The unequal distribution of Nobel Prizes among male and female scientists requires particular consideration and additional measures to eliminate the problem. This stance is conditional upon the fact that there is no reported equality in this area, and the statistical data only demonstrate the percentage of winners (“Nobel Prize Awards by Gender in Each Category”). In this case, many aspects are neglected, and they primarily include the procedures accompanying the ceremony and the impact of the attitudes of its organizers. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that instilling quotas ensuring a certain percentage of women receive the prize is critical from the perspective of objectivity.
Unequal Representation and Bias
The main circumstance affecting the selected standpoint is the fact that there is no correlation between the representation of women in science and the number of Nobel Prize winners among them. According to Mallapaty, only 2.77 percent of prizes were given to them, and this indicator seems alarming when contrasted with other sources of information. Thus, as per the specialists’ reports, female scientists are more numerous than their lucky counterparts selected for the awards, whereas this problem does not apply to men (Greenfieldboyce and Madeline). Due to the lack of evidence in this regard or any other contradictory statements, the only logical explanation is bias against the former (“Nobel Prize Awards by Gender in Each Category”). Thus, the quotas are an optimal solution to this challenge as they will address the possibility of prejudiced attitudes.
The Lack of Clarity in The Nomination Process
Another aspect of the matter is the regulations regarding the nomination process since the possibility of prejudice in these procedures is not revealed by any studies. As follows from its description, the selection of invited scientists is still kept secret; there are no clear guidelines in this respect provided (Greenfieldboyce and Madeline). Meanwhile, it is claimed that white men are the ones who receive the majority of awards (Greenfieldboyce and Madeline). In this case, the neglect of other citizens’ involvement is unacceptable, and it can be adequately addressed only by the elaboration of specific rules. Hence, the suggestion to instill quotas for women is feasible for this purpose.
The Absence of Critical Statistical Data
In addition, the problems specified above are complemented by the lack of statistical data regarding women’s participation in this event. As follows from the official sources, their researchers do not provide any interpretation of the surprisingly small ratio of female scientists presented for the award (“Nobel Prize Awards by Gender in Each Category”). They only claim the lack of evidence in this regard and, consequently, the impossibility of understanding the roots of the problem (“Nobel Prize Awards by Gender in Each Category”). Considering these circumstances, it is clear that the implementation of effective measures is required, and the introduction of quotas after examining the issue is one of them.
Conclusion
To summarize, the prevalence of male winners of Nobel Prizes is a challenge that should be addressed by the organizers of this event. This conclusion is based on the data provided by entities, and they refer to the problem as a great likelihood of bias towards women. First, the lack of equality in their representation in science and this ceremony shows the gap between these indicators, which is not typical for men. Second, the nomination process is held in secret and, therefore, is potentially biased by definition. Third, the absence of data regarding the reasons for this situation confirms the need for taking measures. Thus, the introduction of quotas based on further examination is the best solution to the mentioned obstacles.
The proposed readings are built around the theme of gender identity, considering it from different perspectives. The chosen quote is taken from Ainsworth’s (2015) article: “I think there’s much greater diversity within male or female, and there is certainly an area of overlap where some people can’t easily define themselves within the binary structure”. It is one of the most thought-provoking statements because it contains the key idea of gender studies about the inappropriateness of binary gender in specific cases. In modern media, there is a lot of support for intersex people and their place in American society. At the same time, many right-wing media deny such a dichotomy claiming that modern values are destructive to the US (Caddle, 2022; LBC, 2018). Thus, the reason for choosing this quote is that it generates heated debate and therefore deserves special attention.
Discussion
The article “Cooking with Muxes, Mexico’s third gender” describes the everyday life of people who were born biologically male and then dressed and behaved as female. From Muxes’ stories, what fascinates me the most is how a seemingly traditional culture accepts homosexual people in their community. What’s remarkable is that gender identity in the Juchitán district is pretty different compared to mainstream understanding (Cobelo, 2016). In this community, muxes are the third gender that is not identified within the categories “homosexual” and “transgender”. At the same time, in the Juchitán community, there are no biological women dressed as males, which also emphasizes the peculiar nature of this closed society (Cobelo, 2016). The speaker’s scale of acceptance evokes thoughts and desires to explore the differentiation of gender identities in some other closed cultures. In my perspective, such a discussion may bring gender studies discourse to a new level.
Another important idea was expressed by La Toya, a 32 years old mux from Juchitán. She said, “What is sure is that nobody can teach you to be gay. You can’t assimilate into something natural” (Cobelo, 2016, para 9). She expresses the widespread opinion of LGBT activists who claim that gender identity is acquired from birth. Indeed, it often happens when children from an early age feel anxious about their biological gender, trying to find relief in changing appearance (Greenfield, 2014). In practice, research on whether biological or social factors determine homosexuality is highly controversial. The discussion turns into complex conversations about the structure of the brain, the features of homosexual behavior in animals, the structure of the embryo, and the composition of genes. However, a sincere comment from a resident of a traditional society says a lot about the perception of this issue by ordinary people.
Conclusion
The texts are useful for constructing a worldview about the identity of LGBT people in my future life. When a heterosexual person learns some facts about the everyday life of the LGBT community, it becomes easier to accept and support LGBT people. Not in vain at present, festival cinema and literature constantly raise the topic of accepting homosexuality. I am sure this is the right move that will lead to greater social justice. Speaking of concepts, the notion of muxes from the Juchitán tradition has created a new perspective for looking at gender binary issues. Although this phenomenon is characteristic of a certain narrow culture, the representation of these people in the local society shows patterns that apply to modern society.
References
Ainsworth, C. (2015). Sex redefined.Nature, 518(7539), 288-291. Web.
Sexual orientation questions always cause many debates and controversies in different fields, including psychiatry. Homosexuality was considered “improper” orientation and was labeled as a mental illness in the U.S. until 1973 and worldwide until 1992 (Moleiro, C. & Pinto, N., 2015). Discrimination against homosexual people was widespread in the past and still occurs today. LGBT people, due to stress connected with discrimination, suffer from mental issues and the inability to live a full and healthy life in society. In addition, they are limited in rights in many areas, such as being unable to form a family. “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people often suffer from various forms of discrimination, stigma and social exclusion – including physical and psychological abuse, bullying, persecution, or economic alienation” (Moleiro, C. & Pinto, N., 2015, p. 2). All those issues lead to they actually having mental problems, not because of their orientation, but due to the stress connected with it. Thus, gender studies are essential to understand how all those biases can be corrected.
Thus, LGBT people often need psychological and psychiatric help; more often than heterosexual people. “Several studies strongly suggest that experiences of discrimination and stigmatization place LGBT people at higher risk for mental distress. For example, LGB populations may be at increased risk for suicide (Moleiro, C. & Pinto, N., 2015, p. 2). During psychotherapy, they often meet an inappropriate attitude and cannot solve their problems; despite doctors are not trying to “re-educate” them now, they cannot understand their problems. According to Moleiro, C. & Pinto, N., “even those clinicians who intend to be affirmative and supportive of LGBT individuals can reveal subtle heterosexist bias in work with these clients” (2015, p. 4). In that way, gender studies are important to reveal how those problems, such as the discrimination and misperception of sexuality can be solved.
