The first passage I read was “Constitutional Argument” by Susan B. Anthony that war written in 1898. This reading is the argument for women having to do with voting and the constitutional amendment that states that “All men are created equal…” Anthony argues that the constitution says that we are all equal and all have the right to vote as stated in the amendment. For that reason, if women are denied that right they are not living by the laws that our founders set out for us. I believe this is a wonderful argument that started much of the women’s rights era. Anthony explains herself very well and makes amazing points that are hard to ignore in a court of law. Thought we have made great strides since then, I believe that someone today could still make an argument about gender wages and how women are looked upon in society with this same constitutional amendment.
The second passage I read was “Unequal” by Jessica Neuwirth. This reading examined laws and acts that have been made in different countries around the world and how women’s equality is moving forward in each country. She starts with saying that there are many laws here to enforce women’s equality but in many different countries women still get treated very bad. Some countries don’t give any rights to women at all. The biggest problem though is with family situations regarding women and how men usually have the upper hand in the family and can tell or make his wife do anything he wants and she is the one that gets in trouble, not him. As Neuwirth points out at the end when she mentions a few countries who are finally taking a stand and changing some of these laws to ensure women’s rights, some of these changes are being made at a snail pace when it should be a drastic change that needs to be made immediately. I feel bad for many other countries and how they are being run because women are not getting the respect that they deserve. And though I am happy that some things are getting changed, I hope that many more things keep happening and each change in a law has a domino effect on another.
The third passage I read was “The Postwar Moment” by Cynthia Cockburn. This passage talks about how after wars there is a specific time in which the government starts to rebuild itself. The whole country’s policies have a chance to transform. Most of the time this rebuilding is for the good but sometimes there are certain things that are omitted from the policies that should not be, one very important one being gender issues. The one we have learned most from is in Bosnia. After finally reaching peace with Herzegovina their country had to rebuild. It failed to have anything concerning gender rights on its new policies and many things have gone wrong because of that in the recent years. To fix this problem, women need to be in the discussion and in the new policy making events so that in order to get what those gender rights, women are rightly represented in the making of them. I did not at all know this all was going on in countries around the world and I do not believe others do either. I think if you inform and educate more people about it, then it is something that, in time, we can fix so that everyone, no matter the gender, is represented and respected equally in this world
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Extra Credit C
Extra Credit C
The film “Born Into Brothels” is a documentary that explores the lives of children who live and who’s families live in brothels in India. It started out as being just a documentary about women in the brothels but turned into more of the children’s perspective. The writer of this film, Zana Briski, lives and teaches in Calcutta, India. She has a photography class and gets to teach the kids that live in the Red Light District. She forms relationships with them and gets to know each and everyone of them and starts to care for them all. She eventually tries to find a way to get all of them out this district and into good schools so that they eventually may end up making something of their lives.
In this movie, there are many connections that can be made to our class. One very obvious one is how women are treated. They are not valued at all and the men have total control over women. They frequently get beaten and that is nothing that gets looked down upon. Emotional abuse is frequent as well. Also, girls are not very likely to get a good education. They are frequently put “into the line” and become prostitutes just like their mothers and grandmothers. It is highly unlikely that they make it out of their situations and make a name for themselves. All of the things that are shown in this movie are things that once- it is hard to believe- was how it was most everywhere in the world. Though our country has made great strides to overcome this equality issue, India still has a lot of work to do in women’s rights.
When I rented this film, I honestly did not think I would enjoy it at all. I thought it would be boring. As I watched the movie, though, I really started to feel for the kids that were born into this situation. The thing that really tore me apart was the fact that most of these kids understood how bad of a situation they were in and really truly wanted to get out and get a good education. Though they loved their family and stood by them, they really wanted to be better and do something with their lives. This really struck me and I really felt for each and every one of those kids.
The film “Born Into Brothels” is a documentary that explores the lives of children who live and who’s families live in brothels in India. It started out as being just a documentary about women in the brothels but turned into more of the children’s perspective. The writer of this film, Zana Briski, lives and teaches in Calcutta, India. She has a photography class and gets to teach the kids that live in the Red Light District. She forms relationships with them and gets to know each and everyone of them and starts to care for them all. She eventually tries to find a way to get all of them out this district and into good schools so that they eventually may end up making something of their lives.
