Since the end of the Second World War, the United States has been considered as the world’s superpower nation. The economy of the United States even during the Cold War was enormous while the technological advancement and military power more sophisticated than even that of the Soviet Union. The United States also ushered many multinational global institutions a clear indicator of its role as the world’s most dominant player not only in economics but also in politics.
A new change of guard that will change the world is being experienced at its infancy stages. A historic change is now being evidenced as the Western countries are being overhauled economically by the developing countries.1
The rise in the economic might for the developing world has significantly resulted in a global misbalance of economic power. Until recently, there has been enough evidence of the economic realignment of the world dominant player. This has seen China in the roadmap of the world’s promising superpower due to its stellar economic performance. This paper seeks to explain why China despite being on its course to the top of the world still struggles with racial prejudice.
Hans Chinese
China was once a large land that was filled with multiple races, but now it is viewed as a homogenous state. Overwhelmingly, China has one race; about 91 percent of the populace is Hans Chinese. However, the Chinese constitution defines the state as unitary, rather than a multi-ethnic country. Other races form 9 percent of the total population. A visit to various cities in China will reveal striking differences of the inhabitants, though they collectively define themselves as Hans Chinese. People who live in Beijing have the same height as Caucasians; those in Guangzhou are a little bit shorter. Modern China represents multiple races. Due to civilization, most races in China have been absorbed or assimilated due to intermarriages.
Racism in China
Therefore, Hans Chinese represent an association of many races, it is a multi-cultural entity rather than a single culture. Chinese view racism as an influence of Western culture. All races all over the world are subject to prejudice, race influenced thoughts and racial practices to counter other races.
Each race is distinct but may also share some characteristics with other races. Just like there is cultural diversity, racism is also diverse. In the modern world, white racism is viewed to have had a more profound or imminent impact. The race has always been linked as being cruel. The adverse effect has been evident by the effects of colonialism. This is a lighter tone is not to imply that races do not prejudice others.
Conclusion
Racism and other racial discourse in China leave one amazed as to why there are such instances. The answer to this question is perfectly linked to the view of the family as the central domain, something that has been idolized in the Chinese tradition for over a long period. Just like other Confucian states, China is viewed as a societal institution; this brings in the concept of Communism. The most considered contentious area of debate is Chinese politics.
Most economists argue that for China to have a full impact in the world it must disown Communism and fully embrace Capitalism. However, the most interesting thing is that the highest transforming economy on the planet is being presided by the Communism system of governance, and this is an intriguing paradox.
Bibliography
Jacques, Martin. When China Rules the World. London: Penguin Books, 2012.
Footnotes
Martin Jacques. When China Rules the World. (London: Penguin Books, 2012), 233-271.
Cultural identity is one of the major elements forming individual perceptions of self. At the same time, cultural information conveyed to the audience through various media including television, books, and advertising affects the way diverse population groups understand themselves and each other. When these cultural messages are stereotyped and biased, it usually contributes to the development of wrong and prejudiced ethnic images. In the article “Appropriating Native American Imagery Honors No One but the Prejudice,” Amy Stretten provides her perspective on the issue by criticizing the use of Native American imagery as sports mascots. The author claims that the representation of Native Americans as cartoonish warriors with caricature face features, tomahawks in their hands, and feathers in their hair does not reflect the reality of contemporary Natives. Moreover, she states that this form of cultural appropriation is not respectful towards the members of the ethnic group as many people consider it to be. Based on this, it will be argued in this paper that Native American imagery as it is represented in mascots today is associated with racial stereotypes and prejudices, historically developed within the dominant white culture.
Analysis
As Stretten states, “racial stereotyping, inaccurate racial portrayals, and cultural appropriation do not honor a living, breathing people.” First of all, it means that the attributes of Native American culture are represented in mascots primarily in historical context. Moreover, considering a large number of conflicts and controversies, which first European settlers and their descendants had with the Native Americans during the colonial era, their historical representation is basically stereotyped as the attitude of the dominant social group to the Natives was inclined to negativity. For instance, Stretten notes that images of anonymous Native American “warriors,” as well as the contexts in which they are placed during games (e.g., music, stage design elements, etc.), may evoke memories of scenes from Western movies where the approaching of “savage” Indians to settlements is always regarded as a sign of troubles. Although one may consider that mascots as such do not convey any explicitly negative messages and their use is driven by good intentions, the “noble savage” archetype is not objective as well.
