Chapter 2

Systems of Privilege and Inequality

1. True/False An economically privileged, heterosexual white man can be classified as a target member in groups where difference is stratified.

2. True/False Sexual terrorism is the threat of rape and sexual assault that controls primarily lesbians’ lives.

3. True/False Being a member of a target group implies being in a position of subordination vis-à-vis the mythical norm.

4. True/False The term for the process whereby individuals direct the resentment and anger they have about their situation onto those who are of equal or lesser status is horizontal hostility.

5. True/False The “bootstrap myth” implies that everyone deserves to have an equal piece of the pie within a democracy.

6. True/False The United Nations recognizes crimes against women as hate crimes.

7. True/False Imperialism is defined as the confluence of ethnocentrism and misogyny.

8. True/False “Micro” means focusing on the level of individuals and “macro” means focusing on the large-scale, societal levels.

9. True/False Institutions can be defined as messages that shape our understandings of social life.

10. True/False Categories such as gender, race, and sexual orientation are socially constructed.

11. True/False Systems of power and privilege are encoded in language.

12. The fear and dislike of lesbians and gay men is the working definition of which term?

a. Misogyny

b. Homophobia

c. Homoeroticism

d. Gynophobia

13. As explained in Chapter 2, hate groups in the U.S. include all but which of the following?

a. Ku Klux Klan

b. Christian Identity Movement

c. Racist Skinhead

d. Neo-Confederate

e. None; all of the above are U.S. hate groups

14. Institutions pattern systems of inequality and privilege in which of the following ways

a. Assign various roles

b. Interconnect with each other

c. Meet everyone’s needs equally

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

15. The term for the hatred of women is

a. Misogyny

b. Homophobia

c. Androcentrism

d. Sexism

16. The cultural acceptance of men being able to date much younger women is an example of privilege associated with which two systems of inequality and privilege?

a. Sexism and racism

b. Sexism and ableism

c. Sexism and ageism

d. Ableism and sexism

17. Regimes of truth are also known as

a. Categories of meaning

b. Essentialist perspectives

c. Institutional patterning

d. Disruptive ideologies

18. Examples of internal colonialism include:

a. Importation of black slaves

b. Removal of native people from indigenous lands

c. Classification of migrants from Mexico as illegal

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

19. The term “queer” has included different meanings, including

a. Odd

b. Sexually dissident

c. Normal

d. Heteronormative

e. Both (a) and (b)

f. Both (c) and (d)

g. All of the above

h. None of the above

20. The bootstrap myth is a discourse of U.S. institutional power that

a. Guarantees everyone the same opportunity to succeed

b. Blames an individual’s lack of success on structural inequalities

c. Renders invisible the bigger system of structural inequalities

d. Supports capitalist aims

e. Both (a) and (b)

f. Both (c) and (d)

g. All of the above

h. None of the above

21. The “psy sciences” are a form of institutional power because they

a. Classify individuals as “normal” or “deviant”

b. Are race neutral

c. Are gender neutral

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

22. Intersectionality is a key concept in the field of WGS because it

a. Focuses on individuals rather than institutions

b. Focuses on institutions rather than individuals

c. Considers “micro” and “macro” influences on people’s lives

d. Centers straight, white women as the focus of scholarly inquiry

23. Challenging our assumptions about privilege and inequality requires us to consider

a. Ways language shapes and reflects privilege

b. Who is excluded from the “mythical norm”

c. How institutions affect our lives

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (c) and (d)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

Reading 8 “Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection” Patricia Hill Collins

1. True/False In “Toward a New Vision,” Patricia Hill Collins quotes a Black woman who said that while “the white woman is the black man’s mule, the black woman is his dog.”
2. True/False In “Toward a New Vision,” Patricia Hill Collins describes the institutional, symbolic, and individual dimensions of oppression.
3. True/False In “Toward a New Vision,” Patricia Hill Collins emphasizes the importance of “both/and” thinking when considering issues of privilege and oppression.
4. In “Toward a New Vision,” Hill Collins attempts to reconceptualize race, class, and gender as categories of analysis. She writes that traditional approaches to these issues tend to be based upon certain premises. These premises are

a. Misogynous attitudes

b. Either/or thinking

c. Ranking of differences

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of above

g. None of the above

4. Which of the following examples was used by Patricia Hill Collins as a way to explain systems of privilege and inequality and issues of entitlement?

a. Helping another student pick out a sweater

b. Joining another student in a rally for equality

c. Deciding with another student what to order in a restaurant

d. Sharing decisions with another student about paying bills

5. In “Toward a New Vision,” Patricia Hill Collins writes about the symbolic dimension of systems of oppression. This is the same as the

a. Institutional realm

b. Individual realm

c. Structured realm

d. Ideological realm

6. In “Toward a New Vision,” Patricia Hill Collins makes three suggestions for overcoming barriers of inequality and privilege. Which of her suggestions are included below?

