...Sociology 101 Research Paper Patriarchy What is Patriarchy? The basic definition is control by men and literally means “the rule of the father”. The term was used to refer to autocratic rule by the male head of a family, however; in modern times it typically refers to social systems where adult men primarily hold power. Males hold primary roles such as political leadership, moral authority, and property control, and fathers hold control over wives and children. Matriarchy is when women have control. Many countries including America are mainly a patriarchy. Throughout the history patriarchy has wiggled its way into the social, political, legal, and economic organization of a range of different cultures throughout the world. Evidence suggests that prehistoric hunter and gatherer societies favored equality for all people and that patriarchy social structures didn’t develop until years after the end of the Pleistocene era. One researcher, Robert M. Strozier, says historically there is no evidence found yet that there was a specific event that triggered patriarchy. Others think that the beginning of the spread of patriarchy had started six thousand years ago when the concept of fatherhood took place. The geographical record shows that there was climate change around 4000 BCE that had led to famines in the Sahara, Arabian Peninsula and the Central Asian deserts. James DeMeo argues that this is the event that occurred and led to patriarchy. This resulted in warlike, patriarchal...
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...Patriarchy is best defined as control by men. The opposite is matriarchy which means women are in charge and the head of families. Obviously, the culture of the United States and most other countries is patriarchal. Men have the power and control the women. If you don't believe that consider the basics of how our society functions. Women constantly must fight for their rights and sometimes they struggle just to survive without the power and domination of men threatening them. Whether an individual woman wants to conquer patriarchy will come from her desire to be independent and defined outside the context of men. Look to most world leaders to see how powerful patriarchy is. Women are certainly as capable as men to be President of the United States, yet they are not and probably won't be any time soon. Men have been in that role for so long that our country probably does not believe it is possible. Consider who is typically at the head of a company or leaders in local governments. While certainly more women are fulfilling these roles, it is a constant struggle for the ones who are able to achieve that success with men having much more power just by their biological nature. Men have not had to fight for their place in society like women have. It has been an expectation that they will become leaders because that is what patriarchy is about. Much of patriarchy also has its roots in Christianity. Religions which believe the Bible or other religious text often follow it faithfully...
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...religion in society today (18marks) Patriarchal Vehicle Evidence of patriarchy; * Sacred text, places of worship etc. Woodhead, Armstrong etc Criticism and strengths. Task Essay Question(s): Evaluate feminist views on the role and functions of religion in society today (18marks) Patriarchal Vehicle Evidence of patriarchy; * Sacred text, places of worship etc. Woodhead, Armstrong etc Criticism and strengths. Evaluate postmodernist explanations of the role & functions of religion in contemporary society (33marks) (Plan and case) Evaluate postmodernist explanations of the role & functions of religion in contemporary society (33marks) (Plan and case) Feminists see religion as a patriarchal institution; maintaining male dominance over women by allowing them to believe that it is their divine right to dominate. As well as this, they believe that religion functions as a patriarchal ideology that is a vehicle that perpetuates inequity and such beliefs legitimizes female subservience and oppression. El Saadawi, says that religion is distorted to acquiesce patriarchal domination in which they exploit women in multiple ways; prostitution, slavery and abortion. However, functionalists believe otherwise and argue that its function is not to oppress women but necessary as to keep society stable whilst Marxists believe that religion oppresses the working class and serves capitalism not females and patriarchy. Feminists argue that women’s oppression is shown in almost every...
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...Yellow Wallpaper” and Chopin’s “A Pair of Silk Stockings” are married women places both discourses within a patriarchal, institutional framework. Immediately, a critique of marriage arises, and we are forced to examine how women are oppressed, either by patriarchy or by stereotypes placed on them as mothers and nurturers. It is evident that both stories serve to highlight the plight of women, though it remains arguable whether a solution is proposed. Gilman’s nameless protagonist goes mad, while Chopin’s “Little Mrs. Sommers” dreads going back to the boring routine of a housewife. The conclusions, as such, do not seem to empower women, but suggests a futility of fighting against patriarchy. Even if the madness of Gilman’s nameless protagonist is seen as a form of transcendental sanity as suggested by some critics, how empowering is it for females to be represented as mad? Besides, her transcendence - if it is interpreted as such – is temporary, for she might be placed in an asylum for further treatment. Consumerism too, is only a temporary relief for Mrs. Sommers’ mundane existence, for her money will run out eventually. The fact that both women are married is an important consideration in this analysis. Marriage inscribes patriarchy into the narrative, because it forces the identity of wife and husband onto the characters. Immediately, stereotypes of each label are being invoked: the wife is submissive, caring and sacrificial while the husband is aggressive, clinical and egocentric...
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...comparison to post 19th century they are a better advantage to succeed economically and socially. Now there are changes in the position of women. Women have better educational and career prospects. Many women are now less economically dependent on men. This would relate to how it doesn’t make sense to speak about the male dominated society. The patriarchal family relates to how the male would dominate the woman in the family. Although this was very true when we look back at history and how women were treated, when we look now at the studies and research women are more and at a better position than there have ever been. Although there is still inequality in some aspects it would not make sense to talk about the patriarchal family. Despite this, patriarchy exists in the family, the work place, the government and all throughout society. Feminists argue that men can exploit women because of childbirth and this makes them vulnerable....