The portrayal of Natives as heroes, noble and courageous people originates from the beginning of the 20th century when Elmo Scott Watson issued regular newspaper articles unified under the title “Stories of Great Indians.” The main purpose of his work was the representation of the Native Americans from a positive perspective. In this way, the journalist attempted to shift the public cultural worldview which, at that time, was mainly focused on the negative historical perceptions.
However, his columns were primarily meant to entertain the readers and fell under the genre of fiction. Thus, although, to some extent, Watson succeeded in the dissemination of the positive American Indian image in the US society, as in any form of the imaginative and entertaining literature, his characters, and their qualities were significantly exaggerated and envisioned. Moreover, in modern times, when many Native Americans live in urban areas and enjoy all the attributes of contemporary life including technology, education, and so on, the image of savage does not reflect their reality at all. This is one of the reasons why the popular use of Native American imagery can be offensive to all members of the ethnic group. Yet, the noble savage archetype, created and developed by Watson and his contemporaries, remains one of the dominant Native American stereotypes in modern media.
The concept of the Native people as savages and their implementation in business and commerce creates barriers to the development of the basis for moral respect. Moreover, many practices related to cultural appropriation in sports can be inherently disrespectful and insensitive towards race. For example, Stretten states that the players of a Canadian amateur football club, the Nepean “Redskins,” call each other redskins during the game, and it provokes a risk that they may consequently use the racially insensitive language off the field or even promote its use among others. They give practice is very much similar to the use of racist verbal expression towards other minority groups such as African Americans. Both of the ethnic groups were exposed to hostile attitudes from the major population group in the country, and most of the offensive racial expressions originate from the time of conflicts and oppression. Not only do they have negative connotations but also foster racial discrimination.
It is also worth noticing that Native Americans are usually under-represented in most of the teams and communities where sports clubs using culturally insensitive mascots are located. As Stretten observes, Native people and particularly urban Natives are almost always outnumbered within the US society. For this reason, it is valid to presume that the non-Native Americans made the decisions to implement Native imagery in mascots and logos ignoring the fact that probably all Natives are against it.
Conclusion
It is possible to conclude that although the archetype promoted in popular Native American narratives has positive connotations of nobility and courage, it contributes to the consolidation of social stereotypes and discrimination. Therefore, the implementation of cultural and stereotypical information in mascots has multiple negative effects on both the members of the minority ethnic group and the society as a whole. When a person doesn’t have an opportunity to interact with culturally diverse people on an everyday basis, her/his perception of other ethnicities and cultural groups becomes primarily based on the information received through education and media. In this way, by conveying culturally insensitive images during sports games, schools and sports clubs contribute to the development of unreasonable social expectations and cultural miscommunication. Thus, they significantly harm the dignity of the Native American people and their identity.
This paper provides an overview of Ageism and defines it as a derogatory and negative stereotyping of old people who are regarded as a burden in society. The paper also discusses some myths related to Ageism and studies how the old has been treated since biblical times.
What is Ageism
Beth (Beth, 2003) has reported that with improved healthcare systems and technology, the life expectancy of senior citizens has considerably increased and this has given rise to a new kind of stereotyping called Ageism, for the old similar to racism and the discrimination and derogatory attitude shown toward African Americans and other race of deprived people. This attitude is not only shown by the general public but also by nurses and the medical fraternity who regard old people as a burden and who enjoy social welfare benefits, at the expense of younger people who pay taxes. Ageism is a very malevolent form of attitude since older people do not have anywhere else to go and rely on healthcare professionals to meet their basic needs. Todd (2005) has suggested that in the US, elders are institutionalized, marginalized, and stripped of dignity, responsibility, and power, and were regarded as a burden by their children and the state.
Lindsay (Lindsay, 1999) has suggested that ageism and the stereotyping and aloof attitude is present among nurses and senior nursing professionals. The author suggests that these attitudes are inculcated right from their nursing college days and they continue even when the nurses attain seniority. Very little has been done by professional bodies and the nursing institutions to remove this bias and negative attitude and the author has suggested that measures should be taken and counseling provided to remove such harmful attitudes.
