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Written Work Chapter 6 GWS |
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Rachel Perkins
GWS 200-004
February 20, 2011
Written Work Chapter Six
Reading this text book has brought a lot of things to my attention. Many things I would have never thought of before and others that I never thought important at all. This chapter shocked me again with all the statistics of violence against women and sexual abuse. Also another shocker would be the many different kinds of abuse that woman receive. Who would have thought with-holding sex would be considered sexual abuse? There is even violence against the female fetus in a mother’s womb. On page 261 it said that one in five school girls reported physical and sexual abuse. On page 259 it said that 3 percent of mal murder victims were killed by their wives or girlfriends compared to 33 percent of female murder victims who were killed by their husbands or boyfriends. The chance of being victimized by an intimate partner is significantly greater (85 percent) for a female than for a male (15 percent). With all the statistics that are put in front of everyone’s face and the truth about REAL violence available I don’t see why something cannot be done about it. We should start teaching children as young as Kindergarten how to treat everyone with respect and that all men should respect women. There should be higher consequences or more sources readily available for the girls that the violence might be reaching. Lori Heise commented on page 257, “This is not random violence; the risk factor is being female.”
Although a lot of women do not take advantage of the help that is available to them after being raped or abused. Over 65 percent of women who have been raped do not report the abuse at all. But at least there is the option out there unlike in a lot of societies where there may not be any kind of help or justice for women being abused by men. Native Americans may be accused as going against their tribe if they decided to seek help outside their tribe and make such a disgrace public. In societies were women are seen as objects rather than humans the thought of having a choice in their sexual life is nothing short of a fantasy for them.
The group Men Acting for Change (MAC) is one of the greatest ideas in the fight against sexual violence. It shows that there are some respectable and intelligent men in our world that see what their sex is doing to women and want no part of it. Not only do they want to stop the sexual violence against women, but also against men. A lot of boys are sexually molested and never tell anyone their secret because of fear and shame. Many women fight for the equality of gender but when men join in for the fight, it makes the message stronger.
Questions:
1. How can so many acts of violence against women be proven and nothing more radical be done about it?
2. Is there a MAC group at the University of Kentucky?
3. Are there still Native American tribes that still act “tribe-like”?
Vocabulary:
• Domestic Violence: Violence or physical abuse directed toward your spouse or domestic partner. Usually violence by men against women.
• Battering: the act of subjecting to strong attack.
• Battered Woman Syndrome: Is a legal defense representing that the person accused of an assault or murder was suffering from battered person syndrome at the material time.
• Rape Trauma Syndrome: Is a form of post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by a rape survivor.
Chapter SEVEN:
Rachel Perkins
GWS 200-004
February 27, 2011
Written Work Chapter Seven
The fact that gay marriage is still mainly illegal is nothing short of frustrating. It shows that those who prevent such an obviously correct thing to pass have some very serious faults in their ‘morals’ or personality. The only reason that I can think of for not allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry and receive the same benefits of all married couples is because of religion. If not religion, there is just not any justifiable reason to be against this. Is there not separation between church and state? Even if one were to not recognize a homosexual marriage (which angers me), they should be able to recognize that they have made a commitment and bond just as important if not more than a heterosexual ‘marriage’ and should be allowed to have the same benefits that heterosexual marriages have. The fact that this is still up for debate seems almost childish. For me, the legalization of gay marriage is very obvious and it is hard for me to see why others do not have the same view.
Becoming a mother, I have always thought, will be one of the best things that I will ever do. It is a joy to make the decision to have a child and welcome that baby into the world. Of course, worries are natural and problems will occur. The type of problems that mothers are thinking about though, are things like getting enough sleep, having the sex talk in the future, what to do when your child is making bad grades. They are not really thinking about the fact that now that they are mothers, they are obstacles in the way for equality between men and women. They are not thinking that because they have a child now, they are burdens to the work force. If being a mother is so grand of a title to have, why are they being punished for it? “Anyone who can’t devote all his or her energies to paid work is barred from the best jobs and has a permanently lower lifetime income.” Pg. 337. As stated, almost all the people in that category are mothers. It seems completely unfair that a woman must choose between having a steady career and a nice income and having a family and a child. Why cannot both be balanced and allowed?
If children are the nation’s future and greatest resource, why is there no help to the parents in taking care of the ‘nation’s future and greatest resource’? Pg. 313. Women seemed to be penalized for having children instead of given help to raise the children in a safe and healthy manor. It should be obvious that mothers need to be with their babies in their earlier years of life and yet it’s highly discouraged for a woman to use company money for more time off to spend with their baby. Most European countries have policies that provide help and care for the mother and child and the only policies that the United States has (welfare, tax relief, unemployment assistance) are inadequate and uncoordinated. Pg. 313.
Questions:
1. What are the main reasons why homosexual marriage is illegal?
2. Is maternal leave required for all jobs or must some women quit their jobs because they have become pregnant?
3. What exactly is the childcare policies that European countries have and would it be so hard to have something similar in America?
Vocabulary:
• Gender Roles: public expression of femininity and masculinity. Pg. 301.
• Gender Division of Labor: A division of duties between men and women under which women have the main responsibility for home and nurturing and men are mainly active in the public sphere. Also referred to as Gender Roles. Pg. 305.
• Second Shift: Responsibilities for household chores and child care mostly by women after having already done a full day’s work outside the home. Pg. 307.
• Social Capital: Recognition, knowledge, and connections based on family, community, and institutional ties that provide potential or actual resources for individuals or groups in seeking jobs, access to education, media coverage, or other opportunities. Pg. 310.
• Glass Ceiling: An unseen barrier to women’s promotion to senior positions in the workplace. Women can see the senior positions in their company or field, but few women reach them because of negative attitudes toward senior women and low perceptions of their abilities and training. This barrier may also be based on race/ethnicity. Pg. 311.
• Sticky Floor: Structural limitations for women in low-paid, low-status jobs that block them from moving up. Pg. 311.
• Comparable Worth: Pg. 313.
 Bunneh x33 · Wed Feb 23, 2011 @ 09:07pm · 0 Comments |
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