Gender Norming
What exactly is a standard? According to Webster’s dictionary, a standard is a level of quality or excellence that is accepted as the norm or by which actual attainments are judged. Standards are created because someone believes that a fair and efficient form of doing something is necessary. The military is full of these standards. One of the most widely known is the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). It tests the maximum amount of push-ups and sit-ups a person can do in two minutes. Along with completing a two-mile run in the allotted time prescribed. The APFT is different from any other standardized test I have ever seen. It is painfully obvious that the test is severely skewed in the females favor.
About fifteen years ago, “a group of sports medicine experts in the Army decided that the standards for the females in the APFT were not fair” (www.us.army.mil/athleticmed.html). They believe that overall some parts of the body were weaker on females than in males, and that a new test could help females be equals in the military. This is despite the fact the women had been doing the APFT for years with out a problem, and no complaints were ever filed. Never the less, a physical fitness board was created in order to research a fairer standard. After several years of research, the board eventually came up with what is now the current APFT. They created a process called gender norming. Their hope was that this would set the bar for ...
The U.S. has been sending troops to over-sea countries to aid the needy, and take certain measures to try to keep our country safe. We want to help the innocent lives, care for the civilians, and want them to be free. We help other countries so that maybe one day they can stand on their own! Power is everything. Power is what controls the world, and without it, you become weak. When we help other countries, that shows how powerful we are, and how strong we are to stand on our on and help! The U.S is considered to be the superpower in the world. Therefore, it should use its power to help other countries in need. Yes, we have a lot of problems with our government,
Society is not a realm in which all of the rules are listed on paper; people naturally abide them due to their countless experiences. The results of these incidents or the incident as a whole sometimes transform itself into an unspoken code that people are assumed to know by heart. For example, humans are treated differently - usually with more respect and higher expectations (such as CEOs or famous actors and actresses) - when they are in a very high position or level in an industry. No matter how much or little they do, they are frequently noticed more by the media than anyone else. But how about those who live in their normal lives trying to bring home the bread and milk for their families? Or those who do a substantial amount of service and deeds for their communities and companies? Ty...
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
When analyzing ancient civilization and how it began, there are many elements and aspects that should be considered. Questions such as how did civilization begin? What lead to its creation? Where did it begin, and why in that particular location? Many of these questions can be examined and answered by researching what many believe is the world’s earliest civilization, Mesopotamia. It is widely believed that this region was chosen and supported one of the world’s first civilizations. This area was settled over 10,000 years ago by a group of people known as the Sumerians (Cunningham & Reich, 2010).
“Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls”: few of our cultural mythologies seem as natural as this one. But in this exploration of the gender signals that traditionally tell what a “boy” or “girl” is supposed to look and act like, Aaron Devor shows how these signals are not “natural” at all but instead are cultural constructs. While the classic cues of masculinity—aggressive posture, self-confidence, a tough appearance—and the traditional signs of femininity—gentleness, passivity, strong nurturing instincts—are often considered “normal,” Devor explains that they are by no means biological or psychological necessities. Indeed, he suggests, they can be richly mixed and varied, or to paraphrase the old Kinks song “Lola,” “Boys can be girls and girls can be boys.” Devor is dean of social sciences at the University of Victoria and author of Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality (1989), from which this selection is excerpted, and FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society (1997).
