Category: Gender

Self-esteem and gender.
The purpose of this finding is to understand the relations between gender and self- esteem using the method of convenience sample survey Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. This survey included 6 male and 21 female college students, total n=27 to predict self-esteem levels of each gender. In this study, the PV= gender, the OD= self- report and demographic, the CV= self-esteem, and another OD= score on survey.
Researchers will use data collected to analyze self-esteem levels in both male and female college students. In relation to past studies, the hypothesis for this research s that male college students have higher self-esteem than female college students. However, survey results showed no relations between scores in self-esteem and gender. We cannot predict self-esteem levels based on gender because it is not the main factor. One implication for this study is to have larger representative sample to obtain stronger validity and rule out sampling bias.
Keywords: self-esteem, gender role, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, predictor variable (PV), operational definition (OD), criterion variable (CV) Introduction Past researches have shown that self-esteem plays an important role in etermining the academic achievement and health levels of both genders. Researchers predicted that there is a relation between gender role and self-esteem. Therefore, many studies have been done to predict the possible outcome of the above hypothesis.

When we try to find out if gender really does play an important role in one’s academic achievement and levels of health, we can try to develop new ways to improve these conditions for both genders. Self-esteem creates huge impacts in each individual living standards and performance, for learning to compare self-esteem level in both genders will help researchers to acquire knowledge about ach gender behavior. Researchers could then apply alternative ways to analyze these behaviors and conduct further psychological studies which will benefit the learning of people’s behaviors in general.
In The Relationship between Gender Type of Sport, Body Dissatisfaction Self- esteem and Disordered Eating behaviors in Division I Athletes (Milligan & Pritchard, 2006), it is shown that women with eating disorders behaviors have body dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem where as men with disorders eating behaviors only have body dissatisfaction. This shows gender is a factor that proves women do not have strong coping skills as men.
Next, the article Linking self-differentiation and mental health in lower grade college students with different genders: Moderating role ot selt-esteem (Yao & explores the association between the selt- differentiation and mental health in both genders, and the results indicate that male students have higher levels of self-esteem than female students. Female students are at higher risk to not seek help for their mental health problems. However, one source disconfirmed these researchers’ earlier hypothesis.
From the Gender differences in domain- specific self-esteem: A meta-analysis (Gentile et, al. 2009) hich examines gender differences in ten specific- domain of self-esteem across one hundred and fifteen studies, there was no relationship in gender differences in academic, social acceptance, family and affect self-esteem. These results rejected our current hypothesis in terms that gender is not a factor in determining individual’s self-esteem levels which cause better achievement in academic and in health. To conclude, gender role has no relationship with self-esteem.
Discussion Our group research finding hypothesis was not supported because we predicted that there is a relation between gender role and self-esteem. After we calculated our onvenience survey Coppersmith Self-esteem Inventory results taken from twenty seven students, both male and females college students at the age of eighteen to thirty five, here are our results: gender, OD = self-report and demographic, CV= self-esteem, OD = CSEI score on survey. Our r value is . 054, df is 25. The critical value for r at a significance level of . 05 (middle column, two-tailed on page 411) is . 3809.
Our r value of . 054 is less than the above r value of . 3809. Our r value is not significant and is very close to zero. This means that there was no relation between our variables, for our results were not significant. Therefore, we found no relation between gender and self-esteem; we cannot predict participants’ self-esteem based on their gender roles. The only source that would support our result finding was the last article in Gender differences in domain- specific self-esteem: A meta- analysis (Gentile et, al. 2009), which we thought it would disconfirm with our earlier hypothesis.
As a result, our prediction was incorrect, for this article supported our current finding. This article indicates gender is not valid predictor variable that can be used to manipulate/calculate the criterion variable, which in this case is a tudent’s self-esteem level. Therefore, gender differences have no impacts on students’ academic, social acceptance, family relationship and affect self-esteem. Since we had a small sample of participants, it was hard to generalize our finding because there was not much to analyze and we also thought this factor affected our results.
Besides, participants’ agreement with the CSEI questionnaires did not guarantee their truthful emotions at the time they were taking the inventory because they had a handful of surveys to complete. The likelihood for participants to have responsive bias in this survey is high. For future studies, we would definitely try to get larger and equal number of participants whom would actually be a representative sample that represent both gender populations. This will help us to obtain stronger validity for the study and rule out sampling bias.
In sum, we feel that understanding self-esteem levels in each individual is very important because it will help us to develop better ways to improve our conditions and adopt new ways to cope with our obstacles. As we learn how self-esteem affects our behaviors, we will have more awareness and perception of our own selves and between both genders. It is significant to note that self-esteem has no relationship with gender because this will help people to eliminate stereotypical views tor botn genders in determining their success in academic, mental health, and physical satisfaction.

Self-esteem and gender

Gender and Sexuality.
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009).
There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and a traditional society perspective.
The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality.

