Women Are Essentially Different Because Of Their Biology Sociology Essay

Women Are Essentially Different Because Of Their Biology Sociology Essay Gender is a range of characteristics of masculinity and femininity. It can refer to both sex (being male or female), social roles such as gender roles or gender identity. Gender and gender development originate from the moment of conception. When a female egg joins with a male sperm to for either a XY or XX chromosome pair, determining which developmental pathway will be taken (male or female). This will determine the physical sexual characteristics. Our sexual appearance as male or female has a significant and powerful influence on how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us, which is essential when we later develop our gender identity (our inner sense of being male or female). Your gender determines your (expected) behaviour and the characteristics you are socialised into. However there are some disagreements of whether men and womens gender is resultant of their biology, or the socialisation process they have been through. This is also known as the nature vs. nurture argu ment, whether gender and your gender identities and roles are constructed biologically and naturally or through the effect that people in your life have had over you growing up. In this essay I will be discussing how gender can be explained from both the biological perspective and the social perspective in order to answer the question of whether sociology can in fact explain it. Clearly there is no doubt that females and males differ biologically, however do we form our gender roles according to the influence and ideas of our society, or do the biological predispositions outweigh the cultural influence? Biological psychology regards gender identity as a resultant from our biological processes. Gender differences are seen as resulting from sex differences. In other words, women and men act, think and feel differently because of differences in how their brains work. These brain differences may result from chromosomal differences and may also be the result of hormonal differences. Women and men produce different sex hormones in varying quantities. Besides affecting the functioning of various bodily organs (e.g. causing the menstrual cycle in women) these sex hormones appear to have an effect on behaviour. Testosterone, which is produced in greater quantities by men, affects several types of behaviour, some of which are regarded as typically male. For example, Dabbs et al (1995) found that violent offenders had higher testosterone levels than non-violent offenders and Coates et al (2008) found that financial traders with higher testosterone levels took greater risks. Women have higher levels of oxytocin than men. Some researchers have linked this to increased sociability. Oxytocin seems to affect the formation of bonds and attachments between people and Klaver et al (2009) found that higher levels of oxytocin are linked to improved memory for faces. Gorski et al (1985) injected female rats with testosterone for a period prior to birth. After they were born their appearance and behaviour was compared with a control group of females whose testosterone levels had been normal. The experimental group had masculinised genitals (e.g. an enlarged clitoris) and showed masculine behaviour (e.g. trying to mount other females). This showed that male sex hormones had both physiological and behavioural effects, in rats at least. It is clear from a range of studies involving humans and other animals that chromosomal and hormonal differences between males and females affect a range of masculine and feminine behaviours, which supports the biological view. The biological view of gender is supported by those cross-cultural studies that have found universal features of gender. For example, in all cultures studied, men are found to be more aggressive than women, which suggest an innate, biological difference. Similarly, Buss et al (1990) studied wha t women and men look for in a potential mate in a large number of cultures and found that whilst men consistently prioritised youth and physical attractiveness, women placed a higher premium on wealth and status. These differences may reflect biological differences between women and men that have arisen because of evolutionary processes. The definition of gender states that it is typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. It can be argued that gender is the socially constructed expectation placed on a person as a result of their sex. We are born male and female but this does not make us a guy or a girl. Femininity and masculinity do not come from our genetic make-up, therefore the distinction between boy and girl is taught. If this was not the case then surely in every culture and society, every male and female would have the same masculinities and femininities? In 1935 Margaret Mead conducted a field trip to Papua New Guinea for 2 years in attempt to discover what extent temperamental differences between the sexes were culturally determined rather than innate. Mead found a different pattern of female and male behaviour in each of the cultures she studies which were different from gender role expectations in the US at that time. Among the Arapesh the temperament for both females and males was gentle, responsive and cooperative. The Mundugumor (now Biwat), both males and females were violent, aggressive, seeking power and position. For the Tchambuli (now Chambri), males and females temperaments were distinct from each other. The women were dominant, impersonal, and managerial. The men were less responsible and more emotionally dependant. Through this study Mead separated biologically-based sex from socially constructed gender, demonstrating how individuals gender roles were part of our socialization process as if this was not the case, each o f the tribes