Hey Mid-May… I know that I’ve been neglecting myself lately (which means that I’ve neglected my writing). But I’ve been really busy with other things…
Mainly practical and theorically based Social Work.
This is one of my Response Paper’s that I recently wrote, based on Frantz Fanon
Black Skins, White Masks
This response paper will specifically focus on reflecting the main concepts found within the introduction, as well as chapter 1 and 4 of Fanon’s book titled Black Skins, White Masks (1967). This paper will include a summary of the main arguments, a critical reflection on the main arguments a personal response to the reading, the implications of this reading for social work and the identification of three comments that could contribute to the class discussion about the reading. The summary of main arguments includes the concepts of developing a new humanism, through identifying the ways in which humanism has been rendered invisible to non-white individuals. Understanding the following terms’: language, discourse, ideology, consciousness, racism, idealism, supremacy versus inferiority, inferiority complex, alienation and disalienation, are fundamental in understanding what Fanon reflects through-out these chapters.
It is difficult to summarize the immense power of words written in these paragraphs. Fanon starts off with his personal standing of how he views himself within his current context. He reflects that his predetermined skin colour and its predetermined connotations, led him into developing the ideology which he has about himself amidst the world he lives in; and about the people, society, politics and the racial boundaries which surrounds him (Fanon, 1967). Fanon writes about the boundary or “zone of non-being” where he compares the black man, to being viewed as invisible; unless ofcoarse the black man slaves to deemed human, by trying to assert himself as a ‘white man’ (Fanon, 1967, p. 8). “Man is not merely a possibility of recapture or of negation. If it is true that consciousness is a process of transcendence, we have to see too that this transcendence is haunted by the problems of love and understanding” (Fanon, 1967, p. 8). Fanon (1967) describes the inner battle that the black man goes through, in order to find himself socially acceptable.
The social construction of the black man is challenged by the western ideology that the white race is superior. Fanon (1967) makes use of France, South Africa, Senegal and Antilles; when he describes the various contexts of social construction, and the characteristics which affect the social construction of race and humanism. In Chapter one the concept of language, is the main underlying theme of the chapter. The relationship between language and social construction is tightly linked. The matrix of social construction includes concepts of power relations, discourse, knowledge, political ideologies, culture and various social influences etc. (Wetherell & Potter, 1992). The connotations and pre-determined ideologies associated with language affects the way in which people respond to individuals; and in addition, affect the level of respect or honour one receives (Fanon, 1967). Race and language are both social constructs and therefore have assigned assumptions of culture, knowledge and degrees of humanism attached to it.
The polarities created through the mere use or considered ‘misuse’ of language affect the power dynamics amongst individuals. Creole, Pidgin-English compared to French, segregate, alienate and isolate non-whites from themselves, besides just mere society (Fanon, 1967). The polarities created through the construct of language can be compared to the main theme of inferiority complexes in the fourth chapter of this book. The example of South Africa’s poor whites still being treated better than any other non-white during colonial rule and apartheid; is a clear indication that the political structure, the social structure and the economic structure of South Africa (much like other colonial ruled countries) perpetuated the effect of racism and incisions of inferiority, onto the non-white individuals (Fanon, 1967). And whilst class, race, language, knowledge, power interdependently influence the degree of considered humanism assigned to individual; Fanon (1967 and 1964) still advocates for the use of the master’s tools to try and over-throw the pre-determined social constructs, so that liberation and humanism may be achieved for and by equally viewed and accepted human beings. Fanon (1967) additionally addresses the texts written by M. Mannoni; and suggests that it is the responsibility of non-whites to take action and responsibility for being human in their own right; despite their immediate response to the master, as slave.
Personally I found that, Fanon identifies the perpetuated state of interdependent relationships and social constructs which still exist today. And I can relate it to current international relationships as well as national and social relationships. Language influences the way in which we view our peers. Speaking in certain ways pre-determine the responses we create, and therefore, either ranks or categorizes them into good enough or unacceptable. English is one of the languages which in many ways has formulated many relations, but it has additionally neglected others; just as Afrikaans and French has. I feel that discourse and critical social work is so important to consider when working in society (Ferguson, 2008). This reading opened my eyes to how we’ve been conditioned into accepting things the way they are, instead of analytically contesting the conditions and reasons of how we choose to relate to individuals, whether white or non-white.
The implications of this reading on Social Work Practice, resides in the fact that categorization, discrimination and oppression based on race, gender, class, ethnicity, culture; are the social issues which social workers need to be aware of whilst they conduct practice (Sheafor, & Horejsi, 2010). The consciousness of practitioners whilst working with members of society need not only raise the consciousness of those whom require assistance, but especially those who do not seek to understand the social constructions and the ways in which systems and power relations seem to perpetuate the cycle of discrimination. Social Workers need to identify the link between power relations and poverty, isolation, alienation and discrimination. Social Workers need to be aware of the fact that socio-historical, socio-political, socio-economic and discourse (such as language and knowledge) shape and in many cases unfairly pre-determines the lives of future generations of the world (Sheafor, & Horejsi , 2010 and Wetherell, & Potter, 1992). It is therefore essential that Social Workers do not further perpetuate the cycle of oppression, discrimination and racism; and this can be practiced through keeping abreast of social issues and becoming self-aware (McLaughlin, 2007).
