Week 12 Blog # 1

Muted Group

According to Griffin, a muted group is a group of, "People with little power who have trouble giving voice to their perceptions because they must re-encode their thoughts to make them understood in the public sphere; e.g., women."  This information can be found on page 455 in chapter 35 of our textbook.  

I find this concept to be an interesting one because whenever I talk about oppression I tend to focus on the silencing of others.  I talk about how one group silences another, not literally, but by making them feel as though they are ignorant or unimportant.  I like that I now have another term, the muted group.

~Tornn

Week 12 Blog # 1

Standpoint

According to Griffin, a standpoint is, "A place from which to critically view the world around us."  This information can be found on page 441 in chapter 34 of our text.  So when people say standpoint they don't literally mean where one is standing and what they are literally looking at, but instead a standpoint is almost a state of mind.  If one's standpoint is abortion is morally wrong, then they will tend to feel that Roe v. Wade should be overturned simply because that is how they are looking at the issue.  

I think standpoints are important for understanding how far and deep you can actually go with another person when discussing issues.  This is because I know from talking to people, many are not interested in hearing anything that differs from view, and I feel that this comes from their standpoint.

~Tornn