The statement of Simone de Beauvoir Women and Men are made, not born Essay - 7

The statement of Simone de Beauvoir Women and Men are made, not born - Essay Example Gender addresses the socially constructed categories of feminine and masculine. Several behaviours and attributes of gender are assigned to the categories. On the other hand, sex can be determined as the universal distinction between a woman and man. It is based on several physical and biological differences. These differences are generally characterized by both external and internal sex organs, genetics and hormones. It is very much difficult to explain how gender and sex are related to each other. Moreover, it is difficult to argue that there is no connection between sex and gender. If it is stated that there is no relation between gender and sex then it is reasonable to presuppose that the notions gender and sex of individuals are social constructs. It can be assumed considering a theory recognized as social construction thesis. On the other hand, if there is a positive relationship between gender and sex, then it is logical to make an assumption that it is the sex of an individua l that determines his or her gender. The social constructionists have contended that the differences in gender derive from the cultural and social processes. These are not grounded in the nature of the biology. The social constructionists have also argued that cultural and social processes create various gender discourses that can differ across space and time. The gender discourses generally allocate different responsibilities and behaviours. However, the essay will highlight how the men and women are made, not born.

Social Bond Theory and Self Control Theory

Social Bond Theory and Self Control Theory Theories of Crime Causation Crime is inevitable and will never be eradicated. Sociologist such as Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson claim that theories such as social bond theory and self-control theory can help society understand the causation of crimes. In this paper, I will examine the self-control theory and the social bond theory and how these two theories explain crime causation. I will also describe the basic elements of each theory, compare and contrast the similarities and differences between these two theoretical perspectives and describe any improvements that are needed to enhance each theory. Social Bond Theory According to Hirschi, everyone has the potential to commit crimes but it is the social bonds and ties that they share with friends, family and other societal members that keep them from committing crimes. The social control theory maintains that delinquency occurs because of weak social bonds and the stronger the social bonds of an individual to the conventional society, the less likely an individual will engage in activities that are against societal norms. Hirschi states that the social bonds that an individual shares with society are divided into four main elements: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief (Siegel, 2014). Attachment is the emotional bond that children share with their parents, friends, teachers and other members in society. This type of bonding is displayed in school, church, home and other social institutions. Positive attachment to parents is essential for a child’s social growth; it is at this stage that children receive their characteristics and traits which they later display in the future. Children crave acceptance and want to be viewed as favorable by indiviudals who perform a valuable role in their lives. Children who never received any form of positive attachment from their parents tend to become defiant in the future. On the other hand, children who received positive attachment, love and nurturing tend to display the same in their character. Parent–child attachment includes the amount of parental supervision on children, quality of parent–child communication and time spent together, and parent’s knowledge of children’s peers (Chui Chan, 20 12). When parents invest quality time with their children they will be properly supervised; this will give parents a deeper insight into the activities that their children are involved in and the peers they associate with. In addition, people must be committed to whatever venture they set off to accomplish. They might be committed to someone, an education or their career. When people are committed they are less likely to be involved in crimes because they are willing to protect the investments they have diligently achieved. On the other hand when people are not committed to anything they take more risks and engage in criminal activity, since they do not have much to lose. For example, commitment can be seen as a teenager who is performing well in high school in order to be accepted at an accredited college with goals of obtaining a career. When people are involved in extra-curricular activities there is less time and effort to perform or engage in illegal activities. On the other hand, individuals who are not involved in any form of conventional social activities such as sports or religion usually end up engaging in criminal behavior. This can be seen in single-parent home where the mother is working two jobs, coming home late and children are left without supervision leaving them at home to care for themselves. They should be left in the care of an after-school program where some sort of supervision is expected. This leaves the children idle with more time to engage in criminal activity. However, Hirschi states that a delinquent act can take just minutes to commit, and thus, involvement in conventional activities alone is insufficient to deter delinquency (as stated in Chui Chan, 2012). Beliefs are values and moral norms that are shared by a specific group of people. Individuals who share values and beliefs abide by the law and respect other individuals. On the other hand people who were raised without any values or beliefs will be more like to perform illegal acts and rebel against the law. Individuals who share religious beliefs may be subject to greater controls that counter temptations for crime. Classic social control theories suggest that undesirable consequences of crime, including shame, social disapproval, or loss of social bonds, deter most individuals subject to those consequences from misconduct (Brauer et al., 2013). The Self-Control Theory The self-control theory states that low levels of self-control leads to an increased risk of criminal and delinquent involvement as well as a multitude of other risky behaviors. This theory claims that self-control is almost completely determined by parenting (Hollander-Blumoff, 2012). A child’s upbringing determines whether or not they will display high or low self-control. If a child wrong doing is corrected then this child will have a relatively high-level of self-control. On the other hand, if a child’s wrong-doing is not scolded or corrected, this child will have lower levels of self-control. Gottfredson and Hirschi defined low self-control using distinct characteristics: instant gratification, physical rather than mental, risky behavior, insensitive to others (Connor et al., 2009). Low self-control individuals fail in situations that require supervision, restrictions on how they conduct themselves or situations that require discipline. According to Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990), those who lack self-control are not only more likely to engage in risky behaviors, but they tend to do so stubbornly and persistently, with disregard for the consequences these acts may bring. These type of people love to take risks such as going on crime spree, they also engage in other risky behavior such as smoking and drinking