Category: Gender

Abstract

This paper represents the discussion of the cases of race, class, and gender discrimination. This problem needs more evaluation because of its everyday emergence in the United States. Moreover, it is widely recognized, as important for the positive social development of American society. The scope of the review falls into the necessity of observation. The statements of Paola Rothenberg stimulate further discussion on probable ways of solutions. Thus, the main approach in the paper is implied to the survey of the author. The criticism of Rothenberg is placed, as primary in the discussion. Specifically for the United States, the problem of racial, gender, and class discrimination and segregation still become open. Therefore, it acquired features of social, economic, and political significance for Americans.

Introduction

The outlook on the problem of racism, sexism, and gender inequality in the United States presupposes perpetual struggle. In terms of constant conflicts on this basis people still confront points on misunderstanding in mutual relationships based on the superficial features of appearance. In this respect, the book by Paola Rothenberg is dedicated, first, to show the current situation in the country and, second, to evaluate the reasons for it at the contemporary stage of American national development. The author is intended to place the facts in the book to state the reality of time in terms of gender, race, and other patterns which are disputable in society and provide conflict consequences.

The review of the book is interesting in its multinational and multidimensional character. The stories gathered in it help better understand the significance of this social disaster for the American nation. Moreover, the book is concerned with contemporary social cuts in the United States. The features of biases and negative attitudinal framework being so spread within Americans are enclosed into the discussion of the book.

Review

Looking at the book from first sight, one may be put into the picture about the main ideas in it. In this respect, the title of the book fully indicates its reliability and straightforward character of it in terms of the contemporary social situation between minorities and the majority of the American nation. The author surveys such division of the society to make assumptions about further outcomes unless the problem is being changed since now.

The detailed description of the numerous cases, when intolerant confrontation of different ethnicities and genders appears, illuminates the depth of this social pit in which the US exists at the moment. Paola Rothenberg (2007) critically evaluates current achievements about the problem stating that aggressor-victim relations are still apparent for the American society:

At times, the victim has done so in response to the racism and/or sexism in the society to survive, but at other times movements made up of these victims have sought to redefine difference as part of a struggle for power and personhood (50).

In this respect, the author makes a direct remark that the negative effects in social affairs lead to the internal destruction of the nation. This argument is rather strong looking at the iterative nature of this theme throughout the collected readings. On the other hand, cross-cultural communication is identified to be the obstacle to the positive development of social affairs in the country. Growth of the national coloring in the country is observed by the author as the indicator for probable conflicts in the society. The situation deepens in its roots. The results are obvious, reasons are known, but the methods for the reduction of the issues effects are not invented and implemented yet. In this case, the author makes the tolerance and loyalty methods possible for every individual to get rid of constant biases and condemnation of the minorities from the side of a white majority.

In fact, the problem between a dominant group of Americans and those of the minor one is asserted almost in every reading in the book. This domination is also prescribed in terms of man-woman relationships. Furthermore, the author especially criticizes this feature in the society: The idea of gender difference helps keep male dominance in place (Rothenberg, 2007, p. 63). It is not surprising that this problem gave birth to the sexual harassment cases being viable in the workplace throughout the United States. Here the author keeps a strict eye on the logical chain of outcomes that are caused by racial and gender discrimination.

Sitaram & Prosser (1998) evaluate the nature of gender biases in their characteristic features of masculine spheres of mind and culture and feminine ones of body and nature. Thus, analyzing the many-faceted nature of the gender biases Rothenberg (2007) gives, in turn, a concrete alternative for the ruination of suchlike biases in individuals, namely education.

Being concerned in the prospects of educational approaches and the achievements of humankind in spheres of philosophy, history, biology, Americans will be able to estimate their blindness in respect toward allegedly right deeds and attitudes in the process of cross-cultural relationships. The role of the white majority in the US Rothenberg values as the primary for making rational decisions as of further development does not decline of the relations in the society:

In this candid look at social and academic realities, Rothenberg shares incidents from her own life and the lives of family and friends to show how privilege is constructed and to reveal the forces that make us unaware of it (University Press of Kansas, 2004, para. 2).

It is because of the personal experience the author can adequately share the point of the discussion on race, gender, and conflict inside the domain of American multiculturalism and sphere of straightforward provision of communication with afterward results. Perry (2003) supports the vision by Rothenberg noting that the oppressive meaning of difference is the indicator for prioritizing some form of identity over others by social systems.

Rothenberg describes several cases when the unfair and unequal directives of the official representing the majority in the authoritative organs negatively influenced the destinies of people just because of their ethnic belonging. Even here the discussion about the problem touches upon the higher echelons of power. Still, the author insists on the reformation of social relations from the top of society. It is effective due to the possible effect after such transformations in society. However, the author makes only some glimpses on this piece of the discussion leaning more to the problem as it is among Americans.

Making sense of race the author correlates the view of the reader on the historical reasoning for this huge problem. However, more attention is caught on the features of the real struggle for rights. Minor groups of people representing particular ethnic, cultural, or economic interests are constantly oppressed by the majority in the United States. The thing is that the real development of the relations contradicts the previously adopted standards and prescription for the American democracy and its spread inside the country and abroad as well. The reliability of such thought provides the dead-end for further critical observation of the current social and political situation in the country. The point is that people do not even recognize that through discriminative intentions they destruct the identity toward genuine postulates for the American nation.

Thus, discrimination is observed in the book from the sides of family and workplace relationships. This survey by Rothenberg is special for its straightforward underlining of the possible deaths in society. In turn, violence reflects violence, and this fatal circle cannot be stopped utilizing personal hatred and impatience. Pascale (2007) is united with Rothenberg in the idea that such struggle does not exclude the possibility of physically deadly assaults based on discrimination.

Rothenberg (2007) is also highly intended to admit that the relations between individuals and groups of them are at risk of further collapse in greater scopes. It is since the problem remains to be unanswered, and solely governmental prospects on the decisions about it are not enough. More rational and somehow persistent measurement or programs should be involved in the educational establishments. The author admits that the risk is inevitable until the discrimination is stopped at the initial level among new generations of Americans. This is why Rothenberg poses personal responsibility, as the impulse for Americans to be aware of the danger in which they are willingly encouraged.

Throughout the seventies and after Rothenberg realized the significance of gender, racial roles, and the place of a family from her position as an activist and educator in the sphere of social relations. This is why the whole composition of the book props up against a somehow historical background of the author herself. This feature makes sense of the full understanding of the problem in the United States included in the book. Furthermore, taking into account that Rothenberg still struggles for gaining the ideal place and atmosphere for the provision of communication between different ethnical communities, it is vital to admit that she feels that the situation will soon come up to a logical and rational conclusion. The thing is that it is not clear what will be the end of this discussion: positive or negative.

Conclusion

The book by Paola Rothenberg Race, class, and gender in the United States is the peculiar demonstration of the social inequality maintained and still provided in the American society. The author deals with the ethnic and gender aspects to further evaluate the nature of the social conflict in the United States and its probable outcomes in the long-term perspective. The book is scheduled in the form of readings collected by the author to detect the problem and to estimate it from different foreshortenings. Thus, the actuality and seriousness of the problems raised in the book are to be read by every American, so as not to lead the society of the country to the internal collapse.

Reference

Pascale, C. M. (2007). Making sense of race, class, and gender: commonsense, power, and privilege in the United States. Bocaraton, FL: CRC Press.

Perry, B. (2003). Hate and bias crime: a reader. London: Routledge.

Rothenberg, P. S. (2007). Race, class, and gender in the United States (7th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.

Sitaram, K. S. & Prosser, M. H. (1998). Civic discourse: multiculturalism, cultural diversity, and global communication. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

University Press of Kansas. (2007). Invisible Privilege: A Memoir About Race, Class, and Gender 2007. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

Outline

Gender and discourse style has been the topic of discussion for many linguists for the past many decades. Lakoff first presented the idea of womens discourse being deficient as compared to men in 1975. Her views were later countered by Maltz, Borker, and Tennan who stated that the difference in discourse was more due to the two different cultures in which men and women have been brought up since childhood. However both the views are not without criticism. Lakoffs view is based on intuition and Tannens view is based on experimentation. Some others suggest that the differences are inborn. Many critics also state that the differences in discourse arise due to status or power.

Introduction

The study of gender and linguistics, although appears simple, requires vast discussion and understanding of both genders. It is believed that men and women have different discourse styles. Many linguists such as Deborah Tannen, Robin T. Lakoff, Deborah Cameron, and Janet Holmes have expressed their views on this issue. Their views are sometimes the same and sometimes opposite. There are several theories regarding the issue.

The oldest theory of different discourse styles of genders is that of Robin Lakoff (1975). Lakoff is of the view that difference in discourse style occurs due to the weakness or lack of confidence among women. An opposing view was presented by Maltz and Borker (1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) which was later confirmed by Tannen in 1992. Tannen stated that the difference occurred due to the different cultures in which men and women were brought up. However, both views have their criticism.

In this paper, I aim to discuss and critically evaluate the views of different linguists regarding the reasons for different discourse styles of men and women. My methodology would be to evaluate the scholarly articles and the views of other linguists on the issue. I would also like to comment upon the question that how can one interpret differences about the issues of power, dominance, and difference. I intend to discuss some counter-views of the most prominent theories of the relationship between gender and discourse.

The difference in discourse styles of Men and Women

Lakoffs theory of Deficiency

Robin Lakoff (1975, pg. 53-6)) has given her theory of dominance in her influential work Language and Womans Place. Shes was the first to work in the field of linguistic differences and for that matter, it was severely criticized for being based on intuition, lacking empirical data, and being biased. Lakoff is of the view that women live in a male-dominated society and for that matter, their discourse is also deficient due to a lack of confidence.

Womens speech indicates powerlessness and mens speech indicates dominance. In her view, the imbalance of power is the root cause of different discourse styles of men and women. Lakoff has given a list of ten linguistic features that are evident in a female conversation which become symbolic of their lack of confidence and insecurity. The list is also cited by Holmes (2001) and I quote it directly as follows:

1. Lexical hedges or fillers such as you know, well, sort of, you see. (Holmes, 2001).
2. Tag Questions such as shes very nice, isnt she? (Holmes, 2001).
3. Rising intonations or declaratives such as its really good? (Holmes, 2001).
4. Empty adjectives such as divine, charming, cute etc. (Holmes, 2001).
5. Exact color terms such as magenta, aquamarine (Holmes, 2001).
6. Intensifiers such as just and so (Holmes, 2001).
7. Hypercorrect grammar such as consistent use of standard verb forms (Holmes, 2001).
8. Super polite forms such as indirect requests, euphemisms (Holmes, 2001).
9. Avoidance of strong swearing words such as fudge or my goodness (Holmes, 2001).
10. Emphatic stress such as it was a brilliant performance (Holmes, 2001).

