...achieving complete legal, political, and economic equality during the Reconstruction Era, which lasted from the end of the Civil War until 1877, African Americans continued to be second class citizens. As will be argued in this paper, African Americans experienced hardship and significant discrimination after 1877 due to racist laws, social, economic, and educational inequality; however, as laws and cultural sentiments about blacks changed during the Civil Rights Era, African Americans today have more political, economic, and educational opportunities than ever before. On the following pages, this paper will trace the path of African Americans to equality by discussing salient events in African American history from 1877 to the present. Significantly, as the author believes, while progress has been made since the nineteenth century, complete equality remains elusive even today for many African American men and women. The end of slavery did by no means lead to the immediate equality of African Americans in American society. The years after the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, were characterized by wide-spread discrimination against African Americans. In the South, so-called Jim Crow laws effectively barred African Americans from having very basic civil liberties. Public and social life in the South but also in other places in the United States, was strictly segregated which not only created social and political inequalities but also barred many African Americans from having...
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...Sociological Perspective and conflict approach Sociological perspective can be defined as seeing the general in the particular. It can be also described as a frame that shapes how people behave in society or interacting with diversity people, and how we are categorized in various ways, such as children and adults, women and men, the rich and poor. Each of people is supposed to do different affairs in their lives as it matches them. And one of the sociological theories is called conflict approach, meaning that explains about inequality between such as women and men and black and white, so on. For instance, in the past of South Korea or other many of countries as well, there was intense inequality of between women and men in getting a job. Women used to be only in charge of doing house work, and they were not able to do anything else without permit from a head of family, which is why many of people still regard women to do more house work than men do. This representative example can be conflict approach in social perspective of how we look at women in our society. And although it seems to be non-changeable the society perspective, there are a lot of factors that changes the sociological perspective of how people behave in our society. Particularly, when it comes to recession, it seem to be more remarkable changes in the behavior of people life, For example, if it happened to come recession into country, it can also change of the social perspective that people become more pessimistic...
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...oppress women?(20 marks) Feminism is what culture is like for women just because they are women compared to what life is like for men. In society women get treated differently to men as men are seen as more superior, however this only happens in some cultures and these cultures are prejudice towards women. There are 4 key theories that I will talk about in this essay, they all argue different beliefs about feminism and how the family allows men to control and oppress women. Firstly, Radical feminism, they believe that a patriarchal society is the cause of conflict. They also promote lesbianism and separatism. Theorists like Rich, Brownmiller and Firestone all believe differently about Radical feminism. Rich believes in heterosexual relationships however he also thinks that they don’t satisfy the women. Brownmiller believes that women are secluded by society as they fear violence and rape. Lastly Firestone believes that women are unequal due to the factor of child birth. This shows that men are the decision makers and are the ones who have the power within the family. Patriarchy seems to divide rights, privileges and power by gender. Resulting in oppressing women and privileging men. The limitations of this theory are that it assumes all women are the same and men are evil, however this may not be the case as some women may have a more dominant role. Lesbianism is not a good family type to raise children, nuclear is better. Also, not all religions subordinate women, for example...
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...Disch, and Chapter 1 and 2 Comparison “The personal is political” is a notion that can relate many readings on women’ studies including our readings in class. The readings from Estelle Disch, and Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Women’s Voices Feminist Visions all discuss issues such as inequalities across different systems such as gender, race, education, sports, and more, how feminist ideas relate to inequality, intersecting identities, and the idea of privilege. There are inequalities across systems that can be seen in the way that women are viewed in society. An example of this is shown in chapter one in an article called “The Housewives Moment of Truth” by Jane O’Reilly. O’Reilly main point focuses on the notion that even through time women are still seen as being simple housewives. In today’s society women have obtained various professional jobs that go beyond the just being a teacher, and even with their success there are people that see women’s role as being in the household. O’Reilly article displays an example of gender inequality, and more importantly shows how there is still a lot progress that needs to be made. Besides gender inequality, the readings also point to other types of inequality like race. Race is very important when looking at women’s studies because everyone has to tackle their own problems every day. For instance, a black woman who is of a lower class, a single mother, a high school graduate, and tackling two jobs is viewed differently by people in society...
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...Jeanette Cepin Power & Inequality In The Workplace Term: Summer 2015 Professor: Bonnie Johnson Final Reflection Essay Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society that with hard work, dedication, and discipline we can accomplish the so called “American Dream”? Some have been able to accomplish this dream, but many still struggle and continue to work non stop in order to reach a dream that is almost impossible to achieve. The United States of America, “the land of the free and opportunities”, hasn’t really been the land of the free, with opportunities for all. During my 7 week summer course, I was able to have a better and deep understanding of how the United States is structured to benefit a certain group while denying others opportunities. How those in power acquired their power, work to maintain it through inequality, how these inequalities can a lot of times be correlated, and how can we work together to make a difference. In order to understand inequality we must first identify what are the factors that contribute in creating it. Social class, which can define one’s position in society, contributes to a form of conflict. Social class divisions have always played a prominent role in America. These class distinctions inflict unfair on all Americans. The idea of social class has been a central concept in determining the opportunities a person is capable of having. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles as well...
