A Life Worth Living in Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

A Life Worth Living in Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut (1922- ) is an author with a uniqueperspective on life. He sees in a vivid technicolor things inthis earthly concern that the rest of humanity may only see in black andwhite. By the same token he sees life as a rather dark subject,its the ultimate joke at our expense (Lundquist 1). His lifeexperience has been one of hardship. His mother committed suicidein 1942. Two years later he was captured by Nazis in World WarIIs epic Battle of the Bulge. In 1943 he survived the massively ruinous fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany. He returned withthe distinguished Purple Heart. In 1958 his sister andbrother-in-law died, leaving him to raise their children, alongwith his own (Campbell 2). Despite these hardships, however, toVonnegut life is still worth living. It shows through in hisnovels. Vonnegut utilizes black humor and irony to show manyrecurring themes noted in his works which are we, as a race, mustlearn to guard happy illusions over evil ones and that a soothinglie is sometimes the best truth (Lundquist 1). To say that Vonnegut feels life is worth living despitethe horrors of the world is to say that Vonnegut really longs forthe life of his childhood. It was a life of family and good,Midwestern upbringing. Wholesome morals like self-respect andpacifism were fed to him along with other staples of the Midwest. the States was an idealistic, pacifistic nation at the time. I was taught in the sixth grade to be proud that we had a standing army of just over a hundred thousand men and that generals had nothing to say about what was done in Washington. I was taught to be proud of that and to pity

Chicken Without a Fork :: Poems Essays

Chicken Without a genitalsTithing There is a faint illumination inwardly the eye of a blighted soul.... Telling a study of many another(prenominal), many goodbyes, yet the riddles of a latent kin lurch violently from within. Nothing, nothing can fill the whole. Alone, I do ponder and st atomic number 18 across this bouldery barren of life. No worry, I understand the f ar. Gently the waters of the Styx part. A hand extends, no blade or knife. ....A glancing gaze examines the heart. Rage Clenching my fists my knuckle duster atomic number 18 numb beating my pillow the hate I become. No lovely horizons my heart is numb beating my desire the hate I become. Her eye, so beautiful my mind is numb beating my inhibition the hate I become. Gripping your throats my morals are numb beating my brothers its you Ive become. Liberty Nurture the afloat(predicate) for withdraw is not to burden. Save for the nameless who, after all are pardoned. So the wicked stare across an ocean drying huddled within our pull off and yes, we are the ones dying. So venture not into the great unknown. Save yourself, blanketed by faith.As if our colors ever shown. Black, black as the lovely wraith. Liberty in her apricot does arbitrate a loving populace that can only fornicate. A Moment Burning and turning my stomach resists, anxious and determined my allow for persists. Fists are clenched, knuckles are white. Damning them all I long for the fight. My reason is gone so is the air, shifting my weight they sense the despair. I cultivation my eyes longing for control while the demons abound theyve taken my soul. Mortality I watched as they gave their respects. I didnt know him. A friend of a friend. unwarranted filtered through and through stained glass windows. Soft sobs and cries echoed off hallowed walls. I knew nothing of this man. I stood next to the coffin. His face, painted and plastic, longed to return. Then tears began to well within my eyes. How could this be ? I didnt know him. Then I understood. With a light brush from my sleeve I wiped the tears from my face and Chicken Without a Fork Poems EssaysChicken Without a ForkTithing There is a faint illumination within the eye of a blighted soul.... Telling a story of many, many goodbyes, yet the riddles of a latent kin lurch violently from within. Nothing, nothing can fill the whole. Alone, I do ponder and stare across this stony barren of life. No worry, I understand the fare. Gently the waters of the Styx part. A hand extends, no blade or knife. ....A glancing gaze examines the heart. Rage Clenching my fists my knuckles are numb beating my pillow the hate I become. No lovely horizons my heart is numb beating my desire the hate I become. Her eyes, so beautiful my mind is numb beating my inhibition the hate I become. Gripping your throats my morals are numb beating my brothers its you Ive become. Liberty Nurture the aimless for aim is not to burden. Save for the nameless who, after all are pardoned. So the wicked stare across an ocean drying huddled within our care and yes, we are the ones dying. So venture not into the great unknown. Save yourself, blanketed by faith.As if our colors ever shown. Black, black as the lovely wraith. Liberty in her beauty does arbitrate a loving populace that can only fornicate. A Moment Burning and turning my stomach resists, anxious and determined my will persists. Fists are clenched, knuckles are white. Damning them all I long for the fight. My reason is gone so is the air, shifting my weight they sense the despair. I close my eyes longing for control while the demons abound theyve taken my soul. Mortality I watched as they gave their respects. I didnt know him. A friend of a friend. Light filtered through stained glass windows. Soft sobs and cries echoed off hallowed walls. I knew nothing of this man. I stood next to the coffin. His face, painted and plastic, longed to return. Then tears began to well within my e yes. How could this be? I didnt know him. Then I understood. With a light brush from my sleeve I wiped the tears from my face and

Comparing Canada and America Essay example -- Canada America Culture C

Comparing Canada and AmericaThe controversy over Canada and America, and who takes after whom has been around for some years. Canada and America are puzzles, two countries that are home to millions of people, living in relative comfort and health. We both have become nations through the help of for each one former(a) and other nations. Yet, Canada has its own identity as a delightful complexity of cultures and customs, government and heroes. On the other hand, Canadians are simply not Americans by government and technology.Canadas own identity starts with our remarkable sense of culture and customs. For the native peoples, the Canadian identity stretches thousands of years into the search of struggles to retain elements of their ancient culture. From a colonial perspective, the traditions which surface in Canadian culture seem to be born of an earlier time, of different origins and places, of old-fashioned rituals, and customs. Unlike the United States, its senior neighbor, Canada s aged-like identity is more reserved and skillful, unwilling to commit it self to anything specific. Within each region of Canada-North, South, East, West and Central- there are definite qualities that detach Prairie from Maritimes, Ontario from Quebec and the Territories from the British Columbia. Each of these regions are separated by how they live, and their different culture background. Which forms our own identites within the counrty. Canadian and American government also show difference in how they govern themselves. United States is a country of one radical language. It has one main language, for its federal government and for every state. Canada is a country of two basic languages, French and English. A second basic difference between our Constitution and the American is that we are a constitutional monarchy and they are republics. For we have a parliamentary-cabinet government, spot the Americans have a presidential-congressional. This means that the president is the no tch of the state and head of the government. While in Canada the Governor General is head of the provinces and the Prime Minister is the head of the government. Parliamentary-cabinet government is based on a concentration of powers. The Prime Minister must by custom be a member of one augury or the other, or get a seat in the House. In the United States, the President and every other member of both houses are e... ... do. We are the unknown country to each(prenominal) other nations because Canada has not been a troublesome country. We do not have violent revolutions and we do not invade other peoples lands. A law-abiding nation does not get in the headlines very much. We are proud of our past heritage and have gained considerable respect from all other nations. Our land also contributes to our own identity. It is a celebration of the beauty and love of our landscapes. Without out our own identity, we would be like all other nations, fighting for our needs. Every nation would be alike, and tourism would not be a big attraction to our nation. We have a very exuberant and diverse heritage.Everywhere around us is our heritage. Our government, language, customs and habits, music, books and a wide variety of scientific inventions are gifts to us from our ancestors who lived in Canada. But, the influence of our heritage has been shaped by the influence of United States and many other nations. The histories of these nations have helped us become the country that it is today. Everyone living in Canada is lucky to have a enormous country, without many problems. I think, it is not hard to say that everyone is proud Canadian.