a. Creating coalitions around common causes

b. Socializing women to succeed in the public world

c. Building empathy

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (a) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

7. In “Toward a New Vision,” Patricia Hill Collins compares the university to a plantation in order to

a. Make readers feel guilty

b. Provide a contemporary example of institutional privilege

c. Show the relationship between gender, race, and class

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

Reading 9 “Intersectionality” Vivian M. May

1. True/False Intersectionality (Vivian M. May/“Intersectionality”) focuses specifically on the issue of interracial marriage.
2. True/False Vivian M. May (“Intersectionality”) makes the case for the confluence of multiple forms of oppression.
3. Vivian M. May (“Intersectionality”) critiques which author known for her classic article “Oppression”?
   1. Gloria Steinem
   2. Marilyn Frye
   3. Betty Friedan
   4. bell hooks
4. Vivian M. May (“Intersectionality”) critiques the article “Oppression” because the author does which of the following?
5. Takes a “pop-bead” approach
6. Assumes gender is isolatable from other facets of identity
7. Ignores men’s multiple locations in systems of privilege and inequality
8. All of the above
9. None of the above
10. Vivian M. May (“Intersectionality”) gives a “snapshot” of intersectionality. Which of the following is not included in this snapshot?
11. Considering lived experience as a criterion of meaning
12. Shifting toward an understanding of complex subjectivity
13. Reconceptualizing heteronormativity as the key to understanding intersectionality
14. Challenging false universals
15. Vivian M. May (“Intersectionality”) is concerned that WGS applies the concept of intersectionality in a way that
    1. Focuses on race but excludes gender
    2. Oversimplifies complex concepts
    3. Suppresses multiplicity
    4. Both (a) and (b)
    5. Both (b) and (c)
    6. All of the above
    7. None of the above

Reading 10 “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression” Audre Lorde

1. True/False Audre Lorde, author of “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression,” is a black, lesbian mother and poet.
2. True/False Audre Lorde, author of “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression,” emphasizes that our children need to resemble or learn to be like each other in order to work together for a future they will share.

3. Audre Lorde’s essay “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression” illustrates which of the following?

a. Problems associated with horizonal hostility

b. Problems associated with heterosexism

c. Problems associated with racism

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All the above

g. None of the above

4. In her essay “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression,” Audre Lorde makes which of the following arguments?

a. Racial oppression is the foundation for all other oppressions

b. Oppression of one group threatens the members of all groups

c. We are only responsible for protecting those who are normal

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

1. When Audre Lorde writes, “when they appear to destroy me, it will not be long before they appear to destroy you,” in “There is No Hierarchy of Oppression,” she attempts to
   1. Connect all oppressions
   2. Unite readers from diverse groups
   3. Incite fear in the Ku Klux Klan
   4. Show that she is normal
   5. Both (a) and (b)
   6. Both (b) and (c)
   7. All the above
   8. None of the above

Reading 11 “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person” Gina Crosley-Corcoran

1. True/False Gina Crosley-Corcoran (“Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person”) self-identifies as a middle-class woman explaining white privilege to a broke white person.

2. True/False Gina Crosley-Corcoran’s essay “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person” responds to Peggy McIntosh’s famous article on white privilege.

3. Gina Crosley-Corcoran (“Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person”) argues that white privilege

a. Should not be confused with class privilege

b. Should make white people feel guilty

c. Protects white people from all other oppressions

d. Does not relate intersectionality

4. According to Gina Crosley-Corcoran (“Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person”), intersectionality can help us

a. Ignore white privilege

b. Destroy white privilege

c. Complicate our understanding of white privilege

d. See that class privilege is more significant than white privilege

5. According to Gina Crosley-Corcoran (“Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person”), recognizing our own privilege means

a. Being able to define intersectionality in our own words

b. Acknowledging that we haven’t really worked hard

c. Admitting that we are big jerks

d. Being aware of the opportunities we have that we didn’t earn

Reading 12 “What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?” Robert Bird and Frank Newport

1.True/False Robert Bird and Frank Newport (“What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?”) argue that U.S. social classes are made up of well-defined, well-understood categories.

2. True/False Robert Bird and Frank Newport (“What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?”) note that a person’s gender affects the way they describe their social class.

