jalex

[gwsblogprojecthk-blog]

Web Source

http://www.ibtimes.com/rape-india-epidemic-sexual-violence-against-women-children-rape-laws-arent-enough-2157704

This article starts off by listing the incident of rapes of young girls at the ages of 2 and 5. These incidents along with others took place in a short interval. According to the large study conducted involving 644 cases of rape in Mumbai, they learnt that ¾ of the victims were under the age of 18. They also found a pattern that 91% of reported rapes were committed by people the victim knew. They may have been family or neighbors or other people the victims have interacted with. Another shocking fact the article pointed out was that fathers raping daughters is almost just as high as strangers rape. Based on the patterns, some inferences have been made regarding why this happens in India, some of them are that it is hard for women to be a single parent raise their children. Mothers within a poorer household are not respected hence it makes it hard to fight for their daughters respect.

Furthermore, the implementation of laws in India make it even harder for justice. Rapists are not fully served their punishments due to the corruption and loopholes within the law. Victims of rape find it very hard to receive support, as the article mentions; victims of rape by strangers may receive some help and sympathy, however, many girls struggle to find help or justice when they are being raped by their own father or family member. Finally, the article concludes by talking about the importance and lack of sex education in India. In my opinion sex education is definitely an important factor especially because sex is such a taboo topic in India. Most women lack knowledge about their own bodies and don’t fully understand what sexual assault is. Therefore in my eyes, the first step to avoid rape in India is provide sex education.

[jalex434-blog]

overall you tried to bring out the important points of the article. more than 90 % rape was from someone the victims knew. From the information you  provided two facts really shocked me. one is how girls at age 2 to 5 are getting raped. and second how rape by fathers are as equal as rape by strangers. i have no idea what kind of world we are living in. This is something beyond my assumptions. it is very true that even victims who got raped by strangers at least receive some kind of sympathy, but women get raped at their own homes, whom should they go to get support? apparently no one. There is a huge lack of support groups for these women if they take the courage to come out to seek help. therefore no women come out because they wouldn’t be able sustain themselves without a family. so they keep it to themselves. Also the loop holes in laws often protects the rapists encouraging more men to rape. i also believe, education should be the first step because only she can help herself by gaining knowledge and the courage to be dependent. 

[gwsblogprojecthk-blog]

Discussion of an everyday example

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/opinion/the-unspeakable-truth-about-rape-in-india.html?_r=0

Even though we weren’t required have an article or source for this part, I though this article truly reflects the daily feelings of how it is to live as a girl in India. Girls are often scared to walk to a grocery store, school, neighbor’s house or anywhere alone. I remember when I lived in India I never walked alone to even buy a book down a block, I would always go with a driver, maid, family member or friend. As a young girl I was mostly scared of street harassment, I didn’t think of rape much, however the older people or my family member would be very precautious to keep my sisters and me safe. Growing up, every New Year I would read a similar newspaper headline, it would be about a rape or molestation case that took place during New Year’s eve. Unfortunately this is the truth about living in India as a woman, this may not always be the case, but for many it is. I think a girl’s experience and life in India depends on her wealth or social status to some extent, the wealthier you are, the better protection you receive in terms of transportation. Whereas a middle class girl who is required to take public transportation or walk place to place would have more chances of getting raped. However, even a girl from an upper class family is at the risk of getting raped because as the other article mentioned, most rapes are committed by people they know which includes family, friends, neighbors etc.

[jalex434-blog]

overall you talked about how women in India are at higher risk of getting raped almost anywhere at anytime. since i also lived India for 15 years, i can totally understand how it is for girls to live in India everyday. They have to be really careful and precautions when appearing in public. Even at their own home, women are not safe. what the article  mentioned is very true that even upper class women are at higher risk of rape from family members. But as you said, safety increases with ones richness. Girls from poor families without luxuries cars and maids who could accompany them, are depended on public transportation or even walking by themselves are at higher risk of rape by men especially at night. i remember how my parents never let me go out after 7. But i had my dad to take care of my family. But think about women who has to take care of their family by going to work and coming back home at night, that will be one of the dangerous things they ever do in their life and if they are lucky, they can reach home safe. I also think this should be changed and girl’s safety shouldn’t be depend on her wealth or social status.