Discuss the pessimism that Golding and Garland present in the novels :: English Literature

Discuss the pessimism that Golding and Garland present in the novels victor of the move and The Beach. Show how both writers move over a discouraged attitude to human nature. Discuss the pessimism that Golding and Garland present in the novelsLord of the Flies and The Beach. Show how both writers have apessimistic attitude to human nature.Lord of the Flies was written in 1954, a time when commercialisationwas not an issue and media hype only had subtle effect on society. The Beach was written in 1996, American globalisation had begun andthe media played a massive part in society. The different timesaffect the novels in different shipway. For example the technologicaljargon language used in The Beach is very different to the StandardEnglish used in Lord of the Flies.Both novels are similar in some ways stock-still different in others, althougheither way they always have hints of pessimism. One of the ways thenovels are different is music genre. The Beach at send-off seems to b e travelwriting, so the reader expects to learn about the journey and cultureof the back-packing land of Bangkok, yet the main character Richardtravels to an isolated island, where there is a lot of differentcultures and races and no one shares the same value systems,traditions, customs or beliefs so the genre seems shift slightly.With Lord of the Flies its apparent at first that Golding may havebeen influenced by the novels Robert Louis Stevensons TreasureIsland, Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe and R. M. Ballantynes coralIsland. All are castaways novels. There is a reference to CoralIsland the officer who finds the boys nods Jolly good show. Like theCoral Island. Golding wrote Lord of the Flies in 1954 after the waras a realist answer to The Coral Island. In the 20th century book wefind the same two characters, red cent and Ralph both stranded on anuninhabited island without adult supervision. Their reaction tofreedom and the unknown is absolutely different from Ballantynes twoyoun g adventurers. Instead of bringing civilization, they stimulatechaos, terror and death. The different reaction Goldings charactersillustrate a novel for the more mature reader as an adventure novel,which confounds the readers first expectations.The most obvious resemblance between the novels is the setting andisolation. Although at first glance the islands seem idyllic, bothwriters plant seeds of evil, within the description of the paradise socracks can be seen.In Lord of the Flies personification is used to describe the idealsetting palm fronds would whisper, this creates a sense of calm.Again the delineation of beauty is shown through the use of a metaphor to

The Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality Essay -- Gender, argum

According to Johnny Weir, Masculinity is what you believe it to be... it is all by perception, I believe masculinity and femininity is something that is actually old-fashioned... there is a whole new extension of people who arent defined by their race or their sex or who they like to sleep with. This statement exemplifies the definition of gender as a c at a timept gender is the expectations of a sex according to the culture of society. sexual practice, within this definition of gender, reflects societys expectations, which are created in relation to the opposite sex. The variances amongst cultures means that gender expectations change within different cultures. These expectations put pressure on each member of society to aline and abide by the folkways of their induce culture. The creation of gender expectations by society creates a restricting definition of gender roles and sexuality that vary from culture to culture. troupe created the role of gender and created an tensene ss on the inequalitys between the two genders. Alma Gottlieb states biological inevitability of the sex organs comes to stand for a perceived inevitability of friendly roles, expectations, and meanings (Gottlieb, 167). Sex is the scientific identification that men and women are biologically different gender stems from societys formation of roles assigned to each sex and the accent mark of the differences between the two sexes. The creation of meanings centers on the expectations of the roles each sex should fill society creates ethnic norms that perpetuate these creations. Gender blurs the lines between the differences created by nature and those created by society (Gottlieb, 168) gender is the cultural expectations of sexes, with meaning assigned to the diff... ...le or female actually identifies with their prescribed role depends on the mixerization process and the way they discern with societys expectations of them. The social construction of gender and sexuality all rely on the measure that people believe there is a difference between the two sexes, once this emphasis is taken away, is when gender roles will no longer play an integral role in the structure of society. plant CitedGottlieb, Alma. Interpreting Gender and Sexuality Approaches from Cultural Anthropology. Exotic No More Anthropology on the Front Lines. Ed. Jeremy MacClancy. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 2002.Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly. Media Education Foundation, 2010.Lancaster, Roger N. life-time is Hard, Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua. Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press, 1992. The Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality Essay -- Gender, argumAccording to Johnny Weir, Masculinity is what you believe it to be... it is all by perception, I believe masculinity and femininity is something that is very old-fashioned... there is a whole new generation of people who arent defined by their race or their sex or who they like to sleep with. This statement exemplifies the definition of gender as a concept gender is the expectations of a sex according to the culture of society. Sexuality, within this definition of gender, reflects societys expectations, which are created in relation to the opposite sex. The variances between cultures means that gender expectations change within different cultures. These expectations put pressure on each member of society to conform and abide by the folkways of their own culture. The creation of gender expectations by society creates a restricting definition of gender roles and sexuality that vary from culture to culture.Society created the role of gender and created an emphasis on the differences between the two genders. Alma Gottlieb states biological inevitability of the sex organs comes to stand for a perceived inevitability of social roles, expectations, and meanings (Gottlieb, 167). Sex is the scientific acknowledgment that men and women are biologically different gender stems from societys formation of roles assigned to each sex and the emphasis of the differences between the two sexes. The creation of meanings centers on the expectations of the roles each sex should fill society creates cultural norms that perpetuate these creations. Gender blurs the lines between the differences created by nature and those created by society (Gottlieb, 168) gender is the cultural expectations of sexes, with meaning assigned to the diff... ...le or female actually identifies with their prescribed role depends on the socialization process and the way they identify with societys expectations of them. The social construction of gender and sexuality all rely on the measure that people believe there is a difference between the two sexes, once this emphasis is taken away, is when gender roles will no longer play an integral role in the structure of society.Works CitedGottlieb, Alma. Interpreting Gender and Sexuality Approaches from Cultural Anthropol ogy. Exotic No More Anthropology on the Front Lines. Ed. Jeremy MacClancy. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 2002.Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly. Media Education Foundation, 2010.Lancaster, Roger N. Life is Hard, Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua. Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press, 1992.

The Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality Essay -- Gender, argum

According to Johnny Weir, Masculinity is what you believe it to be... it is all by perception, I believe masculinity and femininity is something that is very old-fashioned... there is a safe and sound new generation of great deal who arent defined by their race or their sex or who they like to sleep with. This state workforcet exemplifies the definition of sex activity as a belief gender is the expectations of a sex according to the culture of confederation. conjure upuality, within this definition of gender, reflects guilds expectations, which are created in congenator to the opposite sex. The variances amongst cultures gist that gender expectations change within different cultures. These expectations put pressure on each member of society to conform and remain by the folkways of their own culture. The cosmea of gender expectations by society creates a restricting definition of gender positions and sexuality that vary from culture to culture.Society created the role of gender and created an focus on the differences amid the two genders. Alma Gottlieb states biological inevitability of the sex organs comes to stand for a perceived inevitability of social roles, expectations, and means (Gottlieb, 167). Sex is the scientific acknowledgment that men and women are biologically different gender stems from societys formation of roles assigned to each sex and the emphasis of the differences between the two sexes. The creation of meanings centers on the expectations of the roles each sex should fill society creates cultural norms that perpetuate these creations. Gender blurs the lines between the differences created by nature and those created by society (Gottlieb, 168) gender is the cultural expectations of sexes, with meaning assigned to the diff... ...le or female actually identifies with their prescribed role depends on the socialization process and the way they identify with societys expectations of them. The social grammatical construction of ge nder and sexuality all rely on the measure that people believe there is a difference between the two sexes, once this emphasis is taken away, is when gender roles will no longer play an integral role in the structure of society.Works CitedGottlieb, Alma. reading Gender and Sexuality Approaches from pagan Anthropology. Exotic No More Anthropology on the Front Lines. Ed. Jeremy MacClancy. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 2002.Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly. Media Education Foundation, 2010.Lancaster, Roger N. Life is Hard, Machismo, Danger, and the conversance of Power in Nicaragua. Berkeley and Los Angeles University of atomic number 20 Press, 1992. The Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality Essay -- Gender, argumAccording to Johnny Weir, Masculinity is what you believe it to be... it is all by perception, I believe masculinity and femininity is something that is very old-fashioned... there is a whole new generation of people who arent defined by thei r race or their sex or who they like to sleep with. This statement exemplifies the definition of gender as a concept gender is the expectations of a sex according to the culture of society. Sexuality, within this definition of gender, reflects societys expectations, which are created in relation to the opposite sex. The variances between cultures means that gender expectations change within different cultures. These expectations put pressure on each member of society to conform and abide by the folkways of their own culture. The creation of gender expectations by society creates a restricting definition of gender roles and sexuality that vary from culture to culture.Society created the role of gender and created an emphasis on the differences between the two genders. Alma Gottlieb states biological inevitability of the sex organs comes to stand for a perceived inevitability of social roles, expectations, and meanings (Gottlieb, 167). Sex is the scientific acknowledgment that men and women are biologically different gender stems from societys formation of roles assigned to each sex and the emphasis of the differences between the two sexes. The creation of meanings centers on the expectations of the roles each sex should fill society creates cultural norms that perpetuate these creations. Gender blurs the lines between the differences created by nature and those created by society (Gottlieb, 168) gender is the cultural expectations of sexes, with meaning assigned to the diff... ...le or female actually identifies with their prescribed role depends on the socialization process and the way they identify with societys expectations of them. The social construction of gender and sexuality all rely on the measure that people believe there is a difference between the two sexes, once this emphasis is taken away, is when gender roles will no longer play an integral role in the structure of society.Works CitedGottlieb, Alma. Interpreting Gender and Sexuality Approaches from Cultural Anthropology. Exotic No More Anthropology on the Front Lines. Ed. Jeremy MacClancy. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 2002.Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly. Media Education Foundation, 2010.Lancaster, Roger N. Life is Hard, Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua. Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press, 1992.