3. In “What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?,” Robert Bird and Frank Newport argue that which of the following factors determine the way people describe their social class?

a. Gender and marital status

b. Sexual orientation and pet ownership

c. Education and age

d. Political affiliation and criminal record

4. Robert Bird and Frank Newport’s chart on the top of p. 79 (“What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?”) tells us which of the following?

a. People who earn between $50 and 74K per year are most likely to describe themselves as working class

b. People who earn between $20 and 29K per year are most likely to describe themselves as lower class

c. People who earn more than 250K per year are most likely to describe themselves as upper class

d. People who earn between $40 and $149K per year are most likely to describe themselves as middle class

5. Robert Bird and Frank Newport’s chart on the bottom of p. 79 (“What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?”) tells us which of the following?

a. The less education a person has, the more likely they are to describe themselves as upper class

b. The more education a person has, the more likely they are to describe themselves as upper class

c. More people describe themselves as lower class than any other category

d. More people describe themselves as upper class than any other category

Reading 13 “Cisgender Privilege” Evin Taylor

1. True/False Evin Taylor (“Cisgender Privilege”) uses the “invisible knapsack” model of Peggy McIntosh in this reading.
2. True/False Evin Taylor (“Cisgender Privilege”) focuses on the intersections of gender and race.
3. When Evin Taylor (“Cisgender Privilege”) writes “gendered privilege is experienced differently depending on the situation and the individual people involved,” which of the following concepts are being described?
   1. Heteronormativity
   2. Homophobia
   3. Sexism
   4. Intersectionality
4. The Latin prefix “cis” (Evin Taylor/“Cisgender Privilege”) means literally
5. Out of
6. On this side
7. Before
8. After
9. Evin Taylor’s (“Cisgender Privilege”) list of 50 privileges of cisgender people shows the following:

a. Cisgender privilege is more significant than white privilege

b. People who are gender nonconforming have a difficult time accessing health care

c. Cisgender people take many privileges for granted

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

Reading 14 “Don’t Laugh, It’s Serious She Says" Ellie Mamber

1. True/False The women in the poem “Don’t Laugh, It’s Serious She Says” is on the lookout to attract young men in their 20s.
2. True/False The woman in the poem “Don’t Laugh, It’s Serious She Says” hopes to attract men so that she can reject them.
3. True/False The woman in the poem “Don’t Laugh, It’s Serious She Says” is 70 years old.
4. The poem, “Don’t Laugh, It’s Serious She Says,” by Ellie Mamber illustrates which of the following concepts?

a. Double standard of aging

b. Age-illness connection

c. Age-plastic surgery connection

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

5. The poem, “Don’t Laugh, It’s Serious She Says,” by Ellie Mamber describes which of the following concepts?

a. Sexism

b. Looksism

c. Ageism

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

Reading 15 “Disability and Social Justice” Teodor Mladenov

1. True/False Teodor Mladenov’s article “Disability and Social Justice” is a response to the Leap Manifesto.

2. True/False In his article “Disability and Social Justice,” Teodor Mladenov argues that disability is not a category of oppression on the same level of gender, race, and class.

3. True/False In his article “Disability and Social Justice,” Teodor Mladenov argues society’s definition of disability plays a key role in sustaining capitalism.

4. According to Teodor Mladenov (“Disability and Social Justice”), which issues does Nancy Fraser highlight in her articles about social justice:

a. Affirmative action, parity of participation, ableism

b. Economic redistribution, cultural recognition, political representation

c. Political parity, practical-activist, critical-theoretical

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

5. The focus on self-sufficiency devalues women and disabled people because we/they

a. Are less likely to work for wages than men

b. Are more likely to work for wages than men

c. Are more likely to provide or need unpaid care, assistance, or support

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

6. Embracing a transnational perspective can be transformative for disability studies because it acknowledges that

a. Capitalist consumption in the Global North negatively impacts the physical bodies of people in the global South

b. There are people with disabilities all over the world

c. Nancy Fraser’s argument was a good one

d. Working conditions should be improved all over the world

7. Teodor Mladenov (“Disability and Social Justice”) argues that “disregarding disability risks enhancing injustice for all” because

a. When disabilities are defined narrowly, working conditions decrease for everyone

b. When giving and receiving care is stigmatized, all workers suffer

c. Disregarding disability in the U.S. means also disregarding disabilities sustained throughout the global economy

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above

Reading 16 “Poems with Disabilities” Jim Ferris

1. True/False In “Poems with Disabilities,” Jim Ferris mocks the use of disabled parking spaces.

2. True/False In “Poems with Disabilities,” Jim Ferris argues that parking is easier for people categorized as disabled.

3. True/False In “Poems with Disabilities,” Jim Ferris argues that society views disabled people as abnormal.

4. In “Poems with Disabilities,” when Jim Ferris describes the moment in which

“suddenly everything/

changes, the world tilts/

a little, angle of vision/

jumps…”

he is describing the moment when readers realize

a. Cancer affects all of us

b. Handicapped parking is important

c. We all die a little bit every day

d. Disability is a normal part of our lives

5. In “Poems with Disabilities,” Jim Ferris notes that

a. People who are disabled are always easy to spot

b. Sometimes you can’t tell by looking at people that they are disabled

c. Disabled parking is a privilege

d. Both (a) and (b)

e. Both (b) and (c)

f. All of the above

g. None of the above