There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit. Gender roles and stereotypes exist for all genders. These roles are set by the individuals of the society, “sex roles are expectations for behaviour and attitudes that a particular culture defines as appropriate for men and women” (Whicker and Kronenfeld, 1986; pp. 8). The traditional views of gender roles are indeed quite different from the modern views. The men in society are the bread-winners where as the women take care of the children and home.
There are basic and common work roles, however in terms of behaviour and involvement there are gender role distinctions. The sex roles generally play out in modern society as well, some sex roles and stereotypes for girls are that they are “nonaggressive, nonathletic, emotionally expressive, tender, domestic, and nurturing. Boys on the other hand are “aggressive, value achievement, attain goals through conflict, and work towards monetary success” (Whicker and Kronenfeld, 1986; pp. 8).
The males in the society are “emotionally anesthetised, aggressive, physically tough and daring, unwilling or unable to give nurturance to a child” (Lewis and Sussman, 1986; pp. 1). These traits are carried out by this particular gender mostly outside the society to demonstrate their strength. Those individuals who ignore to carry out these personality traits are seen as weak and unmanly. The women on the other hand are given the responsibility of looking after the family and are supposed to have the opposite personality traits.
For instance a woman can show emotions but not outside of the family because of the shame that would bring to the family. This also an issue because a husband cannot help the women out otherwise the society will look down upon him, and as for society itself women cannot rely on outsiders. This brings about a question as to whom should she reveal her emotions and feelings to? These gender stereotypes such as a men being physically stronger or women being physically weak are embedded in the individual’s mind and thus they carry out these stereotypes themselves thereby continuing the stereotype.
The gender role differences bring up a point about fake identity and practice. For the purpose of being accepted in society one hides his or her inner desires and emotions in order to fit in society. One does not need to be tough to show masculinity neither does one need to be weak to bring out her feelings. However, society changes when the men in the society gradually developed more female traits and get involved in the family matters. The role that impacts the family the most is the role of the men.
The media plays a huge role in shaping the role of what a father is. Once the father used to be a bread-winner, now the roles can switch and the mother can go out to work and the father can stay with the children. The media demonstrates the idea of the father who spends his time at home with the children, baby sitting, cooking, and cleaning. This new image encourages and motives the men in this society to get involved and help their family. Also, the family is no longer always ruled by a patriarchal system.
Patriarchy is “a system promotion the higher status and privilege of men against women” (Lewis and Sussman, 1986; pp. 17). The roles are either balanced or a matriarchy system is also involved where the women are the superior ones in the family. The society’s acceptance of these roles changes and also it gives opportunity to the opposite sex to prove their skills and identity in the society and within their family, however, the society’s expectations do not end here. The men are portrayed as strong body-builders and females are portrayed as slim beauties.
These images are carried by the media where in the film “Tough guise” by Jackson Katz, the movie demonstrates the transition of masculinity from past generation to current generation. The men are more build up in terms of body structure compared to the past. Although the father might be involved in the family, the sex roles of the genders do not vanish, they make gradual transitions from generation to generation. The traditional society simply believes that women stay at home and focus on their private life rather than the outside world. The major role is played by the adult males who maintain the finances.
Women’s work is not as valued as the men’s, however it is essential to understand that men would have had to do double job if the women were not looking after his children and home. Although both, the inside and the outside work required a lot of effort, the dominance of the male gender rules over the female gender in terms of the value of work. Besides the cultural values, religion also played a role in shaping these ideologies. “Religious institutions have long been conservative in their ideals and patriarchs. Recent exceptions do exist, such as the increasing enrolment of women in Protestant seminaries.
The Church however, like the corporate America, maintains the image of a traditional family and career structure, where the husband is the major bread-winner and thus the head if the household and his wife is in a supportive, expressive position” (Lewis and Sussman, 1986; pp 199). These religious institutions drew the images of gender roles inside and outside of the house, where one gender worked inside and the other worked outside and even if the women decided to work outside were treated unequally. At the end of the day they had to look after their children.
This brings about a question of whether the children only belonged to the mothers or both parents. What role do the fathers play in the lives of their children? There is no social support for the women in this society to rely on, thus they struggle to maintain their rough lifestyle. The family only becomes dependent on the men, which is problematic. In case of a single parent, where the children are dependent on a mother it becomes a financial problem. The lack of government involvement is a disadvantage for the women in this society because those who are divorced or lost their husbands are strongly hit by poverty.
Social policy such as education, career, and welfare state did not exist in the life a woman in a traditional society. However, as the world gradually developed in terms of technology, the women caught up to the men. The ideology of individuals in the modern society changed where the women were once seen an item in the household, they now gained a sense of freedom. To being with the basic understanding of a woman going in to work is that “most women work because of economic need. The majority of employed females are single, widowed, divorced or separated, or working to supplement the low income of their spouse” (Kendrigan, 1991; pp 91).
This is not to say that women spend time at working leaving their children, spouse, or home alone. Their life in modern society is challenging because there is more responsibility on their shoulders. Not only do women have their work life but also their family life as well. As a plus, the government provides day care for working women in order to make their lives easier. Looking at the correlation of women and the workforce has a great impact on the economic factors of the country and state. The women contribute to the social welfare state because the more people working in the country the more stable and stronger the economy gets.
For instance, in Canada women who contribute to the country economy through paying taxes add on to the government public funds, which are used for education, welfare, and the publish health care system. There are many advantages for the women as well as the state. Although there remains to be an inequality in the salary of woman when compared to a man it is importance to focus on the progress as well. The transformation occurred because women stepped out of their homes and stepped in to the working world. They still have to work hard to gain their respect and work for equality among men.
Genders and sexuality cannot leave homosexuality behind, however this is not so true for the traditional society. Just because homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgender were not seen very often does not mean they were invisible. The reactions of individuals in the society to these particular sexes lead the homosexuals, transgender, and bisexual being seen as inferior. This brings about the ideology of superior over inferior. There is a sense of shame attached to these sexes, where they cannot freely express their identity. To reveal their identity means going through the consequences set by the ndividuals in the society and in some countries even the government. Even though much emphasis is given to sex roles in homosexuality as well there lies a difference among lesbians and gays. Looking back at the roles of the boys and adult males in a traditional society they had to stay strong and stay focused on work. This becomes an issue for the gay individuals. Unlike lesbians, gays cannot freely walk with their partners without being noticed. “women can hold hands in the street, and even go arm in arm; because families let girls sleep with their girlfriends, but for boys, it’s forbidden” (Likosky, 1992; pp. 3). It is indeed difficult for the homosexuals to express their homosexuality because of the norms set by society. Women can get away with it because of the friendly and nurturing stereotype that the society has placed upon them. “Homosexuality, though, exists in different societies and cultures, with some minor exceptions are considered abnormal and disdained. It affects social order, invades personal privacy and rights, and leads to criminal behaviour. “As a result, homosexuals are more likely to encounter and be penalized administratively and criminally” (Likosky, 1992, pp. 38).
More stereotypes are attached to these individuals because they are not considered normal. Normal in this sense means that heterosexuals are the dominating ones in the society. The idea that these individuals are embedded in society not only causes prejudice towards homosexual people but also discrimination against them, leading to violent actions are taken towards them. Once again religion and government plays a major role in shaping these views towards these particular groups of people. To look at homosexuality from a modern point of view, it is not the same as the traditional.
However this is not to say that there is great equality between the heterosexuals and homosexuals, because this is simply untrue. The modern society takes the idea equality and freedom from the liberal ideology. However it is not practiced to the full extent. The flaw in the liberal state is made in the legal forms when gender is asked for. The option to this question is already stated on the paper, thus the two options given to the homosexuals are “male” or “female”. The problem lies in these two options for these individuals, because now they cannot reveal their identity, neither can they state who they are.
However if they are to pick from the two options how are they to answer this question? Is it more based on how they feel the most? Even though the individuals in the modern society consider themselves to be liberal, they are not fully liberal. On the positive side of the modern society, there are social services. “There has been a long history of people in social work who challenge the heterosexist norms of society. Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered and transsexual persons have enriched society as a whole” (Hick, 2010; pp. 02). Social work plays a major role in reshaping these sexes and their roles. The social workers empower the LGBTTQ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, and queer) to get involved in work force. This gives the individuals chances to prove themselves and also it benefits the society and economy. The more people that get involved in the workforce the stronger the economy turns out to be. The involvement of these individuals brings changes to the society and they feel accepted outside of their own group.
If they were to hide their sexuality inside as done in the traditional society there would be psychological and emotional problems among these people, and the outcome would be higher rate of suicide. The acceptance and opportunity given to them by this society not only gives advantage to these people but also to the society and the economy of the state. In the traditional society the father’s only focus is on earning an income for the family which has a direct impact on the family members due to the lack of time spent bonding with his children and wife.
The responsibility of the children falls on both parents’ shoulders not just on the mothers. However this is also an issue in modern society, if mothers rely too much on day-cares and do not spend enough time with their children then the same thing that happens to the father happens to the mother. The traditional view of sex roles differ where women are nurturing, home oriented and calm. On the other hand, men are seen as the opposite. Nevertheless, the modern view does not distinct these differences because of the greater involvement of the father in the family.
The differences do not lie among the genders but the perspective of the individuals in society, both genders can contribute to each other’s works regardless of what sex they fall under. The society, religious institute, and media play a greater role in shaping these sex roles. The gradual changes are closely related to the media because the actors carry out the roles and thus the members of the society play out those roles in their daily life style. “Homosexuality exists in different societies and cultures and with some minor exceptions it is considered abnormal and disdained.
It affects social order, invades personal privacy and rights, and leads to criminal behaviour. As a result, homosexuals are more likely to encounter and be penalized administratively and criminally” (Likosky, 1992, pp. 38) Also, the two societies view homosexuality different. Nevertheless modern society has not completely accepted the idea of homosexuality because in areas such as legal forms, the people with nonconventional sexual orientation are not shown. This demonstrates the inferiority of homosexuality and for which the government is responsible for such actions.

