Category: Gender

Introduction

The four types of toys under analysis are Bathtime Baby (for girls) and Woody (for boys), Build It (for boys) and Cleaning Trolley (for girls). Bathtime Baby is a pink and white baby doll with a shampoo and powder set. The doll is plastic and soft to touch. Its packaging consists of a young girl holding the doll and playing with it. Woody is the second toy; it is a figure of a man wearing brightly coloured clothes.

The toy has a hat and boots and can talk. It has the colour blue, red, yellow and white. Woody also has a plastic hat and boots, and a torso made of soft material. Build It is a set of items that children can construct into a truck and drill. It possesses battery power to enable the child to move it back and forth.

Manufacturers made the set using hard plastic and bright colours (red for the truck and yellow and green for the drill). Lastly, Cleaning Trolley is a set of parts that children can make into a cleaning trolley. It has red, blue and pink as its prominent colours and consists of durable plastic; the toy is also mobile.

How the toys represent gender ideology

Girls toys represent the world of the woman as a nurturer. Bathtime Baby has a shampoo and powder that will allow a young girl to take care of her baby. This will condition her for her future role as a parent (Barthes, 1972). Furthermore, because producers already constructed the toy, the girl cannot take on the role of a creator; she must embrace her role as a consumer. In essence, this depiction mirrors what goes on in the adult world.

Most manufacturers target females as consumers of their objects. One only has to watch commercials on television to realise this. Hair conditioners, deodorants, cooking materials and many other household items target the female consumer. Even the nature of materials used can condition girls into thinking that all they can do is use an item; they can never make it. Conversely, Woody is a stand-alone toy. It does not come with shampoos or washing-powder like Bathtime Baby.

Instead, the toy can repeat phrases from a movie. This means that the child can pretend to be a movie star by imitating the toy. The element of care is not evident in this item. Instead, the child playing with it has taken on the role of a movie star. He can be a hero and carry the day. This toy represents the dominant and outgoing nature assigned to men (Van Leeuwen, 2009). Society confines women to domestic roles while men can go out and save the day in a movie.

The second set of toys also reflects similar gender roles. Children would only use a cleaning trolley in the home environment. The girl can pretend to mop or vacuum just like her mother. This toy also prepares the girl to embrace her role as a homemaker. Conversely, Built It is a set of parts that make up a fire truck and drill.

Children who play with this toy can pretend to be firemen or mechanics. They may also pretend to be drivers or engineers. One can see that manufacturers are giving boys more options. It is almost as if they want to condition boys into becoming direct contributors to the economy. These toys do not confine children who play with them to one role.

The kinetic design of the toys is something worth nothing in all four sets of toys. Bathtime Baby is a representation of a child seating down. On the other hand, Woody is standing erect, and his legs are far apart. Van Leeuwen and Caldas-Coulthard (2002) explain that women cannot support themselves.

This clarifies why a girls toy consists of a baby in a seated position. The latter authors affirm that such kinetics cause women to become submissive in adult life. They are also symptomatic of power relations in society. The doll is almost looking up; meaning that it is seeking approval from others. Also, because the girl who is playing with Bathtime Baby must concern herself with the well being of someone other than herself, then this causes her to focus on appeasement in her adult life.

In contrast, Woody is standing alone and has no need to be supported. This reflects the independent and confident nature of men (Van Leeuwen & Caldas-Coulthard, 2002). Furthermore, a person who is standing up always has greater control than one who is seating down. Once again, this signifies power relations between men and women.

Similarly, designs for Build It and Cleaning Trolley enforce societal expectations about gender. One can see this in the rigidity and the mobility of the objects. Both items are mobile; however, Build It differs from Cleaning Trolley because the boys toy can be manipulated through battery power. A child can move the fire engine forward or backward by removal of the handle in the electric power drill. One may also move the toy by hand.

Cleaning Trolley can only be moved by hand. This indicates that boys have more playing options than girls. They can learn about electrical energy through the battery-operated drill, but still move the truck using their own hands. Society tends to undermine the exploratory role of the female as seen through Cleaning Trolley.

The manner in which she can manipulate the toy limits her, and this discourages her from exploring new things. In the adult world, females know remarkably little about mechanical issues. They often seek male assistance when changing light bulbs, repairing leaking pipes or replacing car tires. Such toys lead to the development of these attitudes at an early stage.

Differences also exist in the manner in which the toys can be utilised. The rules of use are already evident in the construction designs of the toys. Bathtime Baby has soft material in order to encourage girls to play with her. Furthermore, because the doll is in a seating position, then it is easy to pretend that it is bathing in a basin. On the other hand, Woody is standing, so one would have to move it in that erect position.

Bathtime Baby has prominent eyes and bright pink and white colours designed to attract a girl child. She will probably want to make eye contact with it and care for it. On the other hand, Woodys eyes are smaller; this would encourage boys to focus on doing things with it rather than care for it.

Additionally, because the toy can talk, boys would be encouraged to take on the same role of a movie star. Once again, the interpersonal and ideational elements of these toys reinforce gender stereotypes. Blakemore and Centers (2005) explain that most boys toys encourage more social play than girls toys.

Cleaning Trolley and Build It also differ in the way they encourage children to participate. Build It has 18 parts while Cleaning Trolley only has 10 parts. Girls have fewer options with regard to the way they construct their toys, and this stifles their creativity. Additionally, the power of the user over the toy appears to be greater in Build It than Cleaning Trolley. Boys can manipulate Build It in more ways than the girls.

Additionally, Build It gives greater feedback than Cleaning Trolley. Blakemore and Centers (2005) carried out a research in which participants classified girls and boys toys according to certain characteristics. The authors found that most boys toys tended to provide users with feedback for their input, but this was not true for girls toys. Consequently, one can understand why girls tend to shy away from structural work. They do not see results for their interventions from an early age, so this puts them off spatially-oriented work.

The two sets of toys differ from one another with regard to their physicality. Girls items (both Cleaning Trolley and Bathtime Baby) tend to portray proper grooming and attractiveness. These ideas get implanted into girls minds and cause them to become conscious about their appearance in adult life. Bath Time baby is pink and white while Woody is yellow, red and blue.

Pink and white are striking colours that emphasise the significance of ones appearance. Cleaning Trolley and the truck may both have bright colours, but each of these colour choices sends a different message. The truck is red in colour to represent danger and violence while pink and blue are harmless colours that represent domesticity. Blakemore and Centers (2005) argue that most boys toys teach them how to embrace risk and danger as is the case with Built It.

Manufacturers promises

The packaging of Woody and Bathtime Baby has a design that invites users. The cover of Bathtime Baby is pink and white, which is quite appealing to young girls. Furthermore, because the package has no plastic cover, the potential buyers can test the doll. The package has an image of a girl holding the baby and playing with it at the back. This image can cause visual stimulation in other girls observing it, and thus prompt them to buy the toy.

Similarly, Woodys package is white and blue in colour so as to convey the message that it targets boys. It also has an open window that allows one to pull its string. Such a strategy causes physical stimulation because it allows boys to test the item (Stengling, 2008). In both these packages, it is easy to see a front and back part because the front has an image of the toy in each case and the back allows access to the toys.

When comparing Build It and Cleaning Trolley, one can see similar patterns in the packaging. The front of Build It has a photo of a boy playing with the two items; the drill and truck. It also has a plastic window with the drill in it. The back of the package has an illustration of all the crucial parts of the assembly.

Designs of these images show the children what they can make out of the various parts given to them. Similarly, Cleaning Trolley also possesses an image of a girl playing with the trolley while the back of the toy has labels for all parts of the trolley. This would probably encourage an observer to long for the item.

Manufacturers portray Salience in Woody and Bathtime Baby slightly differently. The name of Bathtime Baby has a design that informs caregivers about what the toy can do for the child. In other words, this company promises that it will teach children social skills. The item meets these expectations because girls can dress, wash, or shampoo the baby. This would teach them interactive skills as they get older.

The manufacturers of Woody have employed a different strategy to create certain expectations about the toy. First, the front of the package has Woody and some speech bubbles. These indicate that the toy can talk, and it would teach a child speech patterns or social skills. The toy delivers in terms of the speech patterns; however, lack of movement may be an impediment.

Build It also possesses a different salience from Cleaning Trolley. At the front of the package, the manufacturers have placed the word fire engine so as to inform buyers that they will be constructing a similar item. The company has also placed the construction method for the toy, which tells parents that their children will learn spatial and construction skills from the toy. In Cleaning Trolley, the image of the trolley illustrates what the item will do for the buyer. It promises to teach the girl social skills and meets this expectation.

With regard to the information value of the toys, Bathtime Baby contains information about the manufacturer and the social skill to be learnt from the toy, that is, imagination. The latter can be found at the front of the package. On the back side, one can see an image of the child playing with the doll. One side of the package contains information about the items in the package while the other side describes the activities that the child can engage in.

This information is quite useful, although there is no mention of age. Woody, on the other hand, has descriptions of the toy on the front and back. It also has speech bubbles containing a summary of the phrases that the toy will provide. Lastly it contains information about the age limit and warns that children between 0 and 3 years should not use it.

This is useful information although the company should have added information about how to make the toy talk. It should also describe the activities one can perform with the item and the social skills to be learnt.

Information value between Build It and Cleaning Trolley also differs depending on the nature of the items in use. For instance, Build it has information describing the things that one can do with the item. It also possesses an image of a child playing with it. One side of the toy contains information about the various parts.

It should include warning signs about any potential danger. Cleaning Trolley contains information about the benefits of the toy, the age group and the manufacturers name at the front. The back contains various parts of the toy and their labels. One side consists of tips on how to play or use the toy. The other side provides alternatives on role playing. This toy should have contained additional information about the process of assembling it.

Conclusion

An analysis of these two sets of toys reveals that toys portray a semiotic relationship between the genders. Girls toys tend to reinforce stereotypes about nurturing, submissiveness, consumption, affirmation and attractiveness. Conversely, boys toys enforce stereotypes about confidence, stronger power relations, independence, risk, assertiveness and production/ construction.

