Best products from r/socialjustice101

One thing I'd recommend is checking out this (free) workbook that walks you through confronting your relationship with white supremacy https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/

Also, go to the library (or Amazon?) and check out: How to Be Less Stupid About Race and White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son

The first is a really, really great book that will help you understand the basics of the system of racism and how individuals play their part in upholding it. It's an easy read too. The second book is more like a memoir but still worthwhile. Here's a little excerpt from the summary:

>"Using stories from his own life, Tim Wise demonstrates the ways in which racism not only burdens people of color, but also benefits, in relative terms, those who are “white like him.” He discusses how racial privilege can harm whites in the long run and make progressive social change less likely. He explores the ways in which whites can challenge their unjust privileges, and explains in clear and convincing language why it is in the best interest of whites themselves to do so."

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> Does the fact that Black people once were slaved make it alright to be simply put, proud of their heritage?

Yes? Because the fact is that many black people do not know their heritage. It was, as I said, systematically erased. Most white folks do. There's a difference between being forced into a race (as many black folks are) and being allowed to "choose" a racial signifier. Ergo, how many white people are able to claim whiteness as well as their respective ethnic heritage, in comparison to many black folks who are nearly always read as just "black", even if they're, say, second-generation immigrants.

This has a lot to do with how race is constructed, etc. There's a lot of resources about this, including entire books. Mary Waters's "Optional Ethnicities?" is a fairly good primer, though, if you're really curious about this.

> How? excuse me I don't feel more powerful than my fellow black man.

I'm referring to systemic power, not individual.

Obama was one black President amongst 44 (including Trump). Congress doesn't fare much better. As of 2015, 13.5% of the U.S. population is black, not counting mixed race folks. We are not in any way close to reaching parity.

This isn't counting other institutional issues, such as systemic housing discrimination, job discrimination, the racial wage gap, and (of course!) police brutality.

> What criteria is that that only a few have and that allows them to enter the structure you mentionned?

Again, this is a racial formation question. You might want to read up on how immigrants such as the Irish and the Italians became white. And "conditional whiteness" in terms of how Ashkenazi Jewish folks are sometimes read as "white" and sometimes read as "Jewish".

The criteria, as most things of this nature, are often arbitrary. Both Indian and Japanese folks have lobbied for citizenship on the basis of their close identification with "whiteness". Both of these claims were rejected.

Wikipedia actually has an article on the whole idea of whiteness in the United States.

> Why are all these peoples treated differently?

Because society treats these people differently. (Refer to above.)

Again, "white" is not a heritage. It is perfectly all right to be proud of being French or German or Italian.

> So are men just left out?

Where on earth did you get that idea?

> it is pretty clear that social justice does not care much about how men are discriminated since there are many groups that are discriminated more. Well, at least from my experience.

Well luckily your experience constitutes a single data point as is therefore not really a reliable estimator for what really going on, when it comes to social justice and the study of men's lives.

Here is an example of an academic journal that discusses men and men's lives exclusively.

Here is a textbook (in its ninth edition) that focuses solely on men and men's issues.

Here is an international charitable organization that works to help men understand themselves and their place in society. As you can see from a quick browse through the site, it is far more than an organization for ending violence against women; it is a group dedicated to re-imagining masculinity in a more positive fashion - one that celebrates positive forms of masculinity.

Here is an example of a local activist group dedicated to the discussion of men and men's lives.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. A quick scan through Amazon shows dozens of other textbooks about men and men's lives, which are used in universities all over the world to help students understand the unique challenges and issues that men face. There are also numerous other journals that look at men and men's issues, and dozens - if not hundreds - of different social justice and activist groups at local, national, and international levels that work towards helping men.

I'm not trying to be offensive here, but do you think that it's possible that your personal experiences (or lack thereof) are the problem, rather than some sort of void in "social justice" where men are concerned? Because that's what it sort of looks like to me.

Not really. Police brutality is a great example of systemic issues rather than personal animus, actually. Here is a good article on it: https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562077/police-racism-implicit-bias


Same with systems like red-lining. Most bankers would say they aren't racist. Yet there are still heavily segregated cities and parts of cities in the US. How do we explain that? Personal animus doesn't seem to. But systems of power do.

If you are interested in this issue, I would recommend [Institutionalized Racism: A Primer] as a clearly explained and well-researched intro to these ideas. (https://www.amazon.com/Institutional-Racism-Primer-Theory-Strategies/dp/0742560163)

Transethnicity is a very real issue. You're just using the term wrong.

>Transethnicity occurs in cases of adoption where the child is of another ethnicity than their adopted parents — an extremely commonplace scenario. Studies such as Transethnic Adoption and Personality Traits: a lesson of Japanese orphans returned from China to Japan and Effect of Transracial/Transethnic adoption on Children’s Racial and Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem, and books like The Hybrid Family: Understanding Trans-Ethnic Adoptive Parenting are prime examples of how the term is used correctly.