Myths of Ageism
According to Todd (2005), elders were regarded with great respect in biblical times and even in medieval times where the life expectancy was less and if anyone lived beyond 50, the person was regarded as chosen by God for a divine purpose and given great respect. Since in olden times, there were no printing presses or writing materials, elders served as the storehouse of knowledge and were frequently consulted for events of the past and they were valued for their wisdom. Family and village history had to be memorized and repeated verbatim back then and the knowledge was passed on to their disciples and so on. The elders could relax, not work, eat drink and keep merry and assist in the education of the village children. With the advent of the printing press, this changed and history could be printed on paper and preserved so there was no need for the old people. Todd suggests that with the advent of the industrial revolution, families needed to be mobile, live and work in tough conditions, and do manual repetitive jobs. There was no need for historic knowledge as machines did the work. Older members of the family were regarded as a burden now since extra efforts had to be taken to accommodate them.
Davison (Davison) has researched Ageism in colonial Australia and written that the colonial settlers and immigrants who first came to Australia were the young who had left their parents back in another country. The number of people who could be called old was less than one person per thousand. When these young couples had children, these children grew up without seeing a really old person and they had no filial feelings of reverence for the old. As the years passed on, the first settlers grew old and their children and later their grandchildren grew up and came to despise these old people who actually did nothing but consumed scarce resources. With the increase in medication, the life expectancy in Australia rose, and also the percentage of old people. Since there was no tradition of caring for the old, the concept of Ageism grew and now affects almost all people.
Conclusion
Ageism is the negative stereotyping of old people who are regarded as useless and a burden to society since they do not contribute anything but consume resources. In olden times, elders were treated with respect and regarded as wise but with the advent of the printing press and the industrial revolution; elders have been faced with scorn.
References
Beth Mary (2003), ‘Preventing Ageism in Nursing Students: An Action Theory Approach’, Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, Volume 20, Issue 4, pp. 8-14
Davison Graeme, ‘Our Youth is Spent and our Backs are Bent: The Origins of Australian Ageism‘
Gething Lindsay (1999), ‘Ageism and Health Care: the Challenge for the Future’, Australian Journal on Ageing, Volume 18, Issue 1. p. 2
Martens Andy, Goldenberg Jamie L., Greenberg Jeff (2005), ‘A Terror Management Perspective on Ageism’, Journal of Social Issues, Volume 61, Issue 2, pp: 223-239
Nelson Todd D. (2005), ‘Ageism: Prejudice Against Our Feared Future Self’, Journal of Social Issues, Volume 61, Issue 2, pp: 207-221
The PowerPoint presentation covers the gamut of possibilities for prejudice and bias. Race, gender orientation, age, religion, and body shape; it has them all! I see a lot of Asian faces in the mix. some of them are attractive to me if, I were to meet them in real life. I guess some other people would find that those faces awaken their prejudices. As a person who does not fit into the standard “American” image, a lot of these pictures simply don’t make me think negative thoughts. I feel like I am an outsider a lot of the time, both among Caucasians, and among Chinese and other Asians, because of my personal history, and I identify with outsider groups.
Prejudice and prejudice
The exception is the picture of the very seriously overweight people. Being very fat has been uncommon in China. Food has been very scarce and so precious in China for most of the past millennium. Chinese hospitality meant you offered guest food immediately because there was always a real chance that the guest had not eaten recently or enough. Looking at ancient screens and paintings, it seems that few people have ever gotten the chance to get overweight. In ancient China, women had to have their feet bound to be able to build up fat on their thighs. Even today, Chinese people are not comfortable with obesity. There were a lot of negative comments a while ago when the Chinese government prohibited adoptions by people who were obese. Of course, this does not give me an excuse to be prejudiced, but at least I know where it comes from.
So when I see very fat people, it is somewhat disturbing, and still very alien to me. I think that when I see a fat person, I am imagining that they must be greedy or lazy or both. Intellectually, I know that there may be medical reasons why someone is very fat, and I read about portion size and calorie density all the time in magazines. I know from reading articles everywhere that losing weight is difficult for people in this country these days. However, when I see gross obesity, it makes me uncomfortable nonetheless. I want to look away.
As a result, I have not dated a lot of women who are above normal weight. I do not have a huge number of friends who are very overweight. If I were working for someone who was obese, I might have an attitude that they were not working as hard as me. If I were working next to someone who was obese, I think I might be resentful and imagine that they were not working as hard as me. If a very overweight woman was interested in me, I wonder if I could be as polite and gracious as a gentleman should be, or if I would even consider going out with her.
