UNIT13 Sex Role Stereotype
During my career as a Canadian female teacher, I observed many instances of sex role stereotypin throughout the western culture. I was always amazed how quickly young childre adopted the cultural values. The topic is one of major concerns in the western world, yet there are those peopl who would ask you to believe that it is not a major issue. People who wish to ignore the situatio do not welcome discussions on the topic of gender bias. This type of person evoke an analogy of an ostrich that buries its head in the sand to ignore a problem by avoiding it Although many of my comments may seem cynical, I give you assurance that they are based on my observation of western society for a number of years. It might be interesting and informativ to compare the western world in this respect with eastern cultures. Many studies have been done and the breakdown of reasons examined to determine why gender roles play an important part in the selection of successful candidates for positions in many vocations. These studies have made little impact on diminishing the prevalence of candidates being selected more for their gender than their qualifications. Since the people responsible for hiring people to work with them, often hire people similar to themselves, it seems like they are looking for a clone or a duplicate of themselves. Females often become quite indignant when positions that they are well suited for are awarded to males and ambiguous reasons given to explain why. Is it any wonder that attempts to sue corporations for using unfair hiring and promotion practices are applauded? On the other hand, companies who exhibit fair hiring practices need to be commended for doing so. It has been common in the western world for people to presume that certain professions belong almost exclusively to one gender or the other. The work of an electrician, or work with electronics, or repairing of air-conditioning equipment, might be considered to be masculine fields of employment. Nursing and childcare vocations are considered feminine occupations. Aviation is another field where people would usually assume that the pilot would be male and the flight attendant would be female, a premise that many times will be invalid. It will be a major breakthrough when both genders are equally represented in the workforce especially in higher level positions. Some individuals would lead you to believe that it would result in the breakdown of society, as we know it today. At times an attempt to prevent subjective views being used to preclude only males being hired by males has been attempted. Laws or policy that attempt to rectify the situation have not been successful in diminishing the problem. An attempt to numerically control the number of positions in a corporation by using a quota system to require equal numbers of males and females to be hired usually meets with little success if the attitudes of the people doing the hiring are subjective and preclude the possibility of fair practises being used. The empirical evidence shown by the numbers makes it easy to show which companies exemplify fairness and would hinder those who only make a feeble attempt to do so. If a company does endeavour to incorporate fairness in their hiring practises, they should be eligible for commendation A diligent attempt to choose the best person for the position regardless of their gende is only inherent in those companies that can envisage a future with the best possible work force A dvertisements depict gender bias while promoting products. Looking at merchandise displays in any mall will reveal that a picture of a juvenile lad would be near construction equipment while an ad for perfume would likely show a female. The drawback of this seemingly innocent way of displaying merchandise is that they tend to affirm the bias of the individuals who design them. This is a serious flaw. Maybe the intent was not to be exclusive but that is the end result of the message that is evoked, whether subliminal or overt. An alternate way of viewing the world, with either both genders portrayed or neither with the items, may seem bizarre but marketing specialists have been applauded for making the effort to do so. The hypothesis has been suggested that if this practise were widespread it would facilitate a change for the better in the values that are embedded in our society. When you read a biography in a newspaper in a metropolitan area, you will find that different words are used to describe males and females. In almost any literary work, personal appearance is seldom mentioned when describing males, but commonly used when a female is the subject of the article Forms of address that are considered proper to use are also discriminatory. Males are always referred to a Mr. (except a very young lad might be addressed as Master). There are several forms of abbreviation to use before the name of a female. It is permissible to use Mrs., Miss, or Ms. The choice of abbreviation is by personal preference of the person being addressed but they have different meanings. Mrs. is used to signify a married woman. Miss means an unmarried or single woman. Ms. could mean either and is the choice of many women because it does not reveal their marital status. How strange that society feels it is necessary to be able to deduce a woman's marital status from her name by providing this form of definitive identification. A man could be married or could be a bachelor and one is not able to ascertain his marital status from his name. Why, then, is it necessary to differentiate between a woman who is married and one who is not? Many of the cases of sexual harassment that are dealt with in corporations are a result of stereotyping. Usually the person who is the alleged harasser is a male who supervises females. Males have been taught by society that they are the privileged gender and have power over any female. This is the basis behind most incidents of harassment How strange that intelligent men feel entitled