Author: Andre Coleman

Chapter-1Introduction: Status and Social Position of Women

The women are the soul of our community and they are self build and self trained human responsible for the morale development of their children, inspiration for the family and an example for the community to follow. As a wife, woman is his best friend and inspiration. The history conveys that, “Each successful man has an inspiring woman responsible for success”.

According to Swami Vivekananda- “That country and that nation that do not respect women have never become great, nor ever be in future.”

According to Historian Romilla Thapper- “Within the Indian sub-continent there have been infinite variations on the status of women diverging according to culture malice, family structure, class, caste, property rights and morals.”

Tagores said, “Womens are the ornaments of society”. The society was male dominated and he ruled mainly by ethics and morals. But now a day’s womens are enjoying the topmost supremacy and these have won over intelligence and mental capacity of the men. Today if it was that the society was “Male-Dominated” then india wouldn’t have produced highlighting examples such as “P.T.Usha-The Women Athlete”, “Lata Mangeshkar-The Nightingale and the Singer”, “Sonia Gandhi-Political” and “Klpana Chawla-The Indian Astronaut”. Today the proverb given above has proved true. A woman is the pillar of a family, and concussively that of a nation. The statue of liberty which is symbol of peace and liberty is none other than that of a woman. Therefore, respect women and every life.

In spite of fifty percent of the population on the world wide, women were not in equal status with men. This differential position causes socialization raises from boys and girls are different roles. As a traditional form, the status and social role of the women in every society, specific Indian society have been women are weaker than men. Women are the teachers of the society and they are not competitors. “Woman as the mother is the best friend and teacher for the child, especially girl child (Firestone, Catlett, 1993, the Mother-Daughter Bond)”. Woman as friend is an inspiring support for any task. Woman as wife is a best friend and supportive partner for the husband. Woman as a family member is a best family manager and care taker of family values and traditions. Women as a community member are an example of love, friendliness, inspiration and the best worker. These are the common roles and responsibilities performed by the women community around the world. Woman is an all-round player in the game where, playground is ‘family’. The only difference is that, woman is an all-round player at almost all such play grounds around the world. In family, woman is an excellent manger cum worker.

The social stratification of women in-India however leaves them as a second rate citizen. This is no more evident than the violence to which a woman is subjected in her domestic setup. Violence against woman is present is every society cutting boundaries of class, culture, education and age. Even though most societies proscribe violence against woman, the reality is that she is tortured physically, psychologically, sexually and economically, the right to equality, security dignity and self worth are denied to woman. At times the place where a woman seeks love, safety, security and shelter, becomes a place of terror and violence at the hands of somebody close to them whom they trust.

If we visualize the multiple view of the, woman from various families working for her children, family and herself; we will find that there several women working for the development of their respective families. In broad sense, they are working for collectively development of the family, community and society in which they live because; community is the united from of varied families. A woman is never appreciated for her indirect contribution in this strong development and in the progress of her children, family or external community. She can be said as a silent and selfless leader. We take woman as a strong pillar on which the progress of the family and community depends. If she is educated enough to utilize and manage the family resources in smart manner and every woman does so, than such community will definitely progress irrespective of the variations in the religion, tradition, culture and financial background that are present in any community around the world. There can be many situations that can prevent woman from performing at her best. It can be lack of peer support, illiteracy, lack of knowledge, lack of resources or lack inspiration to name few.

Crime, atrocity and violence against woman is a manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between man and woman, which led to the domination of a woman’s fuller advancement. Violence in the domestic spare is usually committed by them who are or who have been, is position of trust and intimacy and power-husband’s father, brother, uncle sons or other relatives. It does not mean that women are not violent but their actions account for a small percentage of domestic violence. Such as outside homes these type activity boy friend and unknown person.

The criminals, atrocious abuser and the abused are tied together because of emotional, physical, biological, familial, residential and financial ties, and are often their intimate partners. Perpetrators of domestic violence seek power and control over their survivors. The factors which contribute to the continued prevalence of violence are mainly the women’s lack of access to legal information, aid or protection and also the lack of laws that effectively prohibit violence against women. There is also failure to reform existing laws and the efforts made on part of public authorities to promote awareness of and enforce existing laws are also inadequate. The absence of educational and other means to address the causes and consequences of violence is also the reason behind prevalence of violence.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declares that ‘Motherhood and childhood are entitled for special care whether born in or out of wedlock shall enjoy the same protection. The Indian constitution enshrines in Art.14, 15, 39(a) (d) and (e) that the state shall ensure a just social order for women based on equality and dignity. In spite of all these, and on the sacred land of Sita, Sabitri and Damayanti it found that women are being seduced, tortured, and enjoyed and betrayed. In spite of Constitutional guarantees and legal protection there is a rise on the trend of committing offenses against women and the domestic violence is one of them. Women have always played a specific and crucial role which has been veiled in society and history. Traditionally, the Indian woman has been the keystone of the family and society in general. She creates life, nurtures it, guards and strengthens it. In her task as mother, she plays a vital role in the development of the nation.

Status and social position of women in India

Women in India have been always topics of concern since ancient period. They can as a exact example of perfect home-makers. With their incomparable quality of the calm ness of mind they easily handle even toughest situation as well. The Indian women are fully devoted to their families. They are preached in the names like as Goddess Durga, Goddess Saraswati, Parvati and goddess Kali. The evolution of the status and social position of women in India has been a continuous process of ups and downs throughout history. For the purpose of depicting a brief survey of the changing position and role of women in India throughout history, four broad periods are considered:

Ancient Period

Medieval Period

Modern India Period

British-India Period.

After Independence Period

Brief described each period on following as:-

A) Ancient Period

Many women have comforted themselves with a view of many scholars that women were greatly honored in the ancient India from Vedic times. They enjoyed freedom good status and learning opportunities. In those days women must have had certainly freedom it appears that the Vedic women were probably comparable to modern women. Recently some women historians have attempted different interpretations of the original Brahmanical Texts. On the one hand Scriptures have glorifies womanhood. They have treated women as the equals of men. On the other hand some sacred texts held women not only disrespect but even in a positive hatred. There are contradictions and generalizations, which can be interpreted in either way.

Women held very important position in ancient Indian society. It was a position superior to men. There are literary evidences to suggest that woman power destroyed kingdoms and mighty rulers.Elango Adigal’s Sillapathigaram mentioned that Madurai the capital of Pandyas was burnt when Pandyan ruler Nedunchezhiyan killed a woman’s husband by mistake. Veda Vyasa’s Mahabharata tells the story of fall of Kauravas because they humiliated queen Draupadi.Valmiki’s Ramyana is also about the wiping away of Ravana when he abducted and tried to marry Sita forcibly. The plethora of Goddesses in ancient period was created to instil respect for women. Ardhanareeshwar, which called God is half-man and half-woman, was highly worshipped. Women were allowed to have multiple husbands.

For example:-

1. Manu has told that where women are honoured the Gods are leased but where they are not honoured, no sacred rite yields any reward. But it is as clear as day light that the same Manu has formulated the theory of sacred tutelage of women when he said that a woman has to depend on her father in her childhood, on her husband in youth and on her sons during her old age and no woman is fit for freedom. ‘Pita’ rakshathi Kaumare Bhartha rakshathi yavvane Rakshanthi Putrah Stavire, na Sthree svatantram arhati.

2. Yagnavalkya had told that women are the embodiment of all divine virtues on earth. Soma has bestowed all his purity on them. Gandhrva has given them sweetness of speech and Agni has showered all his brilliance to make them most attractive. She is the goddess (Devata as well as a lurer (pramada). Manu says women are able to lead astray not only the ignorant but also even the learned men and make him a slave of lust and anger. Such lofty ideals about women have been repeated in Ramayana and Mahabharata also.

B) Medieval Period

Medieval India has not women’s age it is supposed to be the ‘dark age’ for them. Medieval India saw many foreign conquests, which resulted in the decline in women’s status. When foreign conquerors like Muslims invaded India they brought with them their own culture.

These period women was the sole property of her father, brother or husband and she does not have any will of her own. This type of thinking also crept into the minds of Indian people and they also began to treat their own women like this. One more reason for the decline in women’s status and freedom was that original Indians wanted to shield their women folk from the barbarous Muslim invaders. As polygamy was a norm for these invaders they picked up any women they wanted and kept her in their “harems”. In order to protect them Indian women started using ‘Purdah’, (a veil), which covers body. Due to this reason their freedom also became affected. They were not allowed to move freely and this lead to the further deterioration of their status. These problems related with women resulted in changed attitude of people. Now they began to consider a girl as misery and a burden, which has to be shielded from the eyes of intruders and needs extra care. Whereas a boy child will not need such extra care and instead will be helpful as an earning hand. Thus a nasty circle started in which women was at the receiving end. All this gave rise to some new evils such as Child Marriage, Sati, Jauhar, devdasi, restriction on widow marriage, Purdha system and restriction on girl education.

Sati:

“Sati” is known as the ritual of dying at the funeral pyre of the husband. According to some of the Hindu scriptures dying at the funeral pyre women of her husband go straight to heaven so it’s good to practice this ritual. Initially it was not obligatory for the women but if she practiced such a custom she was highly respected by the society. Sati was considered to be the better option than living as a widow as the plight of widows in Hindu society was even worse. Some of the scriptures like ‘Medhatiti’ had different view it say that Sati is like committing suicide so one should avoid this.

Jauhar:

It is also more or less similar to Sati but it is a mass suicide. Jauhar was prevalent in the Rajput societies. In this custom wives immolated themselves while their husbands were still alive. Jauhar are also known to place a high profile on honour. When people of Rajput clan became sure that they were going to die at the hands of their enemy then all the women arrange a large pyre and set themselves afire, while their husband used to fight the last decisive battle known as “Shaka”, with the enemy. Thus are defending the sanctity of the women and the whole clan.

Devadasis:

Devadasi system is a religious practice in some parts of southern India, in which women are “married” to a deity or temple. The ritual was well established by the 10th century A.D. In the later period the illegitimate sexual exploitation of the Devadasi’s become a norm in some parts of India.

Child Marriage:

It was a norm in medieval India. Girls were married off at the age of 8-10. They were not allowed access to education and were treat as the material being. The plight of women can be imagined by one of the shloka of Tulsidas where he writes [r1] “Dhol, gawar, shudra, pashu, nari, ye sab tadan ke adhikari”. Meaning that are animals, illiterates, lower castes and women should be subjected to beating. Thus women were compared with animals and were married off at an early age. The child marriage along with it bring some more problems such as increased birth rate, poor health of women due to repeated child bearing and high mortality rate of women and children.

Restriction on Widow Remarriage:

The condition of widows in medieval India was very bad. They were not treating as human being and were subjected to a large number of restrictions. They were imaginary to live religious life after their husband died and were not allowed entry in any celebration. Their being there in any good work was considered to be a bad omen. Sometimes heads of widows were also shaved down. They were not allowed to remarry. Any woman remarrying was looked down by the society. This cruelty on widows was one of the main reasons for the large number of women committing Sati. In medieval India living as a Hindu widow was a sort of a curse.

Purdah System:

Purdah system is the practice among some communities of requiring women to cover their bodies so as to cover their skin and conceal their form. It imposes restrictions on the mobility of women, it is curtails their right to interact freely and a symbolic of the subordination of women. It does not reflect the religious teachings of either Hinduism or Islam, contrary to common belief, although misconceptions are occurred due to the ignorance and prejudices of religious leaders of both are faiths.

Girl Education:

The girls of medieval India and above all Hindu society be not given formal education. They were given education related to household chores. But a famous Indian philosopher ‘Vatsyayana’ write that women were supposed to be perfect in sixty four arts which included cooking, spinning, grinding, knowledge of medicine, recitation and many more.