Multiple Births: Twins, Triplets, and Beyond Essay

AbstractThe high number of triple pregnancies is a bring up because women who be expecting more than than one bodge argon at increase essay of certain pregnancy complications, including premature birth.Multiple Births Twins, Triplets, and BeyondReferencesMartin, J.A., et al. Births Final Data for 2006. subject Vital Statistics Reports, volume 57, number 7, January 7, 2009. Reddy, U.M., et al. Relationship of Maternal Body Mass Index and Height to Twinning. Obstetrics and Gynecology, volume 105, number 3, March 2005, pages 593-597. Wright, V.C., et al. Assisted reproductive Technology Surveillance2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, volume 57 (SS05), June 20, 2008. Practice Committee of the conjunction for Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Ameri preempt Society for Reproductive Medicine. Fertility and Sterility, volume 86, Supplement 5, November 2006, pages S51-52. Ameri give the bounce Society for Reproductive Medicine. Multiple Pregnancy and Birth Twins, Trip lets, and Higher Order Multiples A Guide for Patients. Birmingham AL, 2004, accessed 12/16/08. Rossi, C., and DAddario, V. Laser Therapy and Serial Amnioreduction as Treatment for Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome A Metaanalysis and Review of Literature. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, volume 198, number 2, February 2008, pages 147-152. Lopriore, E. et al. find Factors for Neurodevelopment Impairment in Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome Treated With Fetoscopic Laser Surgery. Obstetrics and Gynecology, volume 113, number 2, February 2009, pages 361-366. Senat, M.V., et al. Endoscopic Laser Surgery versus Serial Amnioreduction for Severe Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. novel England Journal of Medicine, volume 351, number 2, July 8, 2004, pages 136-144. American College ofObstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Multiple Gestation Complicated Twin, Triplet, and Higher-Order Multifetal Pregnancy. ACOG Practice Bulletin, number 56, October 2004. Institute of Medicine. Weigh t Gain During Pregnancy Reexamining the Guidelines. May 2009. brand-new York National Academy of Sciences, accessed 12/8/09. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Having Twins Patient Education Pamphlet. ACOG, Washington, DC, 2004, accessed 12/9/08.When a cleaning woman is carrying one baby, it is called a singleton pregnancy. When She is carrying twain or more babies it is called multiple births. In the past 2 decades, the rate of multiple births in the United States jumped dramatically. The rate of twin births increased by 70 percent between 1980 and 2004, and the rate of higher-order multiples (triplets or more) increased four-fold between 1980 and 1998 . However, the rapid rise in multiple birth rates may be ending. In 2005 and 2006, the rate of twin births remained stable .The rate of higher-order multiple births has declined 21 percent since its peak in 1998 . Today, more than 3 percent of babies in this country are innate(p) in sets of devil, three o r more about 95 percent of these multiple births are twins. The high number of multiple pregnancies is a concern because women who are expecting more than one baby are at increased risk of certain pregnancy complications, including premature birth . Premature babies are at risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, as well as lasting disabilities and death. Some of the complications associated with multiple pregnancy can be minimized or hampered when they are diagnosed early. There are a number of steps a pregnant woman and her health care provider can take to armed service improve the chances that her babies will be born healthy. more or less one-third of the increase in multiple pregnancies is due to the fact that more women over age 30 are having babies. Women in this age group are more likely than younger women to conceive multiples. The remainder of the increase is due to the use of fertility treatments, including fertility-stimulating drugs and back up repro ductive technologies (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF, eggs are removed from the mother, fertilized in a laboratory dish and then transferred to the uterus.About 44 percent of ART pregnancies result in twins, and about 5 percent in triplets or more. Doctors now monitor fertility treatments carefully so that women have fewer, but healthier, babies. This involves limiting the number of embryos transferred during IVF.In 2006, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology issued updated guidelines on the topper number of embryos to transfer, depending on a womans age and other factors . For example, the guidelines recommend that doctors transfer no more than two embryos for women under age 35, and need transferring only one embryo for women in this age group who are considered almost likely to become pregnant. Doctors monitor women taking certain fertility drugs with echography. If ultrasound shows that a large n umber of eggs could be released during a treatment cycle, the doctor can stop the treatment and counsel the woman accordingly. The following factors can increase the chances that a woman will conceive multiplesFertility treatmentAge over 30 yearsA personal or family memoir of fraternal (non-identical) twinsObesity or taller-than-average heightAfrican-American race (African-American women are more likely to have fraternal twins than caucasian women, and Asiatic women are the least likely to have fraternal twins)Although previous generations often were surprised by a multiple birth, today most parents-to-be learn the password fairly early. A routine first-trimester ultrasound can detect most multiples. (Sometimes a twin pregnancy that is identified very early is later make up to have only one fetus. This is called vanishing twin syndrome, and its cause is not well understood. The surviving twin generally is not harmed.) Other factors can alert a health care provider that a woman ma y be expecting twins or more. These include Rapid weight gain during the first trimesterThe uterus being larger than expectedSevere pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting (morning sickness) More than one heartbeat heard by a provider using a hand-held ultrasound device (Doppler) More fetal movement than the woman experienced in a previoussingleton pregnancy Abnormal results on maternal(p) smear screening done around 16 weeks of pregnancy to screen for certain birth defects A health care provider who suspects a multiple pregnancy most likely recommends that the woman have an ultrasound to find out for sure.Women who are expecting more than one baby are at increased risk of a number of pregnancy complications. The more babies a woman is carrying at once, the greater her risk. Common complications include Premature birth About 60 percent of twins, more than 90 percent of triplets, and virtually all quadruplets and higher-order multiples are born premature . The length of pregnancy decr eases with each additional baby. On average, most singleton pregnancies last 39 weeks for twins, 35 weeks for triplets, 32 weeks and for quadruplets, 29 weeks. Low birth weight (LBW) More than half of twins and almost all higher-order multiples are born with low birth weight (less than 5 pounds or 2,500 grams). LBW can result from premature birth and/or poor fetal growth. Both are car park in multiple pregnancies.Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) About 10 percent of identical twins who share a placenta develop this complication. TTTS occurs when a connection between the two babies blood vessels in the placenta causes one baby to get too much blood flow and the other too little. Until recently, severe cases often resulted in the prejudice of both babies. Preeclampsia Women expecting twins are more than twice as likely as women with a singleton pregnancy to develop this complication, characterized by high blood pressure, protein in the urine and generalized edema.Severe cases ca n be dangerous for mother and baby. In some cases, the baby must be delivered early to prevent serious complications. Gestational diabetes Women carrying multiples are at increased risk of this pregnancy-related form of diabetes. This condition can cause the baby to grow especially large, increasing the risk of injuries to mother and baby during vaginal birth. Babies born to women with gestational diabetes also may have breathing and other problems during the newborn period. Early diagnosis and management of these complications can service of process protect mother and babies.Women who are expecting multiples generally need to visit their health care providers more frequently than women expecting one baby. These extra visitscan help prevent, detect and treat the complications that develop more often in a multiple pregnancy. Health care providers may recommend twice-monthly visits during the second trimester and weekly (or more frequent) visits during the third trimester. During the third trimester, the provider may recommend tests of fetal well-being. These include.Eating right and gaining the recommended amount of weight reduces the risk of having a premature or LBW baby in singleton, as well as multiple, gestations. A healthy weight gain is especially important if a woman is pregnant with multiples because they have a higher risk of premature birth and LBW than singletons.The chance of a cesarean birth is higher in twin than in singleton births. However, a pregnant woman has a good chance of having a normal vaginal delivery if both babies are in a head-down position and there are no other complications. When a woman is carrying three or more babies, a cesarean birth usually is recommended because it is safer for the babies.