When you look at someone’s pet you may not think it can teach you anything or do anything for you besides being there for you. However, a study in Austria, conducted by Pauleen Bennett and Jordan Schaan, discovered that pets became “instructors” for their owners in living a better life. “People felt they could derive unconditional love and forgiveness from their dogs, whereas human beings seemed more likely to disappoint one another” (Yuhas, 1). This statement reveals how negatively humans view each other. If a person rather be with an
Mesopotamia was a great nation that influenced many other nations that surrounded it. When I began this research, I did not know much about Mesopotamia and its culture or historical background. I did keep in mind the different factors that influenced the culture of the people as well as how it compared to our culture now. It was a big commercial industry, that included metalworking. Metal was an important, but very rare so Mesopotamia was a hot spot for silver, copper, and gold. This meant that many foreigners would come in and out of the land. In this paper I will be comparing the cultural differences of our time now and the time back then. I will also compare the theology of the people, how families worked back then, how economy was a factor
Pro-life advocates argue that the fetuses must be saved and that many of these abortions are done in cases that are not hopeless. Pro-life can argue that only 13% of abortions are because of rape and the incapability of not being able to carry a child because of health issues. They believe that the government should preserve all human life no matter what the circumstances may be. Pro-choice advocates believe that abortions are to save the life or health of the mother or terminate pregnancies where the fetus cannot survive birth or after birth. Many of the reasons for wanting an abortion include, that it would interfere with work, they cannot afford a child, and they are a single parent. They believe that people should have unlimited independence, including making their own decisions regarding their reproductive systems. The main conflict between these two groups is that Pro-Life believes that an undeveloped human life is sacred and the government should protect, while the pro-choice group believes that the government should not intervene with a women’s right to decide whether or not if she wants to continue on with her
Pro Life and Abortion, has been a controversial subject ever since the case between Jane Roe and Henry Wade (Roe vs. Wade) in 1973. The reason for this case being so debatable is the topic on whether or not it is morally right and to some aspects religiously, for women to have abortions. While people argue about being either "pro-life" or "pro-choice" the issue is still at hand. People argue on wether or not it's legal or if it's not depending on which state you live in or the what the law says. Abortion is still taking the life of a human being regardless of the circumstances that has taken place, according to (www.operationrescue.org), "1.21 million abortions take place per year" and that's what why the Roe vs. Wade case has been a huge milestone in history and is still talked about today.
Society places ideas concerning proper behaviors regarding gender roles. Over the years, I noticed that society's rules and expectations for men and women are very different. Men have standards and specific career goals that we must live up to according to how others judge.
Title IX was passed in 1972 and according to the Women’s Sports Foundation, as of 2011, women make up 38-42 percent of all sport and physical activity participants. Yet, research shows that women receive only 6-8 percent of the total sports coverage. A double standard is defined as a set of principles that allows greater freedom to one person or group than to another. (dictionary.com) In athletics, women are judged more on their appearances and their non-sport related activities, than their male counterparts who are judged primarily on their skills and performances. Female athletes are scrutinized based on their appearances more than their skills and athletic performances in the media.
... of certain health problems and disorders is the basis on which animal-assisted therapy is built. Research has shown that pet ownership is beneficial to both the pet and owner. In the research, pet ownership has a relationship to cardiovascular health, a strengthened immune system, and a decrease in blood pressure and cholesterol levels (PDF 3). Studies have also shown that a constant animal companion lowers anxiety. By drawing attention outside, by having patients focus on the animals, anxiety, depression, pain, and anger can be mitigated.
Over 71 million American households (62%) have a pet, and most people think of their pets as members of the family. Some research studies have found that people who have a pet have healthier hearts, stay home sick less often, make fewer visits to the doctor, get more exercise, and are less depressed. Pets may also have a significant impact on allergies, asthma, social support, and social interactions with other people (Casciotti) .
Society is comprised of two different sexes and they are “men” and “women.” A person’s “sex” is determined when they are conceived and whether they are male or female will attribute to their upbringing. Women are known as the “reproductive” ones and therefore, are more nurturing and usually tend to the home. In contrast, a man exhibits different qualities such as masculinity, strength, and in most cases, superior to women. The two articles written by Joan Scott and Alice Kessler define the gender roles of women (and men) and elaborate on the differences that these two “sexes” have to endure in every aspect of their lives.
Society has stamped an image into the minds of people of how the role of each gender should be played out. There are two recognized types of gender, a man and a woman, however there are many types of gender roles a man or a woman may assume or be placed into by society. The ideas of how one should act and behave are often times ascribed by their gender by society, but these ascribed statuses and roles are sometimes un-welcomed, and people will assume who they want to be as individuals by going against the stereotypes set forth by society. This paper will examine these roles in terms of how society sees men and women stereotypically, and how men and women view themselves and each other in terms of stereotypes that are typically ascribed, as well as their own opinions with a survey administered to ten individuals. What I hope to prove is that despite stereotypes playing a predominant role within our society, and thus influencing what people believe about each other in terms of their same and opposite genders, people within our society are able to go against these ascribed stereotypes and be who they want and it be okay. Through use of the survey and my own personal history dealing with gender stereotyping I think I can give a clear idea as to how stereotypes envelope our society, and how people and breaking free from those stereotypes to be more individualistic.