In What Ways Does Euripides Explore Issues Of Race, Gender And Class?

* What do you think Euripides’ views are on this issue

* Would an Athenian audience agree with him?

Euripides explores these fields mainly by putting forward the character of Medea. In other words, the treatment of her character in the play mainly by the other members of the society which she finds herself defines the listed issues above – race, gender and class.

Euripides presents the theme of race mainly through the character of Medea. On our first acquaintance, Medea particularly points out the fact that she is a “foreign woman coming among new laws”. This makes evident where she stands in the society, as foreigners are regarded as inferior to the real Greeks. By this, Euripides presents a form of racism eminent in the life of the ancient Greeks. Also, Medea’s race was believed to be barbaric or sub-human which also contributes to the reason why her character is diminished. Jason refers to her roots as a “barbaric homeland’ which suggests a feeling of superiority.

Another aspect in which Euripides explores the theme of race is through the supremacy of the Greeks, which makes evident the predominance of their race in the ancient times. This is exemplified by the reference to Jason’s journey to the Colchis in Medea’s speech, where he steals the Golden Fleece. This presents the greed and political oppression of the Greeks, which are obvious elements of racism and colonialism. This is similar to the tradition of the powerful nations of the world in the recent centuries. Through this, a satirical tone runs throughout the play, as Euripides is able to recreate the superior and dominating nature of a very powerful foreigner living in the Greek community. In my opinion, I think the Greeks would have disliked Medea due to the fact that she has a history of insubordinate behaviour, thereby standing against their very Greek norms and beliefs.

Also, the relationship between Aegeus and Medea also echo the treatment of foreigners in Ancient Greece. He tells Medea that he “does not intend to take her away with him to Corinth”. This makes evident the political view regarding the banishment of foreigners. As she is exiled from one domain of Greece, she has to be snuck into another region, which portrays the unfairness of the society, brought about by the mere issue of race.

Euripides presents the theme of gender as one of the most dominating and important themes which run through out the play. This is because Medea acts contrary to the perceived way by which women are to expected to behave. By this I mean to be loyal to their husbands, even if it means suppressing their views on both moral and political issues that affect them. Medea is described as a ‘wide bull’ by the nurse. This simile makes us aware of her viciousness. It is important that I not that the use of the word, ‘bull” symbolizes her likeness to men rather than what is expected of a woman in the Greek context Medea is also characterized with great cleverness and wit, though she is a woman.

She is able to manipulate all the powerful male characters, which are satirically presented as gullible. Creon, a very powerful character, the King of Corinth says “I fear you…yet nonetheless, Medea you shall have what you ask for” even though he is aware of her evil capabilities. Also, Jason, her husband, a very powerful character with a legendary history is also easily exploited and convinced, due to Medea’s shrewdness. “I am pleased Medea that you have changed your mind”. Thus, Medea is characterised as a rebel in the society. In my opinion I feel that the Greeks would have found this rather annoying, as they were used to seeing women less oppressive, like Medea.

Euripides might have therefore been mocking the Greek mentality of women in his society, as he presents his female characters to be more knowledgeable than the men. A contrasting opinion is however made evident in the latter part of the play, as Euripides’ view on women is of a different light. In one of Medea’s speeches, she says, “we women are the most wretched”. This might be interpreted as Euripides’ own opinion of women in his society or one of Medea’s cynical comments on the situation she finds herself in. The nature of Euripides’ view on the female gender is therefore ambiguous.

Another way in which Euripides explores the theme of gender is through the characters of the Chorus. These are the average Athenian women, thus they represent the view of the majority. The chorus also represent rebellion to their society as they tend to have sympathy for Medea, even in her selfish actions. This is sort of a slap in the face for the leaders of the society- Jason and Creon, as they stand views contrast with one another. They refer to Medea as “the unhappy woman from Colchis”. Perhaps, Euripides, by this means is putting forward, cry for equality in the society.

The theme of class is explored by various characters in the play. Unlike, the previous themes, it involves more characters such as the nurse and the tutor, who are symbols of sympathy for Medea. “Poor woman! Has she not stopped crying yet?”

The first group of people presented to us in the play are of a lower class, compared to Medea- the Tutor and the Nurse. Unlike the other characters who oppose her status in the society, these two characters condone her feelings of anger and regret. They are therefore like her only companions as Jason has abandoned her. “It was too much, I couldn’t bear it”, says the nurse as if it were her that is suffering from such betrayal. Perhaps, this is what becomes of the lower class, as they get attached to their masters who employ them and have no form of power to influence the disasters that take place.

Finally, Medea makes evident, a running theme of class in the play. She is obviously of a very high class, as she is the wife of a King. This thereby contributes the power she is entitled to in the society. It is however difficult to pin point exactly where Medea stands, as she is obviously respected in the society, but not shown to be of great importance to some characters, such as Creon due to the fact that she is banished by him. “I have made my mind up, you are my enemy”. Her barbaric background also contributes to her high class as she is a Princess. In my opinion, I do not believe that the Greeks would have recognized her class but not necessarily respected her character due to those grounds. I personally don’t think this was particularly reflected in the play by Euripides, rather, he concentrated on building her character on more intellectual grounds such as her cleverness.