Holmes (2001) has divided the above mentioned list into two groups:

• Linguistic devices that are used for hedging and reducing the force of an utterance. For example fillers, tag questions, rising intonations (Holmes, 2001).
• Features that boost or intensify a propositions force. For example emphatic stress and intensifiers (Holmes, 2001).

Lakoff (1975) is of the view that the first one indicates a womans lack of power in a mixed environment and the second one indicates the fact that without intensifiers a woman cannot be taken seriously otherwise. She further states that in a male-dominated society women are forced to show their feminine side of weakness and subordination compared to the opposite sex. This notion has also been supported by other linguists such as Cameron, McAlinden, and O Leary (1989, quoted by White, 2003).

According to them, it is quite predictable that since women are more inclined towards establishing social conformity that women should show such characteristics in their conversation as well as in other aspects of their behavior (Cameron, McAlinden and O Leary, 1989, quoted by White, 2003, In Women Usage of Speech Linguistic Functions in the Context of Casual Conversation: Analysis and Discussion, pg. 4).

Thus Lakoff (1975) summed up her theory that men and women have different discourse styles because they socialized differently.

Lakoffs (1975) view that womens discourse style is deficient, lacking confidence and authority is criticized by many linguists. Zimmerman and West (1975, quoted by Itakura, 2001, pg. 15) stated that womens discourse style was not lacking but was dominated by men in a cross-sex verbal interaction where men frequently adopted the strategy of interrupting. Upon comparison, women had to work a lot to support their argument.

At the same time, Lakoffs idea of women using more tag questions was also challenged by many linguists who conducted interviews and experiments to prove their position (Kunsmann, 2000). Holmes (2001) stated that women used tag questions not only on the notion that they were insecure but for several reasons. Some examples mentioned by Holmes are mentioned below:

1. Showing insecurity: I graduated last year, didnt I? (Holmes, 2001)
2. Facilitating conversation: Andrew this is our new neighbor, Frank. Andrew has just changed jobs, havent you? (Holmes, 2001)

Theory of Subculture

Deborah Tannen (1992), a renowned linguist, has discussed several reasons which are the root cause of different discourse styles of men and women in her book titled You Just Dont Understand! Tannen is of the view that the difference in discourse styles of men and women starts from childhood where both genders adopt different approaches to achieve a common goal or to get accepted in society.

Tannen uses Maltz and Borkers two sub-culture models in which both genders are brought up in different cultures. The problem only arises when the two subcultures merge. Tannen has discussed American society to support her argument. Her observation states that girls and boys want to know each other but through different methods. Girls are different because they love to socialize in the group, preferably one-on-one and their interaction is based on conversation and consensus. Boys socialize differently. Their interaction is based on large groups and different activities of their interest.

To maintain harmony in the group there is always some kind of leadership in both genders that helps the members to follow the specific set of rules. The two genders often pressurize their members to adhere to the rules. There is always pressure on boys who like to play with dolls and girls who are tomboys and like to play boyish sports. Maltz and Borker (1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) have also suggested this point. For girls relationship is important and for boys, hierarchy and leadership are important.

The difference in discourse style appears naturally in men and women. Women seem to discuss different topics more with each other. At the same time they also personally interact with each other and express their feelings. In that manner, they become well versed in understanding and expressing their feeling. They also seem to remember more as to who said what. They seem to do fine as long as they remain in their circle.

The problem arises when the two genders interact with each other either through marriage or at the workplace. When each brings his/ her conversational background, not understanding the other, a communication gap becomes inevitable. For women discussions are negotiations for getting closer and giving support to the person and finally to reach a consensus. Whereas for men discussions are a tool through which they try to gain and maintain an upper hand, if possible, and also a tool to prevent themselves from getting pushed down by people around them (Tannen, 1992).

To support her views Tannen experimented on both genders where they were asked to indulge in a serious discussion on any topic. Here her theory gains a plus point over Lakoffs theory of deficiency since Tannen based her theory on the results of the experiments conducted by her and Lakoff based it on her beliefs. The participants included individuals from second-grade students to graduate level. The discussion was videotaped. It was noted that women of all ages immediately jumped to the focal point. Men on the other hand took time to come on the topic. There was a marked difference in the level of seriousness for both genders.

Males discussed the topic of marriage as an abstraction rather than a personal concern. In one situation a participants drinking problem was discussed by both genders. Where women showed their sympathy for the person men stated that it was not a big problem at all. Tannen concluded her experiment with a view that men see discourse as competition and women see it as a way to become intimate. Men did not even set to face each other. Women on the other hand often gazed at each other intentionally to achieve intimacy (Tannen, 1992).

A critic on Tannens book agrees with the fact that there exist original biological differences among men and women. For that matter, they do adopt different discourse styles. Brein (1994) agrees with Tannens views that American men and in general all men adopt a negotiating style in their speech whereas women use language which gives them a chance of personal interaction. The same idea of having a biological explanation is also given by Chambers (1992) who is of the view that these differences are transferred biologically into men and women as he states:

Female precocity in verbal skills beginning in infancy predisposes them to apply their verbal skills to all kinds of situations as they grow up (Chambers, 1992, pg. 201).

The Difference

Maltz and Borker (1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007, pg. 164) have earlier agreed to the above argument. They stated, We place stress not on psychological difference or power differentials&but rather on a notion of cultural differences between men and women. This view is opposite to Lakoffs (1975) view of women speech being deficient.

According to the girls and boys were different in the following ways:

(Maltz and Borker, 1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007).

Studies carried out on the discourse style of men and women indicated the fact that men interrupted conversation more frequently as compared to women. In a cross-sex conversation observed by Zimmerman and West (1975) it was noted that men interrupted most of the time and females interrupted only twice. The study confirmed the fact that men and women behaved differently in a speech situation (quoted by Itakara, 2001, pg. 16-17).

The duel culture model theory supports the fact that men and womens discourse style differs based on contrasting orientations towards relations (Montgomery, 1986). Men give importance to sharing information and women give importance to interaction. Men and women have their discourse style which they have inherited from their early days. Maltz and Borker (1982, Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) are of the view that men and women differ from each other because they belong to different sociolinguistic cultures.

Both have learned to do different things with minimal responses such as mono or bi-syllabic words such as umhum and yes. Men interpret these comments as I agree with you and women interpret as Im listening to you  please continue. The above example is indicative of the fact that a womans style is not deficient but different from men and the differences occur as each group interpret it according to their own rules (Maltz and Borker, 1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007).

The difference in the discourse style of men and women is further elaborated by Tennan (1992). She states that womens style is rapport talk in which intimacy and sameness of the situation are emphasized. Mens discourse style has been described as report style. They tend to exhibit knowledge and skill. Women negotiate to maintain solidarity and men negotiate to maintain status and hierarchy. Women have been involved in the ritual of coming home and telling everything that they have experienced throughout the day and they have been doing it since childhood.

Men do not understand these rituals and they usually begin a conversation when they feel the need for it. Men need a reason to talk. For that matter what is important for women becomes unimportant for men. It gets frustrating for both parties when they are unable to understand each other since their motives of conversation are different (Tannen, 1992).

Speer (2005) quoted Mary Crawford (1995) and stated that many critics are of the view that the conflict of discourse style is not related to men being dominating. It is rather based on miscommunication even though dominance is still a part of the process. Although Crawford agrees with Tannens views she still comments and states that such views take away the responsibility from men by protecting their bad behavior as a stylistic quirk. Spear quotes Crawford and states: They offer men a compelling rationale of blame-free difference and women a comforting promise of mutual accommodation (quoted by Speer, 2005).

Dominance

Studies have shown that people indulge in different conversational styles for different purposes. One such purpose could be to gain dominance over the participants. Many studies indicate that men indulge in conversation and try to dominate the participants. For that matter, they use different conversational strategies such as interrupting the speaker. It has already been discussed above that men interrupt speeches more frequently than women. Women seem to be powerless because of their social position so instead of indulging in an argument they tend to back off from the argument (Kunsmann, 2000).

Power

The difference theory blames gender for changes in discourse styles among men and women. On the other hand the dominance theory makes its conclusions based on power. Power comes from the socioeconomic and socio-historic status of an individual. Zimmerman and West (1975) along with many other linguists state that:

just as male dominance is exhibited through male control of macro-institutions in society, it is also exhibited through male control of at least a part of micro-institutions (Zimmerman and West 1975). (Quoted by Itakura. 2001, pg 17).

The dominance in micro-economic institutions is established through various discourse strategies such as interrupting the conversation. Since it has been mentioned earlier that men interrupt conversation more as compared to women so their dominance is easily established and women end up either becoming silent or abandoning the conversation (Kunsmann, 2000).

In some cultures, the tag questions are also used in conversation to keep the conversation rolling. In such a situation women can easily gain dominance since they use tag questions more frequently as compared to men (Kunsmann, 2000).

Different studies have shown different results on the relationship between gender and power. Eakins and Eakins (1976, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) state that dominance is caused by status. In their research, he observed that the head of the department received the minimum number of interruptions as compared to other participants of the meeting.

Holmes (2001) observed that female doctors were interrupted more as compared to their male counterparts. On the contrary in a business environment, the male always dominated the conversation as compared to their female counterparts. In another observation carried out by West (1998) on patient-doctor interaction, it was noted that power alone was not responsible for the differences. Female doctors were interrupted more frequently by patients of all socioeconomic backgrounds as compared to their male counterparts.

Beattie (1981, quoted by Stubbe, 2007, in Whats the Score? Qualitative Analysis in Gender Research, pg. 3-18) observed that status and interruptions were inversely proportional to each other. Interruptions also ended up with the change of speaker. Beattie observed that gender did not affect the number of interruptions during the conversation.

