I have been sitting on this entry for quite a while thinking
on what the best way to present my thoughts would be. I have to thank Netflix
and Dustin Hoffman for giving me the springboard I needed to tackle this issue.
Though life can be MUCH worse, I think that people underestimate the difference
life is if you are born as a minority in any way. While I think MAJOR obstacles
and deliberate pushes in the right direction have been taken, it is difficult
and it is difficult to understand if you are in the majority.
I’m in the minority of being a woman (and that isn’t even by
numbers, probably, but in terms of historical power, etc.), but I’m in a racial
majority in the United States as a white woman. I think that puts me and others
like me in a unique position. I’ve found that I enhance the parts that I
experience as a minority a little more than those I don’t experience. I think
that’s simply the reason, is that I DON’T experience them. In the words of
Dustin Hoffman in the video below, I do NOT know or understand how my life
would be different if I was a racial or sexual orientation minority. I don’t
know if I would be in the same place. I’d like to think so, but after
experiencing some of the most ridiculous things for simply being a woman, I
would assume that other types of minorities experience them too. And Hoffman’s realization is what I would
probably come to given being actually put in that position.
Netflix helped me come to this topic as I was SO excited to
see the older Disney animated movies starting to make an appearance. Though my
favorite is Little Mermaid, my second favorite, Mulan has been added to instant
streaming. I settled in for a nice lazy afternoon watching, but I ended up
becoming more emotional than I expected and it was kind of surprising. At the
end of the movie, when Mulan is trying to warn the city and its occupants of an
impending attack, she says to her former friends and militia group (not sure of
the correct term), You said you’d trust Ping (her male, warrior alter ego) with
your life, why is Mulan any different?” That bothered the HECK out of me! That
one line explains how I feel in a lot of different situations at work, out and
about, over the phone, etc. Why is it that I get asked to get things off
copiers or my other female counterparts asked if they are administrative
assistants and the male employees don’t experience that? Why is it that I have
to drag my boyfriend, male boss or a male friend to an automotive shop so that
I won’t get taken advantage of? Why do I have to change the way I act and dress
because I’d be inviting violent behavior from men (this is based upon SEVERAL
news stories of rape and sexual assault that erupted in victim blaming)? Yeah,
WHY?
I think if we all asked what Dustin Hoffman asked in this
video, we’d be WAY more understanding of others’ plights. I think we’d be able
to see issues that may not be as obvious and make issues that EVERYONE
experiences more obvious. I think
sometimes it’s easy to blame something out of your control, i.e. being a woman,
on failures or shortcomings that are within your control. Having other
individuals who can see a different perspective and who are trying to see yours
is SUPREMELY helpful. I’ve found myself in that position often, and sometimes,
the best advice comes from people who aren’t living it, but who very much have
thought about and attempted to understand the situations that I find myself in.
I challenge y’all and myself to do that as often as you can! How would your
life be different if you were born a different race, sex, sexual orientation,
national origin, socioeconomic status, etc.?
