Gender Essays - Gender Studies, Gender, Gender Role,

Gender English 112 section 096 March 29, 1999 An in Depth Analysis of Gender Relationships Throughout history and in all cultures the roles of males and females vary. Relating to the piece of literature Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid for the time, when women's roles were to work in the home. By examining gender roles, then one may better understand how women and men interact and how better to build relationships at home and in the world of business. At the time that this work was written, women mainly stayed at home and did housework while few of the very poorest households required the woman to work in an industrial job. Kincaid wrote of the specific roles and responsibilities that a mother would tell her daughter. By what she wrote, one can fully understand what was expected of a woman at that time and in that particular culture. The object of examining gender roles is to answer the question why should women and men be equal and Are there populations in which men and women are absolutely equal? Are there societies in which women dominate men? (Gender 238) By understanding the culture in which this piece of literature is written, the gender roles and the rules of behavior for a woman, then the relationships between genders can be realized. The general myth about women and their gender role in the American society is that the mother works in the home and supports her man in every way. For each relationship, the people in that relationship must decide the particular roles that they will play. In the literary work Girl, Kincaid shows clearly that the woman's role in this work was to serve the family and to work mainly in the house. The mother writing this story tells her daughter that this is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it doesn't have a crease (Kincaid 489). In this marriage, it is understood that the wife is to do the laundry for the husband. Today's society does not always provide these clear roles since many women work a full time job and the house chores are a responsibility for both to handle. Though the woman is still mainly held responsible for the home. There should be a constant search for equality in gender roles. Kincaid explains how the man is working to bring home the money and the wife supports his work. By her ironing his khaki shirt, he is better prepared for work to support his family. Though men and women are supposedly equal, the roles they must play in a particular relationship may be unequal. Even though this work does not show a conflict, the girl to whom the mother is speaking may have a conflict with her husband by the time she is married. This mother also may have an internal conflict that is not revealed in the work. Meaning that she may hold in problems that she has with the relationship because women were not supposed to reveal their feelings. Women are usually the ones who are more open in a relationship, but at this time in history women were to keep quiet in relationships (Gender 238). The conflict that will be revealed in the future is the desire to have the status that is already gained by men. One can understand that men already have a status since the world of business is geared for typical male roles. That is apparent by how many of the mainstream blue-collar jobs and management positions are held by men. The girl to whom this mother is speaking must make sure that she seeks to make a name for herself and to help other women gain status. This is stated in Humanity: Gender: If so, then modern feminists will need to work to alter this key factor, and in the long term our societies will develop greater equality between the sexes (Gender 238). Since the purpose of examining gender roles is to create equality, then the conflict is that both sexes are trying to make their particular roles closer to equal than they were before. In this piece of literature, the mother speaks directly to her daughter telling her what she is to do in order