Gender and Sexuality

Sociological Research: Toys and Gender.
My paper titled toys and gender, is based on the toys of today and how they relate to gender socialization. I decided to go to the local Wal-Mart in Cookeville, Tn. I chose this store because it is a worldwide known large retail store. I concluded that it would be a good store to analyze because it is thought of as a family store where many families go to shop. Therefore, I knew that there would be a wide variety of toys to analyze and collect data. I went to Wal-Mart December the 3rd.
I analyzed the toy sections of Wal-Mart and how the toys are associated with gender, color sound, types of play they encourage, types of interactions they cause, and what they prepare children for. With the exception of preschool toys that were sometimes offered in gender-neutral packaging, kids’ toys were largely segregated into different aisles according to gender. And within those aisles, the markings of gender were clear. The “girls’” section resembled the aftermath of an explosion of Pepto-Bismol. In the “boys’” section, there seemed to be a profusion of aggressive, hyper-muscled, weapon-wielding action figures.
And in both realms, the majority of toys seemed to be explicitly tied to movies and television As I walked in I followed the signs to the toy section when I got to it I observed about eight aisles of toys, with toys on both sides of the aisles. Two rows were specifically designed for boy’s toys, one row of girl’s toys, two rows of baby toys, and three rows of mixed toys for both boys and girls. I saw many different kinds of toys some of the toys I saw were trucks, action figures, sports items, baby dolls, Barbie’s, puzzles, board games, and many more.

After I observed all of these things I left. As I began to analyze this data I came to conclusion that the toy sections in retail stores are very thoughtfully designed and laid out. I think that they are laid out in specific ways for one to keep things in order. It would be harder to look through and find what you want if the toys were just everywhere and in no certain order. I also think that they designate different aisles for different genders toys because when boys are little they don’t want to be seen looking around at girls stuff.
It is the same way with girls so I think that’s one reason why the toys are in the order they are. Now to get into detail about the toys, sound is one thing that can be associated with what kind of audience the toys are meant for. If you have a toy that has a soft talking voice or noise you can come to conclusion that it may be meant for a baby. Say there is a toy with a big manly voice you know that it is meant for a boy because most girls aren’t going to want a toy that sounds manly. Another thing that can be broken down into different aspects when talking about toys is color.
Color is usually associated with a lot of things it is used to interpret things. I observed lots of colors in the toys. I could usually tell what gender the toy was meant for by just the color. Society has formed guidelines to which color is meant for different genders. Once you get older and realize most of your toys are the same color you start to realize this. In society blue, green, yellow and other colors are associated with boys, while pink purple and other colors are for girls. That’s why when a baby is born if it’s a girl people usually get it pink stuff and if it’s a boy it’s usually blue stuff.
One example would be the cigars that say it’s a boy or it’s a girl. The it’s a boy are blue and the it’s a girl are pink. The chapter we are on in the book is titled gender stratification, which means a society’s unequal distribution of wealth, power and privilege between the two sexes. I found a few reading in the book that associated with the observations I recorded at the toy store. In the book it is talking about how parents react towards their kids. It says “Parents respond differently to girls and boys right from the beginning.
Girls are caressed more than boys, whereas boys are jostled and rough-housed more” (Tischler 256). This quote from the book just goes to show the difference in how people handle boys and girls. I think this has to do with the observations I conducted because the toys that are meant for boys are usually competitive and meant for active play. In society that is how boys are thought of to be rowdy, rough, and more competitive than girls. One of my most interesting finding from my research is how much gender roles are changing.
Years ago kids played with all toys , they weren’t very gender specified. Now gender roles are traditional to whereas boy’s only play with toys specified for them and same with girls. While doing my research in Wal-Mart I started to notice people that were walking by me just staring wondering what in the world a young man was doing in the kids toy section. Then an employee came up to me and asked me if I needed help, I explained to her exactly what I was doing. This goes to show that society views a young adult in a toy section as an outcast or possibly even a pedophile.
I found it very easy to tell when I entered the “girls” or “boys” section, mostly just by color and types of toys. The toys differed in many ways, such as the boys toys were a lot of times associated with sports and action figures. I think that most boys toys encourage competition while on the other hand a lot of girls toys encourage cooperation. Barbies and dolls for example prepare girls to take adult roles by helping them know what its like to become a mother. Baby dolls are another example, when little girls are playing with baby dolls this will prepare them to take care of them when they get older the right way.
It is straight forward what the toy selection says about gender in today’s culture. Boy’s are thought of as rowdy, sporty, and like competition. On the other hand, girls are usually more passive and like cooperation. Another thing I noticed in the toys were a large amount of the toys were based on movies and movie characters. This goes to show how important and big entertainment is to our society. Works Cited Tischler,Henry. Introduction to Sociology. Linda Schreiber,2007. Print.

Sociological Research: Toys and Gender

Gender Disparity In South Asia.
The aim of this paper is to show the linkage between gender disparity and social and economic inequalities that result because of gender disparity in the South Asian context. This is an important area of study because gender disparity is closely interlinked with and supports explanations of social and economic inequality.
This is also of particular interest in the South Asian context because compared to the rest of the world South Asia has one of the greatest degrees of gender disparity in the world. Furthermore gender equality can be used to measure the progressiveness and development of a given society as a whole by acting as an indicator to social equality. In other words the smaller the gap in gender disparity, the more developed and progressive a given country or society can be regarded.
This paper will deal with the common perception of women in the South Asian context, social exclusion and the limited legal rights of women, Their rights to land and property, access to education and healthcare, female foeticide and infanticide, the political and economic exclusion of women and the downward spiraling effect that the above factors will have particularly on the economy and South Asian society as a whole. The paper will draw from various parts of South Asia to illustrate vividly examples of gender disparity at work.