In this movie, there are many connections that can be made to our class. One very obvious one is how women are treated. They are not valued at all and the men have total control over women. They frequently get beaten and that is nothing that gets looked down upon. Emotional abuse is frequent as well. Also, girls are not very likely to get a good education. They are frequently put “into the line” and become prostitutes just like their mothers and grandmothers. It is highly unlikely that they make it out of their situations and make a name for themselves. All of the things that are shown in this movie are things that once- it is hard to believe- was how it was most everywhere in the world. Though our country has made great strides to overcome this equality issue, India still has a lot of work to do in women’s rights.
When I rented this film, I honestly did not think I would enjoy it at all. I thought it would be boring. As I watched the movie, though, I really started to feel for the kids that were born into this situation. The thing that really tore me apart was the fact that most of these kids understood how bad of a situation they were in and really truly wanted to get out and get a good education. Though they loved their family and stood by them, they really wanted to be better and do something with their lives. This really struck me and I really felt for each and every one of those kids.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Activity #10
The gender wage gap is a subject in which many people have may different opinions as to if it is justified or not. I had never really thought about the difference in wages among men and women before recently and had never heard both sides of this argument until reading this article. June O’Neill does believe that the gender wage gap is justified but Hilary Lips does not believe it is. Reading both of their sides gave me more insight and also more of an understanding for what I believe on this matter.
My opinion of this matter is that the gender wage gap is not justified, therefore I agree with Hilary Lips side of the issue. She explained that the reason that the gender gap is not as noticeable as it used to be and therefore looks like it is getting better is because most business use weekly and hourly rates for pay rather than using annual pay rates. With this system, men usually work more hours than women making the gap still a large one. The reason that men can work more hours is because of a few things. One is that if the woman does in fact have a family, then they may not be able to work all the hours that a man could due to family obligation. Also, some of the “extra” things that are offered at works for more pay may not be an option with a family because they are usually weird hours. Another thing that makes it hard for women to get as many hours as men is because with long hour jobs, something having to do with travel for example, men are more likely to have those jobs or positions because a lot of time women think about what if they started a family or being away from home too long. Therefore, they do not take jobs that may require that lengthy period of time away from home.
Another thing that makes the gender gap so big is the fact that they use men’s standard of working as the normal. This model does not include family and domestic issues that should be included due to women having to deal mostly with these issues.
Another thing that makes the gender gap so different is the “rumor” that it is just accidental that women and men choose different occupations in which men just happen to choose ones that pay more than women. This is defanantly false. The best example to back that up is how women and men are both teachers, but women teachers make 95% less money than men teachers. This shows that even though women typically are teachers more than men are, men still make the most money.
The writing about the gender gap being justified by June O’Neill makes a huge deal about how women choose to go into less important jobs due to the family. They choose occupations that work with the home, which is usually part time jobs, with less hours and lower pay. The things that O’Neill brought up in her paper all seemed to be things that, even though are true, are not necessarily women’s faults. Even though part time jobs maybe chosen by more women, the men that are in them as well still make more money than the women with the same job. This shows that the wages are still unfair and need to be examined more closely by our society to make a change.
My opinion of this matter is that the gender wage gap is not justified, therefore I agree with Hilary Lips side of the issue. She explained that the reason that the gender gap is not as noticeable as it used to be and therefore looks like it is getting better is because most business use weekly and hourly rates for pay rather than using annual pay rates. With this system, men usually work more hours than women making the gap still a large one. The reason that men can work more hours is because of a few things. One is that if the woman does in fact have a family, then they may not be able to work all the hours that a man could due to family obligation. Also, some of the “extra” things that are offered at works for more pay may not be an option with a family because they are usually weird hours. Another thing that makes it hard for women to get as many hours as men is because with long hour jobs, something having to do with travel for example, men are more likely to have those jobs or positions because a lot of time women think about what if they started a family or being away from home too long. Therefore, they do not take jobs that may require that lengthy period of time away from home.
Another thing that makes the gender gap so big is the fact that they use men’s standard of working as the normal. This model does not include family and domestic issues that should be included due to women having to deal mostly with these issues.
Another thing that makes the gender gap so different is the “rumor” that it is just accidental that women and men choose different occupations in which men just happen to choose ones that pay more than women. This is defanantly false. The best example to back that up is how women and men are both teachers, but women teachers make 95% less money than men teachers. This shows that even though women typically are teachers more than men are, men still make the most money.