[areyoureddytolearn-blog]

Discussion of an Institutional Example

The lack of access to education for women is control by governments, educational systems, and employers. Governments and educational systems engineer programs towards domestic arts and services, rather than towards STEM careers in developing countries. Women are better equipped for feminine roles of raising children and running the household, but are limited to their economic independence and growth. The inferior status of women is engrained in educational systems in developing countries because teachers display differentiated attitudes between male and female students. Boys are taught that they need careers and girls need husbands. Teachers are dismissive and discourage girls in their studies and achievements. This creates an atmosphere in which girls’ self esteem is lowered and teach them to have low aspirations in life. Employers also take advantage of women because they have less access to higher education and cannot compete for the jobs offered to men. Women receive less pay, are offered the undesirable jobs, and are vulnerable to exploitation and sexual harassment. Women who are educated are still susceptible to poverty, but are less likely to be dependent on men than illiterate women. Developing countries need women in the labor force in order for overall economic growth, but the social constraints prevent them from utilizing women as a valuable resource.

[jalex434-blog]

This is truly the very sad situation in many developing countries when it comes to education for women. Overall your post is trying to say how men in power is significantly reducing the role of women in economy by not letting them get education and STEM careers.women are most often have to be satisfied with domestic arts and services which only prepare them to be good housewives. Employers won't hire them becouse of their lack of proper education. Therefore women become less competent than men. Therfore benefiting men and reinforcing the inferior status of women. I truly agree with you saying how this lower women's self esteem. And eventually women become invisible in the gobal economic system. I also believe that In order to gain independence and growth, women are needed to get proper education and thus making them believe that they have the same right to have high aspirations in life as men.

[areyoureddytolearn-blog]

Description of the Intersectional Issue

Women’s lack of access to education is an intersectional issue because donor agencies and international organizations focus mostly on sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. The policies that are created in developing countries reflect the biases and racism that is present in the societies of Western countries, causing a white savior industrial complex. The agencies that are created for developing countries are about 70% unsuccessful and development has either slowed significantly or become stagnant. The policies forced upon developing governments reflect Western feminism and ideals, but do not taken into account the cultural, religious, and geographical differences. Cultural practices vowed through white gaze are deemed to be backwards and savage, even though terminology used is more polite is describing their flaws. Donors and governments tend to opt for expansion rather than growth and utilization of resources. I think this reflects the obsession of growth in some Western countries, when developing countries just need to survive in the moment. The faces of poverty-stricken women and children are exploited by donors and international organizations to promote foreign aid. The aid is then processed by government transfer and is rarely spent on girls’ education because it is left unattended to.

[jalex434-blog]

Overall you talked about how the policies forced upon the developing countries for development by agencies create a white industrial complex. Becouse these policies only reflect western feminism and white people's ideas .it has nothing to do with that region's cultural religious background. The foreign aid government gets is not usually spent on girl's education. This is very true. Most often international organizations and developed countries often try to expand their influence around the world in the name of helping them often doesnt make sure if help is being used in a way that are beneficial for the people such as education. Instead of reducing the real couses that are preventing girls education, these agencies are trying to be the saviours by just perpetuating their own ideas and that doesn't change anything. I like how you connected this issue and white industrial complex.

[streetharassmentinindia-blog]

Photo from: the quint- Photo of Laxmi and family

Discussion of an everyday example

As I was skimming through my Facebook notifications feed recently, a news got my attention. It was about couple turned parents with the birth of a daughter named, Pihu. They are not just a normal couple. The story is about the Laxmi, who is an acid attack survivor. She had suffered from acid attack in 2005. In March 2014, Laxmi receive the International woman of courage award from US First Lady Michelle Obama(Khan.)

Laxmi was born to a Poor family in New Delhi. She was a young active girl, who even participated in India’s Got Talent. As a revenge for the rejection of his love proposal from Laxmi, Guddu Alias Naeem Khan with help of his brother and his brother’s friend planned to distort her beautiful face with acid. She was attacked with acid while she was waiting at a bus stop located in South Delhi’s famous Khan Market. After seven surgeries in total, she was destroyed physically and emotionally. After three years of sufferings, she gained courage to come out of the house and face the reality. The family had to pay for all the treatment costs and the government didn’t help the family. She learned tailoring, computer skills and completed the beautician course. The problem she faced with the scars on her face was that nobody hired her. The relatives and friends rejected her.  Even though the attackers got sentenced to 10 years, Lakshmi was struggling for to have begin a new life. Nobody accepted her in society because of the scars made by the acid. In 2006, Laxmi began her crusade against acid attacks with Rupa, another acid attack survivor. Laxmi’s father inspired her to achieve her goals. The family was going through financial crisis from Laxmi’s medical expense and her brother got tuberculosis. After her father’s death at the age of 45, Laxmi got introduced to Stop Acid Attacks. It was a campaign dedicated to rights of acid attack survivors. Alok Dixit who was a key member of Stop Acid Attacks offered Laxmi a position of Campaign Coordinator, and she accepted it. The friendship grew and blossomed and he became her companion. After many fights with the law by Laxmi and Rupa, Supreme Court created restrictions on sale of acid (“Stop Acid Attacks.”)