she studied although they were not close to each other, would have the same gender roles. Findings like this suggest that even though biological factors influence gender behaviour, they are heavily modified by learning. Parental influences have a significant role in the formation of our gender roles. From the very first day of our lives, boys and girls are treated differently. Parents perceive boys to be stronger and rougher than girls, and girls to be prettier and more delicate than boys. Parents hold boys closer to their body than they do girls. They hold boys closer to their body and spend more time verbalizing and cooing to girls than boys. Parents are acting on their stereotypes of male and female behaviour. Myers (1995) suggests that gender socialisation gives girls roots and boys wings. This suggests that girls are socialised to stay at home and boys are socialised to have adventures. Studies of childrens books over the last 50 years have shown that girls are four times more likely to be shown using household objects (e.g. pots and pans) than boys who are five times more likely to be shown using production objects (e.g. machinery) than girls (Crabb Beilawski 1994). The result is, according to a United Nations study (1991) everywhere cooking and dishwashing are the least shared household chores and everywhere, woman do most of the household work. These expectations define gender roles. Lytton Romney (1991) found that there was a significant difference in terms of encouragement of sex-typed play activities which reinforces the fact that girls and boys are treated differently from a young age. Will et al (1976) gave a boy aged 6 months to adults who he then observed whilst they played with the infant. The child was presented in sex-typed clothes, half the adults met the boy dressed in pink and known as Beth and half met Adam dressed in blue. Three toys were available: train, doll and fish. They found the doll was most often passed to Beth and she got more smiles, showing the typical gender stereotypes. Smith Lloyd (1978) extended this study and found that boys were most likely to be handed a toy hammer whilst girls were given a doll, as well this, the boys were encouraged in physical action more than girls. Parents were also found to give more positive non-verbal responses to their 18-23 month-old children for picking up toys when the selected object was sex approp riate and a more negative response if the object was associated with the opposite sex (Caldera et al 1989). Children are differentially reinforced with smiles and praise for the kinds of activities associated with their sex. Fagot (1978) found that girls were positively reinforced for activities such as dancing, dressing up and assisting with domestic tasks whilst boys were reinforced for more gross motor activities. To parents, gender is important. Behaving and acting in a way that fits with the femininities and masculinities that come with being a boy or girl. Facially and behaviourally it is often difficult to tell the different genders apart, especially with young babies, this leads to parents dressing their children differently, for example the tradition of girls in pink and boys in blue (Jackson 1992). Although parents play a significant part in the formation of gender roles, the effect of the media must not be underestimated. Of the many influences of the portrayal of men and woman, the media is the most persuasive and one of the most powerful, woven throughout our daily lives and putting ideas and messages into our conscience at every turn. A primary way that the media distort reality is through underrepresenting women. In prime-time television there are 3 times as many white men as woman (Barsow 1992), or in childrens programs in which males outnumber females by two to one, or newscasts in which woman make up 16% of news-casters in which stories about men are included 10 times more often than ones about woman (Study Reports Sex Bias, 1989). This constant distortion persuades and tempts us to believe that there are more men than women and further to this that men are the cultural standard. According to J.A. Doyle (1989) childrens television often portrays males as dominant, aggressive and engaged in exciting activities in which they get rewards from others for their masculine accomplishments. Television programmes for all ages disproportionally show men as serious, competent, powerful and with a high status position. Highly popular films such as Lethal Weapon, Die hard and all of the James Bond films star men who embody the extreme stereotype of masculinity, reinforcing the long-standing cultural ideals of masculinity with men being tough, sexually aggressive, unafraid, violent and totally in control of all emotions. In no way feminine. On the other hand, males are also underrepresented in many ways through the media. J.D. Brown and K. Campbell (1986) point out that they are typically represented as incompetent at homemaking, cooking and childcare. Each seasons new adverts for cooking and cleaning supplies include several that capture and portray men as incompetent foo ls, who are clumsy and no better at taking care of children. Media images also reflect cultural stereotypes of woman. Media has created two images of woman: good and bad. Good women are pretty, deferential, and focused on home, family and caring for others. Subordinate to men, they are normally cast as victims, angels or loyal wives and helpmates. The other image of women in the media offer us an evil homebody, being seen as a witch, bitch or sexual character who is represented as hard, cold aggressive, all the things a good woman is not meant to be. A good example of this bad woman character is Alex in Fatal Attraction who is an extreme version of how bad women are generally portrayed. In childrens literature, we encounter witches and mean stepmothers as villains, with beautiful passive