Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice, 2nd Edition PDF

Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Important: Upcoming Downtime - Top Hat will be unavailable due to planned maintenance Learn More from Oct 20 1am - 4am (CST) Mackenzie My Library / Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards J… Search eText CHAPTER 2: Forms of Oppression This content is read-only Fullscreen CHAPTER 1: Diversity, Oppression, and Privilege CHAPTER 2: Forms of Oppression “I got my army; nothing can harm me…fall back.” https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 1 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM ESMA (2014) LEARNING OUTCOMES By mastering this unit, students will gain the skills and ability to: identify the formal and informal mechanisms within society (both past and present) that cause or reinforce di!erent forms of oppression examine the social, psychological, and political e!ects of stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and oppression on diverse groups understand the intersectionality of systems of privilege through the “ism” prism, and consider the implications for social change develop strategies for the ongoing examination of oppressive assumptions, biases, and prejudice; learning how to change oppressive systems; and creating more socially just and equitable societies https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 2 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM The women’s suffrage movement in Canada arose as a response to oppression. The goal of this movement was to address equity, justice, and human rights issues for the purpose of improving lives in Canada. In addition to political justice, including women’s right to vote and run for office, this social movement was also concerned about women’s access to education, improvements in healthcare, and the end of violence against women and children (Status of Women Canada, 2009). Even though women nearly equalled men in numbers, they did not have the right to vote in federal elections in Canada until 1918. The right for women to vote in provincial elections spanned many years—with women first winning this right in Manitoba in 1916, and with Quebec being the last province to grant this right to women in 1940 (Status of Women Canada, 2009). Even then, there were questions as to how far women’s rights extended: under Canadian law, were they “persons” entitled to sit in the Senate? So, in 1927, a group of women from Alberta known as the “Famous Five”— Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney, and Henrietta Muir Edwards—asked the Supreme Court of Canada to answer the question, “Does the word ‘person’ in Section 24 of the B.N.A. [British North America] Act include female persons?” (Status of Women Canada, 2009). Known now in Canadian history as the “Persons Case,” they sought to have women legally considered a “person” under the law so that a woman could be eligible for appointment to the Canadian Senate. After weeks of debate, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that for the purpose of eligibility to be appointed to the Senate, the word “person” did not include women. Though shocked by the decision of the https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 3 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM word “person” did not include women. Though shocked by the decision of the court, the Famous Five didn’t give up their battle. Instead, they took their case to the Privy Council in Britain, at that time the highest court of appeal for Canadians. The Privy Council overturned the Supreme Court decision on October 18, 1929, and in 1930, Cairine Wilson became the first woman appointed to the Senate in Canada (Status of Women Canada, 2009). Fast forward 87 years to January 27, 2017, as an estimated five million women and men worldwide and over one million in Washington, D.C. joined together with coalitions of marchers across the world in an international movement committed to equality, diversity, inclusion, and the recognition of women’s rights as human rights (Women’s March Global, 2017). From coast to coast across Canada, approximately 120 000 people participated in over 35 sister marches (Women’s March Canada, 2017). So why was everyone marching? The mission of Women’s March Global was to bring together persons wanting to defend women’s rights in the face of what they describe as “the rising rhetoric of far-right populism around the world” (Women’s March Global, 2017). Following the march, the ensuing hatred for feminism and feminists expressed through social media and the use of newspaper slogans such as “She the People” caused many in Canada to pause and wonder how far we had come in terms of ending gender oppression since the Privy Council’s decision defined women as “persons” under the law. One of the goals of the women’s suffrage movement in Canada was to end violence against women. Yet, some 80 years later, violence against women remains a significant social problem in Canada (see Chapter 4 for further discussion). Cyber violence, which includes online stalking, harassment, and threats, has emerged as a new form of violence against women. How, then, do we end gender oppression and all forms of oppression in https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 4 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM How, then, do we end gender oppression and all forms of oppression in Canadian society? We know that oppression is dynamic and multidimensional; it can vary according to historical and social contexts. As such, we need to be cautious in offering single and universal causal explanations and solutions for oppression, as it is a complex social phenomenon (Mullaly, 2010). The practical and political dimensions of critical social theory can be useful as they advocate a transformation of society for the purpose of liberating those who are oppressed (Leonard, 1990). According to Agger (1989), critical social theory needs to include the following: awareness about current forms of oppression to envision a future emancipated from domination and exploitation; recognition of oppression as a structural phenomenon that affects people’s everyday lives and is reproduced through the conscious and unconscious internalization of dominant-subordinate relationships; the power of individual and collective agency to create social change in people’s everyday lives, making them responsible for their own liberation; and recognition that liberation is not achieved through the oppression of others, including oppressors (Mullaly, 2010). FIVE FACES OF OPPRESSION Iris Young (1990) argued that most forms of oppression today are embedded in the everyday practice of well-intentioned liberal societies; both the oppressed and the oppressors are often unaware of the dynamics of domination. Some tend to think that oppression happens because of the deliberate and malevolent intentions of dominant groups within a society. But oppression can often remain unidentified because “it mostly occurs through the systemic constraints on subordinate groups, which take the form of unquestioned https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 5 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM norms, behaviours, and symbols, and in the underlying assumptions of institutional rules” (Mullaly, 2010). Young (2004) suggests that oppression has five forms, all involving the abuse of power. All oppressed groups will experience at least one or more of these forms of oppression: 1. Exploitation involves the unfair use of people’s time or labour and failure to compensate them fairly. 2. Marginalization refers to an act of exclusion that forces minority groups to the fringes of society. 3. Powerlessness occurs when the dominant group leavesthe subordinate group with virtually no access to the rights and privileges enjoyed by the powerful. When the subordinate group comes to believe that they deserve this unfair treatment, its members are described as living in a “culture of silence.” 4. Cultural imperialism describes the condition when the dominant group has made their beliefs and values the norms of a society. 5. Violence can involve physical attacks, constant fear that violence will occur, or stigmatization of members of a subordinate group through harassment, ridicule, and intimidation (Young, 2004). STEREOTYPES, PREJUDICE, AND DISCRIMINATION The consequences of power are manifest in every interaction in society, at all levels. Regardless of whether power is expressed between individuals (a bully abusing a weaker individual), or by a dominant group imposing its beliefs and https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 6 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM abusing a weaker individual), or by a dominant group imposing its beliefs and values on a minority group (society celebrating Christian holidays to the exclusion of other religions), the end result is the same: unfair and in many cases illegal and often inhumane treatment. Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination grow from the unequal distribution of power, creating dominant and subordinate groups in society and allowing the subjugation of one in favour of the other. The relationships that exist between groups may be real in and of themselves, but all of the players within the groups create or “socially construct” their own realities of those relationships. Those who hold power in society are able to stereotype and discriminate against weaker individuals or groups, whether that weakness is real or perceived. Stereotypes We routinely use labels to categorize people, places, and things. However, stereotypes generalize about the behaviours and characteristics associated with members of those categories. We often use stereotypes because doing so is easy: we do not have to think as hard when we use them. For example, if you were asked for words to describe rock concerts, senior citizens, tattoos, and school, you would likely use stereotypes (“rowdy,” “frail,” “edgy,” “cliquey”) as part of your descriptions. So what’s wrong with using stereotypes? Well, stereotypes have been described as “‘mental cookie cutters’—they force simple patterns on a complex mass and assign a limited number of characteristics to all members of a group” (Nachbar & Lause, 1992). While stereotypes may have some basis in fact, they have been grossly overgeneralized and applied to an entire segment of the population or an entire situation. When we stereotype, we ignore all individual characteristics about the individuals in that group or about the https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 7 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM specific situation. For example, if we say that women are bad drivers or sociology lectures are boring, we fail to take into account the number of women who are excellent drivers, and the sociology lectures that are fun and exciting. People learn about the world through varying forms of the media, such as television, magazines, movies, and the Internet, and these can play a role in creating stereotypes. The collective media shape young minds today through overgeneralized, value-laden images that perpetuate stereotypical myths about different cultural groups (Chung, 2007). For example, did you grow up watching Disney movies? They have been a part of our lives for what seems like forever. How old were you when you began to realize that the characters in those movies had certain predictable qualities? One group of researchers analyzed 26 popular Disney movies and found consistent use of stereotypes in the presentation of male and female characters. Disney’s males express their emotions through physical actions; they cannot restrain their sexual responses; they are strong and heroic by nature; they do not perform domestic work; and if overweight, they are slow and unintelligent. In contrast, Disney’s females are valued more for their beauty than their intellect; they are helpless and need male protection; their work focuses on household chores, and their goals focus on marriage; and if overweight, they are mean, ugly, and unattached (Towbin, Haddock, Zimmerman, Lund, & Tanner, 2003). Though stereotypes seem harmless, when children grow up watching these images repeatedly, they can begin to believe that every woman should be like Cinderella, Belle, or Snow White, and every man should act like Aladdin or John Smith, because these images help to establish what pass for norms in our society. The mass media, in all their various forms, teach society what the acceptable and normal roles are for both men and women (Hammer, 2009). https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 8 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM acceptable and normal roles are for both men and women (Hammer, 2009). Prejudice In his seminal book The Nature of Prejudice, American psychologist Gordon Allport defines prejudice as “an antipathy [negative feeling] based on faulty and inflexible generalization. It may be felt or expressed. It may be directed toward a group or an individual of that group” (Allport, 1954, p. 9). Prejudice is very similar to stereotyping but it involves a prejudging https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 9 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM is very similar to stereotyping but it involves a prejudging component, and prejudice is often a precursor to discriminatory behaviour. When individuals are prejudiced, they have preconceived notions—usually negative—about a group of people, based on their physical, cultural, or social characteristics. So, if you have a problem with your roommate because he or she is messy (“Chris is a slob”), you are likely not guilty of prejudice. However, if you stereotype your roommate because of his or her religion, gender, or ethnicity, that can be a form of prejudice. Sometimes prejudice can result from ethnocentric attitudes, or ethnocentrism. This refers to the practice of assuming that the standards of your own culture are universally normal and superior to other cultures. Do you know Dr. Seuss’s story of the Sneetches? The Sneetches were yellow bird-like creatures who lived on the beach. Some of them had green stars on their bellies and others were plain-bellied. The star-bellied Sneetches thought they were much better than the plain-bellied Sneetches and treated them rather unfairly. They called them names and forbade them from attending their marshmallow roasts. One day Mr. McBean came to the beach with a machine that could put stars on the plain-belled Sneetches—for a fee, of course. The original starbellied Sneetches then decided it was much better to be plain- bellied, and Mr. McBean obliged in removing their stars—for a larger fee, of course. The foolishness of adding and removing stars went on until the Sneetches had no money left at all. At the end of the story, all of the Sneetches realized the folly of their poor treatment of their fellow Sneetches and agreed it was much better to accept each other as they were, regardless of the number or placement of their stars (Seuss, 1961). https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 10 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM PICTURE THIS... Picture This Question 2.1 Review Many feel that Disney princess movies perpetuate stereotypical gender https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 11 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Many feel that Disney princess movies perpetuate stereotypical gender roles. Do you agree? Why, or why not? Are the main characters in newer Disney princess movies, such as The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Brave, less stereotypical? Your Answer No answer submitted Ethnocentrism is just one of the many “isms” used to refer to negative feelings https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 12 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Ethnocentrism is just one of the many “isms” used to refer to negative feelings and attitudes. “These types of attitudes can be expressed as “isms” (ageism, sexism, racism, etc.) and refer to a way of thinking about other persons based on negative stereotypes about race, age, sex, etc.” (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2008). While ageism, sexism, racism, ableism, and other forms of “isms” don’t always result in discriminatory action, they are often the cause of discrimination and harassment (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2008). Therefore, it is important from a human rights perspective to address acts of discrimination and also the “isms” that contribute to unfair treatment. The “Ism” Prism The injustices done by the powerful to the powerless can be seen as rays of light through the lens of a prism: we see them refract into a set of “isms” that can contribute to the oppression of non-dominant groups (see Figure 2.2). For example, age, when refracted through the prism, becomes ageism. It transforms from a concept to an “ism,” altered by the influences and biases of social interactions, self-perceptions, power relations, and a host of other effects that determine how people relate to each other based on age. Characteristics such as class, race, ability, gender, and size go through the same process, passing through the prism to become “isms” in their own way, determined perhaps by family relations, ethnicity, religion, and (always) power. The “isms” that exist in society multiply in number as dominant groups increasingly marginalize groups that are different from the norm, groups that lack the power and resources to resist the stereotyping and prejudice that lead to discrimination. The examples listed below are merely a few of the common “isms” that exist today. https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 13 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Ableism Ableism refers to the set of ideas and attitudes that define “normal” abilities of people and that allocates inferior status and value to individuals who have developmental, emotional, physical, or psychiatric disabilities. This can result in discrimination against those perceived to be “disabled” (see Chapter 11). The authors of one study looked at over 300 000 records of employment and found that it is not just the disability itself that causes discrimination, but also the stigma that surrounds it. These authors found that it did not matter whether the disability was apparent or existed in a record of employment: it still had an effect on workplace discrimination. Workers with current or https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 14 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM still had an effect on workplace discrimination. Workers with current or previous disabilities, including mental illness, epilepsy, diabetes, and PTSD, experienced discrimination that affected hiring, promotion, reinstatement, and reasonable accommodation (Draper, Hawley, McMahon, & Reid, 2012). Ageism The term ageism refers to the stereotyping of and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age. Examples include the tendency to view seniors as unable to work, confused, and fragile, and young people as undisciplined and erratic. Ageism can lead to