Familiar with the phrase

I remember that as a child, I didnt strike difficulty making prizes. My first vivid memory of a situation where I clearly had to make a conscious decision, something which was imprinted in my mind forever, came with a visit to a hornswoggle store at a mall.Familiar with the phrase, care a child in a candy store? It was the same thing- but obviously with toys in all shapes and sizes some were mechanically stir with blinking lights, amusing music and sounds and moving parts. You would have expected a child of about 4 (I think I was four or five) to have simply sat there and insisted on living in the store if mom and dad didnt buy everything in sight for them to take home.But things didnt turn that way. I did spend a substantial amount of time browsing through the shelves, holding this, admiring that and generally wishing we could buy everything I treasured and fretting a little bit like any typical four-year old. But in the end, I knew what I really wanted from among the bewilder ing array of fillings. It was a choice that had been do with a combination of facts (I saw an ad on television), common sense (I knew it was a toy my other siblings wouldnt be so concerned in), and most importantly, it was an object that I was happiest with.The toy by the way was a Lego set- I was four and I was in a building phase improver the fact that the Lego pieces were nice to chew on when no one was watching. As years passed by and the Lego was replaced with various other toys, contraptions and amusements, choosing became much complicated and even tedious.Could it be possible that a four-year old be more adept and actually be more matured in making decisions and choices than a fifth-grader who was actually already taking high-school level Algebra, or an eighth-grader who suddenly showed an aptitude for music and was playing the piano like a pro?For some reason, that incident at the toy store became nothing more than a memory. The older I got, the more I got confused and d istracted even as my intellect had grown by leaps and bounds. In fifth-grade, I was the school nerd who took high-school Algebra lessons for the fun of it. But when it came to making choices about summer-camp, or something as trivial as what type of breakfast texture to eat, I was a wreck an annoying, back-tracking, undecided 11-year old. In eighth-grade, I could read sheet music as if they were comic books.But I caused my father agony when I hemmed and hawed at what high-school to go to special music high school, regular high school? I couldnt make up my mind. My mother told me to my face sort of bluntly youre a genius at a lot of things, but its sad that you cant even master the basics.So when faced with college and what career path to take, I set aside the memory of last years fiasco of a vacation ( didnt hunch over whether backpacking to Europe, or Mexico, and ended up missing an important loved ones birthday because of my indecisiveness) and focused on that lovely summers d ay at the toy store when I was four-years old.I closed my eyes and opened my heart and my mind. I shut out all distractions, biases, fears and pretensions. I was once again a four-year old, innocent and guileless, a child who was at the edge of knowing what he wanted and knew that he had a family who would always support him. But more importantly, he knew what he truly wanted, what made him happy, and that never changes even if you were four or 90 years old.And so I made a choice that had been made with a combination of facts (I had an incredible aptitude in math and science), common sense (it was a hot-career and most in-demand), and most importantly, it was something that I was happiest with simply because having made that decision almost ten years ago, not a day passes that I dont thank the fates, God and myself for having made that decision.That choice by the way, was deciding to go to medical school and later joining the United Nations medical corps for special missions to pla ces in the world where crucial medical and operative procedures were urgently needed.Fifteen-hour work days, lack of equipment, threat of civil war, the pains and aches of the sick and a childs smile thanking you for saving her life- yes, I am like a child again in a toy store.Work CitedCareerPlanning (2007) Career choice of change. Retrieved January 1, 2007 from http//careerplanning.about.com/od/careerchoicechan/Career_Choice_or_Change.htm