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...Alexis De Tocqueville believes that African Americans and White people should be equal, however when rights were given to the African Americans there was still a divide between the two races. Racial inequality did not only happen in Alexis De Tocqueville’s era, however it occurred from the Civil Rights Movement and current time. Police brutality occurs a lot in recent years because of racial tension occurring between a white police officer and an African American male. These occurrences happen in the low-income neighborhoods because crime rates are higher. African American people are in lower income neighbors because of racial inequality in workplaces and society. In society, African American are hired far less than any other minority individual in this country. Poor conditions forces more African Americans to be pushed out of cities creating gentrification in poor neighborhoods. These actions occurring, such as the system pushing African American down and police brutality creates anger from Black Communities. These tension between the two races created the Black Lives Matter movements. These protest occur all over Americans, which provides insight that racial inequality goes against Aristotle’s view on happiness in democracy. A group of minority protest against the system creates a clear vision that our government and democracy creates a division from the African American community and the White community. A unity needs...
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...popular themes of debates. The Human Development Report, (1995) posits that the number of women is greater than or equal to that of men, in today's society, yet females are still considered as a minority segment of the population. As a measure to redress gender inequalities, approaches by feminist movements, such as Women in Development (WID), were crafted but not much was achieved. Later, it was Women and Development (WAD) and lastly Gender and Development (GAD). It seems deep-rooted gender inequality still exists globally, despite substantial national and international measures that have been taken towards gender equality. This essay deliberates on the assertion that, “Gender equality is debatable: what is undebatable is the attempt to make it universally applicable.” The writer agrees to a greater extent that gender equality is a controversial issue basing on the multiplicity of societies that it is applied to. The fact that there is no universal culture, universal religion or universal ideology makes the whole issue arguable, ence, the need to degenderise gender. Definition of Key Terms Keating, (2004:9) defines gender as, “the social meanings given to being either a man or a woman in a given society and the expectations held as to the character, attitude and likely behaviour of men and women.” "Gender refers to the cultural, socially-constructed differences between women and men and girls and boys. It refers to the way a society encourages and...
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...Women in sports: Inequality, Discrimination, Media. Introduction From a long time to now, women are continuously struggling to prove that their sex and color of their skin classification made by society to make them feel inferior does not determine what they are worth. Feminists’ quests for equality also include women in the sports world. This paper will discuss about the inequalities and discrimination of a patriarchal society on women in sports. I will demonstrate the social inequalities that exist and what have somehow changed, also how race discrimination affects women of color participating in sports and the impact of media on how they portrayed women image. Body To begin with, inequality is a word that feminists are fighting over of male-domination in the society. When women are participating in sports, what they do is often not considered as a "real" sport or viewed as "real" women. All that to show that women have to fight to gain control and have their activities recognized as normal by the dominant culture, the men. However, today women are more welcome to play sports; they are never viewed as equal to men. For example, women cannot expect having the same salary, sponsorship and resources as the men when it comes to play sports or any...
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...During the industrial revolution men became increasingly identified with the public world of production and wage labour. While women were confined to the private sphere of consumption and the home. This is where conjugal roles come in; these are roles played by the husband or boyfriend and wife or girlfriend in a married or cohobating couple. The item suggests that some sociologists see the family as a march of progress where as others see it as unequal and patriarchal. Functionalists, like Talcott Parsons, saw the division of labour as biological and he claimed that they were beneficial to the family and wider society. Elizabeth Bott named the divisions through ‘joint and segregated conjugal roles’. The joint roles were more common amongst middle class and young families, these roles were joint. Whereas the segregated roles were more common amongst working class, these roles were divided. Parsons named these gender roles as expressive and instrumental functions which become clearer during the industrialisation. The husband performs the instrumental function, in being the ‘breadwinner’ of the family to provide financial support, and the wife performs the expressive function, in being the housewife. Parsons reckons that these functions are natural and they benefited the whole family. This view was also supported by the New Rights. However, this view has been criticized as it is traditional and that in the modern family these roles are fading. Therefore, this proves that in...
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...that conjugal relationships are based on equality in modern industrial societies. In this answer, I am going to discuss about the conjugal relationship in modern industrial societies. This means I will assess the claim that conjugal relationships are based on equality in modern industrial societies. I plan to structure my answer from housework and childcare, power and money management. The hours worked between husband and wife become more equal by the increased participation by women in the labour market have led to more equality in modern family life.’ This view is highly supported by many sociologists like Young and Willmott who suggest that the family is becoming more symmetrical and therefore, is in fact becoming more egalitarian via a ‘march of progress.’ They suggest that the family is gradually improving in terms of equality as there has been a trend away from segregated conjugal roles and more of a shift towards joint ones. This they argue is due to major social changes in that women are more financially dependant with employment opportunities and so there is less of a need to rely on extended kin. This is further explained by Gershuny who suggests that because women have these employment opportunities, they are more likely to do less domestic work. This is shown by the item as it suggests that ‘men were making more of an effort to do housework when their wives were in full-time employment.’ By this change of position for women, it has meant that men are now more responsible...
