Week 8 - Difference

Naked Spaces: Living is Round

Trinh T. Minh-ha

1985

"A Special Third World Women Issue" by Trinh T. Minh-ha discusses the important place that women of color have in society. When a certain role is defined for you in a culture, it is nearly impossible to break free of that. Mihn-ha explains that Third World women are often portrayed in a manner that makes them stripped of their individuality and complexities. They are all grouped together as if they are not their own people living very different lives. A word that stuck out to me through the text is that of tokenism. Tokenism is the act of making an effort to be inclusive or representative in order to give the appearance of diversity. This often looks like placing minority individuals in positions or roles where they may not have substantial influence or power. It can also look like using them for a certain time then once the need for the look of diversity comes to an end, firing them. In class we discussed that in the show The Big Bang Theory, the main character that is smart is upstaged in knowledge by someone Asian. Bringing in an Asian character to play this role only solidifies the stereotypes we have for Asian people. We typically think of them as very smart, especially in math. This can be very hurtful because we are categorizing a massive group of people who are all very far from the same. If someone is Asian and is not the best at school, these stereotypes can make them feel dumb and left out. Stereotyping in general is not okay because someone's race does not make them inherently better at something.

The idea of equal opportunity, while made with good intentions, can continue cycles of oppression in a few ways including surface level equality, competition, and exclusion of needs. Surface level equality is the fact that every individual is given the same opportunity to succeed, but forgets that the system is built against different groups of people. The playing field may be leveled to a certain extent, but what is forgotten is that minorities in this country face economic hardships and lack of resources for education at a systematic level. And that does not change with just equal opportunity. Tokenism also becomes a huge issue with the idea of equal opportunity because organizations may include a few individuals from different backgrounds to meet diversity quotas without actually making meaningful change.

To discuss the issues surrounding the idea of cultural authenticity, one must define authenticity, which is nearly impossible. Authenticity's definition is very subjective, but can be defined as the act of being genuine, original, or true to one's self or origin. In a cultural context, it can refer to the idea that certain cultural practices, beliefs, or expressions reflect the old traditions, values, and experiences of a particular group. Because authenticity is so vaguely defined, it is easy for groups of people to exclude individuals that they do not think are authentic enough. This is an issue surrounding cultural authenticity because some individuals may not fit the exact mold to being authentic, so they are excluded even though they are part of that culture. Something I have seen first hand is the idea of commodification where big retail stores try to make a culture their product. This is very disrespectful in my opinion to the culture because traditions that make people who they are should not be commercialized and sold just to make large corporations lots of money. That leads me to the purpose of preserving authenticity. It maintains a sense of identity for those that are part of cultures that need preserving. It can also bring connections for groups of people and brings pride for those that are a part of it. History is also held intact while preserving authenticity. Without this preservation, our understanding of history would be skewed and we would not view cultures the way we do now.

Overall Mihn-ha's writing gave very important insight into the lives of colored women trying to navigate day to day while carrying an invisible burden of fixed stereotypes and expectations on their backs.