From the above research, it can be seen that the studies related to the relationship between language and power are inconclusive.

Conclusion

To conclude, the above discussion highlights the difference in discourse style between men and women. On many occasions, people use the language consciously as is stated by the different approach. It would be more pertinent to state that different style of discourse among men and women is because their interaction purposes are different. Women interact to maintain interaction and solidarity and men interact to share knowledge. However, with changing trends women are becoming more and more assertive which may in the future force the linguists to review their theories according to the situation.

References

Beattie, Geoffrey (1981): Interruption in Conversational Interaction and its Relation to the Sex and Status of the Interactants. In Stubbe, M. Whats the Score? Qualitative Analysis in Gender Research. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 4, Issue 1. Pg. 3-18.

Cameron, D., McAlinden, F. and OLeary, K. (1989). Lakoff in Context: The Social and Linguistic Functions of Tag Questions. in White, A. Women usage of Specific Linguistic Functions in the context of Casual Conversation: Analysis and Discussion. Web.

Chambers, J.C. (1992): Linguistic Correlates of Gender and Sex. English World Wide. No. 13. Pg. 173-218.

Crawford, M. (1995). Quoted by Speer, S.A. Gender Talk, Feminism discourse and Conversation Analysis. Routeledge. Pg. 44.

Eakins, B., Eakins, G: (1976). Verbal Turn-Taking and Exchanges in Faculty Dialogue.

In: De Lange, J. (1995). Gender and Communication in Social Work Education: A Cross Cultural Perspective. Journal of Social Work Education, Vol. 31. Issue 1. Pg. 5. Web.

Holmes, J. (2001): An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Amazon Books, London. Pg. 286-318.

Kunsmann, P. (2000). Gender, Status and Power in Discourse Behavior of Men and Women. Web.

Lakoff, Robin (1975): Language and Womans Place. Harper & Row, New York. Pg. 53-6.

Maltz, D. Borker, R: (1982). A Cultural Approach to Male-Female Miscommunication. In: Monaghan and Goodman. (2007). A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication: Essential Reading. Wiley-Blackwell. Pg. 161-178.

Montgomery, M. (1986). An Introduction to Language and Society. Routledge. Pg. 168.

O Brein, D. (1994). Gender and Discourse: Book Review. Commonweal. Web.

Tannen, D. (1992): You Just Dont Understand. New York.Pg. 24-77.

West, C: (1998). When the Doctor is a Lady: Power, Status and Gender in Physician-Patient Encounters. In: Coates, Jennifer (ed): Language and Gender: A Reader. Oxford. Pg. 396-412.

Zimmerman, D. West, C. (1975). Sex Roles, Interruptions and Silences in Conversations.

Itakura, H. (2001). Conversational Dominance and Gender, John Benjamins Publishing Co. Pg. 15-17.

The manner of writing can reveal numerous details about the storyteller, including particular character traits, perception of the world, and even the gender of a person who wrote a story. It is what I will try to do in this paper  guess the gender of the speaker analyzing the texts they have written.

The first way to determine the sex by studying the text is to search the details that might prompt the answer, for example, personal and possessive pronouns, etc. It helped me in defining that the author of the love story with a black woman was a man.

In fact, this decision was obvious because the author highlighted his gender throughout the story. First, he told me about his childhood experience, noting that, as a little boy, he was not ready for the intimacy of the first kiss. Second, he wrote about joining the Navy that is generally a male experience. Finally, he shared a story of creating a family with a black woman. So, everything points to the fact that a writer is a man.

The same approach can be applied to the story of a person depressed because of the divorce and a mate having an affair. The passage was written by a female, and it is understood by the obvious details, such as mentioning that it was a husband who cheated on the author. Later, another detail is revealed  the fact that the author was left a home-stay mom that only proves that the writer was a female. These stories, except for direct pointing out to the gender of the storyteller, have a little difference  the mood of writing.

It is believed that men and women write stories in a differing manner. For example, women use shorter sentences and are emotional, while men formulate their thoughts in longer sentences and mention facts and arguments (Jones & Myhill, 2007). True, if we look closer at them, the first story is a set of arguments (acceptance of children by other women or forcing the parents to accept sons choice if they love him) while the second one is more emotional and includes many short sentences that prove that the writer was in a depressive mood and did not know what to do next.

Sometimes it is complicated to determine the gender of the storyteller. For example, it was in the case of the story about a person who had six half-brothers and sisters left by their biological father. At first, it seemed to me that the author was a man because of recollecting the fact about joining the military, but the last paragraph reveals the truth about the narrator, who was married before and now has a husband. Moreover, the author is described as having a daddys girl complex, so the conclusion is obvious  the teller is a woman.

What can also be used for determining the gender of a storyteller is the female perspective of the events and drawing the line between the lifestyles of men and women (Giles & Doan, 2016). It can be applied to the story of a person who had a drug addict friend and a conversation they had on a narrators birthday. Pedicure as a birthday gift and stressing that a female is a best friend together with the use of short, emotional sentences hint that the author of the story is a woman. Without these points, it would have been impossible to guess the gender.

Finally, it is also considered that men are more powerful in writing and oral activities than women because they are judged more harshly (Peterson & Kennedy, 2006). This approach was used to analyzing the story of African American recollecting experience of working at the Air Force Base. The story is well-structured and includes long sentences. The author also mentions the fact that many friends joined the military, especially bearing in mind that the story had place during the 1980s, the conclusion is that an author is a man because it was unlikely for women to act so.

References

Giles, T., & Doan, W. J. (2016). The Naomi story  the book of Ruth: From gender to politics. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.

Jones, S., & Myhill, D. (2007). Discourses of difference? Examining gender differences in linguistic characteristics of writing. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(2), 456-466, 468-482.

Peterson S., & Kennedy, K. (2006). Sixth grade teachers written comments on student writing: Genre and gender influences. Written Communication, 23(1), 36-62.

The poems A fine, A private Place by Diane Ackerman and Play-by-Play by Joan Murray are both concerned with the theme of female sexuality. A Fine, A Private Place utilizes the third person narrative voice to express the memories of a woman who fondly remembers a lovemaking experience she had with an unidentified male lover by the shores of an unidentified ocean/sea.

However, the woman reminiscing was at first none the wiser about her lovers intentions  he had to ask twice before she could understand the nature of his request and intensions (first stanza), and before she realized his manhood was hard: an indication of lovemaking desire.

However, the subsequent lovemaking experience as reflected from the womans voice was mutually consented, and the lovers made love intensely and with deep feelings for each other. In Play-by-Play, the omniscient narrator poses rhetorical questions as the narrator watches a group of men playing softball and analyses the secrete sexual thoughts and desires of the women nearby(both old and young), as they secretly admire the mens bodies and reflect on the mens sexual appeal.

The two poems suggest that female sexuality can be, and is, as expressive as male sexuality. In A Fine, A private Place, the female voice expresses the desires and thoughts of a woman during and after a lovemaking experience. These reminisces convey the idea that the female partner is not a passive player during the act of lovemaking, but is an equal partner with emotions and desires too, which have to be fulfilled and catered for in the entire lovemaking process.

The male player remains unnamed and unidentified  ironically, the last line of stanza three has the woman wondering who the man was, yet the woman is able to make love to a point of female climax and complete satisfaction. In the last line of stanza four, the woman reaches her climax as her loins roar and she pants in climactic excitement. The fact that the woman is able to be expressive sexually with a male who is not necessarily her husband portrays a woman who has taken control of her sexuality.

The woman in the poem is not tied down to certain societal expectations that women should be a passive player in both the courting/dating scene and in the act of sex/lovemaking itself (Markle 48). The woman in A fine, A Private Place is sexually expressive and is able to take charge of her sexual desires and her own path to sexual fulfillment.

In the poem Play-by-Play, the omniscient narrator also highlights the sexuality of a woman being as expressive as that of a man. In the first line of the first stanza, the narrator wonders whether it would surprise the young men playing softball to discover that the women around them are admiring and discussing their sexual appeal.

In the second stanza, the narrator further asks rhetorically, but poignantly, whether the men would take offence (as many women do) if they were to know that the women were lusting after them. In these expressive questions, the narrator brings outs the voice of womens sexuality that has been previously unheard of or ignored. The questions point to the fact that the womans desire for sex and the pre-lovemaking bodily admiration for a potential lover is not a preserve of men.

The narrator is not condoning the act of men looking lustily at a woman, as men have been doing for generations. However, the narrator brings out the fact that a woman, too, has very similar feelings and even lusts for her lover, only that the woman prefers to do her sexual longing and lusts in a manner that does not necessarily cause her potential lover public humiliation- a point men should borrow.

The narrator in Play-by-Play further busts the female sexuality myth that has long been held  that once a woman reaches her sixties, (past menopause); her sexual desire is non-existent. The omniscient narrator indicates that the old women in their sixties who are also watching the men play softball are actively analyzing the sexual appeal of the softball players, just as much as the young virile women drinking wine and reading books a little further in the field.

The narrator further vouches for the women in their sixties as being the best-placed persons to speak on the matter of a mans sexual appeal, since, as the narrator states in the second stanza; their experience has been horned through years of being with different lovers.

Again, the fact that these women in their sixties are shown as not having been involved with one lover  or one husband, but are portrayed as having experimented with different lovers, depicts female sexuality as not dissimilar to that of men. The act of old men admiring young women is considered natural in a macho male society, but in the poem Play-by-Play, the old women are comfortably admiring young men, and have had different lovers, just as men in their sixties would.

These women represent a sexually expressive generation of women. Similarly, in the poem A Fine, A private Place, the woman reminiscing on her lovemaking encounter also highlights that, by virtue of her reminiscing, she is currently not in contact with that particular lover. Additionally, one can speculate that she has made love to other men, or is currently courting another man, thus her sexual experiences are varied; therefore, the woman is sexually liberated.

Therefore, both the poems A Fine, A Private Place, and Play-by-Play portray female sexuality in a much different light than what female sexuality has been thought of, especially by men keen to preserve the status quo and relegate women to secondary and passive roles in sex and lovemaking situations.

Because sexuality is dictated by various historical, social, political, and economic factors, sexuality can be, and has been, used as a tool to subjugate women in all these realms. The subjugation has always been propagated on the myth that women are not sexually expressive. The matter of consent before a lovemaking act has been tackled in A Fine, A Private Place. The womans lover is portrayed as being mindful of his lovers feelings and satisfaction throughout the lovemaking process.

