Matrix of Domination
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An effort to describe issues relating to dominance and oppression that deal with class, ethnicity, sex, religion, nationality, sexual preference, and/or age through the use of a sociological pattern known as the Matrix of Domination/Oppression (Patricia Hill Collins 1989). She points out that there are several ways in which one could be subjected to dominance or tyranny in her work. In this essay, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational attainment are discussed. Different forms of structured inequality have been witnessed particularly in the pandemic period where the less fortunate seems to bear the brunt of the coronavirus. There are significant differences across income classes in terms of both the threat posed by the pandemic, which is attributable to pre-existing health conditions, and the degree to which people respond to the possibility of getting infected. According to Bristow and Gilland (2020: 72), the major issue caused by the outbreak will emerge to be one of class instead of one of generational identity. It also follows that lower income groups are unable to receive the same health benefits as those accorded to the upper income classes, notable in the number of deaths within the lower income group communities.
Among the four elements of society, this particular issue belongs to the structural and hegemonic elements of the Matrix of Domination. In terms of the structural element, the issue of classism pertains to how different economic facets impact people of different classes. A number of reasons explain why this domain contributes to structural inequality. When it comes to determining which persons benefit and which persons suffer as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, class plays a significant role. Hegemony is a system of thought developed by dominant groups that justify unequal practices. Collins sees this aspect as recurrent with the ability to uphold the system over time. As a result, culture, consciousness, and ideology cause a normalization of beliefs that are otherwise harmful to society. Even lower groups such as subordinates are likely to endorse such ideas. These inequities are especially visible in the health sector as highlighted by the pandemic, where gaps between affluent and poor have grown even more severe. Lower income groups are less likely to get help in the health and education sectors.
In terms of the aforementioned structural inequality relating to health and education issues, the hegemonic domain of power points to the way the two main pillars of society (in this case healthcare institutions and education centers) perpetuates the ideologies and cultures of segregation on the basis of income earning and subordination. Schools and hospitals shape the consciousness of people through manipulative images, ideas, and symbols for the various services offered. During this epidemic, the globe has observed rising differences between private institutions (hospitals and schools) that are doing everything they can to defend their costly prices by utilizing cutting-edge technologies both in the delivery of education or health services. For example, the use of technology to provide customized assistance to patients and students is a luxury that lower income groups in the society are unable to afford. There is a notable difference between what private institutions in the health and education sectors are able to offer to the higher income earners compared to the lower income groups.
There is a significantly large number of people who are unable to get access to the required medical attention as well as keeping students in schools. For example, schools closing in the U. S., where the inequality gap that exist between the haves and the have nots is on the basis of academic achievement is even wider than in the United Kingdom, will almost certainly have even more severe repercussions than in the United Kingdom. The same applies for the health sector where these differences are even larger. In addition, the prevailing parental fears that their children will contract the viral infection will almost certainly have even more severe consequences. It is also anticipated that the middle-class departure from government-sponsored educational institutions would have grave downstream implications. Moreover, there is currently evidence to suggest that minority populations, particularly Hispanic and Black communities, are facing the burden of the disease’s effects.
References
Bristow, J., & Gilland, E. (2020). The Corona Generation: Coming of Age in A Crisis. John
Hunt Publishing.
Collins, P. H. (1989). The social construction of black feminist thought. Signs: Journal of
women in culture and society, 14(4), 745-773.
