I’ll skip over the whole discussion of nurture vs. nature. All these traits are learned, though, in some families, it starts so early that it might as well be in the genes. The good news is that these things can be unlearned, but that generally happens individually and doesn’t come as quickly as acquiring these habits in the first place.
These qualities are birds of a feather; when you spot one, the others aren’t far behind. Misogyny or sexism are considered male traits but often are supported by women as part of their upbringing. The people that trained up little girls to believe there are things they couldn’t and shouldn’t do include women as well as men.
We can point to public figures that demonstrate all of these qualities. It’s scary to see those running for office based on appealing to those who hate the same people. It’s not surprising that the same person promotes “Don’t Say Gay” laws, says Black History “lacks educational value,” and recently said “all Palestinians are antisemitic.” His campaign to root out Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) prevents the eradication of wage gaps for women, among other things.
The roots of sexism, racism, and homophobia stem not from an innate hatred and dislike of “others” but from a desire for wealth and power. One class of people held power and has done all they could to maintain it. I’m generally speaking about America, which initially gave rights to land-owning men, almost all of whom were white, but is it less accurate in many other nations?
Many male perpetrators, then and now, love women of their race and others as long as they can be treated as possessions. More than a few engaged in same-sex relationships, though they publicly denounced them. In their personal lives, they engaged in the very activities they claimed to hate. The goal was to limit the claims of others on the rights they preserved for themselves. The current claims of reverse racism and attacks on affirmative action and DEI are rooted in maintaining the status quo where the actual protected class is the upper class, with the equity gap ever increasing.
The struggle to eradicate sexism, racism, and homophobia is being matched by those who benefit from their continuation. They have the advantage of having systemically inserted their views into laws and policies and having control of the levers of power in government and corporations. Very few get to serve in the US Senate or on the Supreme Court or become President without falling within a particular class. The House of Representatives has few poor people, and racial minorities have no cumulative power. They are represented but control nothing.
The DNA of all these things is the preservation of wealth and power. Suppose you think of the battle as a class war and not changing the minds and hearts of those on the front line who don’t know or do better. Sometimes, a Black or brown grandchild softens the hardest hearts. An LGBTQ child can make some parents reconsider all they’ve believed before. Watching a daughter struggle against a glass ceiling or being subjected to sexual harassment can change one’s views. Of course, others choose to back the status quo, putting family last instead of first.
Calling someone a racist is no longer an effective tool to effect change as some now consider it a badge of honor or respond that the one calling them out is the true racist. Ostracizing the LGBTQ community has manifested itself by banning books and making it acceptable for so-called Christian private schools to reject them as students. Our immigration policy is determined by country of origin, and it’s been acceptable to cage children and separate families permanently. The glass ceiling is still in full effect. Don’t think it’s only about hate; it’s about the maintenance of power, which is why where you find one of these traits, the others can’t be far behind.
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This post was previously published on Cultured.
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