Relevance
The importance of the gender-related concepts follows from their applications: they provide a better understanding of LGBT people. Many misconceptions about them result in public discrimination: people do not understand them and, thus, tend to hate them (Moleiro C., & Pinto, N., 2015). They also have problems perceiving their own sexuality; this is especially true for trans people whose actual gender is distinct from their biological gender. As a result, LGBT people suffer a lot and tend to be unhappy. Studying all those issues can help to prevent those problems; results of these studies can help people better understand their sexuality, as well as sexuality of other people, reducing discrimination and tensions in society.
As LGBT people tend to have mental problems due to gender dysphoria and still occurring rejection by society, they require qualifying psychotherapy. Psychotherapists often cannot understand their needs, and even if they are positive toward any sexual orientation, they can offend their LGBT clients accidentally. The diagnosis of gender dysphoria is highly controversial by itself because it can lead to further discrimination. While it “is a clinical term used to describe the symptoms of excessive pain, agitation, restless, and malaise that gender-variant people seeking therapy often express,” there are voices about total excluding it from the psychiatry (Moleiro C., & Pinto, N., 2015, p. 3). It means that further researches are necessary to better understand how to teach health care professionals to meet the needs of their LGBT clients.
As LGBT people have a higher risk of suicide and mental problems than other groups of people, they are less satisfied by their life and work and, in that way, drop out of social life. The actuality of gender studies and the article of Moleiro C., & Pinto, N. follows from the fact that, when there are suffering parts of society, it weakens. Instead of enriching society with their work and happy lives, they increase tensions and make unrest. It is not their fault, but the fault of society which considers them wrong and allows their discrimination. Gender studies investigate those processes and can help LGBT people to cope with those issues.
The main reason why people with sexual orientation, other than heterosexual, should be studied is their human rights. Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people are people too, and all human rights, such as the right to a happy life and the right to marriage, should apply to them. Suicide rates are exceptionally high among trans-people: according to the studies, almost half of them either have tried suicide or want to try it (Moleiro C., & Pinto, N., 2015). Researches of gender-related concepts influence society, which tends to believe to objective scientific researches. For example, excluding homosexuality from the list of mental diseases led to lowering the discrimination (Moleiro C., & Pinto, N., 2015). If these researches can reduce suffering among people, it is enough reason to prove that they are actual.
Theory Application
Functionalism is the social theory that considers society as the sizable complex mechanism with various parts and systems: norms, traditions, social institutions, classes. Those elements are interconnected and function together: if there are any problems in society, it is due to improper connections between the elements or if the element itself is unfit. For example, the norm of society can be outdated or even harmful and, in that way, cause conflicts, tensions, and suffering among people. It is crucial for maintaining the life of the societal mechanism to ensure that its elements work in accordance with each other, making no harm.
When considering LGBT people, who are elements of society, norms that discriminate against them are actually harmful. Medical organizations worldwide considered homosexuality a mental illness for most of the twentieth century, which is an excellent example of such a norm (Moleiro, C., & Pinto, N., 2015). A homosexual person could be initially healthy, but the medicine considered them all as ill by default, weakening its own, potentially useful element. According to Moleiro, C., & Pinto, “research clearly recognizes the role of stigma and discrimination as significant intervening variables in psychopathology among LGBT populations” (2015, p. 2). In that way, society makes ill its own parts, which become unable to work for its enrichment. By increasing the suffering of some part of the population, society, actually destroys itself.
Thus, when the element, such as norm or law, creates more tension than prevents it, this element should be removed from the system. Norms of society can be repressing: the system should be able to remove elements that are harmful by themselves. Examples of those elements are thieves or other criminals, corrupted politicians or business people, those who cause direct harm to society as a whole or its separate elements. However, when the norms are repressing those considered “alien” but who are not harmful, such as LGBT people, these norms become harmful elements themselves. Such norms should be removed from the societal mechanism and not prevent it from developing.
Reference
Moleiro, C., & Pinto, N. (2015). Sexual orientation and gender identity: review of concepts, controversies and their relation to psychopathology classification systems. Frontiers in Psychology, 6.
Gender issues play a significant role in the global development of humanity. In different cultures, there are various relations between the sexes, and gender discrimination persists to this day. Gender equality must be determined not only at the level of the policy of a particular state but is cultivated at the level of society. A significant difference between some signs of belonging to one or another gender is the cause of noticeable gender differences. Sometimes these differences are dictated only by gender varieties in general and sometimes by differences in cultures. Although the heads of state strive to overcome gender differences, in some cultures, these differences are particularly clearly traced.
Discussion
The scale of gender differences depends on the culture, and they are expressed with apparent contrasts. Schmitt et al. (2017), in their article, describe and demonstrate that sex differences occur in different cultures. For example, in the countries of the East, gender dissimilarities are shown through behavior in society, as well as through everyday attire. Thus, women in some Eastern countries should wear closed clothes, unlike men who can establish themselves and dress as they wish. In addition, in some countries of the West and the East, differences in sexual roles are visible. Such a characteristic as masculinity, for example, in Japan and Austria determines the differences in earnings, and in Sweden, an employment guarantee is organized for women (Schmitt et al., 2017). These differences play a significant role in sexual relations in various cultures.
Differences in gender relations between cultures also lie in the quality of life of the population. In Western cultures, the stress level of women is much higher than that of men and that of women in Eastern cultures (Schmitt et al., 2017). This is characterized by the fact that in Western cultures, women are more actively seeking to align their position with men and are making tremendous and significant efforts. In Indian culture, gender differences are rigorous since it is accepted among Indians that women are the keepers of the hearth, and men get their livelihood and food.
In some cultures, gender inequality is becoming more widespread, and heads of state do not change this situation in any way. The differences between the sexes are becoming more pronounced and socially acceptable. This situation allows discrimination and inequality to flourish and develop. Schmitt et al. (2017) claim that women are increasingly subjected to pressure and humiliation, which subsequently hurts their lives. Furthermore, in some cultures, a man is the primary breadwinner, and it is believed that he has more privileges and rights than a woman.
Conclusion
In conclusion, different cultures are characterized by their peculiarities regarding gender differences. To match their gender characteristics, men and women behave differently, and therefore a special gender relationship is established. Male dominance is typical in different cultures, but the strength of this dominance is different. Nevertheless, although there is an active struggle against sexual discrimination, it still occurs and is especially pronounced in some cultures. The battle with the privileges of men over women is critical because women of various cultures experience difficulties and suffering caused by male dominance. When correcting gender differences between diverse cultures, cultural values mustn’t suffer from this, but the elimination of inequality is significant for global development.
Reference
Schmitt, D., Long, A., McPhearson, A., O’Brien, K., Remmert, B., & Shah, S. (2017). Personality and gender differences in global perspective. International Journal of Psychology, 52(1), 45-56.
In the early 1970s an interesting book about middle-class careers appeared called Managers and Their Wives (Pahl and Pahl 63-65). Is there anything about that title that strikes you as problematic? If there is, you may be someone who sees the gendered character of management as an issue. If not, you may believe that everything has changed since the days when men managed businesses and women managed homes and families. A study of managers today, you might suggest, would show that there are just as many female managers in business as male. Gender is therefore no longer a problem for managerial careers. Alternatively you may think that it is natural and obvious that management is a masculine occupation and those managers ought to be men.
Before we explore explanations for the disparity in the numbers of men and women in management, it is important to examine its existence and extent. To do so we can draw on evidence from international labor-force surveys which has looked in some detail at the gender structure of the managerial workforce in individual countries and corporate sectors.
