The great man theory was introduced in the 19th century, to help describe and explain leaders/leadership. Historian Thomas Carlye (1888) backed and supported this theory, he believed that great leaders had the right characteristics for leadership; he further believed that leaders had an innate gift of “divine inspiration” to be successful leaders. However Sociologist Herbert Spencer (1896) rejected this theory. Spencer believed that leaders were simply the product of where they came from and how their life experiences shaped their view of life. This interesting view of leadership leads to the question, that if Harvey Milk was not a Gay man, would he have been as a good a leader? The spark that set off Harvey’s political campaign in the film was the murder of a gay man he knew. Although this was not his only bitterness, he voices his hatred for the police due to said police hating him and other gay people, while he also voices how gay people were persecuted in their everyday lives. …show more content…
The leader in question must be seen to be promoting the groups process. They must be entrepreneurs of identity, and they must be prototypical of the group that they are leading i.e. they must embody the groups goals wants and needs. Fielding and Hogg (1997) showed that the more prototypical behaviour the leader of a group showed, the better they were rated by the participants as being good leaders. Harvey Milk is the prime example of this type of leadership. He knew what his group wanted (equal rights, protection) and he made it his mission to fulfil his group’s desires. An example of this in the film is when Proposition 6 is proposed, Harvey’s followers marched the streets of San Francisco and when they came to stop at city hall he addressed them. Harvey shared their anger and frustrations, he is a perfect example of a leader who has embodied his group’s needs and goals and
“The Other Wes Moore” By Wes Moore, reveals how two men can develop differently in the same social environment, and yet and have different intrapersonal views. The two men grew up in the same impoverished city, yet both have different experiences and views of what it means to be a man. The other Wes Moore, living his whole life in a poverty-stricken society, believes that being a man means to be powerful and unforgiving. The author, Wes Moore, living in two different worlds, views himself as a man when he becomes an exceptional leader and responsible for others lives. These concepts both tie into the constructs of masculinity in the United States where men are supposed to be protectors of society. The two Wes’ notions of manhood derive from
... homosexual being felt in the world around the 1970’s and 1980’s. The time period in which this play was written was one of great dissonance to the LGBT movement. For Harvey Fierstein to be so bold and public with his own lifestyle was truly admirable and brave. Fierstein shows us that ignorance can destroy a life because of what is unknown.
Over the course of history, the definition of manhood has changed and morphed according to society’s rules. In his essay “Masculinity as Homophobia,” number four in The Matrix Reader, Michael Kimmel tackles the truth about what manhood has become and how society has challenged the meaning of homophobia. He begins with an analysis of history, and then proceeds to relate masculinity and homophobia to power, women, and violence. Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity has a different meaning.
James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” focuses on the topics of racism and sexism in the black community that parallel social issues faced in the real world brought on by societal ignorance, stereotypes, and gender roles.
Leadership is an important element in the functioning of group interactions toward an organized goal. Leadership has been defined in many different ways by sociologists and social psychologists alike, numbering too many to discuss here. The most common element found in these definitions is "that leadership involves a process of influence between a leader and followers to attain group, organizational, or societal goals" (Hollander, 1985). In small group interactions, leadership is usually an assigned status, with the "followers" designating, both consciously and subconsciously, someone as a leader. This is a person who, according to the group members, is believed to have those characteristics which are most suited to accomplish the task and objectives of the group (Bales and Slater, 1955). Much of the available early research that I was able to attain focused on leadership and the concept of leadership in terms of political situations. When viewed from a political standpoint, the study of leadership pertains to the analysis of relationships between those who possess power and those who don't possess power (power will be discussed in det...
Prior to the 1950’s, society had already formed the foundation of its bias towards gay men. Scientific and social studies executed by famous scholars, such as Freud and Kinsey, suggested not only that homosexuality is abnormal, but it is prevalent among society (Johnson). Correspondingly, Washington began to grow, which gave way to new government positions, ranging from the lowest corporate level to the highest corporate level; thus, paranoia, regarding homosexual men in the White House, dispersed
Harvey Milk said, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”(Aretha 83). Harvey Milk was the first gay politician that moved people’s hearts. He changed the way people thought about gay people back in the 1970’s. Defending homosexuals from criticism, he civilized them with the people. Since the background of homosexuality was harsh which affected Harvey Milk’s early life, he took the action to process of becoming civilized as an officer, and he left many legacies.
There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define leadership (Stogdill, 1974). Therefore, it is very difficult to understand what leadership actually is. According to John Sculley leadership revolves around vision and ideas and has to do more with inspiring people towards direction and goal. A leader is a person capable of inspiring other people to do things without sitting on top of them with a checklist. Precisely, leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a desired goal (Northouse, 2012). Distinguishing between leaders and non-leaders is hard as there exists no clear understanding of what differentiates leaders from non-leaders. Leadership and authority are constructed socially by superiors and subordinates, followers and peers.
I define Leadership as a person’s ability to guide or shepherd a herd through/to a common destination – a destination of common beliefs. The leader possesses qualities/traits that can persuade others to follow them because they believe and trust them – regardless of their “human” traits and imperfections. The herd trusts that they will stay on course to the common destination.
Even before, when he was campaigning.The issue was that he was homosexual. The people of San Francisco didn’t think he was capable of helping people. “If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We've given them hope.” (Shilts 183). Milk worked hard to represent minorities when no one else would. “As supervisor Harvey Milk has the political skills to advance the issues that neighborhood people cared about. Rent control, limiting high rise development, public transportation and the right of senior citizens” (Time of Harvey Milk,
To inspire and influence others, a leader must possess many skills and abilities. As motivational speaker Peter Northouse, states, “a leader should be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant” (Northouse, 2013) Moving an entire group of individuals toward a singular goal is a considerable undertaking. Without effective communication skills and a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished, one will feel like they are trying to herd cats rather than leading.
proving that being a leader is not just seem like; a leader is a person who takes and guides a
The term ‘leadership’ has no definition, for it is defined different ways in the minds of people. A leader will ingrain a sense of positivity and necessity towards the set goal using the power of written and spoken word. The qualities of a leader differentiate between between each society.
To inspire and influence others, a leader must have many skills and abilities. As motivational speaker Jim Rohn, states, “ the challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” (2010) Moving an entire group of individuals toward a singular goal is a considerable undertaking. Without effective communication skills and a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished, one will feel like they are trying to herd cats rather than leading.
Queer theory in the story may be cut in by J.T. Gay and lesbian criticism is an approach to literature that focuses on how homosexuals are represented in literature, how they read literature, and whether sexuality, as well as gender, is culturally constructed or innate The entry of the word queer into the English language is itself a study in the queer ways of words. Chambers dictionary defines the adjective as follows: odd, singular, quaint: open to suspicion: counterfeit: slightly mad: having a sensation of coming sickness: sick, ill, (dialect): homosexual (slang). What’s queer about this synonymic definition is the same word clustering around ideas of strangeness, sickness and homosexuality. The first entry for, queer, in the OED comes from the early sixteenth century (dunbars,hier cumis awin quir clerk, form 1508), while the first entry for the word in its homosexual sense is from 1922 in a publication by the Children’s Bureau of the US Department of Labor. Homosexuality is queer because of the perceived queerness of queers.