References

Barthes, R. (1972). Mythologies. NY: Hill and Wang

Blakemore, J. & Centers. R. (2005). Characteristics of boys and girls toys. Sex Roles Journal, 53(9), 619-634

Stengling, M. (2008). Binding: a resource for exploring interpersonal meaning in 3D space. Social Semiotics, 18(4), 425-447

Van Leeuwen, T. (2009). The world according to Playmobil. Semiotica Journal, 173(1), 299-315

Van Leeuwen, T. & Caldas-Coulthard, C. (2002). The semiotics of kinetic design. Wales: Cardiff University Press

Introduction

Gay and lesbian persons should be granted full civil rights. In this essay, I will make use of three relatively recent newspaper articles to explore the current status of gay rights in the world.

Article 1 is titled Genetic or Not, Gay Wont Go Away and it was published by The New York Times on 12^th January 2012 (. Bruni is openly gay and he is published in The New York Times which is an independent, reputable, cosmopolitan newspaper with a worldwide scope of coverage and circulation. The newspaper is also largely perceived to have a liberal bias.

The second article, is Gay Rights: A World of Inequality, penned by Zoe Williams and published in The Guardian on the 13^th of September, 2011, uses statistics to show that a greater part of the world does not seem ready to accept gay people and accord them the humanity they deserve. The Guardian newspaper has a large middleclass readership and is often associated with left-wing politics. Zoe Williams, the author, describes herself as a felt-wing feminist.

In the third article, Scot Rose criticizes The New York Times in an article titled The New York Times Gets into the Gay-Bashing Gutter published on 27^th January, 2012 in the Bigotry Watch section of The New Civil Rights Movement. The New Civil Rights Movement magazine describes itself as a journal of news and opinions on gay rights and marriage equality. It was established by David Badash with the aim of addressing the ignorance problem regarding gay rights both by those who are against them and gay people themselves.

Discussion

The basis of Brunis argument is that whether there is proof that gay persons are born that way or not is a matter of no insignificance since homophobia is not rational and would therefore not be assuaged even by scientific findings to that effect. Indeed, he posits, finding a genetic divergence of gay and lesbian persons from their straight counterparts might even heighten homophobia.

He cites the case of the Black people in the United States saying that their race having naturally occurred has never stopped discrimination against them. He argues that just like religious affiliations have no genetic basis and yet they are protected under the law, so should ones sexual orientation; whether founded on nature or choice.

Actually, the contemporary need for same sex attraction to be recognized as naturally occasioned by gay rights activists runs the risk of their being intolerant against those who admit to being gay by choice. Eventually, he argues, it is of more advantage to society to accept gay and lesbian people than to oppress them. And, he concludes, while research points towards the possibility of its genetic links, there need not be a biological basis for same sex attraction for gay rights to be granted.

Statistics show that same sex relationships are unlawful in 82 countries around the world, about half of the worlds nations. The most extreme cases of abuse against gay and lesbian persons have taken place in Iran where two teenage boys were publicly hanged in 2005 for the crime of consensual coitus between members of the same sex and a further three on the 8^th of September, 2011 (Williams, 2011).

The situation is not all that better in Uganda, where there are penalties for teachers, doctors and even parents who suspected that someone in their care was gay but didnt report them ((Williams, 2011), or in Belize where a cabinet minister was quoted saying he would fight tooth and nail against decriminalization of homosexuality.

While this is taking place, there are organizations that are working to address these disparities some from the gay and lesbian rights perspective, some from diplomacy and others by invoking international law such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. William infers that great strides for the gay rights movement would be made if funds were available to petition national governments against the criminalization of same sex relationships through the courts.

The New York Times article referred to by Rose was published on 22^nd January, 2012 and it was titled G.O.P. Ventures into Florida, a State Harder to Pigeonhole.

Rose argues that by using family values in that article, the New York Times was endorsing anti-gay sentiment by insinuating that they were inherently against the ideals implicit in the term. Family values, Rose argues, is almost synonymous with gay intolerance in Florida.

Doubting whether this was an editorial oversight on the part of The New York Times, Rose questions the viability of the claim that the newspaper really is for gay rights. He cites instances where that raises suspicion about the loyalty of the newspapers editorial board such as their allowing Ross Douthat to allege that ending sexual orientation apartheid is tantamount to abandoning Western civilization (Rose, 2012).

Bruni makes a valid point: whether arrived naturally or by choice, ones sexual identity shouldnt be a basis for discrimination. On the other hand, for the first battle towards the acceptance of gay and lesbian persons in society to be achieved, (through legal means) financial investment will be needed.

This would definitely turn the tide in countries which are most hostile to gay and lesbian persons. Williams argument is sound as the history of the civil rights movement would show. Lastly, the media has a great role to play towards the eventual achievement of gay rights. Its in a position to influence public opinion and should therefore be ardently analyzed and objectively criticized whenever it seems to falter.

The article raises a significant issue of whether newspapers dont support such causes of the gay rights movement for political and public relations reasons while secretly undermining them. This is especially so for newspapers that are authoritative such as The New York Times. Rose article serves to make this issue public and therefore make the media more responsible.

Conclusion

Sexual identity is recognized by International Convention on Civil and Political Rights as a human right (HREA, 1997). On this basis, full civil rights should be granted to gay and lesbian persons the world over. The question of whether it results from ones genetic make up or choice should not arise (Bruni, 2012). Enough funds should therefore be dedicated towards the fight for these rights in view of the intolerance evident in the contemporary world (Williams, 2011).

The issue of gay rights is fraught with controversy. The above articles attest to that. Foremost, the extent to which same sex attraction is the result of genetics remains a matter of speculation. Secondly, the status of gay and lesbian acceptance seems to be worsening in more than half of the worlds countries. Lastly, it presents a highly sensitive issue as Rose article shows. Still, gay rights should be granted consistent with other civil rights.

References

Bruni, F., (2012). Genetic or Not, Gay Wont Go Away. The New York Times. Web.

Human Rights Education Associates. (1997). Sexual Orientation and Human Rights. Web.

Rose, S. (2012). The New York Times Gets Into The Gay-Bashing Gutter. The New Civil Rights Movement. Web.

Williams. Z. (2011). Gay rights: a world of inequality. The Guardian. Web.

Introduction

We live in a society where the roles of the males and the roles of the females are getting redefined with each passing day (Archer and Barbara). It seems that everyone has an idea about the nature of how men and women should operate and behave in the current society.

The beliefs which have been handed down through generations provide a way of understanding this subject better. This is because they offer firsthand experience into the nature of men and women, and their place in the wider society (Archer and Barbara). Toys and gender Toys bring to the fore different aspects of functioning among the children.

This is because these toys have got different impacts in children development. In the case of boys, it has been realized that they have got more toys than the girls. Furthermore, boys have got a greater variety of toys as compared to the girls. Boys toys bring out their masculine and aggressive nature (Archer and Barbara). For instance, the boys toys are largely made up of vehicles, that is, toy cars and automobiles.

Boys have got more violent looking toys. Examples of such toys include skates and kites. It is more likely that you will find boys with soldiers and guns as toys. In essence, this is aimed at transmitting the message that boys are supposed to be rough and a bit aggressive. On the other hands toys which resemble the girls are supposed to be soft and tender (Archer and Barbara).

Toys which are associated with girls are largely made up of dolls, doll houses and the domestic items such as spoons and dishes. This aims at instilling in girls the motherly role they are likely to play in their adult years. At this point it is worth noting that colors associated with toys also define the gender which that toy belongs to. In girls case it is assumed that they prefer a certain color of toys while boys prefer a different type of color.

The girls toys are largely pink in color. This is noticeable in the dolls that are found in most toy stores. On the other hand, the boys are associated with bright colors such as red and blue in most of their toys. This notwithstanding, the society has realized that there is need to have toys which bring the girls and boys to the same playing field. In this case, the manufacturers have come up with the unisex toys.

These are toys which can be used by both genders without any form of prejudice. These toys encourage the boys and the girls to play together. Some of these toys include toys which can be used in outdoor activities such as music toys or remote controlled gadgets. In addition, there are games such as the scrabble and monopoly which offers both genders an opportunity to take part in play without any bias.

Conclusion It is important to give children an opportunity to learn express themselves using toys early in life. However, it is fundamental to note the fact that these toys will have implications on the kind of personalities that they develop in future. It is therefore important to ensure that the toys that one brings for the child are suitable for a certain age and meet certain objectives.

Works Cited

Archer, John and Bloom Barbara. Sex and Gender, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.

The negotiation of gender identity is an issue that has raised a lot of mayhem at the workplaces. This paper will outline the issue by critically analyzing the GI Jane movie. The movie, GI Jane, is a fictional artwork whose plot revolves around the first woman to undertake sea training in the United States Navy Special Welfare Group. It is ironical that the lead actress, Demi Moore, who plays Jordan ONeill in this male dominated film, is a woman.

The main actress is striving to be treated equally as her male counterparts in the training. She even goes to the extent of sharing the same sleeping place with her male colleagues. All the things she does throughout the movie are intended to bring equal treatment for both sexes. The main actress wants to prove to other actors that even women are capable of handling the duties perceived as mens. This paper uses the movie to outline the ways through which gender bias can be eliminated.

This female subject becomes the lead character of this movie and behaves as if she was equal to the other male trainees. Despite the rigorous procedure used for recruiting the naval officers and the enlisted personnel, she is able to sail through and impress the panelists. Despite the numerous barriers the main lead actress encounters during the training, she doesnt give up on the training.

The ONeill lives by the same principles, upholds the same values and lives in the same quarters as them. In fact, as a result of the leads actress box of tampons, one of the male trainees was so terrorized by her sharing the same sleeping place with them. Although she portrays to be as strong as men in this challenging training, she almost gives in to a sexual relationship with her lead training instructor, Master Chief. Such relationships are some of the factors, which interfere with the efforts of the lead actress to fight for equality.

Women are most often discriminated or exempted from certain jobs or activities. Such jobs, which involves a lot of risks are said to belong to men (Inness 54). In the movie, Jordan who is the main character gets into training in the Seals Otters. It has never occurred before that a woman can undergo such rigorous training.

Even though there are thousands of women serving in the navy, it is still regarded by majority as a mens career. The fact that Jordan plays a major role in the movie is a clear indication that even women can be as strong as men in any given career (Zeigler and Gunderson 72).

The masculine characters are portrayed in a manner that looks down upon women especially in the military. The fact that Master Chief develops intimate feelings for Jordan indicates that there some men who still view the women as sexual objects. In the United States the attempt to review the law in order to incorporate female characters in the military service has been thwarted by the male chauvinists.