to take advantage of females in a subordinate position. To heighten awareness, forums or symposiums are held to enlighten people about the importance of using inclusive language but may people still resist changing. Some people are determined that the word man also includes woman. Sometimes the meaning does incorporate women and sometimes it doesnt. However, many woman insist that they are never quite sure of the meaning and suggest that the word humanity should be used instead when the intended meaning is both men and women and then there would be no confusion. It is incomprehensible to others why they refuse to change. A booklet or pamphlet is available for reference in most work places to help people use inclusive language in any writing in the workplace. Some government offices have produced a leaflet that can be used by companies that do not have the impetus or the resources to design their own Studies about gender differences have suggested a hypothesis that females have better verbal skills, while males excel at tasks requiring the ability to visualize. Conclusions of many of the studies have proved it invalid and found instead the differences between the genders to be almost nil. T here are, however, notable differences between individuals regardless of their gender The absurd criterion for judging a person's ability based on their gender needs to be abolished. Until this is seen as being abnormal, the attempt to updated attitudes without removing the underlying cause of the societal values will be useless
UNIT14 Dr. Sun Yat-sen: Father of the Chinese Revolution
Dr. Sun Yat-sen held official political office for a total of only a few months in China, yet he had an impact so profound that it earned him the designation of Father of the Chinese Revolution. He was a man who is still much revered in China. His portrait can be seen in Tiananmen Square in Beijing Sun was born in 1866 in Guangdong Province. His ancestors were clans of farmers and shepherds. During his adolescent years, he attended school in Honolulu and Hong Kong. In the latter city, he studied medicine, receiving an “A” in every subject in the program, an unprecedented feat at Hong Kong Medical College (later, the University of Hong Kong). While in Hong Kong, Sun undertook conversion to Roman Catholicism. Early in life, Sun developed contempt for the corruption of the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty. He was also vocal in denouncing foreign intrusions and aggression against China during the 19th century. The opium war of 1839 to 184 was a major testimony to China's inability to defend itself against outside aggression. By this period, Britain had developed a strong monopoly in the trade of many goods, including tea, salt, opium, and other commodities. This monopoly was exercised mostly through the British East India Company. Britain had been importing much from China, but was exporting little. This resulted in a yearly balance of payments deficit with China. To correct this imbalance in trade, and the fact that opium was a highly addictive drug, the arrogant British forced the export of opium on China, even though opium was declared illegal by the latter. China's attempt to resist these aggressive trade practices precipitated the bloody Opium War of 1839 to 1842. Thousands were massacred as China lost miserably against superior forces The Treaty of Nanking in 1842 dictated that China pay huge compensation to Britain and it forced China to open five of its ports to British trade. Britain also demanded and received immunity from Chinese laws, therefore gaining British sovereignty over small parts of a foreign land. Hong Kong was ceded to Britain as well. The Chinese endured repression and humiliation for many decades. In 1896, the United States, relative newcomers to the club of world imperialists, declared an Open Door policy for trading with China No foreign country was to have a monopoly of trade with China. During the 19th century, many foreign countries successfully carved out pieces of China for themselves. Geographically, by 1911, China was a significantly smaller country than it was in 1800 In the middle of the 19th century, China was also going through some very grim times, economically. There were famines, floods, and droughts. There was much suffering and deprivation, especially in the southern areas of China. The Qing dynasty did very little to relieve the people of their plight. These conditions, along with the humiliating concessions being forced on them by foreign powers, culminated in a mass of violent eruptions and disturbances against the Qing Dynasty, which became known as the Taiping Rebellion from 1851 to 1864 The Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, and later, in 1900, the Boxer Rebellion, were constant reminders of government corruption and China's weakness against foreign intrusion and manipulation. With these tragic misfortunes in recent modern Chinese history on his mind, Sun came to the conclusion that the only way that China could truly become a strong unified country once again, was by fullscale revolution. This should begin with capturing the Qing throne, terminating millennia of imperial rule in China. He also realized that a more militant approach was needed if he was going to achieve his goals. Blundering in the first attempt to overthrow the Manchus in 1895, Sun fled from China and embarked upon an unexpected 16 years of world travel and refection. This period proved instrumental in Sun's development of revolutionary strategy and theory. He enrolled support from Chinese people living in other countries. He visited Hawaii, the United States, Britain, and Japan. He elicited help wherever he could. He read some of works of Karl Marx and those of Henry George George was an American economist and social philosopher who saw the injustice of land policy during the building of railroads into the American west in the second half of the 19th century. George observed that most people who moved west remained