Essay about Race, Class and Gender through Family

In society everyone is categorized under a race; this is what divides individuals according to their physical characteristics which are inherited such as skin color, eye color, and hair color. Many people are easily confused between race and ethnicity, the difference is that ethnicity relates to cultural factors such as nationality, language, and beliefs. In the story â€Å" Life as the Maid’s Daughter† by Mary Romero we explore the boundaries, Teresa one of the main characters has to deal with everyday based on her race, gender and class. We see that living with boundaries creates frustration and confusion within Teresa’s early stage of life. Teresa is both bilingual and bicultural meaning she can speak two languages and abides by two†¦show more content†¦The reason I was aware of these color differences was through school where there was kids of all different races. In kindergarten was the first time I interacted with people of a different race, this was because my family was all Caucasian along with all the children that lived within my neighborhood. Even though these children in school were of a different race, I believed all people were equal despite one’s skin color, hair color, or eye color. Teresa’s experience as the maid’s daughter made her recognize the social class that she was a part of. A social class is the wealth, power, and rankings that an individual holds within society. For Teresa she was in a low social class her mother made an inadequate amount of money by being a live in maid. Teresa’s story was highly based on learning rules that were set by white, monolingual Eng lish speaking customers. Rather than have her own individuality. â€Å"Teresa was socialized to conform to female sex roles†. Prestige is defined as â€Å"an individual’s social recognition, esteem, and respect commanded from others.† It is evident that Teresa lacked respect from others who forced their own ethnicities upon her while ignoring her Mexican identity. Teresa’s mother by the name of Carmen would fall under the feminization of poverty, this refers to women who are single with a child. In Carmen’s case it is difficult to climb the ranks of the social class due to her lackShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Daughter From Danang 1272 Words   |  6 PagesThrough the process of social construction, various social statuses, such as race, class, and gender, are given a deeper meaning than simply a category. In turn, these statuses begin having an effect on the groups they encompass, causing some groups to become dominate over others and shaping the hierarchy of their society. Once established, these statuses begin to intertwine and influence one another, along with space and time, which is called intersections. 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