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Prejudice and discrimination effect on society
The effects of prejudice and discrimination
The effects of prejudice and discrimination
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February 16th, 1993, marked a promising day for gay citizens living in Putin, Russia. Being gay in Russia was finally legalized. They were supposed to be free to roam the streets, holding hands with their loved ones without any fear that they would be arrested for it. At least, that is what they thought. Although being gay was now legal, it did not change the actions of those against them, and Russia remained a dangerous place for homosexuals. On February 4, 2014, journalist Jeff Sharlet published his article Inside the Iron Closet: What It’s like to Be Gay in Putin’s Russia, in which he describes continued terrible treatment of gays in Russia. Sharlet shares this revealing piece in order to inform the reader of the brutal treatment inflicted …show more content…
on gays in Russia by using decisive phraseology, articulate use of punctuation marks, and visualization techniques, hoping that this would encourage a change in Russia’s abusive treatment of its gay citizens. In the beginning of Sharlet’s piece, he explains Sunday nights in St. Petersburg. His word choice to describe these nights reveal either a positive or negative attitude depending on the location. He uses comforting or uplifting words like “Brightly,” “rainbows,” and “hunky” to describe the room at LaSky, and HIV awareness center. Conversely, when describing the club Bunker, he uses the words “dark,” “basement,” and “vast,” which give off more of an unsettling or unsafe feeling. His word choice in describing LaSky and the club makes the reader understand the setting of the places in St. Petersburg. It gives the audience the knowledge that LaSky is a happy, carefree place, while the Bunker is more of a daring, dangerous location. He does this to urge the reader into full comprehension of the setting in St Petersburg. There are places where individuals feel safe and consoled, like LaSky, and others where they feel unsound and vulnerable. If the reader has a certain perception of the mood from the locations, it can result in a sympathetic or intrigued reaction from the individual to know more about the situation in Russia. Sharlet’s stance on the subject of gays in Russia is not stated bluntly.
He uses certain techniques to show his opinion on the subject. One device that Sharlet applies regularly is the use of quotation marks. When Sharlet describes his reasons for writing his article, he states, “I wanted to see what ordinary LGBT life was like in a nation whose leaders have decided that ‘homosexualism’ is a threat to its ‘sexual sovereignty,’ that ‘genderless tolerance,’ in Putin’s words, is a disease of the West that Russia will cure” (DOCUMENT). His use of quotation marks around the words “homosexualism,” “sexual sovereignty,” and “genderless tolerance,” proves to the reader that those words are not thoughts of his own but opinions of those he does not agree with. The use of the quotation marks tells the audience that what he is referring to is what they’re known to believe but not necessarily what he believes. Along with quotations, Sharlet shows his stance by the use of rhetorical questions. During Sharlet’s meeting with Anatoly Artukh, a man who is against gays in Russia, Sharlet is horrified by Artukh’s point of view on the subject. After one of Artukh’s offensive “jokes,” Sharlet writes, “Do I not think this is funny?” (DOCUMENT). By doing this, Sharlet shows his frustration and anger resulting from Artukh’s “jokes,” but also reveals to the reader the extent of disgusting behavior and attitude portrayed by …show more content…
Artukh. When getting different sources to explain life in Putin, Russia, Sharlet is able to capture the different points of view on the situation. He gathers quotes from people who are for the violence (Anatoly Artukh), who are against it (Elena Kostyuchenko), and even those who just don’t really think it’s that big of a deal (Kirill). He does this because it helps the reader understand every aspect of what is going on. This helps further support his purpose because it educates the reader of the situation right from the source, which in return could cause them to feel sympathy and take a stand. In order to properly reveal the lack of freedom for gays in Russia, Sharlet uses imagery that helps the reader visualize the situation more clearly.
By being more descriptive of the scene, it helps the audience achieve more of an understanding of the condition. His use of imagery in describing Artyukh shows more about his character. Sharlet describes his appearance as “[Wearing a] leather jacket, shoulders padded, black suit beneath, black shirt unbuttoned to air out a few iron curls” (DOCUMENT). This illustration creates Artyukh’s scary, rugged image. Sharlet also uses stories to help further enliven the descriptions. He tells the story of Elena and Zhenya and how they fight every day for their rights. He tells the story of Pavel, Irina and their child, Emma, and their relationship with their neighbors, Nik, Zoya, and their child Kristina. His stories are informative additions to his article because they don’t just tell the audience the problem straightforward. The stories show the background of the characters and show that they aren’t horrible people. For those reading his article who are against gay marriage or gay freedom, the stories show that they are all just people trying to live fulfilling lives like everyone
else. In Inside the Iron Closet: What It’s like to Be Gay in Putin’s Russia, Sharlet uses many devices in hopes that one of them will cause the people to open their eyes and see the problem. The story of Pavel and his family is about them trying to be peaceful by agreeing to Russia’s terms but constantly living in fear. This story shows the reader that some homosexuals in Russia just want peace and not violence, much like their fellow citizens. His use of time periods when explaining the many marches that occurred in Russia show that the people are not giving up, and will always want freedom and respect. His devices don’t just help persuade the audience to make a change, or inform them of the situation, but make the reader realize that even if they don’t do anything, gays in Russia won’t give up. They want respect, and they are willing to do anything to get it.