C) Modern India Period

Modern India witnessed some developments in the status and social position of women. There were many reformers in India who worked for the betterment and upliftment of their other female counterparts. The Begum of Bhopal discarded the ‘purdha’ and fought in the revolt of 1857. Many reformers measures to eradicate social stigmas from the society. Sir Sayyid Ahamad Khan established the Aligarh Muslim University for the spread of education among the Muslims. Among many the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 was important. The education system was also elevated. English was introduced in this period. Various female English writers like Sarojiini Naidu, Kamala Das made their presence felt in this period.

In the modern times, women in India are given freedom and right such as freedom of expression and equality, as well as right to get education. Women in Contemporary India are doing the same what a male can do. Various prestigious positions are held by Indian women. They are enjoying the ‘ladies first’ facility in various fields. But still problems like dowry, female infanticide, sex selective abortion, health, domestic violence, crime and atrocities are prevalent in the society. Several acts have been passed to demolish all these problems. But illiteracy and lack of awareness are the obstacles in the path of Indian women to stand against these follies.

British India Period
Women’s Struggle and Reforms

Though women of India are not at par among her counterpart in Western world but she is struggling hard to make her mark in men’s world. We can count on certain names from the British India where women put the example of extraordinary bravery which even men might not be able to show. Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi was the one such woman. She was the one who put even British rulers to dishonour with her extraordinary feat in battle. She fought for her kingdom, which Dalhousie, British Governor General, had unlawfully annexed. She was in a true sense the leader of uprising of 1857. There are certain men who took the cause of women in India. There have been social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekanand, Swami Dayananda Saraswati who have helped women gain their previous status in society.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Born on 22nd may 1772 he was the torchbearer of social reforms for the women. He was strictly against the evils prevalent in society in his time. He is the one who has done women a great favour by abolishing Sati lawfully. It was due to his efforts that Lord William Bentinck banned the custom of Sati in 1829. Though this law was not a great deterrent but it changed mindset of people to some extent. Ram Mohan Roy also did great work in the field of women education. He was against child marriage and favoured widow remarriage. He himself married a widow thus setting the example for the whole society. Along with ‘Dwarka Nath Tagore’ he founded “Brahmo Samaj” for the reform of Indian society and emancipation of women.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was popularly well-known as Vidyasager, which means sea of knowledge. Testifying to his name he was truly the sea of knowledge. He was a pillar of social reform movement of Bengal in 19th century. He broadly read ancient Hindu scriptures and came to know that the gender divide which was prevalent in Bengal was not encoded in our ancient texts instead it is the politics to keep women subordinate to men. He strongly supported women education in Bengal and went door to door to persuade people to send their girl child to school. He also did a lot in the field of widow remarriage. He opened many schools for girls.

Mahatma Jyotirao Phule

Born on April 11, 1827, Pune, Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was a genuine philanthropist. He was the one to open first girl school in India. He is also credited with opening first home for widows of the upper caste and a home for newborn girl children so that they can be saved from female infanticide.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati

He was the founder of Arya Samaj and gave a cry, “back to Vedas”. He translated Vedas from Sanskrit to Hindi so that a common man can read it and understand that the Vedic Hindu scriptures gave utmost importance to women. He emphasize for the equal rights for women in every field. He tried to change the mindset of people with his Vedic teachings.

Mahatma Gandhi

The social reformers of 19th century laid down the stage for the emancipation of women but it was Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi under whose influence these reforms reached masses. He was the one who liberated Indian women from the rule of ‘Purdah’ and other social evils. He brings them from their confinement and asked them to participate in the struggle for independence. According to him women should survive liberated from the slavery of kitchen only then their true potential could be realized. He said that liability of household is important for women but it should not be the only one. In fact she should arrive forward to share the responsibilities of nation.

When Gandhi come to the step of Indian struggle for independence then the average life span of Indian women was 27 years and only 2%women were educated this shows what a Herculean task it was to bring the women of India who was not getting her basic rights to fight for the cause of the nation. But it was due to his efforts that so a lot of women like Sarojini Naidu, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur came forward. He spread the message of equality of the gender to the masses and criticized the desire of Indian people to have male child instead of a female. Gandhiji was strictly beside the child marriage and favoured widow remarriage. He urged the youth to come forward and accept young widows as their life partner. He said that the girls are also capable of everything boys can do but the need of the time is to give them opportunities so that they can prove themselves. It was mostly due to his efforts that when India get independence ‘right to vote’ came naturally to Indian women whereas in other developed nations like England and America women got this right very late and that too after lot of protest.

Spread of Education

The idea of imparting education to women emerged in the British period. Earlier, it was almost universally hailed that since women need not earn their livelihood, there was no need of education for them. After the Bhakti Movement, the Christian Missionaries took interest in the education of the girls. The Hunter Commission too emphasized on the need for female education in 1882. The Calcutta, Bombay and Madras institutions did not permit the admission of girls till 1875. It was only after 1882 that girls were allowed to go for higher education. Since then, there has been a continuous progress in the extend of education among females. Though the number of girls studying at various levels was low, yet there has been a marked increase in the number of female students at every level from 1941 onwards.

After Independence Period

The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared with past women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Their path is full of roadblocks. The women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armoured with their talent. They had proven themselves. But in India they are yet to get their dues. The sex ratio of India shows that the Indian society is still prejudiced against female. There are 933 females per thousand males in India according to the census of 2001, which is much below the world average of 990 females. There are many problems which women in India have to go through daily. These problems have become the part and parcel of life of Indian women and some of them have accepted them as their fate.

The main problems of Indian women’s are includes:- Malnutrition, Poor Health, Maternal Mortality, Lack of education, Mistreatment, Overworked, Lack of Power, Marriage, Dowry, Female infanticide/foeticide.

Malnutrition

Generally in India, women are the one who eat last and least in the whole family. So they eat whatever is left after men folk are satiated. As a result most of the times their food intake does not contain the nutritional value required in maintaining the healthy body. In villages, sometimes women do not get to eat the whole meal due to poverty. The UNICEF report of 1996 clearly states that the women of South Asia are not given proper care, which results in higher level of malnutrition among the women of South Asia than anywhere else in the world. This nutritional deficiency has two major consequences for women first they become anaemic and second they never achieve their full growth, which leads to an unending cycle of undergrowth as malnourished women cannot give birth to a healthy baby.

Poor Health

The malnutrition results in poor health of women. The women of India are prejudiced from the birth itself. They are not breastfed for long. In the want of a son the women wants to get pregnant as soon as possible which decreases the caring period to the girl child whereas the male members get adequate care and nutrition. Women are not given the right to free movement that means that they cannot go anywhere on their own if they want and they have to take the permission of male member of family or have to take them along. This results in decrease in women’s visit to doctor and she could not pay attention to her health as a result.

Maternal Mortality

The mortality rate in India is among highest in the world. As females are not given proper attention, which results in the malnutrition and then they are married at an early age which leads to pregnancies at younger age when the body is not ready to bear the burden of a child. All this results in complications, which may lead to gynecological problems, which may become serious with time and may ultimately, lead to death.

Lack of education

In India women education never get its due share of awareness. From the medieval India women are debarred from the educational field. According to medieval awareness women require just household education and this perception of medieval India still persists in villages of India even today. Girls are supposed to fulfil domestic duties and education becomes secondary for them whereas it is considered to be important for boys. Although scenario in urban areas has changed a lot and women are opting for higher education but majority of Indian population residing in villages still live in medieval times. The people of villages consider girls to be curse and they do not want to waste money and time on them as they think that women should be wedded off as soon as possible.

The main reason for not sending girls to school is the poor economic condition. Another reason is far off location of schools. In Indian society virginity and purity is given extreme importance during marriage and people are afraid to send their girl child to far off schools were male teacher teach them along with boys.

The lack of education is the root reason for many other problems. An uneducated mother cannot look after her children properly and she is not aware of the fatal diseases and their cure, which leads to the poor health of the children. Uneducated people do not know about hygiene this lack of knowledge of hygiene may lead to poor health of the whole family.

Mistreatment

In India violence against women is a common evil. Not just in remote part but in cities also women bear the brunt. They are subjected to physical and mental violence. They are the one who work most but are not given their due. Women are safe anywhere neither at home nor at workplace. An hour a woman is raped in India and every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death due to dowry problem. There are a lot of laws such as The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, The Hindu Succession Act of 1956, The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856, The Hindu Women Right to Property Act of 1937, The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, to protect women and punishment is severe but the conviction rate of crime, atrocities and violence against women is very low in India.

Overworked

Indian women work more than men of India but their work is hardly recognized as they mainly do unskilled work. Their household chores is never counted as a work, if a woman is working in a field to help her husband it will also be not counted as a work. A study conducted by Mies in 1986 states that in Andhra Pradesh a woman works around 15 hours a day during the agricultural season whereas a male on an average works for around 7-8 hours.

Lack of Power

In India a large percentage of women do not have power. They cannot take decisions independently not even related to their own life. They have to take permission of male members for each and every issue. They don’t have any say in important household matters and not in matter of their own marriage.

Marriage

The family mainly fixes the marriages in India. The scenario in villages is very bad. The girl is not consulted but is told to marry a guy whom her family has chosen for him. They are taught to abide by the whims and fancies of their husbands. Going against the wishes of husband is considered to be a sin. In marriage husband always has the upper hand. The groom and his parents show as if they are obliging the girl by marrying her and in return they demand hefty dowry.

Dowry

It’s a serious issue. Courts are flooded with cases related to death due to dowry harassment by husband and in laws. In ancient times women were given ‘Stridhan’ when they departed from the house of their parents. This amount of money was given to her as a gift which she can use on her and her children but her in-laws did not have any right on that amount. This amount was supposed to help the girl in time of need. Slowly this tradition became obligatory and took the form of dowry. Nowadays parents have to give hefty amount in dowry, the in laws of their girl are not concerned whether they can afford it or not. If a girl brings large amount of dowry she is given respect and is treated well in her new home and if she does not bring dowry according to expectations of her in laws then she has to suffer harassment. Due to this evil practice many newlywed women of India have to lose their lives.

Female infanticide/foeticide

As women were supposed to be and in some areas of India are still considered to be curse by some strata of society their birth was taken as a burden. So in past times they were killed as soon as they were born. In some of the Rajput clans of Rajasthan newly born girl child was dropped in a large bowl of milk and was killed. Today with the help of technology the sex of the unborn baby is determined and if it is a girl child then it is aborted down. In all this procedure women do not have any say they have to do according to the wish of their husbands even if she does not want to abort she have any choice.

Divorce

The divorce rate in India is not accordingly high compared to western countries but it does not mean that marriages are more successful here. The cause behind low level of divorce rate is that it is look down by the society. It is regard as the sign of breakdown of marriage, especially of women. She is treating as but she has committed some crime by divorcing her husband. In some community like Muslim women did not have the right to divorce their husband they were divorced at just the pronouncement of “I divorce you” by their husband thrice and they could not do anything except to be the mute spectator. Recently Muslim Law Board has given right of divorce to women. After divorce women is entitled to get her “Mehr” for herself and her children’s sustenance. In Hindu society women obtain maintenance for themselves and their children after divorce.

WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

That is evident fr

This study on the perception on the portrayal of homosexuals in Bollywood film industry was majorly chosen as homosexuals have always been a topic the researcher wants to research on. Moreover there have been several research on homosexuals laws, their societal status, their recognition in the society, their rights, etc. but there have been less study in relation of homosexuals in media that to in the Indian film industry – Bollywood. After the case and the controversies of the movie FIRE people in India have got an idea about homosexuals but they have still not come out and spoke about it or have accepted them as a part of their societies. Major protest, rallies have been taking place on recent schedules in India in different cities by these homosexual people but the society has still not stood up to answer them. India has about 2.5 million homosexuals which makes it 15-20 % of the population. Further few studies conducted in relation to this topic say that homosexuals have a bad image in the society as they are the minorities and they are seen as negative people in the society. So the researcher carried with the research on the portrayal of the homosexuals in the Bollywood movies their perception in South India.

If any well-educated man is asked to control is sexuality towards a women he would say NO they why does the society see homosexuals alone in a different way? Just because they are minority in the society? Doesn’t every individual have their own rights in selection of their sexuality that to from a democratic country like us? The question that is yet to be answered is whether to start discussing these complex issues such a gays and lesbianism. Clearly the place of them in the culture is one of the central debates for decades and media representation will continue to be contested terrain for some time.

Homosexuality, it is true that it was practiced in the ancient era and other parts of the world including few tribes of Africa where it is still practiced. But in today’s world it is a known concept and practice in major parts of the countries and cities. In India on a continuous basis different rally’s has been taking place in the major cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi to educate people about the group and also to seek their own rights in the society. From culture to sex everything is related to education it starts from there. Thus this topic homosexuality has been chosen by the researcher in an attempt to make the general public aware of the existing relationship between similar sexes and to help this minority to gain their basic rights.

Among all the media in the mass communication field, cinema is the most powerful and a popular one. Films being the main source of entertainment in India, people of every section of the society like to watch and enjoy movies. The lack of alternative mode of entertainment in rural centers had resulted in the emerging cinema and it is also a cheap form of entertainment for the lower classes who’s only other mode of entertainment is chit chatting and roaming in the streets.

When cinema has the power to attract so many people in a society like us, one can imagine the influence it has on the audience life style, but at the same time one cannot also deny the fact that the reel is similar to the real. Especially in Indian movies, cinema in a way reflects our society. It is also a form of social phenomenon. Cinema makes use of all the socio-cultural beliefs and as and how situations changes the film makers also change the pattern of presenting it to the public.

All these specialties of Bombay cinema makes it a powerful instrument of image and opinion building in the minds of our society. Films are a social document and representation of reality. In the case of homosexuality there has been a lot of information provided in the printed, television and the internet but when it comes to cinema there is a separate genre called the “Queer Cinema”. How effectively has this genre reflected its main concern that is the homosexuality is the reason behind the selection of this topic by the researcher.

Films being a great artifact of the society at these times, they have a great and deep impact on their audiences. And keeping the Indian audience in mind film has been selected to be the most appropriate mediums it goes across the literacy level and encompasses all sections of the Indian population society, so the best medium to reach out to society and to examine the portrayal of homosexuality is through films especially Bollywood films.

3.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study is to examine the portrayal of homosexuals in the Bollywood films through both Quantitative as well as Qualitative research methods.

To understand how Bollywood Films as a form of media has portrayed the homosexuality?

To comprehend the Perception of the Homosexuals on the Portrayal of homosexuality in the Bollywood Films?

To examine the perception of media professionals and the public on the portrayal of homosexuality in Bollywood Films?

3.3 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS

Homosexuals: they are people who get attracted to the same sex mentally, physically and sexually.

Gay/Lesbians: Gay is when a man is attracted to another man mentally, physically and sexually. Lesbian is when a woman is attracted to another woman mentally, physically and sexually.

LGBT: Expansion – lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender. It is a community to help the minorities in the society.

Queer culture: The pattern of life, behavior, attitude, relationships of the members of society who has an alternative sexual orientation.

Queer Films: The movies whose central themes are based on same-sex relationships.

Homophobia: Homophobia is a feeling of hatred or fear towards the homosexuals. Negative attitude towards non-heterosexual people and also hostility towards them.

Sexual minority: People in the societies who are less in number and discriminated in accordance with their sexuality or orientation or gender identity.

Perception: The process by which people translate sensory impressions into a coherent and unified view of the world around them. Though necessarily based on incomplete and unverified (or unreliable) information, perception is equated with reality for most practical purposes and guides human behavior in general. (Business Dictoinary)

3.4 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research is a way thinking, analyzing examining critically the various aspects of day to day professional life understanding and formulating procedures that govern a particular procedure and testing it with theories for enhancement of the studies. In simple words it is one of the ways to find answer to a question. In this particular study the research is done to find out the perception of public, homosexuals and media professionals on the portrayal of homosexuals in the Bollywood films.

“Research is a process of collecting analyzing and interpreting information to answer questions” (Berger, 2000)

To do a research there are two methods:

The Qualitative 2) The Quantitative.

Qualitative research is generally conducted to know the standard the quality and the analysis of a particular topic. Whereas quantitative research is done on the validation of a number or numeric. The researcher did both Qualitative and Quantitative study.

3.4.1 Methods of data collection

Methods of Data Collection

Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

Documents

Questionnaire

Interviewing

Observation

Mail Questionnaire

Participant

Structured

Collective

Questionnaire

Unstructured

Non-Participant

GOVT Publications

Earlier Research

Census

Personal Records

Client Histories

Service records

(Cited from Research Methodologies, Ranjit Kumar-2005, pg. 118) (Kumar, 2005)

3.4.2 Quantitative Research:

Different researchers have Different definitions for quantitative research methods. According to Cohen and Manion (Cohen & Manion, 1980), quantitative research is a social process that involves empirical methods and statements. He explains empirical statement as descriptive statement about what is the case and real world that what ought to be. Whereas, John Creswell (Creswell,1994) he defined quantitative research as a type of research that explains phenomena by collecting any numerical data that are analyzed using mathematics (in particular statics).

“In a quantitative project, the problem is best addressed by understanding what factors or variables influence an outcome.” (Creswell, 1994)

The word quantity comes from a Latin word meaning “quantitas”.This particular research method measures, counts, focuses and it is statistical , describes and predicts and finally leads to hypothesis and theory. There are different methods of conducting quantitative research but in this particular study the researcher adopted surveying method to collect data from the general public and to know their perception on the portrayal of homosexuality in Bollywood movies.

Surveying:

“Surveying design provides a quantitative or numeric description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population.” (Cresw,1994) . A research method used to get information from particular or certain groups which represent a larger group of people who are to the interest to us. We concentrate things on what people know, what they think, they do, their attitudes, beliefs, behaviors etc. There are two kinds of surveys: Descriptive surveys and Analytical surveys. Surveys collect data in two methods:

Interviews or the self-administrated questionnaires. Questionnaire is a list of questions which is passed over to a large number of people and they are asked to answer it and hand it over to the senders. Interviews can be group, individual, and personal through face to face or even telephone. This method is in-expensive and it is very common. In this method information can be attained at one time because it collects quantitative and numeric data. (Berger, 2000)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Quantitative Research Methods:
Advantages:

Enables the description of the social structure that is not directly observable.

Well suited for comparison between groups, areas, etc.

None biased and Analysis is between social phenomenon

Well suited for Quantitative description

Description of change is applicable.

Disadvantages:

Applicable only for measureable phenomena

Simplifies the complex reality

Difficult to study process and dynamic phenomena

Description of perspective, meaning and intentions are difficult.

3.4.3 Qualitative Research Method

Qualitative research is focussed on deeper significance that the subject the researcher aspires to research one. Interpretive, naturalistic approaches to the subjects are a part of the qualitative research analysis. It gives more importance to the data collected or existing information.

Qualitative researches rely on text and image data, have unique steps in data analysis and draw on diverse strategies of inquiry (Creswell, 1994). There are several characteristics for qualitative research methods:

It takes place in natural setting.

Uses multiple methods that are interactive and humanistic.

It is emergent rather than tightly prefigured.

It is fundamentally interpretive.

It is via a social phenomenon.

It totally depends on the participants and their biography and their information.

Complex reasoning’s are used.

Types of data collection in qualitative research methods are:

Observations

Completer participant

Observer as participant

Participant as observer

Complete observer

Interviews

Face to face

Telephone

Group

Mail

Documents

Public documents

Private documents

Email discussions

Audiovisual materials

Photographs

Videotapes

Art objects

Computer software

Film

The word quality is from a Latin word “qualitas” meaning “what kind?” It involves matters such as text, degree of excellence and distinguishing characteristics. The common qualitative research methods are

Field Studies

Focus Group

In-depth interviews

Case studies

Content Analysis

In this particular study the researcher had chosen qualitative method in which he would conduct in-depth interviews to get the perception of the homosexuals and the media professionals.

In-Depth Interview:

In-depth Interview also called as Intensive interview are hybrid one to one conversation or communication. “In-depth interviewing is qualitative research technique that involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents to explore their perspective on a particular idea, programme or situation.” (Boyce & Neale, May 2006)

Qualities of intensive interviews are:

Small samples

Gives a detailed background and specific answers

Lengthy observation of respondents.

Customized to individual respondents

The rapport between the interviewer and respondent matter

Process of conducting in-depth interview :

Plan

Develop Instrument

Train Data Collectors

Collect data

Analyze Data

Disseminate Findings.

Advantages and Disadvantages of in-depth interview (Boyce & Neale, May 2006)
Advantages:

Wealth of details the method provides

Data is more accurate responses on sensitive issues when compared to other methods such as survey

The rapport between the interviewer and respondent is easy to develop

Practical in nature

Information obtained through this method is virtually impossible to be obtained from other method.

Defectiveness is involved

Dis-advantages:

Generalization Takes place sometimes

Sensitive to interviewer Bias

Sometimes problems in Data analysis

3.4.4 TRIANGULATION

“It is selected a model when a researcher uses two different methods in an attempt to confirm, cross-validate or corroborate findings with a single study.” (Greene & Caracelli, 1997)

Triangulation is a research method used in combination of several research methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon. In this particular research a combination of qualitative and quantitative is used for the study. This traditional method was originally used in social science research studies. It is an appropriate method in studying the credibility of the qualitative research analysis. It is one of the mixed method models in the research methods. This traditional model uses both quantitative as well as qualitative in balancing both the methods negatives and doing an in-depth research. The triangulation research process has different models such a convergence, Data Transformation Model, Validating Quantitative Data Model, Multilevel Model. In this particular research the researcher used triangulation model to collect data’s from all the groups and to validate data.

In this particular study the researcher had chosen the triangulation method for a comparative analysis of the perception of the homosexuals, media professionals and the public on the portrayal of homosexuality in the Bollywood movies.

-Triangulation Convergence Model: (Creswell & Clark, Mixed Method Research, 2007)

QUAN-Results

QUAN-Data Analysis

QUAN-Data Collection

Interpretation – QUAL+ QUAN

Compare

And Contrast

QUAL –

Data Collection

QUAL-

Results

QUAL – Data analysis

-Advantages and Disadvantages of Triangulation research method: (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007)
Advantages:

Overall interpretation is from variety of different factors.

Cross validation.

Balance between methods.

Well validated and sub-stantiated findings and well known for many researchers.

Disadvantages:

Increased amount of time needed in comparison of both the methods data collected.

Difficulty of dealing with the vast amount of data.

2.5.5 SAMPLING

“Sampling is the tradition of metric research to develop claims that generalize across populations of people, media industries, media texts and the like.” (Anderson, 2012)

Therefore most of the research involves some method of sampling that enters a set of population in the research. There are basically two types of sampling: Probability and Non-probability sampling.

Probability Sampling: It is when each one of the population has an equal or known chances of selection. The best of this sampling method is that every member of the population either in equal chances as in simple random sampling or known chances as in

Stratified random sampling. This method gives each and every individual a chance of being selected.