In order to really understand the existence of Gender disparity in South Asia one must look at the fiercely patriarchal nature of South Asian society. Throughout most of South Asia, men have been given the role of decision makers and heads of family because of cultural, social and religious backing that has gone on for thousands of years and thus gender bias is not just believed in by men but women also. “This has arguably resulted in female submission to male domination and the constraint of women’s choices to come to be regarded as the social norm. ”
The first significant way that gender disparity supports economic inequality is in what can be regarded as the “unseen economy”. Many South Asian women are employed in the informal sector and thus their contribution to the national economy is not recognized and accounted for in a respective country’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP. “Because their labour – in such activities as family care, household maintenance is excluded from systems of national accounts the work they do remains unappreciated and inadequately compensated. In Bangladesh, some studies estimate that women spend between 70 and 88 percent of their time in non-market work.
The vast majority of South Asian women work in the informal-sector or in unpaid family assistance, with the informal sector accounting for the employment of 96 percent of economically-active women in India, 75 percent in Nepal and Bangladesh and nearly 65 percent in Pakistan. “2 Methods to incorporate the contribution of the women to the economy should be implemented. This would be the only possible way of assessing their productivity accurately. One theoretical method is to make use of the economic concept of “opportunity cost”.
For example the productivity of a housewife can be taken into account by the cost of hiring domestic help to manage the household assuming she went out to work. Simply put, if she did not do the work at home, someone else has to be paid to do it. Such methods may be the only way to give women their due credit in recognition of their contribution to the economy. The next substantial way in which gender disparity supports a major economic inequality in South Asia is in the area of land rights for women.
A very phallic male-centred approach to the division of property and very often occurs in South Asia. A significant proportion of women do not receive their due share of inheritance. “3 In order to really understand the economic and social implications that this brings about one must see “the links between gender subordination and property and the need to be sought in not only the distribution of property between households but also in its distribution between men and women, in not only who owns the property but also who controls it, and in relation not only to private property but to communal property. ”
4 Actual ownership of a property does not always mean effective assertion of control over that property. In some cases women’s names are not put on the revenue records after they inherit, in others they are persuaded to sign relinquishment in favour of male family members. “5 This is because in many parts of South Asia it is customary for sons to inherit all the land and property without any shares going to the daughters of the family. The lack of property and capital makes women economically subjugate to men because of economic dependency.
They are unable to make economic decisions for themselves. When women’s access to property and wealth is denied this makes “(a) A woman’s class position defined through that of a man- father, husband etc. it is more open to change than that of a man: a well-placed marriage can raise it, divorce or widowhood can lower it. (b) This can occur to the extent that even women of propertied households, do not own property themselves and makes it difficult to characterize their class position. Indeed some have even argued that women constitute a class in themselves. “6 One must bear in mind that this not only gives rise to major economic inequality but also social inequality. The rise of capitalism has made economics in integral part of determining social class. Gone are the days when social class was not dependent on wealth and property.
Thus in this respect women are socially compromised as well economically. Another way in which gender disparity closely supports both economic and social inequality is with regards to the Law of a state. The Law can be used as a very good indicator of gender disparity and thus social and economic inequality. Simply put the Law has to protect both men and women. Men and women should have equality before the law.
The Apostle Paul said, “The law is lawful so long as one uses it lawfully”. Indeed there should not only be equality before the Law in areas of gender, but race and class as well. The legal terrain of South Asia is determined by the religious and cultural practices of several communities, and overlain by traditions of European jurisprudence and is particularly treacherous for women. Throughout the region different religious and cultural communities are governed by separate personal laws- those civil laws which deal with marriage, dowry and divorce; custody, guardianship and adoption of children and inheritance”. 7 The lack of a uniform civil code in South Asian states to protect the rights of women has sadly allowed loopholes in the law to be exploited which aids in the economic and social oppression of women.
It is a sad truth that in many parts of South Asia there is still a strong degree of gender-bias in the law of the state, which puts women at an unfair disadvantage as compared to men. “The lack of a uniform civil code in which fundamental human rights take precedence over gender discriminatory religious customs remains a main obstacle to the achievements of women’s equal rights. “8 In order to illustrate the significant impact the law can have on promoting inequality the laws pertaining to women’s rights in South Asia will be looked at. Property and inheritance laws are in themselves highly gender discriminatory across South Asia.
This will be tied in with the earlier example of land rights for women and the role of the law as a mediating device. Take for example the case of the “Jaffna Tamils in Sri Lanka, a married woman needs her husband’s consent to alienate land which she legally owns. “9 Legal ownership does not always carry with it the right of control in all senses. Legal ownership might still be challenged by prevailing social constraints as well. Thus there has to be not only implementation of legal rights but enforcement as well in order to safeguard the rights of women.
Strong degree of gender disparity can be seen from inheritance laws in Nepal. “One of the laws states that a daughter can only inherit paternal property if she is unmarried and over 35 years of age, and she cannot inherit tenancy rights. “10 Needless to say the very legal system, which should serve the function of protection, seems to undermine women and compromise their representation. A very serious aspect that needs to be looked at is the implication of some of the bias inheritance laws, which contribute to a downward spiral effect.
These bias inheritance laws not only economically and socially impair women but in many cases their offspring bear the brunt of the hardship as well. Firstly, these “discriminatory property laws limit women’s capacity to obtain credit and benefit from new opportunities for economic advancement by engaging in self employment. This also has further serious implications as in the case of the “cancellation of the provision of inheritance for orphan grandchildren by a Federal Shariat Court in Pakistan. This has a multiplier effect on economic and social inequality because of the overwhelming burden placed on widowed mothers.
They lose their only means of financial support with the death of their husbands and this also means that the children would not be able to inherit the property of their father which will also increase the financial burden of the women. 11 Also, the law not only fails to protect women in terms of property and inheritance rights but in many other areas as well. Women who are the victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse in South Asia have a much harder time seeking justice than their counterparts around the world.
Often in South Asia, women who are the victims of sexual assault and battery are blamed for the crime rather than the perpetrators and abusers themselves. Gender disparity really underpins the social inequality in Bangladesh. “Even today, for the majority of women in Bangladesh, the world consists of their immediate family, and the new households of near relatives and neighbours. Very few are involved in any social institution apart from the family, and this even often applies to middle-class women in urban areas.
The cultural institution of parda requires the isolation of all women besides minors from men outside the family and close relative circle. Movements outside the home are to be carried out only for prescribed reasons and at prescribed times of the day. ” 12 Because of this cultural institution many Bangladeshi women literally become “birds in a cage”. This not only compromises women socially but economically and politically as well. This restricts their occupational chances and mobility. Furthermore parda leaves virtually no room in a woman’s life for public interaction.
Women are thus excluded from elections, conferences and decision-making bodies. Because of the strong nature of patriarchy is South Asian society and the Dowry system in marriages, women are considered a liability even before they are born. In the next few paragraphs the paper will look at women’s access to healthcare and education and female foeticide and infanticide. This indeed causes an exacerbation of social and economic inequality. In order for a country or state to bloom as a society the rights and interests of both sexes have to be catered for.
If women are given equal educational opportunities and access to healthcare, the standard of living and quality of life as a whole will improve. Educational quotient and life expectancy will rise. Women will also be able to take on more jobs and increasingly knowledge based ones and thus contribute more substantially to the economy as well. If women are given an equal chance as men economically and socially in South Asia, it might gradually eradicate the mentality that daughters are a liability and thus slow down and eventually stop the vicious cycle.
The need for dowries may disappear if this were the case. Female foeticide and infanticide will cease to be such an impending issue and South Asian society will be more progressive as a whole. Prenatal sex determination techniques such as “amniocentesis techniques for developing foetal abnormalities were developed in India, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. It was soon discovered that these tests could also accurately determine the sex of the child. A statistic purporting to come from the Registrar General of India, based on hospital records alone showed that 3. lakh female foetuses were aborted in India between 1993 and 1994”.
Needless to say the sex ratios in South Asia are one of the most unbalanced in the world because of the substantially higher ratio of men to women. This is gender disparity in action in its worst social implication. Very simply, a price is put on the lives unborn female children. They are being killed in the hundreds of thousands to such a degree that some people have aptly come up with the term, “femicide” to describe the literal culling of the female sex.
What is far more worrying though is the practice of infanticide where many female children are killed after birth. This is tantamount to murder but goes unchecked in many parts of South Asia. Sometimes however, one wonders whether it is crueler to commit female infanticide rather than subject the female child to a life of hardship, misery and oppression. Girls are treated differently from boys since birth. They are not given enough food compared to boys and they suffer from nutritional deficits. Girls are far more prone to malnutrition in South Asia than boys are.
They also tend to suffer from a host of other ailments and still preferential medical treatment is given to boys. “Educational indicators of South Asian women although recording improvement in recent years, are some of the worst in the world, especially at technical and higher levels. Women constitute only 17 percent of technical students, and South Asian governments spend approximately 4. 4 percent of their educational budgets on technical and scientific education”14 It is of little wonder that women are subject to economic inequality judging from the statistics above.
In conclusion in can be said that gender disparity greatly underpins major social and economic inequalities in South Asia. This is evident in the Legal systems, educational systems and medical systems and social systems of South Asia. It can be seen that the root of a lot of economic and social evils in South Asia are due to gender disparity between men and women. If South Asia is to progress as a society as a whole, gender disparity must be eradicated or if not, at least curbed.