In conclusion, I think Euripides is able to explore these themes in great detail giving us different opinions which maybe sometimes ambiguous, as we are not able to know what he is thinking. This, in my opinion is what makes the play a very well written work of art and I think it also would have appealed to the Greeks.

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Assess explanations of gender and ethnic inequalities in health chances

* Using your knowledge assess explanations of gender and ethnic inequalities in HEALTH CHANCES

* Write about the health chances for the different situations within society.

Health Chances- Can be defined as the likelihood and possibility for an individual to become ill or unwell in view of his/hers overall health and well-being also considering the affect on an individual in view of the different situations within society.

Health Chances is sometimes overlooked in view of the different situations within society. It can be said firmly that both gender and ethnicity unfortunately create inequalities in health chances within society. Health Chances clearly vary in these two situations and as a result have caused problems within society.

Statistics in Gender inequality in health clearly show a high percentage for women in both Morbidity and Mortality

Firstly, gender results to inequalities in health chances due to various factors and situations within society. Women’s position in society affects their experience of health chances. Women indeed can be said to be more open and co-operative than men in view of their general health and well-being. Women tend to visit doctors more often than men. Statistics show that women visit their G.P. 5x a year whilst men tend to visit their G.P. approximately 3x a year.

Furthermore, the health of women may appear to be worse than that of men because their longer life expectancy increases the risk of chronic illnesses, senile dementia and therefore the regular use of medical services. However, statistics do indicate that women suffer more chronic disorders in all age categories. The common saying ‘women are sicker men die quicker’ is very realistic, statistics clearly show that women live longer and so are more prone to getting ill, as part of getting old.

Moreover, women’s position in society affects their health chances; women have the burden of childcare, which affects them both physically and mentally. Also, domestic labour, poor employment conditions because of gender discrimination, greater exposure to poor housing as a result of poor employment, greater exposure to poverty also as a result as poor employment. Women position in society should be regarded very highly as they are situated in such conditions which lead to ‘ housewife syndromes’ acknowledged by Jessie Bernard causing ill health. It is the woman’s job in society i.e. in the family, to make decisions, bring up the children which is quite stressful along with absorbing and taking on the stress of other family members such as the children, husband which overall in my opinion is the reason to why more women get ill. Furthermore, Women in society generally tend to occupy jobs such; working in the home, the NHS & social services which are generally not highly paid occupations and the fact that these jobs are a lot more stressful, and according to feminism sociologists they are unrecognised and always undervalued.

Moreover, there are obviously differences in the health experiences of men and women that can be attributed to biology, particularly those concerned with reproduction. Hormonal differences can account for some variation in the occurrence of particular illnesses e.g. higher rate of heart disease amongst men before the age of 50 can partly be accounted for by the lack of protection provided by the hormone oestrogen. Genetic and biological research points to certain gender to being more prone to certain illnesses and diseases. Women suffer from certain sorts of health problems because of their distinctive biology e.g. pregnancy and childbirth, contraception and abortion, menstruation and menopause, breast and cervical cancer. They are also more likely to suffer from autoimmune disease e.g. arthritis and degenerative disease (because they live longer), but on the other hand men suffer more heart disease.

Health and Ethnicity, the problem of definition; do we use race, ethnicity, or specific culture groups, e.g. Punjabi to define health and ethnicity. Ethnicity results to inequalities in health chances due to various factors and situations within society. Genetic and biological research clearly portray the fact that certain ethnic minorities are more prone to having certain diseases, e.g. Haemophilia is quite common in European men, whilst Sickle Cell Anaemia is quite common in Afro-Caribbean’s. However, we could argue that not all health illnesses are necessarily related to ethnicity, for instance, heart disease, bronchitis and strokes which all have a high incidence in the Asian community are linked to socio-economic factors not ethnicity.

Moreover, diet/lifestyle/traditions and cultural values also affect the outcomes of health chances within society, i.e. Asian communities e.g. prenatal mortalities is high for Asian women but this may be because many do not attend anti-natal classes. Also, diet- high rate in the use ‘GHEE’ in the Asian cooking relating to heart disease. However, many Asian diets particularly the Vegetarian dishes are healthier than they counter parts in the white community.

Furthermore, low social class, poor and under-paid occupations, unemployment and dangerous/hazardous jobs are common within the ethnic minority society, which result to poor health conditions resulting to the worst health chances. Which in effect are being persevered through generations resulting to inequality in health within the ethnic minority society. Although the materialist argument is more successful than either the genetic or cultural approaches in explaining health differences between ethnic groups it still fails to adequately explain why they should be so particularly disadvantaged. For example when comparing black and white sharing the same social class position black people are more vulnerable to unemployment.