Non-Probability Sampling: This method of sampling requires more concentration and thought more than probability sampling. This method can still represent a population in the criterion basis. Every effort has to be made for the control of the sources and to avoid errors in the study. There are different types of non-probability sampling. They are:

Convenience Samples: In this sample the analyst attempts to anticipate the arguments against its acceptance.

Quota and Judgment Samples: This sampling method needs to ensure that the evidence for the quota values and the judgments made is strong enough to justify their use.

Panel Studies: The research panel will draw out a random sample drawn according to best practices.

Snowball Sampling :

Snowball sampling another type of non-probability sampling and a method which will be used in this particular study. Snowball sampling is when one particular participants help is finding out other participants. In simple terms it can be called as the respondent -driven sample. This method is greatly affected by the initial point of access- the one who starts the snowball. This method requires advance knowledge on the set of population that’s being sampled. This particular sampling method helps in understanding the entire group of sample to be studied but it is a complex method as it is difficult for analysis and errors might take place due to communication process. The researcher adopted this method in finding out samples for the qualitative research methods to examine the perception of the homosexuals about the portrayal of homosexuality in Bollywood movies. The researcher interviewed a samples size of 10 for the in-depth interview and one extended interview that is with a sample one for the media professional’s perceptions about the portrayal of homosexuality in Bollywood movies.

Purposive Sampling:

“The purposive sampling technique, also called judgment sampling, is the deliberate choice of an informant due to the qualities the informant possesses.” ( Dolores & C. Tongco, 2007) This sampling is a non-probability sampling method which does not need any of the underlying theories or set of informants. “Simply put, the researcher decides what needs to be known and sets out to find people who can and are willing to provide the information by virtue of knowledge or experience “(Bernard 2002, Lewis & Sheppard 2006).

For the quantitative method the researcher has adopted survey method with non-probability sampling i.e. purposive sampling and collected questionnaires from people in south India who has watched Bollywood movies. A sample size of 150 was collected from which the researcher got about 120 completed questionnaires. The age group concentrated was from the 18-30. The table below will explain the distribution of the survey method sample by age and gender. Sample will be equally distributed among the gender and age so that the analysis is not gender or age biased.

Table 3.1: Distribution of respondents according sex

Frequency

Per cent

Valid Per cent

Cumulative Per cent

Valid

female

59

49.2

49.2

49.2

male

61

50.8

50.8

100.0

Total

120

100

100.0

Table 3.2: Distribution of Respondents by Age

Frequency

Per cent

Valid Per cent

Cumulative Per cent

Valid

18-22

41

33.9

34.2

34.2

23-26

40

33.1

33.3

67.5

27-30

39

32.2

32.5

100.0

Total

120

100

100.0

s

Pornography is a form of violence against women because it could lead to battery, rape, sexual harassment, pain and even death. Pornography is frequently differentiated from other erotic material. Erotic material could have the aim of provoking sexual arousal without the expression of violence and abuse. On the other hand, pornography is a sexualised image of men and women. However, those images are violent and abusive. “aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦pornography is the recorded physical and sexual abuse of women” (Itzin, 1992:65). Pornography became a very big concern for women in the beginning of the second wave feminism. Anti-pornography feminists argued that the image women bear goes a long way in determining how men behave towards them. Pornography was “the targets of women concern in the beginning of the early days of second wave feminism. The crux of the argument was that these images affect men’s behaviour towards women” (Pilcher &Whelehan, 2007:97). Pornography and other sexualised images of women influence men’s behaviour towards women.

“Anti-porn feminist were particularly exercised by hard-core porn which they claimed depended on violent imagery, and by rumours of the existence of the so-called ‘snuff’ movies (supposedly depicting the actual torture and death of a woman on-screen)” (Pilcher &Whelehan, 2007:98).

In hard-core porn women are beaten with whips, some women are bound and chained. A lot of times, women are made to suck the male genital, and in most cases it goes deep down their throats.

“There are pictures and descriptions of men trying up women, gagging or blindfolding them, pretending to or actually torturing them and sometimes stimulating or, in some cases, actually recording on films their rape or deaths” (Itzin, 1992:134).

These sorts of images are violent because that is what violence ia all about. Violence is an action or activity that hurts other people bodily or emotionally.

An analysis of hard-core porn movies shows that violence has become fatal and brutal since the 1970s (Allison &Wrightson, 1993). This shows that pornography is a form of violence against women.

Most of the women used in the production of some of the porn movies we have today were actually forced to participate in them. When we watch these porn movies, we always tend to overlook the violence involved in it. We tend to believe that the violence are not real but only staged. There are lots of times that some of the women who were used in the production of pornography confess that they were forced to participate in it. Some women even confessed that they were actually tortured and raped in the production of the porn movies they participated in. A very good example is the confessions of Linda Lovelace. In the book ‘Ordeal’, she admitted that she was actually violated, assaulted and abused in the production of the porn movie called ‘Deep throat’. “Much of the time, the violence is real in pornography. So are the women who have been bought and sold to appear in the pornography” (Cole, 1989:20). In most hard-core porn, the violence involved in it is actually real. Linda’s case shows that most of the women used in pornography do not actually derive any pleasure in it though they appear to enjoy it.

In the same vein, pornography could lead to all sorts of sexual violence such as rape, battery and sexual harassments. Pornography increase men’s desire for sex.

“aˆ¦aˆ¦..pornography today is used to described sexualised depictions of women and men intended to provoke arousal in the spectator, often posed in scenes suggestive of sexual congress or anticipating a sexual act” (Pilcher & Whelehan).

When men watch videos of naked women or see pictures of naked women, they crystallize those images, and that automatically increase their urge for sex. At such times, they will be willing to do anything to satisfy their sexual desire. That is one of the reasons why some men sexually assault their wife or girl friend. When some men see the rape involved in pornography, they tend to see it as normal and something they can do and get away with. Pornography can thus influence a man to want to rape. A young man once confessed that he began to develop rape fantasies after watching a porn movie. In his words,

“I went to a porno book store, put a quarter in the slot, and saw this porn movie. It was a guy coming up from behind a girl and attacking her and raping her. That’s when I started having rape fantasies. When I seen that movie, it was like somebody lit a fuse from my childhood on upaˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦.I just went for it, went out and raped” (Allison &Wrightsman, 1993:37).

The account of this man indicates that pornography could lead to rape, battery and other forms of violence against women.

Pornography subordinates women to objects of sex – it makes men regard women’s body as an object to satisfy their sexual desires. It also makes men believe that women derive pleasure in rape, battery and other forms of sexual violence because it always seem like women enjoy sexual violence in porn movies.

Pornographyaˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦..represents women merely as sexual commodityaˆ¦aˆ¦..it tells men that women enjoy sex and are always available for it, even when they deny it. It tells men that women secretly enjoy rape” (Itzin, 1992:140).

Pornography makes men see women as sexual objects, and as a result of that, they tend to believe that they can use women at their own will. In most cases, when women do not give in to men’s sexual demand, men tend to use force and violence to exercise control over women’s body and sexuality. They thus forget that women are human beings as themselves, and their bodies have to be respected. “Pornography “depicts women as dispensable objects, as things less than human” (Cole, 1989:19).

As a result of the many violence, pain and harm that pornography constitutes for women, anti-porn feminists argued that pornography depicts violence against women. They thus advocated that pornography should be regulated. Anti-porn feminists argued that pornography is one of the tools of patriarchy and one the many ways in which women are exploited and oppressed.

” Sex for many feminists moved away from being question of pleasure and desire, to simply a means through which male power is enacted and this again affected the perception of pornography” (Pilcher &Whelehan, 2007:97-98).

Catherine Mackinnon an anti-porn feminist argued that pornography is an action against women. She argued that it is one of the ways in which men oppress and exploit women. She argued that pornography is also one the ways men exercise their supremacy over women. She said that women are terrorised and assaulted in the production of pornography. She also argued that pornography has established an incorrect way of viewing women’s sexuality. Like other anti-porn feminists, she supported the view that pornography should be censored. Another anti-porn feminist, Andrea Dworkin also argued that pornography is closely associated with rape, battery, sexual harassment and other kind of sexual violence against women. She argued that the production and consumption of pornography both depict a lot of violence against women.

On the other hand, pro-sex feminists argued that pornography is not the cause of male violence against women. They refute the anti-porn feminists call for the censorship of pornography. They thus argued that pornography should not be censored or outlawed. In their view, banning pornography would restrict the freedom of individuals to take part in and use pornography. They thus advocated that women choice to participate in and use pornography should be protected by the law and not restricted by the law.

“During the 1980s, then the battle line became drawn between those who felt pornography should be banned and those who feared that that ever more stringent censorship would put a greater curb on people’s freedom and would first affect those already seen as marginal – such as gay men and lesbians” (Pilcher & whelehan, 2007:98).

A pro-sex feminist, Carole Vance argued that pornography is not the cause of male violence against women. She argued that male violence against women is a characteristic of the patriarchal structures of the society.

“From Carole Vance’s point of view, the fantasy that violence against women is located or originates in objectionable sex magazines or videos rather than being part of the deep cell structure of every institution, in our culture struck some feminists as hopelessly naA?ve and wrongaˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦” (Pilcher & Whelehan 2007:99).

It is true that some women consume pornography. However, we should not ignore the many dangers that pornography poses to women. So far, this essay has shown that pornography is a form of violence against women. We must understand the fact that pornography is mostly produced and consumed by men. Only a few women use pornography. “Pornography represents the general interest of men” (Itzin, 1992:557). The free circulation of pornography causes more harm to women than good. However, those harms are misapprehended, misinterpreted, misrepresented or ignored by those who opposed the censorship of pornography. There are evidences that pornography poses a lot of harm to women. The account of the young who confessed that he began to develop rape fantasies after watching a porn movie clearly shows that pornography could lead to sexual violence. Research also showed that men who often use pornography tend to be sexually violent against women. “aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦.studiesaˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦show that men who are exposed to violent pornographic materials (either in printed or pictorial medium) develop calloused attitudes towards women, and are more likely to be more aggressive towards women in subsequent interactions than those who do not view such materials” (Allison & Whelehan, 1993:38).

Research and studies have consistently shown that pornography can instigate sexual violence against women. In the light of this, the safety and well being of the majority population of women should not be jeopardised just because we do not want to restrict individual’s freedom to participate in or use pornography. Pornography should therefore be outlawed as it is a form of violence against women.

In conclusion, it is very evident that pornography is a form of violence against women. It has led to different form of sexual violence and assault against women. It develops the fear of being raped in women.

Pornography also depicts violence against women as it contains images of violent, abusive and aggressive behaviours towards women. It is also evident that some of the violent images in pornography are actually real.

Pornography also objectifies women. It reduces women to objects of sex – a sex machine. Pornography helps men to exercise control over women. This thus indicates that it is one of the many weapons of patriarchy.

It is very imperative that pornography is outlawed. Pro-sex feminists have argued that male violence against women is not a consequence of pornography. That is certainly not true because research and studies have revealed that pornography is closely linked with rape and other forms of male violence against women.

The feelings, emotions and lives of women should not be put at risk because we want to defend the liberty of individuals who want to get involved in or consume pornography. Pornography should therefore be outlawed as its costs (violence and harm against women) outpace its benefits.

There is an abundance of evidence and a long established link to support that poor health and poor housing are inextricably linked. The World Health Organisations’ definition of health (1946) is a: ‘state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’, demonstrating that health is as much a social issue as a biological issue.

Pevalin et al, 2008, explain that ‘establishing that poor housing conditions are a cause of poor health rather than simply associated with poor health is inherently difficult because of the confounding effects of other variables that influence health’.

