being born. If you're an "inny", you're supposed to call yourself a girl or a woman, and are supposed to be feminine, submissive, and attracted to "outies". If you're an "outy", you're supposed to call yourself a boy or a man, and are supposed to be masculine, dominant, and attracted to "innies".

pink is a lighter, gentle color (faded red, really.
blue is a strong primary color

Just the way I see things, I guess... but as I've said, to me it IS ALL about sex, gender, and sexuality.

Thanks for the compliment on the post. :)