...Born This Way - A Research Paper on Transgender Everyone has a gender; it is a thing affects everything in our lives. It affects how we act like and look like every day. However, have you ever thought about what is gender? Gender is the thing that describes the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine (Nobelius). Today, most of the countries define gender base on the physical and genetic sexuality at birth. There is at least one transgender person, whose self-gender identity is different from the assigned gender sex at birth, in each 100 people (NCTE). Under the rules of our society, there are at least 70 million people living in the world without their identity. Loss of identity also comes with life-threatening discriminations and inequities to them. To solve this serious problem and to improve the harmony of the society, gender’s definition should be redefined to include transgender and not only base on the physical sexuality at birth. Before everything else, the most important question is: what is transgender? From the definition of Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, transgender is the state of one's self gender identity not matching one's assigned sex which based on physical sexuality at birth (GLAAD). To be easier to imagine, I would use a simple example. Imagine that your name is Tom. One day, while you are sleeping, someone assigns “Peter” as your name. After that, everyone starts calling you “Peter” while you can never...
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...women, often portraying them as housewives, cleaners, domestic servants offering comfort and support for men and presenting them as a man's sex object to tend to his sexual needs, suggesting that these roles are natural and normal. This is therefore seen as an example of patriarchal ideology. Marxist feminists believe that female workers are taken advantage of at a higher level than males as they are seen as a source of unpaid domestic labour, benefiting capitalism. Interactionism criticise both functionalists and feminists because both assume that social structure determines gender roles. Functionalists believe that family meets the needs of the individual and the family and Feminists believe that family maintains patriarchy. Interactionism has a more micro theory focusing on relationships between individuals and outcomes rather than roles, including things like social class, ethnic, lesbian and gay differences. In short, there is little evidence of sharing of power and the cultural dominance of men over women persists. Critics say that women have 'hidden powers' controlling the home and have sexual power. They also say that feminism has led to greater opportunities for women in education and the workplace and cultural change in female ambitions....
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...GENDER STRATIFICATION I. Sex and Gender Sex - the biological differences between men and women Sex Role - behaviors, attitudes and motivations a culture considers appropriate for men and women Sexual Orientation - attraction to members of the opposite, same or both sexes Gender is a set of social and cultural practices that both reflect and reinforce assumptions about differences between men and women Major sociological emphasis - 3 Points 1. Gender is a social institution. Like family and religion it affects the roles men and women play in society 2. Gender influences differences in “Power” – “Power to” (get jobs, earn, get education) – “Power over” (assert will against others) 3. Gender is a cultural construct, expectations for men and women vary widely II. Sex Role Expectations A. Men -Independent -Aggressive -Sex Initiators -Career Focus -Suppress Emotions -Success = Achievements B. Women -Nurturing/Friendly --Self-Conscious about Appearance -Social Poise -Passive -Submissive -Focus on Marriage and Children -Success = Relationships Athletic ability: • Men have greater upper body strength but, athletic ability, strength and endurance are largely of function of physical activity, training, genes and hormones Intelligence: • Recent studies contradict stereotypes. Differences in math, verbal and mechanical test scores are very small • Many studies show greater variation within sexes than between Stereotyping • Studies tend to emphasize...
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...50 Key Concepts in Gender Studies Jane Pilcher & Imelda Whelehan Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies i Recent volumes include: Key Concepts in Social Research Geoff Payne and Judy Payne Key Concepts in Medical Sociology Jonathan Gabe, Mike Bury and Mary Ann Elston Forthcoming titles include: Key Concepts in Leisure Studies David Harris Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory Nick Crossley Key Concepts in Urban Studies Mark Gottdiener The SAGE Key Concepts series provide students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation through understanding. Written by experienced and respected academics, the books are indispensable study aids and guides to comprehension. JANE PILCHER AND IMELDA WHELEHAN Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies SAGE Publications London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi iii © Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the Publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B-42 Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 100 017 British Library...
