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michael li assignment 9

Working in customer service, I am frequently treated as an outsider. The service-class of a capitalistic industry is a medium through which those outside and above it- those who hold the means of production- can exercise power. This is done so in various degrees and the intention is, sometimes, to degrade. In relation to Collin’s work, these interactions end with the execution of power by some individual knowing that secrets about them reveled in said execution are kept safe, as insured by the system they carry out their business in.

Collins talks much about the advantages of being an outsider and how such a position is important to contributions of development in sociological work.   This perspective allows an outsider to see things without bias, patterns normally overlooked, or unnoticed, and gain valuable information that would be otherwise unattainable as someone who is trusted as being someone from within (Collins, 1986:15).

Collins focuses on Afro-American women as a group, but also emphasizes the importance for them to recognize that everyone in said group is their own individual with their own experiences and circumstances (Collins, 1986:16). This is an important parallel to draw between the outsider concept and the fact that other individuals, even in the same group may notice things another does not. Therefore, to properly evaluate the state of sociological discourses, Afro-American women must be able to document their ideas and submit them for evaluation by others.

Collins talks about the pursuit of creating and evaluating sociological discourses as if it is a tool to combat contemporary racism and sexism, which she observes as existing the subtlest ways. She refers to Judith Rollins experiences in which she was ignored while at work (Collins, 1986:18). Awareness experiences like these should be documented and considered through discourses. It can lead to realization of one’s imposed definition of their self by another group/individual. Such group/individual gains power the more they define an outsider. This can be used to separate and categorize outsiders, which renders them powerless. Collins notes that the two most effective ways to combat this is to resist and then create a definition of ones’ self without an external influence.