American Eugenics: Race, Queer Anatomy, and the Science of Nationalism
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Nancy Ordover argues that current attempts to regulate marginalized social groups are eugenicist movements couched in new language. While "today, the preoccupation with immigrant fertility is couched in concerns over expenditures rather than in classic eugenicist worries over the depletion of the national gene pool" (54), that supposed strain on the national economy presented by immigration is still located in immigrant's reproduction, although it is less frequently explicitly the "whiteness" of the nation that is threatened. This fear of reproduction by people cast as a drain on the nation is mirrored in attempts to control the bodies and reproduction of poor women, whose poverty is portrayed as a result of their lack of control over their own reproduction, an argument which at once frees social systems from responsibility for poverty and justifies the state in assuming control over women's bodies. These pressures fall particularly hard on women of color, whose bodies are already constructed as deviant, and subject to the control of the state. These political maneuvers and positions retain
the historical features of eugenic theory while presenting a new veneer, hesitant to argue outright for the inferiority of particular racialized or classed bodies.
This represents a change in avenue of attack, not a broad ideological shift from historic eugenic arguments. Similarly, the search for the "gay gene," while a relatively new scientific concept, is highly reminiscent of previous understandings of queer sexuality, which located deviance in physical and/or hormonal "abnormalities." The idea that queer people's queerness is loc...
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...deviance of poor women's bodies, then the American legal, political and social systems are not at fault, and do not need to be remedied. If queer people have queer bodies, then queer people are readily identifiable, and the boundaries between queer and normal people are therefore concrete, which relieves the cultural anxiety over a normal person slipping into deviancy. Eugenic ideology depends on an impulse to solidify boundaries by casting out the deviant group on whom society's failings can be blamed, as well as faith in technological fixes to social problems. These impulses, understood in their historical context, loom even larger, and the necessary political response can be obscured by rhetoric of free choice and national improvement. Ordover serves to pull the rhetoric away, placing recent eugenic movements in their proper historical and political context.
The Society of Anthem is a striking instance of a dystopian society in which daily life is dominated by fear. The society is headed by a group of elders, who attempt to destroy the concept of individuality and promote the idea of collectivism. The society controls all aspects of life including roles and profession, emotions, mating and the freedom of choice. Equality 7-2521 undergoes a transformation that is contrary to the principles of Anthem’s society. In Anthem by Ayn Rand, Prometheus (formerly Equality 7-2521) should not feel guilty when he writes “why the best in me had been my sins and transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins.” because what he learned about himself over the course of the story.
Smith, Karen. “Alcohol Use by youth and Adolescents: A Pediatric Concern.” Pediatric American Academy of Pediatrics. 12 April, 2010. Web. 26 March, 2014. .
Margaret Sanger’s acclaimed speech is highly geared towards white aristocratic modernists of the 1920s, due to its intolerant view towards colored people and its emphasis of Social Darwinism. By artistically combining bigotry and science to convey to the audience that birth control is essentially looking out for the United States, she achieved her conception control stance. Had her speech been delivered in contemporary America, her shameful use of Eugenics would have made her the mockery of American society, as we are slowly progressing towards acceptance of knowledgeable topics through the use of equality and sensibility.
Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem begins with Equality 7-2521, or as he is later known Prometheus, stating, “It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see…and we know that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone” (17). Prometheus lives in what is known as a totalitarian society. In many totalitarian societies, the ability to express oneself is often forbidden and suppressed. This novella contains a society which represents extreme totalitarianism. The rulers of the society, have managed to convince the citizens that selflessness, as well as worship of the word “we”, is the only way to live.
Though cats are less likely to get cancer than dogs, there are many different types of cancers that a cat can contract. Some of the most comon are Lymphoma, Skin Cancer, Gingiva Oral squamous Carinomas or mouth cancer, and Osterocacroma. Lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the Lymphocyte Cells, a type of whote blood cell. Lymphocyte Cells play an important part in the immuine system. Lymphoma is found to be responsible for around 90% of blood cancers and about 33% of all tumors in cats. Its also the most common cause of hypercalcemia in cats. (Science Weekly, 2012) Skin cancer in cats often appears like a white plaque or a raised bump on the skin. The bump will often ulcerate with occasional bleeding. These type of carcinomas are usually malignant, early detection and treatment is best. These cancerous cells can easly spread just like any other cancer to other organs. Skin cancers are more likely in cats that live in high altitudes or cats with light, esspecially white, coats. (Crain, D, 2005) Gingiva Oral squamous Carinomas, or mouth cancer, is particularly deadly, moving quickly though the body, with usual fatal results. These tumors grow very rapidly and usually invade to nearby bone and tissue. These carcinomas are usually seen in oldercats. (PetMD, 1999- 2014) Osteosacroma is the most common milignant bone tumor in veterinary practice. This cancer is especially painful, the most comon places for these tumors are the humerus, femur, and ti...