Although women and men are represented in almost equal proportions in the world’s population, participation in employment, or at least paid employment, is less evenly balanced. World Bank estimates show that about 59 per cent of the world’s labor-force are male and 41 per cent female (World Bank 4-7). If a person’s career chances were unrelated to their gender, then we would expect to find men and women represented in similar proportions to these across industries and occupations. This is far from being the case.
Across the world, men are over-represented in industries such as manufacturing and construction, and in many industrialized countries women are over-represented in the services sector. So, for example, in the second half of the 1990s in the UK, 86 per cent of the female labor-force worked in services compared with 60 percent of the male labor-force, whereas only 13 percent of working women were employed in the industrial sector compared with 38 percent of men. This situation is very similar to that found in the USA (World Bank 4-7).
Must men manage?
Whatever your response, it would be hard to deny that over the last thirty years or so, sex and gender have been consistently hot topics in management. The problems of sexual harassment at work, equality of opportunity and equal pay have been a focus of continuing attention. According to Dr Alan B. Thomas Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Manchester Business School, such issues are one part of a broader concern with women’s rights and roles in contemporary society. Since the 1960s in particular, that concern has produced a voluminous literature, both theoretical, empirical, policy-related, and polemical. It has spawned a political movement to advance women’s interests and has stimulated the formulation of organizational policies and national laws to promote equal opportunities and combat gender discrimination. But despite these developments the position of women in management continues to provoke considerable discussion and research. (Thomas 1-12)
The question of what is to count as controversial in this field looms large. It is not too difficult to understand why Connell observed that when writing about gender “the issues are explosive and the chances of getting wrong answers are excellent” (78). There are disagreements, for example, about the extent to which men and women are different, about the reasons for such differences, and about their consequences. With the possible exception of leadership, the ‘gender and management question’ has probably generated more debate and has certainly raised more passions than any other controversy in management. Neither one chapter nor even several books could do justice to the material available on these wide-ranging issues. It must be said immediately, then, that here we deal with just one important gender question in the context of managing organizations; why are there so many men in management, especially at the higher levels? How is this situation to be explained? Is it inevitable?
The controversy in brief
Once it was more or less taken for granted in managerial circles that management was a male occupation, and mostly it still is. The fact that women and men are differentially distributed across occupations and within organizational hierarchies in most if not all industrial societies is a well-established observation and is not seriously in dispute. Men tend to be over-represented in management occupations and to predominate at the most senior levels. What is in dispute is the explanation for this state of affairs and, in turn, what might be done about it.
One long-standing school of thought argues that women and men have different ‘human natures’ which stem from their biological constitutions and their biological roles in the reproduction of the human species. Under the rubrics of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, this school depicts humans as ‘hard-wired’, with fixed constitutions established through the evolutionary process of natural selection. Women and men are biologically programmed with separate traits which give rise to distinct temperaments, preferences and styles of action. Under the competitive conditions of free-market capitalism, these distinct traits are held to differentially advantage males in the competition for access to positions of power in organizations. The American sociologist, Steven Goldberg, has produced a theory of patriarchy which seeks to explain ‘why men rule’. He argues that men are ‘naturally’ aggressive, competitive and risk-taking whereas women are ‘naturally’ placid, collaborative and risk-avoiding. It is no surprise, on this view, that the captains of industry as well as the occupants of the other command posts in society are predominantly men, for it is men who are naturally best fitted to occupy them. Any proposals for changing this situation are therefore seen as problematic. (Goldberg 56-59)
Against this view, social constructionists, as well as many feminists, have tended to argue that although women and men play biologically separate roles in human reproduction, other significant differences, in behavior attitude and orientation, are not a direct consequence of biology but are social artifacts. Men and women learn how to think, feel and act as males and females according to the rules and expectations which prevail in their society. Much that we take for granted as essential differences between the sexes, built into each person’s biology, are, on the contrary, socially constructed, created during a person’s upbringing in a particular social context. People are born into their sex but are socialized into their gender. They are more a product of culture than of nature. However, work organizations, it is sometimes claimed, are arranged and governed largely by men and for men within a patriarchal society, with the result that women have encountered significant barriers to their progress to positions of organizational power. Once these constraints are removed, men and women will compete on a level playing field so that one day members of both sexes will be found at the top in more or less equal numbers. This will promote both justice and efficiency by making best use of the talents available in society.
From a constructionist point of view, the biologically based ideas of the evolutionists are likely to be regarded as both inadequate and as outdated. They may be seen as a flawed ideology which flourished in the pre-feminist era but which was soon overturned during the feminist resurgence of the 1960s and 1970s. But it would be a mistake to see the evolutionary perspective today as simply an obscure and outmoded branch of the sciences that is concerned with the behavioral implications of biological sex differences in animal species. On the contrary, it may have a significant impact on management. For example, Welch conducted a survey that has recently been used to account for the differential success of men and women as managers and, its critics would argue, to justify unacceptable inequalities (Welch 21). Moreover, Nigel Nicholson Professor of Organizational Behavior puts it that in the guise of evolutionary psychology it is now being used to underpin prescriptions for the management and design of organizations (Nicholson 99-101).
Men and Women in Management
As is often the case when studying the social world, getting definitive answers to the questions associated with the gender-and-management controversy has proved difficult or impossible. A recent review of the research on women in management by Alvesson and Billing has concluded that “the accumulation of studies has not so much meant convergence and agreement as increased variation and uncertainty” (223). Moreover, there does not seem to be much prospect of resolving these disputes in the foreseeable future. For example, Anne Fausto-Stirling, who is a professor of biology and medicine and also a feminist, has argued that the evolutionists’ biological theories of human development and of human society are fundamentally flawed. As with hormones, a person’s genetic makeup does not directly predict their physical characteristics nor their behavior. In short, the biological bases of human differences, including sex differences, are much more complex than the evolutionists claim. So, Fausto-Sterling concludes, “referring to a genetic ability to perform math or music or to a biological tendency toward aggressive behavior obscures rather than informs.” (78-79)
Personally I think there is good reason to be suspicious of the ‘genes with everything’ view which seems to be gaining increasing popularity as a means of explaining human behavior. We should not too readily accept the claims of those who assert that their views are based on ‘science’, for what counts as ‘science’ is now strongly questioned and scientists can no longer expect automatic deference to scientific authority. Quite apart from their scientific adequacy, the biological arguments taken by themselves are too simple. The same can be said for the more strident versions of constructionism. What is needed, of course, are approaches that transcend simplistic dichotomies but according to Shakespeare and Erickson, it seems entirely possible that controversies such as this may never achieve public resolution. (Shakespeare and Erickson 190-205)
The central source of this complexity is ourselves as persons. The androgynous or ‘cocktail’ view of gender (Alvesson and Billing 120-124) depicts men and women as being equipped with much the same capacities, but subsets of these are socially designated as more appropriate to one sex or the other. The subsets may differ from society to society and historically so that there are various kinds of femininities and masculinities, different ways of being men and women. Individuals come to largely accept these social definitions as central to their identities, and enact them in daily life. These enactments serve in turn to reproduce these social identities but they are, nonetheless, potentially open to change. But it is not only a matter of gender because we never encounter ‘men’ or ‘women’ in reality. These are abstract categories. Any real person is a complex of sex, gender, social status, age, ethnicity, nationality, experience and a host of other characteristics, any of which may be significant for behavior and all of which may affect how that person acts in particular situations. According to Giddens, a transformationalist, this controversy reminds us of the sheer variety of ways of being human. (Giddens 144-148)
Conclusion
Kingsley Browne is neither a biologist nor a social scientist but a professor of law, yet he has brought the evolutionary perspective to bear specifically on the issue of women in management. He assumes that humans are just one among many species of ‘animal’ and charge their opponents with having ‘exalted’ humans to a unique position in the animal kingdom (Browne 427-40). I do not agree. On the contrary, I would contend that there is, as Schumacher who was an economic thinker has argued, a distinct ‘ontological break’ between animals and humans, so that humans and animals are distinct types of being. (113-115). This is not to deny that humans have something in common with animals in the sense of being biological entities, but, rather, is to make the positive claim that we are much more than animals. Some animals may possess the rudiments of language or even of culture, but there does not seem to be much sign of science, music, philosophy or even of good cooking! The members of the animal kingdom still have a long way to go. Having reviewed the evidence on gender and employment in Britain, Crompton has concluded that we can expect a continuing “blurring of the stereotypical boundaries” (188) that currently divide men and women at work. That process has been under way in management for some time, but whether it will reach as far as the executive suites and corporate boardrooms of the world’s leading firms remains to be seen. Would it be controversial to suggest that the sooner management is reconstructed in the image of women; the better it will be for all of us?