The writing about the gender gap being justified by June O’Neill makes a huge deal about how women choose to go into less important jobs due to the family. They choose occupations that work with the home, which is usually part time jobs, with less hours and lower pay. The things that O’Neill brought up in her paper all seemed to be things that, even though are true, are not necessarily women’s faults. Even though part time jobs maybe chosen by more women, the men that are in them as well still make more money than the women with the same job. This shows that the wages are still unfair and need to be examined more closely by our society to make a change.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Midterm 2
Heteronormativity is defined as the way heterosexuality is constructed as the norm. The way this is shown in our society is in places like advertisements and commercials, where heterosexual couples are the only sexual couples shown. Another place is in card stores in the “love” and “anniversary” sections where there are only cards made for the “normal” heterosexual couple. All these things show society and make knows to the world that only being heterosexual is normal and that all other sexual relations are not accepted.
The concept of heteronormativity defines and shapes every aspect of a relationship today. One way that it influences it is through the dominant construction of masculinity. In our society, the politics of sexuality come from the politics of the general world. When a man and a women come together in a relationship, it comes with strings attached. The man is automatically the dominant partner, as with males having most power in society. They make the money, have higher jobs, and are physically stronger. In the “ideal” family, the father figure is above all and the father has the say of what happens within the family. This is what is normalized in our society, therefore nothing else is accepted.
Another thing that is influenced by heteronormativity is the reproductive health. Since males are considered the dominant gender, when it comes to reproductive decisions and health, it used to be seen as the males decision and the female had no say. Recently thought, birth control, parenting options, and birth plans have become more and more centered around what the female wants. With this new development, it takes the male out of dominance and therefore, not making them as powerful, breaking the norm.
One more way to express how much power heteronormativity has had on our society is through gender divisions of labor. In our world today, women and men have very different job descriptions. Men usually have very high profile jobs, while women, on the other hand, usually have not as high profile jobs. On top of that, the jobs that they do have, even if they are very important, women do not get paid as much as men do. Also, there seems to be a big problem with horizontal segregation in the job force. This is where women are being segregated across jobs and being placed in certain fields. Women tend to have certain types of jobs like, clerical, retail, sales, and educational positions. All of these jobs are not seen as important as some that men tend to have.
In the last few weeks we have not only learned about heteronormality, but also how our bodies play a role in gender expression. How we look, what we wear, and how we portray ourselves all play a very big role in who we are and how we are looked upon. Our bodies not only define us, but also define society and the role of men and of women.
The things we wear and the things about us that the garment excentuates are something that every person has to realize tells everyone else a little about who you are. With the ideals of women today, we especially have to be aware of what we are putting on our bodies. For example, many shirts and bras today excentuate a women’s breasts. This is because our “ideal” women’s body is skinny with nice large breasts. This example of a body project is just one of the many things in which society must change to help us grow in how we look at each other and treat each other.
Not only does society have this underlying “ideal” body image, but media also does a great job of telling us what is good and bad. For one, cosmetic companies are always trying to sell the most “natural” makeup, but aren’t you ruining the actual natural look by adding something like makeup to your face? Also, media does a great job of putting ideas in peoples’ head about what your body should and shouldn’t look like. On most all advertisements, magazines, and billboards there are only skinny good looking people. Therefore, when anyone looks at it they assume they have to look like that person. The worst is having kids see that kind of stuff. If they are seeing it as young as they are in things in their lives, for example, Barbie, they assume they have to look like that and grow up thinking that. That’s why this is such a hard thing to stop, because it is everywhere and people start believing the media at such a young age.
Sexual violence is also something we should be concerned about and is connected to how we portray our bodies. Sexual violence is most of the time directed towards women. One way someone can be sexually violated is through rape. Women’s clothing and how we are suppose to look make things like sex and rape have a very big grey area. If women wear clothes that are “slutty” then a lot of guys say, “They are asking for it, “ and that the women wanted to have sex with him. In reality though, yea, maybe the clothing is a big advocate of personality, but it doesn’t matter when it comes to sex and sexual violence. People wonder how our societies sexual violence rate is so high in women, but maybe that issue can’t be fixed on the surface. Maybe its starts deep down, all the way down to how each one of us is taught to act and look like.