alcohol. Low self-control individuals tend to be life course persistent criminal; the offending is continuous and stable and extends into adulthood. This low self-control or impulsivity is caused by weakened social bonds such as attachment and beliefs. When parents provide poor supervision and are unable to provide their children with the attention and the direction needed they will develop low self-control. Furthermore the values, norms and beliefs that are instilled into children at a young age are essential in their up-bringing. If parents do not have any beliefs or values then the children will not emulate the same, this will then lead to a life of unconformity towards authority. Low self-control individuals require instant gratification; they do not have any commitments such as a career or education. They would rather commit crimes to gain the immediate pleasures of crime such as money or getting intoxicated. Having a job and career would mean investing time and money into obtaining an education. This is seen as a long term goal that requires them to be cognitive and they do not possess that characteristic. These individuals do not look at the risks involved in committing crimes or the people they hurt as a result of it; their only awareness is related to their needs and the instant reward achieved. Compare and Contrast The social bond theory states that weaken bonds such as attachment will lead an individual to commit crime. In some instances, teenagers have strong bonds with their peers but this type of attachment can be dangerous. They often worry about being accepted by their peers and engage in delinquent acts to gain approval. Specifically, a weak parent–child attachment during adolescence, particularly in mid-adolescence, is likely to result in an increase level of peer association (Chui Chan, 2012). This is also true for the self-control theory which states that levels of self-control are predicted based on the type of parenting a child experienced. Children whose parents provide them with weak parental supervision will have relatively low-levels of self-control; therefore making them more likely to engage in criminal activities. The self-control theory is similar to the social bond theory because commitment is a main element in both theories. Individuals with low self-control require instant gratification and commitment does not go along with the immediate desire of â€Å"here and now†. With lack of commitment according to both theories an individual will more likely to engage in deviant behavior. Both the self-control theory and the social bond theory relates to beliefs as a reason why people do not commit crime. According to Brauer et al. (2013), highly religious individuals may be subjected to greater controls that counter temptations for crime. Having a belief and a value system provides strong incentives for self-control, therefore better being able to resist temptations to act impulsively. The social bond theory falls under Hirschi’s social control theory. According to social control theorists all people have the potential to violate the law and that modern society presents many opportunities for illegal activity (Siegel, 2014). If social bonds are weak people will fall prey to these criminal opportunities presented to them and if their social bonds are strong, they will resist crime. In contrast, based on the self-control theory, criminal opportunities are constant and available to most people; therefore opportunity does not play any role in and individual’s choice to commit a crime. Instead, low levels of self-control caused by lack of parental supervision causes antisocial behavior. Improvements and Problems The self-control theory poses many problems such as impulsivity alone cannot determine whether someone will commit a crime. There are other factors such as opportunity, other traits such as mental illness and genetics. There are many other traits and circumstances that cause an individual to follow a criminal path. I believe that with practice, counselling and therapy self-control levels can be increased. Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) argued that levels of self-control are only capable of being shaped during the first 8-10 years of life and that there is not a genetic component to variation in self-control. Some studies have shown that there is a link between genetics and self-control and Gottfredson and Hirschi’s claim can be disputed. Hollander-Blumoff (2012) state that most existing criminological studies have revealed that self-control is influenced greatly by genetic factors, with genes accounting for at least 50% of the variance in levels of self-control. Based on the f indings of this research, the self-control theory needs to be redefined to include genetics. One of the main elements of the social bond theory which is involvement can also cause adolescents to engage in crime. The social bond theory states that teenagers who are involved in some type of extracurricular activity or sporting activity would be less likely to commit crime. Hirschi (1990) affirmed that delinquent act can take just minutes to commit and therefore, involvement in social activities alone is insufficient to deter delinquency. For example, my son is on his school’s golf team and regularly attends golf practice. Being on the golf team does not deter him from being delinquent; some of his friends on the golf team might be deviant individuals and pressure him to commit a deviant act. The involvement element in the social bond theory must be reevaluated to include the type of involvement and the characteristics of the individuals who are associated with the activities chosen. Involvement in conventional activities such as religion can also become a deviant involv ement; there are numerous stories about Catholic priest molesting young boys. Even at sporting activities, players consume illegal performance enhancing drugs to boost their performance. In conclusion, Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson theories such as social bond theory and self-control theory can help society understand the causation of crimes. Although the social bond theory explains that strong social bonds such as attachment and involvement can deter individuals from committing crimes, having negative and deviant involvement can actually draw individuals to antisocial behavior. The self-control theory needs to be reevaluated because impulsivity alone cannot cause someone to commit crime, genetics and other traits may be a factor as well. References Brauer, J. R., Antonaccio, O., Title, C. R. (2013). Does Religion Suppress, Socialize, Soothe, or Support? Exploring Religiositys Influence on Crime. Journal For The Scientific Study Of Religion, 52(4), 753-774. Chui, W., Chan, H. (2012). An Empirical Investigation of Social Bonds and Juvenile Delinquency in Hong Kong. Child Youth Care Forum, 41(4), 371-386. doi:10.1007/s10566-012-9172-z Conner, B. T., Stein, J. A., Longshore, D. (2009). Examining Self-Control as a Multidimensional Predictor of Crime and Drug Use in Adolescents with Criminal Histories. Journal Of Behavioral Health Services Research, 36(2), 137-149. doi:10.1007/s11414-008-9121-7 Dunkel, C. S., Mathes, E., Beaver, K. M. (2013). Life History Theory and The General Theory of Crime: Life Expectancy Effects on Low Self-Control and Criminal Intent. Journal Of Social, Evolutionary Cultural Psychology, 7(1), 12-23. Gottfredson MR, Hirschi T (1990) A General Theory of Crime. Stanford University Press, Stanford. Hollander-Blumoff, R. (2012). Crime, Punishment, and the Psychology of Self-Control. Emory Law Journal, 61(3), 501-553. Siegel, L. J. (2014). Criminology: The Core, 5e, 5th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781285965543.

