Reflections

        Here are the things that I experienced in psychology today:

                Feelings:

1. Boredom, because I already heard the same group once before.
2. Annoyance- because the group talks so much about acceptance on the basis of sex, gender, race, and "Sexual orientation" (in other words, their sexual perversion or lack thereof) and yet they say nothing about the fact that your religion is more of a pivotal separation and discrimination factor than all the rest. What someone believes influences what you think of them more than what they look like or whether they're male or female. I also was annoyed that they think they have to bring "sexual orientation" into it at all. It is not yet scientifically proven that it is "natural" and not a choice, and to be accepting of it is also against my religion. I can accept that those who choose to live in that way are still human beings who God loves, but I cannot be forced to believe that it is "normal" for them, and that I shouldn't view them differently. I would. If I had kids that needed a babysitter, I would definitely not choose a homosexual one over a heterosexual one. I would rather stay home than expose children to that. I believe that homosexuality is a choice, but that some who choose it also choose to lie to themselves until they believe their own deception. God loves them, and I must choose to love them as well, with His power and agape love. However, that does not mean that I have to treat them as I would my fellow Christians. They are of the world, rather than of Christ.

3. It was also frustrating, because people don't seem to realize that you really can't be homosexual, and also believe in the Bible- which expressly condemns homosexuality in numerous spots. You can claim to believe the Bible- but this is the kind of belief that picks and chooses- the same kind, that creates your own version of God, rather than accepting the one of the Bible.
4. i also felt like they could have said something about homeschooling, or of coming from self-employed families, or having a low income.... they did a lot about class- but that was more of how you looked, and they did not recognize that some "poor" families live good lives- second-hand stores are great... you can have nice clothes and still be poor.
5. Another question that they raised was that of culture- they asked the girls, "did you have trouble finding dolls to play with that looked like you, as a child?" Several asians raised their hands. However, I found that it is sort of neat, how many ethnic dolls and things there are available. For example, Pleasant Company offers a series of American Girl dolls, from many different ethnicities and cultures- from indian, to irish, to african, to asian. You can get whatever race you like. Barbie is starting to do some of this, as well. I had an asian looking barbie ballerina when I was young- so they are even out there. No, there were not doctor asian barbies, and athlete asian barbies, and every other occupation.... but there was an asian.
6. There was a discussion of male and female privilege- certain privileges that are given to one or the other. Some that were mentioned, are such things as only girls being expected or encouraged to play with dolls, or other "girl" toys, guys being expected to get poor grades due to partying, versus a girl getting poor grades because she is inferior and is stupid. Another aspect that was not mentioned, is the fact that if a man is living with his parents after college, he is considered a bum or very strange, and on the other hand, it is not considered that strange for a woman to do the same thing- she doesn't even have to have a job, and it is still acceptable.

A lot of the gender preferences stem from either biblical gender roles, interpretations of those gender roles, and from past culture. For

example, in the past, women never left home until they got married, (a good idea, in some cities) and so now, it is still considered all right. On the other hand, men were expected to go out and start earning an income, so that they could support a wife. Around the same time, it was considered a tragedy for a woman not to get married, and men were expected to carry on the family name- thus they needed a wife and children.

Preconceptions:
I assumed that the group would talk about ethnicity, and race, and culture. I assumed it would be very similar to what I heard the first time that I heard the Peer Diversity group talk. (in CSD 100)
I also assumed that I would have to participate in the same types of activities as in the other class.
I felt like I did not want to be there, at first. I was wishing that I could have skipped the class that day. But I would not have skipped it, because I don't want to skip classes.

What we did:

We stood in a line (as single file as we could get, considering the number of people) and as the PDE's read statements, (such as "My parents took me to plays or art galleries") we moved forwards, or stood still, and some other statements, (such as "I was made fun of for my race..") caused us to move back. Once we had gotten through all the statements, we looked around and saw where everyone was. It was not surprising that the asian girls were at the back of the room, and I was close to the very front. Some of the questions seemed to be designed to single out a single group of people. If they had asked some slightly different questions, it may have made the group move differently.
After we finished moving and looking, we discussed what we thought of the activity. Some people talked about how we hadn;'t touched any religious topics, another said they thought people hadn't all been honest, such as on the questions where nobody stepped forward or back. I think that they were honest. I think that the prejudices are just not quite as pronounced as they all presume.

After awhile we got into the actual topics of "white privilege", "male privilege" "class privilege" and "heterosexual privilege". Most of those are actually just perceived.

I could go into a lot of detail about all this. But, I won't at this time, because I think it is time to go out to dinner soon, and I have lots of other homework to do.

Over all, though, my thoughts of this whole thing, were that it was sadly warped away from real differences, and slanted towards those differences that are choices, such as homosexuality.

I don't think my psychology teacher would agree with that statement, merely because psychology is one of the "sciences" that claims that it is "the way you are made".

What I learned:
1. People tend to "follow the crowd" and be like those around us.
2. Those who are different are either considered as outcasts, or as "popular" and special.
3. Those who want to stop prejudices often overcompensate for them, and end up persecuting those who aren't different, or are just different in a different way.
4. At college, homosexuality is considered a "majority" by birth, rather than a choice.
5. People need the Lord.


Overview of the experience:

Class monday was quite different than normal. I did not think it was very interesting at first, because I thought that it was going to be about the same as the last time that I encountered "Peer Diversity". Now I just wonder how long it will be until they are in my next class...