The Impact Of Social Order On Me: Race, Gender And Class

Social order can be defined as the system that links social classes, groups, economic classes, beliefs, cultural traditions and norms to work in unison with each other. Every country and region have its own peculiar social order. In Western societies, social order revolves around racial ethnic, class, and gender inequality. This can be said the same about here in Grenada. The social order in Grenada can be listed as follows: Class, race, shade, Sexual orientation, Religion. Returning back to this social order, I both benefit and consequently hurt by it.

Being mixed race, with a lighter skin completion, I benefit directly from it. Colorism is very prevalent here in Grenada. People with light skin ‘earn more money, complete more years of schooling, live in better neighborhoods, and marry higher-status people than darker-skinned people of the same race or ethnicity’. This statement is unfortunately true here in Grenada. There is no logic behind colorism or why it even happens. I subconsciously observe subtle differences in the way I am treated by Grenadians compared to darker skinned friends and even some of my family. On occasions where I forget my ID, the security guards will be forgiving and laugh with me, on the contrary when my darker skin friend forgets her ID, she gets told off. Although I may have lighter skin, I am still a colored person, and likewise would experience some stratification against it. I still will lose opportunities if I am compared to or competing against a white person. When I walk into a store, I still get followed around by security.

Class is another way I may benefit from in the social order. Being of the middle class, I am provided opportunities that I may not be provided if I was in the lower class. I am also fortunate that I attended private school in the secondary and primary stage, and likewise able to continue to my education here at SGU. Some of the privilege I have may not be offered to a person of a lower class. It is no surprise that I have been treated differently purely based off of my race, gender and class. The scenarios I experience can come on completely different ends of the spectrum. Sometimes being treated differently can come with some positives, however there will be some negatives experiences as well. I will firstly talk about how I am treated differently because of my gender. Being a woman comes with being discriminated and oppressed upon. I am constantly being treated differently because of my gender. To be denied certain opportunities and advantages to my male counterparts, is just an example. In response to these situations, I am very expressive and quick to address the blatant sexism. Though I may be expressive, I ensure I do so as politely and insightful as possible. I ensure that I am not being rude, but rather use this moment to educate these people and ensure it does not happen to any female again. When it comes to race, I receive both positive and negative treatment. In Grenada, sometimes as mentioned in a previous chapter can be to my benefit. I often receive ‘special’ or different treatment compared to my friends and even family. The way I react to scenarios like those examples, involves self-reflection. Some may assume I take advantage of these advantages I am given, however this leaves me wondering and debating the logic of the special treatment I receive.

I can also recall the many stares and questions I receive when I go anywhere with my mother. We have different skin colors, this leads to the epidemy to the endless questions and assumptions about are relationships. Instead of being rude to these people, I try to internalize in their perspective. Not being of the upper class, but rather the middle class, I am sometimes treated differently. I did have the privilege to attend ‘Westmorland School’, a private school which is often associated with the upper class. When I did attend this school, students from the other schools would make nasty remarks behind our backs. The response I gave these people was an insight of the actuality of my life. ‘Intersectionality’, can be defined as the ‘The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage; a theoretical approach based on such a premise. ’ An example of intersectionality will be the scenario of a black trans woman in a workplace. Not only would she be discriminated upon and face racism, she would also face sexism and homophobia in her workplace. Her characteristics such as her; race, gender and even sexuality all overlap and work against her. I face the intersectionality due to my shade, gender and class.

I am a female, in the middle class with lighter completion. I will experience intersectionality less severely than a woman in the example I provided. I will also be discriminated upon due to being female here in Grenada. At school or even in everyday life activities I am face discrimination due to my gender. I also face some discrimination, but not as extreme as darker skinned women. And lastly for my class. Majority of the population are in the middle class.