The triple-whammy of "-isms"

[Tom]

In my NaNo, I have a society that has classist, sexist, and racist prejudices. My poor MC, Krilya, is a linguist trying to make her way in the academic world. Obviously, she's female, but she's also middle-class and has the darker skin and more African-American features of the lower classes of the city.

The upper classes mixed with blond, light-skinned invaders nearly a century ago, and it's fashionable to have a quintessentially Northern European appearance. As well as racism directed at the lower classes, Krilya's people don't consider the three other humanoid races they know of to be fully human.

The attitude toward women in this city is much like that of ancient Greece: women stay at home, cannot usually vote or hold public office, and have little to no formal education. Krilya is only just taken seriously in her profession because of her knowledge and innate gift for languages, and some people distrust her or feel threatened by her because she's "invading" a "man's job".

I chose to have the upper classes to have a Medieval attitude towards the middle-class: dislike and distrust of those upstart peasants who think they can build their own businesses and livelihoods without the authority of a lordship.

All of these facts are intertwined in Krilya's narrative, culminating in several violent opinion-changes (hers, on racism, and others' on sexism and classism), but it's the little everyday details that I can't pin down. What are some everyday examples of these prejudices that Krilya would encounter just going about her work, or think about in everyday life?

 

[WooHooMan]

I actually have a character in a similar position. Fortunately, she's not the main character so I didn't need to go super deep into her daily life.

My suggestion would be to look into real-world examples. Sexism and racism are really talked-about issues right now so you can find at least a million blogs, forums or websites discussing this topic in detail. Maybe mosey on down to Mythic Scribes' "Research" subforum.

If you can talk about this with someone face-to-face, that'd be ideal since most internet people are crazy and their accounts can't be taken as absolute truth.
Classism is a little harder to notice in day-to-day life so I don't know if I can help you there.

Also, heads-up, I might steal the title "The Triple-Wammy of -Isms". I just think that's a fun title.

 

[spectre]

As far as racism goes I've heard a lot of people upset about the stereotyping and profiling of their race. In sexism a big notion is the idea of the glass ceiling, you can look up but you can't get up. Classism in India meant that wages were intentionally kept low and that property rights and public privledge could be squashed out by any upper passer by. Those are the three things I think of on topic. You could also explore the ideas of reverse-sexism or religious prejudice and persecution.

 

[cupiscent]

I've hunted up an article that I read a little while ago that really put some things in perspective for me on "passive" racism and the privilege that is the inversion of it: When "Life Hacking" is really white privilege. For me, the idea of when and how or even if you can cut in line gives everything about the heirarchy of isms.

Being on the bad side of endemic -isms is a pretty complex situation, and I definitely agree with those recommending reading lots of accounts - there are a lot being written right now - and talking with people about their experiences (while keeping in mind that some of these -isms are so entrenched that even the people suffering under them might not realise there is anything wrong with what they are experiencing, or that's "just how it is").

From what I've read, and what I've experienced, living under the -isms is a complex mix of fear, frustration, and uncertain suspicion. As a woman, I'm more likely to be the target of sexual violence, and less likely to receive official law-enforcement support in the event that I am a target. So this modifies my behaviour - I try not to walk alone at night, I don't leave my drink unattended in a bar, I take care to dress with a certain propriety. But then there are the less obvious elements. People assume I do the cooking - but it's my husband, who loves it and is better at it. People assume that because we have a lot of computer, my husband knows lots about them - but I do, and most are mine. When we were in restaurants in South America, I had tremendous difficulty attracting a waiter's attention, but I'm not sure if that's because I'm just bad at it (...I am) or because mostly it's the man who does the ordering/interacting for the table (of which I saw other evidence while we were over there).

And that last stuff is the tricky part. It's the element of "are you being like this to me because I'm a woman, or because I genuinely am wasting your time / missing the point / doing something wrong / too timid / too brash / too something?" It's not knowing whether the ism is getting you right now, and therefore not being sure if you can get angry about it. And that sort of thing is almost constant.

 

[BronzeOracle]

On racism / class, I lived in India for 2 years and I had friends who were affected by this - specifically the caste system. Although people might mix in their work and public lives, it was a big issue for marriage. I had a friend who wanted to marry a woman he loved, as he watched movies with love relationships and very much desired this for himself, but his parents were very much against it. 'She's from a bad family (ie caste) and if you are seen with her, or even worse marry her, then it will reflect badly on our family. Then it will affect who your sisters can marry.' So he gave up but he was very bitter about it and vowed that when he was older he would let his children marry who they wanted. I got a sense from him that he perceived and felt trapped by his social rules, that they were not fair.

