Reading through the various sections of the Rothenberg book this week, I seemed to have a comment on most of the readings. In Smells Like Racism I thought it was interesting that a small portion focused on accents. I never really considered basing an opinion on an accent to be racisist but I can see how in some cases it is. The thing that first popped into my mind after reading this was the idea of the English accent. I feel that the English typically are viewed as pompous or overly propper, in large part due to their accent. In numerous interviews I've seen, mainly with British actors, they tend to comment on the fact that everyone believes they're prim and proper just because they're from England.
One of the points from the Opression article kind of bugged me a little bit. I felt like too much was being made about the man opening the door for a woman. Call me old fashioned but if I'm with a guy I feel like he should open the door for me. I see this as a common courtesy. I know I can open the door on my own and I'm happy to do so if necessary. But I don't feel that a man opening a door for me means that he thinks I'm "weak" in some way. But maybe this has to do with the way that I was raised and the fact that I don't feel I've experienced a lot of oppression in my life because of the time in which I was raised. I know that women have had it rough in the past and that it still continues today. I've been fortunate enough to work in a field that is typically dominated by women. If fact, for the past 5 years or so by direct supervisor has always been a woman. I'm sure at some point in my future I will experience opression but luckily I have yet to be affected by it.
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