females like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty as their good counterparts. These reinforce the social norms for the role of being male or female, from a young age and throughout individuals lifes. Having seen the Medias stereotypical portrayals of woman and men, we find that the relationship between both sexes is similarly portrayed in ways that reinforce stereotypes, starting with womens dependence and mens independence. The Little Mermaid significantly highlights females dependence on males for identity, with the Little Mermaid giving up her identity to be accepted by her lover. Analysis of MTV revealed that it portrays females as passive and waiting for mens attention, while males are shown ignoring, exploiting and directing women (Brown, Campbell Fisher, 1986). In rap music videos and many advertisements, womans primary roles appear to be objects of male desires. Manifesting male dominance and female subservience. Men are usually shown positioned above women and women are more frequently pictures in varying degrees of undress. The media often uses gender as a tool for comedy. The television series Two and a Half men is almost completely about gender, and represents women as objects of sexual pleasure for the main character. Even the theme song men, men, manly men foreshadows the overall theme of gender stereotypes. The final 2 significant ways the media portrays women and men is with mens authority and womens incompetence and woman as the primary caregivers and men as breadwinners. One of the most persuasive ways in which the media do this is through commercials. Woman are shown routinely anguishing over dirty floors and bathrooms only to be relieved of their distress when Mr Clean shows up and tells them how to keep their homes spotless. Magazines play a key role in promoting pleasing others as a primary focus of womens lives. K. Pierces study (1990) found magazines aimed at women stress looking good and doing things to please others. Telling women how to be me, only better by dyeing their hair to look younger, how to lose weight so youll still be attractive to him and how to prepare gourmet meals so hes always glad to come home. Constantly these advertisements emphasize pleasing others, especially men, as central to being a woman and the message is lined with the warning that if a woman fails to look good and please, her man might leave (Rakow, 1992). In conclusion it can be argued that sociology will never fully be able to define gender as we are born with certain biological traits that will always be there and unarguably play a part in our gender. However in answering what gender is, there is constant recognition of our gender roles that come with our gender. The masculinities and femininities of being a man or a woman. These are significantly influenced by our exposure to certain socialisation tools starting at a young age with our parents to then being influenced by numerous external forces throughout our lives such as the media. Sociology is not able to provide a clear definition of our gender as it is primarily biological but gender could be seen as irrelevant without our gender roles which come with our sex, which in theory sociology can help explain and define.

Irish Studies in the Informatics Age :: Irish Culture European Research

Irish Studies in the Informatics Age [†¦] and Gutenmorg with his cromagnom charter, tintingfast and great primer must once for omniboss step rubrickredd out of the wordpress else is there no virtue more in alcohoran. For that (the rapt one warns) is what papyr is meed of, made of, hides and hints and misses in prints. Till ye finally (though not yet endlike) meet with the acquaintance of Mister Typus, Mistress Tope and all the little typtopies. Fillstup. Finnegans Wake (London: Faber & Faber 1939), p.20. Television kills telephony in brothers' brawl. Ibid., p.52. This essay aims to trace the history and development of the electronic book in Ireland with some consideration of wider cultural issues involved in the very notion of digitising literature for the computer-based reader. In regard to digitising, the Irish book is subject to precisely the same conditions as any other literary product, so considered; that is to say, the processes applied by computers are precisely the same, be the books Irish or otherwise. In consequence the subject of this essay properly concerns textual archives and collections rather than discrete texts, whether held on national servers or linked together in cyberspace in such a way as to constitute a definite cultural topography for the internet user. The electronic Irish book is, then, less the name for a new way of producing literature than a new medium for the 'Irish anthology'—that is, a library of digital texts, however extensive, which has been created to represent (in sample or totality) the Irish lite rary tradition. In prevailing cultural conditions, each item in such a library is likely to be a digital copy of a formerly printed work of the kind in question rather than a new cultural entity generated ab initio within a new cultural medium. As to whether we call our subject the 'electronic Irish book' or the 'Irish electronic book', the difference is roughly analogous to that between 'smoked Irish salmon' and 'Irish smoked salmon'—a significant consideration for shoppers since the former implies a greater authenticity of actual contents than the latter, though not necessarily a superior dining experience. For practical purposes, it is Irish texts that concern us here, whether digitised in Ireland or elsewhere. Texts of other national provenance, whether in English or in another language, are the equivalent to 'Irish smoked salmon' in the foregoing culinary comparison; these may well abound to the degree of greatly outnumbering the others (as they do in any sizeable bookshop), but they are not the subject of this essay.