There are many factors that influence health – physical, physiological and environmental or social factors, all of which can be intertwined and interlinked in many different ways. Environmental factors include the natural environment – water and air quality, food production, the physical environment – housing, traffic, and the social environment – work and income, and social inequalities are all factors that influence health.

The relationship between housing and both physical and mental health has long been recognised and is now generally accepted. The relationship between poor health and poor housing is essentially self-evident, however, research into the relationship is not easy as the relationship is very complex and difficult to prove, as previously mentioned, and as Mant points out, ‘inadequacy of housing is invariably associated with other hardships, such as poor nutrition, poor sanitation, curtailment of personal freedom all of which affect upon health’. (as cited in Burridge & Ormandy, 1993)

As Mant states it is, ‘not necessary, nor desirable to untangle these threads of disadvantage’, poor housing and poor health are ‘inextricably’ linked, and impossible to disentangle.

This essay will outline how housing affects health and the effects of poor housing and poor health will be critically evaluated in relation to both the 19th and 21st centuries.

How Housing can affect Health

The ‘housing effect’, is particularly pronounced when it comes to health, the quality of our residential environment is a serious concern, as we spend so much time in our homes. A report conducted by Shelter (2006) claims that poor housing conditions increase the risk of severe ill-health or disability by up to twenty five per cent during childhood and early adulthood.

Shelter warns bad housing is also linked to a three to four times higher risk of mental health problems. Anxiety and depression increase with the number of housing problems, especially in women.

There is a serious correlation between poor housing and ill health, outlined below are some housing conditions which impact on health:

Damp, cold and poorly ventilated homes

Results from epidemiological studies show that cold, damp and mouldy conditions in the home can exacerbate or even precipitate various symptoms and illness such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, asthma, arthritis, etc. Children who sleep in damp homes are twice as likely to suffer from wheezing and coughs and more likely to experience gastrointestinal upsets, fatigue, aches pains and nervousness, than those who sleep in dry homes.

The occurrence of illness appears to increase with the level of dampness. Cold and damp conditions aggravate circulatory diseases, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks or respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

Poorly ventilated homes increase the prevalence of house dust mites, mould or fungal growths result from dampness and/or high humidity. Airborne pollutants can trigger allergic symptoms such as rhinitis, conjunctivitis, eczema, cough and wheeze. Repeated exposure can lead to asthma, the severity of asthma intensifies with increasing humidity, house dust mite and mould levels. House dust mites and moulds flourish in damp or humid conditions, and their growth is also influenced by temperature.

Disrepair can also exacerbate coldness, as well as increase chances of injury.

Fuel poverty and affordable warmth

Every year, nationally, the mortality rate amongst older people rises during the winter months with extra deaths, particularly in older age groups, from illnesses caused or exacerbated by exposure to the cold. One of the underlying reasons for excess winter deaths is cold, damp homes which exacerbate fuel poverty.

‘Fuel poverty can damage people’s quality of life and health, as well as impose wider costs on the community. The likelihood of ill-health is increased by cold homes, with illnesses such as influenza, heart disease, and strokes all exacerbated by the cold.’ (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk)

A fuel poverty charity warned that a combination of high energy prices, low incomes and poor insulation will continue to pose a serious threat to the health of millions of people, especially pensioners.

NEA chief executive, said: ‘The Government needs to step up action that will end these shameful statistics and comprehensibly tackle fuel poverty in the UK’. (National Energy Action (NEA) – http://www.healthdirect.co.uk/2009/11/winter-nhs-deaths-rise-national-scandal.html

Even in 2009, fuel poverty is an important issue affecting thousands of vulnerable people, as they cannot afford to heat their homes, or have inadequate heating facilities.

Overcrowding

The risks of overcrowding have been recognised since the 19th century as it was associated with the spread of deadly infectious diseases. Overcrowded, unsanitary conditions allowed outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis and other killer diseases to spread uncontrollably. Spread of these diseases was naturally accepted in the nineteenth century, whereas in contemporary Britain outbreaks of these diseases are no longer seen.

Recent studies revealed evidence of relationships between overcrowding and adult respiratory diseases, meningitis, tuberculorsis (TB) and also child mortality has also been linked but this evidence is limited. (www.communities.gov.)

A report by Shelter reviewed research into the effects of poor housing on children it states that living in damp and overcrowded surroundings puts children at a higher risk of viral or bacterial infections, including bacterial meningitis.

‘Children living in poor or overcrowded conditions are more likely to have respiratory problems, to be at risk of infections, and have mental health problems. Housing that is in poor condition or overcrowded also threatens children’s safety. The impact on children’s development is both immediate and long term; growing up in poor or overcrowded housing has been found to have a lasting impact on a child’s health and well-being throughout their life.’ Shelter (2006)

Table 813: Number of children in poor housing (DSO indicator 2.9)

Estimated number of children in:
2006
2007
2008

thousands

/a

Overcrowded homes – all tenures

983

1,037

..

/b

Temporary accommodation – all tenures (i.e. no. of children in TA under homelessness legislation)

131

120

107

/c

Non-decent social housing or in vulnerable households living in non-decent private accommodation

1,201

1,158

..

/d

Total

2,315

2,314

..

/e

Adjustment for double-counting (children in homes that meet at least two of the above criteria)

-317

-343

..

/f

Total number of children in poor housing
1,998
1,971
..

Source – http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/householdcharacteristics/livetables

The report from Shelter, also cites research showing one in three people who had lived in overcrowded housing at the age of seven suffered from a respiratory disease at the age of 33.

19th Century Housing and Health

Towns had been dirty and unsanitary for centuries and all societies throughout history have been concerned with Public health issues. However, the industrial revolution by the beginning of the 19th century had led to rapid urbanisation, (Ashton, 2006), and public health issues became an increasing problem for society.

Various demographic factors including the rapid growth of population, the size, distribution, movement and composition of the population all had a massive impact on housing need and requirements and posed massive housing problems, as previously the population had been spread thinly over rural locations before the industrial revolution. The population doubled between 1801 and 1851, then doubled again over the next sixty years. (Fraser, 2009)

‘Push factors from the rural areas (poverty, disease, changes in agriculture, displacement of peasant farmers) and pull factors from the cities (industrialisation and the growth of Empire) led to huge urban growth in places like Liverpool, Manchester, York, and Birmingham. The result of all these processes in places like Liverpool was the growth of slums and parishes of enormous density.’ (Ashton, 2006)

Most working class housing was appalling, it was overcrowded and unsanitary, conditions had always been bad, however, things grew much worse when vast numbers of people lived together in small areas.

Fraser (2009), explains how unused cellars and attics were filled with people and then private enterprise began to provide cheap housing for the new industrial workers, who had to live within close proximity to work due to the absence of transport.

The process of residential zoning typical of industrial cities began to take effect with workers and the poor living in the smoke and appalling overcrowded housing conditions, and the middle classes in better quality larger housing away from the polluted air.

The national death rate increased, which had been falling in the 18th century, Fraser states that this was due to the pace of urban growth that brought with it insanitary housing conditions.

These factors all contributed to the increased levels of disease in the 19th century, these problems are now controlled by provision of public health and environmental services in contemporary Britain.

Doctors became increasingly aware that urban life had serious health implications during the first half of the century. Fraser (2009) explains how cholera, water borne disease, created the biggest stare as it affected the ‘middle-classes’ too, although generalised domestic fevers were killing over 50,000 people annually. Other diseases accepted by familiarity, included typhus and tuberculosis had frequent epidemics, which were associated with cramped insanitary conditions and known almost exclusively as a ‘poor mans disease’.

By the late 1830’s the link between poor environment and disease was becoming widely recognised. In 1842, Edwin Chadwick published the ‘Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain’

‘The report exposed its audience to what physicians working among the urban poor, poor law officials, and the poor themselves already knew: that working-class neighbourhoods and streets were appallingly and dangerously filthy, that the poor were getting sicker more frequently and dying at a younger age than the better-off, and that “filth and disease” were causally related. Chadwick untiringly argued that all the causes of filth, and therefore much of the disease, were “preventable.”‘ (www2.ucsc.edu/dickens/OMF/joshi.html)

Joshi discusses how the causes were disputed by Friedrich Engels’s in ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845) which used Chadwick’s text as a source, but arrived at strikingly different conclusions. While Engels also noted the horrifying conditions in which the working class lived, he identified the source of much of the filth as the factories and mills that surrounded poor neighbourhoods, blanketing them in smoke and transforming the rivers into foul streams’. (www2.ucsc.edu/dickens/OMF/joshi.html)

Disraeli supported public health reform eventually pg94

In 1875 the Artisan’s Dwellings Act was passed which gave councils the power to demolish slums but large scale slum clearance did not begin till the 20th century.

The 1890 Housing Act made local councils responsible to provide decent accommodation for local people, things gradually improved but remained bad well into the 20th century. (www.portcities.org.uk)

21st Century Housing and Health

Most contemporary western states accept that it is in the public interest to ensure that all housing meets certain basic standards of public health, development of public health departments now cover a wide remit.

‘Since 1997, the government’s flagship decent homes programme has made strides towards getting social housing to the point where homes contribute positively to tenants’ health and well-being. Ministers say they expect 95 per cent of social homes to be ‘warm and weatherproof’ by 2010. And by ensuring homes have ‘reasonably modern facilities’ the hope is to reduce the likelihood of neighbourhoods spiralling into deprivation which limits or denies healthy living.

However, more than two-thirds of the population own their own homes and another 10 per cent privately rent, health concerns have now shifted to the private sector. Industry body the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is calling on ministers to spend unused housing grant on repairing and improving existing homes in the private sector.’ (www.insidehousing.co.uk)

The Government believes that everyone should have the opportunity to have a decent home. It is aiming to make all council and housing association housing decent and also wants to improve conditions for vulnerable households in privately owned housing, particularly those with children.

In order to be decent a home should be warm, weatherproof and have reasonably modern facilities. This far from describes the living conditions in the 19th century, however, considerable housing and health problems still exist.

Research demonstrates ‘improvements in the physical fabric and facilities of a dwelling may have a greater impact on mental health. ‘Home as a haven,’ with a sense of security and modern facilities which promote inclusion into mainstream society – all contribute to an individual’s health and well-being. In turn better health enhances the economic and social prospects of social housing estates, helping their integration into the mainstream life of the city’. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/research/centres/whocc/sdh_hia_report.pdf

In 1997 there were 2.1 million houses owned by local authorities and housing associations that did not meet the decent homes standard. Local authorities had a ?19 bn backlog of repairs and improvements

Despite Government efforts research demonstrates that children living in bed and breakfast accommodation (temporary housing, often with relatively poor cooking and washing facilities) were at increased risk of behavioural problems, stress, poor sleep, infections, and gastrointestinal problems. (Mayor)

The health of the many elderly people who live alone in old, damp, and cold homes was also at risk, said the report. The authors suggested that the health of some of the most vulnerable groups in society was being adversely affected by living in damp, cold, overcrowded homes, often in socially excluded areas.

Conclusion

Poor health and poor housing are inextricably linked, however, there is a stark contrast between the appalling, unsanitary living conditions endured by most of the population in the 19th century, in comparison to comfortable living conditions in contemporary Britain, with basics of water, gas, electricity, drainage and sewerage systems available to almost everyone.

The role of government, with regard to public health has also changed considerably over the centuries, with the ‘laissez faire’ ideology and the lack of provision of public health services, being replaced with much more government intervention to take appropriate measures to protect the health of the public.

Public Health services including environmental services that oversee building regulations, re-cycling and refuse collections, and problems such as pollution and vermin control are taken for granted in contemporary society, services that were not available in the 19th century. There are also services that oversee our general health – child welfare services and clinics, district nursing services, vaccination programmes etc. Water supply, drainage and sewage now come under the control of United Utilities, rather than the town.