Works Cited
Alvesson, Mats. and Billing, Yvonne. Understanding Gender and Organizations, London: Sage, 1997.
Billing, Yvonne. and Alvesson, Mats. Gender, Managers and Organizations, Berlin: de Gruyter, 1994.
Browne, Kingsley. “An Evolutionary Account of Women’s Workplace Status”, Managerial and Decision Economics, 19, 1998, pp. 427-40.
Throughout history, gender is commonly conceptualized as “the overall communally build most of the roles associated with each sex, what ethnicity makes out of the raw material’ of biological sex, and as “non-physiological aspects of being female or male–the cultural expectations for femininity and masculinity” (Oskamp 135). Additionally, most authors contrast the term gender and sex, describing sex as that which divides men from women in terms of physiological make-up, chromosomal as well as hormonal balance, while gender is described as that which refers to the cultural and historical specifics that make different individuals act out as masculine or feminine. Chapter seven of the book Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an introduction by John Storey and entitled “Gender and sexuality,” reflects the issues of gender and sexuality from a cultural point of view, developing models to be used throughout the study and that are consistent with the study of these topics from a literature, cinematic and cultural perspective.
Since the beginning of time, the world all around has continuously experienced a gradual change in the support of the rights of women. Feminists have throughout the ages aimed at increasing the education opportunities that are handed out to women, fighting for a single, high standard way of life for them and thus increasing the moral wellbeing of society. With this increased education opportunities, there has been a tremendous change in the job and employment industry, with more and more women becoming capable of bettering their economic standing in the community. Women have fought for equity in political and social positions, culminating in the creation of a new breed of women, who are not only unafraid to try new challenges and overcoming the male dominance that has throughout plagued society. While this woman has still retained the traditional position of the wife and the mother, she has frequently demanded equal respect in comparison to women as well as increased responsibility in society, with casual critics associating the success of the modern women to the influences that literature and cinema has had.
Women at the cinema
While the traditional writer Alice Rossi has characterized literal devices used to depict women as “the deepest premises of their thinking,….with most early narratives born of feminists being profoundly conservative and moralistic, we see Oskamp well exhibiting the leadership role that the woman has been taking in the recent past and the never ending enthusiasm in the cinema (Oskamp 136). This is characterized in the same writings as being a form of moral improvement on society as well as a self-conscious female undertaking and enterprising of extricating their thinking from their traditional circumstances. Accordingly, it is not hard to realize that most of the female reformers as well as literary writers of the progressive literary era have openly held on to the ethical hegemony and ideology that has been bequeathed unto them by tradition, as a morally superior being that is particularly matched for protecting herself from the domestic sphere of male-corrupt influence both in the workplace and society. By accepting this conventional belief- a belief that has on the one hand relegated women to the background of oppression and discrimination by their male counterparts while on the other hand giving them particular powers in society- the new, modern women of the progressive age have successfully argued for the legal extension of their influence, right into the very spheres of societal representation. The nineteenth-century middle-class philosophy and literature has perfected an image of a woman that is morally and ethically superior and one who is able to defend her maternal and wifely sphere from the influence of the chauvinistic, male-dominated world (Storey 136).
Feminism is defined as the collective movement of women and other like-minded individuals with the aim of establishing and defending equivalent political, social as well as financial rights as those that are bequeathed to their male counterparts. With concepts and leadership properties that overlap with those belonging to the women’s rights movements, feminists offer a controversial challenge to the traditional mode of thinking in major fields of literature, cinema and culture, arguing that the male gender causes and benefits from sexually-oriented associations (Oskamp 136). Additionally, others argue that like sex, gender is a social constriction of the society that is put into place to harm everyone, men included, with feminists seeking to liberate the rights of women from the clutches of control that is held by men. Feminists, however, can either be men or women, having the idea that women have equal rights as men in society.
There are four different types of feminists: the Marxists, the radicals, the liberals and the dual-system feminists. Each of these groups responds differently to women and their cries of oppression, positing different causes of action and resolutions to the occurrence of male chauvinisms. According to the radical feminists, the oppression of women results from the inclusion of systems of patriarchy in the relationship between men and women, with men dominating women and wielding their power as a means of control. According to the Marxists, the analysis of feminism results from the capitalistic systems of oppression, with the domination that is wielded by men resulting from their seemingly superior position in the labor market. Liberal feminists, on the other hand, believe that they do not posit a system-be it patriarchic or capitalistic- and determining the oppression of women by men from the systems of prejudice and discrimination that have been embodied in the legal and social systems of life. Additionally, according to the dual-systems feminists’ theory, feminism can be explained as a representative of the coming together of both the Marxist and radical feminist theories, believing that the oppression of women is as a result of the complex articulation of both capitalism and patriarchy (Storey 136).
According to a study conducted by a British researcher, Jackie Stacey in her 1994 book, Star Gazing: Hollywood and Female Spectatorship, an analysis of women, most of whom are over 60 years old and belonging to the working class, reflects several responses that can be attributed to why women prefer to visit the cinema: escapism, consumerism, and identification. Stacey defines escapism as the major reason for women visiting the cinema, as they seek to avoid the realities of life and its hardships. Using textual utopian representations that are representative of this type of escape, Stacey makes the argument that most of the entertainment constructs that are used with cinema goers reveal a relationship of social problems that exist in women circles and the textual solutions that are offered by these cinemas.
Thus, the utopian relationship that is extended by these cinemas is a property of the above texts, extending the argument to include the social contexts of real life as well as the particular situations in which this entertainment is experienced. Thus, the visual and aural pleasure that is experienced by women from the cinemas is more than that which is experienced in real life, making their enjoyment an important part of their livelihood.