In the first stanza, he asks twice before he obtains consent from the woman, and throughout and after the lovemaking act, he further seeks to know whether she is fine and satisfied. Since sexuality is dictated by gender roles, the secondary role of the woman in society is usually transferred to the lovemaking process and her consent on whether she desires to make love or not is never sought  she is viewed as being ever ready, or is expected to be ever ready.

This mentality plays a role in men not being overly concerned with the beastly act of rape or defilement. The poem A Fine, A private Place vouches for seeking the consent of the woman, and the womans equal status in the lovemaking process. Therefore, sexual expressiveness is parallel to womens liberation and development within the society.

Furthermore, because the woman is expected to play a subservient role in sex, her opinion on whether her lover or husband uses a condom and on the more significant way of family planning is ignored.

In both poems, sexual expressiveness in the women in the poems points to the need for the women to be recognized as equal partners in not only the lovemaking process, but also in the significant issue of family planning. Women in many third world countries are saddled with child after child even when their mental and physical energies for child bearing and rearing are exhausted (Manderson, Rae Bennett, and Sheldrake 184).

This occurs due to the social and political norms in such countries that reinforce the notion that women have no role in the entire family making process. The family making process is intimately linked to sex and sexuality, thus womens sexuality is an important social, political, and economic entity. Such practices leave the women in these countries socially, politically, and economically disadvantaged.

In conclusion, the poems A Fine A Private Place and Play-by-Play portray female sexuality as present, real, expressive, and even honorable. The role of a woman as an equal partner to the man in the sexual realm, as the poems advocate, is the first step in achieving social, political, and economic advancement for women.

Works Cited

Manderson, Lenore, Rae Bennett, Linda, and Sheldrake, Michelle. Sex, Social Institutions, and Social Structure: Anthropological Contributions to the Study of Sexuality. Annual Review of Sex Research 10.6 (1999): 184.

Markle, Gail. Can Women Have Sex Like a Man? Sexual Scripts in Sex and the City. Sexuality & Culture 12.1 (2008): 45-57.

Outline

Gender and discourse style has been the topic of discussion for many linguists for the past many decades. Lakoff first presented the idea of womens discourse being deficient as compared to men in 1975. Her views were later countered by Maltz, Borker, and Tennan who stated that the difference in discourse was more due to the two different cultures in which men and women have been brought up since childhood. However both the views are not without criticism. Lakoffs view is based on intuition and Tannens view is based on experimentation. Some others suggest that the differences are inborn. Many critics also state that the differences in discourse arise due to status or power.

Introduction

The study of gender and linguistics, although appears simple, requires vast discussion and understanding of both genders. It is believed that men and women have different discourse styles. Many linguists such as Deborah Tannen, Robin T. Lakoff, Deborah Cameron, and Janet Holmes have expressed their views on this issue. Their views are sometimes the same and sometimes opposite. There are several theories regarding the issue.

The oldest theory of different discourse styles of genders is that of Robin Lakoff (1975). Lakoff is of the view that difference in discourse style occurs due to the weakness or lack of confidence among women. An opposing view was presented by Maltz and Borker (1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) which was later confirmed by Tannen in 1992. Tannen stated that the difference occurred due to the different cultures in which men and women were brought up. However, both views have their criticism.

In this paper, I aim to discuss and critically evaluate the views of different linguists regarding the reasons for different discourse styles of men and women. My methodology would be to evaluate the scholarly articles and the views of other linguists on the issue. I would also like to comment upon the question that how can one interpret differences about the issues of power, dominance, and difference. I intend to discuss some counter-views of the most prominent theories of the relationship between gender and discourse.

The difference in discourse styles of Men and Women

Lakoffs theory of Deficiency

Robin Lakoff (1975, pg. 53-6)) has given her theory of dominance in her influential work Language and Womans Place. Shes was the first to work in the field of linguistic differences and for that matter, it was severely criticized for being based on intuition, lacking empirical data, and being biased. Lakoff is of the view that women live in a male-dominated society and for that matter, their discourse is also deficient due to a lack of confidence.

Womens speech indicates powerlessness and mens speech indicates dominance. In her view, the imbalance of power is the root cause of different discourse styles of men and women. Lakoff has given a list of ten linguistic features that are evident in a female conversation which become symbolic of their lack of confidence and insecurity. The list is also cited by Holmes (2001) and I quote it directly as follows:

1. Lexical hedges or fillers such as you know, well, sort of, you see. (Holmes, 2001).
2. Tag Questions such as shes very nice, isnt she? (Holmes, 2001).
3. Rising intonations or declaratives such as its really good? (Holmes, 2001).
4. Empty adjectives such as divine, charming, cute etc. (Holmes, 2001).
5. Exact color terms such as magenta, aquamarine (Holmes, 2001).
6. Intensifiers such as just and so (Holmes, 2001).
7. Hypercorrect grammar such as consistent use of standard verb forms (Holmes, 2001).
8. Super polite forms such as indirect requests, euphemisms (Holmes, 2001).
9. Avoidance of strong swearing words such as fudge or my goodness (Holmes, 2001).
10. Emphatic stress such as it was a brilliant performance (Holmes, 2001).

Holmes (2001) has divided the above mentioned list into two groups:

• Linguistic devices that are used for hedging and reducing the force of an utterance. For example fillers, tag questions, rising intonations (Holmes, 2001).
• Features that boost or intensify a propositions force. For example emphatic stress and intensifiers (Holmes, 2001).

Lakoff (1975) is of the view that the first one indicates a womans lack of power in a mixed environment and the second one indicates the fact that without intensifiers a woman cannot be taken seriously otherwise. She further states that in a male-dominated society women are forced to show their feminine side of weakness and subordination compared to the opposite sex. This notion has also been supported by other linguists such as Cameron, McAlinden, and O Leary (1989, quoted by White, 2003).

According to them, it is quite predictable that since women are more inclined towards establishing social conformity that women should show such characteristics in their conversation as well as in other aspects of their behavior (Cameron, McAlinden and O Leary, 1989, quoted by White, 2003, In Women Usage of Speech Linguistic Functions in the Context of Casual Conversation: Analysis and Discussion, pg. 4).

Thus Lakoff (1975) summed up her theory that men and women have different discourse styles because they socialized differently.

Lakoffs (1975) view that womens discourse style is deficient, lacking confidence and authority is criticized by many linguists. Zimmerman and West (1975, quoted by Itakura, 2001, pg. 15) stated that womens discourse style was not lacking but was dominated by men in a cross-sex verbal interaction where men frequently adopted the strategy of interrupting. Upon comparison, women had to work a lot to support their argument.

At the same time, Lakoffs idea of women using more tag questions was also challenged by many linguists who conducted interviews and experiments to prove their position (Kunsmann, 2000). Holmes (2001) stated that women used tag questions not only on the notion that they were insecure but for several reasons. Some examples mentioned by Holmes are mentioned below:

1. Showing insecurity: I graduated last year, didnt I? (Holmes, 2001)
2. Facilitating conversation: Andrew this is our new neighbor, Frank. Andrew has just changed jobs, havent you? (Holmes, 2001)

Theory of Subculture

Deborah Tannen (1992), a renowned linguist, has discussed several reasons which are the root cause of different discourse styles of men and women in her book titled You Just Dont Understand! Tannen is of the view that the difference in discourse styles of men and women starts from childhood where both genders adopt different approaches to achieve a common goal or to get accepted in society.

Tannen uses Maltz and Borkers two sub-culture models in which both genders are brought up in different cultures. The problem only arises when the two subcultures merge. Tannen has discussed American society to support her argument. Her observation states that girls and boys want to know each other but through different methods. Girls are different because they love to socialize in the group, preferably one-on-one and their interaction is based on conversation and consensus. Boys socialize differently. Their interaction is based on large groups and different activities of their interest.

To maintain harmony in the group there is always some kind of leadership in both genders that helps the members to follow the specific set of rules. The two genders often pressurize their members to adhere to the rules. There is always pressure on boys who like to play with dolls and girls who are tomboys and like to play boyish sports. Maltz and Borker (1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) have also suggested this point. For girls relationship is important and for boys, hierarchy and leadership are important.

The difference in discourse style appears naturally in men and women. Women seem to discuss different topics more with each other. At the same time they also personally interact with each other and express their feelings. In that manner, they become well versed in understanding and expressing their feeling. They also seem to remember more as to who said what. They seem to do fine as long as they remain in their circle.

The problem arises when the two genders interact with each other either through marriage or at the workplace. When each brings his/ her conversational background, not understanding the other, a communication gap becomes inevitable. For women discussions are negotiations for getting closer and giving support to the person and finally to reach a consensus. Whereas for men discussions are a tool through which they try to gain and maintain an upper hand, if possible, and also a tool to prevent themselves from getting pushed down by people around them (Tannen, 1992).

To support her views Tannen experimented on both genders where they were asked to indulge in a serious discussion on any topic. Here her theory gains a plus point over Lakoffs theory of deficiency since Tannen based her theory on the results of the experiments conducted by her and Lakoff based it on her beliefs. The participants included individuals from second-grade students to graduate level. The discussion was videotaped. It was noted that women of all ages immediately jumped to the focal point. Men on the other hand took time to come on the topic. There was a marked difference in the level of seriousness for both genders.

Males discussed the topic of marriage as an abstraction rather than a personal concern. In one situation a participants drinking problem was discussed by both genders. Where women showed their sympathy for the person men stated that it was not a big problem at all. Tannen concluded her experiment with a view that men see discourse as competition and women see it as a way to become intimate. Men did not even set to face each other. Women on the other hand often gazed at each other intentionally to achieve intimacy (Tannen, 1992).

A critic on Tannens book agrees with the fact that there exist original biological differences among men and women. For that matter, they do adopt different discourse styles. Brein (1994) agrees with Tannens views that American men and in general all men adopt a negotiating style in their speech whereas women use language which gives them a chance of personal interaction. The same idea of having a biological explanation is also given by Chambers (1992) who is of the view that these differences are transferred biologically into men and women as he states:

Female precocity in verbal skills beginning in infancy predisposes them to apply their verbal skills to all kinds of situations as they grow up (Chambers, 1992, pg. 201).