discriminating against people based on their age, which is illegal, whether it involves a landlord who refuses to rent an apartment to a young couple, or a business that refuses to hire a qualified older person for a job. Age is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. IN THEIR SHOES If a picture can say a thousand words, imagine the stories your shoes could tell! Try this student story on for size – have you walked in this student’s shoes? My name is Cameron. I am told by my grandmother that I was a very happy https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 15 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM My name is Cameron. I am told by my grandmother that I was a very happy child until about the age of 5 or so. Then I became very depressed and very withdrawn. This was because of a major depressive episode that ended up lasting 11 years. This was brought on by two mentally and physically abusive family members and severe bullying at school. I would get kicked down two flights of concrete stairs by other students several times a day. I would be physically assaulted sometimes in the middle of class and often I would be chased home with knives and baseball bats, and no one ever tried to stop it— not teachers, not parents, not even the principal. At age 10, a neighbour began to abuse me physically, mentally, and sexually— this went on most days for four years. I never said anything because he and his friends said they would frame me for the same thing if I ever spoke about it. In Grade 8, I went to a private school to get away from my public school problems. The principal hated little boys and decided to take this out on me every morning all school year long. She would haul me into her office and scream at me for about an hour because she hated me. After which point I would be locked in a windowless broom closet for the rest of the day without bathroom breaks until one of the secretaries would unlock the door and say, “I’ve distracted her, run boy, the last bus for home is leaving.” I always had a rough home life. My mom would make it her mission to get us all to fight every day and then patch things up by the end of the evening, only to get into an unwarranted screaming match the next day. She would often call up my father at work and tell him I had done something bad, which I had not. He would come racing home from work and scream at me and sometimes threaten to beat me up. My brother who is much older was just as manipulative as my mom. He moved out young and I would visit him most weekends. He spent the entire time I was with him telling me how he was https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 16 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM weekends. He spent the entire time I was with him telling me how he was planning on taking as much cash as he could from my parents and then just disappearing into the night, and he expected me to do the same eventually. He left four years ago. I speak to him maybe four times a year for a few minutes each time. I had a series of abusive relationships with other men. All but one was abusive in many different ways. One had attempted to rape me and get me to contract AIDS. I would have been 14 at the time. Fortunately, I was able to escape him. When I was 16, I developed wildly fluctuating bipolar disorder. Also that year, I had what is known medically as a first episode psychosis or, as it’s more commonly known, a complete mental breakdown. I spent six weeks in the psychiatric ward of my local hospital where I attempted suicide several times. I had my second overdose at this point (my first was at age 10). I began self- mutilating in addition to the anorexia I had had since Grade 6. This gave me a way to punish myself. I felt if this many people had tried to hurt me, I must have done something to deserve it. I was diagnosed with bipolar type 2 with psychotic features, a rather severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder. It took six months for everything to stabilize, and then an additional 3.5 years spent in a “walking coma” before I was fully healed. This is extremely hard to write all of this. It is hard to remember everyone I’ve told my life story to— absolutely hundreds of mental health professionals, teachers, professors, and everyday people, and it never gets any easier. I am shaking from head to toe and I feel sick, but this has to be mentioned. I refuse to live in silence. It is unfortunate how we live in a society where when someone gets a physical illness that almost ends their lives, people automatically rush in with love and support, but if I was to tell people https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 17 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM automatically rush in with love and support, but if I was to tell people something small, like that I suffer from bipolar disorder or I take psychiatric medications, they will always look at me with fear and hate, like I am a beast who must live his days in exile. All this over what other people willingly and consciously chose to do to me starting at a very young age. Society had me marked for death. So please, I ask just one thing of you: I sincerely hope and pray that after reading this, you will be kind when someone seems a little strange, or if they mention they suffer from mental illness, be a kind ear and a warm heart, then maybe my words, and my life, will not have been in vain. In Their Shoes 2.1 In this chapter's “In Their Shoes” feature, Cameron recounts his story, which includes several abusive relationships and a history of mental illness. Cameron asks that you “be kind when someone seems a little strange.” Which type of discrimination is Cameron attempting to combat? A ageism B ableism C sizeism D classism https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 18 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Age discrimination is difficult to prove in a court of law, but that doesn’t stop those being treated unfairly from trying. In London, Ontario, seven women aged 60 or more are taking an age-discrimination suit against their former employer, InStore Focus, to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. Employed as “brand ambassadors” who offered product samples to customers, the women had between 3 and 15 years of service with the company. However, they were let go after being told that they didn’t fit the image the store wanted. According to one woman, “My manager called me and said, ‘I have some bad news, (the store) is profiling and they no longer want to use you. They want soccer moms, they feel soccer moms shop for children’” (Hensen, 2012). The women lost needed income, suffered serious blows to their self-esteem, and now face the daunting task of finding new employment. However, age discrimination is not limited to older adults. The President and CEO of Volunteer Canada reports that young volunteers today feel the sting of discrimination “while seeking, and receiving volunteer responsibilities. They feel discounted by other volunteers and say they are given the simpler types of tasks that nobody else would want to do” (Volunteer Canada, 2012). Classism Classism refers to the systematic oppression of subordinate classes by dominant class groups in order to gain advantage and strengthen their own positions. Examples of classist attitudes include the belief that one occupation is better than another, that poor people are impoverished because they don’t https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 19 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM is better than another, that poor people are impoverished because they don’t budget their money properly, and that working-class people are less intelligent than upper-class people (OPIRG, 2012). Over 30 years ago, economist Bradley R. Schiller found empirical evidence of classism when he measured the relative socio-economic achievements of black and white adolescents. Schiller’s research showed that class discrimination was potentially as evident and harmful as racial discrimination to black youths who came from impoverished backgrounds (Schiller, 1971). Classist attitudes are the basis for class discrimination, and they affect everyone. For example, have you ever had to complete a peer evaluation at work or school? In one study, almost 250 students answered a range of questions aimed at measuring their class biases, including the statement, “During an in-class presentation, I would rate a poor person’s performance lower than a wealthier person’s performance.” Analysis of the results of the study found that some students demonstrated negative biases toward classmates they perceived to be poor. In addition, students evaluating their peers allocated lower grades to students who were financially poor but higher performing—grades that differed greatly than assigned by the teachers, while female students were more likely to grade harshly than males (Sadler & Good, 2006; Moorman & Wicks-Smith, 2012). Heterosexism Heterosexism refers to the belief in the natural superiority of heterosexuality as a way of life and its logical right to social dominance. Comprised of a system of ideas and institutionalized beliefs, it leads to the oppression of any non-heterosexual form of behaviour, identity, relationship, or community. https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 20 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM or community. One well-known example of heterosexism concerns the experience of Canadian teenager Marc Hall, who took the Durham (Ontario) Catholic District School Board to court in 2002 after his principal refused