Running Head: CULTURE COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

Cultural Competency Development

Jennifer Warner
Georgia State University

Cultural Diversity
Dr. K. Watkins
Fall 2014

CULTURE COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

Dominate and Subordinate

As a social worker being open, and competent is learning to develop a greater
understanding of oneself and clients they are likely to work with. This is carried out by
acknowledging ones own oppression and how the privileges we have can actually be oppressive
to others. Reflecting on our own areas of subordinance and dominance is important in this
journey of studying diversity among other cultures to obtain awareness. In any society all
individuals are targets of negative, and or positive feedback from the masses, based on dominate
and subordinate qualities. A combination of both dominate and subordinate labels are attached to
everyone in society and done involuntarily, many times.
Subordinate
Race: The Africa American
Being born into a racial minority group can have its ups and downs. Because of our
victories as a race we are given scholarships just for our color. On the down side Whites as the
majority receive a head start in nearly every area of life in the West. African Americans are
generalized, and not properly represented in politics, medicine, and media. For African
Americans in a White-dominated society there is the question of identity. Identity greatly
impacts; ones idea of self-worth, experience of reality, and how they relate to the world around
them. Persons of color do not have the luxury to ignore their color. In The Souls of Black Folks a
book by WEB DuBois, he talks about the double conscious (1903) of the African American,
who has a root identity struggle. The struggle of having a double conscious is to not truly
identify with African roots nor with White Americans. White privilege has greatly impacted this
identity struggle, which has African Americans asking, who am I and how do others view me? If
knowledgeable of this struggle, the oppressed understand they cannot expect their oppressor to
provide them with the knowledge needed to know their history and culture. Especially, in
Eurocentric public school systems there is extremely limited, to no information of African
American history, and culture. This is why even though there is already a war in one self; having
awareness can help a racial oppressed person to think critically and help others develop healthy
self-awareness.
Oppression of Females
Many times women do not know they are an oppressed group because they do not realize
that they are even a group to start with. Being a female in America makes women the other,
and subject to men. Women are secondary to men; who are socially defined as having strength,
power, and intelligence leaving women being seen as opposite or less than men. The concern
begins when women are seen as objects instead of humans with feels and value. A woman
should have the right to her own body, she should not to be hyper-sexualized, or exploited in the
in anyway. American society encourages women to be less of who they are and more of what
male-dominated society would like for them to be. The self-worth of woman went from being a
good domestic working mother to having the most perfect body and will continue to change for
the interest of men. The perfect body has already been determined by men of power. Only 5%
of todays women fit the preferred body type, which leaves 95% of women wondering what is

CULTURE COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

wrong with their bodies (2007). Patriarchy is not necessary bad and in order to remove it from
society the entire government would have to be abolished and reconstructed which is not likely
to happen.
College Students-Lack of Higher Education
In U.S. education is not necessary but is preferred for jobs in high demand. Without proof
of completed higher education such as a; Bachelors, Masters, PhD, certifications, or trade there is
limited room to advance in the job market. Financial security can be difficult in this economy
without higher education, outside of having ownership of a successful business and even then it
could be challenging. There is such a high price on education, and so deciding not to further
education reduces the chances of making over $35,000 a year and increases chances of
unemployment as shown in a chart on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website (2012). Also
students who graduate with bachelor degrees almost 15% of them are unemployed. After
graduating the chances to make more are increase but it leaves people already in poverty starting
of their career life in debt. The process of pursuing a higher education leaves students typically
in poverty for 2-8+ years. Many jobs will not review a resume without higher education even if
they plan to train employees. This leaves those currently in school or in training still at a
disadvantage to be hired for a career during the schooling process.
Dominate
Married Parents
Though, there are a lot more single parent households today than in U.S. history, two
parent households remain dominate in American society. Laws are helpful to assist married
couples. Marriage has employment, tax, estate, and government benefits, such as filing joint
income tax returns, typically doubling household. A. Chiodo and M. Owyang, authors of For
Love or For Money: Why Married Men Make More shows in their study that there is a wage
gap between married men and never married men (2002). Turbo Tax says Depending on the
incomes, there still can be a marriage penalty. But if the taxpaying spouses have substantially
different salaries, the lower one can pull the higher one down into a lower bracket, reducing their
overall taxes.
Two people supporting one another can shows their children partnership and commitment
as a foundation for life. Marriage should put less stress on the family if one income fails there is
another to fall back on. Marriage is the norm in this society and is what people aspire to oppose
to being a single parent. My environment assured me that living in a married parent household
was more acceptable than single parent households, and I noticed this at a young age. As a child
I never thought I was not normal for having both parents, or aspiring to be married. My curiosity
led me to ask questions to my classmates like; what do you mean you dont know your mom?
What is divorce? Why did your dad leave? Growing up I saw images of families like mine in
the media, in addition my faith supported my views and understanding of marriage and family.
Heterosexual

