Seeking Authenticity in Patriarchal White Supremacy: An Intersectional Analysis
Sociological Meanderings Towards Collective Well-Being
We all strive to “be ourselves” and “find ourselves” throughout our lives. We have all called someone else “fake,” knowing the insult, and hope that it never gets hurled at us. We — at least currently — learn this from the United States cultural context of individualism, which prizes individuality above all else. And from this cultural context, we seek out our “truth.” We seek authenticity.
Now, as sociologists, we know that every culture functions to maintain some aspect of social structure. That is, our beliefs aren’t random, but function so as to organize society. Thus, individualism functions to maintain some aspects of our society. I know you will be shocked to hear the job that the culture of individualism is tasked with: maintaining capitalism.
If you go back to the “founding fathers” of Sociology (and yes the ones that are recognized are white men, never mind scholars like WEB DuBois and Anna Cooper Smith) you will find many a page written about the relationship between individualistic culture and the economic structure of capitalism. If you read the excluded founders — DuBois and Smith — you will find that individualism also plays a role in a thriving system of…