Gender Disparity In South Asia

Gender Biased Culture.
History of ancient world have shown that gender biased cultures have been in existence for more than thousand of years. The movie Mulan is a perfect example for a gender biased culture by giving the power to the men and withholding it from women. As I grew up in a gender biased cultures like India and Middle East, I can relate this movie with the gender issues in my generation. For many years, woman in these cultures must be fully covered from head to toe when in public, are not allowed to work, and are not allowed to drive.
Mulan Fa, the main character in the movie, comes to her elderly fathers defense and refuses to let him go and fight in the Emperor’s army. She takes matters into her own hands and cuts her hair and puts on her fathers armor to become a man and take his place in the battle. When my father was immigrated to United States America, I and my mother have to stay in India until I finish my high school. In the movie, Mulan is an only child and her father has a physical disability, so Mulan and her mother ended up having to take on traditionally male roles in the house for their family to get by.
When I was little, I helped my mother with chores outside my home such as running to stores to buy groceries, pay bills, etc. In my culture, when a girl hits puberty, she is not allowed to go outside of home by herself or without covering from head to toe with hijab. So when I hit puberty I was stopped by my grandparents from going out of my house except for school. After I moved to United States, I started to work part time as I go to school. So, I was the first woman in my family to go to work and drive.

In the movie, Mulan feels that she should be able to do all the things males do and do them with pride and dignity. Likewise, it was hard for me as I grew up as a tomboy. If a female follows a male’s style of life are seen as tomboys and are outlawed in my society. Even my mother did not like to keep me in house but she was afraid of the society we have lived in. So, my parents have decided to move to United States as I can have a life with freedom especially from gender biased culture.
Like in the movie Mulan, in my culture, men traditionally have the rigorous and more physically demanding chores around the house as in; taking out the trash, mowing lawns, and working to provide for the family Whereas women traditionally have less physically demanding tasks such as having dinner ready and on the table when the husband comes home, they are supposed to clean the house and take care of kids and strictly forbidden from working. This movie came when I was 12 but I saw this movie when I was 18. I liked that movie so much and I thought I was like Mulan. I think this gender biased culture is unhealthy for both gender.
It is unfair for men as they must choose their true selves and it is unfair for women and girls as they cannot develop their own talent if its too masculine. The story of this movie Mulan seems to be known and told for more than thousands of years. The chinese in the ancient world wore the dress called Hanfu (“kwintessential”). When Mulan and the other girls go to see the matchmaker they are all wearing Hanfu. When every family is told that it must send a man to fight in the war her father prepares to go but Mulan decides to go in his stead In order to do this she has to cut her hair short and dress as a man.
The movie supports the Mulan story where women must cross-dress to achieve the same accomplishments as men. The movie Mulan summarizes all of the cultures beliefs and thoughts on gender myths and determination. Even now, in some asian countries like in India, China, killing female babies and fetus is still happening. It is because of belief in many cultures that a male can support a family but not female. In many cultures since the beginning of time have had the same attitude towards gender and sex; they are in favor of the masculine male.

Gender Biased Culture

Gender and Development: Issues and Implications.
N. Santosh Ranganath Faculty Member Department of Commerce & Management Studies, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University, Srikakulam. The ‘women and development’ approach is introduced and focused on the relationship between capitalism and patriarchy which considered to be the women will be subordinated to men as long as capitalism is the dominant economic system. Critics of this perspective say it fails to address differences in the inequalities experienced by different communities of women, and does not recognize the fact that patriarchy exists in communist societies as well as in capitalist ones.
Next, the ‘gender and development’ perspective is introduced as a holistic analytical tool that can be used to provide an overview of the realities of development. Associated with ‘women for a new era’, GAD sought to dismantle notions about what is considered masculine or feminine, as well as the power dynamics that result from these assumptions. The’ effectiveness’ approach is also introduced and related to the WID approach in its quest to shed light on the vital role women play in production.
The recent ‘mainstreaming gender equality’ initiative is also presented, and its intention to put gender at the forefront of all social policy, including that of development, is explained. The relationship between poverty and gender is made explicit throughout and this connection is attributed to factors such as unequal access to education and property rights. One of the main issues in regard to the service sector is the variety of activities that are encompassed by that term.