Jack Londons To Build a Fire Essay -- London Jack Build Fire Essays

Jack London's To Build a Fire Nature is always pushing man to his limits. When man heeds the warning signs that nature has to offer and those warnings of other men, he is most likely to conquer nature. When he ignores these warnings, nature is sure to defeat man. To build a fire is a prime example of this scenario. In the short story, â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London, an inexperienced traveler in the Yukon travels alone with his dog, even though it is ill advised to do so. The man is strong and smart but nature humbled him during his quest to reach his friends. The man’s inexperience with traveling in the cold subzero temperatures doomed him from the beginning, but his strong focus under extreme pressure and his keen sense of observation are what allows him to survive as long as he did. The ignorance of the old-timer’s words of wisdom slowly haunts him and catches up with him in the end. The man’s disregard for nature’s power is his demise during his journey. Although the man’s inexperience is his demise, he has very keen observing skills and strong focusing abilities. London writes, â€Å"he was keenly observant, and he noticed the changes in the creek, the curves and bends and timber-jams, and always he sharply noted where he placed his feet.† (London, 527) These skills allow him to make his way through the Yukon. He lacks imagination of what could happen to him in the tundra of the Yukon. â€Å"The trouble with him was that he was without imagination,† (London, 525) Lo...

In Another Country Is a Story of Ironies Essay

In the story In Another Country, one of Hemingway’s greatest themes is the implausibility of war, focusing on the fate of the soldiers in the aftermath of war, when they experience the tragedies and futility of their lives. In fact, the story offers a rethinking of war-related concepts and values such as bravery, heroism, patriotism, camaraderie, etc. and a tool used to convey contrasting or unconventional views is irony. For example, irony lies in the fact that the soldiers have wounds in the very parts of the body that make what they are, the medals may be meaningless and do not have true value, and the Cova girls are considered the most patriotic people of all. Those ironies seem to reveal the author’s anti-war attitude. First, the characters ironically receive wounds in the parts of the body that make them what they are. A noble man now becomes a noseless figure, a footballer has a damaged knee, and a fencer a shriveled hand. It seems as if the war has deliberately chosen to rob them of the things that give their lives meanings and essence. In short, they are not their selves any more. To make the ironies more tragic, the boy who lost his nose had his face rebuilt, but ‘they could never get the nose exactly right,’ and the major – the fencing champion – has no confidence in the treatment. Although ‘to lose is human’, a soldier cannot avoid having to ‘place himself in a position to lose’. The soldiers’ losses cannot be recovered and are a painful blow to their bravery. The medals are also images of irony. Though supposed to be awards for deeds of bravery and thus something that hold the soldiers together, that make them ‘friends against outsiders’, the medals have become causes for injustice and discrimination. In fact, the American soldier received his medals just because he is American, without doing anything to get them. Knowing this, the others’ soldiers changed their attitude towards him. The American is well aware that he is never really one of them, would never have done brave things like the other three, and is never a hunting hawk like them. This realization causes the American to drift apart from the other soldiers and their camaraderie suffers from this discrimination and despise. Another bitter irony comes from the fact that the people who appreciate the soldiers most are not the respectable citizens of Milan but the cafà © girls at the Cova. Needless to say, going to war and sacrificing his youth, future, career, and even his life, a soldier expects to be recognized and loved by non-soldier people. However, the people in Milan hate them and yell at them when they pass by. On the contrary, the lowly girls at the Cova like and welcome them, to the point that the I-narrator ‘found that the most patriotic people in Italy were the cafà © girls’ and he believes ‘they are still patriotic.’ It is not clear whether the cafà © girls showing interest in the soldiers comes from real respect or just a means to show their hospitality but the girls’ behavior may question what makes patriotism and highlight the sense of isolation experienced by the soldiers. The three images of irony discussed above, though not exhaustive, evidence the implausibility of war and the cruel fate of the soldiers after war. We have the impression that the soldiers are betrayed by the war, which inflicts the kinds of wounds that are intended to destroy them, to rob them of the very meaning of their existence, by the medals, which widen the gap between fellow soldiers rather than unite them, and by the people, who, in return for the soldiers’ sacrifice, pay them with ingratitude and hate. Hemingway’s anti-war attitude seems to emphasize the fact that war is inglorious and life is unfair.

