Taken for Granted

<p><b>How the words we use--and don't use--reinforce dominant cultural norms</b> <p/>Why is the term openly gay so widely used but openly straight is not? What are the unspoken assumptions behind terms like male nurse working mom and white trash? <i>Taken for Granted </i>exposes the subtly encoded ways we talk about topics like race gender sexuality and social status offering a provocative look at the word choices we make every day without even realizing it. Eviatar Zerubavel describes how the words we use provide telling clues about the things we take for granted. By marking women's history or Black History Month we are also reinforcing the apparent normality of the history of white men. Zerubavel shows how this tacit normalizing of certain identities practices and ideas helps to maintain their cultural dominance--and shape what we take for granted.</p>