Thus the effect of liberalization on, for example, financial services, will be quite different for women who may be primarily affected as consumers than the liberalization of other industries within that sector which may affect women also as workers. Many of the concerns over the possible effect of trade liberalization on women have been informed by the previous experience of public sector privatization and economic austerity experienced under the Structural Adjustment Programs implemented since the 1980’s.
Yet, given that trade liberalization as we see it today is a fairly recent phenomenon, it is difficult to assert with precision what are the effects of liberalization on men and women. For the reasons explained above, women as a group may face more obstacles in taking advantage of the changing economic structure, especially in converting new opportunities into long-term improvements. But women do not form a homogenous group and thus the impact of liberalization will likely be differentiated.
Many of the issues and questions that arise today and which have drawn opposition to trade liberalization are also linked to the fact that trade agreements and trade liberalization have become more encompassing and thus moved beyond the original agreements on goods. The expansion of liberalization to such areas as services raises new questions as more sectors of society become affected by these changes.
Because of the structure of gender relations, it is possible those women will be affected differently than men by the opening of markets to foreign competition and that their capacity to adapt to new economic conditions will also be different. If this is the case, the capacity of women to take advantage of the new opportunities while minimizing the negative impact of liberalization is crucial to ensure that women, those who depend on them and society as a whole benefit from the current changes.

Gender and Development: Issues and Implications

Gender Bias in the Classroom.
Leobardo Alfaro Mr. Lewis English 1301-005 16 July 2012 Gender Bias in the Classrooms In the essay “Hidden Lessons,” this appears in the textbook From Inquiry to Academic Writing, Mayra and David Sadker stands content that gender bias in classrooms damages female students. They lose their self-esteem, attitude towards teachers can change and their education is compromised. When teachers were being observed in their classroom settings it showed that they tend to gravitate more toward male students than the female students.
The male students seem to be getting the better hand in the classroom they would get more of the teacher’s attention, energy, and time. Female students are the majority of our nation’s school children, but are given less teacher interaction. Until this is changed more than half of the children’s education will be shorted and society will be lost on their gifts. “Dateline chose to show a segregated math group: boys sitting on the teacher’s right side and girls on her left. After giving the math book to a girl to hold open at page of examples, the teacher turned her back to the girls and focused on the boys, teaching them active and directly.
Occasionally she turned to girl’s side, but only to read examples in the book… had unwittingly transformed the girls into passive spectators, an audience for the boys. ” (Sadker 54) Girls in this classroom are of the examples of how their teacher favors the boys and the girls get the short end of the stick. When these girls get denied their time in the classroom what is their left to do? Maybe in this certain classroom there aren’t as many girls as boys so; the teacher focuses more on the boys. Maybe the teacher feels that the boys in the class need more attention because they are more behind in their education.

Either way girls shouldn’t have to have their teacher’s favoritism towards the boys. When the girl’s education is compromised that means their future is in jeopardy, when they don’t get the attention and support from their full potential. When they are not pushed and recognized they fall back and lose their self-esteem. When self-esteem is lost in young impressionable girls it is really hard to build it back up. Especially if the let down is coming from someone who is such a big influence in the girl’s life, and where she is suppose to be learning from not to be ignored or let down.
As this becomes more and more of a problem to girls they become more and more invisible to their teachers in the classroom. As their self-esteem is lowered they do less and less to become known and noticed in the classroom environment. “Two second graders are kneeling beside a large box… so absorbed are these two small children examining and sorting the materials, they are visibly startled by the teacher’s impatient voice as she hovers over them. ‘Ann! Julia! Get your cottonpickin’ hands out of the math box. Move over so the boys can get in there and do their work. ” (Sedker 53) The girls in this excerpt of the essay seem to have not been doing anything wrong or out of the ordinary yet, the teacher seemed to have overreacted for no apparent reason. To the most obvious it seemed that she pointed out the girls because they were girls and they boys needed things more than them. When girls are over looked like that they tend to have different attitudes toward their teachers. Girls have a very strong mind-set at any age so, when they have their mind set on a certain attitude it’s extremely hard to change it back. Award winning author Susan Faludi discovered that backlash ‘is most powerful when it goes private, when it lodges a woman’s mind and turns her vision inward… Psychological backlash internalized by adult women is a frightening concept, but what is even more terrifying is a curriculum of sexist school lessons becoming secret mind games played against female children, our daughters, and tomorrow’s women. ” (Sedker 53) In these circumstances it is easy to see why the girls have grown to have harsh attitudes toward their teachers. Sedker and Sedker make a claim of value when they suggest that a ‘majority of our nations schoolchildren’ have become ‘second-class educational citizens’ and point that the consequences of treating girls differently from boys in school has resulted in a ‘loss of self-esteem, decline in achievement, and elimination of career options’ for girls…” (Sedker 56) Their research and statements seem to have reached the conclusion that girls are for some reason treated differently than boys in the classroom.
They are lowered than the boys but by the instinct from the teacher. Maybe because of favoritism or because the teacher has less sympathy for girls. Work Citied Sadker, Myra and David. “Hidden Lessons. ” From Inquiry to Academic Writing. Ed. Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky. 2nd edition. Bedford: Boston, 2012. 52-55. Print.

Gender Bias in the Classroom

Gender Development.
Gender shapes the lives of all people in all societies. The term ‘gender’ refers to the social construction of female and male identity. It can be defined as more than biological differences between men and women. It includes the ways which those differences, whether real or perceived, have been valued, used and relied upon to classify women and men and to assign roles and expectations to them (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Gender_and_development). Gender influences our lives, the schooling we receive, the social roles we play, and the power and the authority we command.
Population processes – where women and men live, how they bear and rear children, and how they die – are shaped by gender as well (Riley, 1997). Several theories of gender development have generated most of the research during the past ten years: social learning theory, cognitive-development theory, and gender schema theory. Proponents of social learning theory believe that parents, as distributors of reinforcement, reinforce appropriate gender role behaviors.
By their choice of toys, by urging boy or girl behavior, parents encourage their children to engage in appropriate gender-related behavior. Thus children are reinforced or punished for different kinds of behavior. They also learn appropriate gender behavior from other male or female models such as those in television shows. A second explanation, quite popular today, is found in cognitive-development theory, which derives from Kohlberg’s speculations about gender development.

