Race And Gender Analysis

In the United States, ideas concerning race and gender have not always been around; they were only introduced through social constructions. Each one of these terms has its own unique story of how it came to be widely known and understood in the US, as well as around the world. In this paper, I will focus on the issues concerning the social constructs of race and gender, along with providing background information about how these terms still have huge influence today. Race and gender have contributed to many of the injustices present in today’s society. Racial projects such as Federal House Act of 1934, privileged whites, over people of color in terms of bank loans, allowing whites to have the best neighborhoods, while people of color got stuck

Racial projects are a great way for society to connect the links between the definitions of race with the everyday experiences, all while giving us a better understanding of how we fit into the structure itself. In “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness,” George Lipsitz addresses the issue how of the Federal Housing Act of 1934 was supposed to help millions of American’s get loans in order to buy their own homes, but due to racist tactics, only whites benefited. Lipsitz (1998) asserts, “Overtly racist categories in the Federal Housing Agency’s (FHA) “confidential” city surveys and appraisers’ manuals channeled almost all of the loan money toward whites and away from communities of color” (5). This meant that on top of whites receiving the best loans that were available, they were also placed in the best communities. People of color, mainly blacks, got the short end of the stick, and ended up in lower income neighborhoods. This further created the divide because now the best communities and schools were only present to the whites. Due to this act, communities soon became segregated and this segregation is still somewhat present

From the very beginning of our lives, a majority of us are told or taught upon by cues on how to act according to our gender. Saying that if one wants to perform gender right, than girls should act a certain way, while boys act another. In,“Night to His Day,” Judith Lorber discuses how the formation of gender begins, “For the individual, gender construction starts with the assignment to a sex category on the basis of what the genitalia look like at birth” (Lober 1994:55). Solely based off the genitalia, it will be determined if the child is a boy or a girl; from their parents will dress their child in a certain way to make that gender prevalent to an outsider. This notion of teaching the girl or boy to perform their proper gender roles will continue, until the child is old enough to have it embedded into their