In most cases, the party that is interested in upholding gender-based discrimination must prove that such a move meets or helps in achieving important governmental objectives (Zeigler and Gunderson 70). Irrespective of the ability of women to perform certain duties such as service in the military, they cannot be integrated into it just because of their gender (Zeigler and Gunderson 73).

There have been campaigns in various organizations and governmental agencies to allow equality of gender in the work place. Women want to be included in every sector of leadership and governance. While change may come slowly, as women continue to gain inclusion in all spheres of the civilian world, they will eventually do so in the services as well. (Zeigler and Gunderson 73, Para. 2). This shows the determination and zeal that the women activists have in ensuring equality in jobs (Zeigler and Gunderson 73).

In GI Jane movie, there is a concern that the services of men in the military will be compromised due to mistreatment of women. The point is proved right when a male colleague, who is a leader of the seal squad, helps Jordan in some of the difficulties she encounters. She was expected to handle herself, and she is also assaulted sexually before her teammates during sere training.

This is aimed at making them reveal their information to the enemy in defense of the female squad member. This indicates that the presence of female members in a military squad can jeopardize their missions. This is also another discrimination criteria portrayed in the movie (Zeigler and Gunderson 73).

In the contemporary society, it is reported that quite a number of leaders and Presidents have plunged their countries with a perspective that they are defending the manhood of their countries. A nation that accepts bloodshed as the last horror has lost what is regarded as its manhood. This was a declaration after the World War 1. After this, so many wars that took place were in defense of the nations manhood.

The Vietnam War, the gulf war were paradigms of manhood. President Ronald Reagan, because he wanted America to display firmness of manhood, intervened in Nicaragua. Mens work is regarded as real while that of women is an insult. Therefore, no leader or ruler wants to associate his country with feminism (Zeigler and Gunderson 74).

The GI Jane movie depicts a woman character that is willing to sacrifice a lot in order to be accepted into the military, it is a portrayal of masculinization of a female person. At the onset, it is said that Demi Moore Takes It like a Man (Brown 49, Para. 2). This is an indication of women not being in a position to carry out some tasks as they are. They have to live behind their womanhood and do it as men do.

This means that if they face the situation as women, then the possibility of completing the task effectively is very low. She loses part of her womanhood in the training and adapts mens masculine nature. She cuts her hair short and her training routine makes her to lose period. Her body too becomes more masculine like those of men (Brown 49).

In adapting and changing into masculinity, Jordan eventually becomes the most respectable member of the seal. She does it better than all her colleagues by displaying spectacular skills in rescuing her boss. After rescuing her commanding officer, she then proceeds and delivers the whole platoon.

This is a display of the ability of women having equal or even better chance of competing in anything. She can attain all the heights in life if she dedicates time and energy. However, this does not come for free for she has to sacrifice a part of her womanhood in order to achieve her goals (Inness 56).

The master chief of the group mistreats her in order to discourage her from continuing in the military. He employs all the cruelty skills earned from training on her. Nevertheless, the determination of Jordan becoming the first military navy woman could not fade off. Even when she had been brutally beaten by her boss with the perspective of intimidating her, she retaliates at him with insults of suck my dick.

She receives applause from the fellow compatriots and regains composer and fame. This mistreatment reflects on the contemporary societys position on women. They are treated as objects for certain specific activities. Any attempt to break lose will result into enduring pain and hardships (Inness 57).

Another aspect elaborating gender discrimination is the cold and casual treatment that Jordan receives from her boyfriend Royce. To him, she has lost her womanhood for military and therefore incomplete as a woman. The way men treat her too at the receptionist, others even whistling at her indicating that she is just a sex object.

To them, she is not expected to complete the training. This explains the societys view of a womans position in the community. The community cannot expect a woman to be able to perform rigorous activities that require masculine bodies (Schubart 338).

The defiant behavior of Jordan to have sex with men in the seal squad puts her on the spot. Most critics say that her unusual behavior suggests that she might be a lesbian.

Together with the other two actors alongside her, the question of womanhood is raised. As usual, it is expected that the ladies cannot afford to stay with men for a long time without having sexual intercourse this shows the societys position concerning female characters. They are regarded as gullible, fragile and without a firm position in decision making (Cook 183).

Just like in most movie and story books, feminism is criticized when it comes to jobs or roles that have been culturally associated with men. It becomes more difficult for the male counterparts to comprehend and accept the challenge offered by women. Without the support of men, women may not fully exploit their potentials in various fields.

The western culture has over a long time conflated masculinity. It can redefine any word it finds necessary in order to emphasize a point against feminism. To some extent, masculinity or masculinities are words that are used in informing intellectual cultures that are not necessary (Eberwein 176).

Another degree of gender biasness is found in the American leadership and the government. During the time Patricia Ireland served in the government as an executive vice president of a nationwide organization for women, elaborated a number of things of the government and the constitution. One of them is that combat exclusion only offers protection for mens jobs. Women are excluded. This means that they can lose their jobs as easily as they are obtained (Zeigler and Gunderson 73).

On the other hand, women do not see sex as a deterrent to attaining their goals. It is reported that sex was common during the veteran war just as it was in the desert storm. This does not alter the performance of a lady. It is also noted that gender integrated crews have no and will not combat the readiness and the capabilities of a leader or commandant.

Soldiers do make friendship, they do it either way. That means subordinates can have friendship with their bosses and vice versa. However, this does not alter the ability or the inability to perform their duties. One soldier remarked that the military should be able to train its members and avoid dwelling on unnecessary misconduct or relations. These issues are brought down to nature and they are not related to occupation (Zeigler and Gunderson 76).

There was another claim that women cannot be able to work in some particular sectors. One of them was firefighting industry. After a close examination and measurement of the upper section of womens bodies, it was concluded that they are unable to carry other people on their shoulders. However, they were later proved wrong (Zeigler and Gunderson 76).

In conclusion, gender biasness discriminating on women is a major concern in todays society. In the movie GI Jane, the main character, Jordan is depicted as a woman who acts as a bridge to indicate that, what the society sees as impossibility is made possible through determination. However, gender discrimination is brought out in a more elaborate manner.

The fact that her boss mistreats her in order to intimidate her is an indication of gender discrimination. The colleagues also welcome her to the seal squad with a view of a sexual object that has joined the group. Almost every man flirted with her while others were whistling to her. This is the discrimination that has been perpetuated in the society for a long period of time.

Works Cited

Brown, Jeffrey A. Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2011. Print.

Cook, Bernie. Thelma & Louise Live!: The Culture Afterlife of an American Film. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2007. Print.

Eberwein, Robert T. The War Film. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers, the State University, 2005. Print.

Inness, Sherrie A. Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture. New York, NY: Sherrie A. Inness, 2004. Print.

Schubart, Rikke. Super Beaches and Action Babes: The Female Hero in Popular Cinema, 1970-2006. Jefferson, NC: Rikke Schubart, 2007. Print.

Zeigler, Sara L., and Gregory, G. Gunderson. Moving Beyond G.I. Jane: Women and the U.S. Military. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Inc, 2005. Print.

Adult discourse on toys often dwells on the notion of discoursing on gender difference. Toys are over sexualised by parents, media, toy-makers, scholars, teachers, etc. to disseminate an early lesson on gender difference to children. Thus, boys play with toys made and marketed for them and girls play with indoor toys like Barbie. Gendering of colour, sports, clothes, television shows, and toys are a few example of areas of adult discourse on young minds. Selective and controlled exposure of children to media and television viewing helps to construct a gender specific view about toys and games.

A childs growth and movement are controlled and observed through the panopticon system that allows adults to carve their preferences and gender specific ideals. This deliberate attempt to control a childs personal space applies to determining what toys they play with. Adults have a strong influence on the gender construct and the nature of socialisation that a child engages in, therefore, defining their idea of play (Witt 1997).

Parents influence their children to play or not to play with Barbie dolls has great impact on defining the childrens sense of gender role, and socialisation (Rand 1995). Parents begin a process of creating gender role through specific construct right from the time children are aware of gender and gender differences (Kane 2013). Adults idea of children and childhood, gender roles, and socialisation has a strong influence on the childrens play.

This essay puts forth the argument that adult ideas of childhood, gender, and socialisation frame the meanings of childrens play, particularly with reference to Barbie dolls. This is done in three sections: first deals with the adult influence in creating constructs of gender and therefore play/game among children, second discusses the gender role and influence of childrens desire to play with Barbie dolls, and third describe the roll of socialisation in influencing childrens desire to play with Barbie dolls.

Adult Influence on Childrens Play

Parental influence on childrens behaviour, play orientation, and psychological development has been well documented by scholars. The first relevant book that should be discussed in order to understand the influence of parents on framing childrens exposure to popular culture is that by Katherine McDonald. McDonnell (2000, p. 16) tries to explain the challenges that parents go through while trying to understand their childrens needs.

In the book, McDonald points out that many parents always struggle to guide their children through the path that they believe will make them successful in life. Witt (1997) points out that a childs first exposure to gender and gender roles is through the parents. Parents even treat a girl child differently from a boy child (Witt 1997). Witt (1997) argues that parents have a strong influence on childrens gender-specific activities such as playing with dolls for girls and sports activities for boys. Hence, parents create a gender-specified demarcation between a girl and boy child.

In understanding the childhood of their children, adults often face a problem that arises when they realize that their children do not share their approach of thinking. According to McDonald (1994), it is not possible for a child to think like an adult. In this context, McDonald argues that a conflict arises when a parent tries to impose his or her worldview on the child. According to McDonald, a parent may want to regulate what a child views for fear that their minds may be polluted.

Other parents struggle to identify the kind of toys that their children may find most interesting. While some parents feel that they are failing to give their children what they need to experience a positive development, others always feel that their children are demanding more than they should have at their tender age. Clearly, McDonald stresses on the impact of parental control on younger children and points out that in most cases, the parents make decisions regarding the childs toy preference.

Other authors like Kane (2006) believes that parents have a strong influence in constructing gender of their children in creating a gender identity among them. The influence of parents in defining the childhood pastime of children is abundantly described in their effort to monitor and define their television viewing. McDonald (1994) points out that parents in their attempt to define kid culture often find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to allowing their children to watch violent movies. This causes a moral panic among the parents.