I know that this level of prejudice is damaging and could prevent me from taking advantage of valuable opportunities socially or professionally. What if the job of my dreams is in an office run by a very obese person? What if my soul mate is overweight? What if there are people who are obese who could be helpful to me in school or career, and I have ignored them?
Of course, my silent judgment about those who are obese is probably detectable to them, even if only unconsciously. It must be hurtful and wounding. As I think about it, I wonder how many people are thinking about me the same way, imagining that I am “inscrutable” or smell of garlic, or have nothing on my mind but making money or gambling, or that I don’t have good personal hygiene. I wonder if they are thinking Chin Chin Chinamen, eats dead cats- if he can’t get them, eats dead rats. Those are all things that people think about Chinese folks when they don’t know them personally.
I know that there are people around me whom I could cultivate as friends who are overweight. I should probably simply swallow hard, and sit with some of these people at lunch. If I get to know one or a couple of people who happen to be obese, maybe I can reassure that part of myself that is still acting as though it is still living in China, that they are not lazy, don’t eat more than other people (I know all this scientifically already; I do read!), don’t smell funny, and have all the usual good qualities to offer that other people do: humor, interest in music, reading, nature, travel, and whatever else we can find to talk about, just like other people. When my brain gets the message, I hope I can give up this prejudice. It would certainly expand the number of women that I could hang out with!
I hope that I do not need to be seen with glamorous women. Well, maybe some women are overweight who are also glamourous. There probably are. There are certainly large African-American women who are glammed out, like Queen Latifa. A large woman won an Academy Award this year. I have to keep my eyes open and my mind, too, to notice women looking nicely dressed and accessories who are also overweight. It must be a challenge to look hot when all the clothes are designed for size 2s.
Conclusion
Now that I have thought this through, I am feeling a bit better about the idea of getting to know more overweight people, women, especially. I hope I can follow through with this plan to get a more realistic and accepting idea of what people are like who have different body shapes and sizes.
Prejudice refers to a personal or a group judgment of other people in society according to their race, color, tribe and gender. Prejudice also refers to stereotyping of other people as whites, blacks and colored in relation to their origin. Prejudices refer to biases or false evidence made by people unconsciously about other people in society.
Prejudice in society contributes to racial, gender, and physical discrimination because of diversity of culture in the world. People in the society need to understand prejudice is not an answer to their racial differences. Therefore, they should learn to live with one another without discrimination.
Prejudice is a Pre-judgment of others without concrete evidence about the individual because of bias. Prejudice contributes to racial discrimination of people in society by others. This means an individual prejudges another as black or white, and feels superior over the other racial group. Sociological or psychological perspective explains prejudice in society on the basis of how it occurs in individuals. Individuals in society need to discourage prejudice to enhance harmony in the community.
Prejudice exists in a sense of group position in society due to a collective process where members influence other members to believe in a common stereotype about others. Race prejudice occurs in shifts, meaning it focuses on a group that defines stereotype of other people rather than individuals.
Individuals identify themselves with a certain racial group thus creating a stereotype of other people in other racial group. Therefore, race prejudice starts with individuals identifying themselves with a certain racial group that they feel comfortable to join. This process of individuals identifying themselves with a certain racial group refers to a collective process that occurs through communal media.
Race prejudice reflects on four feeling of a group that is; a group might feel to be superior, alien or different, privileged, and fear that the other group may take over them if they are not keen. These feelings occur due to the collective process that a group identify themselves with in their lifetime and distinguish themselves away from others.
Cultural groups are different from others in language, clothing, food and economic activities making them feel superior to others thus creating racial discrimination. A racial group might feel privileged than others when they have control of large portions of land, wealth and business than the other group, thus promoting the spirit of superiority over the minority group. Therefore, the sense of a group position acts as a guideline that coerces, incites and cows a group to be racial.
Prejudice is a state of the mind of individuals towards others in society meaning what they think about others is what they believe them to be. There are two types of prejudice, namely, implicit and explicit: explicit prejudices refer to a negative attitude of an individual that is conscious against other people.