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...[pic][pic][pic] Top of Form [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] [pic][pic] Bottom of Form • Issues [pic] Reviews How Reality TV—And Its Criticism—Falls Flat Posted Friday, November 12, 2010 in Reviews by Erin Polgreen [pic][pic][pic] Top of Form [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] [pic] Bottom of Form [pic]Elimination-fueled competitions and make-over shows complete with product placement are everywhere these days. It seems reality television, sometimes called "unscripted" programming, is here to stay. The genre is redefining the way we interact with, understand, and socialize with our fellow Americans. It's not here for your approval and, to use a cliché commonly associated with the genre, it’s not here to make friends. Part of the reason for the resurgence in reality television is that it's the cheapest way to fill programming blocks. While we see much more of it today, reality TV is nothing new. It's been around since Candid Camera, which documented sneaky practical jokes on unsuspecting average joes, debuted in 1948. But things have changed since then. The genre hit its second stride in 2000 with Survivor, an elimination show in which “castaways” compete to win big by roughing it for the longest, and since then the genre has presented increasingly regressive caricatures of women, men, poor people, and people of color. In Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV, media critic and activist Jennifer...
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...Is the British family a patriarchal institution? A patriarchy family is a social system in which the male has the most authority in the family. There are many different arguments for and against the question, “is the British family a patriarchal institution?” The key topics for this discussion include: the division of domestic labour; the impact of paid work; the decision making and the control of the family finances; the “triple shift”; and domestic violence. All of these points have arguments supporting and opposing the question in hand and different sociological perspectives will have very different views on all of these matters. Feminists, for example, will most likely agree with the question and will try to prove that the British family is a patriarchal institute, whereas functionalists would argue that the members of the family all of separate roles and purposes in order to fulfil society’s needs, therefore being more likely to oppose the feminist view. Domestic labour is work performed in the home, e.g. cooking, cleaning, and childcare. Some functionalists, such as Parsons, view that traditional division of labour in a family reflects the biological differences men and women. He also believes that everybody benefits from this as society's needs are met due to the roles being complimentary of each other; the male’s traditional roles of being the “breadwinners” and the women's “expressive” role help everyone involved in the family and society. The “march of progress”...
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...have called for more research on the special role that immigrant women play maintaining their households (Schaefer, 2011). Many Feminist will try to fight for woman rights so that they can be equal to men. In Afghanistan women are fighting every day for the right to have an education and even the right to drive. Several Americans and independent women in Afghanistan are opening schools for the children to have a chance to learn how to read and write. While generally providing a critique of social relations, much of the feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women’s interest. Evaluating this particular story, the radical feminism comes to mind. This is the evaluation of the role of the patriarchy in perpetuating male dominance. In patriarchal societies, the male’s perspective and contributions...
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...Appearing in 1973, at the heart of feminism's second wave, "Barbie Doll" embodied the rage many women felt at being sexually objectified and treated as second-class citizens. The poem remains popular in large parts because it continues to represent women's experience. When you read the title of this poem, automatically you get a sense of something that is not real, a typical stereotype. This stereotype is seen through modern life today, through the media, celebrities, peer groups, or the obvious child’s toy. “Barbie Doll” symbolically describes the inherently destructive nature of patriarchy. A system of social organization in which the “male” is the ruling principle, patriarchy demands women’s obedience to men. Historically, this obedience has been externally manifest through law, for example, until the twentieth century women had been denied voting privileges in the United States. But patriarchy also exhibits its power through the shaping of mind and self-image. A “good” woman is one who conforms to patriarchal expectations: she is feminine, domestic, and will be a stereotypical housewife and leave the men to be the “breadwinner”. The “Barbie Doll” is known as “Satan’s plastic sister”. The intention of the doll was perfection, and when little girls are brought up playing with “Barbie & Ken” they expect reality to be very similar in later life, as this is the only way they recognise life to be. The basis of the poem is very similar to what feminists claim. Feminists insist...
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...What is meant by the term Family? (2) Family is a group of people related by kinship ties such as blood, marriage/civil partnership or adoption. Explain how sociologists may understand childhood as a socially constructed concept (4) The social construction of childhood means that it is not natural as it is a concept with various meanings in different societies. An interactionist known as Aries (1962) suggested that childhood today is a new social invention as during industrialisation children were seen as ‘miniature adults’ as they performed the same work as their parents. Whereas since the 20th century an emergence of a child-centred society is now present. Parents view children as sentimental as they now occupy a central place in the emotional life of home. The state has also contributed to the child-centred society by introducing safe guarding policies as Wells (2009) notes the government of childhood is organised around saving children from internal and external threats. However, not all societies in the world have a concept of childhood which does show that childhood is socially constructed. Suggest three ways in which the form of the typical family has been affected by demographic factors (6) Due to changes in fertility rate the average age of woman giving birth over 30 years old has increased – The use of reliable birth control has enabled woman to have power over reproduction, as well as this the educational opportunities has increased for females which woman...
