Studies conducted in the past have shown that women or even young girls are often likely to show sadness than anger as compared to boys or men who tend to show anger more than sadness. This paper seeks to discuss ways through which gender influences the display rules for expression of emotion.
Parental training for the different sexes
The development of the gender based display rules for the expression of emotions can be partly linked to the way boys and girls are brought up. Parents often tend to bring up their children in a manner that they learn to express emotions that are consistent with gender roles.
Studies conducted indicate that parents nurture this trait by being accommodating to the girl child’s sadness and anxiety and accepting the boy child’s anger. Reward and punishment is also used to ensure that gender consistent character is taken up by children (Brannon 102).
Gender based socialization pressure
The influence of gender on the display of rules for emotion expression may be due to the gender based socialization pressure. The interaction between children and other members of the society often result into gender oriented roles in life.
For instance, the common say that goes “big boys don’t cry” often hardens boys and at the same time make girls appreciate the fact that they belong to the weaker sex (Brannon 56).
Expressions like this and a lot other g ender aimed actions in the society often encourage the expression of certain emotions in males and females. Submissive emotions by girls can this be developed this way or the disharmonious characters that exhibited by boys.
The biological explanation
Various scientists have tried to link the behavioral differences between males and females to the fact that they are physiologically different. The following points have been put forward to explain how the physiological gender differences affect behaviors and by extension the display rules for expression of emotions.
It’s usually observed that males tend to be more aggressive and forceful than females. Studies have linked this observation to the fact that males are more masculine than females and thus will tend to be aggressive when confronted with situations. It is also observed that females are ill prepared for physical extremes by the presence of more sensory nerve endings in their skin.
Sex typing
A common observation that has been made among primates, especially the ground dwelling ones is that males are naturally dominant in order to protect the females and the young ones. Research indicates that even when the young are raised in the absence of adults they differences are clearly observed.
These controversial finding points out that the gender roles are not necessarily learned from society, the society only acts to reinforce them.
Thus the expression of anger or aggression by males can be linked to their role in the protection of the females and the young ones, in that they are ready to fight to defend their families. The anxiety and sadness shown by females may be linked to the fact that they naturally expect to be protected by males.
Conclusion
This paper sought to identify ways through which gender influences the display rules for the expression of emotion. It has been shown that different gender based factors such as biological differences, gender directed social pressure and parental training have a profound impact on the display rule for expression of emotions.
Work Cited
Brannon, Linda. Gender: pyschological persepectives. Lake Charles: McNeese State University, 2007. Print
Many scholars have stepped in to scrutinize the issue of gender and sexuality. Historical definitions have been acknowledged by recent anthropologists, to help comprehend nature and trend of gender and sexuality. Male dominance versus female subordination, are among the terms that are popularly used to highlight the nature of the society.
The paper will discuss issues that are intertwined with gender and sexuality. Different perceptions that have been postulated in the past, will be acknowledged and critiqued. Further, relationship between sexuality and environment will be discussed. In conclusion, personal insights regarding the issue of sexuality and gender will be made.
Gender and Environment
Gender anthropology can be categorized into three broad stages. Revolutionary stage which is regarded as being the earliest, was triggered by existence of male bias at around 1960. Political dominance of men was associated with passive women, who were sometimes discriminated. In this stage, focus was in eradicating male dominance and ensuring that women were actively represented.
There were also concerns on the biological differences between genders, as being determinants of power. The second stage shifted focus from women to gender. Gender was defined as being a social construction while sex was biological. Lack of universality or standardization has complicated the issue of gender and sexuality. In the third stage, there was a shift from the cross cultural approach. Emphases were on postmodernism, pre colonial and globalization theories (Lewellen 34).
Universal women subordination can be traced back in 1970s, when male dominance was well accepted. There is however a myth that is referenced by some scholars, as having enabled women to cope with male dominance. The myth is based on rise of Mother Goddess, as a result of introduction of agriculture by women. According to the myth, women became dominant for a long time while men were subordinates. The myth has however been discredited due to inexistence of evidence, of when women reigned. Further, women subordination was manifested by the omission of role of female gender in the evolution theory.
Scholars influenced by Marxist theory, have attributed women subordination to capitalism that has been reinforced by the west. Before capitalism, both men and women had equal authority, since there was no division of labor. Emergence of private property, which was facilitated by introduction of economic systems led to exploitation, since control was seized from the producer, who was the woman. As a result, woman was forced into the subordinate position and was in charge of domestic duties. The man seized the public political sphere and was the controller of the production (Mullings 47).
Economic situation is greatly influenced by gender and sexuality. Women engage in domestic activities that involve subsistence provision, while men engage in trade and other income generating activities. As a result, women are dependent on men for economic support, which make them even more vulnerable to other factors. The social situation is also well dictated by structure of society, which is dominated by men. Women are regarded as being powerless and in some societies they are discriminated.
The subordinate position held by women meant that, they had no power to make decisions. The men were the sole decision makers in all activities while women were expected to submit to them completely. Women were severely punished by the society, especially when they misbehaved or challenged existence of traditional setups. Women were exposed to forced early marriages, while men were allowed to have many wives. Notably, the social approach also contributes to the economic sector in certain areas. For example, education is associated with high income jobs, while illiteracy is associated with poverty.
Women are denied the right to acquire higher education in most cultures, which limits their involvement in the job markets leading to poverty. High poverty levels among the women in the society, increases their chances of engaging in irresponsible sexual acts like prostitution, which renders them susceptible to infection and stigmatization. Further, women are denied the access to resources like money, since they are not involved in the decision making process. Poor economic status leads to poor seeking behaviors thereby poor management of health issues among the women.
Most of the policies that were formulated favored the male gender at the expense of female. Women could not participate in political decisions, since only men held most senior positions. Despite the fact women were in the domestic sphere, formal decisions were made by men. Both men and women felt that leadership positions were supposed to be assigned to men and not women. It should also be noted that those women who held political offices did not represent entire female gender.
There was failure of women representation in leading positions, thereby increasing gender inequality. Domestic violence was well pronounced in the society, with women being frequent victims. Women had no right to own property, since men were the only owners. There was no adequate advocacy for women issues, since women were not leaders.
Cross cultural perspective of political anthropology
Political anthropology, in regard to gender and sexuality manifests in different ways among various cultures. There are anthropologists who differentiate status from power while others do not. It should be noted that, male dominance is not universal as will be outlined in various scenarios. In the society of Iroquois, men were involved in many trips and left women in charge of their houses.
Women provided food for their families and engaged in cultivation while men went to hunt far away from home. Notably, marriages were organized by matrons after which, the man was supposed to move in to the woman’s house. Women were influential in the public politics and they appointed the council elders.
In contrast, the women of Chipewyan were of low status. There was high division of labor that left women passive and discriminated. Men were the key providers of food in the society. Men acquired power by engaging in constructive activities while women had power that was regarded as being destructive. For example, a menstruating woman could reduce efficacy of the hunting tools by stepping on them.
There is further the incidence of Agta society, where women engaged in the hunting of large game. Women would hunt together with men, although they had to make their tools separately in smiths that were dominated by men. Late pregnancy and early lactation were the only periods the woman would not go hunting. Young children were left under the care of grandmothers and younger siblings (Mullings 150).
Male dominance and low status of women, have been used to signify political position of the two genders. Status has been defined as real power over resources or special treatment. The definition of real power over resources would be in a scenario where a woman holds a political post. Special treatment is given to upper class women who are not in charge of any post.
Status is dynamic and can be in sectors like economy, religious or political. Scholars postulate that division of labor is positively correlated with male dominance. Women are assigned domestic roles, while men engage in activities that are outside home (Spradley and Mccurdy 54). As a result, most of activities by women impact in the domestic level while those by men are felt in the public sphere. In this perspective, division of labor ensures that women play their role as mothers, since they do not leave their homes for long.
It should however be noted that, cross cultural perspective shows that women engage in relatively all activities. In this perspective, perception of certain activities as being better than others is ethnocentric and not intrinsic. There are scholars who argue that dominance is not based on division of labor, but rather the contribution of women in subsistence provision.