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...The women’s right movement is an ongoing campaign to abolish inequality between the sexes on a multitude of platforms. The movement has been a prevalent part of history around the world, with origins as early as the 1500s with literature sprinkled with the mention of women having mind, reason and a voice that is equal to that of a man. This fight for women to be placed on the same level as men has seen much struggle and oppression that is still prevalent in today’s world. However, the fight for women in today’s world is labeled as feminism, which quite literally means the social, political, and economic rights of the sexes. Rebecca Lewin depicts feminism as a “model for a social state – an ideal, or a desired standard of perfection not yet attained in the world”. Lewin expressed this in 1983, and still today’s society has failed to reach this goal. Feminism has transformed into the second “F” word, where society labels feminism as a harmful, extremist movement. The feminist movement has become synonymous with man – hating, bra – burning, lesbians who engage in radical protests to ultimately eliminate men from society and become a female dominated world. Which, is why this world needs a continued women’s rights movement to eradicate the ideology that fighting for the equality of women is obscene or unnatural. Feminism eventually inspired the term “Herstory”, which emerged in the 1960s, a very exciting time in American history full of social change. Herstory aims to look at history...
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...According to AAUW (American Association of University Women) , an organization promoting the quality and education for women and girls, “While more education is an effective tool for increasing earnings, it is not an effective tool against the gender pay gap.” (AAUW). Women around the world have been facing the Gender Discrimination for many decades. . It has been in the last 100 years of human history , that the women across the world gained the basic civil and political right to vote (Woman all Around the World are Allowed to Vote). In the USA, the process of amending the Constitution, which allowed women a legal right to vote, took a century (America's Historical Documents). Many papers have been written and studies conducted to analyze the reasons behind the gender discrimination. No answer seems to be logical or reasonable but it seems to be the cause of the gender wage gap, affecting women...
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...Course Date Equality for Americans Noah Webster said that, "Equality - the soul of the republic". For more understanding, it is worth to hold a digression into history. In 1787, only white people were considered as free people. African-Americans, on the other hand, were enslaved and recognized as "other". Women were deemed as men’s property and, accordingly, that meant their inability to vote for anything. Therefore, in this paper the concept of equality for Americans from the past till now will be considered. The basic document for modern people, the Constitution, which guarantees equality and full rights, has been corrected many times. It is worth mentioning the amendments 8, 9 and 10, which abolished slavery and guaranteed equal rights to everyone including African-Americans and the other ethnic groups. Amendment 19 carries the right to vote for women ratified due to suffragists’ motion. Amendment 24 abolished the poll tax, which was created to hold African-Americans, most of whom were poor, from voting. These amendments helped Americans become an equal nations union and established justice. From the very beginning, the American colonies had been far from Europe and its aristocratic rule. When a person has to withstand hunger, disease, and the other dangers on an uncharted ground, everyone is a friend to him and does not matter if he is the son of a merchant or a graph. The lack of power has made men free and equal in the visible sense. Equality was laid...
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...Social Inequalities of Sports The world of sports has so many different levels to it. In each separate sport, there are different levels that range from recreational and neighborhood teams all the way up to professional leagues. Getting all the way up to this professional or even the collegiate level is a very impressive feat that not many people can say they have accomplished. However, athleticism and talent are not the only thing that gets you to these levels. There are many other factors that have to do with how far you can take your sport and how far your sport will allow you to go. There are many different inequalities such as race, ethnicity, class, and gender that shape each athlete’s experience in their respective sports. The first is race and ethnicity. The conversation about racial inequality is currently a hot topic in the United States. However, over the last fifty years, the world of sports has made some of the best progress of any institutions. In the National Football League, two thirds of the league players are racial minorities, most of them being African American. Close to 25% of the league management positions are occupied by people of color. There were six African American general managers in 2012, and eight of the last 12 Super Bowl participants have either had a black coach or General Manager. The National Basketball Association also has a very good diverse athlete population. More than three quarters of all NBA players are African-American and people...
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...Although Latin America has faced many social, political, and economic issues within the last three centuries, inequality remains one of the most important, historical, and omnipresent aspects of the region’s culture. As Europeans took over Latin America during the time of colonization, they implemented many elitist social structures that have held strong and are evident today (Harris). Income inequality is the most visible and greatest disparity that the region faces; yet inequality between gender, ethnicities, and education remain strong and significant problems with a necessity for improvement. Inequality of wealth and disparity of power and influence are Latin American’s greatest curses and are at the root of many of the developmental, social, criminal, and political problems that continue to plague the region (De Ferranti). Since inequality has pervaded into every feature of Latin American society, it is important to measure inequality accurately in order to obstruct the causes of the discrimination and prevent new ones from beginning. The Gini Coefficient is an effective way that people indicate the inequality of a country by measuring a frequency distribution of income or wealth. Using the "Gini Index" of inequality in the distribution of income and consumption, the researchers found that Latin America and the Caribbean, from the 1970s through the 1990s, measured nearly 10 points more unequal than Asia, 17.5 points more unequal than the 30 countries in the Organization...
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