Explicit prejudice reflects through introspection meaning individuals answer questions about other racial groups to know their stand on prejudice. Implicit prejudices refer to unconscious influence of the mind towards other people in society. Measurement of implicit prejudice requires cognitive tasks rather than introspection in explicit prejudice.
Implicit prejudice envisages discriminatory deeds such as unfriendly nonverbal actions in an interaction. Individuals may use social impressions to judge others to communicate an implicit prejudice. Therefore, implicit prejudice is more predictive and judgmental than explicit prejudice. Therefore, the conscious and unconscious state of the mind contributes to individual judgment of other people’s behavior.
Antony Greenwald started Implicit Association Test in 1988 to determine the strength of individuals in link to their memory. It determines attitudes and traits of individual by asking them questions on what they think about their society. Implicit Association Test assists individuals to know and understand their personalities so that they can build up their self esteem to face challenges in life.
When individuals answer questions in the Implicit Association Test it detects their level of prejudice on other people; it assists them in changing their attitudes towards others.
Implicit Association Test involves an individual with seven tasks: categorization of stimuli in a black screen, attribute sorting procedure, a combined task of category and attributes, repetitions of words, reverse of categorization, opposite pairing of combined category and attributes and more repetition of category and attributes. After finishing the steps in Implicit Association Test, an individual receives feedback on their level of prejudice on other people in society.
The results from Implicit Association Test reflect that prejudice occurs without mental consciousness of an individual. Individuals are unaware of their prejudice state in mind because one is not conscious about the hidden information in their memory.
When filling the Implicit Association Test an individual does not realize hash thought about others until they comprehend their unconscious mind. Implicit Association Test supports McConnell and Leibold point out that the conscious and unconscious state of mind affects individuals’ attitudes towards other people in society.
The social perspective of prejudice reflects on collective process of individuals in a society influenced by sense of position. The norms and values of society determine the level of prejudice of individuals because it acts as the guidelines on what the society believes in. Therefore, individuals believe that their race is superior to others because they feel different from other races. Collective process of society contributes on social racial discrimination in society because the racial group that surrounds the community influences individuals.
Psychologists believe that the mind controls all human activities thus shaping their behavior. Therefore, McConnell and Leibold psychological perspective describes prejudice clearly as it reflects on mental activities on prejudices. Prejudice is in the unconscious state of the mind because individuals do not realize it until when they assess their behaviors towards others.
First of all let me express my enormous respect and sincere admiration to the person who managed to become the spokesman for civil rights movements, who resisted racial injustice, who championed women’s rights and protested the Vietnam War.
I would like to begin with what stroke me most. It is the feeling of surprise and shock when I became aware of the injustice that Negroes experienced in the past. It was weird that the Afro-Americans who lived on the territory of the United States of America did not enjoy equal rights and freedoms with white people. It is not fair that people had to suffer from the racial prejudices and different biased opinions. Every citizen of the great country America has to be protected with the Articles and Amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America. As this document played a significant role in the establishment of democracy, considerable part and the authors’ contribution into the struggle of the people for independence of America and the establishment of democracy. All the people of America were looking forwards to the day when all will become equal irrespective of the social status, color of skin, religion, background or nobility. Martin Luther King was absolutely right while calling the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence ‘a promissory note’, as it is a document, containing a signed promise to do something. In our situation the document was not valid until present days when the United States of America became a powerful state that is the standard of democracy, the basic principles of which are stated in the Constitution. Therefore other states that want to establish democracy should follow the example of the American people of their love of principles of freedom, democracy and independence. Whereas every newborn child of America can enjoy the constitutional rights and liberties from the first moment of his/her life, most states of the world do not have such an opportunity, do not enjoy either constitutional or other rights in their country. We and the successive generations have to keep in our hearts the basic principles of freedom and democracy, because the time proved them to be the only right opinion.
The speech of Mr. King made me think over our relationships with people that do not look like us, speak another language; people that wake up when we go to bed as they live on the other side of the globe, people that have other customs and traditions. We can enumerate a great number of diversities that can arise between people of different countries, cultures, languages, religions, but I want to name something that is in common: a burning desire to enjoy rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. In his speech Martin Luther King tells about his dream of happy nation, of brotherhood between different people.