Studies show that women contribute 30-35% of food. Further, in societies like Eskimo, women do not provide any food for their families while Kung provide 70% of the food (Lassiter 28).The variance shows that provision of subsistence, is not cross cultural political approach. There are further arguments that political anthropology is based on the public contribution and not domestic one. Alliances and other obligations that determine trend of politics, result from public exchange and not the domestic chores. Public relations ensure that men are able to provide scarce resources, hence they are more influential than women.
Cross cultural politics or dominance manifest in most simple societies that engage in hunting and gathering. Women engage in gathering and hunting small game, which is distributed among the family members. Men engage in hunting large game and distribute animal protein, which is of higher quality, to the entire band that consists of males. In areas where both men and women engage in hunting of large game, there is political equity. Subordination of women is high in areas where women engage in gathering while men engage in hunting.
Application of the anthropological theory in industrial perspective, would mean that women must engage in the productive jobs so as to eradicate male dominance (Lassiter 33). Public versus domestic approach has been adopted by various scholars. In this perspective, man is associated with activities away from home while women engage in home chores. The nature versus culture approach has also been adopted by many scholars. The roles of women are associated with nature while those of men are associated with culture. For example, tilling land is associated with women while cultural hunting is associated with men.
Postulation
Gender and sexuality are dynamic issues that are expected to affect the structure of the society. With the impacts of globalization and shift to capitalism, long term equality is likely to be achieved. Masculinity and feminity can be best understood as the different roles of gender in the society. The society is concerned with designing and assigning the roles performed by genders.
For example, three decades ago women were not allowed to work outside their homes as it is happening now. There is tremendous change in the masculinity and feminity issues in the society due to the change in the social structure. With the dynamic change in the social structure, the feminine are also becoming assertive and are attaching the high quality of life with accomplishments and material possession (Spradley and Mccurdy 76).
Policy formulating process should be in touch with the trend of gender and sexuality. As a policy formulator, I would ensure that long term solution is sought to replace short term remedies. Present intervention of reducing male dominance, emphasizes on transferring people from unfavorable conditions. Focus should be in changing unfavorable conditions so as to ensure that the society eradicates male dominance. There are roles that are perceived as belonging to male while others belong to female in the society.
As a result, the society refers to the activities associated with men as being masculine while those that are associated with women as being feminine. The perceptions of masculinity and feminity have changed, with the change in the social structure. For example, in the past years women were not allowed to own property or authority, since this was seen as being masculine. In the 21st century, women are now participating in decision making and are becoming leaders (Lewellen 78). If masculinity and feminity was not structured by the society, then it should not change with variance in social structure.
Conclusion
The social transition is on escalation and is continuous. The environment fluctuates and influences the structure of the society. There are many factors that are involved in society formation. More evolution of the society should be expected in future generations, since environment development and fluctuations are inevitable. It should also be noted that, the transition is facilitated by urge to ensure gender parity and eradication of primitivism. With the escalation of globalization social transition is inevitable.
Works Cited
Lassiter, Luke. “Toward a Collaborative and Reciprocal Ethnography.” Journal of Anthropological Research 5.2 (2001): 137-149. Print.
Lewellen, Ted. A Political anthropology. London: Westport press, 1995. Print.
Mullings, Leith. On Our Own Terms. London: Routledge Press, 1990. Print.
Spradley, James, and David Mccurdy. Conformity and Conflict Readings In Cultural Anthropology, New York: Pearson Education press, 2009. Print.
Gender bias refers to the situation whereby people of one gender are indiscriminately treated differently from the other gender. In the traditional ways of doing research, male respondents were being given more attention compared to their female counterparts.
Feminist research methodologies were however, developed over the years to ensure that even women get the chance to participate in the research activities. One of the factors that promote gender biases in research includes lack of sufficient research on the positions held by men and women in society.
The other factor is the kind of the research whereby the most of these psychological researches are based on stereotypes rather than the real differences between man and women. Finally, is the differences in behaviors between men and women in that women have a lot of strange behaviors brought about by changes in their hormonal balance such as during the PMS and PMT stages.
Gender bias has been a factor in research for many years. The most affected research area by this factor is medicine owing to the stereotype that most of the health disorders affect either males or females and rarely can you find ailments that affect both genders with equal magnitude.
A good example of this is when research is being conducted on cardiac disorders. These are largely believed to be common in men; hence such researches are done on male samples. The assumption made in such cases is that the female population affected by these disorders is trivial hence insignificant in the research (Brannon 231).
The result of this is that cures and control mechanisms are developed for men, and it is assumed that this will work for women too. This however could not be the case because it has been discovered that women react differently to medications compared to men.
In some cases however, gender bias in research is valid, a good example being the case of research on the condition of women during pregnancy. This will never affect men and hence using female samples to collect the data is warranted.
According to Brannon, “women had always been excluded from research activities that led to the validation of most clinical drugs owing to what was referred to as safety reasons.
However, this prohibition did not have clear information on the effects of clinical drugs drugs on women” (234). This finding sent most of the drugs to the laboratory also owing to the fact that women were being affected adversely by these.
Psychological research was also generally conducted on men as the original respondents then women came in second as secondary respondents. This changed after it was discovered that most people with psychological problems can be traced with a problem that affected the mothers either during pregnancy or when bringing up the child.
This perspective changed, and a conclusion was made that “men may be the prototype of modern psychology’s picture of the typical person, but mothers remain the typical kind of parent” (Brannon 233).
From these illustrations, it is clear that gender bias is a major factor in research especially of a psychological nature. The researchers should be very sensitive to the needs of both groups before coming up with any conclusions.
They also need to come up with ways of determining with accuracy the gender that is affected by that research mostly before coming up with conclusions of the research. This will ensure that the findings are more accurate and avoid the cases where over time most psychological research findings are being considered void.
An example of this is like the one stated above which involves medication. Most of the drugs that had been produced were banned from the market when it was realized that they had adverse effects on the health of women. This could have been avoided initially by equally selecting population samples containing a mixture of men and women.
For a long time, nursing has been associated with the female gender. The first nurses were women, and the trend has continued for years without substantial change.
The profession grew from a point of care provision to a recognized profession and the roles changed. Though it has been proved that the satisfaction of the patient is not related to the gender of the nurse, still there are findings that illustrate support the argument1.
This paper seeks to show why the profession has been dominated by women and why there are low men recording especially in the US and Canada.
Gender differences in nursing
The issue of gender in the nursing profession within Canada and the US needs to be examined. Some studies have suggested that the patient satisfaction in some instances has a very slight link with the nurse’s gender.
The career patterns between male and female nurses have been very distinct before, but the two have a shared link now. Women in their career patterns are said to take up lateral moves.
On the contrary, men make linear career moves. This means that a woman is likely to spend much time in one career compared to a man.
For instance, a female nurse will spend much time in the nursing before training for another post. This is commonly known as the certificate gathered syndrome which mostly affects women2.
On the contrary, men are taking up the linear career whereby they consider a career in which flexibility is fostered. Men are not grossly affected by the certificate gathered syndrome like women3.
In the nursing context, the option for nurses to stick to the nursing career is based on many factors. The dominance of females has not been willful, but inevitable. There are findings which suggest that female nurses have certificate gatherer syndrome.
This is because the dynamics of the labor markets affect women and men differently. The study of both literal and linear career paths show that the issue of minority men in nursing is due to the structural labor markets that favor men than women.
The most stated reason for the differences in the population of men and women in nursing career is the children career breaks that are experienced by both men and women. The period taken by women and men to attain nursing status is distinct4.
The labor markets in the United States and Canada present a dilemma to men in relation to choosing nursing profession as a career.
The nursing labor division is characterized by unqualified persons, and the payment for the unskilled has been exceedingly low. Nursing in the United States has been considered a career for the less skilled individuals.
Therefore, many men than women find it hard to advance in nursing. With the minimal hopes of advancement, few men have reluctantly joined nursing. The under-representation of men in the nursing career within the US and Canada illustrates an imbalance that should be addressed.
There are prevailing stereotypes about nursing. This cannot be ruled out since it has an influence on the Canadian and United States men on their choice of career. The nursing career has continuously been associated with caring and submission.