The concept of heteronormativity defines and shapes every aspect of a relationship today. One way that it influences it is through the dominant construction of masculinity. In our society, the politics of sexuality come from the politics of the general world. When a man and a women come together in a relationship, it comes with strings attached. The man is automatically the dominant partner, as with males having most power in society. They make the money, have higher jobs, and are physically stronger. In the “ideal” family, the father figure is above all and the father has the say of what happens within the family. This is what is normalized in our society, therefore nothing else is accepted.
Another thing that is influenced by heteronormativity is the reproductive health. Since males are considered the dominant gender, when it comes to reproductive decisions and health, it used to be seen as the males decision and the female had no say. Recently thought, birth control, parenting options, and birth plans have become more and more centered around what the female wants. With this new development, it takes the male out of dominance and therefore, not making them as powerful, breaking the norm.
One more way to express how much power heteronormativity has had on our society is through gender divisions of labor. In our world today, women and men have very different job descriptions. Men usually have very high profile jobs, while women, on the other hand, usually have not as high profile jobs. On top of that, the jobs that they do have, even if they are very important, women do not get paid as much as men do. Also, there seems to be a big problem with horizontal segregation in the job force. This is where women are being segregated across jobs and being placed in certain fields. Women tend to have certain types of jobs like, clerical, retail, sales, and educational positions. All of these jobs are not seen as important as some that men tend to have.
In the last few weeks we have not only learned about heteronormality, but also how our bodies play a role in gender expression. How we look, what we wear, and how we portray ourselves all play a very big role in who we are and how we are looked upon. Our bodies not only define us, but also define society and the role of men and of women.
The things we wear and the things about us that the garment excentuates are something that every person has to realize tells everyone else a little about who you are. With the ideals of women today, we especially have to be aware of what we are putting on our bodies. For example, many shirts and bras today excentuate a women’s breasts. This is because our “ideal” women’s body is skinny with nice large breasts. This example of a body project is just one of the many things in which society must change to help us grow in how we look at each other and treat each other.
Not only does society have this underlying “ideal” body image, but media also does a great job of telling us what is good and bad. For one, cosmetic companies are always trying to sell the most “natural” makeup, but aren’t you ruining the actual natural look by adding something like makeup to your face? Also, media does a great job of putting ideas in peoples’ head about what your body should and shouldn’t look like. On most all advertisements, magazines, and billboards there are only skinny good looking people. Therefore, when anyone looks at it they assume they have to look like that person. The worst is having kids see that kind of stuff. If they are seeing it as young as they are in things in their lives, for example, Barbie, they assume they have to look like that and grow up thinking that. That’s why this is such a hard thing to stop, because it is everywhere and people start believing the media at such a young age.
Sexual violence is also something we should be concerned about and is connected to how we portray our bodies. Sexual violence is most of the time directed towards women. One way someone can be sexually violated is through rape. Women’s clothing and how we are suppose to look make things like sex and rape have a very big grey area. If women wear clothes that are “slutty” then a lot of guys say, “They are asking for it, “ and that the women wanted to have sex with him. In reality though, yea, maybe the clothing is a big advocate of personality, but it doesn’t matter when it comes to sex and sexual violence. People wonder how our societies sexual violence rate is so high in women, but maybe that issue can’t be fixed on the surface. Maybe its starts deep down, all the way down to how each one of us is taught to act and look like.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Activity #9
Activity #9
The issue of “Same Sex Marriages” is a very heated argument in our society today. The arguments for and against it both make very good points and have great facts to back up their position. This issue has been in all of the states of the United States court systems to try and legalize it or ban it from their state, along with many countries. The biggest of the arguments for and against this issue have to do with children and how this type of marriage affects them. Besides this, there are many other points that each side makes to ensure that their position is the better one.