Reading Romance
There has been a claim that women, especially in the modern world that we are living in, that there involved in authoring and massive reading of romantic books. This has had a positive impact in the improvement of their family livelihood and also their sexual life and maintaining romance in their relationships. This writing of books and the massive involvement in supporting women in reading them has lead them to being open and speak out to their very current problems and all kinds of tension that they are facing in their lives. There has been a good number of people that have acknowledges that the reading of feminism books, magazines and other related narratives has significantly assisted in the resolving of their problems and tension (Storey 140).
However, the most common yet important topic on both books the readers of fantasies and the feminist readers is the dissatisfaction in a woman’s life. Their suffering in the forms and kind of relationships that they had was and their involvement with men was equated to the form of religious suffering. It at the very similar time that as these books try to equate their suffering look into an expression of their real life anguish and distress, the books at this position were in a position to teach and advice the women on how to object and outwardly confront of their problems, so that they can be able to be lead more healthy relationship lives. With the books being very educative and helpful to the women there a still some strings attached in the reading of the books. Not that the books are not good enough nor are the novels not recommendable to other women but the circumstance and contradictions that has lead into settling of this books are the primary responsibility for the very existence of the books. On the other hand he is also able to reach a point of appreciating the lessons, teaching and the instructions that come with the package of reading these kinds of books. There is also a notable admiration on how, from the younger girls in school to the elderly young ladies in the salon, will occasionally pose their busy schedules of important things to discus the on goings of their favorite soap opera. The lesson that follows after this is being advised to merely give the soap opera a chance in the woman’s life and appreciation the teaching that they come with. It is the high time that we need to completely stop opposing them and slowly to start integrating them (Storey 140).
With all this educative books, magazine and even a package of a movie as soap opera, the reading a material come with much more, that a woman will need to lead a comfortable life. It explores and looks into fashion, different genre of music, the stars of the horoscopes, the updates and the proceedings of soap opera, major and newly discovered recipes. These books will cover in details all sorts of an unending woman’s pleasure, which is very helpful in their day to day life.
Watching Dallas
This is an originality of an irony in this movie that was published in the Netherlands about thirty decades ago, Its context was well appreciated and absorbed with about 53% of the population in the country watching it, this emerged it with as one of the most successful selling. Though it also took a diverse turn over the years covering an extensive popularity to a point of souvenir stating their hate of the JR. with all the praising come criticism with it placing Jack Lang in a hard position since he saw it as the typical America Cultural imperialism. Dallas presented an obvious subjection of irony due to it sudden transformation from its main cause of a melodious drama to that exact reversal of that cause into a comedy of laughter (Storey 147).
This placed the viewers as the judges of the speech and act involved, and this involved them inverting the preferred statement which interpreted ironic comments and remarks. Soon into the industry it became the talk of the town, where all “bad” secrets were unveiled and the “dirty” games were discovered. It thrives into to the fact that it is a thrill of bad-pleasure that moves mass crowd and therefore satisfactorily settling for the film to be “smoking bad” (Storey 148). This made the viewers really enjoy the soap and having fun speaking anything about it. With all this criticism around the film the criticizers and mockers did also enjoy their share of fun and pleasure that came along with the movie without the exact sense of feeling guilty, since they know that for sure the mass culture is definitely bad. Although all this came with its difficulties and criticism there message that came with it was still very clear, enlightening and in its own way catching.
Reading Woman’s Magazines
Many of the guises of womanliness and feminism in most of the women’s magazines contribute in a major way as the secondary status and ranking from which they still desire and make efforts to free themselves from the teachings. As they take a lesson or two of a healthy living in relationships and the standards of living that they should maintain, without giving the rest of the world around us a chance to stoop us down, at the same time they enjoy the advice on the fashionable feminine dress. This is mainly the little but the most valuable pleasures of being a woman, and this is why they are mostly meant to catch the woman’s eye and not the man (Storey 154). They describe the rare material of a woman in their magazine, to give them a taste of different feminisms of now and the coming new future. This makes for feminists one of the most important issue in the women’s magazines will be the very many unusual raises is to how the women are taking over their feminine solid ground to create a new and different untrammeled metaphors of and for them.
A division of the major aim of the Inside Women’s Magazines is, to give a clear explain of the application and appliance of the magazine prescription and method and also to significantly consider and give judgment on its limitations and hindering margins and at the same time giving suggestions on the potential and chances of for change (Oskamp 155). Since their inception or on its commencement in the late eighteenth century, women’s magazines have been the only one that presents to its readers a several mixture of advice all the way to entertainment. Still on the contents of the magazine with a slight touch of politics in it, to keep the woman well informed on their surrounding, they strongly and continuously operate as the major survival manuals. Their information remains unchanged to the bases of their survival skills as a brand, they teach the same gospel to their readers with the same practical advice on the many special ways to survive through the particular cultures. The woman’s magazine may be many and different and the woman’s politics are tackled through many dimensions but one thing that does not change in all of them is the formula.
Race, Racism and Representation
Prejudice and discrimination reflect the way that human beings exercise their non-integrative power in their relationship with other people and how these qualities push them apart (Storey 167). It is ironic that prejudice and discrimination implies some sort of relationship between the perpetrators as they are bonded towards those that have the same feelings and inclinations as they do. This implies that, if these two human character traits are not present in society, then we would probably not notice some of the major differences between each one of us or the existence of a certain group. Accordingly, when people relate, even under negative conditions, then there is some form integration. This form of integration is bred through hatred, fear and the threat of a common enemy who exists to destroy a people as a group depending on their color, race, religion or political affiliation (Storey 167). This is depicted when one group holds negative stereotypes of another group that is different from them and subjects to discriminative and prejudicial treatment on the basis of these differences. Thus, even though prejudice and discrimination breeds disunity amongst people who are not in the same ethnic group, it also creates a sense of togetherness amongst people who see themselves as racially, religiously and ethnically the same.
Prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping against anyone because of any differences that may exist between you are a common thing especially in a world where there is free movement and settlement of people with different ethnic backgrounds, race, sex and religion. Today, racial discrimination and discrimination is one of the most common societal evils that affect how people relate to each other. Virtually everyone harbors some feelings of discrimination and prejudice against another person although they might not sometimes show it. Human beings are social animals and thus it is not surprising that they feel the need to stay in groups that make them feel safe since they share the same skin color, sex or ethnicity (Storey 167).
As is pointed out by Storey, there are three different aspects of race and racism that are inherent in the west: those that occurred around the time of slavery, colonial times as well as during the imperial reigns. Not surprising for such a controversial era in history, the body of literature that has been collected over time surrounding the African Slave Trade is immense and, in more ways than one, greatly overwhelming even for a novice historian. Commonly known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Atlantic Slave Trade was a significant period in the history of the African people as they were sold to the colonies of the “New World” lasting from the 16th to the 19th Centuries (Oskamp 167). Most of those who were enslaved came from the West and Central regions of the continent and were taken to South and North America to aid in the labor intensive plantation farms and mining industries. As most would agree, it was a lucrative business.
The Ideology of Racism: Its Historical emergence
A slave that was purchased at the African coast for a few pounds could sell for a relatively higher amount at the American market. However, this begs the question: who instigated the growth of the slave trade, the local indigenous people or the foreigners? According to recent studies, it is safe to conclude that the indigenous people are as much to blame for the growth and development of the trade as the external visitors. Though the breadth of the information available is wide, especially so because of the plethora of political, cultural and anti-slavery movement analysis that are available, it is paramount that the real reasons for the growth and development of the trade be known as the historical documents from the perpetrators are made available to historians. this paper is designed to summarize the historiographical trends of the trade, while deeply analyzing some of the most important representative works that have been written in relation to this topic and which give clear indications of those trends (Storey 168).