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Certain aspects of life for a heterosexual persons is simpler than one who is gay, lesbian,
or queer. People do not wonder about the sex life of a straight person when they go out, and they
are not put on display or questioned on it. This is a privilege of a straight person. It is accepted
for me to have male interests and to engage in marriage with the opposite sex. There are so many
things in this heterosexual dominated society that supports opposite sex relationships. Out of
sight out of mind is what I think of because for a long time I had no concept of homosexuality
and when I finally did, I was curious about them. Heterosexuals do not worry if they will be
discriminated against because of their gender preference or because of who they are attracted to.
Society says for females to be attracted to males is normal and I was born into privilege.
Sometimes sexual preference and gender are not so obvious, sometimes it is hard to tell without
knowing a person. The fact that LGBTQs might feel the need to hind this part of them is a
disadvantage in itself. As a heterosexual individual I am not faced with the struggle of having to
hide my sexuality or gender.
English Speaking & National Born Citizenship
I was brought up around people speaking English to me to the point that it is the only
language I know. English being a dominate language across nations I was taught to speak
English and so I did not learn a second language nor did I ever need to learn a second language.
The ability to speak English has given access to many different opportunities, such as schooling,
jobs, and more. As a national born citizen I could run for any political office such as president, I
am not considered an alien which I never thought to be an offensive term until recently. When
people see me they do not ask me am I native born to the U.S, it is assumed a Black person is
from the U.S. If I were Asian American speaking to my family in my cultural tongue I would be
thought to be foreign even if I were born here in the States which many Asians have been. No
one questions if I am a terrorist or if I have terrorist affiliations. In fact I do not know what this
would be like. For a while after 9/11, Muslim American were bullied and blamed for the 9/11
attack as if they had something to do with it. This is not an issue for me no one mistakes me for a
terrorist or undocumented person. People do not blame me for living off of their taxes and taking
their jobs like done to Mexican Americans. Due to stereotypes and biases, people are blamed for
their situations, oppressed, and totally exploited.
Educating one another on types of oppression, and deciding to acknowledge our own
privilege is what it looks like to stand again oppression. With the dominant qualities we have it is
important that we wheeled them to service those that society has labeled as subordinate. To avoid
putting ourselves on a high horse or engaging in self-blame we have to dig deeper into the roots
of social problems and promote truth. It is critical to analyze an oppressed persons social
condition, and their awareness of existing oppression targeting them. By doing this we can truly
grasp oppression and its impact on a society, community, and an individual. Being open to new
ideas reduces stereotyping, and compels persons in dominate groups to be a voice for the
underprivileged.

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References
DeFrancisco, Victoria L., and Catherine Helen. Palczewski. "Gender/Sexed Bodies."
Communicating Gender Diversity: A Critical Approach. Los Angeles: Sage Publications,
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Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The souls of black folk. Oxford University Press.
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Lack of Educations
Employment by education and training assignment, 2012 and projected 2022. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 22, 2014, from http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_education_summary.htm
The job market for recent college graduates in the United States: The Economics Daily : U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2013). Retrieved November 22, 2014, from
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130405.htm
Marriage benefits
7 Tax Advantages of Getting Married. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 22, 2014, from
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/7-Tax-Advantages-of-GettingMarried-/INF17870.html
Chiodo, A. J., & Owyang, M. T. (2002). For love or money: Why married men make more. The
Regional Economist, 2.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/marriage-rights-benefits-30190.html