Various government interventions or housing policies such as introducing the Decent Homes Standard, HHRSR, Choice Based Letting Schemes, new Energy Efficiency schemes have also been introduced as Wilkinson (2000) points out, Britain has some of the least thermally efficient housing in Northern Europe, and stresses that the priority of any government strategy must be aimed at ‘reducing the burden of ill-health associated with poor housing’ and housing policy should be firmly based on the protection of public health.

In the nineteenth century housing conditions were horrific, illnesses suffered due to poor housing today seem relatively insignificant as high mortality rates, infant deaths outbreaks of deadly diseases were everyday occurrences and were not seen as out of the ordinary. However, the health of any nation is shaped by the traits of the surrounding society, people judge their health relative to others and the cultural aspects of health have changed over time, for example, asthma is seen as a serious condition today, whereas cholera or typhoid was common in the 19th century.

Public health has improved immensely since the 19th century and contemporary society no longer suffers from medical conditions like cholera, typhoid and typhus. However, despite government efforts and policies, poor housing and homelessness still exist in contemporary society affecting individuals physical and mental health. This is especially true for vulnerable people, as Mayer (2003) states, ‘Poor housing continues to adversely affect heath of vulnerable groups’, and health inequalities still very much exist.

Since creation, according to bible, God created man and woman as well as animals which were both male and female. In such a situations where there exists animals of different sex, it allows the reproduction and stability of one generation after another generation. Human beings are known social beings, and in most cases need one another to survive, therefore it’s difficult to exclusively depend on themselves. To produce offspring, they usually marry and have children which in turn, becomes the standard of creation for the human population. Even though we all share the similarity of being human beings, there still exists differences in what we believe in and the values that we attach to various things. One of these things, is the topic of marriage, which by definition, is a reunion of a man and a woman to come together and live together as a husband and wife. Due to the diverse objectives that people have in marriage, some people consider that having one wife (monogamy) is the ideal method, whereas others believe in having a number of wives (polygamy) (Family,2009). This paper seeks to have an in-depth look at the two issues; polygamy and monogamy by looking at what the proponents of each thinks about it as well as look at countries that have practiced them. It will also look at pros and cons of each as well, and why people should respect one another despite which side they take. Last but not least, the paper will analyze the cultural beliefs of the two groups and dig deeper on why they hold on their beliefs and reasons they give to support their stand.

Monogamy, is one of the most widely used form of marriage and its supporters believe in one man/woman to one wife/husband. Monogamy is derived from the Greek word mono, which means alone, and gamos, meaning re-union or marriage. It is believed that the majority of the human race practice monogamy as opposed to polygamy. One benefit considered of monogamy, is that it increases the chances of offspring survival because the parents collaborate together and raise the child ( Edward,1928). This perception does seem to be changing with time due to complexities of fast paced, modern life though. In the past, it was common for men to go to work while the woman was supposed to maintain the house hold duties, which also included raising the children. The modern world has changed this though, and now there is no distinct roles between men and women. Equally now, both must work hard to cope and deal with the challenges of modern life. Monogamy can be categorized and broken into four groups: social monogamy, sexual monogamy, marital monogamy and genetic monogamy. There exists small differences between these groups and that is why this paper all discussion will be centered on the man and woman perspective of monogamy. Many communities have in the past and are currently now practicing monogamy. Monogamy is as old as Adam and Eve, for during creation, God created one woman and one man. It is anticipated by some people that Christianity has a connection with the origin of monogamy ( Edward,1928). Europe just happens to be one of the countries where Christianity took its toll and spread rapidly. Before Christianity, Europe practiced polygamy. The roman culture believed in monogamy to such an extent that those who failed to observe the rules, faced dire consequences. Due to the severe penalties, some people even went to the extent of killing their wives so that they could have an opportunity of marrying another one. Cesar is an example of one who banished and killed his wife in order to get the opportunity of marrying another one (William,u.d.). This indicates how strong their culture laws were and how people desperately tried to abide by them. The great conqueror Napoleon, was also forced to divorce his first wife so that he could marry another one order to birth a son. This shows how deep rooted these cultures were by going to the extent of making a laws which were to be observed by all of the population. These cultures main goals were making sure the chances of immorality were reduced, as well as helping couples remain committed to each other. It is evident that no matter how strict a country was, monogamy is hard to uphold as it can be seen in Rome, where although marriage was monogamous, the sexual relationship did not follow the same, and mating was polygamous (Eshleman, 1994). People abided by the rules, and most cultural beliefs were upheld and embraced by the community. One downside to these beliefs, was lack in acceptance by all of its citizens and some accepted it just because they lacked any alternatives. The communities that practiced monogamy stood a better chance of having families that worked together towards a common goal like raising children, giving them parental love and attention which are very crucial to the development child. As opposed to polygamous family, where most of the time the husband can not afford to be with all wives and his children at the same time. A polygamous father quite simply, cannot afford it. The children from these families are not likely in most cases to fully enjoy the parental love of both parents like those from monogamous family. In the Roman Empire, the consequences of bigamy were severe as death. This means that the citizens had no other option but to abide by them. The Empire saw it as a way to reduce the numbers of unwanted children, lower the levels of immorality, and lessen the amount of single mothers resulting from divorce, due to unfavorable conditions that arise with polygamy. Even though this culture was imitated, it still has its weakness because most it’s foremost people had children outside marriage as well as concubines on the side. It showed disregard for human rights, because some women were divorced or murdered so that the men could get the opportunity to marry another one. The culture also lacked proportion matching especially in comparison to modern days since the male to female ratio does not compute. This means that a great number of women would turn out to be single since their population is so high. In turn, the women who birth children out of marriage, will raise children that are not able to receive parental love from the father. Those children then do not have much choice but to lean on what they see their mother doing, and in some cases, the traits they acquire, might not be ideal ones.

Polygamy is derived from the Greek word, which means the practice of having many women. This practice is very old and was practiced in many countries throughout the world. The practice is predominant in many African countries, where ones wealth is calculated in terms of how many children one has. They believe that when one person is in position to feed many mouths, that it translates to that one person having enough wealth since poor people could not afford to feed numerous children. Other countries have different reasons to why they allowed its citizens to practice polygamy. This discussion will focus on one of the African countries, Kenya, where currently, some of its communities still do practice polygamy (volume 10, 1967).

Before colonization, people used to have their own standards of living as well as doctrines and laws that they had to abide by. Kenya happens to have more than 42 tribes where each tribe has its own beliefs and culture to follow. Most of these tribes, acknowledge polygamy and it is suggested by Ngugi (2006) that women once they perceive that they are reaching old age, could suggest that their husband marry another younger woman who to help him with house hold chores as well as marital needs. To many Kenyans, they believed polygamy to be essential in making it possible for the continuation of a generation. This was a time when children used to die in large numbers at extremely tender ages, due to diseases like measles, polio amongst others. It was then considered vital for a man to marry many women and reproduce many children so that even if a majority of them were dying, the hopes and chances that a few of them would survive was increased. The Kenyan culture accepted polygamy and even women themselves did not feel cheated nor did they object to it. A good example is the Luo community in Kenya in currently, polygamy is still practiced. Wife inheritance which is also a part of polygamy is being practiced as well (Ngugi, 2008)).

According to their culture, this habit is encouraged to discourage the chances of the widowed woman from going out to look for other men, and instead be inherited by one of the brothers of her deceased husband. Another reason that is supported by those who practice polygamy, is to bring about a balance between men and women. Since the women’s numbers are many, it is believed by the men practicing it, that more women in turn will be able to get husbands. The African culture means well in practicing polygamy, and has good intentions in doing so. These women and communities as a whole, believe it better to have a co-wife and abolish the need for their men to have hidden relations with other women outside the marriage. Therefore there was no more secret business, and men could inform their wives of their intention to marry another woman as they deemed right (Ngugi,2008). Lately though there has been a decline in the practice of polygamy, resulting from many people embracing Christianity in Kenya. Many are now abiding by doctrines of the church and because of this immorality and promiscuity is on the rise. Research has shown that both married women and men are having other relationships outside their marriages, contributing to a high HIV infection rate in these groups. Polygamy is associated with such benefits as the impartiality in the distribution of wealth. This is because polygamy in most cases is practiced by men who are financially stable. By them marrying many women, there will be a steady flow of cash, either through gift or even just by merely supporting the women that he marries (William,2009). Immorality and promiscuity rates also decline along with sexually transmitted diseases, for the simple fact that a man will be content with women he has. There are also more morals imposed in such a society, and instead of women resulting to using devices such as sex toys to fulfill their needs, they stand a much better chance of getting men who will satisfy their needs sexually instead. Human beings are emotional and require a channel or means of satisfying those feelings. When that opportunity is not presented, they can result to other untraditional means to satisfy their emotions. Polygamy also has its shortcomings which can vary depending on how it is practiced. When it occurs with individuals who are not economically stable, children might suffer and lack basic needs due to the number of children the man will be providing for. It also neglects the children of paternal love since they can not have their father on daily basis. It can also make women feel not fully appreciated and wonder why their man would be looking at other women. In the current times, it can lead to mistrust, and increasing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (Mirriam, 2006).

In looking at both polygamy and monogamy, each one of them seems to have its advantages and disadvantages. Keeping in mind that humans are social beings who like to interact with each other, people should learn to appreciate other peoples cultures since we can perceive things differently and what some may consider as right, may be considered as very wrong in another country. Even though this has always been a controversial topic as to what people recognize as its pertaining issues, but it is really time for people to appreciate the difference that exists between people and the only way to solve this is by learning about the positive things from the given cultural community and disregard what could be perceived to be of less importance (Jenks, 2006). Communities can not exist on their own and they require a collaboration with others to co-exist peacefully. It is important to not only realize but appreciate that there are disparities between these two types of marriages and the children brought out of each of them exhibit the differences in the values that they learned from their parents. Research done has indicated that children from polygamous family might have more negative attitudes towards their step siblings and are often lacking in genuine love towards each other. In extreme cases, they sometimes rise against one another and even cause bodily harm to one another. Often lacking in fatherly love, they generally seem to perceive their father in a negative light as well. All that having been said, people will continue behaving differently and that is why laws play a vital role ensuring that people abide by them and operate within those boundaries. Through social interaction, people get to discover other peoples different ways of living and their abilities to interact with each other.

References
Jencks E N (2009).The History and Philosophy of Marriage: Or, Polygamy and Monogamy Compared: Oxford publishers
Ngugi, J. polygamy in Kenya.Nairobi. Oxford publishers.
Miriam K. (2006).Polygamy: a cross-cultural analysis. New York: Up.
A citizen of Massachusetts (1882).Marriage: monogamy and polygamy on the basis of divine law, of natural law … University of Michigan James Campbell
An international journal of social, political and legal …, Volume 10: 1967: retrieved on

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Edward B. (1928). The Journal of general psychology, Volume 1

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Say NO to monogamy and YES to polygamy.2009. Retrieved on 6/12/2009 from

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Politics is the way a group of people make decisions together. Politics involves the use of power which is applied to the ruled people .In politics some people have powers than others and these are the leaders. Leaders apply the power that they have to their subordinates. Society is a group of people who live in the same environment or it can also mean people who work together. In a society people have rules and regulations which guide them. These regulations should be followed for the smooth running of the society. A society without rules is a disordered society. Politics and society therefore intertwined and one can not do without the other. Rules are applied to a group of people and this is the society.

In my paper I undertake to discuss three theories and their impacts in the society, how the theories can be applicable in the society and their similarities and their differences. These theories include: functionalist theory, conflict theory and interactionism theory.

