Race and Ethnicity

A Different Mirror

Perspective is just a mirror of what we see others from pur point of view.Similarly 'race' and ethnicity is a debating illusional perspective that has been much talked about.Back in middle school in Nepal I remember studying about the different races around the people. It was just a subject compilation based on eye shape, hair type and skin color. I remember reading a chapter on Sherpas , a himlayan tribe you all must have come across when you hear mountains.The chapter opened with " sherpa has flat notes , small eyes and stouty figure." I had sherpa friends and I couldnt see it wasn't untrue , they all had the same description as the book. This was an encounter of racial stratification based on features in Nepal. Later on we also had to study Nepal had primaliry two races Aryan and Mongolian.Aryans can trace back their lineage to sharp featured people from the euro-mediterrannean and Indo people whereas the Mongolians traced back their ancestry from the land of Genghis Khan , Mongolia hence the name mongolians.This was a lesson learnt in our general sociology class. We also had to learn about the black people who were enslaved for hundreds of years in America and different parts of the world and how I wondered there were no Blacks in Nepal. There were dark skinned people who could be mistaken for dark complexion african people but they were not classifified as blacks in the Nepalese racial system.Coming to America , I was equally shocked to see the racial divide among neighbourhoods.I live in Brooklyn and while I was back In Nepal , I got feedbacks from my uncle and aunts who lived in the states that Brooklyn was predominantly an african american neighbourhood. it was by par true but as I became familiar witht the neighbourhood , the notion of only black was not true at all. There were more of a mixed racial existence in where i lived and still live.Africans, Indians, Pakistani,Nepalese, Tibetan, Italian, Bangladeshi,Arabian and Whites ( It;s harder for me to differentiate their origin).

From the reading 'A Different Mirror' my eyes opened up on the history of America. How the predominant Natives were driven out of the picture , how the English created race in strata of skin and features. The reading was much about everything from little stories of one person to the mass majority of people in riots to create an equibellarium of immigrant America. Except for the natives who were mistaken for Indians every other people we find in today's america are immigrants from all over the world. Being the first generation in my family from Mustang, Nepal it is an overwhelming experience  a tale to be told to the upcoming generation of our family's origin.What is RACE? a stratification of people based on their feature?skin color? if it was so my own biological sister she looks totally different from me. She has straight hair in contrasts to  my super curly hair always mistaken for being african

Socialization of Men and Women

Killing us softly   men perform violence towards women by the effect  directly or indirectly from mass media. She talks about how women are portrayed as a piece of object dehumanizing us women. She also talks about the values advertising imposes us as women how women should look. According to advertisements an ideal women is perfect of flaws , has no blemishes and in fact no pores she jokes. Secondly women are portrayed as sex symbols where only one part of the body is focused primarily and compared to being an object.
by Jean Kilbourne opened my eyes towards advertisements. It made me realize the hidden message and wrongful portrayal of us as woman. She talks about how advertising has shaped our everyday views on simple things. She advises to take advertising seriously. She talks about the gender exploitation in advertisements. She also strains the relationship of how

 Women being treated as object is loosely connected to violence. She also talks about how advertisement is biased towards women of color and mostly portrayed as animals ,the other being or simply exotic .She also talks about weight issues where skinny is perfect body type in the advertisement world. Women should be thin as a stick and possess no body fat like the ads in most magazines and TVs  have skinny models. The direct effect is on majority of women who are curvy and overweight. It brings the  self esteem of  most women down as being skinny and possessing large breast is nearly impossible without the blessed gene or going under the knife(implants).Overall the video teaches us a great deal about behind the scenes of advertisements and the wrongful portrayal of Women.

While relating to the ideal skin type in  ads  ,fairness ads are big deal in India. Well you all know majority of women and men in India are darker on the complexion side not all but mostly. The ad industry spend lots of money on making commercials of women turning fair from a week of using fairness creams. We all know that it is nearly impossible to change the color of the skin through using creams that will change our natural color but somehow enhance our psychological thought that it does work . Honestly it rarely changes. Anyways , the idea of fair skin in India is the ideal women should be .It has a major impact on most women who are naturally colored.