Parents are not unanimous about the influence of Barbie as a toy for children. Some believe that Barbie dolls have a positive influence on children while other others believe that they have a bad influence on children. The bad effect of Barbie is believed to be negative impact on body image and gender roles, are usually voiced by parents and scholars. Thus, adults perceive a childs toy to play a complicated role in moulding the child. Hence, they conceive children to view and perceive things the way adults do. For instance, Rand (1995) points out in the beginning of her book that she was herself never allowed to play with a Barbie doll and her mother never bought one for her. This narration demonstrates the adults perception of a childs world.

Further, adults often believe that boys playing with Barbie dolls are queer or gay (Rand 1995). Thus, a degree of effeminacy is associated with boys playing with dolls, and more specifically Barbie dolls. If the argument that, boys who play with Barbie dolls are queer is assumed true, there should not be any scope of alarm or panic due to this. However, by disassociating toys for boys and that for girls, adults have created a platform for segregation of the gender, leaving no space for the third gender to grow in the upbringing of the children.

Gender Construction and Childs Play

Gendering a childs identity is done even through the games children play. Gender construction is paramount in the lives of children as their whole identity is based on their sex. Through a very simple exercise, McDonald (1994) shows that cartoons shown on television have more superheroes and few (almost zero) super-heroines. In the book, McDonald (1994) points out at the gender construct and segregation of gender roles in the cartoons watched by children.

She points out that in most of the cases, the heroes are male, subconsciously creating a discourse of the insignificance of a girl child. In other words, she implies that a girl child adheres to the popular gender roles in these cartoons thus, reducing the relevance of these cartoons to a girl child. Recently, there have been attempts to make some of these cartoons relevant to the girl child by introducing the heroines that they can easily identify with in these cartoons. However, McDonald (1994) points out that such introductions have created more defined gender roles.

Witt (1997) who studied gender construction specifically points out that the inference of parents in creating such distinction between toys for boys and that for girls is not uncommon. Witt (1997) argues that more girls rooms are painted pink and have dolls while boys rooms are painted in blue and are stuffed with cars, sports equipment, and tools. Thus, the adults in the family, who unsuspectingly define the gender of their children, decide the choice of toys made by children. Volkom (2003) believes that children usually emulate the behaviour of the adults who share their gender. Children use these observations then to shape their own behaviours.

Gender distinction is first discoursed and constructed through parents. Children internalize the gender discourse emitted by the parents more quickly than that by the outer world. The reason for this is due to their exposure to gender through parents who are the earliest connecting point with the outer world. They internalize gender from parents at a very early age and become acutely aware of the adult sex roles. Thus, Witt (1997) believes that children create their own gender expectations at a very early age and are often unmovable from their beliefs.

Gendering of toys was an essential fragment of differentiating girls from boys at an early age. Kane (2013) discusses the icons of femininity used to demarcate the toys of boys and girls. The notion of femininity in society was based on the presence and discourse of masculinity in society (Kane 2013). The usage of dolls, especially Barbie, as a symbol of femininity, with its long slender legs, and flowing blond hair, created an icon of femininity. Girls playing with Barbie, and essentially idolizing Barbie believed that the ideal feminine attributes lay in the physical demeanour of the doll. Further, in case of boys, parents usually hold a negative attitude towards boys wearing frilly or pink coloured clothes, thus, creating an image of masculinity that is imprinted in the mind of the children (Kane 2013).

Gender construct of adults are instilled on children, thus, creating gender identity among them. Children learn about gender difference at a very early age and participate in gender stereotyping due to their exposure to popular media, peers, and most importantly parents. Gender construct plays a strong role in the choice of game that children choose to play. Boys usually prefer to play with cars, tools, and outdoor sports while girls are more inclined towards playing with dolls like Barbie and engaging in domestic activity. This stark difference in game preference stems from the parental discourse.

Adult Idea of Socialisation

In the book Barbies Queer Accessories, Erica Rand points out that her mother would never allow her to play with Barbie dolls. Her reason for disapproving Barbie dolls was because she, like many other like-minded mothers, did not want her daughter to have pointy-breasted teenager who literally couldnt stand on her own two feet (Rand 1995, p. 4). This effect of playing with Barbie dolls has been documented by many researchers who believe that this creates a body image idolization among adolescent girls who try to attain the Barbie-like figure which they pressure to be the perfect body-type (Kuther & McDonald 2004).

The study conducted by Kuther and McDonald (2004) presents a pervasive picture of boys and girls playing with Barbie. The researchers found that playing with Barbie dolls were a process for girls to enact adult social scripts while the boys was mostly engaged in destructive play & disfiguring the dolls (Kuther & McDonald 2004, p. 50).

Researchers have found a strong relationship between the parents belief of play and the socialisation skills of children. Social adaptation of children is derived from group play. Researchers believe parents have a strong influence in shaping this social skill of children. Parents perception of child play has a strong influence on the social competence of the child (Lin & Yawkey 2014).

Lin and Yawkeys (2014) study demonstrates that parents with a positive attitude towards childs play help in developing strong social competence in children. Hence, when parents have a positive perception of their childs game, it helps to develop the childs social skills. Intuitively one can assume that when parents are encouraging about the games that the children are playing helps in developing their social skills. Thus, when parents show approval towards gender-stereotyped games, children find it more comfortable to play with.

Adult influence on defining childs game is immense. Adults create a concept of gender and gender defined games that children eventually adopt. Adult discourse creates the perception of Barbie as a toy for girls. Children adopt and imitate the perception and behaviour of adults and soon believe that Barbie dolls are specifically for girls and little boys, at a very early age, avoid playing with them. Due to the severity of the adult discourse, children often associate playing with Barbie as an effeminate trait among boys. Adult interference in childrens play and toy-choice robs them of their decision-making capability.

Choice of toys, therefore, influences the perception of gender role. Barbie dolls thus become a toy for girls. Hence, adult interference and influence specifically creates the concept of toys for boys and that for girls, thus, branding Barbie as a toy made for girls. Adults also include mass media and the manufactures of the toy who confirm to this concept of girls toy who specifically use gender discoursed colours and forms to make and promote the toy, thus associating it with the ideal of femininity. The moral panic over Barbie dolls only creates a generation of children who are crippled with the inability of independent decision-making faculty.

Reference List

Kane, EW 2013, No way my boys are going to be like that! Parents responses to childrens gender nonconformity. Gender & Society 20.2 (2006): 149-176., in Gender and Womens Studies in Canada: Critical Terrain, Canadian Scholars Press, Toronto.

Kuther, TL & McDonald, E 2004, Early Adolescents Experiences with, and Views of, Barbie, Adolescence, vol 39, no. 153, pp. 39-51.

Lin, Y-C & Yawkey, TD 2014, Parents Play Beliefs and the Relationship to Childrens Social Competence, Education, vol 135, no. 1, pp. 107-114.

McDonnell, K 1994, Kid Culture: Children & Adults & Popular Culture, Second Storey Press, Toronto, Ontario.

Rand, E 1995, Barbies Queer Accessories, Duke University Press, London.

Volkom, MV 2003, The Relationships Between Childhood Tomboyism, Siblings Activities, and Adult Gender Roles , Sex Roles, vol 49, no. 11, pp. 609-618.

Witt, SD 1997, Parental influence on childrens socialisation to gender roles, Adolescence, vol 32, no. 126, pp. 253-259.

Gender performance impact on identity

Gender is a broad term used to describe the characteristics of males and females. In gender discussion, this is called masculinity or femininity. Gender and sex can be used to refer to the same thing. Gender is a broad term, is interpreted based on the context in which it was used. It could mean social gender, gender identity, or just sex. Sex is viewed in a more limited scope as it is the overall state of being either male or female (Lee, 1993, p.58).

The meaning of gender was recently redefinition after arguments and pressure from feminists. They sought to distinguish between the biological aspects of the social contrasts of gender. It is, therefore, not surprising to find several definitions of gender and their supporting arguments. In this section, we look at the influence of gender on the construction of identity.

Gender motivated identity is termed as gender identity. It refers to the self-categorization of a person as being either male or female. The society contributes immensely to this identification by placing certain expectations and responsibility on a person depending on his/her gender. As a man, one will be expected to live to a certain standard and way of conduct (Peletz, 2007, pp. 103).

A woman is faced with more challenges than her male counterpart. This is brought about by the society having a subjective identity that has been culturally conditioned and constructed. Women argue that certain domineering belief systems put women below men while they perform a more central role in shaping and influencing society. In other words, they are trying to change the gender identity expectation of the female gender to have a more pivotal and recognized position. They are gearing for a more qualitative consideration of their contribution. Women aim at acquiring the authority of being entrusted with bigger roles than they have previously been allocated (Bierhoff et al., 2000, p.68).

To have a better understanding of gender identity, we should consider the element of social identity. This is the formation of a group of people with similar identities and the same cultures. It is tied with gender identity, which classifies people together as belonging to a particular gender. Social identity theory proves that the self-concept of a person is derived from belonging to a particular group. It is mainly influenced by the interactions between the members of the groups. The self-concept generated within these groups defines the social structure the individual will form. It will determine their actions and reaction to society and the role that the group members are supposed to play in the groups.

Gender does lead to the formation of the explained social groups, which later define the expectations and responsibility of different people depending on their sexual orientation. All over the world, societies have determined, through gender identity and social identity, the kind of resources, rights, and powers that are subject to a person (Wade, 1990, p.75).

Gender identity is as a result of human thinking and perception through the various social groups. Due to this perception, gender identity disorder has cropped in. This is a condition that impacts a persons identity as male or female. People who suffer from gender identity disorder are said to be dissatisfied with the sex they got at birth (Cooper & Lewis, 1995, p.84). This may be triggered by disagreeing with the gender roles placed on them. At this point, it is worth noting that gender identity takes place by the age of three. Gender identity disorder is recognized clinically as a brain condition. Ones performance may not have anything to do with this disorder. What is worth noting is that Asian societies have a very sharp reaction to these issues. Violence has been waged on those who suffer from such a condition, such as homosexuality or lesbianism.

In order to critically analyze the gender situation in Asia, we can survey several aspects

Division of labor

This is the allocation of different duties to gender groups in society. This differs greatly from society to society. In Asia, just like most societies, women are left to do duties that conform to the private sphere. These include household duties and bringing up of children. Men are left to do work that requires more masculine effort. These performances shape how one will identify with himself/herself. The duties are argued to be a tradition that was formed gauging the various hints on what kind of work a persons body was capable of performing. This makes them quite difficult to change since they have evolved to be considered as traditions. Thus, depending on the kind of work the society will expect you to perform, this will influence your perception of identity.