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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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...Varsity Blues is a movie about men who struggle to prove their manhood in the face of their coach. The conflict is that the coach only cares about winning, not the well-being of the players and the players are unhappy with the situation. Althought the conflict may be relevant to the story; it does little to emphasize the ignorance of their society towards gender conflicts. The attitude of the film is that women’s lives revolve around men. Although the women are well treated, their identity is dependant on another person. The cheerleader, Darcy, confesses to John ‘Mox’ Moxon (The main character) that she only wanted to go out with him and Lance (The previous starter quarterback) because that gave her a guaranteed opportunity to get out of their small town. Belonging to the school hero also helped Darcy feel like she was better than other women were. The way Darcy gets both of the men to go out with her is by giving them the opportunity to prove to themselves that they are men, which is by letting them have sex with her. This reasserts the notion that women respect a real man, and how they show their respect to that man is by having sex with him. Mox’s girlfriend, Jules, is very similar to Darcy in the sense that she shows him how to be a real man. However, Jules’s case is different because with her, masculinity and femininity are not as black and white; Jules’s brand of masculinity involves loyalty, taking charge, being sensitive, appreciating others, and being a winner. Until...
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...Explaining female crime Heidensohn: patriarchal control Heidensohn argues that the most striking thing about women’s behaviour is how conformist it is – they commit fewer crimes than men. In her view, this is because patriarchal society imposes greater control over women and this reduces their opportunities to offend. This patriarchal control operates at home, in public spaces and at work. * Control at home * Women’s domestic role, with its constant round of housework and childcare, imposes severe restrictions on their time and movement and confines them to the house for long periods of time, reducing their opportunities to offend. Women who try to reject their domestic role may find that their partners seek to impose it by force, through domestic violence. * As Dobash and Dobash show, many violent attacks result from men’s dissatisfaction with their wives’ performance of domestic duties. Men also exercise control through their financial power, for example by denying women sufficient funds for leisure activities, thereby restricting their time outside the home. * Daughters too are subject to patriarchal control. Girls are less likely to be allowed to come and go as they please or to stay out late. As a result, they develop a bedroom culture, socialising at home with friends rather than out in public spaces. Girls are also required to do more housework than boys. As a result, they have less opportunity to engage in deviant behaviour on the streets. ...
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...These male characters are developed with less detail and given passive roles in comparison with their female counterparts. The two main female characters—Sochienne and Mrs. Njoku—are not just active but are more powerful in contrast with their male counterparts who are marginalized. For example the baffled driver is at the mercy of the quarrel between Mrs. Njoku and her daughter on whether he should join them to eat at the restaurant or not. A slight amount of Patriarchy is seen in this excerpt from the text; “…her husband said Sochienne would not go abroad until university because he did not want her to turn out like those …” The words in bold, though seemingly understandable, are actually selfish. Her husband could have suggested that he thought it wasn’t best for her to travel abroad before university and that could have been deliberated on. He is rather found in an absolute position with little or no opposition and this exposes the “natural” acceptance on the part of Mrs. Njoku. The text generically rejects Patriarchy as little development is made of the male characters. One could also look at the use of house boys as feminist because a patriarchal system would prefer house girls. With a storyline centered on female characters and how intricately these characters are developed, the text makes a clear appeal to the females...
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...ST.JOSEPH'S COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES (AUTONOMOUS) LANGFORD ROAD, BANGALORE-560027 TERM PAPER STATUS OF WOMEN- THE "SECOND GENDER" IN INDIA SUBMITTED BY- NITHYA SURI NARAYAN 11 CEZ 3208 Mrs. Mini Mark Bonjour Department of English St. Josephs College (Autonomous) Bangalore-560027 Karanataka, India CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Ms.Nithya Suri Narayan (11 CEZ 3208) OF B.Sc. 3rd CEZ has completed the term paper, titled 'The Status of women- the "second gender" in India' under the guidance of Mrs. Mini Mark Bonjour (Department of English) for the partial fulfillment of the requirements of B.Sc. Course (Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Zoology) during the academic year from 2013-2014 as prescribed by St.Joseph's College (Autonomous) Place: St.Joseph's College (Autonomous), Bangalore Date: Mrs.Mini Mark Bonjour Department of English St.Joseph's College of Arts and Sciences DECLARATION I hereby declare that the project entitled “Women- The 'Second Gender' of India ” submitted by me to the St. Joseph’s college Bangalore 560027 is based on the review of literature analysis , data analysis and interpretation carried out by me under the supervision of Mrs.Mini Mark Bonjour (English Dept.) The work embodied in the project either in part or full has not been previously submitted for any other degree course MENTOR'S SIGNATURE STUDENTS SIGNATURE (Mrs. Mini Mark Bonjour) ...
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