Racism in the private and public housing markets has also been shown to compound inequalities generated by social class. Racism, therefore, is further constraint on the access to conditions of life are more conductive to good health. Also racism may be a reason for a higher death/violence rate in the ethnic minority groups. However, the likelihood of contribution of racism to ill health is complex and varied. Although, high rates of unemployment, redundancy, excessive shift work, compulsion over time and un-social working hours are some issues within the ethnic minority society which contribute to the overall of affect health chances.

Finally, both gender and ethnicity create inequalities in health chances within society, as discussed. Some of which can be regarded as acceptable i.e. unavoidable, whilst others can be clearly acknowledged as discriminating, etc.

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Sex and Gender in Sally Potter’s Orlando

Critically assess Judith Butler’s notion that gender is not a primary category, but an attribute, a set of secondary narrative effects. Your answer should make reference to Sally Potter’s film Orlando. Though Judith Butler asserts that gender is not of any importance, her writings on this notion, understandably, must put a lot of emphasis on the subject of sex. How else could she prove her theory, if not through a discussion of the unimportance of gender? In any case, her hypothesis is one that practically defines Sally Potter’s Orlando.

Based on the novelette of the same name by Virginia Woolf, the film depicts an androgynous young man’s curiously long and forever-youthful life, and his slow transformation from man to woman. It is surely a tale that represents Butler’s concern of the eventual unimportance of gender throughout history. Orlando opens with the assertion by the narrator (voiced by the eponymous character) that “there can be no doubt about his sex, despite the feminine appearance that every young man of the time aspires to. The young nobleman Orlando acts as messenger for Queen Elizabeth, who, captivated by the young man’s beauty, offers him a castle, land and an inheritance for him and his heirs. These possessions will only be his on the condition that he does not “fade”, “wither” or “grow old”. We see the young Orlando fall deeply in love with a young woman, Princess Sasha, whom he loses to another man. Heartbroken, he decides to travel the world throughout the early stages of his long life. Orlando, having experienced war, violence and other such male endeavours, becomes disenchanted with the way men think and behave.

He returns home to his estate as a woman. Here, she is told that as the estate belongs to Lord Orlando, or to his heirs, she must leave, as neither title applies to her. Rejected by society, Orlando finds acceptance and solace in the arms of the handsome Captain Shelmardine, the first man with whom she is sexually intimate. It is Shelmardine who makes Orlando realise what identity she truly wants – that of a mother. After all, she “came into this world searching for companionship. ” Centuries later, we see Orlando, still a woman “for there can be no doubt about her sex… even] with the slightly androgynous appearance that many females of the time aspire to”. She is visiting her old home with a happy young girl – her daughter. Orlando has finally found an identity she is comfortable with. In further commentary on the nature of gender as a secondary narrative, Butler once claimed that “gender is in no way a stable identity”. This, for all intents and purposes, could be the tagline for Orlando. The titular character is an androgynous being, with no strong convictions about which sex they would rather be. On her transformation into a woman, Orlando commented mildly; “Same person.

No difference at all. Just a different sex”. Butler also commented that sex is an identity obtained, not through physical attributes, but through a performance. A perception of gender is imitated, “instituted through bodily styles”. However, the critic does not mention appearance; she is merely referring to the understanding of each gender being conveyed through certain physical gestures, movements or actions. Therefore, one’s gender is only as real as our performance of it. The same is true of Orlando, behaves in a comically awkward manner while getting used to her first dress.

Being unfamiliar with the heavy frame and netting of her skirt, she walks down her hallway, bumping into furniture and awkwardly swinging her dress to the left to side-step a maid who passes by. In her first social situation, she stomps self-consciously into the drawing room, and then plonks herself down on a couch, rather ungracefully. She hasn’t taken on the grace of a woman, so she still seems to be a man, masquerading as a woman. Butler goes on to describe the gender performance as “one with clearly punitive consequences”.

In short, failing at sufficiently portraying your gender through “bodily styles” will result in punishment, which is often in the form of alienation. The Lady Orlando confuses her society with her transformation. In a way, her failure to be Lord Orlando, a man, sees her cast out of her rightful home, and, in turn, alienated by society. In Orlando’s climatic scene, the Lady Orlando and her lover, Shelmardine, discuss the common perception regarding gender. “If I were a man,” Muses the newly-female Orlando, “might choose not to risk my life for an uncertain cause.

I might think that freedom won by death is not worth having. ” Shelmardine argues that, in the eyes of society, this would be to “choose not to be a real man at all”. He, in turn, mocks the stereotype observations regarding women; “Say if I were a woman; I might choose not to sacrifice my life caring for my children. Or my children’s children. Or to drown anonymously in the milk of female kindness. But instead choose to go abroad. Would I then be –”, (here Orlando interrupts him), “A real woman? ” Yet it is this conversation, the embodiment of Butler’s theories on gender performance, which bring Orlando to the ealisation that she longs for a child. Not to earn back her home through her heir, and not to better portray the behaviour of a woman, but simply to have the companionship and love she always longed for. Orlando’s eponymous character is a human, if fictional, personification of Judith Butler’s many theses regarding gender. Orlando’s gender does not change her character in any way, she is the “same person. No difference at all. ” She does not understand that, to be accepted, she must perform the role of ‘woman’ to avoid confusing her peers. This is something she simply can’t do; she is who she is.