Chapter 22 Apush Key Terms

Marcus Pando Period 4 Chapter 22 Key Terms Describe and state the historical significance of the following: 7. Freedmen's Bureau Initiated by President Abraham Lincoln and was intended to last for one year after the end of the Civil War. At the end of the war, the Bureau's main role was providing emergency food, housing, and medical aid to refugees, though it also helped reunite families. Later, it focused its work on helping the freedmen adjust to their conditions of freedom.Its main job was setting up work opportunities and supervising labor contracts. 8. Exodusters Was a name given to African Americans who left the south[Kansas] in 1879 and 1880. After the end of Reconstruction, racial oppression and rumors of the reinstitution of slavery led many freedmen to seek a new place to live. 9. Wade-Davis Bill Was a bill proposed for the Reconstruction of the South written by two Radical Republicans, Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry Winter Davis of Maryland.In contr ast to President Abraham Lincoln's more lenient Ten Percent Plan, the bill made re-admittance to the Union for former Confederate states contingent on a majority in each Southern state to take the Ironclad oath to the effect they had never in the past supported the Confederacy. 10. Percent Plan 11. moderate/radical Republicans Radical Republicans were a loose faction of American politicians within the Republican Party from about 1854 (before the American Civil War) until the end of Reconstruction in 1877.They called themselves â€Å"radicals† and were opposed during the war by moderates and conservative factions led by Abraham Lincoln and after the war by self-described â€Å"conservatives† (in the South) and â€Å"Liberals† (in the North). Radicals strongly opposed slavery during the war and after the war distrusted ex-Confederates, demanding harsh policies for the former rebels, and emphasizing civil rights and voting rights for Freedmen (recently freed slaves ). [1] 12. Black Codes Black Codes were laws in the United States after the Civil War with the effect of limiting the civil rights and civil liberties of blacks.Even though the U. S. constitution originally discriminated against blacks and both Northern and Southern states had passed discriminatory legislation from the early 19th century, the term Black Codes is used most often to refer to legislation passed by Southern states at the end of the Civil War to control the labor, migration and other activities of newly-freed slaves. 13. sharecropping Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land (e. g. , 50% of the crop).Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range of different situations and types of agreements that have encompassed the system. Some are governed by tradition, others by law. 14. Civil Rights Act A United States federal law that was mainly intended to pro tect the civil rights of African-Americans, in the wake of the American Civil War. The Act was enacted by Congress in 1865 but vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. In April 1866 Congress again passed the bill. Although Johnson again vetoed it, a two-thirds majority in each house overcame the veto and the bill became law. 5. Fourteenth Amendment Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Supreme Court's ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) that had held that black people could not be citizens of the United States. [1] Its Due Process Clause prohibits state and local governments from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without certain steps being taken to ensure fairness. This clause has been used to make most of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states, as well as to recognize substantive and procedural rights.Its Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its ju risdiction. This clause was the basis for Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court decision which precipitated the dismantling of racial segregation in United States education. In Reed v. Reed (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that laws arbitrarily requiring sex discrimination violated the Equal Protection Clause. The amendment also includes a number of clauses dealing with the Confederacy and its officials. 17. Reconstruction ActAfter the end of the American Civil War, as part of the on-going process of Reconstruction, the United States Congress passed four statutes known as Reconstruction Acts. The actual title of the initial legislation was â€Å"An act to provide for the more efficient government of the Rebel States† and it was passed on March 2, 1867. Fulfillment of the requirements of the Acts were necessary for the former Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union. The Acts excluded Tennessee, which had already ratified the 14th Amendment and had been readmitted to the Union. 8. Fifteenth Amendment Prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's â€Å"race, color, or previous condition of servitude† (for example, slavery). It was ratified on February 3, 1870. The Fifteenth Amendment is one of the Reconstruction Amendments. 