She is still fighting to stop acid attacks. She is not only the one suffered from attack. The family had to go through it too and they get hurt financially and emotionally. Many women and girls also have faced the same tragedy that Laxmi faced. They get rejected and isolated from the society because of the scars. No one will marry the girl and she becomes burden to the family. It is a gender based violence that mainly focuses on women. It is also one of the tragic attack in streets towards women. In India, eighty percent of acid attacks occur in public places(Kalantry.) The fear of getting attacked by acid in public spaces restricts women from going for studies and work. Cheap availability of acid is one of the main reasons for the acid attacks. Laws should be made to limit the availability of acid by young boys. Government should also take responsibility and give benefits to victims who are suffering from the acid attack tragedy. As discussed in the Logan’s article, the victim gets blamed mostly. After getting out of jail, the offender still has a life too. In the case of victims, they have to represent themselves of the tragedy because of scars.

Works Cited

 Khan, Saif Ahmad. "We Are Not Victims, but Fighters: Acid Attack Survivor Laxmi Speaks.” Open India. N.p., 05 Nov. 2014. Web. <https://www.opendemocracy.net/openindia/saif-ahmad-khan/we-are-not-victims-but-fighters-acid-attack-survivor-laxmi-speaks>.

Kalantry, Sital, and Jocelyn E. Getgen. “Combating Acid Violence in Bangladesh, India and Cambodia.” SSRN Electronic Journal SSRN Journal (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

 "Stop Acid Attacks.“ Laxmi: Story of a Braveheart ~. N.p., 28 June 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. <http://www.stopacidattacks.org/2013/05/laxmi-story-of-braveheart.html>.

[jalex434-blog]

Overall you talked about a very inspiring story of a brave girl who attacked by acid after rejecting a man's proposal. At a very young she was earned fame by her talents but a man's revenge turned her beautiful face into ugly scars. This made her and her family suffer emotionally and financially. But she didn't give up.she joined camapaigns that worked for stopping acid attacks and she was awarded for her work. Now she is married to the man who fell in love with her and have a good. This story is just an example of what women going through in india. Wome are very unsafe on streets and men use their power and hypermasculinity to attack women publicly. I totally agree to you saying how women afraid to go to public spaces and inorder to change this there should be stricter laws, both government and societie's support to victims

[streetharassmentinindia-blog]

Street Harassment in India

   Introduction         

        On 16 December 2012 in South Delhi, a 23-year-old medical student, has got into a private bus with a male friend. The bus was not on duty and they didn’t know that the six men in the bus had been driving the streets in search of a victim. After beating up and knocked unconscious her male friend, the girl got brutally gang raped by six men (Barry.) she suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals due to the insertion of a screwdriver in her vagina just to remove semen, which is the DNA evidence of the rapists. She died two weeks later of her injuries. From the day of the rape and to almost a month, the common people of India, both men and women, rushed into the streets to protest. The incident got widespread and got attention all over India and abroad(Mitta.) According to National Crime Records Bureau in India, 848 women who are either harassed, raped or killed after abduction every single day(Basu.) Women are harassed in large numbers in the streets of India. Women are getting harassed physically and sexually just because the society considers men as dominant and they have right to oppress the women.  India has 37 million more men than women, the lessened number of women is due to the sex-selective abortions and infanticide. The inequality towards women starts from early age of their life in several parts of India (sharma.) Culture plays a huge role in empowering men over women and society encourages them to do so.

            As lived in India for sixteen years of my life, it is true that women get harassed in public transport and public spaces more often. Men find it is their right to take power over them. In society, Women are blamed for getting harassed or raped in public spaces. People accuse the women for not dressing conservative and being out late at night. It destroys a women’s  self-confidence and make her vulnerable.  I always had thought about this injustice towards women in India and wanted to learn more about these one day. As I research more on this topic, I think I would be able to understand the underlying problems that caused this type off injustice towards women in this developing country like in India.

works  cited

Barry, Ellen. “Broadcast of India Gang Rape Documentary Is Banned by Court.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Mar. 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/world/asia/indian-court-bans-broadcast-of-documentary-on-delhi-gang-rape.html?_r=0 Basu, Indrani. “848 Indian Women Are Eve-teased, Raped, Killed Every Day.” The Huffington Post. N.p., 16 Dec. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2014/12/16/crime-against-women-india_n_6330736.html Mitta, Manoj. “Nirbhaya Rape and Murder: Startling New Claim.” The Times of India. Indiatimes, 22 Apr. 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nirbhaya-rape-and-murder-Startling-new-claim/articleshow/47015927.cms Sharma, Amor, Biman Mukerji, and Rupa Subramaniya. “On India’s Streets, Women Run a Gantlet of Harassment.” WSJ. The Wall Street Journal, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324616604578302620513689386

