Archive of ‘Civic Issue’ category

Gender Stereotypes in the Media

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Something that has been on my mind for quite awhile is the media. I don’t think we truly realize the extent to which the media subconsciously affects our minds on a daily basis. We see several commercials and ads on T.V everyday, but do we really pay attention to their message? Although it may not be as strikingly apparent nowadays, the media does a lot to push gender roles and perpetuate stereotypes about women, most of which are often misconstrued or inaccurate. Media uses these skewed stereotypes to portray a misrepresentation of women, which consequently manipulates and shapes the attitudes, opinions, and views of the public. For this week’s post, I wanted to look at this problem in more depth by analyzing the structure of commercials and T.V. shows and specify the gender stereotypes they utilize.

Commercials are a vast source of gender stereotyping mainly because they are typically adapted to specifically a male or female target. From a general standpoint, women are more often presented in commercials because they are usually seen as responsible for making everyday purchases. When men are shown, they are generally advertising cars, alcohol, cigarettes, business products or investments, whereas women are shown advertising cosmetics and domestic products. Women are also more likely to be portrayed in a home environment performing domestic chores such as laundry and cooking, unlike men, who are usually shown in the outdoors. Thus the media is creating a societal norm and pushing gender roles by showcasing the idea that women are typically stay at home moms who cook and clean all day, contrary to men who do the work outside the house. Another important thing to note is a phenomenon known as face-ism present in the majority of commercials. The face-ism phenomenon essentially consists of showing the entire figure of women in ads and close-up shots of men. This expresses the idea that body image of women is more highly scrutinized and placed at a higher importance than that of men’s.

According to research by University of Houston Professor Steve Craig, women are presented in commercials in several variants.  For example, one of the most popular is portraying a woman as housewife whose main problem is lack of ideas for dinner. The other examples are less traditional, however, still very stereotypical. Many commercials portray women as female “vamps” or in other words sex objects who exist to primarily service men. They mostly appear in the commercials directed to men. When a beautiful woman accepts and praises male cosmetics or a product directed towards the male audience, it is treated by men as a guarantee of its quality. Another type of stereotyping in media is when ads portray women whose major concern is to preserve their beauty. Hence, she presents a healthy life style, is physically active, and uses a wide range of body and facial cosmetics. The problem with portraying women like this is that we observe mainly the presence of very thin actresses in these type of commercials. This consequently leads to the the faulty assumption that only thin women can be beautiful and healthy. As a result, the female audience generally fall into the obsession with their weight, which leads to negative effects, including low self-esteem, confidence, unhealthy dieting techniques, and even starvation.

In more recent commercials, gender roles are being pushed through advertisement even on young children. Girls are often portrayed as playing with dolls and easy-bake ovens, whereas boys are seen playing with action figures, trucks, and anything involved with sports. This perpetuates a false stereotype that girls never play with action figures and boys never play with easy-bake ovens, when that is not necessarily the case.

When looking at popular T.V. shows like The Big Bang Theory for example, there was one consistently present female lead in the earlier seasons, Penny. Penny’s character was that of the stereotypical female. She was presented as the ditzy, attractive neighbor who existed solely to create sexual tension between herself and one of the show’s leading men, Leonard Hofstadter. As the show progressed, characters developed and more females were introduced, but Penny’s character still exists to primarily create romantic tension. The portrayal of such stereotypes often causes the public to change their perspective on women and causes them to form the misconception that females are dumb, bemused, and/or simply present to attract men.

Sources:

Lantagne, Allison. “Gender Roles in Media.” The Huffington Post, 14 May 2014. Web.  <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-lantagne/gender-roles-media_b_5326199.html&gt;.

Pryor, Debra; Knupfer, Nancy Nelson. “Gender Stereotypes and Selling Techniques in Television Advertising: Effects on Society,” 1997. Web. <http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/16/c4/8c.pdf>.

Examining Sex Trafficking: A Domestic and International Perspective

dreamstime_m_32349546Over spring break, I had the opportunity to read the book Half the Sky (strongly recommend it!), which essentially details the stories of young girls and women around the world subject to harsh oppression. Every story was disheartening, but the ones that particularly caught my attention and struck a cord with me focused on the prominent issue of human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking.