Gendered Media

Article 7 Gendered Media The Influence of Media on Views of Gender Julia T. timber Depart custodyt of Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill times more(prenominal) than often than ones active wo troopspower (Study Reports Sex Bias, 1989), media misrepresent actual proportions of work drive and wowork force in the population. This constant distortion tempts us to moot that there re in ally argon more work force than wo manpower and, further, that men ar the heathen standard. THEMES IN MEDIA Of the galore(postnominal) influences on how we view men and women, media argon the most pervasive and one of the most powerful.Woven throughout our daily lives, media insinuate their messages into our consciousness at every turn. All forms of media express images of the shakees, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions. Three themes describe how media represent gender. First, women be underrepresented, which falsely implie s that men are the cultural standard and women are un measurable or invisible. Second, men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender.Third, depictions of relationships between men and women emphasize conventional roles and shapeize ferocity against women. We will consider each of these themes in this section. Under internal representation of Women A essential way in which media distort reality is in underrepresenting women. Whether it is prime-time television, in which there are tierce times as many white men as women (Basow, 1992 p. 159), or childrens programming, in which males outnumber females by two to one, or news sucks, in which women accommodate up 16% of news conformationers and in which stories about men are include 10 MEDIAS MISREPRESENTATION OF AMERICAN LIFEThe media present a distorted sport of cultural life in our country. According to media portrayals White males irritate up two-thirds of the popu lation. The women are little in number, perhaps beca utilization fewer than 10% live beyond 35. Those who do, like their younger and male counter part, are nearly all white and hetero cozy. In addition to being young, the majority of women are beautiful, very thin, nonoperational, and primarily implicated with relationships and getting rings out of collars and commodes. There are a few mischievous, bitchy women, and they are not so pretty, not so subordinate, and not so caring as the good women.Most of the bad ones work outside of the fellowship, which is probably why they are hardened and undesirable. The more powerful, ambitious men occupy themselves with important business deals, exciting adventures, and rescuing drug-addicted females, whom they often then assault intimate practiceually. From Gendered Lives Communication, Gender, and Culture by Julie T. Wood, Chapter 9, pp. 231-244. 0 1994. Reprinted with per military mission of Wadsworth Publishing, a division of Thomson Learning. Fax 800-730-2215. 31 T LI Y IIYC WI I H MEDIA Other myths about what is standard are withal fortified by communication in media.Minorities are tear down less visible than women, with Afri quite a little-Americans appearing notwithstanding rarely (Gray, 1986 Stroman, 1989) and another(prenominal) ethnic minorities being virtually nonexistent. In childrens programming when African-Americans do appear, almost eer they appear in supporting roles rather than as main characters (OConnor, 1989). fleck more African-Americans are appearing in prime-time television, they are too often cast in stereotypical roles. In the 1992 season, for instance, 12 of the 74 serial humanityation on commercial networks included large African-American casts, yet most featured them in stereotypical roles.Black men are presented as lazy and unable to handle authority as lecherous, and/or as unlawful, while females are portrayed as domineering or as trip objects (Sights Sounds, and Stereotypes, 1992). Writing in 1993, David Evans (1993, p. 10) criticized television for stereotyping black males as athletes and entertainers. These roles wrote Evans, mislead young black male think audience in& thinking success is solely a dribble or dance step away and blind them to other, more realistic ambitions. &panics and Asians are nearly absent, and when they are presented it is normally as villains or criminals (Lichter, Lichter, Rothman, & Amundson, 1987). Also under-represented is the single fastest growing we are aging so that people everyplace 60 make up a major part of our population within this group, women significantly outnumber men (Wood, 1993). Older people not only are under-represented in media besides in any case are represented inaccurately In contrast to demographic realities, media consistently show fewer erstwhile(a) women than men, presumably because our culture worships youth and mantrap in women.Further, elderly individuals are frequently portrayed as sick, dependent, fumbling and passive, images not borne out in real life. Distirted depictions of older people and especially older women in media, however, can delude us into thinking they are a small, sickly, and unimportant part of our population. group of Americans- older people. As a country, Stereotypical Portrayals of Women and custody In general, media continue to present both women and men in stereotyped ways that limit our perceptions of human possibilities.Typically men are portrayed as active, adventurous, powerful, sexually aggressive and largely unknotty in human relationships. Just as consistent with cultural views of gender are depictions of women as sex objects who are usually young, thin beautiful, passive, dependent, and often awkward and dumb. Female characters devote their principal(a) energies to improving their appearances and taking care of homes and people. Because media pervade our lives, the ways they misrepresent genders whitethorn distort how we run across ourselves and what we savvy as normal and desirable for men and women.Stereotypical portrayals of men. According to J. A. Doyle (1989, p. ill), whose research focuses on masculinity childrens television typically shows males as aggressive, dominant, and active in exciting activities from which they receive rewards from others for their masculine accomplishments. Relatedly, recent studies reveal that the majority of men on prime-time television are independent, aggressive, and in charge (McCauley Thangavelu, & Rozin, 1988). Television programming foi all ages disproportionately depicts men as serious confident, competent, owerful, and in high-status positions. Gentleness in men, which was briefly evident in the 197Os, has receded as established male characters are redrawn to be more tough and distanced from others (Bayer, 1986). Highly familiar films such as LethaI Weapon, Predator, Days of Thunder, Total Recall, Robocop Die Hard, and Die Harder star men who embody the The lack of women in the media is paralle lead by the scarcity of women in charge of media. Only about 5% of television writers, executives, and producers are women (Lichter, Lichter, & Rothman, 1986).Ironically, while twothirds of journalism graduates are women, they make up less than 2% of those in corporate management of newspapers and only about 5% of newspaper publishers (Women in Media, 1988). Female film directors are even rnonz-scarce, as are executives in charge of MTV It is probably not coincidental that so few women are behind the scenes of an industry that so consistently portrays women negatively Some media analysts (Mills 1988) believe that if more women had positions o authority at executive levels, media would set up more positive portrayals of women. tereotype of extreme masculinity Media, then reinforce long-standing cultural ideals of masculinity manpower are presented as hard, tough, independent, sexually aggressive, unafraid, violent, totally in control of all emotion s, and-above all-in no way feminine. Equally interesting is how males are not presented. J. D. Brown and K. Campbell (1986) bailiwick that men are seldom shown doing housekeeping. Doyle (1989) notes that boys and men are rarely presented caring for others. B.Horovitz (1989) points out they are typically represented as uninterested in and incompetent at homemaking, cooking, and child care. Each seasons new ads for cooking and cleaning supplies include several that caricature men as incompetent buffoons, who are klutzes in the kitchen and no better at taking care of children. While childrens books everywherehear made a limited attempt to depict women engaged in activities outside of the home there has been little parallel effort to show men involbed in family and home life. When approximatelyone is shown taking care of a child , t is usually the mother, not the father. This perpetuates a negative stereotype of men as uncaring and uninvolved in family life. Stereotypical portrayal s of women. Medias images of women also reflect cultural stereotypes that depart markedly from reality As we have al conveyy seen, girls and 7. Gendered Media JILL I remember when I was little I utilize to read books from the boys section of the library because they were more interesting. Boys did the fun stuff and the exciting things. My mother kept trying to get me to read girls books, but I just couldnt get into them.Why cant stories about girls be full of adventure and bravery? I k direct when Im a mother, I insufficiency any daughters of mine to understand that excitement isnt just for boys. women are dramatically underrepresented. In prime- time television in 1987, fully two-thirds of the speaking parts were for men. Women are portrayed as significantly younger and thinner than women in the population as a whole, and most are depicted as passive, dependent on men, and enmeshed in relationships or housework (Davis, 1990). The requirements of youth and eauty in women even infl uence news shows, where female newscasters are expected to be younger, more physically attractive, and less outspoken than males (Craft, 1988 Sanders & Rock, 1988). Despite educators criticism of self-fulfilling prophecies that discourage girls from success in math and science, that stereotype was dramatically reiterated in 1992 when Mattel offered a new talk Barbie doll. What did she say? Math class is tough, a message that reinforces the stereotype that women cannot do math (Mattel Offers Trade-In, 1992).From childrens programming in which the few existing female characters typically spend their time watching males do things (Feldman & Brown, 1984 Woodman, 1991), to MTV, which routinely pictures women satisfying mens sexual fantasies (Pareles, 1990 Texier, 1990), media reiterate the cultural image of women as dependent, ornamental objects whose autochthonic functions are to look good, please men, and stay quietly on the periphery of life. Media have named two images of women go od women and bad ones. These polar opposites are often set against each other to dramatize differences in the consequences that befall good and bad women.Good women are pretty, deferential, and focused on home, family and caring for others. Subordinate to men, they are usually cast as dupes, angels, martyrs, and loyal wives and helpmates. Occasionally, women who depart from traditional roles are portrayed positively, but this is done either by making their calling lives invisible, as with Claire Huxtable, or by softening and feminizing working women to make them more consistent with traditional views of fernininity For instance, in the original script, Cagney and Lacey were conceived as strong, mature, independent women who took their work seriously and did it well.It took 6 years for writers Barbara Corday and Barbara Avedon to conduct the script to CBS, and even then they had to agree to subdue Cagneys and Laceys abilities to placate producer Barney Rosenzweig, who complained, These women arent soft enough. These women arent feminine enough (Faludi, 1991, p. 150). While female viewers wrote thousands of letters praising the show, male executives at CBS continued to force writers to make the characters softer, more tender, and less sure of themselves (Faludi, 1991, p. 152).The remaking of Cagney and Lacey illustrates the medias solidus in favor of women who are traditionally feminine and who are not too able, too powerful, or too confident. The rule seems to be that a cleaning woman may be strong and successful if and only if she also exemplifies traditional stereotypes of femininity-subservience, passiveness, beauty, and an identity linked to one or more men. The other image of women the media offer us is the evil sister of the good homebody Versions of this image are the witch, bitch, whore, or nonwoman, who is represented as hard, cold, aggressive-all of the things a good woman is not vatic to be.Exemplifying the evil woman is Alex in Fatal Attracti on, which grossed more than $100 million in its basic four calendar months (Faludi, 1991, p. 113). Yet Alex was only an extreme version of how bad women are for the most part portrayed. In childrens books, we encounter witches and mean stepmothers as villains, with beautiful and passive females like Snow White and sleeping Beauty as their good counterparts. Prime-time television favorably portrays pretQ nurturing, other-focused women, such as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show, whose career as an attorney neer entered storylines as much as her engagement in family matters.Hope in Thirtysomething is an angel, committed to husband Michael and daughter Janey. In the biographies written for each of the characters when the show was in development, all male characters were limitd in basis of their career goals, beliefs, and activities. Hopes biography consisted of one line Hope is married to Michael (Faludi, 1991, p. 162). Hope epitomizes the traditional woman, so much so in fact t hat in one episode she refers to herself as June Cleaver and calls Michael Ward, thus reprising the traditional family of the 1950s as personified in Leave It to Beaver (Faludi, 1991, p. 61). Meanwhile, prime-time typically represents ambitious, independent women as lonely, embittered spinsters who are counterpoints to good women. Stereotypical Images of Relationships Between hands and Women Given medias stereotypical portrayals of women and men, we shouldnt be surprised to find that relationships between women and men are similarly depicted in ways that reinforce stereotypes. Four themes demonstrate how media reflect and promote traditional arrangements between the sexes. Womens dependence/mens independence.Walt Disneys award-winning animated film The Little Mermaid vividly embodies females dependence on males for identity. In this feature film, the mermaid quite literally 33 1 +3 nourishment WITH MEDIA I PAUL I wouldnt say this around anyone, but personally Id be glad if the med ia let up a little on us guys. I watch those guys in films and on TV, and I just feel inadequate. I mean, Im healthy and I look okay, and Ill probably make a decent salary when I graduate. But I am no stud I cant beat up three guys at once women dont fall dead at my feet I doubt Ill make i million bucks and I dont have muscles that ripple.Every time I go to a film, I leave feeling like a wimp. How can any of us guys measure up to whats on the screen? I gives up her identity as a mermaid in gear up to become acceptable to her human lover. In this childrens story, we see a particularly obvious illustration of the asymmetrical relationship between women and men that is more subtly conveyed in other media productions. nevertheless the Smurfs, formless little beings who have no obvious sex, reflect the male-female, dominant-submissive roles.The female smurf, unlike her male companions who have names, is called only Smurfette, making her sole identity a diminutive relation to male smurf s. The male dominance/female subservience pattern that permeates mediated representations of relationships is no accident. rise in 1991, television executives deliberately and consciously adopted a policy of having dominant male characters in all Saturday morning childrens programming (Carter, 1991). Women, as well as minorities, are cast in support roles rather than leading ones in both childrens shows and the commercials interspersed within them (OConnor 1989).Analyses of MTV revealed that it portrays females as passive and waiting for mens attention, while males are shown ignoring, exploiting or directing women (Brown, Campbell, & Fisher, 1986). In rap symphony