Yet she is punished for her failure to be a man, or to behave like a woman. In the end, she ceases to care or worry about her gender identity. She is a mother, happy with the companion she always craved. Her identity is simply: Orlando. Bibliography * Butler, J. (1988) Performative Acts and Gender Constitutions. In Rivkin, J & Ryan, M ‘Literary Theory: An Anthology, Second Edition’ (pp. 900 – 911). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. * Butler, J. (2004) Undoing Gender. United States: Routledge. * Potter, S. (Director). 1992. Orlando. [Motion Picture]. United Kingdom.

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How does Ridley Scott create and destroy gender stereotypes in Thelma and Louise?

In the 1991 film Thelma and Louise, the director Ridley Scott creates and destroys gender stereotypes successfully of that period in time and helps us to believe that the characters portrayed by Susan Surandon and Geena Davis were real. Here are a few examples of gender stereotypes:

In the first scene of the movie, Thelma was in her kitchen wearing a frilly and flowery night gown and the phone was ringing and she called to her husband, “I’ll get it.”

This shows that Thelma is a house slave and Ridley Scott dipicts this as he films Thelma on a low angle and when Thelma’s husband Darryl walks into the kitchen, he is filmed on a low angle to make him seem a lot bigger and fiercer than he really is. He is shown as already in his work uniform and this tells us that Thelma is a housewife and her entire day is pent locked up inside the house preforming chores. When Thelma is just about to ask Darryl if she can go for the weekend on a roadtrip with Louise, she got scared and ended up asking him if he wanted anything special for dinner that night. To which Darryl simply replies, “Thelma, I don’t give fuck what we have for dinner tonight. I might not even make it home from work tonight.”

This shows that Darryl is an unfaithful husband and is having an affair. Thelma suspects this and states, “it’s funny how many people want to buy a carpet on a Friday night. You would have thought they would have forgotten about it for the weekend.”

To that Darryl replies, “well it’s a good thing your no regional manager then, and I am.”

He then swings his keys around on his finger as if to say, I am better than you, you are worthless.

The second scene I am going to describe is where Louise is at work in the diner that she work at and she is depicted as having her hair tied up in a neat bun, showing her as a couped up child who just wants to break free of her immaginary prison. She is wearing her usual uniform of a long white dress and apron. There is a pan shot of her at eye level moving across the diner serving people as she goes. This shows that women in this time cannot have highly paid jobs and they must either be a housewife or work in a dead end, minimum wage job where she does not get the respect that she deserves.

The next scene I am going to describe is the scene in which Thelma is packing fro her road trip with Louise after Darryl had left to go to work. She had never had as much fun before and had never packed like it. She didn’t know what she should take, so she just topples the contents of her drawers into many suitcases, she then looks in her bedside cabinet and takes out her earings and finds a revolver that Darryl had given her to protect herslef when he was a t work. Thelma takes the revolver out and holds it with her thumb and forefinger. This creates a gender stereotype as it shows that women aren’t meant to hold guns. Thelma then drops it into one of her suitcases as if she didn’t know the full capabilities of what damage the small silver thing in her hands could do. Later on in the movie, Thelma brings out the revlver when she is in Louise’s car and turns to Louise and asks if Louise can take care of it. Louise replies shocked, “goddamnit Thelma, why in the hell did you bring that?”

To which Thelma replies, “snakes, bears, psycho killers. You never know what could happen, look can you take it? I don’t even know how to use it.”

“Well put it in my purse then,” Louise replies.

This shows that Louise is a much stronger woman than Thelma and she had become tough after what happened to her in Texas.

The last scene I am going to describe which creates gender stereotypes is the scene in the bar where Thelma and Louise are sitting at a table in a Western bar and the waitress walks up to them and asks if they would like andything to drink. The waitress is in the same conditions that Louise was in at the start of the movie in the diner. Louise states that she doesn’t wnat any drinks, but Thelma orders two alcholholic drinks and the waitress nods and walks away. Louise looks surprised, “Thelma! I’ve never seen you like this, you’re always so sedate!”

“I’ve had it up to my ass with sedate!” Thelma smiles, “I just want to let my hair down.”

This shows that Thelma is acting out of character and just wants to have fun. This is where the well dressed, well mannered, charming Harlan walks over to them. He is filmed on a very low angle.

“Well hello ladies,” he says, “isn’t this place a bit rough for bauties like you?”

Thelma is flattered by the attention that Harlan gives her, but Louise doesn’t buy it. She realises what Harlan is quickly as it shows a man just like him flattered her back in Texas.

“Oh I’m sorry,” Louise states, “we’re having private convorsation here.”