Language

Language performance can influence gender identity. Language can be used to find the true contextual meaning of a word. It also gives a detailed analysis of ways to study and analyze the respondents. In most Asian countries, it has been found that males dictate what is being said in conversion, and their words have a sense of finality in them. Women, on the other hand, accept this reality and, thus, create differentiation of power. This leads to reinforcement of social identities from which people draw their identities. The performance of gender keeps on changing as society progresses (Seguino, 1997. p.56).

Gender performance implication on citizenship

Working under a dynamic environment has become an essential aspect of any country or organization that wants to perform better than others (Lee et al., 1991, pp 118). Traditionally, there have been certain roles that were allocated depending on gender. Citizenship can be defined as the response by an individual to membership of a particular community. The impact of gender performance on citizenship will be examined under OCB (organizational citizenship behavior). These are behaviors that supersede expected returns and role performance but are still vital for the survival of the organization. According to its definition, based on a research, OCB behavior refers to optional behavior that is not categorically placed in the rewarding system. Such behavior would include:

1. Sportsmanship.
2. Aiding/helping or assisting behavior.
3. Loyalty to the organization.
4. Compliance to the organization policies.
5. Individual initiative.
6. Civic virtue.
7. Self-development.

Gender influence on performance has attracted considerable amount of research. The aspects, in which gender can influence work, include the responses on thought, attitude, behavior and outcome. Thought is normally eliminated in this since all others are seen as a consequence of thought. These factors have, however, not shown any direct influence in employee related perception (Moncrieff et al., 2000, pp. 48). In analysis of gender performance, gender responses are treated as personal attributes, gender can play a role in influencing an employees relationship with other colleagues.

Gender plays a moderate role in the performance of an individual. It is thus viewed in context with other issues that researchers feel can influence team performance and citizenship in an organization. For instance, a male will deeply engage his organization than a female who is equally involved. The male may easily comprehend that their loyalty is vital for the attainment of the organizations goals unlike their female counterparts. Taking from conventional categorization of employees, males are considered capable, goal oriented, confident and autonomous. Females, on the other hand, are viewed as interdependent, polite, and sociable and relationship focused (Langford & MacKinnon, 2000). From this, we derive that males may have a greater sense of citizenship given the perception that they do better work than women. This is the current spectrum in Asia.

Another point worth noting is that the tradition of the community influences citizenship. For instance, the Chinese focus on harmony in their social life; this is directly translated in the work environment. This will influence the conduct of different gender, some men will be less aggressive to accommodate the ideas or mind on the feeling of the other, and this will affect the attachment with which citizenship can be measured. As cultures evolve, the changing expectation of gender might change. Recently, women empowerment in Asia has increased and, therefore, more is expected from them. Moreover, the challenge and male dominance will push men to a new place. This means citizenship levels will adjust as we move with all these aspects taken into consideration (Hsiung, 1996, p.39).

Implication of gender performance in construction of community

So far, we have seen that whenever there is gender identity, social identity always follows. The two dictate who belongs where and the duties one need to perform to ensure the success of his community. Various roles are assigned to each gender. In Asia, these roles are quite distinctive. Women are allocated the smaller duties in the society that revolve around the household. Men undertake on the more masculine duties and are viewed as the leaders of the community.

This division of duties is derived from tradition. Traditions are formed through practice. The initial taking up of these duties was based on the physical outlook of a person in terms of strength and suitability for the duties (Farh et al., 1990. p.134). It was then that women ended up with duties to take care of the home. This is how communities are constructed using gender performances. The output of each individual is considered important to furthering communities.

Recently, there have been changes in the social belief structure. Women are getting more empowered and roles are starting to change. Women have begun to challenge the position of men. The society has continued to change, and this change most definitely challenges the status quo. It is this trend that has seen traditions being modified all over the world. Asia is also participating in this change. Gender, though crucial for identification (mainly in sexuality as male or female), is losing its significance as duties become intertwined between the two genders. The community that is being brought forth as a result of these changes places less emphasis on its individual gender performance.

In gender performance and community construction, there are the issues of gender differences that trace out the expectation of these two functions. Suggested explanation called the social constructionism suggests that gender is socially created. It argues that gender performances are not merely internalized as gender roles as a child grows up but as a response to the changing social construct of the society they grow in. This supports the idea that the performance of the adult gender that changes the way society perceives things goes a long way in influencing the future gender population (Babin, & Boles, 1998, p.46).

In taking into account how gender influences the community, it is worth noting that children are as a result of the environment they grow on. This means any unresolved conflicts in the child upbringing will seriously impact on future of the community since they will be required to be rational players in the community. In Asia, the child up bringing environment has been termed as stable. Basically, it means that gender performances must be stable enough to support correct upbringing of children.

Economic contribution of gender to Asian community

Asian economies have really progressed compared to other areas of the world. Economy is a part of community and, since gender performance has contributed immensely to it, it cannot be ignored. It is worth noting that more Asian women are now working as compared to earlier times. There are a considerable number of women working in manufacturing industry in Asia. This can be attributed to increased appetite for women education and increasing demand for human resources at the industries.

There are huge wage gaps between what women earn compared to men. However, women now contribute a substantial amount of income to their communities. The wage gap is not a situation in Asia alone but also in the rest of the world. Patriarchal gender norms and stereo types limit womens power to bargain which results in their wage being held down as compared to that of men.

There are some Asian countries where this progress has not been supported such as Korea where the government reinforced a marriage ban which restricts women from working upon marriage (Farh et al, 2004, p.93). This curtails women development and gender development as a whole since women cannot plan well for their finances upon marriage and also their negotiations to better wages is limited since they are expected to quit work after marriage. In this case, gender performance has influenced the development of the community negatively since females are denied normal working rights.

Conclusion

Gender is a powerful factor that affects a community. It should be developed with great rationality since it dictates what we do and where we chose to belong. This has a deep reaching effect on the community and its stable development. Asia should, therefore, empower their women to help them participate in the building of the economy. As seen above, some of the nations have already taken up the initiative while others like Korea lag behind. From the information above, it is evident that empowering of women can only better the economy of a nation rather than ruin it. Measures should be put in place to ensure equity of the two genders.

References

Babin, BJ & Boles, JS 1998, Employee behavior in a service environment: a model and test of potential differences between men and women, Journal of Marketing, vol. 62 no.2, pp. 77-91.

Bierhoff, HW, Muller, GF & Kupper, B 2000, Prosocial work behavior-development and examination of a measurement for understanding voluntary work engagement. Gruppendynamik Zeitschrift fur AngewandteSozialpsychology, vol. 31 no.3, pp. 141-53.

Cooper, CL & Lewis, S 1995, Working together: Men and women in organizations, Leadership & OrganizationDevelopment Journal, vol. 24 no.5. pp. 294-30.

Farh, JL, Zhong, CB & Organ, DW 2004, Organizational citizenship behavior in the Peoples Republic of China, Organization Science, vol. 15 no.2, pp. 241-53.

Farh, J, Podsakoff, PM, & Organ, DW 1990, Accounting for organizational citizenship behavior: Leader fairness and task scope versus satisfaction, Journal of Management, vol. 16 no.1, pp.705-21.

Hsiung, P 1996, Living Rooms as Factories: Class, Gender, and the Satellite Factor System in Taiwan, Temple University Press, Philadelphia.

Lee, K 1993, Familial Hegemony: Gender and Production Politics on Hong Kongs Electronics Shop floor. Gender & Society, vol. 7 no. 4, pp. 529-547.

Peletz, M 2007, Gender, sexuality, and body politics in modern Asia. Association of Asian Studies, Abudhabi.

Seguino, S 1997, Gender Wage Inequality and Export-Led Growth in South Korea, Journal of Development Studies, vol. 34 no 2, pp. 102-32.

Wade, R 1990, Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in East Asian Industrialization. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Introduction

Practices such as transgender operations often surprise people due to sensitivity of ethics, morality, and procedures that lead to realization of the processes that are involved. They believe that gender entails moral duties and obligations that are accomplished separately by both men and women. The term sex change operations involves labeling of carnal orientation based on gender. Literally, it implies that a person who possesses male characteristics transforms to become a female. However, the individuals have to undergo surgery to change their primary sexual orientation or organs to suit those of the opposite gender. This essay explores sex and gender by narrowing down the topic to masculinity-femininity change operations that have fired controversial debates internationally.

According to Henslin (133), many people become dissatisfied with their gender roles at some point in their lives. However, this situation does not necessarily imply that such people do not recognize their genders. For instance, some decades ago, girls were assigned names such as Tomboy when they acted or performed duties that were regarded as masculine. Recently, many people have begun accepting cross-gender duties that are performed by both men and women, especially in sports. Gender stereotypes emanate from cases where individuals of both sexes are identified. Therefore, sex change operations are perceived as ways that curb feelings of possessing the wrong sexual orientation (Henslin 135).

I acknowledge how a person feels to be a male or a female. However, accepting a change of roles in a manner that fits a man into the roles of a woman by the virtue of becoming a female after transformation persuades my acceptance to sex change operation. It has been noted quite often that sex change operations are currently done in countries such as Iran and Thailand. Why does someone desire to possess characteristics of opposite sex? Do these people manage to change their gender roles? Is it ethical for such a person to be accepted in the society? These questions and other unending debates can be perceived as the origins of ambiguous discussions on sex transformation.

A person must have a reason that drives their desire for transgender operations. However, numerous issues that lead to discrimination among opposite sexes can lead to transgender or sex change operation. A keen examination of Thailand exposes various matters that pertain to gender. According to UNDPs gender inequality index (GII) in 2011, the measurement value increased from 0.382 to nearly one. This GII amplification represents perfect inequality (Seubsman, Kelly, Vasoontara, and Adrian 755). The measure of inequality encompasses reproductive health and empowerment.

Reproductive health data indicates that Thailand experiences a mortality ratio of 48. This situation implies that 48 women die due to pregnancy complications in every 100,000 live births. Women also give birth at younger ages between 15 and 19 years. However, do men in the same country similar rates of death to those of women? Do they provide support to their wives in such times? Consequently, the issue of gender roles comes into play (Henslin 134).