[jalex434-blog]

I also know about the incident you mentioned where this girl who was going home after a movie with her male friend ,got brutally raped and murdered by several men on a bus at night. I have read many news and how men and women were protesting on streets to bring justice for her buy getting the rapists the maximum punishment.i remember how this incident shook the whole country and becouse of the raised people's protest the police successfully arrested the rapists and the court gave the maximum punishment for them. Also i agree to what you talked about men's power over women couses these problems women have to face on streets. You also talked about how once they get harassed, society finds it easier by blaming the girl for not dressing appropriately. since i also lived around such people in india i beleive that is totally unfair and pretty stupid becouse whatever a girl feel comfortable wearing shouldn't be reason for men raping her.

[gws101fall2015]

Housemaids by Jackie E.

        Growing up in the United States, I was surrounded by teachers who would bring up the topic of equality between the sexes. They would encourage us in class that we were all equal and that neither sex was better. I would then go home and evaluate the way that I was living and voiced my concern. I would speak up for myself and asked why I had to do something when my brothers did not. I began to rebel against what I was told to do. I would only do tasks if my brothers did the same. As time passed, they began to hear me out when it came to house work and they stopped asking. Although I was still not given the same rights as they had to go out late on the weekends, I felt that I was a step closer. Then when I would go to Mexico, I would not understand why my cousins were allowing themselves to be treated like maids instead of speaking up for themselves. They would be yelled at for having a room messy even though the boys were the ones who made the mess. They were supposed to clean after them and make sure that the rooms were clean before and after the boys used them. I would voice my concern to them but they did not agree with me. They believed that this was their duty and what they were supposed to do. They also feared not doing their tasks because their mother would punish them. Also, that they did not want to be known as girls who did not clean because they wanted to find a partner. I would then say that they did not need to find a man and that they could take care of themselves.

      Once I got older and began to realize the oppression that they lived in, that is when I realized that I was privileged. I was given an education above the 6th grade and was able to retaliate without the fear of not marrying because I would end up alone and with no way to support myself. I realized that women in Mexico who are not given a high school education have different priorities. My cousins are not able to find a well paying job to support themselves. Finding a husband for them is more of a survival task rather than the way I think about getting married. The jobs that are offered are mostly labor intensive and so women were not even considered for these jobs. They were not raised to think about their own happiness or equality, they were raised to think about the family and how everyone was to be taken care of and fed. I realized that I should not target my cousins as letting themselves be oppressed, but that I should realize the position that they are in and what options they have in life. Although our parents are siblings, they are completely different. One stayed in a village of 200 people while the other lives in a city with 2 million people. 

     A way in which they can be helped can be by asking the nearby city to send more teachers and allow more opportunities for students to get a higher education. Instead of only going up to 6th grade, it could go up to the first year of high school and then let the students make a decision about whether or not they want to pursue education. Girls could be given more attention in these classes because they have less job opportunities in that area. A small fundraiser could also be put together in order to send these students school supplies so that they feel more encouraged to try harder.

Below is a link on how education helps women in poverty!

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/09/25/why-girls-education-can-help-eradicate-poverty/

[jalex434-blog]

overall you talked about how you were so privileged to have an education and equally treated as men and overall a good life in the U.S, while girls in Mexico are treated like maids and unable to raise their voice to tell their concerns. you talked about how your cousins were not encouraged to get education, rather their main concern is to get married because it is more survival task for them. The same thing happens in India too. A majority of girls are discouraged and rejected education just because there are girls and girls are supposed to be at home doing house work and take care of the kids and husband.Education is ones fundamental right and none should be taking that from a girl and there is no rule saying women are entitled to do all the house for the rest of her life. 

[gws101fall2015]

STRAIGHT PRIVILEGE IN RURAL AREAS

by: madeline wilson

I grew up in a small farm-town in southern Illinois, where everyone is the same. People are raised to fit into the one category of individuals there is: white, Catholic, and straight. I attended a Catholic high school, where the students were taught to blatantly ignore any sexuality or identity that didn’t fit into the “straight” category. People of the LGBTQ community did not exist in our small, enclosed bubble of perfection. This idea is what we were raised to believe is “normal”. As a straight woman growing up in a rural community, this notion did not affect me whatsoever. I was endowed with the great privilege of fitting into the community that I was born and raised in. Looking around me, it seemed everyone else fit in as well. My attitude prior to becoming aware of this privilege can be defined as simple ignorance. I cannot say that I even had an attitude toward people of the LGBTQ community because my peers and I were taught that sexuality other than heterosexual did not exist where we live. It is crystal clear whom we were marginalizing: individuals within my small hometown who identify their sexuality as anything other than straight. It was so easy for us to pretend like these people did not exist because we knew no one around us whose sexuality was different than ours. This is not because they were nonexistent in my small farm-town, but because they were oppressed and most likely to afraid to make their sexuality known to the people of the community.