Trans-ethnicity the way you refer to it though? Not so much. And tumblr isn't a real backup here. Most of the notable "transethnics" on tumblr have been outed as trolls.

But fundamentally, you don't seem to understand the difference between ethnicity, race and culture. Let's tackle those one at a time:

>People of the same race share genetically transmitted physical characteristics. People of the same ethnicity share cultural, linguistic, religious, and often racial characteristics.

>Ethnicity is broader and more useful. Racial classifications have often been imposed by outsiders, and many of the traditional classifications are now regarded as questionable from a scientific standpoint. As a result, race is more vague and less intellectually sound than ethnicity. Of course, in real-world usage, race is usually just a polite term for skin color.

>Both words require caution. When used imprecisely, they tend to betray cultural biases.

There are a lot of different components that make up an ethnic identity. One is race. How to other people perceive you? How do they treat you? Do you face oppression? But this is only one aspect. I should point out that this can be complicated, particularly in the US, when speaking about racial identity. African-American culture has grown around and in response to racial oppression, and so this culture is unusually tied to race and racial oppression.

But on the whole, race is often just one component of an ethnic identity. And the other components are subject to change and varied. And that's widely accepted. People learn new languages and forget the ones they were raised with. They changed their religion. They move across the globe and pick up an entirely new lifestyle. That doesn't make them "transethnic". It makes them a human being with probably an interesting story or two to tell.

But what you're referring to? Mostly trolls and perhaps a few genuinely confused people who have trouble grappling with the complexities of culture, race and identity.

Also, the idea of being policed because of a culture you don't identify with is fairly common. In a way that people who are policed because of a gender they don't identify with. The former is common and openly understand and accepted. There's a difference between talking about a cultural identity you were raised with, a culture you have grown to love, and an ethnic identity largely policed by how people see and treat you. Ethnicity is only partially an issue of culture. And a lot of what people discuss when they talk about an ethnic identity is how they are perceived and treated by other people.

As to your point about how trans issues are hugely culturally influenced...try thinking of it this way. We're more progressive and understanding with regards to ethnicity and culture then we are gender. We get people raised in one culture who leave it. Or people raised with multiple cultural identities. And we are accepting of this in a way we are not with gender. We are not accepting of people who don't fit assigned gender roles or who transition.

Actual transethnicity is a serious thing. Don't let trolls and people confused about a fairly complex topic derail legitimate discussions about oppression and identity. It's nice that you're so trusting. But not everything someone says on the internet is true or correct. I find it a little disturbing that after hearing a few stories, you assumed they were correct and didn't bother to do any academic research at all.

A quick google search got me nowhere, but I did come across this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Prejudice-Politics-Diplomacy-Discrimination/dp/0813321433

Looks like a good start. Some blogs mentioned the power + prejudice definition comes from ethnic studies departments in the 1960s, but again, not sourced, so I would take that with a grain of salt.

These days however, the power + prejudice definition is less accepted than "-ism" = system of group privilege. What this specifies is that something like racism doesn't have to have intent (prejudice) behind it to contribute to a system of white privilege. Hope this helps.

I think there's never going to be a case where any device can suit all people, and I don't think the size of smart watches (at least the Pebble, which is the only one I've seen in person) would deter women who really wanted them?

There are a handful of things for which making different ones for "women" (people with wider hips and different fat and muscle distributions) and "men" make sense. Backpacking packs are the only one I can think of off the top of my head - they have slightly different positioning of the straps and frame structure that distribute weight differently. I often buy men's outdoor gear, but I've tried on men's packs and they just don't fit right.

If someone thinks there's a demand for a smaller smartwatch to market at women, it'll get made eventually. Hopefully it won't also be pink/purple or come with bullshit tailored apps.

I think sexism in smart watches is the same as sexism in the general tech industry - shiny high tech gadgets are for "fanboys" and the archetypal Silicon-valley tech guy - stereotypes that often alienate women from their products. Tech culture has a sexism problem, but the size of the watches isn't it. The fact that there are only maybe 4 other women the computer science class I'm taking now is.

I enjoyed this book.

Gary Leupp is a Professor of History at Tufts University. He's written several books about Japanese sexuality and its historical development.

The publications page lists some of his more prominent works, such as:

Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan
Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543-1900

Hasn't been mentioned yet but extremely important book:

Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow

Here is the mobile version of your link

Not much on K-pop and J-pop, but a Fil Am males perspective on Asian American masculinity:

Big Little Man

https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Gay-Revised-Expanded-Third/dp/0060012749

Whiteness has changed and shifted throughout history. Eastern Europeans are not always a part of whiteness in Europe but generally are at this point in the US - 'whiteness' is not an ethnicity like German or French but a socially constructed hierarchy so it changes over time. Check out the history of white people](https://www.amazon.com/History-White-People-Irvin-Painter/dp/0393339742)