Human trafficking, is currently one of the fastest-growing criminal industries in the world, generating approximately $27.8 billion a year globally, the majority of which comes from the international sex-trade. Human trafficking in its most malicious form is essentially akin to modern day slavery, where people profit from the victimization, control and exploitation of others. Specifically, sex trafficking or the “sex trade” is when people, most often women and girls, are bought or abducted, harbored, and coerced into commercial sex against their will through the use of threat, abuse, or deception. No matter where in the world, all trafficking victims share one essential experience- the loss of freedom and human rights.

As Americans, we want to believe that sex slavery is only rampant in developing countries, but essentially non-existent here; however, this is a popular misconception. Many Americans are oblivious to the seriousness of the issue within the country, perhaps due to the hidden nature of the crime in the U.S.  In reality, sex trafficking is just as prevalent in the United States, as in any other country. In 2013, The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported that about 15,000 people are trafficked in the US each year, 50% of which are children under the age of 18 in risk of being forced into prostitution.

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The top sex trafficking industries in the United States include online escort services, residential brothels, and in-street prostitution. It is important to note that the Super Bowl is the day with the single largest incident of human trafficking in America. Since thousands of fans globally come to the host city for the game, it becomes a profitable breeding ground for forced workers. About 10,000 victims are forced into prostitution during this time, and sex trafficking victims are expected to sleep with around 30 men per day at such an event. The awareness raised about sex trafficking leading up to the Super Bowl is important to make sure people know this crime exists; however, that awareness should not be limited to simply big sporting events.

When looking at the issue from a global standpoint, close to million women and girls worldwide (even a small number of boys) are currently enslaved in the international sex-trade. To put the severity of the issue into perspective, as of the 21st century, far more women and girls are shipped into brothels annually than African slaves were shipped into slave plantations per year in the 18th century.

Especially in developing countries such as India and China, the majority of victims are extremely young girls, who are separated from their mothers at birth and forced into brothels to be sexually exploited or intimidated into prostitution. These girls usually grow up in the brothels and continue in the sex-trade business for the majority of their lives.

Human TraffickingThe problem of sex trafficking continues to be a growing global problem primarily due to collapse of communism in Indochina and Eastern Europe, which has opened up markets for commercial sex. The fear of AIDS has also increased, causing some customers to target younger girls, who they think is less likely to be infected, or virgins, believing the girls to cure AIDS. The sex trade self-perpetuates, as it continues to grow. Once girls are sold into the sex slavery business, it becomes all they know, and they often become so stigmatized that they remain in the trade, even if it means selling sex voluntarily.

With enough political will, we can begin to hold government’s accountable for not only passing more anti-trafficking laws, but also enforcing them. Officials worldwide should be under pressure to shut down jail-like brothels, crack down on trafficking across borders, and investigate criminals buying underage girls. Of course, there is no easy solution to ending the complex issue of sex trafficking, but we must to everything we can to make a positive change, in the US and internationally.

The Gender Pay Gap

The 87th annual Academy Awards this past Sunday night was dedicated to recognizing and honoring the stellar work of people working in film; however, the Oscars was not only a big night for the movie industry. It was a huge night for women all over the nation. If you simply google “Oscars”, I can guarantee you that one of the top articles that pops up will be about Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech, which will forever go down, in my opinion, as one the most galvanizing, yet controversial speeches in Oscar history.

When accepting the prestigious Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the movie Boyhood, Patricia choose to shine a spotlight on the growing, unresolved issue of inequality towards women. In particular, the gender pay gap and wage inequality.

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The issue of the gender pay gap has been a fairly touchy and sensitive topic for years and has triggered mixed thoughts amongst many. Most of us have probably heard the general statement that men are paid more than women are paid over their entire lifetimes, but what does that really mean? Are women paid less because they choose lower-paying jobs? Is it because more women work part time than men do or because women tend to be the primary caregivers for their children? Or is it simply an issue of gender discrimination? The answer is, it is a combination of all of the above.

There are women who choose to work part-time or take on lower-paying jobs, and are thus paid less than men who have higher-paying jobs and/or work full-time, which is logical and seems fair. However, over the years it has been found that women are making less money than men despite doing equal work with equal experience for the exact same job. That is when the problem of gender inequality comes into play. The Equal Pay Act was established in 1963 to abolish gender wage disparity, yet 50 years have passed and women are still earning less for working just as hard.