Between the early sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, there were an estimated twelve million women, children and men of African origin who were forcibly removed from their homes and transported thousands of kilometers away, through the Atlantic Ocean, to work as slaves in America plantations and mines (Oskamp 169). Additionally, about seven million were displaced through the Sahara desert and the Indian Ocean as they were on their way to the market zones of West and Central Africa. The idea that these Africans walked quietly to servitude has always been fought against, raising serious humanitarian and moral questions in most intellectual circles. Still, there are those who question the apparent passivity and compliance of the compatriots who allowed this happen without raising alarm, sometimes participating in the sale of one of their own. Several works have been carried out in order to investigate the feelings of these people, with most of them expressing guilt about the inhumane practices of the Atlantic slave trade. However, the feelings of the Africans who participated in the trade have, in most times, not been properly explored, apart from immediate dismissal as “savages” in relation to their dimensions of collaboration. This essay seeks to offer a more balanced account of the events of the transatlantic trade by exploring the various reasons why the trade was beneficial to the indigenous African communities and external foreigners as well as projected volumes of the number of people that were sold as slaves during the trade (Oskamp 170).
According to notable history scholars, the estimates of Curtin on the purported exports from West Africa are erroneous and relatively low with revisions made from shipping data and national carrier. The author here wishes to quantify the number of slaves who were involved in the trade with new estimations expected to shift the distribution of the slave exports over a certain period of time rather than affecting the relative scale of the trade by more than 2-3 percent of the total. According to Inikori and Rawley, it is relatively hard to differentiate exports that were carried out by ships and those that were carried out by national carrier without the risk of double counting. currently, estimations of the number of slaves is done by means of a time period series, with each estimation challenging historians to examine the impacts of the trade on the indigenous people, as a means of testing the regional background of slave export as well as assessing the demographic, regional, political and economic consequences of the trade on the people (Nelson 480). As Curtin puts it, one of the major causes of the high number of deaths during the trade was the use of the defensive strategy that was aimed at protecting one’s loved ones from enslavement or deportation by seeking to redeem and rescue them after they had been captured. It is a difficult, dangerous process and often failed since it involved putting at risk the life of two instead of one. However, it rests upon the very human and universal principle that a person will protect their family and relatives from enslavement, even if it meant losing their own life in the process.
Orientalism
Orientalism is a manner of regularized writing through which is primarily dominated by the use of imperatives and ideological ideas that are seemingly suited for use in the orient. Thus said, Orientalism is the creation of an image of the west as a complete system of contemplation that is expressed in writing. This philosophy is based on the premises that it is incorrect for people from the west to try to imagine how life is like for other people in the east since life is typically different for these different types of people (Storey 171). Orientalism is thus an advantage of sorts that is crafted out of sophistry of the west against the east: since most people from the west cannot see things from the point-of-view of people from the east. These perspectives cannot be judged with regards to the actions of the Easterners as well as their imperative ethical and moral standards (Storey 171).
Accordingly, Orientalism is a form of racism that has turned a positive advantage of the particular race, color, group or nationality that is being discriminated against. This argument is borne out of the philosophy that people cannot judge others in a manner that they judge themselves- they must typically lower their standards for those oppressed (continuing to do so until the oppressed tells the oppressor to stop). The lowering of these standards for people from the orient thus creates a diabolical result, shuffling the challenges of the complete world order.
Works cited
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an introduction. Chicago, IL: Pearson Longman, 2008.
The sex discrimination laws of 1999 can as well be looked at as a measure that has been instituted with a view to protecting the rights of the transsexual individuals. This is on with respect to the way such people are normally treated either while in their areas of employment, or during vocational training. For this reason, this sex discrimination regulation concurs with the ruling of court of justice of the Europeans. The ruling holds that by dismissing an employee who may be undergoing a sexual realignment, such an act is tantamount to violating the European directive on equal treatment (Jefferson 2006).
As of 1st December 2003, the employment equality regulations were enforced. From that point on, it was deemed as unlawful to discriminate workers by employees based on their sexual orientation. Fairness in the workplace has a direct relationship with job performance (Business link 2008). When an employer tackles discrimination adequately, he/she attracts a staff. Moreover, such a staff feels motivated, and is thus retained, with the result that the reputation of an organization gets enhanced.
When discrimination has been eliminated in the workplace, this ensures that everyone gets an equal opportunity to work, as well as develop their relevant skills (Honeyball & Bowers 2008). The existing legislation offers protection to individuals against discrimination ob race, sex, gender reassignment, and disability grounds.
From the 2nd of December 2003 then, there came into force a separate set of regulations that offers protection from discrimination on belief and religious grounds. From the perspective of the sexual discrimination regulations, a definition of the term sexual orientation has the meaning of the act of being sexually attracted to a similar sex, like in the case of lesbians and gay men. it also takes the meaning of a heterosexual, or even a bisexual (Hill 2008).
The reassignment of gender
When the sex discrimination laws of 1999 came into being, they helped in the clarification of United Kingdom’s laws that have a relationship to the reassignment of gender. These have been implemented as a measure towards the prevention of the discrimination of transsexual people with regard to sex in payment, either in the place of work, or at the vocational training center (Kidner 2007).
The institution of these laws is in keeping with the directives of the Europe court of justice to the effect that dismissing an employee who is undergoing gender reassignment goes contrary to the European directive on equal treatment. Consequently, the United Kingdom has also been bound by the regulation to obey these laws that have been implemented, and which also applies to all the other European nations.
Thus far, the regulations have had an impact on the 1975 sex discrimination act, by way of inserting a provision that transe4nds this act. To this end, the provision, in reference to vocational training and employment, has also included the act of discrimination on gender reassuring grounds in its definition.
Owing to this reason, a discrimination against individuals who have undergone a gender realignment will as well be a constituent of sex discrimination, and this is in total disregard of the act on sex discrimination (Jefferson 2006).
Those employees who are in breach of the 1975 sex discrimination act are thus liable to almost a similar punishment by the law, just as they would if they were to be accused of a discrimination against women on sexual grounds.
Defining gender reassignment
The law prohibits against discriminating on a person in terms of employment simply because such an individual either intends on having a gender reassignment, or such an individual is at the moment undergoing through a gender reassignment procedure. Further, the law also protects against the discrimination of individuals who may have in the past successfully undergone through a gender reassignment process.
This far, the United Kingdom has managed to implement the 2000/78 directive within the sexual orientation discrimination directive. This has not only been done on time, but the exercise has largely been successful also, in as far as the compliance with the set provision is concerned. Both the Northern Ireland as well as Great Britain is signatories to this regulation (Honeyball & Bowers 2008).
In addition, the provision has outlined in detail the material and personal scope of the relevant law, the harassment and discrimination concepts, as well as the exceptions to the non-discrimination principle in line with what the directive permits. Further, the regulations have also taken into consideration the broad provisions on remedies and enforcement. In the UK, there are effective and resourceful statutory commissions that also have a responsibility to monitor equalities laws, as well as offer support to those individuals who would wish to bring forth unlawful discrimination complaints (Jefferson 2006).
