Comments on: He Used to Have a Mullet http://educationandclass.com/2007/08/10/he-used-to-have-a-mullet/ Exploring the intersections of social class, education and identity Thu, 31 May 2012 16:30:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: stephanie jones http://educationandclass.com/2007/08/10/he-used-to-have-a-mullet/comment-page-1/#comment-180 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:47:31 +0000 http://educationandclass.com/2007/08/10/he-used-to-have-a-mullet/#comment-180 Hi Jane,
I only meant to have a peek at your blog this morning but couldn’t drag myself away when I began to read this post. Disgusting. This is classism at its worst because the images provided and the corresponding text reproduces and strengthens the stereotypical constructions of what it means to be White and working-class or poor or the U.S.
Not having the original image available doesn’t change a thing here – we’ve all seen many, many such caricatures depicting working-class and poor “rednecks” across our lifetimes. Unfortunately this means that an image is too readily available in our imaginations already, cartoon or no cartoon.
Your response to the cartoon in this particular post is insightful, poignant, and right on the mark making so clear the need for a generative discourse around class and classism in our society.

Here’s the kicker – does the cartoonist (or any professor who thinks the cartoon was funny) actually think that the real, live subjects who are represented by the caricature don’t already know that they are viewed in such pejorative ways? Of course they do, and they feel it too, which too often leads to thoughts of “I just don’t belong here.” And, unfortunately, the same subjects have likely experienced those understandings and feelings since they were in grade school and high school – they must draw the line somewhere and decide not to subject themselves to such pain at some point.

All school (and social) settings are saturated with class and classism. When will we all figure that out?

Thanks for the great post.
Stephanie

]]> By: What Are *You* Doing on *Our* Turf? « Education and Class http://educationandclass.com/2007/08/10/he-used-to-have-a-mullet/comment-page-1/#comment-169 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:15:36 +0000 http://educationandclass.com/2007/08/10/he-used-to-have-a-mullet/#comment-169 [...] to publish it.  I choose my fights carefully, so took it down but have blogged about it here. Posted by janevangalen Filed in classism, social class, higher [...]

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