Heteronormartive Notions of Gender Essay -- Gender Studies

Heteronormartive notions of gender create challenges and issues that require a complex process of resolving gender inequalities. In particular, one of the challenges is resolving the inequalities that are reinforced by male and female gender norms. The notion of gender creates a dichotomy in male and female roles. Through socialization processes, we learn to identify specific behaviours as 'masculine' or 'feminine', and boys and girls are taught to perform and display these traits, which become a dominant part of their identities. Western society has constructed gender roles that promote and maintain notions of suitable behaviours and expectations. For instance, males and females are required to act a certain way according to their situational and contextual location. Moreover, gendered behaviour can be seen in the context of families because parents continue gender roles into families, preserving the idea of â€Å"doing gender† (West & Zimmerman, 2011). â€Å"Doing genderâ⠂¬  refers to the process of socially guided perceptions, which make us believe that male and female behaviours are â€Å"natural.† Further, these perceptions are routinely embedded within our everyday interactions that claim a specific gender (West & Zimmerman, 2011). Although parents in Western society continue to hold onto traditional roles of parenting, they are slowly recognizing methods that have no gender boundaries. Ideas of masculinity and femininity are reinforced in families to form practices and customs that create an imbalance among genders (Coltrane, 2011). Within heterosexual families, gender role inequalities are reinforced through household labour and domestic work. Furthermore, it is important to analyze this topic in order to understand the problematic notions ... ...rison, D. and Albanese, P. (2011, in press) Parental Military Deployments and adolescent's housework. Studies in Political Economy, 88 (1).   Margolis, M.L. (2009). Putting mothers on the pedestal. Ontario: Oxford University Press. Shaw, S.M. (1988). Gender Differences in the Definition and Perception of Household Labour. Family Relations 37(3), 333-337. Silverman E.L. (2011). The Last Best West: Women on the Alberta’s Frontier, 1880-1930. In M. Kimmel (Ed.), A. Aronson (Ed.), A. Kaler (Ed.), The Gendered Society Reader. (pp. 186-197). Ontario: Oxford University Smith, D. (1993). The standard north American family. Journal of Family Issues. 14(1), 50-65. West, C, & Zimmerman, D.H. (2011). Doing Gender. In M. Kimmel (Ed.), A. Aronson (Ed.), A. Kaler (Ed.), The Gendered Society Reader (pp. 28-42). Ontario: Oxford University Ontario: Oxford University Press.

Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve neither libe

Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve neither liberty nor security National Identification Card (NID) is not a new idea to the American Public or its politicians. The NID has been up and down the political stream as a means of fighting terrorism, welfare fraud, illegal immigration, crime, census â€Å"error†, and a vast variety of other so called crimes that you can think of. The NID once again rising up-stream after the terrible attack on the American soil as (again) the means to protect the American Public but is it capable of doing all it claims to or as a matter of facts it will make us more vulnerable to identity theft and more chaos? Now with the public still shaken after the Sept-11 attack and spooked by a growing number of anthrax cases, the clamor for tighter security is growing. Proven of ID is required at almost everywhere, closed streets, cop on every corner of the street, citizens keeping their door locked and watching out for suspicious act of potential terrorist. So we look for ways to reassure ourselves and to soothe complicated new fears. Once again, the idea of national ID card is floating upstream and presumably would separate or point out law-abiding citizens from potential terrorist. But NO, the national ID card would rob us off our constitutional freedoms. It will not protect us from terrorist. It would bring us into a deep dream of being secured. It will not stop the stream of illegal immigration. It would widen the door to the invasive thugs. â€Å"Law enforcement would be allowed to stop anyone who was being suspicious and this is where Mandana says there could be a problem. This is where har assment and discrimination could come to place† [1]. It would cost us the tax payers billions of... ...question that can you deal with all the problem and false hope that nID will bring to you and the public. National ID is not the answer or solution to our national security, illegal immigration, anti-terrorist, and protection for our citizens. There are other solutions to these problems that would go beyond the scope of my paper here but national ID is absolutely not the one. REFERENCES: [1] Donna J Groff – post on Discussion 3/4/02 http://anegada.cudenver.edu/csc4735/discuss/msgReader$369 [2] Clair Wolfe http://www.backwoodshome.com/columns/wolfe0111.html [3] William Safire http://nytimes.com/2001/12/24/opinion/24SAFI.html [4] Peter G Neumann and Lauren Weinstein http://www.csl.sri.com/users/neumann/insiderisks.html [5] Phuong Kieu – my posting on Discussion 2/20/02 http://anegada.cudenver.edu/csc4735/discuss/msgReader$294

Communism in Chinese Education

China has a long and rich cultural tradition in which education has played a major role. In 124 BC the first university was established for training prospective bureaucrats in Confucian learning and the Chinese classics. Only members of the upper class could attend school. Peasants and factory workers did not have the time to attend school; therefore as of 1949 only 20% of China was literate. The Communists who controlled China considered illiteracy a major stumbling block in their promotion of political programs. They then combined political propaganda with educational development. During the first few years (1949-51) of this push on education, over 60 million peasants enrolled in winter schools, or sessions, established to take advantage of the slack season for agricultural workers. Mao, the Communist leader of China, felt that the ultimate goal of education was to eliminate class distinction. After Mao†s death in 1976 a review of government policies concerning education was started. Out of this review came standardized testing and the reinstitution of entrance exams to get into schools and these exams were also used to get in the civil service. Chinese children entered school at age six and stayed for six years. They would study the Chinese language, math and other basic subjects. After going to an elementary school children would enter a middle school. The subjects the Chinese taught were particularly important for the advancement of the country. During the Ming dynasty Chinese novels became very popular. There were many poems and collections of short stories. The Ming also established free schools for the public hoping to expand education in china. Gifted students were selected for studying abroad especially in the United States. As these students finished their education and returned to China some of them teaching at Chinese Universities a major political unrest began to place. The recently educated youth of China challenged the Communist policies of their country. Many protest and rallies took place led by university students. This protest was because students did not want the government to have total power. Many of these protestors were killed or jailed and still are in jail today. The more educated the Chinese people became they realized that their present way of life was not as good as it should be.