poor or got poorer, while the relatively few land developers got richer and richer. The advertisement “Go west young man and prosper” meant, in reality, that only a very few would prosper. George suggested, without success, that a heavy land tax be levied to tap some of this wealth in order to develop a solid infrastructure from which all people in the west, not just the rich, could benefit Sun also had the opportunity to study republican forms of government such as that of the United States. He became even more convinced that China had to break away from the millenniaold imperial government system, concluding that a republican system was the answer for China. He was impressed with Montesquieu's principle of the separation of government powers. This theory stated that the three branches of government, the executive, legislative, and judicial, function separately. He saw this in practice, particularly in the United States. He later concluded that for China, two additional separated powers, examination and censorial would be necessary. While in London, Sun received an unexpected boost to his efforts of eliciting help for his cause. While on his way there, in 1896, he was kidnapped and held in the Chinese (Qing) Embassy. He managed to sneak a message to a friend who talked to the press. This created an embarrassing situation for the Chinese government, which consequently, released Sun. The Chinese portrayed Sun as insane or as an idiot. This incident, along with a popular book that he wrote about the experience, magnified his reputation internationally. In Japan, shortly after, he was welcomed as an international celebrity In order to carry out a successful revolution, he realized that his agenda required the support of intellectuals. To enroll the support of the latter, he needed a well thought-out plan or theory. From this realization, the doctrine of The Three Principles of the People was disclosed. The three were nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood. Nationalism was interpreted initially to mean antiManchu, while democracy meant a republican form of government. The people's livelihood was perceived as state ownership of property. This would be the solution to avoid the problemsof economic inequalities experienced in the west. Given his knowledge of the west's experience, Sun saw this approach for China as more practical and reliable. His plan for revolution suggested three stages: military rule, political tutelage, and constitutional government. He saw that military rule was needed for a period of time to rid China of lingering corruption from the Qing period, and to create an environment of stability to create the new Chinese society. Political tutelage guardianship, for perhaps three years, was needed to gradually develop a stronger, more permanent political system, and to acclimatize the Chinese people to these political changes. After six years, China might be ready for a permanent constitutional republican government He sincerely hoped that his plan would permeate China with widespread acceptance In 1905, while in Japan, Sun was instrumental in setting up the United League of China. The Wuchang (Wuhan) Revolt, in October of 1911, brought Sun Yat-sen to Shanghai. Shortly after the successful overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, Sun was elected Interim President of the new Republic of China in Nanking, the capital. This government immediately set out to develop a provisional(temporary) constitution. However, by February of 1912, Sun resigned as president to give way to Yuan Shikai, who brought with him a lot of support from the north, which provided the opportunity to unify greater parts of China. Also in 1912, the United League of China set up the Kuomingtang (KMT), the National Party of China. Yuan Shikai, in the meantime betrayed the republic and Sun's trust, by attempting to set himself up as a dictator. Sun immediately proceeded in pursuit of Yuan but was unsuccessful and had to go into exile in Japan. In 1924, the Kuomingtang convened at Guangzhou to establish three principles to solidify and strengthen the republic and to unify the rest of China. These principles included developing an alliance with Russia, helping farmers, workers, and bourgeoisie, and recommending a national conference to end the brutal, unequal treaties imposed by foreign nations. The result was “the Declaration of Beijing”, the last official act of Dr. Sun Yat-sen before liver cancer took his life in March of 1925. Sun Yat-sen was widely mourned as tributes came in from all over. Many intellectuals saw Sun as a man of action, a pragmatist, and not as a great intellectual. Throughout his life, he was not above contradicting his own principles, or tolerating opposing views or parties to further his cause. For Sun, during these turbulent times, the end sometimes did seem to justify the means. His philosophy changed, over time, to meet changing needs. For many academics, Sun's career was not seen as the making of a myth, but as a real man dealing with real complex realities of his time. His presence, inside and outside of China, dominated Chinese history during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He adopted and tailored western ideas to the Chinese experience, in order to create his vision of a new China. Many academics also felt that Sun's western experiences greatly influenced his work and contributed to his predominant place in Chinese and world history. Before he died, he stated that the whole nation had to be awakened and united with those who treated them equally, and fight side by side with them. Sun Yat-sen had received the respect of people throughout the world, even from non-communist sources. In China, he became a legend. When the Kuomingtang and the Communists split in 1927, both claimed to be heirs of his work. No one can deny Sun Yat-sen his rightful place, not only in Chinese histor but also in world history. He truly deserves the title and honour of Father of the Chinese Revolution