moving-picture shows, where African-American men and women star men dominate women, whose primary role is as objects of male desires (Pareles, 1990 Texier, 1990). News programs that have male and female hosts routinely cast the female as deferential to her male colleague (Craft, 1988 Sanders & Rock, 1988). Commercials, too, obvious power cues that echo the male dominance/female subservience pattern.For instance, men are usually shown positioned above women, and women are more frequently pictured in varying degrees of undress (Masse & Rosenblum 1988 N&o, Hill, Gelbein, & Clark, 1988). Such nonverl bal cues represent women as vulnerable and more submissive while men stay in control. In a brief departure from this pattern, films and television beginning in the 1970s responded to the second wave of feminism by showing women who were independent without being hard, embittered, or without virtually relationships. Films such as Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore, Up the Sandbox, The Turning Point, Diary of a Mad 34Housewife, and An Unmarried Woman offered realistic portraits of women who sought and establish their awn voices independent of men. Judy Daviss film, My BriZZiant Career, particularly embodied this focus by telling the story of a woman who chooses work over marriage. During this period, televis ion followed suit, offering viewers prime-time fare such as Maude and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which starred women who were able and achieving in their own rights. One Day at a Time rr which premiered in 1974, was the original prime-time program about a divorced woman.By the 198Os, however, traditionally gendered arrangements resurged as the backlash movement against feminism was embraced by media (Haskell, 1988 Maslin 1990). Thus, film fare in the 1980s included Pretfy Woman the story of a prostitute who becomes a good woman when she is saved from her evil ways by a rigidly stereotypical man, staring(a) with millions to prove his success Meanwhile, Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down trivialized abuse of women and underlined womens dependence on men with a story of a woman who is fountain by a man and colludes in sustaining her bondage.Crossing Delancey showed successful careerist Amy Irving talked into believing she needs a man to be complete, a theme reprised by Cher in Moonstruck. Telev ision, too, cooperated in returning women to their traditional roles with characters like Hope in Thirtysomething who minded house and baby as an ultratraditional wife, and even Murphy Brown found her career wasnt enough and had a baby Against her protests, Cybill Shepherd, who played Maddie in Moonlighting was forced to marry briefly on screen which Susan Faludi (1991, p. 57) refers to as part of a campaign to awe this independent female figure. Popular music added its voice with hit songs like Having My Baby, which glorified a woman who defined herself by motherhood and her relationship to a man. The point is not that having babies or committing to relationships is JOANNE Id like to know who dreams up those commercials that show men as unable to boil water or run a vacuum. Id like to tell them theyre creating monsters. My boyfriend and I agreed to split all chores equally when we moved in together. Ha Fat chance of that. He does zilch.When I get on his case, he reminds me of wha t happened when the father on some show had to take over housework and practically demolished the kitchen. Then he grins and says, Now, you wouldnt want that, would you? Or worse yet, he throws up Hope or one of the other women on W, and asks me why I cant be as sweet and supportive as she is. Its like the junk on television gives him book binding license for doing nothing. 7. Gendered Medi wrong rather, it is that media virtually require this of women in order to present them positively Media define a very narrow range for womanhood.Joining the campaign to quicken traditional dominantsubordinate patterns of male-female relationships were clips, which reinvigorated their focus on womens role as the helpmate and supporter of husbands and families (Peirce, 1990). In 1988, that staple of Americana Good Housekeeping, did its part to revive womens tradi tional roles with a full-page ad (The Best in the House n 1988) for its new demographic edition marketed to the new traditionalist wo man. A month later, the magazine followed this up with a second full-page ad in national newspapers that saluted the new traditionalist woman m with this copy (The New Traditionalist, 1988) She his made her commitment. Her mission create a more meaningful life for herself and her family She is the New Traditionalist-a contemporary woman who finds her fulfillment in traditional values. The long-standing dominant-submissive model for male-female relationships was largely restored in the 1980s. With only rare exceptions, women are still portrayed as dependent on men and subservient to them.As B. Lott (1989, p. 64) points out, it is women who do the laundry and are secretaries to men who own companies. Mens authority/womens incompetence. A second recurrent theme in media representations of relationships is that men are the competent authorities who save women from their incompetence. Childrens literature vividly implements this motif by casting females as helpless and males as coming to their rescue. Sleeping Beautys resurrection depends on Prince Charmings kiss, a theme that appears in the increasingly popular gothic romance novels for adults (Modleski, 1982).One of the most pervasive ways in which media define males as authorities is in commercials. Women are routinely shown anguishing over dirty floors and bathroom fixtures only to be relieved of their distress when Mr. Clean shows up to tell them how to keep their homes spotless. Even when commercials are aimed at women merchandising products intended for them, up to 90% of the tim a mans voice is used to explain the value of what is being sold (Basow, 1992, p. 161 Bretl & Cantor 1988). exploitation male voice-overs reinforces the cultural v&w that men are authorities and women depend on men to tell them what to do.Television further communicates the message that men are authorities and women are not. One means of doing this is sheer numbers. As we have seen, men vastly outnumber women in television program ming. In addition, the dominance of men as news anchors who inform us of happenings in the world underlines their authority (Study Reports Sex Bias, 1989). Prime-time television contributes to this image by showing women who need to be rescued by men and by presenting women as incompetent more than twice as often as men (Bayer, 1986 Lichter et al. , 1986).Consider the characters in The Jetsons, an animate, television series set in the future. Daughter Judy Jetso is incessantly complaining and waiting for others to he1 her, using ploys of helplessness and flattery to win men attention. The Rescuers, a popular animated video of the 199Os, features Miss Bianca (whose voice is that of Zs Zsa Gabon fittingly enough), who splits her time evenl) between being in trouble and being grateful to mah characters for rescuing her. These stereotypical repre sentations of males and females reinforce a number o harmful beliefs.They suggest, first, that men are more competent than women. Compounding this is the message that a womans power lies in her looks and conventional femininity since that is how females from Sleeping Beauty to Judy Jetson get males to assist them with their dilemmas (McCauley Thangavelu, & Rozin 1988). Third, these stereotypes underline the requiremen that men must perform, succeed, and conquer in order to be worthy Women as primary caregiverslmen as breadwinners. A third perennial theme in media is that women are caregivers and men are providers.Since the backlash of the 198Os, in fact, this gendered arrangement has been promulgated with renewed vigor. Once again, as in the 195Os, we see women devoting themselves to getting rings off of collars, gray out of their hair, and meats on the table. Corresponding to this is the restatement of mens inability in domestic and nurturing roles. Horovitz (1989), for instance, reports that in commercials men are regularly the butt of jokes for their ignorance about nutrition, child care, and housework When media port ray women who work outside of the home, their career lives typicallyFreceive little or no attention.Although these characters have titles such as lawyer or doctor, they are shown predominantly in their roles as homemakers, mothers, and wives. We see them involved in caring conversations with family and friends and doing things for others, all of which never seem to battle with their professional responsibilities. This has the potential to cultivate unrealistic expectations of being Isuperwoman, who does it all without her getting a hair out of place or being late to a conference. Magazines play a key role in promoting good-natured others as a primary focus of womens lives. K.Peirces (1990) study found that magazines aimed at women stress looking good and doing things to please others. Thus, advertising tells women how to be me, only better by dyeing their hair to look younger how to lose cargo 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 fortified with the thinly veiled warning that if a woman fails to look good and please, her man might leave (Rakow, 1992).There is a second, less known way in which advertisements contribute to stereotypes of women as focused 1 + LIVING WITH MEDIA on others and men as focused on work. Writing in 1990, Gloria Steinem, editor of Ms. , revealed that advertisers control some to most of the essence in magazines. In exchange for placing an ad, a company receives free copy which is one or more articles that increase the market appeal of its product.So a soup company that takes out an ad might be stipulation a three-page story on how to prepare meals using that brand of soup likewise, an ad for hair coloring products might be accompanied by interviews with far-famed women who choose to dye their hair. Thus, the message of advertisers is multiplied by magazine content, which readers often mistakenly assume is ,independent of advertising. Advertisers support media, and they exert a powerful influence on what is presented. To understand the prevalence of traditional gender roles in programming, magazine copy, and other media, we need only ask what is in the best interests of advertisers.They want to sponsor shows that create or expand markets for their products. Media images of women as sex objects, devoted homemakers, and mothers buttress the very roles in which the majority of consuming takes place. To live up to these images, women have to buy cosmetics and other personal care products, diet aids, food, household cleaners, utensils and appliances, clothes and toys for children, and so on. In short, it is in advertisers interests to support programming and copy that feature women in traditional roles.In a recent analysis, Lana Rakow (1992) demonstrated that much advertising is oppressive to women and is very difficult to tolera te, even when one is a committed feminist. Womens role in the home and mens role outside of it are reinforced by newspapers and news programming. Both emphasize mens independent activities and, in fact, define news almost entirely as stories about and by men (Study Reports Sex Bias, 1989). Stories about men focus on work and/or their achievements (Luebke, 1989), reiterating the cultural message that men are supposed to do, perform.Meanwhile the few stories about women almost invariably focus on their roles as wives, mothers, and homemakers (Study Reports Sex Bias, 1989). Even stories about women who are in the news because of achievements and professional activities typically dwell on marriage, family life, and other aspects of womens traditional role (Foreit et al. , 1980). Women as victims and sex objectslmen as aggressors. A final theme in mediated representations of relationships between women and men is representation of women as subject to mens sexual desires.The irony of th is representation is that the very qualities women are encouraged to develop (beauty, sexiness, passivity, and powerlessness) in order to meet cultural ideals of femininity contribute to their victimisation. Also, the qualities that men are urged to exemplify (aggressiveness, dominance, sexuality, and strength) are similar to those linked to abuse of women. It is no co relative incidence that all but one of the women nominated for Best Actress in the 36 1988 Academy Awards played a victim (Faludi, 1991, p. 138). Women are portrayed alternatively either as decorative objects, who must attract a man o be valuable, or as victims of mens sexual impulses. Either way, women are defined by their bodies and how men treat them. Their independent identities and endeavors are irrelevant to how they are represented in media, and their abilities to resist exploitation by others are obscured. This theme, which was somewhat toned down during the 197Os, returned with vigor in the 1980s as the back lash permeated media. According to S. A. Basow (1992, p. 160), since 1987 there has been a revival meeting of male prominence, pretty female sidekicks, female homemakers. Advertising in magazines also communicates the message that women are sexual objects.While men are seldom pictured bare or even partially unclothed, women habitually are. Advertisements for makeup, colognes, hair products, and clothes often show women attracting men because they got the right products and made themselves irresistible. Stars on prime-time and films, who are beautiful and hazardously thin, perpetuate the idea that women must literally starve themselves to death to win mens interest (Silverstein et al. , 1986). Perhaps the most glaring examples of portrayals of women as sex objects and men as sexual aggressors occur in music videos as shown on MTV and many other stations.Typically, females are shown bound provocatively in stint and/or revealing clothing as they try to gain mens attention (Texier, 1990). Frequently, men are seen coercing women into sexual activities and/or physically abusing them. fierceness against women is also condoned in many recent films. R. Warshaw (1991) reported that cinematic presentations of rapes, especially acquaintance rapes, are not presented as power-motivated violations of women but rather as purely sexual encounters.Similarly, others (Cowan, Lee, Levy, & Snyder, 1988 Cowan & OBrien, 1990) have found that male dominance and sexual exploitation of women are themes in virtually all R-and X-rated films, which almost anyone may now rent for home viewing. These media images carry to extremes long-standing cultural views of masculinity as aggressive and femininity as passive. They also make personnel seem sexy (D. Rus tell on, 1993). In so doing, they recreate these limited and limiting perceptions in the thinking of another generation of women and men. In sum, we have identified basic stereotypes and relationships between the two.IndividualIy an d in combining these images sustain and reinforce socially constructed views of the genders, views that have restricted both men and women and that appear to legitimize destructive behaviors ranging from anorexia to battering. Later in this chapter, we will probe more closely how media versions of gender are linked to problems such as these. . . . 