to allow Hall to bring his boyfriend to the prom. On the day of the prom, Justice Robert McKinnon issued an injunction that ordered the school to allow Hall to go to the prom with the date of his choice. Eventually, though, Hall dropped the case against the school board in 2005 when he learned it would likely take years to resolve the case (Kennedy, 2012). His story was portrayed in the television movie Prom Queen in 2004. But while Hall’s initiative had a positive outcome, the suicide of Ottawa teenager Jamie Hubley, who took his life in 2011 after enduring years of anti-gay bullying in school, demonstrates the devastating consequences that heterosexism can have (CBC News, 2011). Racism Racism is a set of ideas that asserts the supremacy of one group over others based on biological or cultural characteristics, accompanied by the power to put these beliefs into practice to the exclusion of minority men and women. While scientists argue that race has no genetic basis, the concept of “race” is real enough in its consequences. Basically, it comes down to how race is socially constructed as a label attached to a system of power that has the ability to oppress or privilege, depending on the meanings and values assigned to it and on who is doing the assigning. Fashion magazines provide excellent examples of race as a social construct. In countless instances, dark-skinned and Hispanic models and celebrities, such as Queen Latifah, Beyoncé, Tyra Banks, Rihanna, Halle Berry, and Jennifer https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 21 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Lopez, are “whitewashed” through digital enhancement and given lighter skin to appeal to the dominant demographic of the fashion market (Kite, 2011). And it’s not just in advertising—where there’s profit to be had—that those in power manipulate individual and collective perceptions of race. In 2012, Mark Carney, then governor of the Bank of Canada, issued a formal apology for mishandling the design of the new polymer $100 bill (Isfeld, 2012). The original design showed an Asian-looking woman peering into a microscope. However, before the design was released, focus groups indicated that some people thought portraying a scientist as Asian reflected an ethnic stereotype, as well as being unfair in representing only one ethnic group on a denomination of money. In response, the bank ordered the bill to be redrawn with the image of a woman of “neutral ethnicity”— who in fact appeared to be Caucasian (The Canadian Press, 2012). It was a public relations fiasco. How would you define “neutral ethnicity”? Do you see the Bank of Canada’s re- imaging as anything different from the “whitewashing” that’s done in the advertising industry? Do you think that, in a society espousing multiculturalism and ethnic diversity, the Bank of Canada’s action was narrow- minded? Does it constitute racism? Sexism Sexism refers to the belief that one gender is superior to the other. Sexism often results in discrimination against or the devaluation of that gender and the roles related to it. How prevalent is sexism? Results from a recent study reveal startling information about gender bias in the sciences. Researchers sent out 127 fake resumes to male and female science professors throughout the United States. https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 22 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM resumes to male and female science professors throughout the United States. The resumes contained application materials from a fictional undergraduate student applying for the position of lab manager. On 63 applications, the student’s name was John; on 64 applications, the student’s name was Jennifer. Every other piece of the application was identical—the resume, GPA, references, and portfolio. The researchers also made sure to match the groups of professors receiving the resumes in terms of age distribution, scientific fields, proportion of males and females, and tenure status. Both male and female professors consistently regarded the female student applicant as less competent and less hireable than the identical male student. On a scale of 1 to 5, the average competency rating for the male applicant was 4.05, compared to 3.33 for the female applicant. The average salary offered to the male was $30 238.10, while the female was offered $26 507.94 (Moss-Racussin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, & Handelsman, 2012). Could these discrepancies offer a reasonable explanation for differences between the numbers of men and women who practise in the physical sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy? Sizeism Sizeism refers to prejudice against individuals based on their body size, including height and weight; it is generally seen as leading to discrimination against those who are overweight. Social consequences experienced by persons with obesity include inequities in employment, barriers in education, compromised healthcare, and negative portrayals in the media, to the extent that the Canadian Obesity Network reports weight bias and discrimination are more prevalent than discrimination based on race, gender, or sexual orientation (Canadian Obesity Network, 2011). But our willingness to act against sizeism is a recent development: it was only in 2011 that doctors, https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 23 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM against sizeism is a recent development: it was only in 2011 that doctors, public health policymakers, government representatives, educators, and activists gathered for Canada’s first-ever conference on weight discrimination. Jennifer Portnick knows all about sizeism. Seeking both a fitness instruction job and the purchase of a franchise with Jazzercise, a Carlsbad, California-based company that markets what it calls “the world’s leading dance-fitness program,” she was denied both applications. In rejecting Portnick, Jazzercise officials cited the company’s policy that instructors possess a “fit appearance” (Ackman, 2002). “Jazzercise sells fitness,” the company’s director of franchise programs wrote to Portnick. “Consequently, a Jazzercise applicant must have a high muscle-to-fat ratio and look leaner than the public’’ (Brown, 2002). Portnick, a 109-kg, 172-cm (240-pound, 5-foot-8) aerobics teacher, had been taking aerobics classes for 15 years without having her skills questioned. She brought her case before the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, which enforces that city’s ordinance barring discrimination based on height or weight, and won. On May 6, 2002, Jazzercise announced that it would stop requiring applicants to be fit in appearance. In Canada, there is currently no legal recourse for acts of discrimination based on size. The Canadian Human Rights Act does not include protection against sizeism or discrimination based on weight, nor has anyone fought an employment discrimination case based solely on the issue of weight (Immen, 2012). Similarly, in the United States, no federal legislation exists to protect individuals with obesity from discrimination based on weight. Michigan and a few localities, including San Francisco, prohibit weight-based discrimination. Discrimination https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 24 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Discrimination Prejudice is an attitude that often leads to discrimination —the unequal treatment of individuals or groups based on their characteristics or behaviours. It involves actions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on members of a subordinate group. Human Rights Legislation in Canada In Canada, human rights , including the right to be free of discrimination, are protected by federal, provincial, and territorial laws. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) promises equity for all Canadians by ensuring that “[e]very individual... has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability” (Department of Justice, 2012). The Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination for any of the following grounds of discrimination : race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, or a conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record suspended (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2013). The Canadian Human Rights Act outlines seven discriminatory practices that are prohibited when based on one or more grounds of discrimination: denying goods, services, facilities or accommodation; providing goods, services, facilities or accommodation in a way that treats someone adversely and differently; refusing to hire, terminating employment or treating someone unfairly in the workplace; using policies or practices that deprive people of a chance to get a job; paying men and women differently when they do work of the same value; retaliating against a person who has made a complaint to a Human Rights Commission; and harassing someone (Canadian Human Rights https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 25 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Human Rights Commission; and harassing someone (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2013). The Canadian Human Rights Commission (2013) provides the following examples of discrimination based on the different grounds of discrimination: A bank has lending rules that make it unreasonably di!icult for new immigrants to get loans. This is an example of discrimination based on two grounds— race and national or ethnic origin. A person is systematically referred to secondary screening at airports due to the colour of their skin. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of colour. An employer assigns her employees to weekend shi#s without recognizing that some employees observe the Sabbath and cannot work on those days. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of religion. An employer’s physical fitness requirements are based on the capabilities of an average 25 year old instead of being based on the actual requirements of the job. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of age. A female employee with an excellent performance record announces that she is pregnant. Immediately, her employer begins to identify performance issues that lead to her dismissal. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of sex. A policy provides benefits to some married couples but not to others. This may be a case of discrimination based on two grounds—sexual orientation and marital status. A#er having a child, a woman cannot find childcare to continue working overnight shi#s, and her employer does not allow flexibility by scheduling her on day shi#s. This may be a case of discrimination based on the https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 26 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM ground of family status. An employer requires all employees to have a valid driver’s licence. People who cannot drive due to a disability are not given an opportunity to show how they could still perform the job by, for example, using public transit. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of disability. A person is denied a job because of a previous conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record has been suspended. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of pardoned conviction.* The Canadian Human Rights Act requires employers and service providers to treat you equitably, and this can involve accommodating needs to be able to participate fully in work or use services. This is referred to as the duty to accommodate. The duty to accommodate only applies to needs that are based on one or more grounds of discrimination that are named in relevant human rights legislation (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2013). For example, if an employer requires all job applicants to pass a written test, they have a duty to accommodate those applicants with visual disabilities with an alternate format (e.g., oral exam, Braille). There are some circumstances, such as prohibitive costs and health and safety issues, where an employer or service provider may not be legally bound by a duty to accommodate, even when this has a negative effect on a person (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2013). This is referred to as undue hardship. The threshold of as to how far your employer or service provider has to go to accommodate your needs is generally high, particularly with respect to cost. For example, in the case of Howard v. University of British Columbia, the university was ordered to pay the interpretation costs of $40 000 for the https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 27 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM university was ordered to pay the interpretation costs of $40 000 for the complainant, who was deaf, so that he could attend teacher’s college. The onus of proof of undue hardship rests with the service provider or employer and, in this case, while the costs were significant, the university was not able to prove that this cost would “alter the essential nature or substantially affect the viability of the educational institution” (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2003). *Source: Canadian Human Rights Commission, “What is discrimination?” Found at: https://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/eng/content/what-discrimination. Provinces and territories have their own laws, polices, and agencies to deal with acts of discrimination. “They protect people from discrimination in areas of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, such as restaurants, stores, schools, housing and most workplaces” (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2013). In Canada these include Alberta Human Rights Commission, British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, B.C. Human Rights Coalition, Manitoba Human Rights Commission, New Brunswick Human Rights Commission, Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission, Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal, Ontario Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre, Prince Edward Island Human Rights Commission, (Québec) Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, and Yukon Human Rights Commission. Human rights legislation generally supersedes other legislation; it is usually not a defence for an employer or service provider to say they were complying with other legislation. Forms of Discrimination https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 28 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Forms of Discrimination Stereotypes, bias, and prejudice can lead to discrimination. Discrimination is defined as the unequal treatment of individuals or groups based on their characteristics or behaviours. It can include age discrimination, disability discrimination, employment discrimination, housing discrimination, racial discrimination, religious discrimination, sexual harassment, and more. Most discriminatory actions include failure to individually assess a person’s merits, capacities and circumstances; making stereotypical assumptions; and excluding persons, denying benefits or imposing burdens (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2008). Consider the example of a person refused an apartment because they have children. This action could be considered discriminatory based on family status: it may be based on stereotypical assumptions that children are noisy, messy, and destructive, and therefore not good tenants; it fails to assess the family’s merits and capacities (the family could be clean, responsible, pay rent on time—all desired qualities of a good tenant); and this action results in the denial of housing. Discrimination is often the result of “a tendency to build society as though everyone is the same as the people in power— all young, one gender, one race, one religion or one level of ability” (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2008). Failing to consider and plan for diversity can result in barriers that, even if unintended, can be considered discrimination. Intentional versus Unintentional Discrimination Discrimination can often occur without a deliberate intention to harm a person or group. To say “it was not my intention to harm that person or discriminate against that group” does not excuse a person under the law. Federal, provincial, and territorial human rights law applies even if the discrimination is not intentional. Intent or motive to discriminate is not a https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 29 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM discrimination is not intentional. Intent or motive to discriminate is not a necessary element for a legal finding of discrimination—it is sufficient if the action or behaviour has a discriminatory effect (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2008). In the case of Ontario (Human Rights Comm.) and O’Malley v. Simpsons-Sears Ltd., the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the employer’s termination of Theresa O’Malley, after she refused to work on days of religious observance, was discrimination on the ground of creed. In its decision, the court found that it was “not necessary to prove that discrimination was intentional to find that a violation of human rights legislation has occurred. An employment rule, neutral on its face and honestly made, can have discriminatory effects” (Canadian Human Rights Reporter, 2013). Therefore, in determining whether discrimination has occurred, it is the “effect” of the action or behaviour that needs to be considered and not the “intent.” One prominent example of unintentional discrimination is older buildings that were built without a ramp for people who use wheelchairs. Another example might be an employer administering the same, long-standing standardized test to a new immigrant to Canada, particularly if the test has a cultural bias that does not reflect essential skills needed to perform the job. In the above examples, the service provider or employer did not necessarily intend to discriminate. Yet, according to the law, discrimination has taken place because of the effect on the protected groups. In these examples, the individuals were faced with an unfair disadvantage due to the protected characteristics of disability and ethnic or national origin. Direct versus Indirect Discrimination Direct discrimination is the unfair treatment of individuals or groups based on one or more of their protected characteristics, compared to other https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 30 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM on one or more of their protected characteristics, compared to other individuals or groups who do not have these characteristics in similar circumstances (Helly, 2004). This is one of the more prevalent forms of discrimination. An example of this type of discrimination would include a property owner who tells an Indigenous person there is no space available to rent, but then tells a Caucasian person there is an apartment available to rent. In this example of direct discrimination, the Indigenous person is intentionall treated