Large numbers of men think that these traits are for women. In addition, the notion that joining the profession will make them look unmanly has made it hard for men to take up the nursing career5.
There are notions in the United States and Canadian society’s that perceive men as strong and aggressive. The foregoing statement shows that nursing is not in conformity with the society’s expectations.
In a society whereby people are used to nursing being a woman’s job, it increasingly becomes hard for a man to get the society’s approval after becoming a nurse.
The said stereotypes may appear trivial, but they have played an influencing effect on the choices that men make regarding their careers.
In the reasoning of many men, it is unwise to choose a career with negative perceptions whereas there are other options. Approximately, over 94 per cent of nurses in the US, as well as Canada are female6.
The overwhelming perception that nurses are poorly paid has not helped in making nursing profession attractive to men. The notion is also evident in children’s understanding of the term.
They believe that a man cannot be a nurse. This is passed from one generation to another hence making men shun nursing completely.
Conclusion
The foregoing literature shows that the nursing profession has been widely considered as a women career. There are stereotypes that have made it hard to have men joining this profession.
The stereotypes evident have continuously reduced the number of men joining the career. The Canadian and American nursing field is highly dominated by women due to the factors discussed above.
The negative stereotypes need to be address if the number of men joining the career is expected to go high.
Bibliography
Andrews, Margaret M., and Joyceen S. Boyle.Transcultural Concepts in Nursing Care. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008.
Mackay, Lesley.Nursing a Problem Open. Milton Keynes: University Press, 1989.
Radcliffe, Phillip. Gender differences in career progress in nursing: towards a non essentialist theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30, no. 3 (1996): 758-768.
Spillerman, Seymour. Careers, labor market structure, and socioeconomic Achievement.American Journal of Sociology 83: (1977): 551-593.
Footnotes
1Lesley Mackay,Nursing a Problem Open. (Milton Keynes: University Press, 1989), p. 15
2 Phillip Radcliffe, Gender differences in career progress in nursing: towards a non essentialist theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30, 3 (1996), p. 762.
3Ibid, p 765.
4Lesley Mackay,Nursing a Problem Open. (Milton Keynes: University Press, 1989), p.19
5SeymourSpillerman, Careers, labor market structure, and socioeconomicAchievement.American Journal of Sociology 83: (1977), p. 572.
6Margaret M, Andrews and Joyceen S. Boyle,Transcultural Concepts in Nursing Care. (Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008), p. 315.
It is evident that numerous people perceive the term ‘regulation’ as an institutionalized framework or a process meant to streamline various provisions in people. Nonetheless, the term acknowledges the laws, rules, and policies constituting the legal instruments meant to render people regular in this context. Critically, the regulation of gender has assumed critical provisions than expected. There are norms through which such regulations are embodied.
Nonetheless, it is critical that the phenomenon becomes problematic at some instances. Discussing the aspects of gender on empirical grounds is important compared to putting it on abstractions as evident in the article. On a broader context, it is agreeable that actual gender regulations have concentrated on the works regarding feminists and lesbians/gays since these parties resonates various aspects of gender thus ruling the phenomenon (Butler, 2004).
Agreeably, it is important to understand (as posed by numerous question regarding this topic) how gender is regulated, the imposition of such regulations, incorporation of such provisions, and how the victimized parties cope up with such regulations. This is an important consideration in various contexts.
There are numerous contemplations and questions that can be subjected to the provisions of gender regulations in order to unveil their deeper meaning. Nonetheless, this is subjective to various factors that tend to regulate the phenomenon. Additionally, it is imperative to remember at least two stipulations regarding the subjection and regulation of gender as derived from the Foucaultian scholarships.
These are the reasoning provisions meant to insinuate the aspects of gender regulations. For example, regulatory powers act upon, shape, and reform their preexisting subjects. This is quite considerable in the context of gender regulation. The second stipulation is that when one becomes a subject to the concerned regulations, then, he/she is being regulated by that phenomenon. Precisely, the regulatory discourses that form the gender subjects similarly require/induce the concerned subject.
It is agreeable with the article that the suggestions claiming that gender is a norm necessitate extensive elaborations on the matter. It is evident that a norm does not equate to rules or laws; nonetheless, it operates with social practices in its entire implications. Additionally, it is agreeable that a norm might be analytically separable from the practices associated with it.
Contextually, norms might either be explicit or not; however, they regularly remain implicit and incomprehensible when they operate as normalizing principles in the social contexts (Butler, 2004). Thus, gender can be associated to norm under given circumstances despite the alleged regulation.
Agreeably, norms administer the aspects of social intelligibility of action; nonetheless, it is hardly similar to the actions it governs. Its status and effects are independent from the actions it governs. This relates to the aspects of gender regulation mentioned earlier. Claiming that gender is a norm hardly translates to the normative views of femininity and masculinity as claimed by the provided article.
It is important to note that gender is the apparatus through which production and regulation of males and females occur. This exists concurrently with hormonal, chromosomal, and other viable provisions. It also considers the psychic, normative, and formative roles that gender assumes. Precisely, gender might refer to the mechanism through which notions of masculine and feminine emerge and ultimately get neutralized.
Concurrently, there are symbolic tendencies and social norms worth considering in this context. This occurs with regard to the mentioned aspects of gender regulation, which is still controversial when scrutinized critically. It is crucial to understand this provision in various contexts. According to Levi-Strauss, the rules governing sexual exchanges elicit viable subject positions in its entire contexts.
This is a critical provision when considered and scrutinized elaborately. There are also other personalities who have contributed considerable to this pertinent topic. Ewald denotes that norms can alter constraints into mechanisms thus affecting and shifting thoughts in numerous aspects.
It is imperative to understand the provisions of norms and the problems of abstractions as noted in the article. These are helpful in providing avenues through which one can argue over the matter. Thus, it is debatable that discourse can be used to produce individuals of varying calibers.
It is important to concur with Foucault that discipline is capable of producing individuals while referring that discourse can manage, utilize, and constitute individuals who embrace it provisions. Norms help in producing common standards on which other regulatory aspects can emerge. Accordingly, norms are capable of regulating social phenomena and other internal limits in this context.
Additionally, normative individualization tends to possess no exterior in the gender regulatory contexts. There are other counter arguments regarding the aspects of the norms (Butler, 2004). For example, all oppositions in the norm are advertently contained in the very norms. The phenomenon equally relate to the aspects of normative factors.
Norms can hardly be lessened to its instances and neither can it be extracted from its instantiations. Gender norms require the aspects of reality in order to unveil their appearances and idealized dimensions. Hence, it is inferable that individuals are governed by gender, which is also a subject of norms and other related stipulations. Conclusively, it is important to do justice to people with respect to sex and trans-sexuality.
Reference
Butler, J. (2004). “Gender regulations,” Undoing gender. New York, NY: Routledge
From the very beginning of history, people are experiencing a violation of human rights. It was the natural tendency that the weak are oppressed by the powerful. Culture, custom, tradition, or religion helps the power to dominate over the weak. The weak are oppressed because of their race, ethnicity, creed, color, age, or religion. Another very crucial human right corruption is gender discrimination. It is embedded in our society. These gender biases and prejudices are transmitted from one era to the next in both the public and private spheres that have been traditionally dominated by men.
There are conflicts between individual and collective rights. Western democracies allow some individual human rights such as freedom of speech, the right to vote, and possession of the private property but in communist countries or authorities’ government does not permit individual rights. It emphasizes collective right. (Shut and Surley 2001). So the practices and protection of human rights depend largely upon the type of political system in place and the willingness of the people to support that political system. Qur’an and sharia law emphasizes the collective right for the betterment of the majority portion of society. So they apparently avoid some individual human rights. Women have become the victim of this because they are not recognized as equal in the eyes of their male counterparts. So, a woman is not able to obtain some collective right such as – freedom for expression, personal appearance in some Middle East countries like Iran. Establishing international human rights is not possible cultural claim or religious difference and because of gender equality can protect women from violence.
In the past period, the brute force of rulers fixes the structure of societies. Then the vanquished were enslaved, human rights were degraded.