According to GII 2001 report, only 14-percent of the women in the country held parliamentary seats. Women who had attained the age of 25 years and had accomplished secondary level of education represented 25.6-percent of the total population compared to men who represented 33.7-percent. Pertaining to the measurement of labor force, women amongst the working age constituted about 15.2-percent lower than their male counter parts. When gender wages are compared among men and women, it is realized that a wider gender pay gap exists with men earning a larger percentage. Lastly, men earn relatively higher than women who have similar work experience (Seubsman, Matthew, Vasoontara, and Adrian 761).

When addressing issues of equality such as social amenities, employment, and education, everything must be shared fairly based on gender. In addition, such responsibilities should be equally shared amongst family members irrespective of gender roles (Henslin 133). Do people practice transgender operations to fight gender inequality or due to some psychological reasons?

Various factors should be outlined to address issues of transgender operations. For instance, motives of actions such as carnal transformation and fight for gender equity should be discussed amongst families and learning institutions to enable people appreciate the presence of individuals whose genders do not conform to their physical characteristics. Some people have both male and female sexual organs. Therefore, they are best categorized as transgender. Why do people practice sex change operations irrespective of such classification? Do they predict the repercussions of such acts?

Personal Opinion on the Action

Sex change operation is describes emotional and psychological state. This situation is observed in transgender individuals who desire sex change operation. These people always develop gender dysphoria, a feeling of dissatisfaction with the primary physical sex organs that they possess. When such individuals realize their uniqueness, they tend to differ from the normality of having either a vagina or a penis. As a result, they develop anxiety and depression among other mental disturbances. Consequently, a way to get rid of such is to undergo sex change operation to possess a sex that suits them as dictated by the dysphoria (Carroll and Paula 236).

Another reason why people go for sex change operation is social dilemma. As children mature, their parents teach them about sexuality and sexual orientations. Therefore, when a child is a female, she is taught on who she is, what she is, and her complexions. However, do parents who have transgender children have appropriate teaching on sexuality and sexual orientations? It is realized that most parents of transgender children have no concrete solution to such problems. Therefore, as the children grow, an idea of whether to remain a male or a female develops. The child eventually decides to have one of the genders that suits (Carroll and Paula 236).

Sex change operations can also occur due to beliefs. Occasionally, men and women know that they are more physically different from one another than they do mentally and emotionally. A unique behavior that might portray the opposite of what he or she is, may guarantee a sex change to suit the behavior (Carroll and Paula 236).

Conclusion

Sex change operations should only be implemented in cases that involve transgender individuals. In addition, persons who wish to execute such operations should seek consent of the individual who chooses a particular sex orientation. This decision should be the last option after puberty suppression medications fail to make one of the genders of an individual dominant. The operation should also be done in cases where dysphoria is prevalent to avoid complexions such as depression, anxiety, and feeling of being an outcast among others. However, individuals should also consider other ways to address transgender issues such as discrimination and fight for equity and equality.

Works Cited

Carroll, Lynne, and Paula Gilroy. Transgender issues in counselor preparation. Counselor Education and Supervision 41.3(2002): 233-42. Print.

Seubsman, Sam-ang, Matthew Kelly, Vasoontara Yiengprugsawan, and Adrian Sleigh. Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and Self-Rated Health in a Transitional Middle-Income Setting Evidence From Thailand. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health 23.5(2011): 754-65. Print.

Henslin, James. Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach, Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012. Print.

Introduction

Women from all walks of life have contributed a lot in making a difference to the present and past life through their struggles for equality. Women in Canada have faced a lot of discrimination not only in terms of gender but also in terms of race, age ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation. Men have always dominated the high managerial positions and also they have high numbers in terms of holding power. They have better job security, more benefits and also very respectable titles compared to women. The working conditions in most places are not conducive for the promotion of women to the top management positions. There is an extreme importance of involving women in the issues related to all policies and programs to ensure that the decision making process is representative of both women and men.

Main body

In the history of Canadian women in the 19^th and 20^th century were subject to various forms of discrimination compared to men. Women had no right to vote and there they spent a lot of considerable time participating in organizations that were devoted in developing education, fighting for the rights and supporting churches. They were not allowed to own property. They also had no right to their own money which was controlled by their husbands. Women were not in a position to attain high levels of education as men and they were faced with a lot of ridicule when seeking education for example Clara Brett martin face a lot of challenges when she became the first woman to enroll into a law school. She faced challenges from her schoolmates, the professors and also the media. Women were also subject to abduction as long as hey had attained the age of 16. This only changed in 1910 when the criminal code made it illegal to abduct women. The women also worked for long hours yet their pay did not rise beyond that of men. The women came a long way in obtaining their rights to vote, the maternity leaves and also reduced working hours. Giving them the right to vote made women become more vigorous in the affairs of the state. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. It recognizes the queen as the head of state. Women also fought for the rights to divorce men on equal grounds as men would divorce women. The national council of women in Canada has come a long way in assisting women attain their rights. In the 18^th century they fought for the female prisoners, the female factory workers and also the female immigrants. The council has also helped the women get better health facilities such as safe water, pasteurized milk and also medical clinics.

In the 19^th century the council helped the women form a lot Canadian institutions that were to help women achieve their goals. The council has supported women to be appointed to the senator positions in the government and also in the judicial system. In the 21^st century women have fought their way into having a good representation in the legal system. They have fought for their rights into having their rights included in the charter as section 28 which states that the rights and freedoms referred into it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons. The section 15 and 28 of the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms now gives a clear foundation for the development of policies that support gender equality. It is still unfortunate for the women since the charter is only limited to the persons who have the time, money and resources. This gives the consequences of many women not finding the required justice just because they do not have the required resources. In 1981, Canada recognized the United Nations Convention on eradicating all forms of discrimination against women. The convention insisted on the womens human rights by enabling them access equal opportunities in politics, public life, health, education and also in employment. Women have also been recognized as equal players in the economic world. They have attained better working status and independence. Statistics indicate a woman earns about 73 cents for every dollar that is earned by a man.

The women are still earning less than men just like women in other countries face discrimination in terms of payment equality. The gap between the womens earnings and men earnings is still very large.

In the government positions, statistics still indicate that men are still dominating most positions in the federal government. Men occupy more than two third of the executive in the civil service while women are being over represented in the administrative support category.

The women in Canada have continually played a very limited role in the public life. There is still few women representation in the parliament. Women have less than 15% representation in the parliament. It has been emphasized that it is extremely important to involve women in the government and also in the business world. This is because it has been proven that women involvement in such issues has resulted to reduce corruption and thus improving the environment for business and investment. Women have been praised of their capability to build relation-ships that enable dialogue and easy resolving of conflicts. Women have also developed special skills that help them to focus on creative thinking. Their flexibility has been recommended in the management positions since this would allow better responsiveness between them and the employees. In todays world women who did not have power to speak now have the freedom to express them-selves.

Women still face challenges in the approach to the political world due to lack of training and skills of how the political system works. Lack of proper skills has led to the difficulty in understanding he rules of the legislature that are necessarily in the performance of parliamentary duties. Women are not yet fully economically empowered to enable them to raise funds that would help them get into the business world.

In an approach to address the womens issues in Canada, it has been suggested that the government should adopt quotas like most of the Scandinavian countries.

Quotas in this case would place the burden of recruitment on the persons who are taking control of the recruitment process. It would bring equality since the system would ensure that women get at least the few minority positions. Quotas recognize equality in that it emphasizes on the removal of barriers that women face in bid to attain equality of opportunity. The quotas would also help in improving the democratic situations of the political system in Canada. This is because 50% of the Canadian population is comprised of women yet the current political system in which the nominations are made are controlled by the political parties which are dominated by men. This makes it very difficult for women to be nominated and to be elected to the parliament. The existing percentage of women in the legislature seems to be dormant as the 20% since this has not changed over time. The success of women in Canada in fighting for gender equality is mainly based on the commitment of the government of Canada to put in place gender-based analysis in a cross-sectional and systematic approach. In 1995, Canadas federal plan for gender equality was adopted by the UN as the fourth national world conference on gender. The federal plan basically focused on the governments efforts towards ending the gender inequality. It is a statement of commitment and the future frame work for approaches to gender inequality. It also recognizes the women organizations and the non-governmental organizations that have enabled the closer look to the gender issues. It brings to reality the many issues that women face in terms of age, race, national and ethnic origin, physical disability, language and religion.

It recognizes the fact that despite the tireless efforts that have been put forward by the government and other organizations to end the gender violence, women have not yet achieved on equal terms the success than men have achieved. The federal plan called for the involvement of both men and women in the search for an equitable society that would benefit both men and women. Gender equality cannot be achieved if the women are not allowed to compete on equal terms with men. It recognizes the fact that building and strengthening the partnerships among the women and men, the universities , community groups, the private sector and the government would assist in the shifting of the resources to more effective and informed policies.

The federal plan includes eight objectives that are centered to the governments commitment towards eradicating the gender inequality. One of the objectives was the establishment of the gender-based analysis which was aimed at forming departments and agencies that would inform and guide the future legislation and policies at the federal level. These institutions would assess at the federal level the effect of the potential differentiation on both men and women. The federal plan had the objective of improving the womens economic power and welfare. It advocated for the valuation of the paid and the unpaid work that had been done by women, equitable participation of women in both paid and the unpaid labor force and also equitable sharing of responsibilities between men and women both at the family level and also at work. It also promoted the women entrepreneurship economic security and their well-being. Federal plan also focused on the improvement of womens physical and psychological welfare

In this case it advocated for better health through research and policy development and changes in the practices within the medical sector. It also advocated for the decline in the violence that is performed against women and children. The Federal plan sort to strengthen the gender equality in the entire cultural heritage of Canada, it promoted the participating of women in governance and having equal opportunities at the decision making levels. It also focused its agendas on the support of global gender equality and also promoting the equality of employees of the federal where both men and women were given equal opportunities to gain employment.

Canada has always been committed in the fight for gender equality as an essential component for sustainable development, social justice, peace and security. Attaining sustainable economic growth calls for the recognition of the capability and the potential of women in building the economy. Lack women participation in the economy results to the wastage of labor and thus a resource required for development. There is the existence of the institutional infrastructure that addresses the issues of gender inequality. There is also improvement in terms of mechanisms that support gender equality and also mechanisms that allow for better transmission of information.