Personally, it boggles and perturbs me that our country is still backwards in our ways of thinking, and gender discrimination has failed to completely cease. Obviously, it would be inaccurate to state that all women are faced with the problem of unequal pay; however, the harsh reality is that there is evidence of a wage disparity between men and women, and statistics show that most women make less money as they get older, when compared to men.

When looking at the numbers, the pay gap has barely budged in a decade. Amongst full-time, year round workers as of 2013, women were paid only an average of 78% of what men were paid according to the Census Bureau. So in other words, for every dollar a man makes, a woman earns just 78 cents for doing the same job.

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To put the issue of the current gender pay gap in perspective and address the growing divide in wage equality, here are the concrete facts and statistics, which are disconcerting to say the least. Women in every state experience the pay gap, but some states are worse than others. Women are paid 91% of what men are paid in Washington D.C, but in Louisiana, the worst state in the country for pay equity, women are paid just 66% of what men are paid. Just 66%!  Furthermore, according to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the pay gap does not apply to one occupation. Women unfortunately face the pay gap in nearly every occupation, whether they are female-dominated, gender-balanced or male-dominated. Whether it’s a job in computer programming, teaching, law, or arts and entertainment, women are paid less than men regardless. As Patricia mentioned in her acceptance speech, it is true that the pay gap widens and grows with age. Reports by the AAUW state that until about 35, women typically earn about 90% of what men are paid, but as they get older, the average earnings for women typically drop down to approximately 75-80% of what men are paid.

As sad as it is to say, the gender pay gap makes me feel like our nation has traveled back in time and is taking giant leaps backwards instead of pushing forward. If this wage disparity continues to grow and this gap expands, what will the future look like?

Removal of LGBT Protections in Kansas

Believe it or not, in Kansas, state employees can now be fired, harassed, or denied a job simply for being gay or transgender. The worse part is…it’s perfectly legal.

One of the biggest news stories that has recently caught my attention and has sparked discussion amongst many is the fact that the Kansas Governor has removed protections for LGBT employees as of last Tuesday.

In 2007, Kansas barred employment discrimination against gay, bisexual, transgender, and lesbian state workers under an executive order signed by the state’s previous governor, Kathleen Sibelius. Last Tuesday; however, the current governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback, abruptly revoked this order causing uproar especially amongst human rights and equality activists. He felt as though the order placed in 2007 created additional ‘protected classes’ and the expansion of these classes must not be done through unilateral action and rather needs legislative approval.

As a proponent of equality and attaining human rights, Brownback’s decision appalls me, and leaves me quite perplexed. Under Brownback’s new order, Kansas’s workers are still protected against race, religion, age, color, and gender discrimination, but not sexual orientation? Why is one group of people being singled out, when most other state employees are being treated equally? Why are we removing rights instead of adding them? Is our nation taking a step backwards instead of forwards?

In fact, even the legal director of Kansas’s American Civil Liberty Union, Doug Bonney, deemed the ruling as unprecedented and shocking, and the Human Rights Campaign condemned his actions as “reckless, shameful, and foul”. In the grand scheme of things, by losing LGBT protections that they’ve had for over 7 years, the state workers in Kansas are returning to a situation that is all too familiar to many American employees. Currently 29 states, including Kansas, have no protections put into place to prevent discrimination against sexual orientation, according to the ACLU. Additionally, hundreds of gay, lesbian, and transgendered workers have jobs that are now at risk, after believing they were safe on the job for close to a decade.

This issue raises up two important questions: Was rescinding the order constitutional and what was Governor Brownback’s true intentions behind removing LGBT protections?

When examining the Constitution and the Court’s precedents, state-sponsored discrimination against gay workers was found to be unconstitutional. Whether there is a ban on LGBT discrimination or not, the Constitution forbids states from “the equal protection of laws.”

Although Governor Brownback stated that his primary reason for reversing the executive order of 2007 was due to the fact that they did not receive official legislative approval to ban job discrimination for sexual orientation and gender identity, many people say that this was not his only incentive. Asides from political reasons, many people argue that personal beliefs played a tremendous role in influencing his decision. In fact, he widely supported and defended the previous ban on same-sex marriage in Kansas, before it became legal. Furthermore, historically speaking, efforts to prevent employment discrimination have been advanced by unilateral action in the executive branch, followed by the legislature passing a law. Both Presidents Harry Truman and John. F. Kennedy issued executive orders in order to prevent discrimination. Thus, this further exemplifies that politics was not the primary reason for his actions.