The Difference

Maltz and Borker (1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007, pg. 164) have earlier agreed to the above argument. They stated, We place stress not on psychological difference or power differentials&but rather on a notion of cultural differences between men and women. This view is opposite to Lakoffs (1975) view of women speech being deficient.

According to the girls and boys were different in the following ways:

(Maltz and Borker, 1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007).

Studies carried out on the discourse style of men and women indicated the fact that men interrupted conversation more frequently as compared to women. In a cross-sex conversation observed by Zimmerman and West (1975) it was noted that men interrupted most of the time and females interrupted only twice. The study confirmed the fact that men and women behaved differently in a speech situation (quoted by Itakara, 2001, pg. 16-17).

The duel culture model theory supports the fact that men and womens discourse style differs based on contrasting orientations towards relations (Montgomery, 1986). Men give importance to sharing information and women give importance to interaction. Men and women have their discourse style which they have inherited from their early days. Maltz and Borker (1982, Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) are of the view that men and women differ from each other because they belong to different sociolinguistic cultures.

Both have learned to do different things with minimal responses such as mono or bi-syllabic words such as umhum and yes. Men interpret these comments as I agree with you and women interpret as Im listening to you  please continue. The above example is indicative of the fact that a womans style is not deficient but different from men and the differences occur as each group interpret it according to their own rules (Maltz and Borker, 1982, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007).

The difference in the discourse style of men and women is further elaborated by Tennan (1992). She states that womens style is rapport talk in which intimacy and sameness of the situation are emphasized. Mens discourse style has been described as report style. They tend to exhibit knowledge and skill. Women negotiate to maintain solidarity and men negotiate to maintain status and hierarchy. Women have been involved in the ritual of coming home and telling everything that they have experienced throughout the day and they have been doing it since childhood.

Men do not understand these rituals and they usually begin a conversation when they feel the need for it. Men need a reason to talk. For that matter what is important for women becomes unimportant for men. It gets frustrating for both parties when they are unable to understand each other since their motives of conversation are different (Tannen, 1992).

Speer (2005) quoted Mary Crawford (1995) and stated that many critics are of the view that the conflict of discourse style is not related to men being dominating. It is rather based on miscommunication even though dominance is still a part of the process. Although Crawford agrees with Tannens views she still comments and states that such views take away the responsibility from men by protecting their bad behavior as a stylistic quirk. Spear quotes Crawford and states: They offer men a compelling rationale of blame-free difference and women a comforting promise of mutual accommodation (quoted by Speer, 2005).

Dominance

Studies have shown that people indulge in different conversational styles for different purposes. One such purpose could be to gain dominance over the participants. Many studies indicate that men indulge in conversation and try to dominate the participants. For that matter, they use different conversational strategies such as interrupting the speaker. It has already been discussed above that men interrupt speeches more frequently than women. Women seem to be powerless because of their social position so instead of indulging in an argument they tend to back off from the argument (Kunsmann, 2000).

Power

The difference theory blames gender for changes in discourse styles among men and women. On the other hand the dominance theory makes its conclusions based on power. Power comes from the socioeconomic and socio-historic status of an individual. Zimmerman and West (1975) along with many other linguists state that:

just as male dominance is exhibited through male control of macro-institutions in society, it is also exhibited through male control of at least a part of micro-institutions (Zimmerman and West 1975). (Quoted by Itakura. 2001, pg 17).

The dominance in micro-economic institutions is established through various discourse strategies such as interrupting the conversation. Since it has been mentioned earlier that men interrupt conversation more as compared to women so their dominance is easily established and women end up either becoming silent or abandoning the conversation (Kunsmann, 2000).

In some cultures, the tag questions are also used in conversation to keep the conversation rolling. In such a situation women can easily gain dominance since they use tag questions more frequently as compared to men (Kunsmann, 2000).

Different studies have shown different results on the relationship between gender and power. Eakins and Eakins (1976, quoted by Monaghan and Goodman, 2007) state that dominance is caused by status. In their research, he observed that the head of the department received the minimum number of interruptions as compared to other participants of the meeting.

Holmes (2001) observed that female doctors were interrupted more as compared to their male counterparts. On the contrary in a business environment, the male always dominated the conversation as compared to their female counterparts. In another observation carried out by West (1998) on patient-doctor interaction, it was noted that power alone was not responsible for the differences. Female doctors were interrupted more frequently by patients of all socioeconomic backgrounds as compared to their male counterparts.

Beattie (1981, quoted by Stubbe, 2007, in Whats the Score? Qualitative Analysis in Gender Research, pg. 3-18) observed that status and interruptions were inversely proportional to each other. Interruptions also ended up with the change of speaker. Beattie observed that gender did not affect the number of interruptions during the conversation.

From the above research, it can be seen that the studies related to the relationship between language and power are inconclusive.

Conclusion

To conclude, the above discussion highlights the difference in discourse style between men and women. On many occasions, people use the language consciously as is stated by the different approach. It would be more pertinent to state that different style of discourse among men and women is because their interaction purposes are different. Women interact to maintain interaction and solidarity and men interact to share knowledge. However, with changing trends women are becoming more and more assertive which may in the future force the linguists to review their theories according to the situation.

References

Beattie, Geoffrey (1981): Interruption in Conversational Interaction and its Relation to the Sex and Status of the Interactants. In Stubbe, M. Whats the Score? Qualitative Analysis in Gender Research. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 4, Issue 1. Pg. 3-18.

Cameron, D., McAlinden, F. and OLeary, K. (1989). Lakoff in Context: The Social and Linguistic Functions of Tag Questions. in White, A. Women usage of Specific Linguistic Functions in the context of Casual Conversation: Analysis and Discussion. Web.

Chambers, J.C. (1992): Linguistic Correlates of Gender and Sex. English World Wide. No. 13. Pg. 173-218.

Crawford, M. (1995). Quoted by Speer, S.A. Gender Talk, Feminism discourse and Conversation Analysis. Routeledge. Pg. 44.

Eakins, B., Eakins, G: (1976). Verbal Turn-Taking and Exchanges in Faculty Dialogue.

In: De Lange, J. (1995). Gender and Communication in Social Work Education: A Cross Cultural Perspective. Journal of Social Work Education, Vol. 31. Issue 1. Pg. 5. Web.

Holmes, J. (2001): An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Amazon Books, London. Pg. 286-318.

Kunsmann, P. (2000). Gender, Status and Power in Discourse Behavior of Men and Women. Web.

Lakoff, Robin (1975): Language and Womans Place. Harper & Row, New York. Pg. 53-6.

Maltz, D. Borker, R: (1982). A Cultural Approach to Male-Female Miscommunication. In: Monaghan and Goodman. (2007). A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication: Essential Reading. Wiley-Blackwell. Pg. 161-178.

Montgomery, M. (1986). An Introduction to Language and Society. Routledge. Pg. 168.

O Brein, D. (1994). Gender and Discourse: Book Review. Commonweal. Web.

Tannen, D. (1992): You Just Dont Understand. New York.Pg. 24-77.

West, C: (1998). When the Doctor is a Lady: Power, Status and Gender in Physician-Patient Encounters. In: Coates, Jennifer (ed): Language and Gender: A Reader. Oxford. Pg. 396-412.

Zimmerman, D. West, C. (1975). Sex Roles, Interruptions and Silences in Conversations.

Itakura, H. (2001). Conversational Dominance and Gender, John Benjamins Publishing Co. Pg. 15-17.

Introduction

Every person has the right to be protected from any offenses; the latter include various types of discrimination, such as discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, origin, religion, age, or disability (Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination n. pag.). However, such discrimination is not a rare thing, and it is important to fight the offenders. This paper scrutinizes the case of hostile environment sexual harassment that took place Loves Travel Stops and Country Stores, Inc. (Bell 94).

After discussing the laws that were violated by the company which allowed such a situation to occur, we will describe what the victims of the harassment were entitled to expect according to the law. We will also speculate on the organizational factors which contributed to the adverse situation, and offer some possible steps to be taken to both prevent the management failures similar to those which occurred in the firm and encourage the employees to report the cases of offense to the management.

The Laws that the Company Violated

The case described by Bell depicts a situation when the victim experienced the hostile environment harassment consisting of crude remarks, sexual comments, unwanted touching, and intimidation (92-93). Such offensive behavior is illegal (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission par. 1-5).

The sexual harassment practices present in the organization are strictly prohibited by the Sexual Harassment Law, which can be found in Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act (1964); it forbids the attitudes that existed in the company, as well as other types of discrimination based other characteristics, such as race, color, age, etc. (Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination n. pag.; Sexual Harassment Law par. 1-3).

It is stated that the victims of the abusive behavior are eligible to seek protection under the federal U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Besides, the victims could also seek protection under Fair Employment Practice acts which exist in some of the states and also include regulations concerning the issue of sexual harassment (Sexual Harassment Law par. 5).

What Protection Should the Employees Have Expected

According to the Law?

According to the law, the harassed employees had the right to expect the companys protection from the sexual harassment. First, the employer was obliged to establish clear policies regarding the sexual harassment (and any other type of harassment). The firm had to make it clear that any types of harassment would not be tolerated, and establish the procedure of formal complaint. Such a policy had to encourage the employees to complain about the harassment to the managers before the offense becomes serious.

The company was also obliged to designate more than one person responsible for accepting the complaints in order to avoid prejudice or impartiality on that level; the person had to be reachable by the employees, and must not have been the victims supervisor. The confidentiality of the victim was also to be protected. After the complaint had been made, the employer was to investigate the case, interview both the victim and the offender, and the others who might have known about the case.

The employer had then to make sure that the harassment did not continue, and impose disciplinary measures that would correspond to the severity of the offense. The involved parties might have been separated in case of need, but the separation was not to burden the victim.

If the employer failed to resolve the case, the victim was to complain to the state agencies such as the Fair Employment Practices Agencies under the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Questions and Answers for Small Employers par. 9-27; Sexual Harassment Policy n. pag.).

The Organizational Factors by which the Management Failed to Intervene

Apparently, the reasons which contributed to the young women being harassed by the customers were connected to the sexist views of the management. The victims supervisors perceived it natural that truck drivers try to harass young cashiers. Perhaps they even had similar thoughts, and took pleasure from young women being humiliated.