The theory of functionalism argues that all the aspects in a society depend on each other and they contribute to the society functioning as a whole. According to the theory members have to agree upon some aspects and work together so as to achieve the best in the society. The theory was propagated by a Scholar called Emile Durkeim .He suggested that social consensus is of two types: mechanical solidarity where people have similar values, beliefs and they do the same kind of economic activity. This mostly occurs in simple societies like societies where everybody keeps animals. There is also organic solidarity where people depend on each other even though they have different beliefs and values and their economic activities are different. These mostly occur in complex societies (industrialized societies).

Functionalists used the human body to illustrate this aspect. The human body is composed of many different parts like the liver, the heart, the kidneys and all the other parts. The functioning of each part of the body contributes to the well being of the body. If one part of the body fails even if the others are functioning well the whole body is affected and this can lead to illness or death. The society is therefore like the human body, it is made up of many aspects like religion, funeral rites, marriage rites, learning institutions and many others. All the aspects in the society depend on each other and they all function in support of a society at large. The government provides education to children who after the education get some good jobs. We for instance have governments which provide their citizens with loans for higher education. Later when these students complete their education and get jobs they pay the loan back to the government with some interest and this is one of the ways through which the government gets its income. Students will also pay taxes to the government. This shows interdependence.

Functionalists argue that aspects which are seen to contribute anything good to the society are also important in maintaining the stability of the society. Such aspects may include; drug abuse, poverty, and crimes .Most of these raise a lot of problems in the society but they are important in the maintenance of a society. In hospitals when researchers want to know how appropriate a new drug is and how many diseases they can cure, they usually pay small amounts to those who volunteer to have the tastes done on them. In this case we do not expect to get people who are economically stable to volunteer themselves. The poor volunteer themselves hoping to earn something because what is little for a wealthy man can be a lot to a poor man. In this case Poverty contributes to the stability of the society. According to this theory, when societies undergo changes institutions in the society like the family becomes disorganized and this is one way of weakening the societyaˆ™s stability. This can lead to breakdown of the family. (Taylor and Andeson, 2006, P.321).

Functionalists argue that some of the functions which were performed by the family alone has been taken by other institutions. For example socializations was a role that was played by the family as an institution. Children used to be taught by their elders in the society about the expected behavior in the society but today children spent most of their time in schools which they start attending at a very early age. They argue that social disorganization has also been brought by failure of the family to do its duties. Many marriages that have been broken, cultures which have been alienated and the high rate of single parenthood are seen as a result of the family seizing to do its duty and this is social disorganization.

Conflict theory maintains that the family those who have powers in the society make rules and they are in control of the law. The people in power are immoral they do not care about what is maintained in a law as long as it meets their interests. According to this theory the society is always in a state of conflict because the people in power try to impose power on the others. The wealth and people with power makes laws which meets their interests and needs. People who go against the rules that are set are seen as criminals and are subject to punishment. The powerful ensures they make profits in the expense of the poor. (Siegel and Wilsh,2008, P.164)

The theory views a society where the elite use power to maintain their status. The main aim of the ruling class is self gain. Conflict theory highlights the idea of inequality in societies. Conflict theorists wanted to show how societies are affected by class, race and gender inequality. The family is seen to be responsible for acquisition of advantages and disadvantages of race, class and gender. They view the family the basis of inequality because it is through the family that properties and social status are attained.

The theory emphasizes that families in United States are capitalistic The family provides workers needed in capitalism. The families train their children to be obedient, and also to be subordinate to the authority. People who adhere to these characters are the kind of workers needed in such a capitalistic company. The theory can best be used in societies where caste is applied. The subordinated groups are misused by the powerful individuals in the state. They are also discriminated against such that they do not share the same freedom in the country.

Conflict theory discusses how socialization is a cause of unequal power in the family set up. They show us how the process of socialization leads to the understanding that girls are a weaker sex compared to boys. This is mainly through the kind of duties performed by boys and girls. In most cases girls are left in the house cleaning up the house while boys go out to play. This shows how boys are superior to girls. Conflict theorists also look at how religious leaders make people understand that the wealthy people and ethnic groups being dominant was granted by God. There must be groups more dominant than others.

In this theory power and justice is used to control the less fortunate in the society. Institutions of law help the people in power and rich to impose their behavior on the other people. The law protects the properties of the rich from being taken by those who are lacking and also protects those who may understand their rights from demanding for their rights so that the poor remains to be poor and the rich maintains their position. The middle class people are also influenced by the elite in order to display the same standards. This ensures that the chain is maintained.

Incase of crimes, a poor person can commit a minor crime and at the same time a rich person commit a major crime but when it comes to the judgment when all of them are taken before the court of law the poor is likely to get a harsh judgment .The rich people are favored by the law. According to these theorists the police are brutal to the minority groups. The same brutal behavior can not be accepted in the neighborhoods of the rich. Therefore this theory maintains that the poor will retain their position while the poor are suffering .Those in power misuse the resources made to be used by the poor while the poor do not have access to the same resources.

Interactionism theory assumes that the meaning that human beings give to their behavior is a way of maintaining unity to the people. The family is emphasized very much in this perspective. Interactionism theorists study how the family goes about the house hold duties for example who cleans the house, how takes the children to school and who is the bread winner in the family. The theory sees marriage as something which is constructed in the family because it depends on how other people in the society view it and also it depends on the meaning the partners give to it. In most societies gay marriage is not accepted like African countries. This is contrally to the traditions of most societies. Many of these societies believe marriage of people of the same sex is a taboo. However in western societies gay marriage is allowed and they do not see anything wrong with that.

According to this theory the roles in the family are not permanent but they keep on changing. It is upon the members of the family to arrange who is to perform which duty at that particular time. The family members can keep on rotating on the duties so that no duty is reserved for a particular member of the family. This is helpful in helping us understand why change is needed in a family. The old idea of women being responsible for household duties is a by-gone. Men have changed from that and they now help in kitchen duties. (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2009, P512).

George Herbert Mead was one of contributors of this theory. He argued that in order to know rules one must be practicing that law. This makes one imagine being in the same position of others and therefore one will judge fairly. This begins right from childhood when one learns what is expected of her. Children also learn from parents to know what is expected of them. What people value should be respected by other people. Societies which do not have such practices should not look down upon those who practices them. For instance we have societies practicing female circumcision and they place a lot of meaning to that practice .They should not be looked down upon.

Simple societies have a lot of value in maintaining societies. Societies who keep animals are seen traditional and not modernized even though they place a lot of value on the animal. Most of their diet comprises of animal products. They can even sacrifice to die because of them and this is called cattle complex. These groups are very important maintaining the society at large. They produce products like milk, butter, meat which is used by the entire society thus they contribute to the well being of the society.

Functionalist theory looks poverty resulting from failure of the economy to function. One of the things which cause failure to the Economy is the high rate of industrialization. This results to unemployment leading people to manual jobs which have a low pay. Functionalists note that the correct measures needed to do away with poverty are not taken. Because of the system of beauracracy the resources needed by the people at the grass level never gets to them thus they continue to sink in poverty instead of getting out of that situation.

Conflict theorists believe that modern societies have amerced a lot of wealth and should have their needs met. They believe that if there was no power structure there would be no poverty. The poor are being exploited by rich. They are given low wages while their employers make a lot of profits. In interactionism theory, poverty depends on two things .It depends on what is compared to what. For example poor people in the western countries lead a much better life than the people referred to as poor in African societies.

‘Taste, a class culture turned into nature, that is, embodied, helps to shape the class body. It follows that the body is the most indisputable materialization of class taste’ (Bourdieu, 1984: 190). Do you agree with Bourdieu’s statement about the importance of social class to embodiment?

(2064/2000)

Introduction

Not only do I disagree with Bourdieu’s statement as presented above, it is my contention that this does not accurately represent the intention and focus of Bourdieu. For not only do I disagree that class is central to embodiment, rather believing that all forms of social differentiation – class, ethnicity, age and gender – are embodied, but that Bourdieu himself believed that it is gender that provides the models for the other, therefore secondary, forms of social differentiation. To support my argument, I first provide a brief outline of Bourdieu’s theory of social practice, discussing the relationship between class and embodiment within it. Next I examine Chris Schillings’ interpretation of Bourdieu, demonstrating that, in common with other theorists, Schilling interpreted Bourdieu as being ultimately concerned with class as an axis of social differentiation, thereby ignoring the role of gender in his theory: that even as Schilling seeks to extend Bourdieu’s theory to include gender, ethnicity and age his interpretation is fundamentally flawed.

In the final section I contest this class-focussed interpretation of Bourdieu by arguing that, following Beate Krais, by examining both his later work and his early ethnography it is evident that gender is a primary concern in his work: that Bourdieu believes that gender provides the model for all other forms of social differentiation. However, whereas Bourdieu seems pessimistic regarding the individual’s ability to resist their class or gender differentiation, the women interviewed by Beverley Skeggs (1997) actively resisted their class position, even as they were shaped by it. In the conclusion I summarise my argument that not only are other social differentiations of central importance to embodiment – namely gender, age, and ethnicity – gender was of central importance to Bourdieu, providing the model for other forms of differentiation, before concluding that work still needs to be done before age and ethnicity can be adequately incorporated into Bourdieu’s schema.

Embodiment and Social Class in the Work of Bourdieu

In this section I first briefly outline Bourdieu’s theory of social practice, and then discuss the relationship between class and embodiment within it, before then examining Chris Schillings’ (1994) account of Bourdieu. I argue that Schilling focuses on Bourdieu’s class analysis, in common with many other theorists, and therefore misses the way in which Bourdieu is ultimately concerned with gender as a form of social differentiation. Pierre Bourdieu developed his theory of cultural capital and social practice with Jean-Claude Passeron^[1] in France in the 1970s, as part of an effort to explain class-based differences in educational achievement. In his theory the forms of capital – cultural, social and economic – interact to mask the way in which social hierarchies are reproduced. Cultural capital is, for Bourdieu, divided into three subcategories; ‘embodied’, ‘objectified’ and ‘institutionalised’. Embodied capital is imbued during the period of socialisation, is linked to the body, and represents ‘external wealth converted into an integral part of the person’ (Bourdieu, 1986: 244-5): whether an individuals’ accent, their taste for opera, or their preference for rugby over football this form of capital ‘cannot be accumulated beyond the appropriating capacity of an individual agent [and] remains marked by its earliest conditions of acquisition’ (Bourdieu, 1986: 245). Objectified capital refers to goods such as paintings, antiques and fine wines; objectified capital thus entails both the material wealth needed to own such items and the embodied capital needed to ‘consume’ them. Institutionalised capital is those academic qualifications which enable an individual to exchange between cultural and economic capital, while social capital are those friendships and networks which enable an individual to ‘produce and reproduce lasting, useful relationships that can secure material or symbolic profits’ (Bourdieu, 1986: 249. The three forms of capital combine to produce a persons habitus, or set of preferences and predispositions.

Class is thus central to Bourdieu’s theory of embodiment; within his schema the financial, educational, social and cultural resources of an individual shape not only their ‘taste’ but also their life chances:

Taste, a class culture turned into nature, that is, embodied, helps to shape the body. It is an incorporated principle of classification which governs all forms of incorporation, choosing and modifying everything that the body ingests and digests and assimilates, physiologically and psychologically’ (Bourdieu, 1999: 190, my emphasis added).