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...Hutchinson mentions that, “58 percent of lesbians of color compared with 41 percent of white lesbians reported victimization: among men, 70 percent of men of color and 59 percent of white men reported victimization (373).” Although this numbers demonstrate large gaps, a large part of queer people of color still doesn’t report violence. They don’t feel trust toward the rule of law, because not only is their sexual orientation at play but also their race. It is clear that the violence of the law isn’t always physical, but it does generate more discrimination toward certain bodies. Moreover, the concerns of LGBTQ people of color are not incorporated in agendas of legal protection. Thus, further implying that it is acceptable to make agency for this groups a privilege. Although, it has been argued in legal discourse that gay marriage is a huge step into decreasing the dislike toward LGBTQ communities, the reality is, gay marriage has only enforces more normalization and “creat[ed] a double standard of for lesbian and gay sex [in whish one is] accepted if one is married [and] outlawed if one is not (Polikoff 233).” Therefore, even by arguing that gay marriage signifies the acceptance of diversity, it still promotes normative groups association. Under which, only those who can marry deserve of some more rights and health insurance through family. As a result, legal discourse enforces institutional systematic acceptance. The acceptance of gay marriage only serves to conform to what is...
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...controversial but the disparity in receiving proper care both in prevention modalities and active treatment for the disease. While the Obama administration has taken steps toward the elimination of these disparities through the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and Implementation Plan, there is still much work to be done. This brief highlights underexplored explanations for these disparities and outlines possible solutions to begin addressing them. Oftentimes, popular culture has offered unfortunately erroneous explanations for the stark racial disparate impact of HIV/ AIDS. The mass media, for example, has suggested that black men “on the down low” infect black women by secretly sleeping with male partners, acting as a bisexual “bridge” between gay and straight communities. But public health scholars have found little support for this theory. Many may assume that black people suffer from greater HIV prevalence because they are considered less sexually responsible than whites. Yet several studies have shown that black women and black men who have sex with men—the two groups most severely impacted by HIV/AIDS—have similar numbers of sexual partners and use condoms as often as their white counterparts. Thus, behavioral risk factors, while important, cannot fully explain the racial disparity. Instead, the racial HIV gap and the racial health gap in general, is strongly correlated with the racial wealth gap, which in turn is the direct outcome of both historical and contemporary processes...
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...Please read through these instructions very carefully. This is your final exam in PSY265. These questions compose a plethora of topics read and discussed in our class for the past nine weeks. This exam consists of73multiple choice questions worth 1 point each, 13 fill in the blank questions worth 6 points each, and an essay question worth 99 points. The total possible points for the exam is 250. All of these questions were taken directly from the textbook, therefore you should not use any other outside source. Since information can sometimes contradict each other, if you use outside sources you run the risk of getting the question wrong even though it may appear correct outside the text. In order to mark the answer you have chosen, please delete all the other letters (i.e. A, B, C, D) except the one you have chosen. There should only be one letter chosen for each multiple choice question. If you have forgotten this or there is more than one answer chosen, it will be marked as incorrect. For fill in the blank questions and short answers, please write your answer in the space provided here in the exam. Once you are finished with the exam, please upload it to the week nine ‘final exam’ assignment section of the class. Absolutely no late exams will be accepted for any reason. Please make sure it is uploaded by 11:59pm Arizona time on 5/11/2014. 1). What are the three building blocks in Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love? 1.) Intimacy 2.) Passion 3.) Commitment ...
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...COMM 3673 Test #2 Study Guide, Fall 2015 Media/Society, Ch. 6: Social Inequality & Media Representation · Comparing Media Content and the “Real World”: four issues raised by this comparison (pp. 188-189) o First – literature in media and cultural studies reminds us that representation are not reality, even if media readers or audiences may sometimes be tempted to judge them as such. § Representations are the result of process of selection that invariably mean that certain aspects of reality are highlighted and others neglected. § All representations re-present the social world in ways that are both incomplete and narrow. o Second – the media usually do not try to reflect the “real” world. o Creators of media products use entertainment media to comment on the real social world. Readers and audiences develop at least some sense of the social world through their exposure to both entertainment media and news media. · Third – Concerns the troublesome term real. o The concept of a “real” world may seem like a quaint artifact from the past. o Social constructionist perspective. § No representation of reality can ever be totally “true” or “real” because it must inevitably frame an issue and choose to include and exclude certain components of a multifaceted reality. o Fourth- Seems to imply that the media should reflect society. o For many people, media are an escape from the realities of daily life. o Therefore, how “real” media...