The eugenics movement started in the early 1900s and was adopted by doctors and the general public during the 1920s. The movement aimed to create a better society through the monitoring of genetic traits through selective heredity. Over time, eugenics took on two different views. Supporters of positive eugenics believed in promoting childbearing by a class who was “genetically superior.” On the contrary, proponents of negative eugenics tried to monitor society’s flaws through the sterilization of the “inferior.”
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is the story of a man’s journey to find freedom in a world based on equality. The novel’s protagonist, Prometheus, tries to find the meaning of his life. As he obtains independence and begins to care less about the laws, Prometheus also uncovers the power of his own mind. Prometheus learns the turpitude of the city and escapes from it. By the end of the novel, Prometheus becomes a true man. In leading Prometheus on his journey to find freedom, Anthem accompanies the bad side of collectivism by depicting a society of people, subdued under the needs of the common good. The rejections in his idea of electricity powering the city lead to Prometheus to the path of independence. Prometheus always broke
With these new boundaries formed, eugenicists began their own “testing”, classifying people as either superior or inferior based on the size of their pocket book or their social connections. Families across the country rushed to be tested and deemed genetically fit, or otherwise...
"Eugenics: Did the Eugenics Movement Benefit the United States?" History in Dispute. Ed. Robert J. Allison. Vol. 3: American Social and Political Movements, 1900-1945: Pursuit of Progress. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 17-23. Canada In Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
In Prometheus's society, being an individual is considered a "sin", but as events occur Prometheus begins to comprehend that being an individual is the way men are supposed to think. In the beginning of the book, he has a name like everyone else, and like everyone else he is living in a world that thrives off fear. Everyone is afraid to think, act, or be different from the rest, because as society has taught them being different and an individual is a "sin". As he began to grow up, he noticed that he was somewhat different from the rest of the people. He disliked many things such as the way society made people mate because he thought this was despicable and grotesque. The more he began to grow up he was becoming more of an individual and this scared him, he even began to see himself as an evil person. When he started to play around with science and began inventing things like the light bulb, this scared him but then he reasoned that maybe even though he was acting as an individual the council would let it go because it was such a remarkable invention.
The eugenics movement originally started in the late 1870s because of the idea that inferior classes, criminals, poverty, feeble-minds, and disease were hereditary and reproducing would create an unfit population in the United States. Forced sterilizations and the introduction of birth control began with the demand to wipe out populations that were constructed as inferior. The early history of the birth control pill was a form of eugenics, and was not only oppressive towards women of color but to women across the United Sates.
Application of career theories to my own life allows for analyzing past and future career decisions. Holland’s Theory of Careers states that one’s vocation is an expression of self, personality, and way of life. There is an indisputable and fundamental difference in the quality of life one experiences if they choose a career one truly enjoys, versus choosing a career one detests. A true testament to the validity of Holland’s theory, my job/career choices reflect my interests, as well as the evolution of my personality (internal self). My first job as a fine jewelry specialist and second job as a make-up artist echo my love of the fashion world. As I matured and became less fascinated by presumed “glamour” careers, I became captivated by physical fitness, nutrition, and medicine; I received my national fitness trainer certificate so that I may become a personal trainer. Nevertheless, my career decisions do not fit uniformly into merely one career theory.
Advocates of criminalization also stressed society’s obligation to halt the declining birthrate among white Americans. And many stressed the need to protect the sanctity of motherhood and the chastity of white women; abortion, after all, supported the separation of sexual intercourse from reproduction. For many physicians and others, all of these concerns where generally more trenchant in the nineteenth century than the issue of fetal life. (Solinger: 5).
Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions a person has to make in their life. It is so important because that is what we will have to do to support ourselves throughout life. Imagine being stuck in a dead end job and having to go to work every morning and dreading it. That is no spending oneÕs time and life is too short to work 35 years and be unhappy with it. If a person likes the job they do then it is not work, because finding satisfaction out of a job can bring great happiness. That information has enabled me to make the decision of choosing my area of study and career in the field of Information Technology.
My reasons for selecting a career in nursing stem directly from my desire to help our prospering population and community. This career appeals to me because it embodies what I strive to become, a person of influence, a guide, a respected adult, a mentor, and a person that can be trusted and looked up to with great passion. Another reason for selecting a career in nursing has a lot to do with my current job position at Generations Elder Care. Working with the elderly community at this personal care home has enriched my life in many ways, including one for my passion of learning more about the nursing field. As I shadowed the nurses entering the facility I watched them do their assessments on the residents which has peaked my curiosity. I believe being a nurse presents daily challenges which are unique, interesting, and rewarding and that is another reason why I want to become a nurse. Knowing that I have helped someone in some way possible gives me a feeling of fulfillment and enjoyment that I never understood or had before. And this career offers just that, and that is exactly why I...