The factors connected to the companys policy that allowed such attitudes to thrive were a result of improper sexual harassment policy of the enterprise. It is likely that such policy was absent in the company at all, and managers were instructed neither that it is their responsibility to prevent such practices from happening nor that such situations were not to happen at all.

It is possible that the managers were also using the famous statement that the customer is always right to rationalize their own pervasive views of the situation. It is also likely that the company lacked the formal procedure using which the victims could complain to the enterprises officials.

Possible Steps to Prevent such a Management Lapse from Reoccurring

To prevent similar situations from happening again in the future, it is clear that the company, for instance, should follow the recommendations of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Questions and Answers for Small Employers par. 1-29). Establishing a proper procedure and instructing both the managers and the workers to fight the discriminatory practices in the future is essential to avert similar problems.

It is also crucial to explain to the managers that it is their job to deal with such situations, and that they also will be held responsible should such situations happen again. Perhaps it would be useful to impose fines on them should they fail to avert discriminatory behaviors taking place in the firm without a reasonable cause. It is also important that the administrators need to be given proper tools to deal with such situations, for it is possible that they do not have all the means necessary to deal with customers who behave offensively.

Possible Steps to Make it Easier for Workers to Raise Concerns and Have those Concerns Remedied

Again, the employees should follow the recommendations of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and establish clear and simple formal procedures which would allow the workers to complain (Questions and Answers for Small Employers par. 1-29). The workers should also be given the means necessary to fill in the complaint and contact the proper companys officials.

The employees should be guaranteed that all their appeals will be processed and investigated with due carefulness, attention, and impartiality, and that, should they be found true, they will be resolved and the victims losses will be compensated. It is also necessary to shield the victims from retaliation from the offenders or those who associate with them.

Conclusion

It is clear that the management of the firm broke the law by not taking steps towards the resolution of the situation. In particular, the federal Civil Rights Act was not followed. The employees were entitled to expect a proper anti-discrimination policy from their employer, and had the right to be protected by their management. The poor organizational culture and the lack of clear policies regarding the issue resulted in the managements failure to intervene.

In order to prevent such situations from reoccurring in the future, it is important to create an effective anti-discrimination policy, work with the administrators and instruct them to apply it properly, provide them with the means to implement it, and impose fines on them should they fail to do so without a reasonable cause. The workers should also be guaranteed that all their complaints will be processed and that they will get no retaliation for trying to protect themselves.

Works Cited

Bell, Myrtle P. Diversity in Organizations. 2nd ed. 2012. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Print.

Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination: Questions and Answers. 2009. Web.

Questions and Answers for Small Employers on Employer Liability for Harassment by Supervisors. 2010. Web.

Sexual Harassment Law. n.d. Web.

Sexual Harassment Policy. n.d. Web.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Sexual Harassment. n.d. Web.

Introduction

The problem of reliability of eyewitness testimony is critical because the words of a witness said confidently can be contemplated as valid; however, it does not mean that the statement is accurate. The necessity of scientific research in this area is justified by the evidence that the genuineness of eyewitness testimony is influenced by various factors such as age, gender, race or nationality, belonging to a particular social group, affiliations with the specific organizations or groups of interest, and many other aspects.

The personal characteristics and connection with other individuals or groups have a significant impact on the perception of a crime and its interpretation. Through the exploration of these factors, scientific research can determine the existing biases and contribute to criminal justice in a way that the practitioners can apply scientifically tested knowledge. This study is aimed to describe the scientific method applicable for the identification of gender-related biases in eyewitness testimony. Considering gender inequality and stereotypes, prevalent in society, gender-specific biases affect the perception of the crime and its evaluation.

Background of the Research

The numerous studies in eyewitness testimony indicate the variations in the retrieval of a memory of a violation associated with the gender differences (Ahola, 2012; Areh, 2011). Both authors concern about the gender-related differences in the reconstruction of the crimes. The distinctions between two examinations are in the materials provided to participants for evaluation and the focus of the research. Though, there are other differences as well.

For example, the variations include the number and age of the participants, the ratio between women and men, and some other divergences. Considering the materials, Areh (2011) offers to the research participants a short video in which a man rubs a woman. This exploration excludes the evaluation of a female perpetrator. Ahola (2012), on the other hand, demonstrates several short videos to the representative group in which both female and male perpetrators are present. While Areh (2011) does not provide the neutral research materials for evaluation, Ahole (2012) gives an option for the participants of the study to compare the neutral and violent actions recorded in the videos.

Arehs (2011) study, located in the gender differences in the retrieval of a memory of perpetration, demonstrates the female-male discrepancies in describing various aspects of the violation. The emphasis of Aholas (2012) research is on the differences in perception of the female and male perpetrators.

The Scientific Method

Regarding the present study, Aholas (2012) examination is viewed as more relevant because it provides materials with the female and male perpetrators. Therefore, the assumption that the violation conducted by a man is evaluated with a more severe attitude, than the same criminal act but performed by a woman can be included to the hypothesis of the recent research. The current study tests the assumption that the criminal actions, conducted by a female perpetrator, are perceived and interpreted differently, and their evaluation depends on the gender of the eyewitness.

The confirmation of this hypothesis assists the scientific and professional community with the evidence that the eyewitness testimony should not be considered as an entirely reliable even if it is articulated with the unambiguous confidence. Moreover, the criminal justice specialists should take into consideration the gender of the perpetrator and the witness since the female testimony can be more sympathetic to the woman violator through evaluation of the perpetrators acts as the only way to solve the problem but not as the criminal behavior.

Participants, Materials, and Evaluation Procedures

To test the hypothesis the representative group of participants has to be selected. As in the previously mentioned studies, students with the average age of 25 are representative of the research purpose since there were no clinically meaningful differences between a participant sample consisting of students and one consisting of a group of adults (Ahola, 2012, p. 494). The group of student participants includes women and men in equal or virtually equal proportion.

The short video with a female perpetrator who performs a shop robbery while using an assault weapon is material for assessment provided to the participants. After watching the video, the group of students answers the questionnaire regarding the details of the robbery and the violator. Also, the participants are instructed to evaluate the actions of the female perpetrator considering the violation.

The second stage of the assessment procedures includes the demonstration of the video with the testimony of the female perpetrator. Then, the participants are asked to evaluate the actions of the violator considering the information that she provided in the video.

The proposed hypothesis can be confirmed if the female members express more empathy to the perpetrator in comparison with the neutral or negative evaluation performed by the male participants. Since the women can link their experience with the female offenders problems, which she shares and connects them with the robbery in the second video, the womens witness testimonies can be considered as the gender-biased testaments.

On the other hand, the neutral or negative assessment of the perpetrators actions by the women or sympathetic evaluation of the violators behavior by the men participants is considered as a failure. Therefore, the hypothesis cannot be proved as a reliable assumption.

Conclusion

The two-step questionnaire helps to understand the gender-related evaluation inclinations based on, for example, the common experience. In case if the assessment procedures do not provide expected results, several additional steps have to be implemented. For instance, two more videos can be demonstrated to the participants. In comparison with the previous videos, the new ones show the male perpetrator in the same situation as the female offender. Also, the video with the male violators testimony has to be demonstrated. Depending on the results of the second attempt the hypothesis may be modified.

References

Ahola, A. (2012). How reliable are eyewitness memories? Effects of retention interval, the violence of act, and gender stereotypes on observers judgments of their own memory regarding witnessed act and perpetrator. Psychology, Crime & Law, 18(5), 491-503.

Areh, I. (2011). Gender-related differences in eyewitness testimony. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(5), 559-563.

In the discussion of gender, diversity and the law, it is important to understand workforce diversity as well as diversity in the judiciary section. Women in workplaces have contributed to the implementation of diversity because they are many compared to men. This is due to the changes in family settings where most families comprise of single mothers who work to support their children. Law plays the role of specifying the rights and responsibilities of employees as well as employers to minimize discrimination (Scarborough 45).

Workforce Diversity. This is defined as the understanding, valuing, accepting and celebrating of different qualities of people irrespective of their age, ethnicity, physical and mental abilities, race, sex, nationality or spiritual beliefs in a workplace. Due to globalization, people from different tribes or nations find themselves working in the same institutions. Diversity issues have therefore become important in organizations and they tend to increase as projected due to increased movements of people to different countries and the need of managers to employ diverse workforce for creativity, and innovation hence improved productivity (Fine 57).

Benefits of Workforce Diversity: Companies that employ diverse workforce increase their productivity compared to homogeneous companies. The following are the benefits of a diverse workforce.

Increased Adaptability: Companies with a diverse workforce are able to come up with concrete resolutions in planning and decision-making because they have employees with different ideas who are creative and innovative. The ideas presented therefore are flexible enough to meet demand in the market (Fine 70).

Better Image of the Company: Organizations that have maintained a diverse workforce end up creating a good reputation and image about themselves compared to those with a homogeneous workforce. Such companies attract customers from different backgrounds hence gaining a competing edge in the market (Scarborough 68).

Broader Service Range: Diversity in the workforce is equal to the skills and expertise, which enables a company to generate ideas that can help in the production of new goods and services to meet the needs and expectations of the targeted customers (Scarborough 69).

Better Teamwork: Companies cannot succeed without teamwork. Diversity in the workplace, therefore, helps the employees to work hard because they feel motivated. This enables the company to achieve its goal hence high returns in production and investment (Fine 71).

Variety of Viewpoints: When a company is able to manage a diverse workforce, the employees will be more comfortable in sharing different views hence creating a pool of ideas and experiences to meet the strategies and satisfy customers needs (Fine 72).

Challenges of a Diverse Workforce: In managing a diverse workforce, there are challenges that make managers train themselves on how to manage the workforce. Some of the challenges include the following.

Communication: Lack of proper communication in a company with a diverse workforce is likely to jeopardize teamwork if employees do not understand one another. This can lead to discrimination based on race, culture or gender (Scarborough 70).

Lack of Successful Management on Diversity: Managers are trained on diversity management but in some cases, they fail to execute it properly leading to problems in the workplace. Managers should therefore involve a diverse workforce in all the strategies implemented in a company to avoid discrimination (Fine 74).

Rigidity: Resistance of employees and employers to change their attitudes towards diversity can also cause problems in organizations. Some employers may be rigid to accept employees from different backgrounds or some employees do not accept changes related to diversity in workplaces, which can hinder development in a diverse workforce (Fine 75).