At the moment, the United Kingdom prohibits employers from discriminating their employees while they are on the employment filed on sexual grounds, civil and marital partnership status, race, gender reassignment, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation
In the current standing of the law, and bearing in mind there exist no prohibition on less favorable treatment of an individual by virtue of their association with a member of the opposite sex, the implication here is that, a barman, for instance, who gets dismissed after refusing to follow instructions against serving a married person, or a woman for that matter, may not claim sex discrimination (Lockton 2006).
Conversely, a dismissal for such a person after failing to serve a black person would constitute a discrimination against race, according to the law. The impression one gets here is that it is possible for an employee to claim a direct discrimination after he is treated less favorably by an employer on a number of grounds. First, if he refuses to follow and obey his employers instructions, that appears to be discriminatory on grounds of sexual orientation, race, belief, and religion, but not on age, sex, or gender reassignment.
Secondly, an individual can claim a direct discrimination if they associate with another parson from different race, belief, religion, or sexual orientation, but not with a person of a particular age, gender reassignment, or sex. Finally, discrimination may be justified on grounds of attitude to a particular religion, race, sexual orientation, or belief, but not on age, sex, or gender reassignment grounds (Jefferson 2006). This justification holds so long as the attitude of such a person is not seen to be discriminatory.
Issues of gender reassignment
Up to today, over 5,000 individuals in the United Kingdom alone have been reported as having been victims of transsexualism. As of now, a majority of these are undergoing medical treatment with a view to help match their gender identity, and the recorded success in the medical fraternity in phenomenal (Selwyn 2006).
The gender reassignment process is a complex affair. When a transsexual is being diagnosed, usually the help of a specialist is often sought, and the procedure could take days, moths, or even in rare cases, years. Once a preliminary diagnosis is complete, this is followed by the hormonal therapy stage. After six months of hormonal therapy, a change in the physical appearance of a person is often detectable.
The dismissal of an individual on grounds of a gender reassignment treatment contravenes the sex discrimination order, just as it would be unlawful to dismiss a woman from employment on grounds that they are pregnant (Zipfel 2005). In itself, the condition of transexiualism should be treated like any other serious conditions that involve the alteration of life. In addition, there is a high chance of the victims suffering from stress as a result of such an alteration (Taylor & Emir 2006).
The good thing is that once such issue have been unearthed, it then becomes easier to resolve this problem. Most of the people suffering from transexualism do not normally want their status to be known buy the public. Some may be willing to confide in a few people about their problem. For this reason it is important that employers respects and do not breach the personal privacy of their employees who may be facing such a predicament (Townsend 2004). In addition, the employers should also recognize that it is a prerogative of their individual employees to either discus of discloses their personal medical histories.
Transgender issues
In the United Kingdom, discrimination either in training or employment with regard to gender reassignment if often viewed at as a form of discrimination against sex. Moreover, the public authorities in Great Britain are duty bound to ensure that there is gender equality taking place at all times (Zipfel 2005). This is often seen as an obligation on their part to see to it that gender equality is promoted, with a view to eliminating sex discrimination.
At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that legislation towards the prohibition of sex discrimination in the provision of goods, services and other facilities is now imminent. In the United Kingdom, it is not a requirement for an individual to carry an identification card, or any other document for that matter that bears the name of the holder. On the same note, individual are also free to choose those names that they deem appropriate.
The 2004 Gender Recognition Act that was enforced in April 2005, and which now has its applications all over the United Kingdom, makes it possible fro those individuals who are transgender and who have satisfied given criteria, to apply for a gender recognition certificate from a special panel that recognizes the place of gender. Once an individual has been granted such a certificate, then they are also afforded a legal recognition of their acquired gender (Taylor & Emir 2006).
From that point hence froth, one can then obtain and get a birth certificate; one that does not divulge the fact that such a bearer of the certificate changed their gender. On the other hand, a married transgender person may not acquire a full certificate. The reason behind this is that in the United Kingdom, only same sex marriage has this far been permitted.
Gender reassignment from a legal perspective
In the case of an individual who happens to be living in the United Kingdom, and who has also undergone a gender reassignment, the law allows fro such an individual to have a chance of having their personal details changes, to reflect the new identity. Although the details in the original birth certificate remains as they are, he/she id free to change their personal insurance number, and their driving license. Currently however, a United Kingdom citizen is not able to alter his/her birth certificate after having undergone a gender reassignment. Nevertheless, such an individual can still obtain in their new identity other official documents.
Conclusion
The United Kingdom discrimination laws ranges from discrimination on the grounds of physical disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment. The last two forms the basis of this paper. In either the workplace or during vocational training, some individuals may experience discrimination by virtue of having undergone a gender reassignment, or as a result of having a sexual orientation that is different from that of the larger population.
This is not reason enough to warrant their discrimination of such individuals in the workplace. The enforcement of the employment equality law back in the December of 2003 ensures that such a minority group is protected, and that their employers do not dismiss them from their work, just as they would not dismiss a woman who turns out to be pregnant at the place of work.
Bibliography
Business link (2008). Prevent discrimination and value diversity. Web.
Honeyball, S, & Bowers, J, 2008, Text book on Employment Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Hill, R, 2008, United Kingdom: discrimination based on perception and association. Web.
Jefferson, M, 2006, Principles of Employment Law 5th Ed Cavendish Publishing, New York.
For many employees, societal and cultural norms at work could pressure queer individuals to stay closeted for most of their colleagues. Discrimination based on people’s gender identity while working is shared across all sectors, including social work. However, many scholars develop queer theories that are practical in the erosion of heteronormativity in general practice. Therefore, the following paper will discuss how heteronormativity affects social work practice and strategies for battling it.
Social Work is a sensitive field where heteronormativity is still prevalent. Many employees may even agitate and isolate LGBTQ coworkers to the point where they feel uncomfortable coming out (LeFrançois, 2013). Heteronormativuty in the workplace, where a person spends most of their day, may significantly influence mental health. Such institutional heterosexism excludes LGBTQ individuals, becoming a control system with heterosexual dominance (McGeorge & Stone Carlson, 2011). My current work is prevalently heterosexual; thus, the prevalent attitude to the LGBTQ community is mostly assertive and referred to as a fluid notion of sexuality and tolerant attitude to these minorities.
Social work is initially tied to communicating with individuals; therefore, we significantly impact people’s perceptions and set of mind. Conventionally constructed beliefs concerning queer community shape our understanding of family, gender identity, and subsequent stereotypes (Mullaly & West, 2018). Therefore, social workers must be advocating for the person’s dignity and worth, recognizing the diversity of human relationships among the patients and primarily inside the workplace.
Heterosexism is widely represented in social work in many forms. Most of the assessment tools provided to our clients are outdated and fail to recognize the importance of the LGBTQ community, despite their broad representation among the clients. Some ways to confront heteronormativity in the social work field include gender-free language, expansion of the term “family,” to openly advocating for gender-inclusive practices and positions (Watson, 2005). Vital to acknowledge the influence of heteronormativity on the younger generation. Stereotypical norms often mislead them, not conforming to a perfect child’s image, subjecting them to intense control (LeFrançois, 2011). Therefore it is vital to diminish conventions about the queer community in the social work field.
To sum up, social workers have a high responsibility for advocating for a gender-inclusive society and subsequently eroding the heteronormativity in the workplace. Multiple scholars keep developing theories that, as a result, depreciate the conventional stereotypes about LGBTQ+, which employees must adapt to practice. Subsequently, collective forces may bring fundamental changes to the area of social work.
