The White Space By Elijah Anderson Summary

Billions of human beings live on the planet, and though we may all bleed red, equity is not given to all. Although the color red is shared, the world is not fair to those who are different in terms of race, social class, and gender. The accepted standards are ever-changing, yet the scales lean toward a specific demographic- white men. Though a bold claim, if I were to ask anyone what an American looks like, their response would be similar to the description of Uncle Sam. Without even realizing it, the accumulation of interactions solidified that image of "What is an American," and it is through those interactions that we have come to learn social hierarchies. It is through this solidified image of what an American is that Americans come to
To this, many minorities within modern America can reflect and note the changes in their behavior, as Anderson described. Within my account as a Mexican American, impression management is known as saving face within my community. When going to a public library within a predominately white area, my mother would often tell my sister and me to be on our best behavior. We walked calmly and collected into the library so as not to cause alarms, walking without making any sudden movements to appease the eyes that followed our every move, for as Anderson expressed similarly, "American society and culture, and as such it has also become an important source of stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination" (Anderson, 2015, p. 19). The library itself did not cause alarm, but the people associated with it dictated our behavior through socialization. The memory of a stranger asking my mother to control her children from running around as we watched many other white children run and scream to their heart's content had engraved to the core of our
To quote the famous song "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown, "This is a man's world," which has remained steadfast with minor changes. If I were to analyze my life and recall who would take me to buy school supplies, clothing, and groceries, it would be clear that my mother was the one to take on those responsibilities. The scholarly journal “When Does Gender Trump Money? Bargaining and Time in Household Work” by Michael Bittman, Paula England, Liana Sayer, Nancy Folbre, and George Matheson describes how data depicts the division of household chores through income within the United States and Australia. It is this scholarly journal that states, “ [...]even when market hours are relatively equal, and relative earnings explain some but only a small share of the variance in which men or women do more,(Bittman et al., 2003, p.191). Within the American community, the culture of female subordination was established and integrated into our society and made into a culture. As we grow and develop, many learn through observation, and this is how the idea of female subordination was socially reproduced throughout generations by