Many US Women’s experiences have been shaped from the intersecting power inequalities that they have faced throughout their lives. These inequalities bring criticism, cruelty and sometimes death; however these women continue to fight for their rights through protests, activist organizations and by remaining composed when faced with adversities. At the start of “Shanghai Girls” by Lisa See, we are introduced to two sisters May and Pearl, whose lives change for the worse when the realities of living in a sexist society impacts them personally. When May and Pearl’s father says, “I’ve arranged marriages for you” (See 20) , they must accept. This is because despite their education, without a male figure, such as their father’s ability to support them, they would only end up as beggars or prostitutes. While the sisters were traveling to meet their husbands in Los Angeles, there was immediate racism/xenophobia; particularly against the Chinese immigrants. Pearl states, “We were treated more poorly that the cargo that travelled with us.” (See 90) This is seen through the “manhandling” by the guards and the fact that they were separated from the Caucasians, whom were let into San Francisco without questioning. Upon the sister’s arrival to Angel Island the unjust treatment continues. Not only are they kept in the same clothes for 5 days, but they are forced to live in prison-like conditions. Because of classism, it is important for the sisters to wear their best dresses when going for interrogation, as “those who are well dressed leave sooner... (See 96)” They would not get in if they were farmers and looked like peasants. Sexism is repeated once again when the sisters are forced into interrogation rooms with all white men. When Pearl ... ... middle of paper ... ...better. It is important to know about this history and to view it from women’s perspectives. We become empowered by those who fought before us and it helps us to remember that women need to be represented equally in all cultures. Women’s voices have been silenced in the past making it difficult to expose their tribulations. Reading about this history today reveals the truth about what they faced, and as a result, we gain a greater appreciation for these brave women who fought, so that the women of today may have equal and impartial experiences. Works Cited Delphy, Christine. A War for Afghan Women? September 11, 2001: Feminist Perspectives. 302-315.Print. Pahe, Erna. "Speaking Up." Roscoe, Will. Living the Spirit. New York: Gay American Indians of S.F., 1988. 106-114. Print. See, Lisa. Shanghai Girls. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 2009. Print.
“Factory Girls” by Leslie T. Chang provides an inside look on migration in the inner cities of China. The book follows the lives of women who have left their home villages to work in factories. Primarily, Chang focuses on the lives of two women, Min and Chunming. Min left her village at the age of sixteen with her older sister to chuqu, or to go out, and see the world. She often changed jobs while in Dongguan because she is never satisfied with her position. Chang met Chunming at a dating agency where men and women could mingle with one another. Chunming began her career at a toy factory. In her diary, she often wrote out the goals she wanted to accomplish and how to accomplish them. She was very determined to become successful. Her persistence
... Michael Anhorn. "The Way of the Two Spirited People: Native American Concepts of Gender and Sexual Orientation” Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society. N.p., 2008. Web. 03 May 2014.
There is a continuing debate worldwide regarding the topic of women’s rights and equality. Some have stronger opinions than others but in the long run it is shown that women have come a long way since the Seneca Falls convention in 1848 as well as the Civil Rights Movement in the 1920’s. Since the civil rights movement, women have struggled with religious freedom, equality, schooling, voting, stating their voice in government, and family life. Over the past generations dramatic social and legal changes have been pursued to pave the way for women’s acceptance today; changes such as affirmative action, reproductive rights, abortion, and the pursuit of higher education. Generations of women have come together to help build stronger ground to address women’s rights by participating in civil rights meetings, petition drives, lobbying, public speaking and non-violent resistance acts. Women have also overcome hardships such as rejection, isolation, discrimination, and unfair treatment in the workforce. In today’s society women now have more opportunities then ever before such as invol...