It is known that from Piaget’s work that children engage in symbolic thinking by about 2 years of age. Using this ability, Kohlberg believes, they begin the process of acquiring gender-appropriate behavior. A newer, and different, cognitive explanation is called gender schema theory. A schema is a mental blueprint for organizing information, and children develop gender identity and formulate an appropriate gender role. Consequently, children develop an integrated schema or picture, of what gender is and should be (Elliott et al. , 1996).
Gender and Power Gender refers to the different ways men and women play society, and to the relative power they wield. While gender is expressed differently in different societies, in no society do men and women perform equal roles or hold equal positions of power. Power is basic fabric of society and is possessed in varying degrees by social actors in diverse social categories. Power becomes abusive and exploitive only when independence and individuality of a person or group of people becomes so dominant that freedom for the other is compromised.
Women and children have open been on the abusive sides of power. Some causes that are often referred to are: the greater the physical strength that men tend to have creates the imbalance of power between men and women resulting from social structures and historical practices in regard to finances, education, roles of authority and decision making; the abuse of power by men and the failure of cultural pressures to prevent such abuse; and distorted view the sexuality and the objectification of the female.
Max Weber in his ‘Essays in Sociology’ defined power as the likelihood a person may achieve personal ends despite possible resistance from others. Since this definition views power as coercive, Weber also considered ways in which power can be achieved through justice. Authority, he contented, is power which people determine to be legitimate rather than coercive. As a group, women are at a distinct advantage when considering both power and authority.
Several factors act as determinants of the amount of power a person holds or can use in his/her relations with others: status resources, experience, and self-confidence. Males and females traditionally have had differing amounts of power at their disposal. By virtue of t6he male’s greater ascribed status in society, men have more legitimate power based on rank or position than do women. The serious social issue today is the relative inequities in social power between men and women. The issue of women’s power, relative to men, is not merely academic.
Gender differences in power have real consequences for women. For example, although women have made significant gains in the workplace, with more women working than in the past and women possessing approximately a third of all management positions, women continue to experience wage discrimination, be excluded from the most powerful executive positions, advance more slowly in their careers, and experience fewer benefits from obtaining education or work experience, and are included in fewer networks and exert less authority (Colwill; Lyness and Thompson, 1997) than men in similar positions.
A number of researchers have linked career advancement and access to benefits and resources within organizations to an effective use of power. An understanding of women’s power, relative to men, is therefore essential to overcoming women’s disadvantage in the workplace and other domains (http://www. find articles. com/p/articles/mi m0341/ is 1 55/ai 54831711). Gender and Education The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the importance accorded to education, with both instrumental as well as intrinsic arguments made for increasing financial investment and policy attention to education provision.
Investing in education is seen as one of the fundamental ways in which nation states and their citizens can move toward long-term development goals and improve both social and economic standards of living. The education of women is seen as providing the key to securing intergenerational transfers of knowledge, and providing the substance of long-term gender equality and social change. Although significant gains have been made in women’s education as a result of global advocacy, more often than not the gains are fragile, vulnerable to changes in economic and social environments, and lagging behind in male rates of enrolment and achievement.
Achievements are particularly visible in the primary education sector, whereas gaps are still large in the secondary and tertiary sectors (unrsid. org/inrisd/website/nsf). Schools also reinforce gendered social roles. Researchers have documented the differential treatment accorded males and females in the classrooms that reinforces a sense of inferiority and lack of initiative among female students (Sadker and Sadker, 1988). Boys are far more likely to be given specific information that guides improvement of their performance (Boggiano and Barrett, 1991).

Gender Development

The Third Gender.
Kaleen Rodriguez ENC 1102 Exploratory Essay The Third Gender What is the role of the third gender in South Asia? How does Asian society identify the third gender? I walked into my best friend Joel’s room this morning extremely excited to have lunch with him after a long four months without seeing him and on my journey to his room I picked up a paper that was lying by his door. I picked it up and the title was “Hijra” as I continued to read this paper, it had me very intrigued, fast. It so happens that earlier that week I was talking to my mom about Pride Fest which is a LGBT festival here in South Florida.
So, my question arose, how do others across the world view what we recognize as the LGBT community (Gay,Lesbian,Bi-sexual, and Transgender)? , and finding this paper only made my thought more concise, what is “The Third Gender”? In the west we have LGBT and we also have drag queens who are men who act as women for a short period of time under certain circumstances and it is acceptable. The definition of gender as a performative (Butler) is defined as how you act in your society. Doing research for this topic was significantly easy; finding various points of views was the harder part.
Looking through scholarly essays I was able to find “With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India” by Reddy, Gayatri and “The Hijras of India. ”  by Nanda, Serena. Two of which were my primary resources for what I am about to explain. In South Asia there is LGBT, but what they consider cross dressers, and transvestites are called Hijra’s which generally is considered a third gender role in India. Hijra’s are males who dress and act as females. There are rites of passage for becoming a Hijra.