The fact that the Governor repealed an order banning discrimination for LGBT groups sends out the overall implication and negative sign that Kansas does not care about the issue of equal rights and that the people are not deserving of protections. Thomas Witt, the executive director of Human Rights Campaign, “Equality Kansas,” stated that the new order would cause LGBT state employees to be viewed differently at work. I find it disheartening, yet interesting that the job performance of state workers was no longer measured by the quality of their work, but rather by whom they love and go home to at the end of the day.

Brownback’s behavior is a direct assault on fairness and equality in the state. Unless actions are taken politically to reverse the orders of Brownback, paranoia will begin to set in for the LGBT state employees, outcries will increase from the LGBT activists and the country as a whole will be taken backwards in terms of equality.

Sources:

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/kansas-gov-sam-brownback-rescinds-states-lgbt-protections

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/10/sam-brownback-lgbt-discrimination_n_6656620.html

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-kansas-governor-gay-protection-20150210-story.html

Equality is Still an Illusion

Are women in the United States truly “equal?” What defines equality? To introduce my civic issues blog topic on equality issues, I wanted to provide my interpretation and a brief overview of the primary gender issues we are currently confronting as a nation and how it compares to those of other countries.

We constantly hear about the horrors that women face all around the word, from sex trafficking in Eastern Europe to brutal rape in places like Bangladesh. As much as we condemn these atrocities that women abroad endure, many of us in the United States ignore that same execrable oppression that lays on our own doorstep. This is due to the fact that we are suffering under the mass fallacy that women in the United States have achieved equality.

Of course, we all want to believe that we have made great progress as a nation in terms of establishing equal rights and justice for women; however, we are merely basking in a “girl power” moment that ceases to exist. It is a simply a mirage of equality that we’ve been deluded into believing is the “real thing.”

Despite the undeniable achievements our nation has made, women continue to be violated, raped, discriminated against, assaulted, trafficked, (the list is practically endless)- not just in other countries, but here in America. Today, feminists continue to fight a lingering battle of gender injustices and advocate gender equality, but the sad reality is that their battle is slowly weakening.

Women in the United States are being shot dead in the streets more often. In fact, according to a recent analysis of 56 mass shootings across America since 2009, the most frequent victims have been women. Just a couple years ago in Colorado, gunman Duane Morrison methodically selected six teenage girls from Platte Canyon High School as hostages and sexually assaulted them, shooting and killing one student. That same year, a gunman shot 12 girls in an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, killing five. Just as of last year, George Sodini opened fire in a Pittsburgh gym, injuring nine women and killing three. This issue becomes one of equality rather than one of crime because all these shootings share one commonality: the primary target was “women”.

Strangers are not the only ones killing women- over thousands of women are killed by their own male counterparts, and domestic violence and abuse has notably increased over the past few years. In fact, of the total number of women murdered from 2005, 1/3 were killed by their boyfriend or husband. What is a leading cause of death for a pregnant women? Murder by her partner.

We want to believe that women have achieved the same status of equality as men, but let’s look at the statistics aside from violence: In politics, women only hold seventeen percent of the seats in Congress, over 85 percent of counties within the US have no provider, and although women now work outside the home, the distressing truth lies in the fact that they only make up to 76 cents to a man’s dollar.

Now, when looking at countries aside from the United States, many people criticize that women have it “too good” in this country to complain and we should shift our focus to different parts of the world where women are being oppressed even more obscenely. I do agree that women are doing better in the US when compared to the females born in African and Asian countries per say, and I am not certainly not underestimating the leaps we have made as a nation in terms of equality. However, my point is the fact that women in our nation have yet to reach a complete state of equality, yet we are under the delusion that we have already attained that status.

Yes, women today have exceptionally superior rights to the ones of their foremothers- they can work outside of home, they have the right to vote, and domestic violence is illegal, but in hindsight, that doesn’t change the reality of women’s lives. These rights don’t prevent female troops from being assaulted, 1 million women from being raped, or even the continued legal discrimination against transgenders and gay people. Are American women really supposed be satisfied with the most basic rights of representation? Are we supposed to be thrilled to finally be considered a “full human?”

In order to put a definitive end to this never ending misogyny, in order to actually reach “true equality,” our nation needs to step up and take further actions.