“Oh right okay ladies,” Harlan says, visabaly dissapointed.

Thelma holds him back, “no it’s okay. He can stay.”

The waitress returns and gives Thelma her drinks, “you’re not bothering these poor girls are you Harlan?”

“Nah,” Harlan replies, “I’m just being friendly.”

“Your name’s Harlan?” Thelma asks, “I had an uncle named Harlan.”

Thelma then goes to dance with Harlan and he spins her aorund many times making her very dizzy and in need of fresh air. He is clearly taking advantage of her. Thelma states she need fresh air and Harlan takes her outside. Harlan then starts to take advantage of Thelma and then he says that he wont hurt her. This shows us that Harlan has no regard for Thelma’s thoughts or feelings. Louise then bursts out of the bar holding the revolver that Thelma had put in her bag earlier and aims it at Harlan. Harlan just laughs and tells Louise to “suck his dick.” Louise then shoots Harlan in cold blood. This is the first real time that we get to see the gender stereotypes destroyed as women aren’t supposed to show violence. Harlan’s dead body is then shown at a high angle to show that his power and scariness from before had been torn away in an instant.

Here is the second point of Ridley Scott’s use of destroying gender stereotypes. This is the scene where Thelma and Louise meet up with young hustler JD and he asks for a ride. They drive with him and drop him off in the middle of a rainy city. Later on in the evening, JD knocks on Thelma’s motel door and the two make passionate love. Then in the morning Thelma goes to see Louise at a caf� and they talk and Louise realises that JD must’ve stolen their money that Jimmy had given to Louise, the two women run back to their motel room frantically to find it ransacked and the money stolen.

Louise collapses into tears as her last piece of energy and moral sense of dignity are shattered. Thelma then takes control and is filmed on a high angle to signify that know she is taking control. The old Thelma is gone and the new Thelma has taken her place. The new Thelma is the sort of Thelma who will do anything to survive.

The next scene I am going to describe is the scene where Thelma and Louise stop to get a cup of coffee and when the two of them get back into the car, Thelma states that she is going to go and get some gum, so she takes Louise’s handbag with the pistol still in it and goes into the nearest convenience store. When Thelma goes into the store, she pulls out the revolver and shouts to everyone, “good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is a robbery, now if nobody loses their head then no one will lose their head.”

She then steals all the money from the till and runs out of the store shouting to Louise, “drive Louise! Go”

“A store? You robbed a store?” Louise asks pedantically.

“Well we needed the money didn’t we? Now drive!” Thelma replies.

This breaks the stereotype that all women must abide by the law at all times.

The second to last scene I am going to describe is the scene where Thelma and Louise are driving through the desert when a police officer flags them down for speeding. The officer then take Louise back to his car and starts calling his colleagues. Louise asks if she is in trouble and the officer nods, big trouble. Thelma then appears at the officer’s window and smiles at him and starts to flirt. The officer asks sternly for Thelma to return to her car, but Thelma produces the revolver and points it at the officer’s head and demands for Louise to take his gun and shoot out the radio which she does, but then Thelma corrects her and says the police radio.

This shows that although this is a dark film, Ridley Scott adds in a piece of comic relief. Thelma and Louise lead the distressed police officer to the trunk of his vehicle where Thelma shoots two air holes into the trunk and instructs the officer to get inside at which point the officer bursts into tears and Thelma asks him if he had a wife to which the officer nods. Thelma smiles and tells him, “you be nice to her. My husband wasn’t nice to me and look how I ended up.”

On which note, Thelma slams the lid shut upon the officer.

The last scene I am describing is the scene at the end of the movie where Thelma and Louise have been evading the police successfully for a fair few minutes which breaks the stereotype that women are bad drivers, but they eventually get captured on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Behind Louise’s convertible is about twenty police cars, a helicopter and at least forty heavily armed officers. The helicopter lands and a few suited FBI Agents get out, one of which is the one man in the forces who believes Thelma and Louise’s story.

Thelma turns to Louise and tells her she can’t go back to the way she used to be as she had loved the experience. Louise nods and turns on the engines despite the officer’s warnings of opening fire if they did not give themselves up to be arrested. Louise slams the car forward toward the edge of the Grand Canyon. The only FBI Agent that believes them sprints after them so that the police will not fire. He shouts trying to stop them, but Thelma and Louise are adamant. Their car flies off of the edge of the Grand Canyon and the screen flashes with images of the past two days adventure.

In conclusion I believe that Ridley Scott provides the audience with a thrilling and extremely realistic insight into the sexism and gender stereotyping that was around in America at the time of the film’s release. I believe that this film teaches a lesson to all American men who were racist at the point of the film’s release.

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Steel Toed Stilettos

Man is the subject; woman is the object. This is the major premise of the gender binary hierarchy. Man is dominant and the woman submissive, active and passive, rational and emotional, strong and weak. Hegemonic masculinity is the ‘maintenance of practices that institutionalize men’s dominance over women’ (Connell, 1997, p. 24). Emphasized femininity is compliance and the overall subordination of women to men (Connell). This will be an analysis of female strippers and those people in their environment, with special concern regarding the objectification of women, and the misleading emphasized femininity ascribed to dancers.