Canada also holds some foreign policy priorities that are directed towards ending gender violence. This includes the elimination violence against women, the full and equal participation of women in decision making and the mainstreaming of gender perspectives. It achieves these priorities by its participation in the multicultural institutions such as the UN and also bilateral discussions with the individual countries and also throughout the development assistance delivered by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Organizations such as the UN and other non-governmental have played a very signification role in advancing for women rights and gender equality internationally.

Conclusion

In conclusion it is very important for people to change their perception on women as the weaker sex. Women should not be marginalized but instead they should be incorporated in every aspect of our daily lives. It still remains a challenge for most Canadians to adapt to the changing government and economic environment. It is also difficult to incite further policy amendments between the government and the nongovernmental organizations. Womens role in the society has improved and changes the lives of many over the centuries. The efforts of the women in the past centuries have given the current generation of women the rights and privileges that they enjoy today. The legacy that was left by these women has given rise to the womens day , where women are expected to come out in support of the womens efforts in bringing change to the modern world and also to pay their respects to the older generation of women who paved way for many women to achieve their goals and dream. Today the gender equality in Canada is guaranteed by the rights and freedom charter besides the many human rights to which Canada is a signatory. Today Canada is one of the leading countries that promote and protect womens rights and gender equality.

Bibliography

Bakker, Isabella. 1994. The Strategic Silence: Gender and Economic Policy. London: Zed Press/ The North-South Institute.

Bashevkin, Sylvia. 2002. Welfare Hot Buttons: Women, Work, and Social Policy Reform. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Brodie, Janine. 1995. Politics on the Margins: Restructuring and the Canadian Womens Movement. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.

Clarke, John. 2004. Changing Welfare, Changing States: New Directions in Welfare Policy. London: Sage.

McKeen, Wendy. 2003. Money in Their Own Name: The Feminist Voice in the Poverty Debate in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Moira Armour, Pat Stanton.1990. Canadian Women in history:A chronology. Toronto: Green Dragon Press.

Abstract: The Millennium Development Goals are eight goals set by the United Nations Millennium Summit set to be achieved by 2015, to overcome the main development challenges of the world. Of these, the third goal is the one regarding gender equality and empowerment of women. My studies show that women are truly suffering the world over in various ways. They are not given proper education, health care and face discrimination in the workplace, and suffer violence at home. The Millennium Goals are aimed at various development challenges in the world but according to various scholars, women empowerment and gender equality are the ones that can impact all other challenges as well. For example, poverty reduction can happen only with women empowerment.

Towards achieving this goal, there are seven strategies to be followed to reach the goal and four indicators used to measure the progress. The four indicators are education, employment, literacy, and political participation all of which can be boiled down to one indicator: education. By educating women, they can be made employable, literate, and able to stand on political grounds. Thus, the education of women is truly the main priority of this goal. It has been part of the plan that most of the targets had to be reached by 2005. However, the world still lags in its pursuit of the third MDG. Women continue to suffer in different ways in different parts of the world. They need to be rescued from domestic violence and also from environment-induced problems such as carrying water and roaming for fuel. Overall, it has been found and I to agree, that education, employment, and political participation do strengthen the cause of women but what can bring about true women empowerment is a change in the way society perceives women. This can happen and the third MDG is achieved only when many support groups work together for the cause of gender equality and women empowerment.

Introduction

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals, set to be achieved by 2015, to overcome the main development challenges of the world. The MDGs are elicited from the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000 (UNDP, 2008). The Millennium Declaration contains actions and targets. The eight-millennium development goals are broken down into 18 quantifiable targets that are measured by 48 indicators. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015. It provides a blueprint for global development based on agreement by all the worlds countries and all the worlds leading development institutions (UN, 2008).

The Third Goal

Kofi Annan in 2006 remarked, It is impossible to realize our goals while discriminating against half the human race. The third goal in the list of Millennium Development Goals is about eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. Poverty is often felt to be a reflection of the status of women in the world (UN, 2005, 105). Global prosperity and peace can be achieved only when all of the people in the world can become self-sufficient and independent. Societies, where women are treated in a more equal manner, can develop faster and achieve the Millennium Goals by 2015 (Millienniumcampaign, 2008). All the eight goals are directly related to womens rights, and this implies that societies, where women are not afforded equal rights as men, can never sustainably achieve development. It has been found that in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, where women have been given the chance to succeed through small business loans or increased educational opportunities, families are stronger, economies are stronger, and societies are flourishing (Milleniumcampaign, 2008, 1).

Need for the third goal

Women are often the suppressed community in the world. This can be seen through the following facts: of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70% are women. (Source: World Revolution); women do about 66% of the worlds work in return for less than 5% of its income. (Source: Womens International Network); in the least developed countries nearly twice as many women over age 15 are illiterate compared to men. (Source: UNFPA); two-thirds of children denied primary education are girls, and 75% of the worlds 876 million illiterate adults are women. (Source: AskWoman); women work two-thirds of the worlds working hours, produce half of the worlds food, and yet earn only 10% of the worlds income and own less than 1% of the worlds property. (Source: World Development Indicators, 1997, Womankind Worldwide). There is now increasing awareness of the loss to society as a result of persistent inequalities between women and men. The inclusion of gender equality and womens empowerment as the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is a reminder that there must be more done towards the direction of empowerment of women (UN, 2005). According to Naila Kabeer, empowerment can be studied in three dimensions: agency, resources, and achievements. Agency needs to act in the direction of the goal through mobilization of resources and lead to achievements that truly empower women (Kabeer, 2003, 173).

Seven Strategic Priorities

The U.N. Millennium Projects Task Force on Education and Gender Equality has outlined seven strategic priorities that require action today if Goal 3 is to be met within the next decade. These strategic priorities are found to be interdependent and independent of the setting. The seven strategic priorities are: strengthen opportunities for educating girls at the school level; guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights; invest in infrastructure to reduce womens and girls time burdens; guarantee womens and girls property and inheritance rights; eliminate gender inequalities in employment by decreasing womens reliance on informal employment, closing gender gaps in earnings, and reducing occupational segregation; increase womens share of seats in national parliaments and local governmental bodies; and combat violence against girls and women (ICRW, 2008, 1-2). These priorities are already under implementation in many countries. However, if it were to succeed at the highest level by 2015, more political commitment is needed (UN, 2007).

Education for Women

In the realm of education, the Task Force identifies four strategies that can be used in a variety of countries: fees must be reduced and schooling made more affordable; schools should be preferable close to girls homes and allow flexible class schedules; schools should be made girl-friendly by improving the safety, design, and policies of schools, such as building latrines for girls and allowing married adolescents to attend school; and quality of education must be improved by training more women as teachers, especially in secondary schools, using gender-sensitive textbooks, and developing curriculum for girls that is strong in math and science (ICRW, 2008). The challenge of educating women is greatest in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, where scarcely half the eligible children attended primary school at the turn of the century (Black and White, 2003, 166).

Women Health Issues and Other Issues

Womens reproductive health remains poor in many developing countries and has resulted in high rates of maternal mortality. Women in developing countries are at greater risk to die of pregnancy-related complications or suffer from sexually transmitted infections, particularly HIV. Women exposed to such risks must be kept well informed and also guaranteed universal access to sexual and reproductive health services through the primary health care system. In Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, special training of non-specialist medical personnel, such as medical assistants and nurses, has led to lower maternal mortality rates. In the case of AIDS/HIV, counseling, prevention, and treatment services integrated with other reproductive health services are most effective in reaching women. Another problem faced by women is their responsibilities at home. Routine tasks such as drawing water, collecting firewood, or walking to a market can take most of their time. One study found that women in Zambia spent more than 800 hours a year collecting firewood and an additional 200 hours fetching water (Malmberg Calvo, 1994).

This time burden on women can be reduced by providing efficient energy sources, accessible and affordable transportation, and water and sanitation systems. Finally, increasing womens participation in the design and implementation of these infrastructure projects can make these projects more accessible and affordable. In Mali, the U.N. Industrial Development Organization and the International Fund for Agriculture worked with communities and womens groups to design and create platforms. In time, it was found that this helped women to save time and labor and shift into income-generating activities, leading to an average daily increase of $0.47. More girls also stayed in school until grade 5, and womens health improved because they were able to visit local clinics more often (Modi 2004). Women in many countries do not have property rights and inheritance rights and ensuring these rights is a crucial step in empowering women. Ensuring joint titling during land registration can enhance womens access to land and protect them against cheating spouses.

In Vietnam, marriage and family laws were revised in 2001, requiring both the husbands and wifes signature on any document registering family assets and land use rights. Ensuring that women are properly represented in the parliament empowers them (Prosterman and Hanstad 2003; Ravallion and van de Walle 2004; World Bank 2002). In only 14 countries women make up 30 percent or more of the seats in their national parliaments. Increasing womens participation in politics can be done in three ways: gender quotas and reservations, strong womens movements, and government policies. The preferential hiring of men, occupational segregation, and women receiving lower pay for equal work are all examples of ongoing gender inequality in employment. These employment barriers for women need to be addressed. Women in many countries are often exposed to violence (between 10 percent and 69 percent). To control domestic violence, there needs to be a combination of interventions taken in the form of legal, judicial, enforcement, and health measures. The Task Force recommends that the U.N. Secretary-General, alongside heads of state, must lead a campaign to end domestic violence the world over.

MDG project success around the world

Toward reaching Goal 3, the international development community had set 2005 as the year for achieving a first milestone: eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education. However, progress has been slow and this first target has been missed in 19 countries for primary education and 24 countries for secondary. Oxfam has reported that over 90 countries failed to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by the deadline. To accelerate progress it has been found that the two most important steps are to remove fees for primary education and to improve school sanitation facilities to allow appropriate privacy for girls. However, this involves costs and in countries where school fees have been lifted, the resulting entry of new students has often exceeded the capacity of buildings and teachers (Oneworld.net, 2008). Although no country has successfully addressed all seven strategic priorities, some countries have shown that significant progress can be made to empower women and reduce gender disparities while some countries still lag in their journey towards achieving the third MDG by 2015. In Angola, barely 50% of women are literate and measures of the Gini coefficient show that inequality is rising (OneWorld.net, 2008).

