Social Classes and Class Struggle

Social Classes and Class Struggle

• Social class refers to a group of people within a society who share the same socioeconomic status
• Popular culture often addresses the disparity between social classes
• The middle class, also known as the working class, is the largest and most diverse, living along and beyond the poverty line
• Middle class individuals possess an income sufficient to provide basic necessities, making them the backbone of the economy in most countries
• The upper class is a smaller group with the means to afford basic necessities and invest in luxury, which could result in them being apathetic and self-centered
• The lower class are a large group living along or below the poverty line and lack the means to fulfill all of the basic necessities, who are sympathetic to others

Social Class Systems

• The three classes of upper, middle and lower are remnants of the earlier social classes of the past
• Each country has its own social classes
• The social classes in the past included the Indian caste system
• The Indian caste system is split into two major groups, with one further divided into four sections

Indian Caste System

• The first group of the Indian Caste System is dedicated to service of the nobility and the divine
• The second group of the Indian Caste System is dedicated to the service of the common folk
• The Caste system was borne out of the Islamic Rule in the 13th century, which was further reinforced during the British Occupation
• The Brahmins (Priests) are at the top
• The Khsatriyas (Warriors) are second
• The Vaishyas (Merchants, Landowners) are third
• The Shudras group are servants, subordinate to Vaishyas, Khastriyas and Brahmins
• The Untouchables Or Out of Caste or Subordinates to all, which includes Cobblers, Street Sweepers Latrine Cleaners, who were at the bottom

Filipino Caste System

• The pre-colonial Filipino caste system's highest positions were the datu and the babaylan
• The babaylan was the highest religious position covered by Filipino women and homosexual men
• The datu was the highest position that leads the barangay, where they were elected among the next caste
• The maharlika were feudal lords allied together, they become vassals to the Datu
• The maginoo were a group of people that served under the maharlika as their vassals
• The timawa were people who lived freely and in the service of the land, who include ordinary folk, scholars, and merchants
• The alipin caste is the lowest major caste in the pre-colonial Filipino caste system, which has the aliping namamahay and the aliping saguiguilid

Alipin

• The aliping namamahay caste served as workers of the land, and may not be poor since they get land from higher castes
• They vow to work on the land to support the community, and the land slowly becomes their own if the produce went well
• The aliping saguiguilid were the lowest because they represent actual slaves
• Mostly composed of prisoners of war from other tribes or communities, they work to earn their freedom after which they join the timawa

Casta System

• The Spanish changed the Filipino Caste to put the colonizers on top of the Filipinos when colonizers came
• The Casta system incentivizes taxes based on racial heritage
• Muslims were not classified since they were fighting
• Indians didn't become prolific until the very brief British Occupation, but their mixed-race descendants were classified

Philippine Casta

• The Indios (Filipinos) and Aetas had base taxes and paid the minimum amount of tax
• The Sangleys pay quadruple the base tax due to being Chinese
• They were invaluable to the Spaniards due to skills and business

Blancos / Mestizaje Classification

• The Blancos classifications were exempted from taxes
• The Mestizajes pay taxes, despite having mixed heritage
• Not all members of the mestizaje contain Spanish blood
• A mestizo de sangley were required to pay double the base tax due to their Chinese-Filipino heritages
• Insulares were the first natural-born Filipinos with pure Spanish blood, who were also called Filipinos

Members of the Casta System

• Americanos were simply Spaniards born from the American colonies, who were exempted from paying taxes and held power next to the Peninsulares
• Peninsulares were Spaniards that came from the Iberian Peninsula
• Exempted from paying taxes and held the most power
• The Mestizajes were a varied casta because they comprised of mixed heritages and their own hierarchy

Mestizo Classification

• The mestizo de Español was the intermarriage of a Filipino and a Spaniard, and they paid no taxes since they had Spanish blood
• The tornatras classified either a mestizo de Español with Chinese blood, a mestizo de Sangley with Spanish blood, or someone with Spanish and Chinese blood
• The mestizo de Bombay were people with Filipino and Bombay (i.e., Indian) heritages
• The mestizo de Sangley were people with Filipino and Chinese heritages, and they paid fewer taxes from a Chinese standpoint but paid more than indios

Class Struggles

• Class struggles inevitably follow when there’s a disparity between social classes
• The fall of aristocracy and the Tsardom in Russia marked the beginning of the Soviet Union
• Ernesto “Che” Guevara is a popular icon representing the countercultural movement and rebellion

Historical Class Struggles

• The Katipunan, the local revolts, and the Filipino-American War gave timeless icons like Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, and Diego Silang
• During the Marcos period, people began to notice the rise of cronyism and nepotism
• Political opponents, critics, and activists of the Marcoses and their cronies were detained, leading to events such as the Mendiola Massacre and prominent figures like Benigno “Ninoy Aquino, Jr."

