Judgments: how white people decide what's racist, what's sexist, and what's not
With Betsy Leondar-Wright
Forthcoming with Stanford University Press
Forthcoming with Stanford University Press
In 2015, Donald Trump rode down the Trump Tower escalator and announced the focus of his presidential campaign: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best… They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Months later, a video revealed him telling television host Billy Bush, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything… Grab ’em by the pussy.” These incidents led to more reporting on Donald Trump’s past. Reportedly, he’s refused to rent to black people, used the n-word on his television show, walked in on beauty pageant contestants while they’re changing, called women ‘pigs’, and sexually assaulted multiple women.
Is Donald Trump racist? Sexist?
Many Americans think the answers are clear. But whatever your answers, about half the country disagrees with you.
And these aren’t the only issues about which we disagree. Is flying the confederate flag racist? What about Black Entertainment Television? Is it sexist for a male boss to call his female worker ‘honey’? To give mothers custody of their children more often than fathers?
Judgments: How White People Decide What’s Racist, What’s Sexist, and What’s Not explains how a large segment of Americans comes to answer this question. It argues that white conservatives sit on one side, white liberals on the other, each unable to see what the other sees because they define racism and sexism differently and use opposing methods to determine whether their definition has been met. We argue that to calm the culture war and combat racial and gender inequality, each side needs to better understand the other’s method and adjust their own. To address the problems that remain with us, we need to all get better at determining what’s racist, what’s sexist, and what’s not.
Is Donald Trump racist? Sexist?
Many Americans think the answers are clear. But whatever your answers, about half the country disagrees with you.
And these aren’t the only issues about which we disagree. Is flying the confederate flag racist? What about Black Entertainment Television? Is it sexist for a male boss to call his female worker ‘honey’? To give mothers custody of their children more often than fathers?
Judgments: How White People Decide What’s Racist, What’s Sexist, and What’s Not explains how a large segment of Americans comes to answer this question. It argues that white conservatives sit on one side, white liberals on the other, each unable to see what the other sees because they define racism and sexism differently and use opposing methods to determine whether their definition has been met. We argue that to calm the culture war and combat racial and gender inequality, each side needs to better understand the other’s method and adjust their own. To address the problems that remain with us, we need to all get better at determining what’s racist, what’s sexist, and what’s not.