Human rights began to be realized in developing western democracies, which are trying to establish an image of human rights. The image will help others to obtain international aid, FDI, etc. But the USA is a violator of human rights compliance and enforcement. “The United States, double standards approach to undermines credibility and weakness the human rights” and it has been observed in Iraq and Afghanistan (Koh, 2003). Though it is considered that western democracies are the greatest respecters and protectors of individual rights. Some individual human rights are not considered compatible with collective rights, for example, the issues of abortion.
Making state law can eliminate the conflict between individual and collective rights. But if biased social, cultural political-religious perspectives shape the laws, policies, or norms, it will not fruitful.
In this case, a concrete definition of human rights is required considering cultural, political, and religious perspectives or without considering them. Because human rights definition varies with the cultural, religious differences – that is the definition of human rights is not the same for every person. In universal human rights, in theory, and practice that human rights consist of different elements and principles based upon the societies and individuals in question, their political traditions, and their place in society (Dornelly, 2002). The United Nations defines a human right as the right to life, liberty, and security of person, the right to recognition, and the right to not be subjected to torture or to cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
There is a gap between human rights theory, which serves as the basis of international human rights law, and practice. The gap can be overcome by improving the realization o human rights around the world (Andreopoulous).
Sometimes the ruling elite controls the collective right of the people on the basis of their own biases and interests, which distort the relationship between individual and collective rights. They ignore human right that is not accustoming with their interest. Sometimes the states or governments, which are considered as the protector of human rights, violate human rights by joining the crime of genocide such as Somalia and Rwanda for the sake of sovereignty (Forsyth 2006).
Education is the main thing that can establish human rights in the world and gender issues must be incorporated, public information and awareness programs are considered as a prevention mechanism against intervention human rights abuses (Merry 2006).
To establish the human rights standard for global, the success of governments, NGOs, the media, grassroots efforts are required. The disagreement between domestic and international parties can be avoided by fulfillment of the requirement (Shute & Surley, 2001). Fascism, communism, and religious fundamentalism are the main implement of human rights that allow the elite to design human rights in their own way. Education can be the best defense against such movements. When education will be available to more people the incompatibility with individual and collective rights will be minimized.
All nations should be consensus on human rights language so that the interpretations of human rights in many nations, especially in underdeveloped or developing, Asian and Islamic countries, will no differ from the interpretation of western countries because of cultural and religious factors. Human rights views don’t develop in Asia like western countries because Asian cultures are quite different from western culture. For this reason, the Asian value debate occurs. The traditional Asian values don’t permit human rights most of the time (Mahbubanin 1998).
Asian debate became popular in the 1990s and it is considered that the Asian debate come to its academic end during the Asian financial crisis. Asian values are a strong set up by the proponents because they are able to understand the people that democracy and human rights were not necessary ingredients to economic stability and success. Another thing is that Asian critics advocate on behalf of Asians to debate that western culture is responsible for rising crime rates, drug abuse, and divorce rates.
The main target of the government of Asian countries is to maintain or retain political power. For this reason, they want to continue this type of value. Think about communist China, all the individual rights are nip in the bird. Only collective rights are considered to promote social harmony. Much autocratic government is established in Asia by using Asian values or sentiment. Asian value can be defined as a unique value system separated from western values. It is also called a unique set of cultural signposts.
To prevent feminist policies the international NGO and some other organizations are trying to arrange different international conferences. In these conferences, the women raised their voices for ensuring their freedom. In the 1995 Beijing Conference, it was found that some local and international agencies declared a positive reaction on behalf of the women. Another thing is that the significant factor affecting international politics on women in the 1990s was the high degree of feminist organization. The conferences were become necessary because of some significant trends, like 1) when the feminists began to mainstream the issues of women’s privacy and 2) when some significant factors affecting the international issues regarding women and so on. In such kind of uncomfortable situation, the fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) and the parallel NGO forum were in overwhelming success in terms of numbers and representation. More than 30, 000 women attended that forum (Seagar, 1997, 13).
Two American suffragists Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Caddy Stanton called a meeting in 1887, of the international council of women which haled in Washington DC in 1888. This meeting was recognized as the “universal sisterhood” of women and they established a slogan that “the position of women anywhere affects the position of women everywhere”, they also expressed theirs hoped that this meeting will provide new and more fruitful methods for securing their rights. They also emphasized women’s suffrage. The result of this meeting is the International Congress of Women (Fraser, 1987).
The U.S. feminist Elizabeth Caddy Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt formed the International Women’s Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) in 1904 with the objectives to secure women’s right to vote. After forming the United Nations women’s groups worked to ensure that the United Nations would include women’s representatives and issues affecting women and children. This influence is going on still now as organizations such as ISIS (Women’s International Cross-Culture Exchange), DAWN (Development Alternatives for Women for a New Era), and IWRAW (International Women’s Rights Action Watch).
As we know that the United Nations plays a vital role in the human rights approach to women’s equality. It is established in 1945 with a view of maintaining international peace and security, developing international laws, and correcting international economic, social, and humanitarian problems. It is a large, complex, and political organization with many specialized agencies such as the World Bank, World Health Organization, and the United Nations Children’s fund. The United Nations also provides assistance to its member governments. It has many commissions among them commission on human rights is one. The United Nations’ contribution to global feminism is debatable. Though article no. 8 of the United Nations charter makes it clear that women are not to be excluded in any way from participation in the United Nations organization. But in practice, there are no implications of this article. Only a few positions are occupied by women and most of them are held in low-level positions. It is ironic that women’s rights are not typically considered given the fact that the United Nations makes such an effort to accommodate the interests of various ideological and regional groups (Charlesworth et al. 1991). But there is evidence that the United Nations has developed a system of human rights that has largely excluded the rights of women.
UN organization has also been suffered some problems such as sexual harassment. These types of the incident first come out in the mid-1990s when a case is filed by a female clerical worker. Another remarkable thing is that it is a male-dominated organization. Because many member nations prevent increasing the status of women. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is one of the first UN bodies, established in 1946. This commission observes the situation of women’s rights and acts for the betterment of women’s rights.
UN has taken some activities all over the world to enhance women’s rights, such as they declared 1975 as international women’s year and 1975 to 1985 as the decade for Women. By this time three World women’s conferences are held (1975-Mexico City; 1980-Copenhagen, Denmark; 1985-Nairobi, Kenya). The fourth conference was held in 1995 in Beijing, China.
The concept of human rights and gender equality has gained pace. Now a day’s lot of meetings and conferences are being held all over the world to discuss the fulfillment of human rights and violation of rights.
But, there are some critiques that act as impediments to establishing human rights and annihilating gender discrimination from the world. The critiques are Legitimacy critique, coherence critique, and cultural critique. Legitimacy critique argues that human rights can not be given before establishing relevant laws. According to Karl Marx, “Rights can not really precede (rather than follow) the institution of the state.” Pre-legal moral claims can hardly result in any justifiable rights in courts and other institutions of enforcement. This necessity of establishing the legitimacy of rights prevents people to have some rights, such as the ‘right to respect’ in which legalization and attempted enforcement would be problematic.
The coherence critique argues that rights can be sensibly formulated only in combinations with correlated duties which indicate that a person’s right to something must incorporate another agent’s duty to provide the first person with that something. Human rights without exact agents and their duties can only be considered as loose talk. Thus, the coherence critique creates some problems in establishing universal human rights.
The third critique is a cultural critique which is not a legal and institutional form. It views human rights as being in the domain of social ethics. According to this view, the moral authority of human rights is conditional on the nature of acceptable ethics. But often these ethics are not universal which prevents the establishment of human rights universality. Suppose some culture or ethics may not regard might as valuable. Human rights require universality, but there are no such universal values to establish the rights universally.
Another hindrance in establishing human rights and gender equality comes from the concept of relativism. Relativism is the view, which argues that there is no universal validity in any concept. One concept, which is valid and right in one context, maybe invalid and wrong in another context. This relativism denies the concept of universal human rights based on natural laws. Relativism is based on individual subjectivity and so there is no identical and universal sense of truth, values, and any other concept or thoughts. The concept of relativism can better be expressed by the concept of culture which gives rise to the concept of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism argues that each individual’s normative sense is based on culture. The values and norms of an individual are valid within the context of his or her culture, which ultimately says that there is no universal value.