In Guatemala, 87% of indigenous women are illiterate and only 1% attend secondary education. In Guinea-Bissau, schools are mostly non-operational for months at a time because of poverty. In Jordan, poor representation of women is recognized as a problem difficult to rectify by 2015. In Pakistan, the literacy of women is as low as 20%. Thailand is a country that may be on the way to achieving the third MDG. Literacy rates for women are 91% and overall health indicators for child and maternal mortality are progressing well (OneWorld.net, 2008). In Turkey, there are serious gaps in literacy rates between men and women. Women suffer discrimination and mostly work in the agricultural sector at low levels of productivity. Women in Uzbekistan of reproductive age have the highest anemia rates in the region. In Yemen, womens literacy is low.

The 2005 Arab Human Development Report cites poverty and cultural attitudes to women, such as early marriage and segregation between the sexes, for the gender gap in education in Yemen. In a recent effort to boost girls primary enrolment and to meet the MDG goal of education for all by 2015, the Ministry of Education announced its decision to waive primary school tuition fees for female students. However, increasing evidence that as many as 400,000 children under 14 are engaged in child labor adds fresh concern (OneWorld.net, 2008). UN Progress Report on MDG 2007 holds that based on enrolment data, about 72 million children of primary school age were not in school in 2005; 57 percent of them were girls (UN, 2007, 2). Over half a million women still die each year from treatable and preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth (UN, 2007, 4). This shows that much more needs to be done in all spheres of womens empowerment.

Reasons for failure to reach targets

Generally, costs are not a barrier to the empowerment of women. The Task Force in collaboration with the U.N. Millennium Project has assessed in Tajikistan that the cost of universal primary and expanded secondary education would be roughly $20 per person annually and the cost of setting up a primary health care system for child and maternal health, major infectious diseases, and sexual and reproductive health would average about $29 per person annually. The cost of gender-specific interventions to meet Goal 3 in Tajikistan is estimated at $10.56 million each year and hence there seem to be no financial restraints to reaching the goal by 2015 (ICRW, 2008, 8). The actual reason why most of the countries are not able to address gender inequality effectively is that there is a lack of change on a large enough scale to transform the way societies perceive women. Achieving the goals will be impossible without closing the gaps between men and women in terms of capacities, access to resources and opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and conflict (UNDP, 2008).

Indicators to Measure Progress

Four indicators are used to measure progress towards the goal: the ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary, and tertiary education; the ratio of literate women to men in the 15-to 24-year-old age group; the share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector; and the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (UNDP, 2008). This seems to imply that education, literacy, employment, and political participation are the essential factors to the achievement of gender equality and women empowerment (Sweetman and Oxfam, 2005, 13). However, according to Bourguignon et al (2005), all of these indicators, on a deeper level, reduce to only one: education (Bourguignon et al, 2005, 253).

Recommendations of the task force

To achieve the third MDG, it has been suggested by the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality that national governments should expand their targets under gender equality. Recommended targets are: ensuring universal access to health services, eliminate discrimination in access to assets and employment, providing a 30% share of seats for women in national parliaments, and reducing by half the lifetime prevalence of violence against women (Grown et al, 2005, 125). The task force also suggests that national governments include additional indicators to monitor progress towards the third MDG. Their recommendations include completion rates for primary and secondary school; economic indicators such as gender gaps in earnings, sex-disaggregated unemployment rates and occupational segregation by sex; and prevalence rates for domestic violence in the past year (UNDP, 2008). Moreover, the report recommends the involvement of womens groups and gender experts in consultations on all goals (Grown et al, 2005). Four key elements must underlie any institutional reform such as gender equality and they are access to information, encouraging participation; insisting on accountability at the political, administrative, and social levels, and developing local organizational capacity (Narayan-Parker and Narayan, 2002, xx).

My Opinion

I agree with the recommendations of the task force. Entry into schools is not a sufficient criterion for measuring literacy levels. Only when completion data are included, literacy rates can be studied accurately. Moreover, educational goals alone are not enough for the empowerment of women. Women need to become economically self-dependent and this can be done only through employment and ending discrimination in the workplace. Moreover, women can be considered truly empowered only when they are no longer victims of domestic abuse. Thus, the strategic focus should include career creation for women of all age groups and educational attainments. Skill-oriented training would be a way of empowering women.

Conclusion

The fact that gender equality is part of the global agenda for millennium development is a step forward and offers new opportunities for the empowerment of women. Although it is quite obvious already that most of the Millennium Development Goals are unlikely to be reached within their specified time-frames they provide a framework for moving towards them, and also to analyze the barriers to achieving gender equality and empowerment of women. Moreover, they also serve to hold various global agencies and governments accountable. The third Millennium Development Goal may currently be a distant dream, but as long as the world keeps moving along the strategic plans envisioned through this project, there is the possibility that this dream may come true very soon.

Bibliography

Black, Richard, and White, Howard (2003). Targeting Development: Critical Perspectives on the Millennium Development Goals. Routledge Publishers. New York.

Bourguignon, Francois; Pleskovic, Boris and Sapir, Andre (2005). Are we on track to achieve the millennium development goals? World Bank Publications.

Grown, Caren; Gupta, R. Geeta; Kes, Aslihan (2005). Taking action: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. Earthscan Publishers.

ICRW (International Center for Research on Women). Toward Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women. Web.

Kabeer, Naila (2003). Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Millennium Development. Commonwealth Secretariat.

Malmberg Calvo, C. (1994). Case Study on the Role of Women in Rural Transport: Access of Women to Domestic Facilities. Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program. World Bank and Economic Commission for Africa Working Paper 11. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Millennium Campaign (2008). Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women. Web.

Modi, V. 2004. Energy and Transport for the Poor. Paper commissioned for the U.N. Millennium Project Task Force 1. New York: Earth Institute and Columbia University, Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Narayan-Parker, Deepa and Narayan, Deepa (2002). Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook. World Bank Publications.

OneWorld.net (2008). Millennium Development Goals Progress Review. Web.

Prosterman, R. L., and T. Hanstad (2003). Land Reform in the 21st Century: New Challenges, New Responses. RDI Reports on Foreign Aid and Development 117. Seattle: Rural Development Institute.

Ravallion, M., and D. van de Walle (2004). Land Allocation in Vietnams Agrarian Transition Part 2: Introducing a Land Market. EWP March 2004. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies and Center for the Evaluation of Development Policies.

Sweetman, Caroline and Oxfam, GB (2005). Gender and the Millennium Development Goals. Oxfam Publishers.

UN (United Nations) (2007). The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007. United Nations Publication. New York.

UNDP (United Nations Development Program) (2008). Gender and the Millennium Development Goals. Web.

World Bank. 2002. Land Use Rights and Gender Equality in Vietnam. Promising Approaches to Engendering Development Series #1. Washington, D.C: World Bank.

Introduction

I remember a situation when Nancy, a friend of my mother, came to visit us one evening. She was very upset and told us a story that made me think about the importance of gender in the modern business environment. Undoubtedly, the American society if proud of being a discrimination free community, however, gender discrimination is very common today.

Nancy is a 40-year-old woman working for a bid international corporation. She is an administrative manager but she does not have any decision making power in her company. Recently, her supervisor announced that he plans to introduce a new position: chief administrative manager who will be responsible for supervision of twenty people plus have a voice on key administrative issues. Nancy has been working for the company for 10 years. She joined the company as a personal assistant but she was valued by other employees for loyalty, responsiveness, inner-motivation to succeed and deep knowledge of her work.

She has been working hard for a couple of weeks believing that the new position would be hers. However, on a day of promotion, supervisor announced that chief administrative manager has already been assigned. Nancy was ready to hear her name because she was confident that her experience as well as expertise guaranteed a promotion. However, she was very surprised to hear a name of her colleague, Brian, who has recently joined the company and lacked any experience in administrative management. Nancy told us that Brian was of the same gender, age, and race as her supervisor. The fact that he lacked any experience and knowledge on company were considered to be less important than gender and age.

Analysis

The story of Nancy made me think that Americans are not free of discriminative attitude. I am sure that Nancys supervisor made a decision to promote a person who did not fit the position only because Brian had the same characteristics as supervisor. While my mother told Nancy that the decision violated all business principle and advised her to consult upper managers on the issue, I clearly understood that the decision could not be changed. Gender discrimination is a part of workplace setting and Nancy would probably fail in her appeal to upper managers who are mostly males. I wanted to express my opinion to Nancy but I didnt because my words would hurt her.

The situation confused me because I was confident that gender-based decisions have no place in business activities. Employees would be evaluated as well as promoted based on their professional qualities, skills, expertise and experience rather than on gender or race. However, the story of Nancy revealed that it gender discrimination is still very common today. The decision of a supervisor did not benefit a company but supervisor was not gender-blind in promoting a newcomer.

Teresa Amott and Julie Matthaei argued that women throughout the United States have not experienced a common oppression as women. In other words, some women became victims of gender discrimination while others enjoy equal opportunities, equal treatment, and equal rights. I would like to believe that most women did not, do not, and will not experience discrimination both in everyday life and in the workplace setting. However, the story of Nancy reveals that discrimination is still common in modern American society.

Recalling the study of Michael Messner on masculinity, for the lower-status young men, success in sports was not an added proof of masculinity; it was often their only hope of achieving public masculine status (197). In other words, men who belong to lower-class society view sport as the only mean to establish their public masculinity status. Upper-class men have absolutely different aims in sport. The same principle can be applied to gender discrimination in workplace. Women seek success on workplace with the hope to prove their equality with men; however, they face the same barriers in workplace as lower-status men face in sports. The class readings and the story of Nancy made me think about American society. I know that discrimination is exists but I have never been a witness of it. I have read about it and watched TV shows but I did not think that it can be so evident in modern workplace.

Conclusion

In conclusion, American society fails to guarantee equality to every citizen. While Americans claim being absolutely free of discrimination and supportive of diversity in all spheres of social life, the facts show an opposite situation. Discriminative attitude is a matter of personal attitude which is a result of education, family values and social pressures. Nancys supervisor paid attention to gender while making a business decision and he failed to consider the interests of a company and professional experience of candidates. Such situations take place everyday. I do believe that Americans have a chance to become a tolerant nation, however, the change will take a long time.

References

Amott, Teresa and Julie Matthaei. Race, Gender, and Work: A Multicultural Economic History of Women in the United States. South End Press, Boston.

Messner, Michael. Masculinities and Athletic Careers, pp. 190-201.