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...Sociological perspectives Sociological perspectives is a perspective on human behaviour and its connection to society as a whole. It invites us to look for the connections between the behaviour of individual people and the structures of the society in which they live. The structures are functionalism, Marxism, Feminist, Interactionism, Collectivism, Postmodernism and New right. Functionalism Functionalism is a perspective created by Emile Durkheim. He believed society was made up of inter-connected institutions for an example education, family and government which depended on each other to function. Functionalists see society as being similar to the human body. In the same way the body relies on the heart to pump blood round to other vital organs like the lungs and brain. Functionalists see society as being constructed of different inter-dependent components like the family and education system. So in the same way the human body would fail if the heart stopped, functionalists’ argue society would stop working properly if the family stopped functioning properly. Functionalists say this would happen because the family is an institution in which primary socialisation occurs. Primary socialisation is where younger members of a family are taught societies norms, values, roles and beliefs, By having the same values which we all share, a value consensus is establish. Therefore we can see the family has a function in the social system. This perspective of society differed...
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...Chapter 5: Gender Stratification by sex is a feature found in most societies, with men generally being in a more dominant position in society than women. Men have traditionally been seen in a wide range of active and creative roles – as warriors, hunters, and workers, as political leaders or successful business executives, as scientists, engineers, inventors, and great artists. Women have traditionally been seen as housewives and mothers confined to the home and caring for their husbands and children. Even when working outside the home, women's jobs often seem to be an extension of their caring role in the home, looking after others as receptionists, secretaries, nurses, teachers, and social workers. Are these differences simply an extension of the biological make-up of males and females, or are they a product of the ways that males and females are brought up in society? (Nature vs. Nurture) SEX AND GENDER • Sex: (whether someone is male or female) refers to the natural or biological differences between men and women, such as difference in genitals, internal reproductive organs, and body hair. • Gender: (whether someone is masculine or feminine) refers to the cultural, socially constructed differences between the two sexes. It refers to the way a society encourages and teaches the two sexes to behave in different ways through socialization. • Gender role: is the pattern of behavior and activity which society expects from individuals of either...
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...[Type the company name] | Gender discrimination in workplace in Pakistan | Research Methods | | HIRA ARSHAD | 3/30/2013 | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | Introduction: Nature has always maintained a balance in the objects of this world in order garnish it with a beauty, and so it produced a balancing factor for each and every object. These balancing factors vary in the proportion of the support they provide to their counterpart. In the very same context, ALLAH created man and woman as the supporting counterparts for each other. When a baby boy is born in a family, everyone congratulates the parents but if it is found out that the baby is a girl, the reaction is opposite, there is no happiness, either the baby is killed or accepted with least happiness. Gender discrimination is something in which a woman is discriminated and given less rights and opportunities as compared to males. Importance of the study with respect to the world: Gender discrimination has been a problem not just in this era but since the beginning of humanity. It doesn’t matter that which part of the world we look at, we will always find that woman are at the disadvantage. The major drawback is that this problem has become so common that it is considered normal now and accepted as a part...
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...ISBN 0-89608-629-1 - ISBN 0-89608-628-3 (pbk.) 1. Feminist theory. 2. Feminism - Philosophy. 3. Feminism Political aspects. 4. Sex discrimination against women. 1. Title. FEMINIST POLITICS Where We Stand 1 CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING A Constant Change of Heart 7 3. SISI:ERHOOD IS STILL POWERFUL 4. Vll 13 00-036589 South End Press, 7 Brookline Street, #1, Cambridge, MA 02139 06 05 04 7 8 9 Printed in Canada 19 OUR BODIES, OURSELVES Reproductive Rights 25 6. HQl190 .H67 2000 305.42'01 - dc21 FEMINIST EDUCATION FOR CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS BEAUTY WITHIN AND WITHOUT 31 7. FEMINIST CLASS STRUGGLE 37 8. GLOBAL FEMINISM 44 5. 9. WOMEN AT WORI( 48 10. RACE AND GENDER 55 11. ENDING VIOLENCE 61 12. FEMINIST MASCULINITY 67 13. FEMINIST PARENTING 72 14. LIBERATING MARRIAGE AND PARTNERSHIP 78 15. A FEMINIST SEXUAL POLITIC An Ethics of Mutual Freedom 85 16. TOTAL BLISS Lesbianism and Feminism 93 INTRODUCTION 17. TO LOVE AGAIN The Heart of Feminism 100 18. FEMINIST SPIRITUALITY 105 19. VISIONARY FEMINISM...