Another example was when I was going to visit a friend in a particular part of town, and another friend said 'why do you want to see those people' and it was because they were low caste. In terms of race they both had very dark skin but the caste difference was widely known, even to the extent of which people lived in certain parts of town.

I found that skin colour carried a stigma in India - sunscreen was advertised to woman not as a way to avoid wrinkles or skin cancer, but to help their skin stay as fair as possible, as this was regarded as beautiful. Also I had a male friend once gesture to his arms and say sadly 'this colour is dirty, anything with this colour is useless.' I felt so bad that he was so deeply affected by the racism and actually thought of himself as less of a person. I tried to give him some perspective on the misdeeds and inadequacies of people with pale skin, that it was something beyond race, but I don't think he was convinced. So it can affect people's view on themselves in terms of their looks and self esteem.

Just a disclaimer here - these are examples I observed and they may well not apply generally to Indian society. But I thought they may give some insight into the domestic impacts/views when there is class/race difference.

Another thing in terms of day to day details is that accent and language (eg specific words or phrases) can be associated with a particular class. So your MC may be dressed up as the upper class until she opens her mouth and then everyone stares - think My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn. In a class society everyone knows who is who in terms of wealth - UK accents are a good example. And people get judged for it as less intelligent or less moral/noble. See how the orcs in Lord of the Rings all speak with low class UK accents, just like the hyaenas in The Lion King disney movie. I have to say that I really hate that imagery in the Lion King, but I'll stop that rant in its bud

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I don't leave my drink unattended in a bar

This is scary! It's something to remember for when my daughters are older, so thank you for posting this. Of course I know why you wouldn't, but being a guy, I hadn't ever considered this.

It's not knowing whether the ism is getting you right now, and therefore not being sure if you can get angry about it. And that sort of thing is almost constant.

I see this happen with my wife. Is it because I'm a woman? Because I'm Chinese? Because English isn't my first language? I try to reassure her (when I have a reason to believe it isn't that), but I see what you mean about the constant fear and questioning.

Sadly, when living in HK the -isms that could work against me just as often worked for me. (Example: "The meeting's in Chinese, so you don't have to go." = yay me. Then there was the "Stay by the door so the parents can see your handsome face." which I knew meant "Stay by the door so the parents can see our school has a white guy.")

 

[Tom]

Another thing in terms of day to day details is that accent and language (eg specific words or phrases) can be associated with a particular class. So your MC may be dressed up as the upper class until she opens her mouth and then everyone stares - think My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn. In a class society everyone knows who is who in terms of wealth - UK accents are a good example. And people get judged for it as less intelligent or less moral/noble. See how the orcs in Lord of the Rings all speak with low class UK accents, just like the hyaenas in The Lion King disney movie. I have to say that I really hate that imagery in the Lion King, but I'll stop that rant in its bud

I actually have some experience with this, but I never thought to apply it to the story. Thanks!

Buffalo is a very working-class city. It was built on the steel industry, and attracted thousands upon thousands of immigrants to its factories. Many people in Buffalo are of Irish, Italian, or Polish descent (or all three) and that's reflected in our speech. I myself am part-Irish and part-Polish, and I sprinkle my speech with Irish and Polish words and phrases. I also have a slight Buffalonian accent (used to be stronger, but I've worked to tone it down), and I use slang and grammar that's native to Buffalo. (Our 2nd person plural pronoun is "you guys". "Your guyses'" is the horrendously grammatically incorrect possessive form, which I try not to use.)

When going out of state, I experience how that accent makes others treat me. The Buffalonian accent is perceived outside of the city as working class (ie, less noble, intelligent, etc). I've gotten everything from weird looks to a waiter telling me at a restaurant to "tone down" my accent because it was "bothering the other patrons" (how exactly is my accent ruining your dining experience?!). One guy told me right out to drop the accent because it makes me sound like an obnoxious, lazy Pole. I was mistaken for staff at a formal dinner I attended once, was directed to the kitchen instead of the dining room, and had to convince the dinner's coordinators otherwise. All because of the accent.

Wow.

My rant is over now.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Was he at least your waiter so you could "tone down" his tip from 15% to 0%?

What an... (rhymes with Masshole).

 

[Tom]

Was he at least your waiter so you could "tone down" his tip from 15% to 0%?

What an... (rhymes with Masshole).

Unfortunately, no. But I did have a half-way decent comeback--I told him to tone down his arrogance because it was ruining my chances of ever choosing to eat at that restaurant again.