Cultural relativist claims that the provision for international human rights should not be applied. The elite group who represents the group as a whole makes such types of claims. Sometimes they do not represent a group’s culture exactly as it is rather than in a way they like it to be.
These tendencies often lead to the destruction of cultural norms and values and imposition. This tendency of violating the cultural values of a group by the elite often destroy the cultural identity of women and deny the women’s right to be educated and to express opinion independently. If the elites are fundamentalist governments, they often use the culture and religion to suppress the women and to impose something disputable and unacceptable according to their will; so, though cultural relativism advocates for each individual culture it may result in the destruction of some individuals’ cultural identity which is a great impediment for human rights.
Another impediment against human rights comes from anthropology while defining cultural identities and entities. In the process of assessing a cultural identity, men are often given privileges. Anthropology, define the entity of a cultural group on the basis of a common sense of identity and values possessed by a group of men living in proximity. Males of a group epitomize all the members of the groups where the sense of identity and values of the women of those groups is not emphasized.
The oversimplified view of cultural identity does not include interaction and intersection among different cultures. In fact, every individual has more than one cultural home. In this regard, cultural relativism is unable to identify an individual’s exact cultures and rights. The oversimplified process of assessing the cultural identity of a group does not include or consider the existence of culturally identifiable subgroups within those groups. The absence of cultural development and change and lack of interaction with other cultures provides a scope for the elite to suppress the people.
The elite rejects, on the basis of cultural relativism, the cultural change to gain higher control over the culture and dominate over the people of that culture.
Many religious reservations of different religions hinder the improvement of gender equality and human rights effort. Though there is a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEAFDAW), many Muslim states use their Islamic laws to create a reservation, qualifying their own laws, which rejects some central provision of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEAFDAW), but after these reservations are not made due to true religious belief.
Whenever any Muslim government intends to uphold different discriminatory features of Islamic laws, they take the help of religious factors and religious beliefs. The government’s decisions are often influenced by different fundamentalist groups who think that Islam calls for subjugating women. The different Islamic government is also influenced by traditional Islamic morality and its intention to attract the attention of rich donor countries like Saudi-Arabia.
Different Islamic countries seem to be reluctant about revising and changing some of the traditional Islamic laws which go against the interest of women and abrogate the reservations they enter against the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEAFDAW).
In Muslim countries, women are very often deprived of exercising their power to play a decisive role in defining national policies affecting women. Islamic laws implemented in different countries vary dramatically in the case of their treatment of women. In acted laws of some Muslim countries are even conflicting but, the Muslim countries are not modifying the law rather using the Islamic laws as their weapon to gain political dominance. Muslim countries have been discounting or degrading the feminist.
The Muslims, who want separation of the state and religion, cannot denounce their religious laws because of fear about their safety. As the government along with different fundamentalist groups is working against the abrogation of reservations, they enter to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEAFDAW).
Fear of violence created by different fundamentalists often influences by the decision taken by a different government. For example, Morocco made Islamic reservations that were later explained as an anti-fundamentalist prophylactic. Kuwait also confronted attacks from fundamentalists while they try to give women their right of voting. In March 1998 an all-male parliamentary committee unanimously rejected a draft bill regarding Kuwaiti women’s long struggle to obtain the vote. This rejection was based on religious rolling by the fatwa department of the Islamic Affairs Ministry.
Women are being deprived of many privileges and their rights are being violated by the imposition of different suppressive factors on them. This argument can better be clarified by the explanation of some cases. This case has been founded in the village of north kpalime, Togo. The fact was found from a story like —Kassindja, who was a 52 years old Muslim religious leader, teacher, and school inspector of his area, has 15 children and 4 wives. He has 8 girls and 3 already have been married. Kassindja has 4 wives, two in kpalime, one in Lome, and 4 in kounssountou. Adidjatou was married when her age was 15. Adidjatou said, “If you are a virgin, the man will pay more dowry and your family will be honored by the husband. I was glad because I was a virgin” (Celia, n.d.)
Amnesty International also found some decimation among the women, children, and others who are from Arabic or African countries. They raise their voice in the international forum and try to challenge the facts that are going on in those areas. “In Africa, today’s women’s voices are being raised against genital mutilation still practice on babies, little girls, and women. These voices belong to a few women who, from the Arabic north to the wholly Hori and across to western Africa, remain closely attached to their identity and heritage but are prepared to challenge it when traditional practice endanger their lives and their health.” (Amnesty International Publications; ‘‘it’s about time; human rights are women’s rights”)
References
Donnely, J. 2002. Universal Human Rights in Theory &Practice, Cornell University Press, New York.
Koh, Horald. 2003, On American Exceptionalism. Stanford Law Review. 55. Pp. 1475-1527.
Merry, S.E. 2006. Human Rights and Gender Violence: Translating International Lawinto Local Justice, University of Chicago Press, IL.
Shute, S. And Surly, S. 2001. On Human Rights, Basic Books, New York.
Celia W. Dugger: A story: A refugee Escapes from Togo, Body Intact but Family Torn.
Since the beginning of humanity, women have never been able to enjoy equal status in society. The suppression of the female gender has always been present throughout the world, and its utmost presence in the global south has made many developments that could have been made in this field come to a standstill. The cultural and religious practices in the global south come with the expense of female liberty.
Even though with many advancements in women studies and with the efforts of the human rights activist, women are now able to get recognized in the social, economic, and political circle of the world, however in the global south the women lack basic social, economic and legal rights. The level of these disadvantages the women face in these countries range from low to high depending on the urban and rural situations. Women face more hardships in the rural areas than in the urban areas (Chant, 3-5, 2007).
The subordinate role of females in the global south enables minimal maintenance of their urban structure. They help in raising the children where there are no nurseries, they help in cleaning the homes and do all sorts of housekeeping chores where there are no servants available, they help in repairing homes and unpaid transportation of goods and materials and most of all they are there to raise the family as a whole and bring a cultured group of people in the society (Castells, 1978:177-8).
Even though, as mentioned above, women do most of the household work and are responsible for producing more than half of the food in many countries in the global south, they still lack basic necessities of life. In this essay, it will be shown how women in the global south are deprived of their right, their right to even live. With various points put forward in defense of the main questions, which is “Is development necessary to improve the situation of women in the global south?” the paper will identify the need to make necessary improvements in these areas. It is definitely true that certain measures have to be taken in the global south in order to improve the condition of the women in these countries and therefore this study will put forward ideas which can be implemented to improve the situation.
The situation of women in the developing nations
The role of women in any society is considered as an important one as long as the developing nations are considered. The situation of the relatively weaker gender is quite strong in these countries, unlike the situation in the underdeveloped or the nations of the global south. Many NGOs and even the government is taking a keen interest in the research and development of women’s issues in these countries. As women play a very important role in the development of a family structure, which in turn is the basis of a civilized nation, therefore many international organizations are playing a very important role in developed nations to bring forward the changes required in order to give women equal opportunities.
Over the past decade, a lot of advancements for women in many sectors such as education and health have been noticed in the developed nations. For example, the World Bank came up with the “women in development” program, which provides equal opportunities to women in contrast to men. It focuses on many important issues, such as the role females play in the agricultural sector and their access to education and health. It has been noticed that due to these programs, more and more people are getting their daughters educated, and more and more females are getting bachelors and master’s degrees.
However, the developed nations have a plus point as the technological advancements in these countries have helped the females take care of their homes in a shorter span of time and hence dedicate the rest of the time to studying and other activities. The average health of females in these countries has also increased due to better health programs and the low cost of medical assistance. Safer pregnancies and contraceptives have also contributed to the better health of females in these countries.
The situation of women in the Global South
As noted above, a lot of developments have been made for women in developing nations. However, the situation in the global south, or in other words known as the third world, is unbearable for women as compared to the situation in the developing nations. The religious practices, customs, and culture of the global south are also responsible for the deterioration in the status of women.