LeFrançois, B. A. (2013). The psychiatrization of our children, or, an autoethnographic narrative of perpetuating First Nations genocide through ‘benevolent’ institutions. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, Vol. 2(No. 1), 108–123.
Mullaly, B., & West, J. (2018). Challenging oppression and confronting privilege : a critical approach to anti-oppressive and anti-privilege theory and practice. (3rd edition). Oxford University Press.
Watson, K. (2005). Queer Theory.Group Analysis, 38(1), 67–81. Web.
There are standard divisions into two sexes being male and female and the basic sexual orientation of heterosexuality. At the same time, gender does not always determine the sexual preferences of an individual person. Moreover, not all people can define themselves in these categories, and in some cases society dictates its conditions of existence and preferences, while the personal expression of sexuality and orientation in reality may differ.
Many sociological studies do not recognize that there is a significant difference between males and females, unless it is in terms of sports, medicine or childbirth (Lorber, 1996). In the modern world, there is a large number of categories of races, sexes, sexuality, and orientation. When informing about different genders of people, it is necessary to divide them into 3 categories including sex, sexuality and gender (Lorber, 1996). Each of them has a somewhat synonymous meaning, but at the same time the full scope of concepts is different. Many researchers argue that the difference in the sexes of people is based only on hormones and the development of the genitals before birth, which also occurs due to hormones in the human body (Lorber, 1996). For the most part, gender and orientation are concepts that are necessary for a society to differentiate its participants.
However, for some people, the standard choice of gender or sexuality is not correct, since some see themselves in a different field or orientation, or, in principle, do not consider themselves to belong to the group originally assigned to them. At the same time, markers and sexual attractiveness for each person may differ and be not only dependent on the opposite sex, masculinity, femininity, and other standard criteria, but also include personal preferences (Lorber, 1996). Many participants in various studies emphasize that their sexual preferences do not fall into any of the socially recognized standard categories. Most recognize the existence of binary sexual divisions that can interfere with self-expression or self-identification (Better & Simula, 2015). Some people find it difficult to inform others of their sexual preferences, while others find it complicated to determine their own choice, since there is a lack of awareness in society about the existing possibilities and the words that determine these preferences.
Due to the division into two genders, there are often prejudices in society about how each of them should act and dress. Moreover, some countries of the world are more susceptible to new manifestations within one sex, while others are quite critical of any deviant behavior (Lorber, 1996). This can make it difficult for a woman to express herself in a more masculine form without adhering to standards of appearance and behavior. The same applies to men, who are not always able to express themselves in a form that is not considered traditional masculine.
In modern society, the use of the word queer has begun to develop, which includes all sexual preferences other than the standard straight and cisgender. Over time, the role of participation in the opposite sex in building a family may decrease, preferences change to alternative ones, more open to trying and discovering new things (Better & Simula, 2015). Social acceptance can also evolve over time, and divisions can blur.
In conclusion, the divisions into gender, orientation and sexuality are increasingly not applicable to modern society. New subcategories appear in each direction of choice, which can determine a person’s personal choice and interest. Society should not influence the choice, and information provided both offline and online should be complete, including all existing options so that a person can identify and find himself in one of them.
Gender should not discriminate peoples’ social life’s Laws and social institutions, which are formed to dignify human beings in different ways. Although the world has many traditions and different origins, dignities of humans show that we all in one globe and we all deserve the same worth. As a result of increased political competition in the 19th century, there is an obvious and great relationship between the body and sexuality. Sexuality must have become a more helpful practice in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the mid nineteenth century, this term “sex” begun to change the meaning. Male bodies have been viewed as a source of strength and inspiration, in every aspects of the society especially in political contestation. Male are considered as a stronger gender and so they are always trusted with political leadership. Furthermore, this strength has been used to give the male advantages in politics than women. Since time immemorial, the females have been considered weak, to handle political challenges and this fact has been used to stifle their political agendas. In some areas women are considered as house wives and are only given chances when it comes to domestic affairs, while men see that the parts or duties they play are of major importance than the domestic affairs. Since women undergo some stages of growth in comparison to men, examples are pregnancy, monthly periods and such issues, which when in the process can not perform difficulty tasks like addressing a group of people at longer times, they are eventually denied chances because of irregularities to their duties (Hawkesworth 533).
Sexualized body is a site of a political contestation and has the following effects to politics. Due to new technologies and industrialization, sex has grown from one stage to the other compared to the early 17th century. During this time of 17th century sex was really going hand in hand with the religion. It was only practiced according to nature. Nowadays sex has been a tool of exploiting certain group of people, young girls, women and even other men. Due to poverty, some women and men have used it in commercial purposes, so as to generate their income hence leading to immoralities. Examples of these immoralities are lesbianism, homosexual, masturbation, just to mention a few. Since the coming of second wave feminism, lesbian, gay, have affected peoples way of leaving. Peoples’ social life has changed to private and personal life, hence leading to domestic c violence towards sexual relationships, which eventually leads to sexual discriminations. The idea of autonomous being has emerged, which give people freedom and choices over their bodies. in the past, sex was for procreation and its values were highly dignified but now people can do anything to their bodies.Example are, whether to get married or not, to have kids or not to choose this partner or the other ,hence leading to bad practices, which include abortion, sex traffic, pornography and many more. Homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual and multi sexual are also other cases that have emerged. If one can suggest whether to be a woman or a man during sexual intercourse, then it shows that we are leaving in a modern world which some view it with different perspective as a rapid decline (Mackinnon 9).
A political environment is one which brings different people, different ethnic groups, different views and different culture together as a one social group. A number of candidates have emerged as contestation to fill this post socialist. Although politics is to resolve peoples differences and bring them to one social life, there is a difference in specific.example, “life politics”, “the politics of difference”, radical pluralism”, “dialogue democracy” and many more. But when it comes to political debate, the body becomes s gendered, raced and sexualized. For example; bisexual politics, lesbian and gay, test tube babies, cybersex, single parenting and many more are the subject to the agenda. Raced body has been a site for political contestation in many forms which brings about democratic debate. In this democracy there is a founded theory to help and approach different ethnic groups and different social status. When viewed through democratic theory, different groups of people become competitive in broader sense of democratic contestant.So different races have different political understanding,. When it comes to sexuality, we see a number of feminists emerging in different ways. Others considered the act of sex as irrelevant for achieving other goals, and others accept lesbianism and bisexuality as part of feminism. Some people see sex as a site of exploiting others; women and young girls are subjected to the agenda, on a pretex that they need to upgrade their financial status. Feminists have come up with laws such as “sex wars “which guides and protects women and help them have control to their bodies. Prostitution and sex trafficking goes together or mean something almost the same. Prostitution or sex trafficking bring violence, sign of male dominance and exploitation of women at large (Day 828).
References
Day, Sophie. “The re-emergence of ‘trafficking’: sex work between slavery and freedom” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 16.4(2010): 816-834.Print
Hawkeworth, Mary “Congressional Enactments of Race-Gender: Toward a Theory of Raced-Gendered Institutions” American Political Science Review 97.4: 529-550.Print.
MacKinnon, Catharine. “Does Sexuality Have a History?” Michigan Quarterly Review XXX.1 (1991): 1-11.Print.