less favourably based on their protected characteristic—race. Other examples of direct discrimination might include being harassed at work on the basis of sex; not hiring a person because of a disability; terminating a woman from her job because she is pregnant; denying access to a service because of sexual orientation; refusing to take reasonable steps to accommodate an employee who needs time off for a religious event; or receiving a warning from your workplace because you needed time off for a sick child. Indirect discrimination refers to a rule, policy, practice, or requirement that applies to everyone but has the effect of creating disadvantage for people with a protected characteristic. Consider the example of an employer who creates one rule for all employees in the workplace, thinking that it will be neutral and fair for everyone, but due to lack of awareness or unconscious bias, they unintentionally create a situation that disadvantages an individual employee or group of employees with a protected characteristic. This can result in indirect discrimination. A more specific example is an employer who imposes a universal dress code for all employees that disadvantages Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews who might wear religious head coverings (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2008). Systemic Discrimination https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 31 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Systemic (or institutionalized) discrimination refers to the policies, practices, and patterns of behaviour of social institutions that can appear to be non-discriminatory and/or unintentional, but in fact have a discriminatory effect on persons based on one or more protected grounds. Systemic discrimination can be complex and difficult to identify, especially when this form of discrimination is an “unintentional secondary effect of everyday practices and thinking that are so deeply ingrained in our disciplinary and institutional cultures that we don’t observe them or even think about them” (Neuman, 2003). People can also experience systemic discrimination differently based on the intersectionality of identity and grounds of discrimination. For example, a racialized woman may experience systemic discrimination differently from a woman with a disability, even when both women are part of the same organization. Systemic discrimination can often be observed in exclusionary hiring practices. Philip Oreopoulos of the University of British Columbia was interested in finding out why immigrants who were allowed into Canada based on their skills still struggled in the labour market. He sent out 6000 fake resumes in response to online job postings across Toronto for a variety of occupations. Oreopoulos found that applicants with English-sounding names received almost 40 percent more callbacks from employers than those with Chinese-, Indian-, or Pakistani-sounding names. Further, English-named applicants with Canadian education and experience were over three times more likely to receive interview requests than applicants whose resumes gave Chinese, Indian, or Pakistani names and foreign education and experience. Oreopoulos notes that these practices and others in his findings are illegal under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Oreopoulos, 2009). https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 32 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Challenging Privilege and Oppression So, how do we end all forms of oppression? The answer to that question is worthy of its own book. Oppression is a complex and multidimensional social phenomenon that has no singular universal solution nor cookie-cutter recipe. As helping professionals, anti-oppressive practice needs to challenge oppression on all levels—personal, cultural, and structural (Mullaly, 2010). This approach needs to adopt a dialectical perspective whereby interventions at all levels are carried out at the same time, each informing and influencing the other (Mullaly, 2010). An example of this is found in the work done by this chapter’s Agent of Change, Charlene Heckman. She simultaneously recognizes how knowledge of social structures that shape our everyday lives can help create social change, while also recognizing the power of human agency on a personal and collective level in creating that change. AGENT OF CHANGE Charlene Heckman https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 33 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Have you ever met someone whose everyday way of life is helping people in need—not because they are paid to do so, but because their moral fibre is woven with altruism, empathy, generosity, and compassion? Have you ever met someone who sees their daily acts of kindness as part of a collective responsibility toward achieving justice and equity for everyone? Most of us are lucky enough to meet one or two such persons throughout our lifetime; the impressions they leave on our lives are indelible. In my own life journey, I have been fortunate to have met several, one being Charlene Heckman. When teaching about “anti-oppressive practice” and what it means to be an “ally,” she is the exemplar I most often refer to. It doesn’t matter what day it is, you will find Charlene helping someone in the community. It might be driving someone to a support group, helping a woman who is new to Canada, taking a friend with dementia for lunch, hosting an educational workshop in her living https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 34 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM room, supporting a woman who is a victim of abuse, building a butterfly garden, encouraging someone with a disability to attend an exercise group with her, helping someone with a mental health challenge, talking to her MP or MPP about an issue, or participating in walks to support healthcare, to support those with brain tumours, or to support Ronald McDonald House (in memory of her granddaughter Carleigh). Charlene is a loving partner to her husband Bob; she is also a loving and devoted mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt. She is one of the truest and most loyal friends you could ever have. A graduate of D’Youville and Canisius Colleges in Buffalo, New York, she earned a Master Degree in Deaf Education and taught at St. Mary’s School for the deaf in Buffalo. Later, she became an elementary school teacher in Ontario where she continued to transform the lives of children and families as a gifted teacher. If you look closely at her picture, you will see a twinkle in her eye. It is the twinkle of a person who loves life, can make you laugh until your belly hurts, and is the life of any party. Charlene has worked tirelessly to create a just and sustainable world for future generations through her participation in social movements and organizations that promote peace, assist newcomers, protect the environment, empower women, and support those with health issues. She has spent much of her life creating a community that is inclusive of all persons. Charlene helped start BET, a weekly support group that originally ran out of her home to provide education about neurological impairments and other health issues (you will read more about this group at the end of this chapter). Charlene and her husband Bob hosted refugee families in their home when they first arrived in Canada, and later helped start a refugee shelter known as Casa el Norte. She was an ally in the creation of Naomi’s House for survivors of childhood sexual https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 35 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM abuse. She was a member of the Yellow Shirt Brigade, a citizen’s group that fought for fair access to quality hospital care for residents of the Niagara Region in Ontario. She is a long-time volunteer tutor with the Adult Literacy Council of Fort Erie, and a volunteer with the Arthritis Society and Maple Park Lodge’s recreation committee. While Charlene is the embodiment of Anne Bishop’s guidelines on being an ally, found in this chapter’s Reading, there are three qualities that are uniquely outstanding. The first is the way in which Charlene marries education with social action for informed social change. The second is that she advocates against micro and macro levels of oppression and makes connections between both. For example, Charlene supports large organizations dedicated to protecting the environment, and in her own community and neighbourhood she facilitates awareness about monarch butterflies and builds butterfly gardens. Finally, the hospitality of Charlene and Bob’s large living room has for many years brought people together; many grassroots social movements have been born here. As an ally, Charlene has created space for people to gather and space for the voices of people who have experienced struggle to speak and be heard. Courtesy of Charlene Heckman. Agent of Change 2.1 Charlene Heckman, this chapter’s “Agent of Change”, is described as possessing which of the following: A The ability to marry education with social action for informed social change https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 36 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM The ability to advocated against micro and macro levels of oppression and make B connections between both The ability to be an ally who can create space for the voices of people who have C struggled to speak and be heard D All of these statements are true. We can challenge oppression by acknowledging that we all have socially constructed privilege and that we all