7. Gendered Media pathologizing the Human Body One of the most damaging consequences of medias images of women and men is that these images encourage us to perceive normal bodies and normal physical functions as problems.Its understandable to wish we weighed a little more or less, had better developed muscles, and never had pimples or cramps. What is neither reasonable nor healthy, however, is to regard healthy, functional bodies as abnormal and unacceptable. Yet this is precisely the negative self-image cultivated by media portrayals of women and men. Because sex sells products (Muro, 1989), sexual and erotic images are the single most p rominent characteristic of advertising (Courtney & Whipple, 1983).Further, advertising is increasingly objectifying men, which probably accounts for the rise in mens weight provision and cosmetic surgery Media, and especially advertising, are equal opportunity dehumanizers of both sexes. Not only do media induce us to think we should measure up to artificial standards, but they encourage us to see normal bodies and bodily functions as pathologies. A good example is the medias construction of premenstrual syndrome (premenstrual syndrome). Historically, PMS has not been a problem, but recently it has been declared a disease (Richmond-Abbott, 1992).In fact, a good deal of research (Parlee, 1973, 1987) indicates that PMS affected very few women in earlier eras. After the war, when women were no longer needed in the work force, opinion changed and the term premenstrual tension was coined (Greene & Dalton, 1953) and used to define women as inferior employees. In 1964, only one article on PMS appeared in 1988-1989, a total of 425 were published (Tavris, 1992, p. 140). Drug companies funded research and publicity since selling PMS meant selling their remedies for the newly created problem.Behind the hoopla, however, there was and is little distinguish to support the currently widespread belief that PMS is a serious problem for a significant portion of the female population. Facts aside, the myth has caught on, carrying in its wake many women and men who now perceive normal monthly changes as abnormal and as making women unfit for positions of leadership and authority Another consequence of defining PMS as a serious problem most women suffer is that it leads to labeling women in general as deviant and unreliable (Unger & Crawford, 1992), an image that fortifies long-held biases against women.Menopause is similiarly pathologized. Carol Tavris (1992, p. 159) notes that books describe change of life in terms of deprivation, deficiency, loss, shedding, and sloughing lang uage that defines a normal swear out as negative. Like menstruation, menopause is represented as abnormalcy and disease, an image that probably contributes to the negative attitudes toward it in America. The top of the inning of the May 25, 1992, Newsweek featured an abstract drawing off of a tree in the shape of a womans head. The tree was stripped of all leaves, making it drab and barren.Across the picture was the cover-story headline Menopause. From first glance, menopause was represented negatively-as desolate and unfruitful. The article focused primarily on the problems and losses of menopause. Only toward the end did readers find reports from anthropologists, whose cross-cultural research revealed that in many cultures menopause is not an issue or is viewed positively Women in Mayan villages and the Greek island of Evia do not understand questions about . hot flashes and depression, which are symptoms often associated with menopause in Western societies (Menopause, 1992, p . 7). These are not part of their experience in cultures that do not define a normal change in women as a pathology Because Western countries, especially America, stigmatize menopause and define it as the end of womanhood, Western women are likely to feel distressed and unproductive about the cessation of menstruation (Greer, 1992). Advertising is very effective in convincing us that we need products to solve problems we are unaware of until some clever public relations campaign persuades us that something natural about us is really unnatural and unacceptable.Media have convinced millions of American women that what every medical source considers normal body weight is really abnormal and cause for severe dieting (Wolf, 1991). Similarly, gray hair, which naturally develops with age, is now something all of us, especially women, are supposed to cover up. Facial lines, which indicate a person has lived a life and accumulated experiences, can be removed so that we look younger-a prime g oal in a culture that glorifies youth (Greer, 1992).Body hair is another interesting case of medias convincing us that something normal is really abnormal. Beginning in 1915, a sustained marketing campaign informed women that underarm hair was unsightly and socially incorrect. (The campaign against leg hair came later. ) Harpers Bazaar, an upscale magazine, launched the causa against underarm hair with a photograph of a woman whose raised arms revealed clean-shaven armpits. Underneath the photograph was this caption Summer dress and modem dancing combine to make necessary the removal of objectionable hair (Adams, 1991)Within a few years, ads promoting removal of underarm hair appeared in most womens magazines, and by 1922, razors and depilatories were firmly ensconced in middle America as evidenced by their inclusion in the womens section of the Sears Roebuck catalog. Media efforts to pathologize natural physiology can be very serious. As we have seen in prior chapters, the emphasi s on excessive thinness contributes to severe and potentially lethal dieting, especially in gabardine women (Spitzack, 1993).Nonetheless, the top female models in 1993 are skeletal, more so than in recent years (Leland & Leonard, 1993). Many womens natural breast size exceeded the cultural ideal in the 1960s when thin, angular bodies were represented as ideal. Thus, breast reduction surgeries rose. By the 198Os, cultural standards changed 37 1 6 LIVING WITH MEDIA to define large breasts as the feminine ideal. Consequently, breast augmentation surgeries accelerated, and fully 80% of implants were for cosmetic reasons (The. Implant Circus, 1992).In an effort to meet the cultural standards of beautiful bodies, many women suffered unnecessary surgery, which led to disfigurement, loss of feeling, and sometimes death for women when silicone implants were later linked to fatal conditions. Implicitlp media argue that our natural state is abnormal and objectionable, a premise that is essent ial to sell products and advice for improving ourselves. Accepting media messages about our bodies and ourselves, however, is not inevitable We can reflect on the messages and resist those that are inappropriate and/or harmful.We would probably all be considerably happier and healthier if we became more critical in analyzing medias communication about how we should look, be, and act. Normalizing Violence Against Women harmful, while sexually violent materials appear to be (Donnerstein, Linz, & Penrod, 1987). sexy films are a big business, outnumbering other films by 3 to 1 and grossing over $365 million a year in the United States alone (Wolf, 1991). The primary themes characteristic of pornography as a genre are extremes of those in media generally sex, violence, and domination of one person by another, usually women by men (Basow, 1992, p. 17). More than 80% of X-rated films in one study included scenes in which one or more men dominate and exploit one or more women within these films, three-fourths portray physical intrusion against women, and fully half explicitly depict rape (Cowan et al. , 1988). That these are linked to viewers MYTHS falsehood Rape is a sexual act that resuits from sexual urges. Rapists are abnormal. AND FACTS Fact ABOUT RAPE Since we have seen that media positively portray aggression in males and passivity in females, its important to ask whether media messages contribute to abuse of and violence against women.There is by now fairly convincing evidence (Hansen & Hansen, 1988) that exposure to sexual violence through media is linked to greater tolerance, or even approval, of violence. For instance, I? Dieter (1989) found a strong relationship between females viewing of sexually violent MTV and their acceptation of sexual violence as part of normal relationships. He reasoned that the more they observe positive portrayals of sexual violence, the more likely women are to perceive this as natural in relationships with men and the less l ikely they are to object to violence or to defend themselves from it.In short, Dieter suggests that heavy exposure to media tiolence within relationships tends to mollify it, so that abuse and violence are considered natural parts of love and sex. Dieters study demonstrates a direct link between sexual aggression and one popular form of media, MTV. Research on pornography further corroborates connections between exposure to portrayals of violence against women and willingness to engage in or accept it in ones own relationships (Russell, 1993). Before we discuss this research, however, we need to clarify what we will mean by the term pornography, since defining it is a matter of some controversy.Pornography is not simply sexually explicit material. To distinguish pornography from erotica, we might focus on mutual agreement and mutual benefit. If we use these criteria, pornography may be defined as materials that favorably show subordination and degradation of a person such as presen ting sadistic behaviors as pleasurable, brutalizing and pain as enjoyable, and forced sex or abuse as positive. Erotica, on the other hand, depicts consensual sexual activities that are sought by and pleasurable to all parties involved (MacKinnon, 1987).These distinctions are important, since it has been well established that graphic sexual material itself is not 38 Rape is an aggressive act used to dominate another. Rapists have not been shown to differ from nonrapists in personality, psychology, adjustment, or involvment in interpersonal relationships. Eighty percent to 90% of rapes are committed by a person known to the victim (Allgeier, 1987). Most rapes occur between strangers. Most rapists are African-Ameri- More than three-fourths of all can men, and most victims rapes occur within races, not are albumen women. between races.This myth reflects racism. The way a woman dresses affects the likelihood she will be raped. The majority-up to 90%-of rapes are planned in advance and without knowledge of how the victim will dress (Scully, 1990). The majority of rapes are never reported (Koss, Cidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Less than 10% of rape reports are judged false, the same as for other violent crimes. The incidence of rape varies across cultures. It is highest in societies with ideologies of male dominance and a disregard for nature it is lowest in cultures that respect women and feminine values Griffin 1981).False reports of rapes are frequent. Rape is a universal problem own tendencies to engage in sexual violence is no longer disputable. According to recent research (Demare, Briere, & Lips, 1988 Donnerstein et al. , 1987 Malamuth & Briere, 1986), viewing sexually violent material tends to in- 7. Gendered Media crease mens beliefs in rape myths, raises the likelihood thnt men will admit they might themselves commit rape, and desensitizes men to rape, thereby making forced sex more acceptable to them.This research suggests that repeated exposure to pornogra phy influences how men think about rape by transforming it from an unacceptable behavior with which they do not identify into one they find acceptable and enticing. Not surprisingly, the single best predictor of rape is the circulation of pomographic materials that glorify sexual force and exploitation (Baron & Straus, 1989). This is alarming when we realize that 18 million men buy a total of 165 different pornographic magazines every month in the United States (Wolf, 1991, p. 79).It is well documented that the incidence of reported rape is rising and that an increasing number of men regard forced sex as acceptable (Brownmiller, 1993 Soeken & Danirosch, 1986). Studies of men (Allgeier, 1987 Koss & Dinero, 1988 Koss, Dinero, Seibel, & Cox, 1988 Koss Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987 Lisak & Roth, 1988) hav produced shocking findings While the majority of college men report not having raped anyone, a stunning 50% admit they have coerced, manipulated, or pressured a woman to have sex or have had sex with her after getting her drunk 1 in 12 men at some colleges has engaged in behaviors meeting the legal explanation of rape r attempted rape over 80% of men who admitted to acts that meet the definition of rape did not believe they had committed rape and fully one-third of college men said they would commit rape if they believed nobody would find out. Contrary to popular belief, we also know that men who do commit rape are not psychologically abnormal. They are indistinguishable from other men in terms of psychological adjustment and health, emotional wellbeing, heterosexual relationships, and frequency of sexual experiences (Segel-Evans, 1987).The only established difference between men who are sexually violent and men who are not is that the former have hypermasculine attitudes and self-concepts-their approval of male dominance and sexual rights is even stronger than that of nonrapists (Allgeier, 1987 Koss & Dinero 1988. Lisak & Roth, 1988 Wood, 1993a). The difference b& ween sexually violent men and others appears to be only a matter of degree. We also know something about women who are victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence.Between 33% and 66% of all women have been sexually abused before reaching age 18 (Clutter, 1990 Koss, 1990). The majority of college women-up to 75%-say they have been coerced into some type of unwanted sex at to the lowest degree once (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987 Poppen & Segal 1988 Warshaw, 1988). A third of women who survivi *ape contemplate suicide (Koss et al. , 1988). It is also clear that the trauma of rape is not confined to the time of its actual occurrence.The feelings that travel along rape and sexual assault-fear, a sense of degradation and shame, anger, powerlessness, and depression-endure far beyond the act itself (Brownmiller, 1975 Wood 1992b 19930. Most victims of rape continue to deal v&h the emotional aftermath of rape for the rest of their lives (Marhoefer-Dvorak, Resick, Hutter, & Girelli , 1988). What causes rape, now the fastest growing violent crime in the United States (Doyle, 1989 Soeken & Damrosch, 1986)?According to experts (Costin & Schwartz 1987 Koss & Dinero, 1988 Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski 1987 Scott & Tetreault, 1987 Scully, 1990), rape is not the head of psychological deviance or uncontrollable lust. Although rape involves sex, it is not motivated by sexual desire. Authorities agree that rape is an aggressive act used to dominate and show power over another person, be it a man over a woman or one man over another as in prison settings where rape is one way inmates brU1 talize one another and establish a power hierarchy (Rideau & Sinclair, 1982).Instead, mounting evidence suggests that rape is a predictable outcome of views of men, women, and relationships between the sexes that our society inculcates in members (Brownmiller, 1975. Costin & Schwartz, 1987 Scott & Tetreault, 1987 South & Felson, 1990). Particularly compelling support for the cultural basi s of rape comes from cross-cultural studies (Griffin, 1981. Sanday, 1986), which reveal that rape is extremely rar in cultures that value women and feminine qualities and that have ideologies that promote harmonious interdependence among humans and between them and the natural world.Rape is most greens in countries, like the United States, that have ideologies of male supremacy and dominance and a disrespect of women and nature. Cultural values communicated to us by family schools, media, and other sources constantly encourage us to believe men are superior, men should dominate women, male aggression is acceptable as a means of attaining what is wanted, women are passive and should defer to men, and women are sex objects. In concert these beliefs legitimize violence and aggression agains women.While the majority of media communication may not be pornographic, it does echo in somewhat muted forms the predominant themes of pornography sex, violence and male domination of women. As we have seen, thesi same motifs permeate media that are part of our daily lives, which generally portray males as dominating in number, status, authority, and will. Substantial violence toward women punctuates movies, television-including childrens programming-rock music, and music videos desensitizing men and women alike to the unnatural ness and unacceptability of force and brutality between human beings.Thus, the research that demonstrates connections between sex-stereotypical media and acceptance of sexual violence is consistent with that showing relationships between more extreme, pornographic media and acceptance of and use of violence. . . . 39 REFERENCES Adams, C. (1991, April). The straight dope. 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Pros and Cons of Death Penalty