For the past century, the United States of America has made countless advancements in technology, medicine, and many other fronts. As a society, it has advanced at an incredible rate, becoming a major world power in an incredibly short period of time. The biggest barriers that America is working on are currently taking place within its own borders; civil rights and the battle for equality have men and women of every race up and arms. Specifically, the fight against sexism is the most modern struggle in America. Discrimination against women is harmful to both men and women; it holds women back into a useless position and forces men to take the brunt of the work. Men are expected to work, but women are almost expected not to, and instead "be nothing more than dangling, decorative ornaments--non-thinking and virtually non-functional” (Chisholm 4). There is progress to be made in the American society in its attitude and treatment of women. Gender inequality continues to be a social problem in the business, family, and personal lives of women.
Gender Inequality is something that happens abundantly more often than we think within our everyday society. These events that take place we might not even be noticing them until someone points them out to us or we’re put into the position where we need to, due to our society has been taught to work and what we look for in these situations when they appear to be happening. This is something that our society really needs to work on to fix as a whole. The problem with gender inequality is that it often affects females more than males from having completely equal rights or fair opportunities within our society to do the things they’re passionate about within our everyday lives and work areas across America. Some of the places where gender inequality might be over looked at, is the sporting aspect of our population.
“Father Knows Best”, a popular sitcom in the 1950s, was a program where the archetypal father’s wisdom was solomonic and his judgment was left unquestioned. A patriarchal social hierarchy was maintained in the idealized post-war family. The 1950s in the United States were the golden age of masculinity, as books like The Modern Woman: The Lost Sex, to decree motherhood as the duty and civic responsibility of women, became best sellers (Rhode, 1947). Luckily, the United States has unshackled themselves from the imposing views of the mid-20th century, now fully accepting female leaders and workers as contributors to the economy. Yet, there is still a struggle and the modern mindset remains gilded. Gender can act as a divider. Science lends itself to the study of the human body, of the mind, and of human habits. The distinctive tendencies of men and women, as well as the completely different biological makeup, establish the two sexes. Yet women have barriers, invisible to the naked eye, that discourage them from participating in various things, things that are seen as male dominant fields, such as engineering (a current issue in the United States) (only 17% to 19% of engineering degrees go to women) (Catalyst). The professional world of America is vying for more female presence in particular spheres of influence. Gender roles have been exuded and exhausted during history (as seen in shows like “Father Knows Best”), in turn creating mental blockades for the vast majority of women, ultimately limiting their social and economic capabilities. This is a global issue. In some nations, women have become the “lesser” of society, not able to overcome sexism that is sometimes violent and aggressive (Berg, 17). The spectrum of gender inequality ...
Laura Bassett, a reporter from the Huffington Post, explains that in today’s society women are paid 77 cents for every dollar that a man earns, resulting in women being paid an average of $37,800 a year compared to men who are paid an average of $49,400 per year in 2012 (Women Still Earned 77 Cents On Men's Dollar In 2012: Report). Also, when a man and a woman apply for the same job, the man will almost always be chosen. This has resulted in the amount of full-time working males increasing by 1 million within a years time, and the number for full-time working women remained nearly the same. To this day, females are not treated equally to males even though almost a century has gone by from 1920 when women gained their deserved suffrage rights and other rights of equivalent importance. Both men and women are standing up to spread the awareness of the meager changes to women’s rights throughout the years. One way to raise awareness is to write a book, and many books have been made about the lack of equality rights for women. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, the main character Lily witnesses several equality rights between men and woman in the way that females are treated by males, which has become a major social issue in today’s society.
Gender Inequality has always been in issue since the beginning of time. For some it’s not an issue it’s just a way of life, women are taught to be submissive and obedient to their male counterparts. Women’s sole purpose is to bear children, raise and nurture them, run the household as far as cooking and cleaning and to take care for their husband and his needs. This has been an idea that goes across many cultures in different parts of the world for centuries, passed down from generation and generations. Those days are long gone or are they really? Over the years women have made great strides in gaining equal rights as man, but for some cultures women are unequal to their male counterparts despite how far the fight for women equality have
In most parts all over the world some form of violence exists. It may emerge from all different sources but violence is violence whether it comes about in a pretty bow tied package or an ugly lump of matter. It is all around us. But contrary to popular belief, violence is not always the bloodiest battles or the longest wars. Sometimes it is the things that seem trivial and minute that can create the most violent of situations. And we see all throughout history that discrimination can be deemed as one of the most violent acts of man. Discriminations can range from the inability to vote to earning a significantly lower wage and a means for living compared to men. Globally, both past and present woman have encountered many different forms of social injustices.
