Joyin C Shih Causes Of Prejudice Essay

1283 Words6 Pages

When people rely on surface appearances and false racial stereotypes, rather than in-depth knowledge of others at the level of the heart, mind and spirit, their ability to assess and understand people accurately is compromised” (Jam A. Forbes). Throughout history, humanity’s judgmental perspectives of each other have been rapidly escalating. Those who think of themselves as superior have desperately gotten to a point of creating an artificial concept known as “race”. This fabricated idea has been used to segregate the “inferior” kind from the “superior” kind. “Chyna and Me” by Joyin C Shih, and “Causes of Prejudice” by Vincent N. Parrillo are two literal texts that support the argument of race being a socially constructed term to outcast those who “do not” reach the social standards. Shih offers us her personal perspective about race, and also goes a step further to portray race …show more content…

To Parrillo, a person is not only influenced to have a discriminatory mentality psychologically wise but also socially wise. He presents us with two forms (Socialization and Social Norms) of how an individual is persuaded to incline towards having discriminatory thoughts due to his surroundings. According to Parrillo in “Causes of Prejudice”, socialization is where a person adopts the perspectives and moralities from those who surround her. These perspectives and moralities implement the thought of race as an opportunity to outcast those who do not possess the same benefits as the “inferior” individuals. The term social norms is in a way similar to the term socialization, it just refers to a more personal level of influence. “Social norms -- the norms of one’s culture -- form the generally shared rules defining what is and is not proper behavior in one’s culture” (Parrillo, “Causes of Prejudice” 515). This term is relatable to what Shih experienced during her childhood where she was expected to act “Chinese” among and outside of her