Islam and Muslim Contact Unit

The term â€Å"Islamophobia† was first used in print in 1991 and was defined in the Runnymede Trust Report as â€Å"unfounded hostility towards Islam, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims. † The word has been coined because there is a new reality which needs naming — anti-Muslim prejudice has grown so considerably and so rapidly in recent years that a new item in the vocabulary is needed so that it can be identified and acted against. (Sajid 2005) The term â€Å"Islamophobia† was coined by way of analogy to â€Å"xenophobia†, which is a dislike or fear of people from other countries or of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.Some definitions suggest xenophobia as arising from irrationality or unreason; this can also be said for islamophobia. Islamophobia can be characterized by the belief that all or most Muslims are religious fanatics, have violent tendencies towards non- Muslims, and reject concepts such as equality, to lerance, and democracy. It is a new form of racism where Muslims, an ethno-religious group, are constructed as a race. A set of negative assumptions are made of the entire group to the detriment of members of that group.During the 1990s many sociologists and cultural essay writer toronto analysts observed a shift in racist ideas from ones based on skin color to ones based on notions of cultural superiority and otherness. (Sajid 2005) In Britain and other European or Western countries, Manifestations of anti-muslim hostility has been exemplified in many verbal as well as physical attacks on Muslims in public places and attacks on mosques and desecration of Muslim cemeteries. Before 9/11, in Western countries negative stereotypes and remarks in speeches by political leaders, implying that Muslims are less committed than others to democracy and the rule of law.There was a rise in the number of hate crimes against Muslims in  London in 2010, these hate crimes were being encouraged by mainstream politicians and sections of the media, a study written by a former Scotland Yard counter-terrorism officer, published January 26, 2010, says that attacks ranging from death threats and murder to persistent low-level assaults, such as spitting and name-calling, are in part whipped up by extremists and sections of mainstream society. Lambert headed Scotland Yard's Muslim contact unit, which helped improve relations between the police and Britain's Islamic communities.The study mentions no newspapers or writers by name, but alleges that the book Londonistan, by the Mail writer Melanie Phillips, played a part in triggering hate crimes. Londonistan is a book about the spread of  Islamism  in the  United Kingdom  over the past twenty years. When London was hit by suicide bombers in July 2005, the dirty little secret was finally out. Great Britain had been the European hub of Islamist extremism for more than a decade. Under the noses of British intelligence, a network of terrorists and their sympathizers had used Britain to plot, finance, recruit and train for atrocities in the United States and around the world.The scale of this activity was so large that exasperated European security agencies dubbed Britain's capital city Londonistan. (Phillips 2006). In Europe and in America as well, it can be seen in widespread and routine negative stereotyping in the media and everyday discourse in ways that would not be acceptable if the reference were, for example, to Jewish or black people. (Dodd 2010) Islamophobia is heightened by a number of contextual factors. One of these is the fact that a high proportion of refugees are Muslims.Demonization of refugees is therefore frequently a coded attack on Muslims, for the words â€Å"Muslim,† â€Å"asylum-seeker,† â€Å"refugee,† and â€Å"immigrant† become synonymous in the popular imagination. In this case, the common experiences of immigrant communities with unemployment, rejection, alienation and violence have combined with Islamophobia to make integration really difficult. This has led Muslim communities to suffer higher levels of unemployment, poor housing, poor health and higher levels of racially motivated violence than other communities. (sajid 2010).For example, in 2003, when the Home Office produced a poster about alleged deceit and dishonesty amongst people seeking asylum, it chose to illustrate its concerns by focusing on someone with a Muslim name. France has been wracked by tensions over its rapidly growing Muslim minority. Another example of this would France banning the wearing of Islamic veils and other face coverings earlier this year, claiming they were both degrading and a security risk. Belgium has passed similar legislation, and Switzerland banned the building of minarets, the tall spires which often stand next to mosques. Ghazi 2006) A large issue that fuels the fires in the battle against Islamophobia is the drawing of cartoons offending the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. More specifically, this issue began after 12  editorial cartoons, most of which  depicted  the Islamic  prophet  Muhammad, were published in the Danish  newspaper  Jyllands-Posten  on September 30, 2005. These Danish cartoonists targeted Muhammad as a way to attack the Muslims’ freedom of free speech and religion. In Muslim societies insulting Muhammad is the gravest of all crimes; also