Free Essays on Fear of Public Speaking

Speech Outline Attention Grabber: â€Å"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.† -Elbert Hubbard Purpose: How to make your fears of public speaking work for you and not against you, and to show that almost everyone gets nervous. Introduction: Everyone is afraid of something. Whether it is spiders, heights, enclosed spaces, or public speaking. When it comes to giving speeches, people tend to let their fears get the best of them. Speech apprehension is a common problem for a lot of people. "About one of every five persons20 percent of all college studentsis communication apprehensive†¦Ã¢â‚¬ {Visual aid,chart} (Pearson & Nelson, An Introduction to Human Communication, p. 224) Preview of Three Major Points: 1. What is Speech Apprehension? 2. Determining Your Fears. 3. Getting Over Them. Body of Speech: 1. What is Speech Apprehension? a. Definition of Speech Apprehension- Fear of speaking to an audience b. Definition of Communication Apprehension- Fear of communication, no matter what the context c. Why People are Scared- Fear of: -Inadequacy- inferiority, incapable -Unknown- how will everyone react to what I have to say? -Being Judged- people are sensitive to what others think about them, which can lead to severe anxiety. -Consequences-Will the audience like or dislike my speech? 2. Determining Your Fears. a. Causes of Fear- Some people are scared they will forget what they have to say, or that everyone will know that they are nervous and will therefore judge them. Some people are scared that they will be laughed at or that everyone is staring at them. b. Symptoms-Some symptoms include; Increased heartbeat, stomach knots, Shaking hands, arms or legs, dry mouth, or a lump in the throat. c. Mental Symptoms- Anxiety is not just a physical problem, it also has a lot to do with how you are thinking. And how you think can also be a helping quality in allevi... Free Essays on Fear of Public Speaking Free Essays on Fear of Public Speaking Speech Outline Attention Grabber: â€Å"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.† -Elbert Hubbard Purpose: How to make your fears of public speaking work for you and not against you, and to show that almost everyone gets nervous. Introduction: Everyone is afraid of something. Whether it is spiders, heights, enclosed spaces, or public speaking. When it comes to giving speeches, people tend to let their fears get the best of them. Speech apprehension is a common problem for a lot of people. "About one of every five persons20 percent of all college studentsis communication apprehensive†¦Ã¢â‚¬ {Visual aid,chart} (Pearson & Nelson, An Introduction to Human Communication, p. 224) Preview of Three Major Points: 1. What is Speech Apprehension? 2. Determining Your Fears. 3. Getting Over Them. Body of Speech: 1. What is Speech Apprehension? a. Definition of Speech Apprehension- Fear of speaking to an audience b. Definition of Communication Apprehension- Fear of communication, no matter what the context c. Why People are Scared- Fear of: -Inadequacy- inferiority, incapable -Unknown- how will everyone react to what I have to say? -Being Judged- people are sensitive to what others think about them, which can lead to severe anxiety. -Consequences-Will the audience like or dislike my speech? 2. Determining Your Fears. a. Causes of Fear- Some people are scared they will forget what they have to say, or that everyone will know that they are nervous and will therefore judge them. Some people are scared that they will be laughed at or that everyone is staring at them. b. Symptoms-Some symptoms include; Increased heartbeat, stomach knots, Shaking hands, arms or legs, dry mouth, or a lump in the throat. c. Mental Symptoms- Anxiety is not just a physical problem, it also has a lot to do with how you are thinking. And how you think can also be a helping quality in allevi...

UNIT 5 DISCUSSION BOARD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

UNIT 5 DISCUSSION BOARD - Essay Example Other government funded interests such as education, military and infrastructure will suffer greatly as well. According to the Commerce Department, the yearly payment on this debt, the deficit, reached $725.8 billion. This represents a 17.5 percent increase from 2004 (Armstrong, 2006). These figures are well past most peoples’ comprehension. If, for example, a person were to spend a million dollars a day since the birth of Christ, they would have to continue the spending spree for 700 more years to have spent one trillion dollars. Multiply that amount by eight. That still does not equal the current national debt. Started in 1791, the national debt was, by those days’ standards, an incredible $75 million. Due to President Andrew Jackson’s prudent approach to government spending, the national debt was lowered to, again adjusted to today’s standards, a much lower level – $37 thousand (Suter, 2004). The Reagan/Bush administrations of the 1980’s ran the debt up by historic proportions. When President Clinton took office in 1993, the debt stood at $2.4 tr illion. The massive increase of debt was not used for infrastructure, education, public programs or even to finance a war. As a result of Reagan’s ‘trickle down’ economic theory, the money wound up in the pockets of the rich. In the early 1990’s, Congress adopted a ‘pay-as-you-go’ policy and federal spending cuts which resulted in budget surpluses for four consecutive years. Clinton announced that the nation could pay off the debt by the year 2013 if it stayed on the present course (Schoen, 2006). That optimistic predication has long since been forgotten. Since 2000, the debt has tripled. The ‘pay-as-you-go’ policy expired in 2002 allowing Congress to cut taxes, a politically advantageous move while also increasing spending (Schoen, 2006). The current President Bush administration cut the taxes of the rich while increasing military