Popular Culture Class Struggles

• Class struggles are evident in Upuan (by GLOC-9), Tatsulok (by Bamboo), Gangsta’s Paradise (by Coolio), Snowpiercer and Parasite, as well as, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression (SOGIE)

• Humans experience several changes in their bodies when they reach the puberty stage, which includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression

Sex vs Gender

• Sex refers to the biological trait that determines one’s reproductive function based on the gametes present (male & female)
• Gender is a spectrum of characteristics of women, men, boys, and girls that are socially constructed, including norms, behaviors, and roles associated with one’s self and their relationship with others

Sexual Orientation

• Sexual orientation describes one’s inclination to another person in terms of romance, emotions, and/or sexual urges

Androphilia & Gynephilia

• Androphilia describes the attraction to men and/or masculinity, where men are gay
• Gynephilia describes attraction to women and/or femininity, where women are lesbians
• Experiencing both androphilia and gynephilia are bisexuals
• Pansexual people are attracted to all people regardless of sexual orientation
• Asexual people have no sexual attraction to other sexual orientations or genders

Gender Identity

• Gender identity is the term used to describe one’s self-evaluation regarding to their gender

Cisgender & Transgender

• People identifying with the sex they are born in are under cisgender, where men are cis-male and women are cis-female
• People identifying with the notion that they were born in the wrong sex are categorized as transgender
• Men who identify as female are transwomen, and women who identify as male are transmen
• Genderqueer identify because their gender does not fall into either cis or trans categories
• Agender do not conform to previous categories

Gender Expression

• Gender expression is how people express their gender through actions, mannerisms, and even through fashion choices

Masculinity & Femininity

• Masculinity is the expression whose qualities or attributes are regarded as characteristically male, such as leadership.
• Femininity is the expression whose qualities or attributes are regarded as characteristically female, such as gentleness
• Also has Androgyny is the expression of both male and female qualities or attributes

Gender Related Topics

• The use of proper pronouns, equality of opportunity and rights, and a need to reduce/eliminate gender discrimination are all issues related to addressing gender identity
• The issues of gender are discussed in Sirena (by GLOC-9 and Ebe Dancel), Freedom! ’90 (by George Michael), Markova: Comfort Gay (by Gil M. Portes)

Race, Racism, & Representation

• Race is the division of the human species into distinct groups based on shared physical and behavioral differences
• Racism is the behaviors/attitudes that reflect and foster the belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits, where differences are superior

Racial Science

• Since the Age of Exploration, the European explorers used racial science to deter would-be rebels and revolutionaries using pseudoscientific research to propagate the concept that one race dominates the others
• Carolus Linnaeus paved the way to accurately differentiate species, sorted and categorized humans into subspecies
• Petrus Camper believed that the ancient Greeks achieved human perfection and used facial angles to rank races on resemblance to his “ideal” appeal
• Johan Friedrich Blumenbach coined “Caucasian” to describe people on Mount Caucasus in Europe and sketched

Racial and Cultural Appropriation

• Racial appropriation subjugates one race for the benefit of another like in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement
• They experienced racial appropriation when the Spaniards took the land for themselves, forcing natives to toil or flee to the mountains
• Indigenous tribes are called Igorot in Luzon and Lumad in Mindanao
• Indigenous peoples butt heads against businesses engaging in deforestation, mining, and quarrying, constructed subdivisions and their land can be placed under militarization by government

Culture

• Cultural appropriation is the use of items from a non-dominant culture that disrespects their origin, reinforces stereotypes, or contributes to racial oppression

Cultural Appropriation

• Prime Example: Whitewashing in visual entertainment, where white people are cast as people of color
• The model minority myth affects Asians in the United States
• Many forms of cultural appropriation include intellectual property, artifacts, dance, clothing, music, food, religious symbols etc

Peace Studies

• Peace studies explores how wars start to prevent/resolve violence and build peaceful/just systems/societies
• An interdisciplinary field that involves political science, sociology, history, anthropology, theology, psychology, philosophy, etc
• In popular culture, peace studies takes on ideologies from countercultures such as the hippie and punk movements