This rite of passage includes the act of removing the genitals and burying them in the ground which basically show they’re devotement to the Hijra life style, but less than 10% actually commit to eliminating their genitals (Gueste0d1c4). Hijra’s adopt female aspects and behavior. Some Hijra’s are sex workers and some are performers and that is how they earn a living, which causes them to live outside of the city in their own communities. The ones that live in the community and are sex workers live in worse conditions then those who are performers (Reddy, Gayatri ).
By performer’s I mean Hijra’s do performances at weddings and festivals. All of their performances are focused and essentially done for Bahuchara Mata (Mother Goddesses), who is worshipped all over India. Mother Goddess is said to have given the Hijra’s a special place in Indian society, so because of this, all Hijra’s devote themselves to her. Overall besides the relationship with the Mother Goddess, the relationship that is most important in the Hijra community is the one with the Guru which is a master/teacher and also a Chela which is a disciple (Gueste0d1c4).
Therefore, when a person wants join the Hijra community they are taken to a city called Bombay and become acquainted with one of the major Gurus, in total there are seven. (Reddy, Gayatri) Being on the outside looking in. What gives the Hijra’s power also eliminates their power in society because they emasculate themselves to prove they’re actually Hijra’s, but in that sense they could never be accepted in society because they could never be a man to produce children, which essentially is the role of a man.
At times most Hijra’s are maltreated because of this. Hijra’s have rules under their own domain. The most prominent cultural aspect of the Hijra is the asexual description, although many Hijra’s are said to be homosexual (Nanda, Serena). They identify themselves as neither a man nor woman, being perfectly imperfect. As a Hijra, there are many times you might encounter a discourteous crowd and the way they show their response towards this is to lift their skirts or dresses and show their maimed genitals (Nanda, Serena).
Taking a few moments in my day to question what the Hijra’s really feel do they feel that they are in the wrong body as many trans gender’s claim or do they just wish to be of the opposite sex? I wanted to see Hijra’s what they looked like, their gestures and all. I decided to YouTube a video on them and I was able to find it and many different answers to my question above. It came to my attention that more than half of the Hijra’s documented have been attracted to men from a very young age, or so they say.
The first Hijra in this YouTube video began her story by saying that she always admired the woman lifestyle, wearing the gem in the middle of their eyebrows the clothing attire also known as a saree and as she grew up her walk became more feminine and the way she spoke only followed, basically insisting that she was born in the wrong body. Although, the other small percent in this video mostly agreed that as they grew up and were raised as a male, they just wanted to be like a woman but they are clear on the fact that they were or are men (Ambujablue’s Channel).
Becoming more engaged in the Hijra lifestyle I googled as a form of research and I simply typed in “Hijra Culture” the first thing that arose was a link to a slide show done in 2007. Here I found the history of Hijra’s regarding the Karma Sutra (an ancient Indian text), which is said to have mentioned a third gender (Gueste0d1c4). This to Hijra’s must mean the world, mostly because it somewhat proves that they’re not just getting the transgender idea from the western culture, but that it has existed in the Indian culture long before.
Being a Hijra was said to be a disturbing view to the South Asian society, but after India gained their independence the anti-Hijra law was removed. In many different places where I tried to find a statistic of how many Hijras there are, I could not find an accurate number but there is said to be somewhere between 50,000 to 500,000 Hijras in South Asia (Gueste0d1c4). There are two significant theory’s about Hijra’s, one is that every Hijra’s starts as a sex worker, then performer. The second theory is that they are always separate, either a sex worker or a performer never both.
Rules only exist within their society, and once outside of the Hijra community these rules don’t exist; they are simply seen as a transgender person. The Hijra’s are very prone to being infected with HIV/AIDS because of being sex workers. Truth be told, that is how they make a living even though their living is not anywhere near a good standing. It is very difficult for a Hijra to be invited to perform in a wedding or a child’s birth, so being sex workers is their best option. Hijra’s are not only maltreated emotionally but also physically.
Those who are completely against the Hijra culture abuse them, brutally. They beat them in their own homes, along the streets, in markets, even in police stations (Gueste0d1c4). Knowing this reminds me that this is something most transgender societies have in common, they are abused mostly verbally on the Western side but the physical abuse is still taking action. As I continued my research I attempted to find various points of view on the Hijra, little did I realize there are really only three; for, against, or nonchalant.
I thought to myself well, most people in the Western society have altered their point of view to for or nonchalant on the transgender topic and are disclosing being against it. Meanwhile, maybe not as rapid but slowly, those on the other side of the world are adapting to this view or “Third Gender” as well. What I did as another form of research was conduct a survey in order to get a general outlook on what others believe or think about the Hijra. I surveyed a total of twenty people. Ten of which were my family and friends and ten who were complete strangers.
The response I generally received was “whatever makes them happy” basically proving that the outlook is shifting drastically in comparison to a few years prior. I only received three responses out of twenty that were completely against the Hijra, and I also realized that those three people were all around the same age range which was 57-62. I believe that says something only because it is common that the older generations in our society are more likely to be against this “new” LGBT “trend” as they say. Only enforcing that as the generations increase it is becoming more accepted.
All of this research has shown me that there is more to being a Hijra then what many of us know or think we know. It is something one must truly want and it is a decision you have to stick with no matter how challenging times may get. Works Cited: Ambujablue’s Channel, . “Documentary . ” Youtube . N. p. , 2008. Web. 19 Mar 2012. <http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=QntUgXwzZH0>. Chisel, Jasmonae. “The Hijras of India”. Xavier University. Voice Lab no. 9. WorldPress. com Gueste0d1c4, India. N. p. , 2009. Web. 19 Mar 2012. <http://www. lideshare. net/gueste0d1c4/hijra-culture>. Meena Balaji and Ruth Lor Malloy. “Hijras: who we are” Think Asia, 1997. 32 pgs. Print. Nanda, Serena. “The Hijras of India. ” Journal of Homosexuality (1986): 35-54. Web. Reddy, Gayatri. “With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India”. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2005. 78-98. Print. Reddy, Gayatri. ‘Men’ Who Would Be Kings: Celibacy, Emasculation, and the Re-Production of Hijras in Contemporary Indian Politics. Social Research; Spring2003, Vol. 70 Issue 1. Print.

The Third Gender

Gender-Based Criticism.
Wal-Mart is the major retail corporation situated in United States and it has been positioned as the best on the Fortune 500 Index. The company is in such a strong position in the retail business that is able to dictate its terms to the suppliers. Although in the course of the success it has attained it has also faced a lot of criticism from the public regarding its policies and procedures. 2) Criticisms: a) Gender-Based Criticism
Wal-Mart has been taken to court due to the gender bias charge against Wal-Mart Stores on 19th June 2001. It has been accused that female recruits of Wal-Mart are neglected when it comes to advancement opportunities and training occasions, they are paid less than the male staff for the same or similar job, and they are made to work in less wage departments. The women working at Wal-Mart are deprived of reaching top management promotions and are not considered suitable candidates for being promoted to top executive positions.
It has been said for Wal-Mart by Judge Martin Jenkins that “the higher one looks in the organization, the lower the percentage of women. ” Women make up more than 70% of Wal-Mart’s hourly workforce but less than one-third of its store management. (Featherstone, 2005) The subject of the barrier the women are facing for progress is not just related to the females but for the entire economy, as the basic question is whether companies are making fruitful use of the expertise available to them.

Sex inequity reveals a failure relating to one half of the employees. An organization must make enduring efforts to support diversity in the place of work, which consist of setting up at the highest level of assurance and practice that allows for employee progress regardless of the gender of the employees. Companies like Wal-Mart are paying attention on the staffing of women and minorities into their recruits . The statistics showing that there are more women in the hourly working rate as compared to the top management leads to systematic discrimination.
Personal narratives of female recruits about the adversities, lack of sympathy and informal hurdles which existed in the workplace, made an extremely prominent argument to support the charge of the systematic gender discrimination practiced at Wal-Mart is factual. b) Labor – Based criticism in China and other Countries Wal-Mart purchases mostly all its goods from China due to goods being cheaply manufactured there, which enables Wal-Mart to reap out the maximum benefit from the Chinese economy. Moreover, the American suppliers from which Wal-Mart purchases majority of its products have their manufacturing plants in China.
This is not the concern the issue is that the organization is getting so much benefits from China and other countries where production of the goods for Wal-Mart takes place; it should at least provide the workers with their basic necessities and not violate the labor laws there. The company should be responsible to treat the workers from other countries in a humane manner. Complaints like not being provided with the lawful minimum wages, not given holidays, forcefully made to work extra hours, beaten by managers, exits were banned for us and being treated as slaves are some of the common things heard from the staff there.

Gender-Based Criticism