You can disagree with my conclusion but I believe that every person has to dream of a better life, and only those who do everything possible to achieve their goals will live better. One can pray to God about wealth and fortune till kingdom come but he must at least buy a bulletin for God to be able to help him, as nothing seek, nothing find. If we cannot change the past, we can try to change the future. We can avoid such mistakes as being prejudiced towards people and their lifestyle, being unaware of people’s problems. If we do not know about the problem it does not mean that the problem does not exist. Martin Luther King’s achievements can serve as an example to successive generations. Let us not repeat the mistakes of prejudiced people.
The presidential elections of 2016 stand out in history with a massive number of scandals, intrigues, and framing. It is necessary to analyze all parties to the conflict and their actions to understand what happened. Ogan et al. (2018), in their article “Who drove the discourse? News coverage and policy framing of immigrants and refugees in the 2016 US presidential election,” try to achieve this goal. This study focuses on examining news sources and the rhetoric of politicians to find out the reasons for the formation of substantial prejudice against immigrants. Consequently, this essay aims to review this article, highlight the evidence for framing, and analyze its credibility.
The investigation in question was conducted by private individuals representing researchers from various states and countries. They do not have any direct connection with US government structures. Moreover, the final work was published in a European journal, which guarantees the authors’ independence to some extent. To conduct their research, they used content analysis from 12 major media sources, such as CNN and Fox News (Ogan et al., 2018). A large number of sources dramatically enhances the study’s academic value, credibility, and validity. As the analysis results showed, there was a vivid framing problem in the media during the election period. News outlets focused on the Clinton-Trump presidential race without going into details and using only superficial information about the refugees. This allowed people with media influence, such as Trump, to sponsor and promote the perspective they needed, portraying immigrants negatively (Ogan et al., 2018). Simultaneously, Clinton had little to no such influence and could not effectively counter the massive anti-immigration framing.
Emphasizing these details, the authors adhere to a neutral position, drawing scientific conclusions from the available data. Although the intended audience is not specified in the text, people close to the academic and journalistic fields can be considered as it. That is why the article was published in a European journal specializing in investigative communications. At the same time, they do not promote any specific ideology but emphasize the need for truthful transmission of information to society. Based on this, and considering the high quality of the study itself, it can be stated that this work is a credible source. It is devoid of biases and objectively analyzes information from many sources. Therefore, this work is a reliable academic source of information that can be relied upon for further research.
Prejudice has always prevailed in most scenarios involving racial relations in Western countries. Individuals that commit a similar crime are charged differently while in an opposite situation, those who perform a particularly good task gain differing rewards. This innate system is ingrained in society and has only recently begun to surface once more, eliciting one of the most ethically erroneous behavioral traits evident in humans. People treat one another differently and showcase a positive tendency towards white people while indicating a form of hostility towards other races. Utilizing utilitarianism illustrates that equal treatment of people is better for the society as a whole.
Racial prejudice is an issue affecting different factions of society, influencing the workplace through unfair practice. Whites are likely to get employed than black people or latinos with the same level of education. They have benefited from this system that disproportionately gives them economic, systemic, and historical advantages (Fottrell, 2019). These individuals have an unequal share of better jobs compared to the volume of work available (Fottrell, 2019). Other races are not represented equally in workplaces while they receive lower income at the workplace despite having the same education.
Workplace inequality leads to segregation in other aspects of life. White individuals are unlikely to live in similar areas to their non-white counterparts as they make more money and can afford better housing. Centuries of discrimination have over time reduced the capacity for many people of color to get better housing. The USA posits the best example of this trait, where white people start leaving a neighborhood when people of color begin moving to the area. This racially charged discrimination leaves many areas neglected by public officials as they operated to suit the white population. As people of color make extra money and move to these neighborhoods because of their amenities, their white counterparts can go to a different neighborhood. As they leave, the government begins ignoring these places in favor of others, leading to dilapidation and ultimately stagnant growth or even a reversal of the safety and other features that led people of color to move to the areas (Solomon et al., 2019). Mass exodus is a major racially discriminatory practice that ensures segregation and limits people of color’s ability to advance in social terms.
It is important to consider that discrimination at the workplace further affects people’s ability to send their children to good schools. This propagates a system of favoritism and bias that predisposes some children to adverse conditions in life. Many people of color living in poor neighborhoods do not have access to basic social facilities such as adequate housing or food (Horowitz et al., 2021). While school should be a refuge for children seeking education. They often find limited resources compared with their white counterparts that receive most aid (Mesecar, 2017). The US government’s policies are structured so that high-performing schools receive adequate funding while less-performing schools have a shrinking budget.
