Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression


             
 
 
            This story captivated me at such a young age. It depicts what so many young girls experience when they think of the image of beauty and what is pure. As a young girl I used this story as an inspiration of self-worth unlike the story which provides an example of self-oppression due to racal and skin complex.

            The memory that I have of an incident of oppression that has always stuck with me is actually from a book that I read in seventh grade.  The story the, Bluest Eye written by  Toni Morrison is a 1970’s novel about a young girl named Pecola who has an inferiority complex due to her skin and eye appearance.   The book focuses on racism, incest and child molestation. In the story the main character, Pecola is constantly told that she is ugly and has been instilled with the idea that whiteness is beautiful. In the book whiteness stands for beauty. Due to this Pecola who is of darker skin connects beauty with love and believes that if she had blue eyes all of the wrong in her life would go away and be replaced with love and affection. For Pecola she wishes is she had blue eyes she could see the world in a more beautiful positive light. The overall story compares blackness and whiteness as well as describes the negative impact that white cultural domination has on culture identity.

My description doesn’t really give the novel the justice that it deserves. I recommend that others read the story to get the full scope of what inspired me at such a young age.

 

3 comments:

  1. Stephanie,

    Thanks for recommending the book. I have never heard of this story before, but it sounds like a very interesting read. It is sad that this could be a true story for so many children today. Every child should be loved no matter what their skin tone or eye color may be. All people are beautiful!

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  2. Stephanie,
    I loved this book. It is very inspiring and does really put forth the idea that all people are beautiful no matter what their physical attributes. I also chose to write about a book this week it shows how influential media can be in our lives.
    Alissa

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  3. Hi Stephanie,
    Thank you for sharing the book. It is sad that a child should be made to feel that their skin and eye color are what make them more or less loved by the people around them. This is why it is important that teachers are educated on diversity and bias so that they are aware of it around them and within themselves.

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