Death Penalties The death penalisation is a contr oversy discussed by many state governments in the join States, the 8th amendment in the Bill of Rights is a right that protects people from cruel and unusual punishment. This amendment originally created by our founding fathers has been the main reason for this debate more or less states look at death as cruel and unusual punishment while others dont. Though the decision to sentence someone to death is considered boisterous by some judges and juries, there have been crimes and occurrences where a judge feels a death penalty is reasonable.I am against the death penalty, with my knowledge of its pros and cons it seems that the pros are over powered by the cons. Criminals who are facing life in prison, crimes of rape, torture, treason, kidnapping, murder, larceny, and perjury. People like these who can never handle themselves in the normal world ceaselessly being resent back to prison, or permanently in prison from their beginning s entencing. Although these people pay their own consequences and debts by their punishment, we must also stand by support them with our taxes we pay for their living.However it may sound that we invest more money paying for their stay in prison rather than their death. In reality, the process of a death penalty is more expensive and complex than life without parole. This is so because we must pay for their incarceration, automatic appeals, and federal habeas corpus appeals. This process ends up be us millions more, millions more that can be used to create programs for teenagers to avoid ending up in the same position.People also conceptualise that the death penalty could decrease criminal acts because it could frighten people from committing something extreme, which is also incorrect. In my perspective the death penalty does not reach the minds of most criminals because a criminal rarely believes he/she could be caught. They hold a belief that they are intelligent enough to outsm art authorities. at that place is other whom holds such anger towards certain crimes that they believe death is a rightful punishment, but death does not undo a crime they have committed. I think it would be better for a criminal to think and reminisce their conscious.Their death would only put peace in their state of mind and except them from the punishments that prison holds for them. Families harmed by these criminals are sometimes frightened by the thought that theyre persecutor could escape and harm them again, however someone sentenced to life in parole in the united states has never escaped or been released. There is also a possibility that an innocent person could be convicted of a crime they did not commit, even with all our bracing technology and DNA testing there is always a chance of making a mistake.Though there are also pros to the death penalty, my opinion is that it should not be allowed. I say this because it is more costly than life in prison being the process is more complex and long. It does not secure the deprivation of crime acts because of criminals confidence that they will not be revealed. Persecuted families are just as secure due to our highly restricted and watched prisons. There is also always a possibility we convict the wrong person, these reason lead me to be against the death penalty.