19. Ex parte Milligan Was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that the application of military tribunals to citizens when civilian courts are still operating is unconstitutional.It was also controversial because it was one of the first cases after the end of the American Civil War. 22. scalawags Were southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party after the Civil War. Like similar terms such as â€Å"carpetbagger† the word has a long history of use as a slur against southerners considered by other conservative or pro-federation Southerners to betray southern values by supporting policies considered Nort hern such as desegregation and racial integration. 1] The term is commonly used in historical studies as a neutral descriptor of Southern White Republicans, though some historians have discarded the term due to its history of pejorative connotations. [2] 23. carpetbaggers Was a pejorative term Southerners gave to Northerners (also referred to as Yankees) who moved to the South during the Reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877.24. Ku Klux Klan advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically expressed through terrorism. 10] Since the mid-20th century, the KKK has also been anti-communist. [10] The current manifestation is splintered into several chapters with no connections between each other; it is classified as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. [11] It is estimated to have between 3,000 and 5,000 members as of 2012. [12] The first Klan flourished in the Southern U nited States in the late 1860s, then died out by the early 1870s. Members adopted white costumes: robes, masks, and conical hats, designed to be outlandish and terrifying, and to hide their identities. 13]The second KKK flourished nationwide in the early and mid 1920s, and adopted the same costumes and code words as the first Klan, while introducing cross burnings. [14] The third KKK emerged after World War II and was associated with opposing the Civil Rights Movement and progress among minorities. The second and third incarnations of the Ku Klux Klan made frequent reference to the USA's â€Å"Anglo-Saxon† and â€Å"Celtic† blood, harking back to 19th-century nativism and claiming descent from the original 18th-century British colonial revolutionaries. 15] The first and third incarnations of the Klan have well-established records of engaging in terrorism and political violence, though historians debate whether or not the tactic was supported by the second KKK. 25. Forc e Acts Can refer to several groups of acts passed by the United States Congress. The term usually refers to the events after the American Civil War. 26. Tenure of Office Act Was a federal law (in force from 1867 to 1887) that was intended to restrict the power of the President of the United States to remove certain office-holders without the approval of the Senate.The law was enacted on March 3, 1867, over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. It purported to deny the president the power to remove any executive officer who had been appointed by a past president, without the advice and consent of the Senate, unless the Senate approved the removal during the next full session of Congress. 27. Impeachment of President Johnson The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, was one of the most dramatic events in the political life of the United States during Reconstruction, and the first impeachment in history of a sitting United States president.Johnson was impe ached for his efforts to undermine Congressional policy; he was acquitted by one vote. The Impeachment was the consummation of a lengthy political battle, between the moderate Johnson and the â€Å"Radical Republican† movement that dominated Congress and sought control of Reconstruction policies. Johnson was impeached on February 24, 1868 in the U. S. House of Representatives on eleven articles of impeachment detailing his â€Å"high crimes and misdemeanors†,[1] in accordance with Article Two of the United States Constitution.The House's primary charge against Johnson was with violation of the Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress the previous year. Specifically, he had removed Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War (whom the Tenure of Office Act was largely designed to protect), from office and replaced him with Major General Lorenzo Thomas. The House agreed to the articles of impeachment on March 2, 1868. The trial began three days later in the Senate, with Suprem e Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding.Trial concluded on May 26 with Johnson's acquittal, the votes for conviction being one less than the required two-thirds tally. The impeachment and subsequent trial gained a historical reputation as an act of political expedience, rather than necessity, based on Johnson's defiance of an unconstitutional piece of legislation and with little regard for the will of the public (which, despite the unpopularity of Johnson, opposed the impeachment). Until the impeachment of Bill Clinton 131 years later, it was the only presidential impeachment in the history of the United States.