Many initiatives have been taken to change the situation of women in the global south. 1975 was marked as the decade for women. The United Nations called it the UN decade for women and programmed many exercises to change the current situation. The millennium development program came next, and with an initiative to make a change in the way women live in these third world nations, this program tried to make a lot of change; however, little change has been noticed in more than thirty years. Even with more urbanization and people moving towards cities more than ever, the status of women remains the same. Most of the time, the women even do not go with their husbands to the cities, and even if they do, not much in their lives are changed (Chant, 5-9, 2007).
According to Woodford Berger (131, 2007), “Despite decades of struggle, large parts of the “mainstream” in all our societies, including their androcentrism and male bias, remain stubbornly intact. In fact, many of us fear that the most misogynist and oppressive structures have instead been reinforced, gaining strength from an increasingly militarized and polarized world community and the effects of conservatism and of neo-liberal economic reformism.”
At the same time, it has also been noticed that the chances of betterment in this situation are more than ever. There was little hope in the past that any developmental programs could change the current situation of women in the global south. A lot is now being done in these areas, but very little change has been noticed. Therefore, more and more developmental programs should be brought up in order to make a drastic change in these societies. As very little change is being noticed, this means that the government and the NGOs can do more, and they are not taking much interest in the issue.
Critics believe that whatever little achievement has been made, it is ‘hard-won and cannot be dismissed as being insignificant (Molyneux, 225, 2007). These little changes can be the seed for the bigger, better change. They can push the government to make more changes. Usually, the government in the underdeveloped nations usually leaves such situations as no progress has been made, but with whatever little progress has been made, they can be pushed o reconsider various policies and make amendments. It has also been noticed that many NGOs in the global south are now working towards making the conditions better for women and giving them their rights.
These NGOs have now become a part of the bigger global network of NGOs, and these now work together in a better way. Due to globalization and betterment in the communications and information technology a little ease of work can be noticed in this kind of work. The international alliances these NGOs have formed are bringing up more and more programs every day to make the current situation better (see McIlwaine and Datta, 2003; also D’Cruz and Satterthwaite, 2005).
What can be done?
A lot can be done to change the current situation. As seen from the above, the NGOs are already doing their part, however as not much results are obtained therefore more changes needs to be made. The very first important thing is that the government in these areas should now start taking interest in such situations. In many countries of the global south the government has taken keen interest in the developmental programs to ensure that the women are being their due right, however in many other countries the government is also bound by religious and cultural values.
It is now the duty of the government to come forward and take the initiative. As seen from the above discussion, even though a lot of efforts have been made, very little changes have been noticed, this indicates only one thing, that more and more efforts should be done in these areas.
The very first step of the government should be to eradicate poverty. Even though this is a long term plan, but will definitely affect the situation of women in these areas. Once poverty is eliminated and families let their daughters and the female members of their societies to get educated, it is inevitable that they will see what change it can bring in their societies. Women can bring up their kids in a better way and hence bring better citizens in the societies.
Another thing which needs attention is education. The government should make sure that the boys and girls should get at least primary education free. Schools should be setup which offer free education to the poor. For this reason, the government can check the net enrolment ratio and hence find out whether the programs they launched for free primary education were successful or not. However, the gender ratio in primary education will have to be maintained as this will determine whether the attitude of people is really changing towards women or not.
Women should be given proper seats in parliament, and they should be able to contribute to the non agricultural sector of the industry also.
The child mortality rates in such countries are usually high. The government should ensure that the women are given their sexual and reproduction rights and are given better health rights too. Violence against women should be condemned. The wage gap should be closed, which shows yet another biased attitude of the male oriented society towards women. The women should also be given their land ownership rights (UNDP, 53, 2003).
In both Urban and Rural areas, to a greater or lesser extent, women are still living in below poverty level conditions (see Tacoli, 2006). According to UNFPA (10, 2007);
“In many cases, poor urban people are no better off than poor rural people”.
Large numbers of people rely on local water supplies to relinquish their water needs. These water supplies are in the form of streams and rivers, where the local sewerage is also dumped. As females in the third world countries are responsible for bringing in water from these streams and lakes, they are more prone to diseases like dengue etc. better water supplies can ensure better health of women and men both (Chant, n.p, 1996).
Conclusion
As seen from the above discussion, the efforts made to change the situation of women in the global south were not enough, and therefore, developments are necessary to improve their situation. Many suggestions have been given which can help in programming those developmental programs to ensure that women are given their rights and have better living and health conditions.
In the above discussion, it has been shown that the countries in the global south need effective and necessary developmental programs to see that the female gender, which constitutes almost 50% of the total population and has been deprived of mere basic necessities of life is given its due right.
References
Castells, Manuel (1978) City, Class and Power (London: Macmillan).
Chant, Sylvia (1996) Gender, Urban Development and Housing (New York: UNDP, Publication Series for Habitat II, Volume 2).
Chant, Sylvia (2007). GENDER, CITIES, AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH.London School of Economics, Gender Institute ISSN No:1470-8515;New Working Paper Series. Web.
D’Cruz, Celine and Satterthwaite, David (2005) Building Homes. Changing Official Approaches: The Work of Urban Poor Organisations and their Federations and their Contributions to Meeting the Millennium Development Goals in Urban Areas. Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas Series, Working Paper 16 (London: International Institute for Environment and Development).
McIlwaine, Cathy and Datta, Kavita (2003) ‘From Feminising to Engendering Development’, Gender, Place and Culture, 10:4, 345-58.
Molyneux, Maxine (2007) ‘The Chimera of Success: Gender Ennui and the Changed International Policy Environment’, in Andrea Cornwall, Elizabeth Harrison and Ann Whitehead (eds) Feminisms in Development: Contradictions, Contestations and Challenges (London: Zed) 227-40.
Tacoli, Cecilia (ed.) (2006) The Earthscan Reader in Rural-Urban Linkages (London: Earthscan).
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2003) Millennium Development Goals: National Reports Through a Gender Lens (New York: UNDP).
Woodford-Berger, Prudence (2007) ‘Gender Mainstreaming: What is it (About) and Should We Continue Doing It?’, in Andrea Cornwall, Elizabeth Harrison and Ann Whitehead (eds) Feminisms in Development: Contradictions, Contestations and Challenges (London: Zed) 122-34.
There are substantial behavioral differences between male and female students and it has been noted that these differences also translate into their approach towards help and support-seeking behaviors at the help desks. In the following paper, the researcher attempts to analyze these gender differences in help-seeking behaviors of students who approach help desks. With the help of the literature review and the following research, the researcher aims to aim to prove that the ratio of female students is greater than male students in seeking help and support.
Although males and female students encounter similar problems in their school and college lives, the manner in which they try to solve these problems is radically different. There is a marked difference in the manner in which either sex thinks and behaves, owing to which there have been numerous studies and research to clarify the reason for this substantial divergence in views.
According to Sachs (2001), men and women communicate in different ways, which leads to a dilemma. Sachs (2001) further confirms that this dilemma is further heightened by the presence of stereotypes in the societies and the differences in the communication styles between males and females which is responsible for the differences in the way in which male students and female students approach the help desks for aid and support.
Research and observation have established that females are more talkative and tend to gossip more than males (Wisch, Mahalik, Hayes, & Nutt, 1995). It has also been proved that there is an influence of positive and negative stereotypes on the males with regard to their approach and behaviors to seek help and support and males who strongly believed in traditional gender roles would be less likely to approach the help desk for support (Wisch et al., 1995).
Differences in communication styles between males and females have been substantiated by researchers who confirm that these differences have an immense impact on the help-seeking behaviors of the two sexes (Thompson, 1999). In the study, Thompson (1999) affirms that males/boys have a tendency to use language which is more object-oriented as compared to females/girls who tend to communicate with more self-oriented language, a primary reason why girls tend to ask for help more notably.
It has been established that females asked more questions than males during the course of an average conversation as this is believed to be more socially acceptable (Tannen, 1994). Tannen (1994) also states that this is due to the traditional and stereotyped belief that males are expected to be independent and function with much help and support.
The preceding research and review confirm that there are marked differences between the communication styles of men and women, which is the reason for gender differences in the help-seeking behaviors of male students and female students. Research and study regarding the reason for these differences would enable a better understanding of the student groups which would subsequently enhance the ability of the help desks to better their services and support to both the genders.
