The Association Between Gender, Race And Ethnicity

Introduction

The present paper explores the association between gender, race and ethnicity. The paper studies the relationship of these factors in the main stream society and identifies how they influence the lives of people who undergo such issues. It identifies how racism, class status and gender influence the overall benefit that people can derive from society and its contradictions with the American ideas of freedom. The paper uncovers the differences between people of different races, including black, Latino and white Americans. The implications of these variables lead to different genders, including transgender, males and females. The paper relates racism and gender discrimination in the current conditions of America with the historical facts that confirm the prevalence of all three issues in the past.

Supporting Evidence

Paul A Kramer’s ‘The Importance of Being Turbaned’ highlights the issues of race, gender and class discrimination that prevail in the modern era. A black singer, Routte received great appreciation due to his voice and singing quality in Amsterdam. Route belonged to a minority group and faced racial and class discrimination. His singing and talent owe him a career and make him rich, but he still remembers the harsh realities and complexities that he faced. He brings to light the issues of black people and the brutal world where they have limited chances of survival. He uses his power of singing to tell people about the difficulties that black people face (Kramer). Routte’s talent gives him a reason to survive as the people of the ball community find the ball a survival place.

Jennie Levine made a documentary film ‘Paris is Burning’ in the 1990s, which represents the model of transgender discrimination, income disparities, and racial and ethnic discrimination. The analysis of the documentary and the effects on the ball community addresses the societal issues, and the documentary sparks the different periods of America and how it contributes to people of a minority group. It portrays the period of 1987 in New York, and the documentary displays the role of transgender such as Pepper Labeija. The ballroom structure of New York during the 80s represents the characters of the Hispanic and African-American transgender.

Transgender women and gay men among the minority groups face intensive competition in dance, fashion and styles. The minority groups play significant roles in the fashion and styling and the popular Hispanic and African- American characters that enjoyed the statues of the queen with tags of Butch Queen, Town Queen, Country Queen and Luscious Body. The documentary film shows that New York City in the 80s presents career opportunities to the transgender who failed to fit somewhere else in society. The city provides them with other opportunities to show their talents, including different dance competitions, and transgender take part in the competitions to earn trophies that present a symbol of pride for minority groups. The ostracised contestants strived to earn the trophies and put all their efforts such as LaBeija and Extravaganza. These characters could not fit in society and have no lives in the main- stream society.

The transgender serves as the surrogate family and makes a living from the ball culture and the most suitable earning opportunities they find at the balls of New York City. The documentary presents the colourful sequences’ that takes place in the ballroom and interviews the main figures that take part in the RuPaul’s Drag Race. The interviews with transgender address the issues of gender, race and ethnicity. The responses of the characters reveal their actual feelings and their thoughts about these discriminatory factors.

Rutgers explains the exclusion of black LGBT activists from the civil rights movement. The contributions of the remaining form part of history, but the prominent role of Pauli Murray remains neglected. Murray faced complex gender issues and raised their voice against racism. Murray is an activist with no confirmed gender, but her removal from history and the civil rights movement reflects gender discrimination. At the time of arrest, she presented herself as male and lived her entire life as a lesbian. The comparison of LGBT activists ‘Pauli Murray’ relates to the characters of ‘Paris is Burning’ as the ball community gave their lives to the documentary, but they receive no appreciation. The name of Livingston remains evident as she takes the credit for the film. “How each person’s life brought them to this ball circuit ball is our world; it is for us to get close to reality, such as fame and fortune and stardom. Those balls are just like our fantasies of being superstars like Oscars or runway models.

They express their feelings about the beauty standards and illustrate the concept of ‘shade’ that Dorian Corey addresses directly: “I don’t have to tell you you’re ugly. I don’t have to tell you because you know you’re ugly”. The demonstration of shades reflects the lexical influence in the region. The terminologies such as the queen, fierce and shade represent the ball events. The ‘Paris is Burning’ reflects the lives and culture of the minority group that in real life undergoes several destructions and sufferings due to the pains that society inflicts on them. The ball community states, “ Ball is the world where whatever you want to be, you be. There is always something for everyone. It is about how you look like, either you look a real man or a real woman”. The issues of transgender not only reflect the income disparities but the problems that they face present a never-ending phenomenon. The members of the ball community face pre-dispositions and disturbances in their lives. The documentary highlights many illnesses in American society and confirms the prevalence of racism. Ethical and gender differences play a destructive role in the lives of these people.

The state of the 1980s remains the same as the 1960s for the minority groups in America. The issue of fornication is very old, and society cast out the people who had no clear gender. “The Case of Thomas/Thomasine Hall” reflects the complexities that transgender faced in the past when a colonial servant recognized the transgender of a fellow servant (Hall) and asked the court to confirm the gender of that particular character. Under the court’s decision, the examination of the servant by a group of women confirms that she is a lady; however, the group of men identifies him as a boy.

Hall explains the story that they were born as a girl, and in their youth, they did not adopt any specific gender, which makes it ambiguous. Hall depicts that he/she played different gender roles, such as a man in the navy and at service and a woman at home when they worked to handle female chores such as sewing and managing other home tasks. History portrays that Hall concealed himself/herself for many reasons, as society never accepted him/her as normal. Xtravaganza expresses a perfect explanation for this, “When someone faces rejections from their father and mother and families, they search for someone who can fill their world. Their real parents give them such a hard way to go”.

Xtravaganza explains this gender discrimination. The main issue that the gender fluids encounter is the lack of education as the court forces Hall to pick any one gender, but Hall denies that reflects the confusion about gender and sex. The case of colonial Virginia shows that the society denied accepting people of ambiguous gender as transgender, but they forced them to choose any identity from the female or male characters. The character of Pendavis is similar to Hall as he performs both kinds of tasks. At home, he becomes a woman and sews clothes, and in the outer world behaves like a man and has no clear gender.

The comparison of the current status of transgender with the statuses in the past reveals that they face the same issues, and their conditions are not improved in the twenty-first century either. Legal and social injustices faced by the trans community depict their lack of acceptance in society.

Conclusion

Anyone of a different race, gender or ethnicity strives for basic living rights and faces challenges of no appropriate legal rights, harassment and stigma, poverty, anti-transgender violence and inappropriate behaviors. The ball community included all. Whether black, Latino, gay, or transgender, they all faced a safe place away from exploitation. Race, gender and class issues influence the lives of anyone in the United States dating from current day to colonial times.