In his opinionated book, From Bauhaus to Our House, Tom Wolfe describes his views on the way architecture has framed our modern world. He frames his book long essay with an excerpt from America the Beautiful, "O Beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, has there ever been another place on earth where so many people of wealth and power have paid for and put up with so much architecture they detested as within thy blessed borders today? . . . Every child goes to school in a building that looks like a duplicating-machine replacement-parts wholesale distribution warehouse . . . Every new $900,000 summer house in the north woods of Michigan or on the shore of Long Island has so many pipe railings, ramps, hob-tread metal spiral stairways, sheets of industrial plate glass, banks of tungsten-halogen lamps, and white cylindrical shapes, it looks like an insecticide refinery." (Wolfe 1) This quote, in short, is the premise of his critique. He does not like the way modern architecture
Rosen portrays our society as completely exposed, giving up all privacy to join, and fit in with the “naked crowd”. Rosen claims that we willing give up all power of privacy in order to fit in with society and be accepted as someone that can be trusted through exposure. He claims that image is the key to establishing trust, not through a relationship or conversation. His thesis presents his views on the subject, “has led us to value exposure over privacy? Why, in short, are we so eager to become members of the Naked Crowd, in which we have the illusion of belonging only when we are exposed?”(Rosen) he states that we value exposure over privacy, and will give away privacy to fit in.
Although language manipulation can be broken into countless categories and sub-categories, diction is arguably the common denominator. When one conducts an analysis of another’s words, it is both logical and necessary for one to address the author’s word choice. Vàzquez’s essay is full of strategically placed adjectives and transitions to pull the reader to her message. She refers to society’s gender roles as being a “straitjacket” that “suffocates” (p. 493, 3rd paragraph). Both of the words “straitjacket” and “suffocates” not only embody the frustration felt by homosexuals, but also suggest that society is bound by its own unreasonable expectations. The author’s metaphorical suffocating straightjacket serves as a signal to the reader that society’s treatment of gender roles is in dire need of reform.
The White Porch is a pleasant and easy poem to read. It resembles the tale of Rapunzel, who is famously known to have long hair. In the first verse paragraph, the narrator, who is implied to be a woman, is an adult who expresses that her hair takes forever to dry. Then in the second verse paragraph, she goes on to recall the times when her mother fixed and cared for her hair as a youngster. At night, she would let the rope, her hair, down and meet with someone, most likely a lover, privately. A similar aspect occurs in Rapunzel. Rapunzel would throw her hair out from her tower, thus meeting with her prince behind the witch’'s back. Like Rapunzel, the narrator treasures her hair greatly and even considers it like “a bridal veil.” Hair can symbolize
Gay rights has always been a controversial issue in Russia. Russia has anti-gay laws that cause big conflict in the country. Some of the laws that were passed include the gay propaganda law which is against exposing children to any gay media. Another big law which is on its way to being passed is they law against gay people adopting children. Because of this big issue going on, Fareed Zakaria a CNN news reporter investigates the situation. Zakaria interviews Valery Gergiev, an artistic and general director of Mariinsky Theatre. Zakaria makes sure to get Gergiev's point of view on the situation. By asking for Gergiev’s opinion, he is hoping it will gain the people of Russia’s attention. Gergiev states “I myself question very much why the country needed something like this law” which shows that he believes the new law is unnecessary. Gregiev also says. “ I myself hate any form of discrimination. I would never allow any sort of discrimination to take place”. By Zakaria asking this, he is trying to persuade the audience that discrimination will rise from this new law and gay people will no longer be treated equally.