Men are the customers thought of when designing a strip club; there are scantily clad women, sports or pornography on television sets, even pool tables and arcade games. He is the subject. The women are objectified, the use of a pseudonym, or stage name, distances the customers, and the dancers, from the strippers’ lives outside the club. However, there are more parties involved than the customer and the dancer. The parties involved extend from the dancers to their agents, the club owners/managers, the municipal government as well as club support staff, photographers, promotional people, and others not discussed here.

The agents, rarely female, must find a new club for the woman to work in every week and for this, they receive a fifteen percent commission. Agents have contracts with the dancers as well as the clubs. When and if any dancers complain about dirty working conditions and unfair labour practices, the agents quickly attempt to stop the denouncing. If a dancer wanted to sue a club for breach of contract, for instance, and the agents did not persuade her to stop, the treatment upon her return would be a sign that she was done in the strip clubs.

The agent would blackball her from all clubs represented by his agency; in Alberta, ninety-eight percent of the clubs are under contract to one agency effectively ensuring the women’s compliance and increasing the unlikelihood that someone might speak up. In addition to the club and dancer contracts they hold, they advocate breast implants and bleached blonde hair and pole dancing. If women do receive implants, show prices increase and instead of being a dancer, she can be a ‘walker’.

Many feature performers simply walk around the stage and do not dance, an opportunity provided for them by their physical attributes. A classmate remarked in a discussion, “obviously the girls know how to dance, it’s a basic job requirement. ” The reality is breast implants can take centre stage and relegate a lack of rhythm to a dark corner backstage. The mainstream and the sex industry reward women who have breast implants. Those dancers with large breasts will receive more money per show than her colleague with the smaller cup size will receive if all other factors are equal.

The municipal governments, specifically the City of Edmonton and the City of Calgary, require that all exotic dancers pass a security clearance to control for any drug or prostitution charges also, dancers must pay an annual fee of one hundred fifty dollars for a license. The city has increased their scrutiny in regards to one’s security clearance in the past two years resulting in fewer women able to work in the city and others fearing that their past transgressions exposed to everyone making them ineligible for employment.

A near rejection of one Edmonton dancer’s license renewal illustrates the unintended effects of the security clearance; she was required to meet the police vice and discuss a charge on her record. There was a real possibility that she would not pass if she were unable to explain her charges. It was shoplifting, no conviction, just a charge, and occurred seven years prior. Why is it necessary for a stripper to gain security clearance? Are strippers inherently more dangerous? What kinds of threats do naked women pose?

Fear of the criminality possessed by these women must not be the reason for these seemingly unnecessary procedures. If it was a predominately male profession, it is highly doubtful that the same processes would be in place. The fee of one hundred fifty dollars is significantly higher than bars or restaurants, but fortunately far below the annual three thousand dollars paid by escorts. Does the city equate strippers and escorts? The singling out of these two professions may suggest an equivocation. Why are retail workers not forced to have a license?

One answer is that the government wants a share of the money these women work hard to receive. The documenting of the tips dancers receive and the money escorts receive is not necessarily reliable. These people may not fully declare their income on their taxes and the government is unable to verify the amounts. These licensing fees are in place to regulate the dancers but there is little regulation. This is another instance of the domination attempts on these females. The club owner/manager is male for the vast majority.

These men tell the agents what kind of dancers they are seeking. The owner’s preferences can result in the agents offering only certain women work; he may want only Caucasian women, waifs, or pop music blondes. The club owner holds absolutely the power to hire and fire. After first meeting a dancer or after her first show of the week, or at any time during the week, the manager can fire her, sometimes without pay. A woman’s weight, breast size, muscle tone (be it too muscular or not enough), attractiveness, attitude, behaviour, past, are all reasons for dismissal.

The fact that a woman could work an entire week, and be expecting a paycheque of eight hundred dollars only to be fired hours before she is to be paid seems unfair, oppressive, exploitive, etc. There is also the possibility that instead of receiving a paycheque, one could receive a bill. The attached hotel may be the only option in the town, deducted from the cheque, as well as telephone calls, bar tabs, restaurant bills, these alone could dramatically reduce a cheque and then there are fines. There are no fine regulations and can vary widely between clubs.

Fines are also absolute, there is no appeal process, no possibility that the Stripper Protection Agency will raid the club and arrest the fine-happy manager. If a manager hates a dancer, he could allow her to dance the week only to surprise her with a page of fines for infractions she did not commit. Fines are in place to ensure job effectiveness, productivity and presence; they also lessen payrolls. Sanctions imposed for tardiness are generally one hundred dollars for every minute late for a show, no excuses. Missed shows range from two hundred fifty dollars to five hundred dollars plus the cost of the show.

