What Is Audre Lorde's Mythical Norm?

The last century has seen many movements for change in Canada, yet there is still much work to be done. Our society views a certain group of people with a high regard and an authority over others; these same people fall into the group that Audre Lorde calls the ‘Mythical Norm.’ Although Canada claims to be a land of equal opportunity, the ever-present conception of the mythical norm creates a breeding ground from which oppression grows in Canadian society. The idea of this norm is what leads to the domination of white males in the Canadian economy and within the country’s justice system.This essay will explore the ways in which the mythical norm creates sexist, homophobic, and racist oppressions in society. First, this essay will summarize
Audre Lorde's concept of the Mythical Norm; secondly, it will discuss how sexism and racism are prevalent in our economy; lastly, it will illuminate the injustice present within Canada's Criminal Justice System. There is a specific type of person whom society places above others: the white, heterosexual, financially secure young male (Lorde in Perry, 2011, p. 57). The notion of putting these men first is derived from Audre Lorde’s concept of what society sees as normal, the ‘Mythical Norm’. Barbara Perry expands on this concept in her article, “The Mythical Norm”, where she explains how those who fit this norm are set up to have the best lives. Those who are white, male, and heterosexual are at an advantage in the Western world simply because society sees them as ‘normal’. Perry (2011) states that these people live with privileges that they do not have to earn in any way, but are born with due to their superior grouping (p. 57). These privileges bring power for those who fit into this norm, and allows them “access to the means and opportunities to maintain if not enhance their status” (Perry, 2011, p. 57), therefore keeping them at the top of the social hierarchy and keeping others out. Those who do not fit this mythical norm become “Outsiders” or “Others”, and are at a disadvantage in today’s society. Perry (2011) explains that only the Others have genders, races, and sexualities; heterosexual white males are not identified by these factors because they are the epitome of ‘typical’ (p. 57). The mythical norm has such a great impact on society that it becomes the base from which oppressions stem; such oppressions -or unjust treatment- are seen mostly in the form of racism - discrimination based on one’s race, sexism - discrimination on the basis of sex, and homophobia - discrimination against those who are part of the Queer Community. If the idea of what is normal and what is abnormal did not exist, there would be nothing for people to compare each other to. These comparisons are what cause such a disadvantage for those outside of the norm. These disadvantages are in one way seen through the prevalence of white male supremacy in the Canadian economy. As the Canadian economy continues to grow, it is hard to say that the diversity within the workforce is growing as well.
The Canadian economy predominately consists of financially secure white men. Though all Canadians are promised equal treatment, this is not illustrated in Canada’s business world - with wide wage gaps and a lack of diversity in those holding powerful positions, discriminatory oppression arises. In the case of job salary, white men excel to a large extent. Elizabeth Comack (2014) presents the facts that Canadian women working the same position as a man will be paid 29% less than he, even with the same level of education, and that there are no professions in which women collectively make more money than men (p. 5). For women to be paid less than men for no reason other than their gender displays sexism and occurs solely because society’s ideal norm is not a female. Perry (2011) states that this is one of the ways in which society “maintains women’s economic dependence on men” (p. 60), further proving how society emphasizes male domination. Women are not the only group subject to oppressions in the labour force; racial minorities are at the same disadvantage. Racialized Canadians are paid 18.6% less than those who are not racialized (Comack, 2014, p. 3), further emphasizing the oppressions created due to the mythical norm. As well as receiving higher pay, white males also hold the positions of the highest
power. Both women and racialized people are under-represented in power positions of the business world, meaning most of those who sit on corporate boards, have high authority and make decisions are white males. Comack (2014) reports that only half of Canada’s top companies have women on their boards (p. 3), reinforcing the power that men hold over women in general. White male power is also evident in politics, where racial minorities are not well represented (Perry, 2011, p 59). Perry (2011) states that although making up 49.5% of the Greater Toronto Area population, only 13% of their leaders are of a visible minority (p. 59). These inequalities prove how being anyone other than a white male brings upon unjust and unequal treatment in the economy, however, when considering the image society sees as superior this turns out to be ‘normal’. Not only are white males in control of the economic workforce, they primarily govern the Criminal Justice System. Canada’s Criminal Justice System is the base from which lawfulness arises, but fails to portray fairness in itself. As Perry (2011) states, “the criminal justice system is an entity made by and for white, middle-class men” (p. 66). This system is oppressive through the under-representation and unfair treatment of the “Others”. Over 90% of those working in justice fields in Canada are white (Perry, 2011, p. 67), leaving out a significant part of society. A large field in which this can be seen is policing, where both people of colour and women are seldom employed (Perry, 2011, p. 68). Policing is a job which embodies everything the mythical norm stands for: a safe, tough, able-bodied man who can save the day. If society sees the white male as ‘safe’, the typical offender is, as Perry (2011) calls, the “predatory Other”; this idea leads to the over-criminalization of racialized people (p. 64). Minimal diversity in the justice system aids the unfair treatment of those who are not a large part of it: women, queer people, and people of colour. The law and LGTBQ communities have always had conflict, and Peter Knegt’s Legal Reform emphasizes these struggles. Knegt (2011) explains how the rights of queer people were not included in the Human Rights Legislation in all of Canada until 2002 (p. 40), leaving them without the same protection that heterosexuals are given under the law. Aboriginal Peoples also face hardships with the justice system because they are a racialized minority.