           Upon graduating high school, I moved to the melting pot of diversity that is Chicago to attend UIC. This was a massive change in lifestyle for me. It allowed me to explore myself and freely grow into the person I truly am without the confines of my community telling me who I should be. I met so many different people during my first year of college; no two were alike. Almost everyone I met could not be included into the strictly white, Catholic, straight category that my peers at home belonged to. This was refreshing for me. I joined a sorority and met a bisexual woman and a lesbian woman who were now my “sisters”. I lived down the hall from a homosexual man who accompanied me to lunch and dinner in the dining hall every day. I built so many fantastic relationships with people outside the narrow confines of heterosexuality that my eyes began to open to the problems of my previous thinking. Surrounding myself with individuals who were completely comfortable identifying with a category that was outside of the range of “normal” defined by my community forced me to ponder the issue of my ignorance to other sexualities in my hometown. I began to recognize a few individuals within my community who were rumored to be homosexual or bisexual, but were possibly too apprehensive to come out to the community and face possible backlash. Growing up, I had placed these individuals – my own peers – on the margin and unintentionally used my “straight privilege” to oppress them and ignore their issues. I realized this was not acceptable. I immediately recognized how painful it must be to be unable to truly be yourself within your own community. I realized that this attitude of ignorance towards people who identify themselves as anything other than heterosexual must discontinue because it was extremely oppressive and negative. Although I would not be able to change the overall attitude of my rural community towards the issue, I could take a personal stance to become more aware and welcoming of my LGBTQ peers.

           There are many ways the members of my farm-town community and myself can become better advocates for the individuals we have marginalized for so long. Personally, I have made a point to first recognize and then welcome individuals who have come out as LGBTQ in my community. My close neighbor, who identifies himself as a gay male, is a wonderful example of this. When I see him around my community and talk with him, I attempt to let him know that he is accepted. I try to make him feel no different and no less than anyone else inside or outside of my community. I recognize how brave he is for “coming out” within a society that tends to be unaccepting of ideas outside of our accepted norms. By building up the confidence of these individuals within our small community, we can attempt to make them feel more comfortable and accepted. When they feel they can happily be themselves, it may encourage more people who are struggling with these issues to also live the way they truly yearn to live. Simply being kind and welcoming to individuals who are different than ourselves can spark a positive change. My experience with this issue has taught me the importance of having an open mind, even when those close to me do not.

- Photo Link: http://www.popmatters.com/column/152999-the-gay-ole-countryside/

- “Growing up Gay in Rural America” (Interesting Statistics): http://www.geocities.ws/cyberdramaturg/cc/stories.html

- “Rural Life Can be Lonely and Risky for Gays”: http://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/14/news/mn-17291

[jalex434-blog]

Overall you talked about how you had marginalized people who identified different than normal which is straight. Only straight people fitted into community's norms and expectations. It is true that people who identify as homosexual will have a hard time coming out in this type of society. Coming to uic gave me also a lot of new experience .i also came from similar village to yours where people are very close minded. Coming to uic gave me opportunities to learn and meet new people with lots of different indentities who are surrounded by people who welcome and accept them for wha they are. I agree with your solution which is helping in increase the confidence level of people who wants to reveal their identity by making them feel comfortable being themselves will encourage them to come out.

[gws101fall2015]

Photo by : The Darkroom: Exploring visual journalism from the Baltimore

From Oppression to Freedom

By Sharon Koshy

As a child growing up in a rural village in India, where there is an unspoken rule of male domination and where there is no tolerance and social equality for LGBTQAI communities, I wasn’t able to realize the importance of the stigma of the oppression to women and LGBTQAI groups. Gender equality of male and female even had even more importance than the acceptance of LGBTQAI folks in our communities. The real fact is that people in our village or state are homophobic and they rarely talk about the LGBTQAI groups. They are not aware of the social equality and existence of these groups. Even if any one wants prove their identity as one of LGBTQAI groups, they are subjected to go through judgment and harassment. The people would only consider the existence of male and female genders, and they can only have a heterosexual relationship. Men are privileged to do anything and women are considered as the human that was made to serve men. Most girls are minimally educated and they get married at the age of 20 or 22 as arranged by their parents. As discussed on the section by Friedan, women believe that their role is to seek fulfillment as wives and mothers. Women take care of children and do house works. As I lived there for 16 years, my views towards these issues remained the same. I also imagined my future as something similar, which was to take care of my future family and doing all house works as society wanted. If I was still in India, I wouldn’t be able to accept the idea of people getting married to same sexes because homosexuality is inhibited in my society in India. Our society had taught me to marginalize the LGBTQAI groups and to see women as less privileged to have a better status in society as men.