In Ain’t No Making It, Jay Macleod explains his theories and findings on social reproduction of inequality. He begins by telling us more about some authors and their theories. This helped me have a better understanding on what this book is really trying to portray. One author I found interesting was Bernstein who focused on language patterns and social reproduction. By bringing up issues like this one that most people usually don’t think about, I was able to look at the problems that the Brothers and Hallway Hangers faced from a whole new perspective. I would not have noticed this throughout the book if these issues were not mentioned right away. I come from a very traditional family that believes that success depends on how much work you
In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people have dedicated themselves in fighting for
When the story of Vladek is not being told, the reader often sees the relationship between the author, Art, and his father. For the most part, these instances are often disagreements between the father and son. Because Vladek thought Art’s jacket was raggy and unacceptable, he threw it in the garbage and gave him a new, up to date, jacket: “Such an old shabby coat. It’s a shame my son would wear such a coat! ... “I have for you a warmer one. I got at Alexander’s a new jacket, and I can give you my old one; It’s still like new” (69). Despite the fact that Art is not very pleased with his father throwing away his jacket, the reader can find humor due to the fact that Vladek thinks that the jacket is so torn up and old, not actually realizing that the style of jacket is a part of Arts culture, therefore it is how Art wants to look. Another instance in which the father and son divide happens is when Vladek compares his son to the famous cartoonist, Walt Disney: “Yah. Someday you’ll be famous. Like what’s-his-name...You know... the big-shot cartoonist... Walt Disney!” (133). Even though Art takes offense to this because he and Walt Disney are not the same type of cartoonist, the reader can find humor in this because Vladek is oblivious to the difference between what Art does versus what Walt Disney
This shows how much Vladek and Artie had grown apart and how much his father’s faultfinding affected him. This goes to show how much one person’s life tragedies affects another person trying to live a full and complete life without hatred. Another way Vladek’s animadversion touched Artie, was in his thinking as a child. He mentions to his wife that as a child he “used to think about which of [his] parents [he] would let the Nazis take to the ovens if [he] could only save one of them... usually [he] would save [his] mother.”
Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their lives. Geanne Harwood, interviewed on an National Public Radio Broadcast commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, said that “being gay before Stonewall was a very difficult proposition … we felt that in order to survive we had to try to look and act as rugged and as manly as possibly to get by in a society that was really very much against us.” The age of communist threats, and of Joseph McCarthy’s insistence that homosexuals were treacherous, gave credence to the feeling of most society members that homosexuality was a perversion, and that one inflicted was one to not be trusted.
the beginning the text has an exciting tone since the authors describe the overwhelming emotions of individuals as well as the celebrations that took place after the law allowing same sex marriage was approved. By starting the article in this manner the writers are trying to provoke feelings of excitement from their readers in order to make them think that this event is a positive aspect of our society. Also, by mentioning the gay movement’s multiple efforts over the past “forty-two years to ensure the marital as well as civil rights of homosexuals” (Virtanen, Hill, and Zraick 1), the writers motivate their audience to be sympathetic towards these individuals. Moreover, the authors try to make people become more suppo...
In spite of the city promoting itself as a major global centre of LGBT community life, governance of spaces and urban politics have revealed alternative desideratum of the government in seeking to neutralize individual transgressiveness of queer identities by assimilating them into the hegemonic state, promoting a peaceful, white-collar, well-behaved gay/lesbian community (Bain, 2007: 17). Stemming from bathhouse raids to security of LGBT events in self-policing and commercializing of specify zones, shifts to neoliberalism give rise to a new relationship between LGBT communities, non-LGBT individuals, the market, and the state. In this paper, I argue
“The unprecedented growth of the gay community in recent history has transformed our culture and consciousness, creating radically new possibilities for people to ‘come out’ and live more openly as homosexuals”(Herdt 2). Before the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Research concerning homosexuality emphasized the etiology, treatment, and psychological adjustment of homosexuals. Times have changed since 1969. Homosexuals have gained great attention in arts, entertainment, media, and politics. Yesterday’s research on homosexuality has expanded to include trying to understand the different experiences and situations of homosexuals (Ben-Ari 89-90).
This quote addresses directly the primary difficulty of the issue. The terms gay and lesbian are useful in literature in that they allow a group of people who have been marginalised and even persecuted to become visible. They enable a way of life and a set of identities, harmonious or conflicting, to be presented, to be questioned, to be understood and accepted. As categories they create ‘space’ in which there may develop a more evolved understanding of texts and they also create a genre within which many lesbian and gay writers are comfortable with being placed. A gendered reading of a text can reveal undercurrents and depths which might otherwise not be apparent. These categories also make ‘space’ for the author within the text which leads to a closer tie between the author and the reader in the reading process.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the 1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.