References
Sachs, M. A. (2001). Ohio state university fact sheet: Male/female communication styles. Web.
Tannen, D. (1994). Gender and discourse. New York: Oxford University Press.
Thompson, R. B. (1999). Gender differences in preschoolers’ help-eliciting communication. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 160, 357-368.
Wisch, A. F., Mahalik, J. R., Hayes, J. A., & E. A. Nutt. (1995). The impact of gender role conflict and counseling technique on psychological help-seeking in men. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 33, 77-85.
Asia is known for its rich cultural and national identities. Asians derive their sense of nationality and identity from their daily lives. Gender and sexuality are some of the areas where Asians find their identity and citizenship. This essay discusses how gender and sexuality are implicated in the construction of identity, citizenship, or community in an Asian perspective.
Body
Gender is a term that is used to refer to roles performed by men and women. The roles are learnt by young people as they grow, and are often prescribed by culture. There are roles for men and other roles for women. Sexuality refers to individual sexual tendencies, beliefs, experiences, and advocacy.
Sexuality denotes experiences and is revealed in thoughts, attitudes, values, desires, and beliefs which can be expressed. Sexuality is developed when people interact with one another socially, politically, religiously or culturally. Sexuality is influenced by ethics, spirituality, and culture (Toffler 1980).
Peletz (2011) mentions that cultural practices in Asia that go hand in hand with genders are still being practiced. There are a few changes that have emerged with modernization. Women’s role as care givers is still being practiced, although women have joined men in providing for their families. Women now get educated and work with men.
According to Misra and Chandiramani (2005, p. 17), Asian states gain their identities by exercising the rights of all groups in the society. Women have their rights to make choices on matters of their sexuality. This extends to their healthcare needs and reproduction.
They exercise their freedom from being discriminated or coerced to do something because of their gender. National laws that protect women are stipulated. International laws that protect women rights are recognized and safeguarded in Asian countries.
Men and women in marital union have the right to space and get the number of children they desire. Moreover, they are free to choose the family planning practices that are suitable for them. The decision to attain the highest standards of reproductive and sexual health is on their hands (Misra and Chandiramani 2005, p. 18). Access to healthcare should not be discriminatory.
There are cases of people being discriminated because of their gender, sexual health (in the case HIV positive), political view, social status, disability, and sexual orientation. The vice is strongly discouraged by the government and stakeholders fighting for human rights. When the government encourages equality, it creates a sense of identity and citizenship among the citizens.
Thornburgh and Lin (2002) mention that there are initiatives by the government to create opportunities for all. The initiatives also encourage people to work without discrimination. Institutions are encouraged to employ both genders and give equal opportunities at work. Unfairness against pregnant women seeking opportunities or those dismissed from work because of their maternal roles is condemned by the law in different states.
Slocum (2009) argues that there are incidents where women have been shown favoritism and denied opportunities, while men have been granted opportunities. The favoritism makes women feel that they do not enjoy their citizenship and that they deserve an equal opportunity.
In an age with digital information technology, the performance of gender or sexuality is different from the previous ages. In the past, traditional values had rules. The agricultural revolution and the industrialization that followed gave way to modern technology. Using the technology as a means of communication has affected the way Asian communities identify perceptions and social structures in the world.
What people experience and interact with shapes their attitudes about the world. The media have been used to shape Asians’ awareness, which is a major influence on gender and sexuality. The emerging technologies have, therefore, played a major role in setting the standards for the Asian’s attitudes and identities (Jensen 2002).
The availability of materials on the region in print, on television, on the internet, or even on the radio made people begin questioning the translation and the origin of the information. The modern society began making its own judgment and created an opinion of gender and sexuality. A sense of nationalism or communalism is facilitated by the presence of the Asian materials in the media.
According to Levinson (1999), the media provides information that is used by the community to form discussions and reactions to various issues. The content also gives information on the reality that is often used in conversations with others. Examples of the content include music, creative arts, drama, musical and verbal expressions, dance, and paintings.
The content makes Asians develop an identity and a sense of belonging to the community. The media content carries attitudes towards gender and sexuality. The content gives opinion on specific or general understanding of sexuality. The development of drama with Asian background, for instance, gives a sense of communalism and opens an avenue for discussion of a certain gender and sexuality ideas amongst Asians.
Views on gender and sexuality have been present as the developments in technologies grew. The use of mobile phone has rapidly increased in Asia, allowing interactions between the genders to be increased. The use of the internet has also played a part in creating different perspectives about gender and sexuality. Education is accessible to both genders. Therefore, both genders have access to internet knowledge when granted the opportunity.
Information technology has allowed access to libraries and sites that have information on all aspects of life, including sexuality. All genders have access to information without discrimination. Asians choose what information to access, depending on their educational, sexual, or reproductive health needs. The information provided gives content on biomedical information, contraceptives, homosexuality, abortion, and sexual workers with an explanation on what they entail.
The information provided then indicates the kind of issues that surround each of the concepts and their benefits. Materials concerning sexuality have also been categorized as private by some of the information technology users. It is no wonder that some people secretly keep folders of porn, sex, and nude photos on their electronic gadgets (Peletz 2011). All these materials can be accessed on different electronic devices including mobile phones, television, and computers (McLuhan 1994).
The entertainment features of information technology have more competing needs for recreation than for academic motives. The recreational features have clear themes concerning sex and gender perceptions. The available contents of media entertainment being offered without any charges are very high. The content is available for free. This makes a large number of people to access this content. Many people, therefore, get influenced by this content, especially in the area of sexuality (Slocum 2009).
Communication via electronic devices has revolutionized interactions and means of passing on messages. The physical boundaries that existed amongst opposite sexes are slowly fading away. Information technology helps in communication and also in overcoming inhibitions (McLuhan and Fiore 1967).
Social structures that would allow a certain level of interaction have now been overtaken by expansion of communication channels. The internet allows people to begin relationships that are no-sexual and online dating. This has been enabled by mobile, email, Skype, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP).
Social networks have become common. Social networks entail grouping of people with similar interests on the internet. People with similar social interest, as well as sexual interests, organize themselves in groups. Through the use of social networks, people are able to interact and share experiences they face in life. Social networks have been successful in organizing groups of sexual minorities such as lesbians, transsexuals, heterosexuals, and unlawful sexual relations among others.
These sexual networks can enable people to select the genders of people to interact with and select people with specific interests. The groups are highly segmented such that people can select people with specific sexuality, as well as those who believe in a specific religion. New contacts are obtained from the social networks. Social networks are used to pass on information on certain issues and conduct discussions. The social networks go beyond physical borders and can be very powerful.
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has set a new platform for exposing sexual content. The content is both academic and pornographic. The Information on how to increase performance in bed, selling of test tube babies and sex toys is now easily available. E-commerce is considered by some economist as rapidly growing. The growth of e-commerce implies that materials are easy to access via the internet. This overcomes the previous restrictions that had been implemented on availability of sex related material.
Internet shopping and research on sexuality are different from physical shopping because they have an element of privacy. People can access books, sex toys, videos, and pharmacy products that would be embarrassing to be seen purchasing. There are increasing opportunities for people interested in sex work compared to the previous practice of anonymous agents and secret booking. Sex workers can now advertise their businesses effectively.
Technology allows one to configure the device to what he/she desires. One can configure the settings of a device to match their desirable selves to their imagined world. For example, homosexuals may give themselves masculine traits or reveal selves as bisexuals. This is because outright proclamation of their homosexuality may attract discrimination.
Electronic gadgets such as mobile phones and the internet have been used to conceal dishonesty in relationships. This includes the use of a phone to give false information. People are also able to have access things they only fantasize about over the internet. Examples of these fantasies are strip tease and people impersonating to be the opposite gender.
People have used new technology to give their views on sexuality. The views are political and have increased awareness about policies and actions of the state on certain matters concerning gender and sexuality. Expression forums have been created by different groups to deal with gender and sexuality-related issues. Discussions on sexuality and gender roles are conducted via the internet.
