Sheryl Sandberg A Woman's Place Analysis

Being a minority race, such as an African -American is a complicated mix that is further strained by the geographic area. Depending on where you live, being a minority can influence and strain an individual’s identity. In the article written by Sheryl Sandberg, “A Woman’s Place,” she explores the difficulties between being a minority in the city of Silicon Valley. Similarly, in Somini Sengupta’s article, “ Why is Everyone so focused on Zuckerberg’s Hoodie?” he also examines how being a minority in a specific place affects how a person is treated and expected to act. Since an identity is not a stable part of a person, these factors dictate the mindset a person takes through their lives and presents many challenges. In certain geographic locations …show more content…
There seem to be stereotypes in place for how we all act and think so people will think they know us before any interaction takes place. Like Sandberg, there are boundaries set in place for us. We are expected to automatically have an attitude when we walk into a room. People will think we are going to be obnoxiously loud based on the stereotypes of African-American women. It is predetermined that we will have “baby daddies” and become single mothers instead of being married with children. There are a large number of assumptions about an African-American woman’s identity that was not made by the individual. The path of our identity ahs already been made up for us without much of our own input. How can people expect you to be different when every time you try they still generalize you with everyone else “like” you? Society will make you feel like an outside then wonder why you do not feel as if you fit …show more content…
Society does not want a person who is a part of the minority to be better than someone of the majority. Society creates a box for each individual; you are expected to sit quietly and know your place. For the individuals who decide to take a step out of the box that society created for them, they are criticized endlessly and frowned upon. An identity that you did not place upon yourself is incapable of providing someone with fulfillment. We find ourselves fulfilling stereotypes instead of striving to be ourselves. As humans we focus so much on what society portrays us as and eventually we fall into a cycle. Generations after generation of African-Americans are creating their identities based on who society expects them to be as a minority, instead of who they want to be as an