For the side against same sex marriages, the readings for this activity gave some very good issues that help with this side of the debate. One of these arguments is defining the institution of marriage. When dealing with marriage, there are laws prohibiting marriage of a child and an adult, an adult and his/her parent, or to roommates with no sexual relationship. By allowing the few people who are the same sex to marry, it opens doors to many other sticky situations concerning the laws that I just mentioned. By allowing this one thing, many other issues could come up with marriages between other such “non man-women” marriages and could taint the long lived institution of marriage. Another argument against same sex marriages has to do with children. If you allow same sex marriages, it will start to become a problem with adoption. This will lead to more and more children growing up without a mother or father, due to the fact that, according to Peter Sprigg, most homosexual relationships do not last longer than 2 years. Therefore, when the couple splits, custody is an issue they have to now deal with. Also, of the relationships that do last, studies show that children raised by lesbians are less likely to fit in, more likely to become homosexuals themselves, and are more sexually adventurous. These arguments are some of the top arguments that are used by people against homosexual relationships that want to marry.
Though there are many arguments that are against same sex marriages, there was a huge study done by Lawrence A. Kurdek that made many important findings. He studied how homosexual couples and heterosexual couples stay together and why. He also studies both kinds of couples with children and without. In all of the broad topics that he studied his findings were clear. In lesbian and gay couples, there was no added stress in the relationship. There was also no difference of problem solving in their relationship then in a heterosexual relationship. The only study that had a difference in it from homo to heterosexuality was in that gay and lesbian couples got less support from their family. With this added conflict, some couples do not stay together as long.
My take on this issue is kind of split. I do believe that gay and lesbians should be able to live how they want. They should be able to express their love to whoever they want, and as we have studied in previous chapters, gender is just a perspective right? So I do believe any relationship is a valid one. But I do not believe that homosexuals should be able to marry. I understand some of the arguments given by Kurdek in his study but I also more strongly feel for the ones against such an act. I, imparticular, agree with the fact that not only is it hard for children who are adopted by gay or lesbian couples, but if such a relationship were to break up, it is so hard for children to overcome and cope with divorce. And since the “divorce” rate is higher in homosexuals, why make it legal for them to marry in the first place when most end in them splitting up?
The issue of “Same Sex Marriages” is a very heated argument in our society today. The arguments for and against it both make very good points and have great facts to back up their position. This issue has been in all of the states of the United States court systems to try and legalize it or ban it from their state, along with many countries. The biggest of the arguments for and against this issue have to do with children and how this type of marriage affects them. Besides this, there are many other points that each side makes to ensure that their position is the better one.
For the side against same sex marriages, the readings for this activity gave some very good issues that help with this side of the debate. One of these arguments is defining the institution of marriage. When dealing with marriage, there are laws prohibiting marriage of a child and an adult, an adult and his/her parent, or to roommates with no sexual relationship. By allowing the few people who are the same sex to marry, it opens doors to many other sticky situations concerning the laws that I just mentioned. By allowing this one thing, many other issues could come up with marriages between other such “non man-women” marriages and could taint the long lived institution of marriage. Another argument against same sex marriages has to do with children. If you allow same sex marriages, it will start to become a problem with adoption. This will lead to more and more children growing up without a mother or father, due to the fact that, according to Peter Sprigg, most homosexual relationships do not last longer than 2 years. Therefore, when the couple splits, custody is an issue they have to now deal with. Also, of the relationships that do last, studies show that children raised by lesbians are less likely to fit in, more likely to become homosexuals themselves, and are more sexually adventurous. These arguments are some of the top arguments that are used by people against homosexual relationships that want to marry.
Though there are many arguments that are against same sex marriages, there was a huge study done by Lawrence A. Kurdek that made many important findings. He studied how homosexual couples and heterosexual couples stay together and why. He also studies both kinds of couples with children and without. In all of the broad topics that he studied his findings were clear. In lesbian and gay couples, there was no added stress in the relationship. There was also no difference of problem solving in their relationship then in a heterosexual relationship. The only study that had a difference in it from homo to heterosexuality was in that gay and lesbian couples got less support from their family. With this added conflict, some couples do not stay together as long.
My take on this issue is kind of split. I do believe that gay and lesbians should be able to live how they want. They should be able to express their love to whoever they want, and as we have studied in previous chapters, gender is just a perspective right? So I do believe any relationship is a valid one. But I do not believe that homosexuals should be able to marry. I understand some of the arguments given by Kurdek in his study but I also more strongly feel for the ones against such an act. I, imparticular, agree with the fact that not only is it hard for children who are adopted by gay or lesbian couples, but if such a relationship were to break up, it is so hard for children to overcome and cope with divorce. And since the “divorce” rate is higher in homosexuals, why make it legal for them to marry in the first place when most end in them splitting up?
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