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...INTRODUCTION The focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the creation of their perceived reality. It involves looking at the ways social phenomena are created, institutionalized, and made into tradition by humans. Socially constructed reality is seen as an ongoing, dynamic process; reality is re-produced by people acting on their interpretations and their knowledge of it. Social phenomena include all behavior which influences or is influenced by organisms sufficiently alive to respond to one another. Behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or unconscious. Social constructionism can be seen as a source of the postmodern movement, and has been influential in the field of cultural studies. Some have gone so far as to attribute the rise of cultural studies (the cultural turn) to social constructionism. Berger (1966) is perhaps best known for his view that social reality is a form of consciousness. Central to Berger's work is the relationship between society and the individual. In his book The Social Construction of Reality Berger develops a sociological theory: 'Society as Objective Reality and as Subjective Reality'. His analysis of society as subjective reality describes the process by which an individual's conception of reality is produced by his or her interaction with social structures. He writes about how new human...
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...Beginning theory An introduction to literary and cultural theory Second edition Peter Barry © Peter Barry 1995, 2002 ISBN: 0719062683 Contents Acknowledgements - page x Preface to the second edition - xii Introduction - 1 About this book - 1 Approaching theory - 6 Slop and think: reviewing your study of literature to date - 8 My own 'stock-taking' - 9 1 Theory before 'theory' - liberal humanism - 11 The history of English studies - 11 Stop and think - 11 Ten tenets of liberal humanism - 16 Literary theorising from Aristotle to Leavis some key moments - 21 Liberal humanism in practice - 31 The transition to 'theory' - 32 Some recurrent ideas in critical theory - 34 Selected reading - 36 2 Structuralism - 39 Structuralist chickens and liberal humanist eggs Signs of the fathers - Saussure - 41 Stop and think - 45 The scope of structuralism - 46 What structuralist critics do - 49 Structuralist criticism: examples - 50 Stop and think - 53 Stop and think - 55 39 Stop and think - 57 Selected reading - 60 3 Post-structuralism and deconstruction - 61 Some theoretical differences between structuralism and post-structuralism - 61 Post-structuralism - life on a decentred planet - 65 Stop and think - 68 Structuralism and post-structuralism - some practical differences - 70 What post-structuralist critics do - 73 Deconstruction: an example - 73 Selected reading - 79 4 Postmodernism - 81 What is postmodernism? What was modernism? -...
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...AIDS LEGAL Network Q A Publication of the AIDS Legal Network • September/November 2008 Patrick Eba One size punishes all… A critical appraisal of the criminalisation of HIV transmission Lauded by lawmakers as an expression of their strong will to ‘fight AIDS’, HIV-specific laws have become a ubiquitous feature of the legal response to HIV in sub-Saharan Africa1 As of 1st December 2008, twenty countries in ECOWAS Parliament, the West African Health Organisation sub-Saharan Africa had adopted HIV-specific laws.2 (WAHO), the Center for Studies and Research on HIV-specific laws or ‘omnibus HIV laws’, as they are Population for Development (CERPOD), the Network of sometimes ironically referred to, are legislative provisions Parliamentarians in Chad for Population and Development that regulate, in a single document, several aspects of HIV and the USAID West African Regional Programme.3 and The stated objective of these HIV-specific laws, as communication; HIV testing, prevention treatment, care provided under several of their preambulary provisions, and support; HIV-related research; and the protection of is to and AIDS, including HIV-related education people living with HIV. The emergence of HIV-specific …ensure that every person living with HIV or laws in sub-Saharan Africa can be traced to the adoption presumed to be living with HIV enjoys the full of the Model Law on STI/HIV/AIDS for West...
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