It is wholly within the manager’s power to decide to double a dancer’s fines. For example, during an interview with a dancer named Octavia, she told of when she was late for a show because her suitcase would not open, after a lengthy struggle the manager opened it by ripping the suitcase and then proceeded to fine her three hundred dollars for being late. She told the other dancers what had happened and they were outraged and informed the manager of such. He then doubled her fine because she had a ‘big mouth’ and the other dancers were approaching him and scolding him for fining Octavia.

It is a system that favors the club, adversarial to the dancer and easy to identify situations in which women could work a week for nothing, maybe less. Fired without pay and an excessive fine system are only two of the way women are overpowered, another is the unwillingness and the refusal to accept any reason to miss a show. These claims, legitimate or not, are for the vast majority of the time never taken seriously. The managers have ‘seen & heard it all before’ and suspect a late night of alcohol and drugs are the cause of this day’s ailment.

The male aspects of the strip trade include the agents who have a monopoly on clubs and workers, almost all control over a dancer’s placement, much say in the hiring of a dancer, and the power to ostracize a dancer. Spotlighting the municipal government and it is hard to miss its attempts to exploit working women. The club owners have the power, and exercise it, to fire without pay, fine exorbitant amounts of money over minutes, and refuse to believe any ailments that a woman is suffering from is anything more than a hangover.

After that lengthy inspection of the males of the strip club culture, the attention focuses on the females, the dancers. In her article, Feminism, Marxism, Method and the State: An Agenda for Theory, Catharine A. MacKinnon (1982) states, “Socially, femaleness means femininity, which means attractiveness to men, which means sexual attractiveness, which means sexual availability on male terms”. If femaleness means femininity and dancers are female, if the factors of femininity as met it is true. Dancers are attractive to men, sexually attractive in fact.

Interpreting sexual availability as a willing participant in sexual activity is valid; however, women can be available in general and not for a specific person. If this is correct then dancers exude femininity. They seem rather feminine, wearing form-fitting dresses, short skirts, and stiletto heels. Their make-up and hair are amazing emphasizing their attractiveness, and being naked is a sufficient condition for sexually attractive. It is appropriate to consider dancers feminine in relation to MacKinnon’s article.

The men think we do it because we love sex so much, we’re sex-driven throbbing mattress kittens. But when we’re on stage we’re all virgins, and then we lock eyes with that one special guy and he might be the one to change all that . . . and then we lock eyes with the next guy and he might be the one to change all that. Men are so stupid. ” Octavia’s quote is an example of the have/hold discourse (Hollway, 1984). Wife or mistress, virgin or whore (or sex-driven throbbing mattress kittens) the dichotomy is the same and impossible to achieve.

Expected to be the provocative, seductive, pure, ingi??nue and obviously unable to fill the role, the dancer adopts a role not unlike that of a trucker. Rude, crude and crass, these women are tough. They have experienced volumes either in person, a close friend, or another dancer’s recollection. Assertive, aggressive, controlled, rational are usually male-specific traits but dancers are often described as such. A power shift has occurred, any previous conceptions about women’s subservience to men have vanished.

On stage, strippers can make men do anything, falling over themselves to throw money to her, reduced to the basest of urges. After having seen one’s oppressor with his pants around his ankles and his clown boxers showing, the power is not as apparent as it had been. If subsequently, the repeat viewing of the oppressor is in compromising, powerless situations, the oppressor ceases to exist, and it is simply another person. In the situation the power shifted to the dancers and the agent, the manager, the city government may exert some power over her; regardless the men at the strip club are waiting for her.

Exotic dancers appear to be an ultimately sexual, feminine being. However, it is not always the case; they adopt attitudes perhaps better suited to their trucker or rig-working customers. The misconception that the dancers are waiting for that guy at the club is in light of the fact that many dancers have an utter hatred for males and they despise them while they smile and listen to his stories. The objectification that is present in the strip club may not be the dancers at all it may be the customer who is nothing other than a source for money.

The personality traits, usually coded as masculine, embodied by these women, must aid them as they ‘hustle’ to sell table dances, and convince the men to play loonie games. The transference of power, as experienced in the strip club, would be an empowering experience for all women. The possibility of it occurring is not absurd. The emphasized femininity some women adhere to is not going to increase the likelihood of this fundamental shift. However, if any change is to occur, solidarity must first be present.

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Proposal for Gender Affirmative Action in Europe

When applying for a Job but also to the university, Judging does not have to be only based on your skills, work experience, studies, grades but it can be largely affected also by your gender or race. The proper term for such an action is, “affirmative action” or “positive discrimination”. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, affirmative action can be defined as, “positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education and business from which they have been historically excluded.

Recently, there has been a great deal of discussion related to the proposal of European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Mrs. Viviane Reding. The proposal was on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges. Furthermore, proposal should ensure that by 2020, at least 40% of women should be represented on supervisory boards and boards of companies with more than 250 employees. According the collected statistics by European Commission, “women only make up to 15% of non-executive boards and 8,9% of executive boards.

