The American Dream. Power, Privilege, and a Lack of Achievability According to Feminist Theory (PDF)

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 95, , course: English 101: Freshman Composition, language: English, abstract: Is the American Dream actually achievable? Currently, no, it isn't. We live in an America that is full of inequality based on race, class, gender, size, sexual orientation, and more. Between voting rights restrictions, misogyny, white supremacy, and privilege/power dynamics, the America we call the land of equality isn't so equal.

People have redefined the American Dream again, usually as something along the line of "social mobility" or "rags to riches". This concept focuses on the idea that anyone can move up in the world if they just work hard enough. This, of course, naively ignores power and privilege dynamics and just assumes that everyone is going up against the same hurdles. This American Dream is seen as possible for everyone to achieve because those who ascribe to it don't understand that some people have challenges they don't, or that some challenges aren't possible to overcome with hard work alone. In fact, some people can't work at all, believe it or not.

I have always defined the American Dream as achieving equality. Based on my observations of the country, America prides itself on being the freest and equal nation on the planet. We always feel the need to help other countries be as "perfect" as we are, and we always tell people that they should be grateful to be Americans because they'll never have any "real" problems here. Many believe we live in a post-racial society that has no sexism, no inequality, and no worries. While this idea is a pleasant one, it is completely naïve. Of course, it may seem to the privileged that life is grand, but that is only because they aren't facing the challenges that those without privilege have to face. The American Dream is achievable for white, middle-class, cisgender straight men; however, groups without those privileges have far less opportunity to achieve the Dream.