Workforce Diversity Policy: Companies should come up with policies that cater for the survival of all employees irrespective of their tribe, nationality or gender (Scarborough 71).

Sentencing Disparity: This disparity is defined according to judicial courts where criminals are sentenced based on racial or tribal disparities. The sentencing disparity can either be inter-jurisdictional disparity where similar crimes are judged differently, inter-jurisdictional disparity where the judges in a similar jurisdiction sentence offenders of similar crime differently or intrajudge disparity where the judge sentences similar cases differently (Levine, Murphy, Reinarman and Waldorf 18).

Where there is racial discrimination, there is the verification of racial disparity in courts though this cannot be equated to the national disparity. According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation of the United States, racial disparity is in practice right from the policies of arrests to those regarding sentencing. The percentage of the Black or Hispanic males who are imprisoned is always higher than that of the white males even though the percentage of Black or Hispanics in those states is low compared to the whites (Levine et al 20).

Examples of Sentencing Disparity and its Impact: In the inter-jurisdictional disparity, there is an example where the sentencing of the offenders found in possession of crack cocaine was not similar. The federal court could always give them a severe sentence compared to those whose sentencing was done by the Judge of the state court (Levine et al 36).

Intrajurisdictional disparity happened in the Midwest country in cases handled by Judge Jones and Smiths. In the Midwestern country, those found guilty of burglary and addicts of drugs received different sentences from the two judges. Those sentenced by Judge Smith received sentencing of probation together with the drug treatment while those handled by Judge Jones were sentenced to three years imprisonment (Levine et al 40).

Another example of sentencing disparity was the sentencing of the culprits of heroin and cocaine. Kingpins when compared to John Knock had neither history of violence nor drug abuse. After his trial in the North District of Florida, the sentencing of his case was two life terms because of participating in the transportation as well as distribution of marijuana and another twenty years of imprisonment for money laundering. This was unfair compared with Torrance Hill who was the major cocaine kingpin. The sentencing of his case in the year 2007 was twenty-four years only. Gregory Antonakos was a mastermind of the multimillion Dollar marijuana ring but the sentence of the case was six years imprisonment since his arrest was in the year 1998 and released in the year 2004 (Levine et al 56).

Before the introduction of the new act in sentencing offenders of crack cocaine and powder cocaine, the offenders of crack cocaine usually faced severe sentences compared to those found in possession of powder cocaine. Those who were found guilty in possession of the crack cocaine received a sentence of five-year imprisonment being the minimum sentence but those found with 500 grams of powder cocaine received a sentence similar to that of individuals found with crack cocaine (Levine et al 67).

The argument on the sentences was that crack cocaine could make people addicts unlike powder cocaine a theory that was later proved wrong. This is because researchers found out that powder cocaine was more addictive than crack cocaine. The two sentences are therefore based on racism and not health issues. Diversity, therefore, involves how people perceive themselves as well as others (Levine et al 70).

Works Cited

Fine, Marlene. Building Successful Multicultural Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities. London: Westport. 1995. Print.

Levine, Harry, Murphy, Sheigla, Reinarman, Craig and Waldorf, Dan. The Contingent Call of the Pipe: Bingeing and Addiction among Heavy Cocaine Smokers. Demon Drugs and Social Justice. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. Print.

Scarborough, Jack. The Origins of Cultural Differences and Their Impact on Management. London: Westport, 1998. Print.

Introduction

Just like other mental health conditions, gender dysphoria represents a very complex set of factors and behaviors. This condition is highly disturbing and stressful to the affected individuals and its onset can begin in early childhood. This paper contains an analysis of a case study of a child patient suffering from gender dysphoria. Additionally, the description of signs of gender dysphoria will be presented in this paper alongside the discussion of dysphoria as a preexisting condition hypothesis supported by scientific references.

Symptoms and Diagnostic Criteria for Gender Dysphoria

Glidden, Bouman, Jones, and Arcelus (2016) noted that in DSM 5, gender dysphoria is the condition that describes the inconsistency between the perceived gender and the one assigned at birth among the affected individuals. Some of the major characteristics of the diagnosis for this condition include a persistent identification with the opposite gender that is often accompanied by serious distress based on ones assigned gender role, as well as biological sexual features and anatomy. In the video reviewed for this paper, Josie is said to have displayed or been experiencing various signs and symptoms of gender dysphoria that were outlined in the article by Steve Bressert.

In particular, Bressert (2017) specified that some of the most common symptoms of gender dysphoria in children were the strong desire to wear the clothes typically worn by the representatives of the opposite sex, as well as a strong preference for games and toys typically used by the members of the opposite sex. Finally, ones desire to be called using pronouns of the opposite sex and the display of respective behaviors are also named as the standard gender dysphoria symptoms (Bressert, 2017). Since the age of three, Josie had most of the listed symptoms and strongly identified as a girl regardless of being born and raised as a boy for the first several years of her life.

In the video, Josie is described as having experienced a very stressful period of life due to her gender dysphoria. First of all, the child insisted on being referred to as a girl using female pronouns; secondly, she strongly preferred to have a solely female wardrobe and toys; finally, she related to female gender roles such as breastfeeding and being a mother. Before receiving the treatment prescribed for gender dysphoria, Josie was reported to have had anxiety attacks, be diagnosed with depression, and prescribed various medications for mental conditions including Tourettes syndrome. The other problems experienced by Josie due to her gender dysphoria were the loss of sleep, frequent tantrums, and screaming. Moreover, Josie also experienced a strong discontent with her sexual anatomy and was reported to have attempted to cut off her penis with nail clippers.

The aforementioned symptom is another standard manifestation of gender dysphoria in children according to Bressert (2017). Also, Josie expressed the desire to grow into a woman and have all the typical primary and secondary sexual characteristics of a female. Also, she stated that she would be happy if her male sexual characteristics could disappear one day and confirmed to be willing to undergo surgery to change her body. Moreover, Josie experienced frustration and anxiety related to her approaching puberty that would inflict the unwanted kinds of change in her body transforming her into a man. Finally, at the end of the video, Josie shared her vision of the future that included the desire to be married to a man, become a mother, and live as a beautiful adult woman. These behaviors characterize Josie as a child affected by gender dysphoria.

Pre-existing Condition Hypothesis

The complexity of gender dysphoria diagnosed in young children is based on the vagueness of this condition and its manifestations and thus, a high chance of over- and under-diagnosing which can result in various levels of harm caused to a child. To be more precise, discussing gender dysphoria, Zucker, and Lawrence (2009) noted that cross-gender behaviors were commonly reported by parents while the actual claims of the children to belong to the opposite sex were quite rare. Also, as specified in the video reviewed for this paper, many of children who display cross-gender behaviors in early childhood tend to grow out of them and start feeling comfortable with their assigned gender after the onset of puberty. In that way, currently, researchers are focused on the identification of the nature of gender dysphoria and the factors that could potentially contribute to the development of this condition.

In particular, the study by Nota et al. (2017) is focused on the exploration of brain functional connectivity of people affected by gender dysphoria since multiple pieces of evidence were collected by researchers previously pointing to the presence of sex-atypical brain activity and features in people with gender dysphoria. Differently put, multiple bodies of research indicate that brain activity of patients with gender dysphoria seems to resemble that of the sex opposite to the one these patients were assigned at birth. However, Nota et al. (2017) also pointed out that in some patients the patterns of functional connectivity detected during the research were not sex-atypical but showed activity specific to gender dysphoria. Interestingly, the researchers found that the functional connectivity of sex-atypical nature was detected only in adolescent transboys and transgirls while prepubescent children diagnosed with gender dysphoria did not show the same patterns (Nota et al., 2017). In that way, it is difficult to state whether gender dysphoria is a disorder that can be acquired with age or is a preexisting condition.

Moreover, Glidden et al. (2016) pointed out that there is a growing number of cases where patients affected by gender dysphoria are also suffering from a concurrent ASD that stands for autism spectrum disorder. Multiple studies explored the co-occurrence of the two conditions to understand whether or not they share the same set of contributing factors and root causes. There is an opinion that the combination of the two disorders may be triggered by the relationships between the affected individuals and their parents that occur in the childhood of the patients (Glidden et al., 2016). In that way, the preexisting condition hypothesis may not be true because the factors involved in the formation of gender dysphoria in children may be rooted in the attitudes of parents and the internal family dynamics experienced by young children.

Conclusion

In the case of Josie, the young child affected by gender dysphoria, the adoption of her younger sister could initiate certain dynamics and changed the childs perception of herself. In fact, at the beginning of the video, it was explained that one of the first signs of gender dysphoria displayed by Josie was her strong gravitation to the toys and roles of her baby sister. In that way, it could be possible that the appearance of the second child in the family could create a stressful environment for Josie and result in the onset of her dysphoria.

Facts vs. Myths, Misinformation & Disinformation

Factual and Non-factual Sources of Information

Very often, feeling unwell or being bothered by certain health issues for a while, people avoid going to see a doctor right away and instead turn to the Internet for help. In particular, individuals affected by various mild and serious conditions tend to start searching for information about their symptoms online. This activity could result in a variety of outcomes some of which are self-medication and self-diagnosing that can be very dangerous especially when based on flawed, biased, or unprofessional information sources. Unfortunately, such sources are plentiful on the Internet. This is why both professionals and non-professionals must be able to differentiate between factual and non-factual resources.

Specifically, factual resources provide reliable facts presented objectively. Their point is to inform and promote health literacy regarding specific topics. At the same time, non-factual sources contain biased and subjective information such as an opinion of an unqualified individual. The purposes of such resources could vary; for example, they could popularize myths for the sake of propaganda and in support of various social movements. Such sources can distort reality and may abuse facts to produce the desired effect and unfairly persuade readers.

Examples

To demonstrate how factual and non-factual sources work, two examples of websites that overview gender dysphoria will be explored. The first example is a factual website  Psychology Today. This is an online portal of a magazine that has existed since 1967. The articles in this magazine are created by qualified contributors who are renowned academics, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Many of the contributors have either M.D. or Ph.D. The article that introduces DG presents the condition in a non-personal manner providing a definition and listing symptoms for children and adults. The information provided is taken from DSM 5 that is a reliable scientific resource (Gender dysphoria, 2017).