First country in EIJ that came with this idea and implemented it was Norway in 2003. However, is such a proposal ethical? On one side, according to Viviane Reding, a glass ceiling still remains and blocks female talent from top positions. On the other side, positive discrimination, (artificially created) of any kind will always lead into reverse discrimination. Also, it violates one of the basic business concepts, speaking that this proposal restricts ownership of shareholders of the companies who have invested their capital.

They are not allowed to fully choose their representatives (non- xecutives, executives, management) by their most rational choice. If the shareholders have to take into account other criteria beside the ability of the best representation of the executives and directors, in this case, they have to decide upon gender. Then, the representation may be at the expense of effectiveness and managing the company which in turn goes to an expense of profits. Another points of view may be taken from the philosophical side. Utilitarian theory can be stated that an action should be based on the outcomes.

Firstly, some may say women enhance diversity in the companies. Secondly, having diverse environment may be a key factor for advancements or successful achievements of a company. Lastly, the ultimate end result which could be in a form of disappearance of gender glass ceiling. Looking at the affirmative action through these points, mention outcomes have clearly positive sides. The utilitarian theory can be similarly stated in terms that it tries to maximize happiness and reduce suffering. In such a statement, some cons may appear as well.

When applying for the position that is affected by the quotas, more men may be pplied than women and even if the skills of both genders would be comparable, in order to fulfill the quotas more/or even only women would be accepted than men. In such a case, majority is harmed and thus it does not maximize the happiness. Not having freedom of choice based on the skills harms majority again, this time the majority is represented by the shareholders and stakeholders and again, it is based on the theory, that the representation of the company will not be chosen in the best possible way, but in order to fulfill the restrictions..

Though, these points of view are nly hypothetical. Another well known philosophical theory which may be applied to this topic is Kantian theory. In principle, it states that in order to determine whether or not an action is good or ethical, we should imagine it as a universal law and determine whether or not that would be detrimental or good. Theoretically, such an affirmative action becoming a universal law would not lead into happiness of majority in society. Creating the quotas/regulations is not solving the problem, it is critical to rather change the approach to women at the workplace.

For instance, by using different tools to support the efforts to balance professional life and personal life which allow women to use their education and skills without a need to resign as mother and come to the decision between family and career. In conclusion, European Commissioner Viviane Reding with her proposal met certain supporters particularly in European Commission, but many opponents have argued as well, thus the proposal was postponed for now. I stand up in the opponents side against this proposal as almost any kind of affirmative action leads into reverse discrimination.

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Class and gender reflection

A reflection on Class and Gender from a traditional / ethnic background by: Gender: I grew up surrounded by powerful women: Three older sisters who decided what I would wear and which games we would play. A mother and two aunties, who held positions of power as teachers. My dad was a passive person and therefore was ruled by the women in our household. So at my young age, “Gender” was protection for my dad’ My first exposure to gender outside of my household was In the media. With the feminist movement. I then realized that my home was an exception and that globally, omen were being treated as If they were Inferior to men.

But another realization came to me: In the western world, women were fighting for independence, whereas in traditional societies, women were (and are still) fighting for family unity. A priest once told me: The woman Is the pillar of her household. In the ass in Mauritius, the feminist movement started with the boom In the economy. Suddenly, housewives went to work In mass In factories and this caused a significant change in the family dynamics in two ways: No longer were men the sole bread winners in the family; and Children were coming home from school without a parent being horn.

With regards to Africa, a significant component of humanitarian aid has gone towards the empowerment of African women, like helping them to build Income generating activities. However, no work has been done in parallel with the men. So men of traditional societies suddenly found themselves less educated than their wives, and becoming reliant on their wives for Income support. This loss In status without any opportunity to express themselves, have caused some men to turn violent towards heir wives. More and more now. Unitarian agencies are making sure that all community members participate in the process of project to ensure that the men are not left “behind-. Class: Growing up, It was clear that there was (and that there still Is) a social class system In Mauritius, even It It was not openly acknowledged. There Is clear delve In terms of wealth, education, skin color and even your name. And this class structure Is maintained by the political and economic system, because they benefit trot it. Politicians can more easily pull the wool over the eyes tooth population, it the latter is uneducated.

In Australia, it seemed that there was no class division in society – I now know that this Is not true. Twelve years ago, I moved back to Mauritius and chose to live in a small coastal village where the majority of the people are poor. My city friends could not relate to my new friends from the village. There were many differences between the two groups: education, beliefs, methods of worship, standard of living, health and hygiene (amongst many others) and neither group could openly and clearly monomaniac with each other and therefore would struggle to understand the actions of the other.

People from a different social class have a different culture: they have a different way of looking at things. For example, Cambodia like eating grilled cockroaches, while we Mauritania make it our purpose to exterminate them. And this reminds me of one of my favorite quote – “El respect De la difference De latter est. la base De lanthanum” – which literally translate to – respect for the difference in others is at the core of our humanity.

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