Many laws and regulations are implemented everyday into our society, involving equal rights for all. But, even with being in the year 2015; there is still much discrimination and inequality seen throughout many different institutions. Gender inequality is defined as unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on gender. This has been seen for many decades now, revolving mainly against women. Throughout history to even today, men have always been seen as the stronger, faster, and harder working gender as opposed to women. Today, with more women being seen working at larger firms and corporations, we still see many obstacles and challenges that they must face. While many women have fought for equality in the workplace, it is still a
One cannot begin the discussion of gender pay gap without defining it. Simply put, gender pay gap is the inequality between men and women wages. Gender pay gap is a constant international problem, in which women are paid, on average, less than that of their male counterpart. As to if gender pay gap still exist, its exactness fluctuates depending on numerous factors such as professional status, country and regional location, gender, and age. In regards to gender, in some cases, both men and women have stated that the gap does not exist. Due to various countries initiatives to shrink the wage inequality between men and women wages in the work force, the gap has narrowed, respectively, which may have helped form such opinion. However, stating that the gender pay gap does not exist in today’s society, anywhere, is completely unlikely. Seeing that the gap has loosened its grasp in the working world, in other countries, the gap between pay has widen or remained stagnant. One cannot help but wonder why the gap remains consistent even with such substantial progress made in countries where the gap has decreased.
French feminist criticism concerns itself with the objectification of women, and examples abound in Two Kinds. From the beginning, Jing-mei’s mother pushes her to be a prodigy partially for reasons of pride and competition. Jing-mei’s Auntie Lindo has a daughter who is a national chess champion, and Auntie Lindo never fails to remind anybody of the fact. When discussing their daughters, both Auntie Lindo and Jing-mei’s mother make no mention of their character, only bragging about their level of “genius”. Ironic as it sounds, they are objectifying their daughters and using them as status symbols, no different from flaunting a new car or gadget. On the other hand, American feminist criticism focuses on the victimization of women, a victimization that is apparent in Two Kinds. Though at first glance, Jing-mei’s mother may seem like the antagonist in the story, when one considers her backstory it is apparent that she just wants her daughter to have the life she never had. The mother lost everything when she moved from China to San Francisco in 1949. In China she lost her family, her spouse, and she had to abandon her twin baby girls. She had a very difficult life in a society that was even more hostile to women than post-World War II America. Finally, there is the Female Subtext form of criticism, which focuses on minor female characters. The minor female characters in this story are Aunt Lindo and her daughter Waverly, two toxic characters that represent the opposite of what feminism stands for. Aunt Lindo drones on about how great her daughter and remarks about how she is obsessed with chess with mock disgust. Waverley herself is no saint, as she brags about her level of genius while belittling Jing-mei after her piano recital fiasco. This is strikingly similar to how men looked down upon women as subhuman for most of history. All in all, Two Kinds is
Women have fought through torture, blood, sweat, and tears to help women stand strong in our
and wages. It will also tackle what is being done to solve this problem and what
Two species; one world. Women and men have roamed this earth for thousands of years. Working with one another in making this world a better place. Yet there is a conflict that makes working together hard to accomplish. Inequality between men and women can come in different shapes and sizes. But why? Is it simply because people are just downright sexist? Or is it because humans have become numb to the subject. The struggle for equality has been around longer than most can imagine. From black rights to women rights. Women and men share countless similarities and multiple differences. This is where gender inequality comes into contact. Ones eyes usually are drawn to make direct accusations about a person or thing within a matter of second. The