After immigrating to United States, I encountered an entirely different world and even had a cultural shock by seeing how women and men are almost considered as same at everything. Living here I got well introduced to equality among same sexes and acceptance of LGBTQAI communities. Women are well educated and independent at almost everything. They choose their own carrier and marry whenever they want to and have great freedom. I realized that women have many things achieve in their lives aside from taking care of their husband and children. Now I feel privileged than billions of females in India to live in a country that considers female population as a significant part of the population. It is my fortunate to come here and feel the equality and freedom of women, which are still oppressed in India.  I started to see myself as a human being that has all the rights that men have. I began to think differently about LGBTQAI groups and considered their rights as human rights too. When I was in India, where these groups are afraid to expose their identity, I wasn’t aware of their oppression and hardships. The struggle, harassment, and shame that they faced everyday to prove their identity. After living few years in America, it gave me life experiences and understanding about these groups and raised consciousness inside me. It made me to think and accept their social standings. I recognized that the way the society brought me up was wrong. The life in America exposed me to a world where people are concerned about the interests of LGBTQAI groups significantly. The views of people who support these groups elaborated my opinion towards these minority groups. I began to unwrap all the misconceptions of compulsory heterosexuality and homophobia from my mind. I started see their interests as interest of any other person in the society.

When I immigrated to America 5 years back, there wasn’t enough development of concerns about women oppression or discrimination of LGBTQAI groups in India. Indian people have improved their attitudes towards these issues recently. More people are getting informed about the existence of LGBTQAI groups and the importance of their interests. I even encourage my family members and classmates to get or give more education to women and to bring up their equality among male dominated society. There is a lot of effort needed to change the minds of people in India to destroy the homophobic attitude. I think the young generation of India is capable of overcoming all the believes of old generations on homosexuality. Government of India should consider the interests of women and LGBTQAI groups. They should raise awareness among new generations to abolish the oppression to women and to see them as equal as men. Many developed countries like America can help or influence India for bringing up rights of LGBTQAI groups and women. Acceptance of LGBTQAI community can be obtained by having the government take away the law that punishes them.

you can learn more on India and LGBT rights at:

http://www.advocate.com/world/2014/05/07/its-complicated-lgbt-india-2003

[jalex434-blog]

Here you talked about a society who wasn't aware of LGBTQAI group's existence and how they treated women unequally.you also talked about the homophobia people had and how parents arrange marriage for women and how they are supposed to do all the house work and raise the family. It is very interesting how your viewpoints on LGBTQAI changed after coming to u.s and how you were treated equally which is definetly a privilege that millions of indian women didn't have.it is true that there are still countries which still doesn't accept the different gender identities and oppress women and this should be changed and there should be freedom universally to reveal one's gender identity.

[gws101fall2015]

How may I serve you?

By: Nancy Q.

Binary roles such as hunter and gathers have been around since the days of cavemen and cavewomen. Granted, “hunters” and “gathers” have changed with the times to “caregivers’ and “breadwinners”, but the concept is still there. The gender stereotype is that men are the breadwinners and the women are the caregivers. Usually, those that are gender assigned at birth grow up with these stereotypes and will relate to the constant reminders of these social gender constructs.

More times than not, children have been asked to do chores around the house. However, girls at a young age have been taught that if you didn’t know how to do your chores then you will be unable to get married. Somehow, a girl not knowing how to wash clothes or make the bed makes her undesirable and lazy. Boys, on the other hand, are just lazy if they don’t their chores. Why is there extra emphasize on girls knowing how to do house work in comparison to boys doing the same task?

            The idea that women are the caregivers and men are the breadwinners are such an archaic way of thinking, but it is so deeply ingrained in most families in the world. In the reading The Socially Constructed Body: Insights From Feminist Theory, Judith Lorber and Patricia Yancey Martin best summarized this idea; “ There are racial, ethnic, and class differences among women and among men, but gender similarities still exist. These similarities are socially produced, but their pervasiveness makes it seem as if they are biologically linked.” Lorber and Martin wrote how this idea of women being caregivers is actually a social matter, but somehow the social construct has been construed into a biological one.

            The caregiver idea extends even to the workplace. Nurses, waitresses, nannies, or maids are given the impression that it is for mostly a job for women. To nurture and to clean seems to be mostly attributed to women. Men with these types of jobs are usually questioned in why they are in these types of profession because it somehow makes them less of a man compared to if they worked in a labor intensive job. Jobs are not the only place that displays these gender stereotypes, T.V commercials are guilty as well. There is hardly any commercials with men cleaning and making sure that the children don’t make any mess. Usually, household cleaning products commercials target audience are mothers or women in general. The commercials often depict a woman cleaning up after a mess the family made, while a man in these types of commercials will be depicted as incompetent and struggling to take care of the kids. These commercials only further exemplify why it’s easier to assume why women are better at cleaning than men.