have moments when we are both oppressor and oppressed (Bishop, 2015). To perpetuate privilege and oppression, all that is needed is for people to remain silent about it (Johnson, 2005). Anne Bishop in her book, Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression in People, talks about the importance of people being involved in their own liberation. She describes human liberation as a spiralling process: It begins with breaking the silence, ending the shame and sharing our concerns and feelings. Storytelling leads to analysis, where we figure out together what is happening to us and why, and who benefits. Analysis leads to strategy, when we decide what to do about it. Strategy leads to action, together, to change the injustices we suffer. Action leads to another https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 37 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM action, together, to change the injustices we suffer. Action leads to another round of reflection, analysis, strategy, action. This is the process of liberation. (Bishop, 2015, p. 100) The process of human liberation from oppression is premised on the belief that we are socially responsible for being a part of creating solutions that envision a just and equitable world for all people. If we choose to do nothing or remain silent, then oppression can continue to exist. If we choose to be part of a solution, “that’s where our power lies, and also our responsibility” (Johnson, 2005). Transformative change requires that we begin to reflect critically upon how inclusive our thoughts and actions are; that we increase awareness of our stereotypical assumptions and prejudices; that we unmask inaccurate information; and that we become allies in actively challenging privilege and oppression in its many forms. Edmonton urban-pop vocalist ESMA released a music single and video, “Fall Back,” that was inspired by Amanda Todd’s story and addresses bullying. Parts of the music video were recorded at J. Percy Page High School, where ESMA was bullied herself as a teen. She encourages people to be agents of their own liberation and to find strength in allies: “I got my army; nothing can harm me... fall back.” So what does it mean to be an ally? On her website, Becoming an Ally, Anne Bishop defines an ally as a person “who recognize(s) the unearned privilege they receive from society’s patterns of injustice and take(s) responsibility for changing these patterns.” Sir Patrick Stewart is an example of an ally who uses his privilege (what he defines as the privilege of being an old white man) to create social change to end violence against women. https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 38 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM As an example of what it means to be an ally, Sir Patrick Stewart has acquired insight into violence against women through his own childhood experience of witnessing his father abuse his mother. Reflecting upon this experience, he believes men have a collective responsibility to end violence and regularly engages in action to bring about change. He has a clear understanding of his own privilege and how oppression is rooted in society’s structure and power relationships. Another example of what it means to be an ally is the Brain Empowerment Team (discussed in KWIP at the end of this chapter). BET, as it is called, is made up of members who are alternately abled as a result of neurological or other health issues who work together with allies who do not have first-person experience of these issues, but are united in a goal to end ableism. The members of this group have a remarkable understanding of power relationships, most particularly “power with” rather than “power over.” https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 39 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM Allies are people who are able to recognize their own privilege and understand the power relationships in a society that maintain this privilege. They can therefore see oppression as a structural issue without taking on individual guilt for historic injustices (Bishop, 2015). Some of the other distinguishing characteristics of allies are outlined in Figure 2.3. https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 40 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM ENDING THOUGHTS We know that oppression is dynamic and multidimensional; it exists in many different forms and can vary according to historical and social contexts. It is important to recognize that oppression is rooted in societal structures and power relationships. The consequences of power are manifest in every interaction in society, at all levels. Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination grow from the unequal distribution of power, creating dominant and subordinate groups in society and allowing the subjugation of one in favour of the other. The process of human liberation from oppression is premised on the belief that we are socially responsible for being a part of creating solutions that envision a just and equitable world for all people. It is incumbent upon all of us to assume responsibility of actively challenging privilege and oppression in its many forms. READING “HOW TO”—BECOMING AN ALLY By Anne Bishop Having written that title, I must now admit that I cannot tell anyone exactly how to become an ally. I can, however, use my growing analysis of the process and my experience to offer some guidelines. Most people in our society do not https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 41 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM and my experience to offer some guidelines. Most people in our society do not yet see the connections between different forms of oppression or even have a general sense of how oppression works. Therefore, we still find ourselves dealing in most instances with one form of oppression at a time, and in a given setting, we are either in the role of oppressed or ally. I hope these observations will be as useful to you as they have been to me when I find myself in the ally role. 1. It is important to be a worker in your own liberation struggle, whatever it is. Learn, reflect on, and understand the patterns and effects of oppression, take action with others, take risks, walk toward your fear to find your power. 2. Try to help members of your own group understand oppression and make the links among different forms of oppression. 3. I cannot overstress the need to listen. Listen and reflect. 4. Remember that everyone in the oppressor group is part of the oppression. It is ridiculous to claim that you are not sexist if you are a man, or not racist if you are white, and so on. No matter how much work you have done on that area of yourself, there is more to be done. All members of this society grow up surrounded by oppressive attitudes; we are marinated in it. It runs in our veins; it is as invisible to us as the air we breathe. I do not believe that anyone raised in Western Society can ever claim to have finished ridding themselves completely of their oppressive attitudes. It is an ongoing task, like keeping the dishes clean. In fact, the minute I hear someone claim to be free of the attitudes and actions of a certain oppression (as in “I’m not a racist”), I know they have barely begun the process. Humility is the mark of someone who has gone a ways down the read and has caught a glimpse of just how long the road https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 42 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM gone a ways down the read and has caught a glimpse of just how long the road is. There is a parallel here with the principles of the twelve-step addiction recovery process. Just as the twelvestep programs teach that the process of healing from addiction is never finished, so it is with the process of unlearning oppression. A white person never becomes non-racist but is always a “recovering racist,” more often referred to as “anti-racist”. There is another reason members of an oppressor group are always oppressors, no matter how much individual learning we have done: until we change the politics and economics of oppression, we are still “living off the avails.” We would not be here, doing what we are doing, with the skills and access we have, if we did not have the colour, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, age, class, or physical abilities we have. Resources and power continue to come to us because we are members of the dominant group in relation to the particular form of oppression where we seek to be allies. So, until we succeed in making a more humane world, yes, we are racist (or ageist, or classist, or heterosexist, and so forth). Understanding this is part of the learning to think structurally rather than individually. It is part of avoiding overpersonalization of the issues. 