Week Three
The model of power that Allan Johnson writes about in “The Trouble We’re In: Privilege, Power, and Difference, defines the idea of where we fit in a social structure or hierarchy. The problem lies with the inheritance of societal and historical limitations we have learned to view without question regarding the difference between groups or individuals. This is compounded by the inaccurate belief that difference, itself, is frightening. It is what we have learned and the biases we believe to be true that make us afraid.
These groups are configured within a range from privileged to disadvantaged, the haves and have nots. The more privileged or disadvantaged you are is seen in a tangible way when reflected in everyday life.
We inherited a system that not only judges people by their sexual orientation, the color of their skin, the language they speak, what religion they practice, etc. but also ascribes limits to them by these very categories. These categories are given a value. We have a choice by becoming more informed to either perpetuate a system we no longer believe is fair or change our values, behaviors and a system that truly values differences.
Society defines the limitations; we act within the social borders. In other words, the belief system we have restricts how we do gender. If, for instance, I grew up in a household where education was not important for women that would limit my desire to go to college. If I am told that girls don’t play sports, then most likely I won’t so I can live within these borders. If I discourage my sons from cooking because it is not manly, then I limit how they perform gender. It is harder to become empowered when we have to live within the confines of these societal constrictions.