            Personally, I grew up in a female dominated household, but still had those social constructs. When there were visitors, I would automatically have to say, “Excuse the mess.” Even though I had tidy up the place. This would be soon followed by the offering of food and drinks. Even if they reject the offer, I would have to persist. This little routine has been a taught to me by my parents as long as I can remember. My mother and a few other members of my family would tell me how are you going to maintain a family if you don’t know how to do whatever menial task I did wrong that day or how will someone marry you if you don’t even know how to flip tortillas. These little comments made me become this automatic, hospitable host that made sure I put others before myself. Growing up, I can see the wrong with these comments were. I still do these little habits, but for different reasons. I do it for myself and not to make others happy.

            To understand these gender constructs is way to understand why it is wrong to continue doing them. By noticing it’s a problem and stopping these comments of how well a woman can do housework for the sake of making someone else happy, it will be one small step closer to making women be more than just homemakers and caregivers.

To read more about commercials and gender stereotypes, click here

[jalex434-blog]

overall you talked about how women are categorized as the caretakers and men as breadwinners. I liked the point where you talked about your own personal experience where you had to follow certain rules when you had visitors at home. It shows the stereotyping starts at a very young age where parents teach girls to to take care of the households while men were taught to earn for the family from working. The point where you talked about how this even extend to the workplace is so true. women are always encouraged to do jobs where caring for someone else is important such as nursing. i agree to your point of view of how people needs to stop commenting on how well women can do house work  or other care taking jobs rather she should feel happy by herself by doing something for someone else.

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Photo by Nike News

Women in Sports: Just do it!

By: Sharon Koshy

As we look around, we are living in a world, where most people consider men as successful in sports. Sport is considered as masculine. Women’s participation in sports is normally discouraged or underrated in our culture. From our past it is true that society plays a huge role behind discrimination of women in sports. Nowadays, most countries intensely encourage women’s participation in sports but it is also highly gendered. Most of the time, culture and norms ends future of talented women by showing them the restrictions of their bodies.  “One hundred years ago, the first modern Olympics was all male-female bodies were supposedly not made for serious athletics” (Lorber.) Lorber and Martin assert that the bodies of women were considered physically weak and women athletes were not well accepted or popular in society.

           Women are taught to restrict their movements. The socially accepted behavior of woman is to protect and restrict movements of her body, which is considered as feminine (Lorber.) They are taught to be less active and to restrain themselves in any aggressive actions. Sports and any physical activity is not considered as desired pursuit for girls and women. Although many countries are trying to support women’s participation in sports, but the popularity and audience appreciation is considerably low for most of the women athletes. “All the successful athletes in men sports, is very high income and fame. Successful women athletes do not get the same amount of income, media coverage or prestige” (Lorber) The socially constructed oppression to women in sports ends dreams of many women athletes. Socially constructed norms play a key role in benefiting men in sports. As discussed in the class lecture, men are preferred to be dominant, strong and muscular. They are expected to be extremely active in sports and gaining audience appreciation. From childhood, it is necessary for boys to participate in some kind of sports or activities such like that. But in the case of girls, the society wants them to stay at home playing “the house” which is to play with dolls or kitchen play sets. Most of these norms are culture’s tendency to cast girls as care takers of their children and cooking as their childhood games. When it comes to boys, their expected behavior is involving in physical labor and being more active.

           Most of the women or girls love to engage in sports and they wish to partake in sport activities. From my experience, As I grew up in India, although I studied in a girls-only school, many parents didn’t want their children to play in any sports. They are expected to stay home and totake care of their husband and children when they grow up. Talented girls in sports were also discouraged by their parents. They didn’t even have any kind of opportunities to improve or develop their skills. Even parents preferred female physical education instructors rather than male teachers. Girls were overly protected and oppressed in our male dominant society. Parents were too afraid of sending their daughters for an out of state competition. It constraints girls from participating in any sport activities. It leads them to be less active, submissive, and passive, which leads to a male dominant society.

           Empowerment of women and girls is indeed and they should be encouraged to participate in sports. Even though many have broken the rules and norms, but they are not getting equal rewards for their hard work as men. Gender equality is most needed in the field of sports. There are many talented women athletes, who are just not famous because of their gender. They get lower salary, attention and appreciation. Stereotyping and tying down women as care takers of family must be changed. There should be a change in the world where when we hear about sports, both genders should come to our mind. Challenging the gender customs, giving more opportunities to women, and rewarding equally should happen to eliminate discrimination of women in sports.