The second example is a non-factual website called Gender Analysis. This website was created by Zinnia Jones, an average activist who does not have any kind of medical education or qualification. At the very beginning of her article overviewing GD, Jones (2017) informs her readers that she does not carry a medical degree and her writing is not intended as medical advice. Practically, the presentation of GD is based on the subjective experiences of the author and her friends. Moreover, Jones provides her classification of the disorder subdividing it into direct and indirect forms with her lists of symptoms.

Discussion of the Two Websites

As specified by Turban, Winer, Boulware, VanDeusen, and Escandela (2017), when it comes to GD, medical professionals are very careful regarding its diagnosing. In particular, according to the instructions presented in DSM 5, the symptoms of GD have to manifest consistently for at least six months for the disorder to be diagnosed. However, in the article by Jones (2017), there is no such information; instead, the author states that the disorder is different for everyone and can even exist indirectly. The author generalizes the condition making it look like it is common and has a multitude of forms. Puskaric, Helversen, and Reiskamp (2018) note that socially transmitted information, such as the one contained in the article by Jones, can impact public perceptions of various conditions, producing negative effects that occur in the forms of harmful myths, stigma, stereotypes, fears, and misinterpretation.

References

Bressert, S. (2017). Gender dysphoria symptoms. Web.

Gender dysphoria. (2017). Psychology Today. Web.

Glidden, D., Bouman, W., Jones, B., & Arcelus, J. (2016). Gender dysphoria and autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review of the literature. Sexual Medicine Reviews, 4(1), 3-14.

Jones, Z. (2017). That was dysphoria? 8 signs and symptoms of indirect gender dysphoria.Web.

Nota, N. M., Kreukels, B., Heijer, M., Veltman, D. J., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Burke, S. M., & Bakker, J. (2017). Brain functional connectivity patterns in children and adolescents with gender dysphoria: Sex-atypical or not? Psychoneuroendocrinology, 18(86), 187-195.

Puskaric, M., Helversen, B., & Reiskamp, J. (2018). How social information affects information search and choice in probabilistic inferences. Acta Psychologica 182, 166176.

Turban, J. L., Winer, J., Boulware, S., VanDeusen, T., & Escandela, J. (2017). Knowledge and attitudes toward transgender health. The Clinical Teacher, 4, 1-5.

Zucker, K. J., & Lawrence, A. A. (2009). Epidemiology of gender identity disorder: Recommendations for the Standards of Care of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Journal International Journal of Transgenderism, 11(1), 8-18.

Introduction

The following are the leading causes of death based on gender in Herkimer County, which is located in the state of New York. Heart disease claims 196 males per 100,000. On the other hand, the rate amongst females stands at 198 per 100,000. Cancer is the second largest cause of death in the county with 144 males per 100,000 dying from the same while 155 per 100,000 females die from the same (Public Health Nursing, 2016). Chronic lower respiratory disease or CLRD claims about males per 100,000 while the same claims 47 females per 100,000. Stroke and unintentional injury claim 24 and 23 males and females respectively per 100,000 in Herkimer County (Public Health Nursing, 2016).

List of Deaths per 100,000 in Herkimer County.

Cancer

Cancer has taken a devastating toll on the county and the larger state of New York. The grim statistics show that one in two men and one in three females will eventually get a Cancer diagnosis in the course of their lives (Devita, 2016). Tobacco use is the most significant single factor that is linked with lung as well as other forms of cancer in Herkimer County. Other than this, lifestyle related behavior such as lack of physical activity, indulgence in unhealthy eating habits, as well as excessive consumption of alcohol is related to a heightened risk of death and cancer diagnosis (Devita, 2016).

The County is lobbying to reverse the decline in funding, as well as prevent lung or other smoking-related cancerous ailments through adequately supporting the Tobacco Control Program that is championed by the State (Devita, 2016). Lung cancer is one of the main killers in the County with a significant amount of cases being attributed to smoking. Smoking is linked with close to 30% of all cancer deaths. On top of this, tobacco is estimated to cost the entire state close to $8.2 billion in annual health costs in the state (Devita, 2016).

Herkimer County should lobby for legislation to restrict the stocking and sale of flavored tobacco products to shops that are not accessible by minors. Federal legislation outlaws the use of flavors except for cigarettes with menthol. However, other tobacco products such as cigars and snuff are still exempted from the same. The county has gone a step further in preventing small children from getting skin cancer through the ban of minors from utilizing indoor tanning facilities.

A significant number of the Countys residents are diagnosed every year with melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Unfortunately hundreds of the same pass away from the ailment annually (Devita, 2016). The latest scientific journals and reports have documented that the usage of such indoor tanning heightens the risk of acquiring melanoma and other deadly forms of skin cancer.

Stroke

The risk of stroke is heightened in Herkimer County by similar factors such as the ones that lead to Cancer. Herkimer County is working to prevent the prevalence levels of the ailment by encouraging an active lifestyle among its residents. However, it is worth noting that some of the risk factors are unavoidable such as gender, ethnicity as well as age (Burci & Vignes, 2004).

Alzheimers disease

A population-based study on 1,800 older Americans of Japanese origin found that consumption of vegetable and fruit juices was closely associated with a decrease in incidences of Alzheimers over seven to nine years of close follow-up. The County health department is dealing with the prevalence of the ailment by helping its elderly population to live on a healthy fruit and vegetable diet. Studies have also indicated that an active social life and healthy network of friends may significantly assist in the prevention of Alzheimers mostly among the elderly (In Perry et al., 2013).

Diabetes

Herkimer county realizes that prevention of diabetes is as easy as eating healthy and losing several extra pounds by becoming more physically active. This is being achieved by encouraging the younger generation can be active in sports and avoid eating Junk foods (In Acton, 2012).

Influenza and Pneumonia

The county is championing the administration of the Hib vaccine amongst children which reduces the chances of contracting pneumonia from the pathogen Haemophilus influenza type b. However, the drug Synagis is only administered to children under two years of age as recommended by the FDA(Cunha, 2010).

Chronic lower respiratory diseases

Chronic respiratory diseases are chronic ailments that afflict the bodys airways and other structures that are related to the breathing mechanism as well as the lungs. Tobacco is a primary factor in the development or progression of the ailment (Rodwin & Gusmano, 2006).

Heart Diseases

Residents in the county are advised to watch their weight and try to exercise for at least half an hour per day. The designation of defined smoking zones has gone a long way in reducing exposure to second-hand smoke which is one of the major causes of heart disease.

Nursing Homes

The Folts Nursing home is one of the many nursing homes that are located in Herkimer County. The facility provides its patients with skilled and high-quality nursing care as well as private or shared accommodation. The Alpine Rehabilitation and Nursing Center is another Nursing home in the county. The center offers comprehensive treatment plans that are geared to specific abilities, needs as well as each individuals goals.

The Mohawk Valley Health Care is also located in Herkimer County. The center offers services such as nutrition management, stroke recovery, wound care IV therapy, Dementia treatment, etc. Valley Health Services is a fourth nursing home located in Herkimer County. The facility offers the following services; short-term care, palliative care, Cardiac Rehabilitation, long-term care, etc. Henry B Hucles Nursing home is also located in Herkimer County. The center offers both residential and family councils.

Hospitals

The St. Elizabeth Medical Center offers both in-patient and out-patient services. The medical facility provides acute inpatient service and other services that allow its clientele to remain at home while still recuperating during treatment. What attracts most patients and their families to the facility is the fact that it has chosen Mayo Medical Laboratories as its preferred reference laboratory. This gives the hospital access to the internationally renowned clinics extensive menu of clinical experts and laboratory technicians.

Five Star Urgent care is also a walk-in clinic in the Herkimer area. Its medical team treats minor injuries, bronchitis, sinusitis, broken bones, allergies as well as sprains. The New Hartford Psychiatric Svs mainly specializes in psychiatric illnesses and mental health illnesses. The St. Marys Hospital at Amsterdam, located in Herkimer County provides comprehensive services to new and expectant. These services include prenatal and ante-natal care.

Home Health Care agencies

The Herkimer County office for aging provides home health care services for mostly the elderly within the county. Its volunteers help the elderly to keep track of when they are supposed to take their medication. The agency mostly relies on volunteers to conduct its duties and ensure that the elderly within the county get the required healthcare services even when they are away from the numerous health care facilities that are scattered across the area.

Superior Home Health Care also looks after the elderly and assists them in keeping up with the doctors appointments and personal hygiene. The acacia certified home care offers physical therapy, speech pathology as well as occupational therapy. The fourth home health care agency is known as the Herkimer County Alternatives in Long term care and offers home health aid and Nursing care.

Hospices

The county has a single Hospice that is simply referred to as the Hospice and Palliative Care Inc. The Hospice is dedicated to providing high-quality specialized care to individuals that are terminally ill within the county.

Adult Care Homes

The Schuyler Common adult health care home offers emergency around the clock maintenance services. The adult home also provides a maintenance-free living for the elderly and retired. Its residents are usually provided with transportation to the nearby grocery and retail stores as well as the required doctor appointments.

Assisted Living

The Herkimer County Assisted Living home offers access to medical and health care services that are customized to particular needs. There is a 24-hour emergency call system for every resident within the facility. The elderly residents are provided with bathing, eating, toileting, dressing, as well as walking where need be. The Brookdale Clinton is another assisted center with housing, lifestyle improvements. It has a regular exercise regimen to keep the residents fit and healthy.

References

Cunha, B. A. (2010). Pneumonia essentials. Sudbury, MA: Physicians Press.

Devita, V. T. J. M. D. (2016). Death of cancer: After fifty years on the front lines of medicine, a pioneering oncologist reveals why the war on cancer is winnable and how. Place of publication not identified: Sarah Crichton Books.

In Acton, Q. A. (2012). Diabetes: New insights for the healthcare professional. Atlanta,Georgia Plenum Publishers.

In Perry, G., In Zhu, X., In Smith, M. A., In Sorensen, A., & In Avila, J. (2013).Alzheimers Disease: Advances for a New Century. New York, NY

Rodwin, V., & Gusmano, M. K. (2006). Growing older in world cities: New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo. Nashville, Tenn: Vanderbilt University Press.

Public Health Nursing. ( 2016). Web.