Racial prejudice is a universal issue that plagues Western countries such as the USA. Despite numerous efforts by people of color to eliminate the issue, it remains ingrained in society as a bad reminder of the crude system we live in. White individuals do not perceive the extent of favoritism employed and may not empathize with people of color seeking a crucial component of life, a right to equal opportunity.
Physiological aging is associated with many changes, including wrinkles, hair loss, weight gain, and overall body composition change. Today, both aging men and women are prone to social pressure that dictates the beauty rules. Butt augmentation surgery was made to 21,000 people in the US in 2014, and the number of these procedures increased by 86% (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2014). In comparison, the most widespread beauty surgeries in China are those that are directed to reduce weight and add attractiveness. Worldwide, aging populations spent thousands to fit the social standards of beauty.
Ethical Issues
The ethical issue is that in an attempt to change one’s body and make it similar to those that are presented in the media and by stars, people lose their identities and opinions. The social norms claim that only normal weight looks pretty, and that only big butts can be eye-catching. However, the idea of following the social expectations is based on how others perceive the person, while his or her self-perception is disregarded. The majority of the existing beauty standards imply looking young, and having elastic skin and long lashes, which creates anti-aging prejudice.
The modern aspiration by plastic surgery for older adults creates the ethical challenge of inconsistency between a person’s appearance and soul. Those patients, who want to pursue their ephemeral desires and imitate the bodies of models and celebrities, are doomed to the failure. Barone et al. (2017) call plastic surgeries “the surgery of the soul”, meaning that their effects are not only physical but also spiritual. At the same time, some patients are aware of risks and seem to adequately perceive plastic changes. In this case, it is possible to speak about the psychological and physical well-being of an older adult, who understands the value and expected outcomes of plastic surgeries.
Social Change Needed
Social change is needed to recognize the fact that aging females and makes are beautiful as they are, without surgeries that destroy their identities. Namely, it is important to encourage older adults to focus on healthy lifestyles, being more active, and remaining happy. Aging people should feel powerful since they have valuable experience, while their beauty is unique as it comes inside out.
The topic of the research study is to analyze the way people view sexuality and how any differences in sexual preferences are reflected on the individuals and the views about those individuals by people around. A number of questionnaires were handed out, where the participant groups were organized according to age and gender. The choices of candidates varied between heterosexual and homosexual. The results have shown that there is no significant difference in the way females and males view sexuality and the qualities of people with different orientations. But, different values have shown that people with homosexual orientation are judged differently by others according to their social qualities and competency. This leads to the conclusion that there is a form of prejudice that exists in the society and people are predisposed to certain views towards other individuals.
Introduction
Hypotheses: The study will be directed to predict that people of male and female gender view homosexuality differently. Another hypothesis is that the qualities of a person will be viewed differently according to their sexual orientation. The sources to be used in research are as follows. The article “Cohort differences in tolerance of homosexuality: attitudinal change in Canada and the United States” analyzes how different generations and age groups view sexual orientation. The toleration towards the difference between individuals is analyzed and compared to other groups (Andersen & Fetner, 2008). “The psychology of sexual prejudice” looks at the attitudes that people exhibit towards others and their sexual orientation. Social research is analyzed, considering psychological reasoning and the view of the larger part of the population. A cruel reality in treatment of people who are different is shown and the reasons are examined. The article compares the past struggles of people of different sexual orientation and the hardships they face today. The term “sexual prejudice” specifically illustrates how society has created a predisposition and stereotypical attitude towards other individuals (Herek, 2000). An article by Herek, “Assessing attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A review of empirical research with the ATLG scale”, takes a statistical look at the way society’s opinions are distributed. Reliability and validity of the research play and important role and ATLG scale organize that data for easy and precise interpretation (Herek, 1994). The journal “Sex differences in how heterosexuals think about lesbians and gay men: Evidence from survey context effects”, illustrates experiments that were produced to show the correlation of different views. The results were also separated into White and Black males and their assertions (Herek & Capitanio, 1999). “Do heterosexual women and men differ in their attitudes toward homosexuality?” is an article that compares gender views on sexuality. The way people brought up is very unique and the society has shown that males and females have very original styles of upbringing. This reflects on their attitude later in life and is considered a significant factor (Kite & Whitley, 1998). In order to determine people’s views according to the rights and freedoms, article titled “Civil liberties, civil rights, and stigma: Voter attitudes and behavior in the politics of homosexuality”, takes a look at the way politics are involved in people’s opinions and how the country sets the pace for the society to follow (Strand, 1998).