Here is a link about gender discrimination in sports.it’s a short informative video.enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIhybeiU92E

[jalex434-blog]

Overall you talked about gender discrimination in sports. Women are required to restrict their movements and they are not encouraged to engage in physically challenging sports such as football. Even if they play such sports, they are not popular as men. It is very sad that almost all the very celebrated sports stars by the media are men. It is very interesting how you talked about your personal experience in India where girls were not even encouraged to participate in any kind of sports and were restricted to just studying. Such activities must be changed to see women eqality in sports. The factor that measure who should we celebrate in media should be ones ability to perform well, not their gender. I believe women should have the freedom to do whatever her mind sets to. She shouldn’t be restricted by her physical limitations from achieving what she dreamed of .

[gws101fall2015]

photo by: onehundereddollarsamonth

Letting Material Items Decide

By: Patty Padilla

When we are born we are automatically assigned a gender due to what biology and doctors determine appropriate when they look down at our genitals. From there our parents make the decisions to dress us and buy us things appropriate for the gender we were assigned to. However, we are able to grow out of the diaper wearing, drooling stage soon after and we become capable making decisions on our own based on what we have learned. In all the glory of new explorations some of them may include knowing what we want to wear or what toy we want to play with. Doing gender starts at a very young age, in which case, the most present forms while we are developing become culprits to how to perform gender correctly.

Once upon a time, someone somewhere decided that pink was going to be a girl color and blue was going to be a boy color. From then on, it became part of society and distinguishing gender. Nevertheless, does it stop at colors? Many young girls get sold into an image of what it is to be a female through marketing and society. In a typical case a young girls room might be decorated in what society deems “girly”.  It might have flower or butterfly deco stickers, posters of popular boy or girl band(s), dolls are displayed on top of her dresser, and in her closet we might find leopard leggings, glittery shirts, short-heeled shoes, and maybe some moderate jewelry appropriate for a young girl. Family members would probably describe her as a “girly-girl”. Take that example and switch it over to a male. The boy learns, or is expected to learn, to play sports and with toy cars instead of dolls. His room may not be deliberately decorated, but probably messy. His parents usually pick out his clothes and he could probably care less if they match.

However, what if these two young children did not follow what is expected of them? The young girl actually doesn’t have any interest in wearing glittery pink clothes or playing with dolls. All she wants to wear is jeans, t-shirts, play basketball, and has actually expressed the desire to cut her hair shorter. I could only assume that a parent would celebrate diversity in their child and let them choose who they want to be. Others would probably police her choices and remind her that short hair is for boys and cleaning up her look might help her attract a boy someday. Furthermore, would a male get less or more scrutiny for not following appropriate gender roles?

To make a good example this boy is actually not good at sports at all. He has actually expressed to his parents that he wants to go to dance school, which his dad is very confused about and has reminded his son “that is not what men do”. He is also is very particular about his shoes matching with his outfit of the day. For that, he is teased at school and has been called a faggot.  

I have gone through many phases in my lifetime, especially when I was younger, yet I always tried to maintain a feminine aspect to whatever I was trying out. I had to perform gender properly because I feared I would be viewed as a tomboy or masculine. I did, however, grow up with short hair cuts and if I was wearing a pink sweater or earrings I would still be confused for a boy and got stuck with the “boy” Happy Meal at McDonalds. I also grew up around male siblings who, in their own way, performed masculine traits through different forms such as playing with cars and basketball. They were seen as the men of the house. Being around males all the time I kind of took on some of their interests but never got any backlash for it. Would it be the same result if they were to pick up a Barbie doll or pink sweater, or would they get policed for not doing gender properly?

I knew my gender role at a very young age because it is what I learned and got accustomed to through things I saw as normal. Women and men are expected to perform in different manners that are suitable for their gender and many of those come with props that give it more symbolic meaning. Our society and marketing firms have done a good job at assigning material things to our genders to further differentiate who we are as individuals. How far do we need to go before we cross the line and get policed for our behaviors through such trivial things such as clothes or hobbies?

more about gender preferences http://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2011/dec/13/women-children

[jalex434-blog]

Overall you tried to point out how gender roles start at a very young age. From childhood we are taught to behave in such a way that is pleasing to the society. It is true that boys playing wth dolls and girls playing with cars are strange and will be judged by the society. Actually i have heard that long time ago pink was for men. Isn’t it crazy how society can rebuild concepts and make you believe in anything they want? It is a good point that you pointed out that the advertising companies benefits from assigning these gender roles. I believe, in every strict gender roles , we can see, in one way or another, somebody is benefiting.