5. Having accepted that every member of an oppressor group is an oppressor, try not to feel like this makes you a “bad” person. Self-esteem does not have to mean distancing yourself from the oppressor role; it can come instead from taking a proud part in the struggle to end oppression. This involves learning to separate guilt from responsibility. Guiltmeans taking on the weight of history as an individual; responsibility means accepting your share of the challenge of https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 43 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM as an individual; responsibility means accepting your share of the challenge of changing the situation. Members of oppressor groups spend a great deal of energy in denying responsibility for oppression. What would happen if all that energy could be put to work figuring out how to end it? 6. Remember that in the oppressor role, you cannot see the oppression as clearly as the oppressed group can. When people point out your oppressive attitudes or language to you, your first response should be to believe it. Ask questions and learn more about the oppression going on in that particular situation. Try not to leap to your own defence in one of the many ways oppressors use to deny responsibility for oppression. Self-defence is an overpersonalized response. It is true that you will likely meet members of the oppressed group who will want to claim that every little thing is oppressive and use it as a focus for their anger. You will also perhaps find members of the oppressed group who will try to use your efforts to unlearn oppression to manipulate you. It is all part of the process—their process. The point is not to defend yourself; it will not work anyway. If you can deal with your own defensive feelings, you can turn the situation into a discussion that you, and perhaps everyone else, can use to learn more about the oppression, and you will be less vulnerable to manipulation. The defensiveness, or guilt, is the hook for manipulation. Also, if you can use your own experience of liberation to understand the anger of the oppressed, you will be able to accept it as a member of an oppressor group, not as an individual. Leave their process—working through their anger —to the oppressed group. Give your attention to your own process—becoming an ally. Then we can all participate in the process we share, ending the oppression. https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 44 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM oppression. 7. Count your privileges; keep a list. Help others see them. Break the invisibility of privilege. 8. If you hear an oppressive comment or see an example of oppression at work, try to speak up first. Do not wait for a member of the oppressed group to point it out. Sometimes this draws a response of “Oh, I don’t mind,” “It was just a joke,” or even anger directed at you from a member of an oppressed group. That person may be speaking out of their internalized oppression, or you may be off base. Just accept it, if you can; admit it is not your experience. More often you will find members of the oppressed group grateful that they did not have to raise the issue for a change. 9. You must be patient and leave lots of room for the greater experience of members of the oppressed group, but there are also limits. If it becomes clear over time that you are being used or mistreated, say something or leave the situation. Here is an example: a group is interested in having you present as an ally for reasons of their safety or your contacts, legitimacy, or resources, but is not ready to offer you any information or support. The message might be: “Just shut up and do everything we tell you and don’t ask questions.” It is also hardly fair for the members of the oppressed group to direct all their anger, over a long period of time, at a well-meaning would-be ally. This is not reasonable treatment for anyone. It is fair for you to ask them to decide: do they want you to leave, or will they provide you with some support in your efforts to become an ally? 10. Try to avoid the trap of “knowing what is good for them”: Do not take leadership. They are the only ones who can figure out what is good for them, https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 45 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM leadership. They are the only ones who can figure out what is good for them, and developing their own leadership strengthens their organizations. It is fine to add thoughts or resources to the process by asking questions of the individuals with whom you have already built up some trust and equality, who will not take it as coming from an authority greater than themselves just because you are a member of the oppressor group. It is not all right to take time at their meeting or public gathering to present your own agenda or to suggest in any way that they do not understand or see the big picture. 11. Never take public attention or credit for an oppressed group’s process of liberation. Refuse to act as a spokesperson, even when reporters gravitate to you because they are more comfortable with you or curious about you. You should speak in public only if members of the oppressed group have asked you to speak from your point of view as an ally or to take a public role on their behalf because speaking out will be too dangerous for them. 12. Do not expect every member of the oppressed group to agree; does your group agree on everything? 13. Learn everything you can about the oppression—read, ask questions, listen. Your ignorance is part of the oppression. Find people in the oppressed group who like to teach and who see value in cultivating allies in general or you in particular. Ask them questions. Do not expect every member of the oppressed group to be ready and willing to teach you. When you are in the ally role, you have privileges and comfort in your life that members of the oppressed group do not have because of their oppression; they may not want to also give you their time and energy so that you can learn about them. They may not have the time or the energy. 14. Support the process of unlearning oppression with other members of your https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 46 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM 14. Support the process of unlearning oppression with other members of your own group. Do not usurp the role of communicating the experience of oppression that belongs only to members of the oppressed group. You can, however, share with other members of the oppressor group the journey of becoming an ally; you can help break through others’ ignorance of the oppression. Members of your own group might hear you when they cannot hear a member of the oppressed group. 15. Remember that you will probably have to go out of your way to maintain your friendships and connections with members of the oppressed group. Our society is set up to separate different groups. Without a little extra effort, you will live in different parts of town and never cross paths. On the other hand, do not fall over backwards. It is not good to ignore the friends and support base you have already established because you are spending all your time working at the barriers or becoming a “hanger on” of the oppressed community in an inappropriate way. 16. Try not to look to the oppressed group for emotional support. They will likely be ambivalent about you, happy on one hand to have your support, annoyed on the other at your remaining oppressor arrogance, your privilege, the attention you get as a member of the dominant group. Their energy is needed for their own struggle. This does not mean you will not receive support from members of the oppressed group, sometimes more than is warranted. For example, look at the praise men get for doing housework when women still do the vast majority of it. Try not to expectthe oppressed group to be grateful to you. 17. Be yourself. Do not try to claim the roots and sense of connection that a history of oppression can give to a community if it is not your own. Do not https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 47 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM history of oppression can give to a community if it is not your own. Do not become what the Mi’Kmaw community calls a “Wannabe.” Dig into your own roots. The oppressive history of the group you belong to is a burden you carry. Search out the history of allies from your group as well. Dig even deeper than that. Every group started out as a people with roots in the earth somewhere. Find your own connection with your people’s history and the earth. If it is absolutely untraceable, find appropriate ones and rebuild roots and connections in the present for yourself. But do not try to steal someone else’s; you cannot anyway. 18. Be yourself. Be honest. Express your feelings. Do not defend your internalized oppressor attitudes; say it hurts to discover another piece of it. Do not sit on your doubts (except in public gatherings or meetings where you are an observer); ask them of someone you trust. The key word is ask. Assume that you are a learner; good learners are open. “HOW TO”—WORKING WITH ALLIES WHEN YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE OPPRESSED GROUP When the shoe is on the other foot, that is, when you find yourself in a situation where it is your oppression under consideration, the same [principles] are in operation, but they are applied a little differently. Here are some guidelines, from my experience, for the situations where you are a member of an oppressed group dealing with allies. 1. Make a clear decision about if, why, when, and how you will work with allies. Do you want to work with allies at all? What can allies offer you that you would find useful? It is easy to know what you do not want members of the oppressor group to do; figure out what you do want them to do. Are there certain times, https://app-ca.tophat.com/purchased_content/714811/item/436482::a269b078-af2d-5fdf-ad99-d7dc82929762 Page 48 of 70 Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice and Equity in Canadian Society, Second Edition - Assigned | Top Hat 2024-10-14, 6:57 AM places, meetings, tasks, and functions where allies would be useful and ot

Walk A Mile: A Journey Towards Justice, 2nd Edition PDF

Document Details

Tags

Related

Summary

Full Transcript

Upgrade to continue