considered blasphemy and punishable by death.Unfortunately, some events that followed these insults toward Muhammad ended in multiple deaths. The Organization of the Islamic Conference has denounced calls for the death of the Danish cartoonists. The obvious denial of this request caused attacks on innocents and riots all over Europe. Some acts included bombing of Christians at church, burning of churches, slaughtering innocent children and other civilians, and one specific incident included killing innocent train passengers. Even before the Jyllan ds-Posten riots, there were plenty of anti-Muslim acts in Europe.One of which was the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn’s assassination in 2002 for his anti-Islamic views. He called Islam a â€Å"backward culture† and wanted to stop Muslim immigration. After his death his party made its debut in Parliament with a 17% seat share showing how popular he was at that time. Another example of Europe’s anti-Muslim views as well as the Islam’s’ intolerance for the belittling of their culture is the assassination of Theo van Gogh In 2004. Van Gogh directed a short movie called Submission which tried to highlight the role of women in Islam.While the movie came in for a lot of criticism, van Gogh was assassinated in the same year over the movie. Specifically, the fear of Muslims became more prevalent in the United States after the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. In order to study Muslim Americans’ framing in the news media after 9/11, it is impo rtant to focus on two specific periods; the first six-month period after the attacks and the period after the first anniversary of September 11. The two periods are very important because the news framework completely changed during these two episodes.In the first immediate six months after 9/11, the media representation was very positive, comprehensive, frequent and contextual. However, after the first anniversary of 9/11, the media coverage changed. It became very negative, stereotypical and exclusive. By the first anniversary of September 11, the portrayal of Muslim Americans in both print and cable news had completely shifted from the more frequent, positive, contextual,  thematic, descriptive and comprehensive coverage to a more frequent, negative, stereotypical,  episodic  and exclusive coverage.The share of reporting on Muslim Americans declined, hate crimes skyrocketed and the positive public perception of Muslims that was created in the immediate period after 9/11 dim inished. Eventually, this negative perception of Muslims manifested itself through anti-Islamic riots and hatred of Muslim Americans in upcoming years. (Amiri 2012) September 11, 2001, and the days that followed produced strong feelings amongst non-Muslims as well as among Muslims in Europe.When people feel powerless and frustrated they are prone to hit out with violent language: â€Å"You don't belong here,† or â€Å"Get out of my country now; England is for white civilized English people! † are examples of the kind of violent language that was used in e-mail messages to the Muslim Council of Britain immediately following the attacks. These messages are significant, for they expressed attitudes and perceptions that are widespread amongst non-Muslims and that are recurring components of Islamophobia. Allen 2002) While over in the western hemisphere, the American government was trying to ensure the Americans citizens of their safety. In the first few days following 9/11 there were multiple news cast questioning citizens, politicians, and government officials of what exactly went on that day. But what most Americans really wanted to know was whether or not they can be safe knowing that people of the same race and religion as the terrorists were walking the streets.Although there was fear struck into the hearts of American citizens, Americans were too decent to even consider lashing out on Muslim Americans. Not only that but American didn’t know even about their culture, religion, or race to hate them to extent that Europeans do. (Schwartz 2010). When it came time to get the point of views from the horse’s mouth, Muslim Americans were more frequently covered in the news and more often interviewed as sources than before the events of 9/11.They were given a chance to speak for themselves rather than the commentators talking on their behalf offering their views on certain issues relating to Muslim Americans. (Abid 2011) What changed the A merican view of Muslims altogether was the start of the wars in Afghanistan. Americans who were considered to be Islamophobes were completely against the idea of thousands of soldiers losing their life trying to fight for a faith that what President Bush calls â€Å"A religion based on peace, but hijacked by the terrorists. (Bari 2012) But Americans had an odd response to the anti-Muslim controversy they elected a president bearing an Islamic middle name, Barack Hussein Obama. This demonstrated that for their majority, Islamophobia was moot. Too few said so, but Americans seemed to have instinctively grasped certain truths: that Islam would not simply go away, they would not change their view, they could not be defeated in a direct confrontation and that moderate Muslims would be valuable allies in defeating radical Islam. (Schwartz 2010)

Timeline of Caribbean Prehistory - Precolumbian