Examples Of Counter Hegemony By Takaki
I chose the terms hegemony, counter hegemony, and institution because I felt that they explain how inequality exists, analyzes the way society is set up, and gives us students the necessary knowledge to formulate how we go about viewing the world and genuinely understanding perspectives far from our own.
Though hegemony seems like a straightforward term, Takaki’s work allowed me to find that the term isn’t limited to one group controlling another, but rather expands to be defined as the manipulation of the orthodox principles of society. What’s to be accepted or reject, voiced or unvoiced, high class or low class are all within the domain of hegemony. One group controlling another is simply an effect of hegemony. Its effects not only apply …show more content…
Lorber states, “Parenting is gendered, with different expectations for mothers and for fathers, and people of different genders work at different kinds of jobs” (Lorber 39). A common view was men were physically superior to women, and so women should stay at home where it is safe. As a result, men rose up to have influential positions over social structure while women were expected to stay at home and perform household duties. The influential positions that these men attained would maintain a cycle of an unchanging standard and the birth of the master narrative: a concept that directly influences society’s common sense in a way that benefits the ruling figures. As observed, gender roles in society and racial characterizations are also other forms of hegemony that can be shaped. These hegemonic beliefs are the reason why in today’s society, we have feminist movements and other counter-hegemonic …show more content…
The ones who challenged hegemony were archetypes like the Sambo, that were supposed to represent the slave owners’ views of their slaves, and were as stated by Takaki, “childlike, irresponsible, lazy, affectionate, and happy”(Takaki 104). The Sambo existed as an illusion to protect the white people’s worrisome consciousness, but in actuality, it was a seed that would grow into the revolution of the slaves: a revolution that would tell America that African Americans were more than slaves and that they were just as capable as white people.
In another instance, ‘Thomas Jefferson caustically commented: “Religion produced a Phyllis Whately [sic]; but it could not produce a poet”’ (Takaki 66). These ethnic figures challenged the standard of society: black intellect was inferior. Despite Wheatley’s published poetry, Thomas Jefferson, a founding leader and contributor of the hegemonic master narrative, refused to acknowledge her work and discredited her by attacking her racial
Though hegemony seems like a straightforward term, Takaki’s work allowed me to find that the term isn’t limited to one group controlling another, but rather expands to be defined as the manipulation of the orthodox principles of society. What’s to be accepted or reject, voiced or unvoiced, high class or low class are all within the domain of hegemony. One group controlling another is simply an effect of hegemony. Its effects not only apply …show more content…
Lorber states, “Parenting is gendered, with different expectations for mothers and for fathers, and people of different genders work at different kinds of jobs” (Lorber 39). A common view was men were physically superior to women, and so women should stay at home where it is safe. As a result, men rose up to have influential positions over social structure while women were expected to stay at home and perform household duties. The influential positions that these men attained would maintain a cycle of an unchanging standard and the birth of the master narrative: a concept that directly influences society’s common sense in a way that benefits the ruling figures. As observed, gender roles in society and racial characterizations are also other forms of hegemony that can be shaped. These hegemonic beliefs are the reason why in today’s society, we have feminist movements and other counter-hegemonic …show more content…
The ones who challenged hegemony were archetypes like the Sambo, that were supposed to represent the slave owners’ views of their slaves, and were as stated by Takaki, “childlike, irresponsible, lazy, affectionate, and happy”(Takaki 104). The Sambo existed as an illusion to protect the white people’s worrisome consciousness, but in actuality, it was a seed that would grow into the revolution of the slaves: a revolution that would tell America that African Americans were more than slaves and that they were just as capable as white people.
In another instance, ‘Thomas Jefferson caustically commented: “Religion produced a Phyllis Whately [sic]; but it could not produce a poet”’ (Takaki 66). These ethnic figures challenged the standard of society: black intellect was inferior. Despite Wheatley’s published poetry, Thomas Jefferson, a founding leader and contributor of the hegemonic master narrative, refused to acknowledge her work and discredited her by attacking her racial