Blogging is also common and useful in discussions regarding sexuality and gender issues. Such discussions and forums of expressions enable people within Asia to have a sense of identity and exercise their rights as citizens. Prohibition and laws concerning sexuality is discussed in the forum or blog. National issues concerning sexuality are also discussed.
These include: prohibition of pornographic sites and sites that are subversive. Once in a while, the sites are also used to pass on political expression, gather support for specific candidates who advocate for their interests, give an avenue for interaction, and recreation at the same time.
Sexual ideologies and gender have distinct perspectives. Some ideas support adherence of cultural norms according to the Asian culture, while others have different ideas that other sexualities should be recognized in society. Asians use sites to represent their personal ideas about sexuality and gender. Experiences regarding discrimination are shared, and advice is given on how to have it mitigated. The ideas are challenged by people who hold cultural norms and explain why they support the ideas.
When a lot is happening on the internet, young people get exposed to the material that is shared. They get deeply involved in sexuality and gender issues when they read materials provided via the internet. The challenge is that they grow up perceiving the gender and sexuality perspectives they are exposed to and how to assimilate them.
Getting the internet to accept the perceived cultural norms in line with Asian culture is another challenge. Getting the internet audience to reject discrimination on the basis of gender and sexuality is a major challenge.
There is fragmentation of the society, religion, culture, and science, which have had an influence on gender and sexuality in Asia. People take refuge, growth, diversity and identity in the ideas that are generated in the internet. Some of the supporters of the internet believe that sexual minorities should be considered and allowed to practice their ideologies.
There are those who strongly believe that some laws and policies that outlaw sex, pornography, and sexuality material should not be embraced. Strong believers of tradition and culture would view that as moral decay. Given an opportunity, they would impose strict laws that would ensure that people are faithful to Asian norms.
There is moral panic among people who support cultural norms. Young people are involved in the exchange and activities on sexuality. The challenge is that the sexuality materials are also related to violence, murder, drugs, gambling, and obscene materials. Young children have access to internet and mobile phones.
Religious institutions have strongly increased their campaigns on morality. Some have suggested filtration of unlawful and immoral sites. These actions are to prevent materials on sexuality that may not be appropriate from being accessed on one’s computer internet admittance. It is made possible if a card is used, where internet access blocks specific sites from being accessed.
There is a dilemma on the morality of the internet. The internet provides access to material that could destroy morality, while at the same time providing information on heath that could be helpful in dealing with medical issues on sexuality. The material is not categorized and there is no distinct way of excluding a particular area completely.
As religious institutions, governments, and other stakeholders promote the development of information technology in the modern world, fears emerge because there is no clear way of regulating the effect of dealing with sexuality and gender issues that raise moral concerns.
Developing individual ways of safeguarding oneself from inappropriate content and unsafe networking is the main challenge. It is no wonder that there are gendered sites. For instance, some gendered sites dedicate sites with cars to men and sites with households to women.
Content for the young people could be emphasized to allow the young people take control of their sexuality and learn about gender as Asian culture has dictated. The internet sites and cafes are known to have more male clients than female clients. Sexual material showing explicit content tends to give titles that relate the material to women than to men.
Like in many parts of the world, homosexuality is not acceptable in Asia (Tan 2009). Homosexual and transgender people have who have been disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections are treated with hostility by members of the Asian community. Those seeking treatment face discrimination when accessing healthcare.
Sex workers face similar challenges as homosexuals. The Asian culture discourages promiscuity and prostitution. Those who do not conform to the laid down rules on sexuality and gender are not identified as true followers of the Asian culture. They are considered to have deviated from the teachings of the culture.
Religious institutions fear that people are strongly getting entangled with the fast growing technology that provides materials on sexuality and gender. It is no wonder that those who purchase, participate, and visit the sites are people belonging to specific religions. Churches, mosques, and other religious institutions fear that some believers are strongly trapped by their sexuality.
The other alternative would be to withdraw access to those sites, which may not be applicable or may work for a short time. There is more knowledge about sex and gender than there was before. People are able to express themselves more openly through the internet than was the case before. However, the developments challenge the existing traditions and norms.
Norms and culture that held people together and gave understanding of sexuality and gender could be eroded. People identify with one another to find identity and feel a sense of citizenship when discussing matters of gender and sexuality.
Conclusion
Asian gender and sexuality has contributed to identity and citizenship in the community. Gender roles are well defined and are known by the citizens. The law recognizes the norms and culture. Policies that foster and support the norms together with culture are enacted. These policies promote equality and good relations among the Asians. Discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender in all aspects is discouraged.
Technology has played a major part in defining today’s gender and sexuality perspectives. The emerging technologies have increasingly created and distributed content that raise concerns. The norms and culture that are used as a foundation for the Asians state that all people are entitled to their rights irrespective of their gender and sexuality.
There are specific laws and policies that take care of special groups such as women, homosexuals, and transsexuals who have faced discrimination because of gender or sexuality. The challenge is that the government may not be able to control access to explicit material, leaving the task of selecting appropriate sites to individuals.
The internet has been used to organize people with similar interests together, where they have shared concerns and experiences. Social networks have been used for supporting sexual and gender minorities. Some sites are configured to suit either men or women. Technology allows people to make choices concerning their reproductive health and sexuality. Access to the material makes the Asian community develop identities and exercise their rights as citizens.
Reference List
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Stereotypes of gender identity, behavior, and physical appearance negatively influence the perception of woman roles in management, which can result in discrimination. Women are sidelined in the leadership positions because of their gender, which has continuously locked them out from competing with their male counterparts. The stereotype upon women has disadvantaged women from advancing up the social ladder in terms of promotions in taking managerial responsibilities.
Corporate organizations have been biasing towards men, and this makes them disadvantaged women in their responsibilities. Stereotypes based on gender have disadvantaged women through misjudgment in regard to their talents. The stereotype against women dictates the kind of responsibilities assigned to them despite their talents and aptitudes. The same applies to women discriminated on certain behaviors they depict. Women who have some responsibilities at home are discriminated from assuming certain roles in the organization.
Biasness based on gender stereotypes has continuously led to a misrepresentation of women leadership in the management position (Karsten, 2006). This affects the decision made by women leaders more so those in the management positions. Therefore, it is upon the organizations to take actions, which eradicate this stereotype and bias to bring equality in the organization. This will involve taking instituting more transparent evaluation process as well as educating the executives about stereotypes.
A stereotype on physical appearance such as obesity, beauty among other related facts works against women and determines their position in the organization. Women who are heavy bodies in physical appearance are denied leadership positions because of the developed stereotypes. These women are perceived to be unhealthy or suffer from certain conditions hence denied the managerial positions. Men dominate most executive leadership positions who determines who gets a certain position.
This leads to more men favoring their fellows at the expense of the women. The stereotype that exists based on gender does not allow women with certain physical appearance to take a leadership position. The act of gender stereotype negatively influences women leadership in the organization as well as their ability to face and tackle challenges emerging in their profession.
The stereotype of gender, behavior, and physical appearance has some impacts on organizational performances. The barriers to women advancements in the organization make the shift from one organization to another in search of better working condition. Employee turnover has a negative impact on the company’s performance as well as the cost of operation. Organizations suffer because it takes time to developed and retain the best talents which put them at a competitive advantage (Wanberg, 2012).
It takes organization time to fill the gaps with employees who leave their management position because of stereotype based on gender. It also gives a negative perception to young people who may need to occupy certain roles in those companies. Constant stereotypes based on gender, behavior and physical appearance shutters dreams of many aspirants, which continuously works against women in the managerial positions.
Breaking the stereotypes on gender, behavior and physical appearance has been existing over time with no solution coming at hand. Different people hold different opinions, which further complicate the whole issue. The misguided perceptions on stereotype had cost women their roles in senior management positions leaving them with junior managerial positions. However, breaking the spell of stereotype based on gender and physical appearance will lead to acknowledging the potential of women in the organization. It will save the companies from losing the vital pool of talents from women.
References
Karsten, M. (2006). Gender, Race and ethnicity in the work place. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Wanberg, C. (2012). Oxford Handbook of organizational Socialization. New York: Oxford University Press.