Method
Participants
44 males and 111 females will be the sample group. Ages are 15 years old minim and 55 maximum. Participants will be from Humanities and Social Sciences, Law and Business faculties, and also students abroad and double degree.
Materials
A questionnaire will be a photograph of a person without any personal descriptions. The scale will be from 1 to 11, where 1 is the least and 11 is the highest rating. An example is a question “To what extent do you consider David to be generous?”
Design
The independent variable will be type and number of questions asked. It will be manipulated by the researcher to see the changes in responses. The dependent variable will be the responses themselves. People’s opinions and thoughts will depend on the questions being asked.
Procedure
The questionnaire will be handed out to people throughout campus. The selection will be random. The responses will be marked down and counted to come up with patterns and response preferences.
Results
In order to evaluate the qualities of candidates, more particularly, competency and sociability, several independent t-tests were produced. They were arranged according to the difference between the gender of the evaluators and the sexual orientation of homosexuality versus heterosexuality of candidates. First, candidates were evaluated according to gender of the participants and their views on the possible selection of potential individuals. The results showed that there was no particular preference and that gender of the people involved did not matter in the selection of the candidates. The values were as follows: sociability t(75) = 2.12, p =.33 and competency t(75) = -1.47, p =.15. The second group’s main criterion for evaluation was the sexual orientation of the candidates. The results have shown that the participants gave preference to heterosexual orientation when judging in terms of competency and sociability. The values for competency were t(153) = 4.35 p =.01 and sociability t(153) = 3.21, p =.00, as compared to homosexual orientation. The following table illustrates the data in terms of means and standard deviation:
Competency and sociability evaluation by gender of evaluators and sexual preferences of the candidates.
Discussion
The aim of the study is to show a correlation between people’s age, gender and their views towards others of different sexual preferences. The results and methods of the report have shown that males and females think of sexuality in almost the same way and their views towards sexual orientation different from their own, are closely similar. The findings show that both males and females are suscepted to the same influences and judgments. Even though males and females have different characteristics of individuality, the society has a significant impact on how minorities are viewed by the greater population. In theory, the correlation and difference of genders was supposed to be noticeable. Males are considered more judgmental of others while females are more tolerant. It has been shown that this is true in several instances. But, according to the research and survey, this particular attitude towards sexuality has identified that there is no difference in views between genders. The present report has only analyzed a part of the population with specific proximity to a certain location. This means that people of particular social qualities were examined. The society is a multifaceted organism and the opinions of certain groups are often related to the geographical and social location. In order for the research to be more specific, a sample of people from different levels of society should be taken. Class, amount of education and cultural qualities all play a role in the way people view others.
Conclusion
The results of the research have shown that society has an important role in the formation of people’s attitudes and behaviors. Even though people have their own opinions, they are forced to go along with the majority and this proves that peer and social pressure is a great determinant in people’s lives.
References
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Herek, G.M. (1994). Assessing attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A review of empirical research with the ATLG scale. In B. Greene & G.M. Herek (Eds.), Lesbian and gay psychology (pp. 206–228). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Herek, G. M. (2000). The psychology of sexual prejudice. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9 (1), 19-22.
Herek, G.M., & Capitanio, J.P. (1999). Sex differences in how heterosexuals think about lesbians and gay men: Evidence from survey context effects. Journal of Sex Research, 36, 348–360.
Kite, M.E., & Whitley, B.E., Jr. (1998). Do heterosexual women and men differ in their attitudes toward homosexuality? A conceptual and methodological analysis. In G.M. Herek (Ed.), Stigma and sexual orientation: Understanding prejudice against lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (pp. 39–61). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Strand, D. (1998). Civil liberties, civil rights, and stigma: Voter attitudes and behavior in the politics of homosexuality. In G.M. Herek (Ed.), Stigma and sexual orientation: Understanding prejudice against lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (pp. 108–137). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