(pic above an indian ad “Fair and Lovely” fairness cream showing a women shedding her natural skin to become fair )

‘A call to Men’ by Tony Porter was a very informative speech from a man point of view on women. He shares his life experiences from growing up to his own experience on raising kids himself. His view on how boys are raised in a different method from young age really made sense. Boys don’t cry is a phrase I have always heard of. While growing up until today the only male that I have seen cry is my uncle when my grandmother passed away which was natural. Even in my circle of friends I have hardly seen any of my male friends cry if they did they were looked upon as queer. Tony Porter’s speech on the comparisons between Men and Women are instilled in childhood itself. “Boys are taught from young age that they are the superior being, strong, dominating, courageous, no pain, no emotions with the exception of anger and no fear. Men are in charge women are not that men lead and women should just follow whatever men say , men are superior and women are inferior , men are strong and women are weak , women are of less value meaning women are object.” He explains these phenomena as collective socialization of Men also known as ‘Man Box’.

He brings about his own experience from his father when his brother died. His father didn’t cry in front of the women but cried in front of him and apologized for crying and uplifted him for not crying. He also brings on an example about his question to a young boy how he would feel if his coach said he played like a girl in the basketball court the boy replied by saying he would be destroyed. Then he questions about how we are raising the concept of girl. He also talks about his first encounter to women being treated as an object .He felt mortified but the same time he felt remorse and excited for not getting caught and actually making others believe he did it and not a single thought on the girl who was an object. He concludes by saying even good men are the basis of violence against women and liberation of the guidelines of man box will be the liberation for women.

            

Understanding Power , Five Faces of Oppression and the Milgram Obedience Experiment

Power is derived from the latin word potere which means " to be able".Max Weber viewed it as the ability to bring about an intended outcome , even when opposed by others. This statement shows the relation of Miligram's Experiment enacted in the video. The test can be a good example of" Strategies to overcome opposition : persuade , reward, coerce in the chapter" .
Even though the  experiment was a deception of memory test, the participants still went on with the application of lethal shock till the end in the name of science. The professor's constant persuasion of you must go on with the test shows the authority he has .The participant's enacted differently . There was this 19 year old girl who without any slight changes in body expression over hurting the learner shows the classic example of Milgrams experiment stated by the behavioral sociologist. She was indifferent towards inflicting severe level of pain to the learner who opposed no threats to her.Towards the end of the experiment some participant's felt the obligation to stop but the constant persuasion of the professor to go till the end showed how power has a direct affect in our mindset.One of the three person who intervened and didn't finish the experiment justified by saying that it felt like the nazi in germany .This kind of brought me back to the present day situation in North Korea. There is a documentary by Lisa Ling " Inside North Korea"A team of medical doctors visit north Korea headed by Nepal's top eye surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit for cataract incision for free. It was actually a set up to explore the situation of the North koreans who are hidden from the rest of the world. Here , in this documentary it showed how people were living in the poorest of condition but didn't have a single complaint towards their leader Late Kim Jung Il who is worshipped like god.After the succesful surgery put by Dr Ruit's medical team they were not congratulated or even thanked for their efforts but their leader who was absent from all the hard work.Here is a link if you have time to watch it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxLBywKrTf4

In the article " Five Faces of Oppression, I could see a spitting image of my society in Mustang , Nepal. The Social class devisions of royal , noble , middle class to lower class. The caste systems is divided within the same group of people. It is changing but believe me social class system still prevails until today.The royal and the noble families are still considered at the top of authority . The are favored , exempted in paying taxes , community work and authorized less penalties for crimes .This sense of power in the mindset of the generation that has continued marginilizes the peoples' real potential in where they stand.Exploitation occurs in terms of the lower class being blacksmiths, butchers , sweepers , tailors and other low paying jobs.When there is a crime , the people falling under these groups are targeted and blamed upon.This shows how lack of consciousness and awareness of the opressed  has considered these traditions as norms  of their culture and are continuing to be oppressed.These groups in the village are not allowed to partake in any elections of village chief's Office.

Traditional dress

The Chupa (Chuba) is the traditional dress of the people of the Himalayan culture or Tibet.The material is mostly of silk from India or China and is only worn on special occasions like the Wedding or New years. These days the clothing has revolved and has some alterations in designs influenced. Heavily by neighboring countries.

Khapsey !!

Khapsey
Or Khora ( Tibetan pastry or cookie )
Made with flour , eggs , sugar and butter .This delicacy is prepared mostly in New years , wedding parties or special occasions .

Momos

Momo , the dumplings of the himalaya served with salad.

Wedding ceremony in the culture .

Marriage ceremony in tibetan buddhist culture . The stage is adorned with colorful banners . Red ,white ,blue , green and yellow is the color symbolizing the buddhist culture. The portrait of HH the Dalai Lama is centralized in the center . The bride and groom is wearing Bakkhu an attire very adamant to the culture .