Finally, embodiment is central to his theory; for it is via the process of socialization that the dynamics of power are written onto the very bodies of the individual (Bourdieu, 1999: 190). Schilling argues that Bourdieu does not engage with the body as simultaneously social and biological, but rather concentrates on its ‘unfinishedness’ at birth (Schilling, 1994: 128): that ‘acts of labour are required to turn bodies into social entities and that these acts influence how people develop and hold the physical shape of their bodies’ (Schilling, 1994: 128). Schilling stresses the way in which Bourdieu argues that social class imprints on the body of an individual by focussing on the way people’s taste for food both marks their class position and affects their bodies:

Bodies develop through the interrelation between an individual’s social location [their class-based material circumstances], habitus and taste. These factors serve to naturalize and perpetuate the different relationships that social groups have towards their bodies (Schilling, 1994: 130).

Similar readings have resulted in Bourdieu’s theory being criticized for being essentialist; John Frow argues that Bourdieu simply ‘reads off’ an individuals culture from their class position (Frow, 1995: 63). Or that his theory is therefore deterministic; in that it minimizes the ability of the individual to shape their own destiny. Finally, such a reading of Bourdieu leads one to conclude that he prioritized the role of class in society, thus minimizing the effects of other forms of differentiation, such as gender, ethnicity and age:

the conflict between classes is of greatest importance to Bourdieu’s work, and attempts by the dominant classes to define lower class body implicating activities as ‘crude’, or attempts on the part of the working classes to define upper class practices as ‘pretentious’, occupy a prominent place in his book on French life, Distinction (1984) (Schilling, 1994: 141).

Yet I would contend that Schilling has misinterpreted Bourdieu’s theory; that whilst it is true that in his middle years – of which Distinction forms a part – he did focus on the dynamics of class in society and as it is written on the body of the individual, however in Bourdieu’s early ethnography his focus was instead on the primary differentiation of gender, and it was to this concern that he returned in his later years.

Gender as the Primary Form of Social Differentiation for Bourdieu

In this section I argue, in agreement with Beate Krais (2006), that gender is a primary concern in the work of Bourdieu: that he believes it is gender that provides the model for all other forms of social differentiation. However, whereas Bourdieu seems unduly pessimistic regarding the individual’s ability to resist their class social differentiation, the women interview by Skeggs (1997) actively resisted their class positioning even as they were shaped by it. However, she provides little evidence of these women’s attempts to resist their gender.

Beate Krais argues that gender is ‘one of the most powerful classifications’ for Bourdieu (Krais, 2006: 120) and that he chooses his early ethnography in Algeria for inclusion in his 2001 Masculine Domination, as among the Kabylia at this time there existed ‘practically no other form of social differentiation’ (Krais, 2006: 120). She demonstrates that, for Bourdieu, it is the social construction of femininity and masculinity that first ‘shapes the body, defines how [it] is perceived […] and thus determines an individuals identity’ (Krais, 2006: 121). This interpretation is borne out by my reading of Bourdieu when he discusses the Kabylia: ‘the opposition between male and female is realized in posture, in the gestures and movements of the body’ (Bourdieu, 1999a: 70). He continues: ‘classificatory schemes through which the body is practically apprehended are always grounded twofold, both in the social division of labour and in the sexual division of labour’ (Bourdieu: 1999a: 72). Thus Bourdieu argues that social differentiation according to gender is both universal and historically constant: ‘the same system of classificatory schemes is found, in its essential features, through the centuries and across economic and social differences’ (Bourdieu, 2001: 82).

However, Krais goes on to criticise him for presenting gender as ‘hermetic and indestructible’; that by using the example of such a traditional society, rather than that of a modern society such as that of France or Britain, he misses the role of gender as a site of ‘open and political struggle’ (Krais, 2006: 123). Yet Bourdieu’s pessimism seems borne out by the work of Beverley Skeggs (1997), in that the women she interviewed, whilst resisting their class position do not appear to resist their gender: ‘in the women’s claims for a caring/ respectable/ responsible personality class was rarely directly figured but was constantly present. It was the structuring absence’ (Skeggs, 1997: 74, my emphasis added); although she argues that ‘gender and class are inseparable. The women never see themselves as just women; it is always read through class’ (Skeggs, 1997: 91), she provides little evidence of the way in which these women resist their gender: each seems keen to position themselves as gendered individuals, as women, even as they deny their class.

Conclusion

In conclusion, not only do I disagree that class is central to embodiment, rather believing that all forms of social differentiation – class, ethnicity, age and gender – are embodied, but that Bourdieu himself believed that gender provides the models for the other, therefore secondary, forms of social differentiation. Many have accused Bourdieu of economic determinism, taking his theory of the three forms of capital to prioritise the role of class in creating social inequality. However, for Bourdieu ‘capital’ is both metaphoric and materialistic and should be viewed as similar to power (Ashall, 2004: 24): although Bourdieu believes that all of the forms of capital can be converted into economic capital, for him none are reducible to it (Bourdieu, 1986: 243).

Embodiment is central within his theory, for it is in this way that social differentiation becomes incorporated into – shapes and delineates – the body, as made evident through his focus on food and sport in Distinction. Although much of his writing is concerned with the operation of class throughout society, by examining his early ethnography in Algeria, and his later use of this material in Masculine Domination, we can see that he believed gender to be the model for all other forms of social differentiation, and therefore central to his work. One next must ask how other forms of social differentiation, namely age and ethnicity, can be incorporated into his theory, for though Schilling argues that this can be done by taking his definition of class in its broadest sense (Schilling, 1994: 147) this would appear to damage the sociological understanding and definition of both class and gender. What is needed is a way to conceptualise how the differing forms of social differentiation interact.

Bibliography

Ashall, Wendy (2004) ‘Masculine Domination: Investing in Gender?’ Studies in Social and Political Thought, Vol. 9, pp. 21-39, available URL at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/SPT/journal/archive/pdf/issue9-2.pdf, date accessed 25/11/06.

Bourdieu, Pierre (2001) Masculine Domination, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Bourdieu, Pierre (1999) ‘The Habitus and the Space of Life-Styles’, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, London: Routledge, pp. 169-225.

Bourdieu, Pierre (1999a) ‘Belief and the Body’, The Logic of Practice, Cambridge: Polity, pp. 66-79.

Bourdieu, Pierre and Passeron, Jean-Claude (1998[1977]) Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture (2^nd Edition), London: Sage.

Bourdieu, Pierre (1986) ‘The forms of Capital’ in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, London: Greenwood Press, pp. 241-258.

Frow, John (1995) ‘Accounting for Tastes: Some Problems in Bourdieu’s Sociology of Culture’, Cultural Studies, Vol. 1(No. 1), pp. 59-73.

Krais, Beate (2006) ‘Gender, Sociological Theory and Bourdieu’s Sociology of Practice’, Theory, Culture and Society, Vol. 23, (No. 6), pp. 119-134.

Schilling, Chris (1994) ‘The Body and Physical Capital’, The Body and Social Theory, London: Sage, pp. 127-149.

Skeggs, Beverley (1997) ‘(Dis)identifications of Class: On Not Being Working Class’, Formations of Gender: Becoming Respectable, London: Sage, pp. 74-97.

1

Philosophical Underpinnings

Phenomenology is one of many types of qualitative research that examines the lived experience of humans (Byrne, 2001). It is the study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view (Woodruff Smith, 2008). In its most basic form, phenomenology attempts to create conditions for the objective study of the content, or product, of conscious experiences.

Phenomenology has been practiced in various guises for centuries, but it came into its own in the early 20th century in the works of Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty and others. According to the Center for Advanced Phenomenological Research (1997), there are many branches of phenomenology. However, there are seven widely accepted features of the phenomenological Approach. Of these seven features, I have listed the six that I consider to be most instructive as an introduction to Phenomenology:

1) The rejection of unobservable matters and ‘grand systems’ erected in speculative thinking

2) The rejection of positivism or objectivism

3) The justification of cognition – or ‘the process of thought’, which leads to “awareness of a matter itself as disclosed in the most clear, distinct and adequate way for something of its kind” Center for Advanced Phenomenological Research (1997).

4) The belief that, not only objects in the natural and cultural worlds, but also ‘ideal objects’ (e.g. numbers) and conscious life, can be made evident and thus, known.

5) The belief that inquiry ought to focus upon what might be called encountering as it is directed at objects and, correlatively, upon objects as they are encountered

6) The recognition of the role of ‘description’ in universal, a priori terms, as superior to ‘explanation’, by means of causes, purposes, or grounds

Principally, phenomenologists believe that knowledge and understanding are embedded in our everyday world. For me, Shaw (2002) crystalises the proposition of phenomenology when she (2002, p. 130) asks, “what happens when spontaneity, unpredictability and our capacity to be surprised by ourselves are not explained away but kept at the very heart of an account of the evolution of sense-of-self-in-the-world?” In other words, phenomenology is the art of extracting meaning from the complex mesh of ideas, feelings, interpretations, etc; that make up our lived experience. Phenomenologists do not believe that knowledge can be qualified or reduced to numbers of statistics (Byrne (2001). This rejection of the empirical – as the ‘one true source’ of knowledge, is a direct rebuttal of objectivism – the worldview growing from modern natural science and technology that has been spreading from Northern Europe since the Renaissance (Center for Advanced Phenomenological Research,1997); which maintains that the data of ‘sense experience’ are the only object and the supreme criterion of human knowledge (Sauvage, 1911).

“For objectivists, the inclination is towards ‘scientific’ methods…these methods ignore the fact that the social world is meaningful to those who live in it, and they (the methods) impose their own, seemingly arbitrary meanings onto it” Crossley (1996, p.74-75)

Nagel (1974) challenges the over-simplification or ‘reduction’ of the lived experience into convenient or recognisable bites, by arguing that ‘consciousness’ itself – that is to say, the subjective view of what it is like to have a certain type of experience, for instance, to feel love, or pain; or to know what it’s like to feel trusted – is beyond the reach of scientific theory,

“Every reductionist has his favourite analogy from modern science. It is most unlikely that any of these unrelated examples of successful reduction will shed light on the relation of mind to brain. But philosophers share the general human weakness for explanations of what is incomprehensible in terms suited for what is familiar and well understood, though entirely different,” Nagel (1974, p. 435)

Phenomenology then is aimed at comprehending the structure of various types of human experience, ranging from thought, memory, imagination, emotion, and desire (Woodruff Smith, 2008).

Inter-subjectivity

According to phenomenologists (Woodruff Smith, 2008), the central structure of an experience is its intentionality; that is to say, “the characteristic of consciousness whereby it is conscious of something – i.e., its directedness toward an object” (Encyclop?dia Britannica, 2009). An experience is directed toward an object by virtue of its content or meaning (which represents the object) together with appropriate enabling conditions. Where first-person meaning is the object of the enquiry, the classical phenomenological methodology may result in an enriched subjective understanding or awareness of the lived experience. These are:

(1) The individual describes a type of experience, just as he/she finds it in his/her own (past) experience.

(2) The individual interprets a type of experience by relating it to relevant features in context

(3) The individual analyses the form of a type of experience

(Woodruff Smith, 2008)

However, as Crossley (1996) points out, when the object of the enquiry is shared knowledge and/or understanding, this type of reflective process is insufficient, precisely because of the subjectivity involved,

“The meaning of certain actions is identified with the plan of the actor, which may well be unavailable to the other. Or rather, the act may have different meanings for the actor and their other, respectively.” Crossley (1996, p.78)

For a group to attempt to make sense of experience in this way is akin to the classical children’s fable of the blind men and the elephant. In various versions of the tale, a group of blind men touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each one reaches out and finds a different part of the elephant’s body, such as the trunk or one of the tusks. They then each attempt to describe the elephant to their peers, based only on what they felt. They quickly learn that they are in complete disagreement with one another. The story illustrates that reality, viewed from different angles or perspectives; may show up in very different – even contradictory – forms. As Argyris, et al. (1985) point out, when multiple individuals commence a share inquiry, from a subjective, rather than an inter-subjective starting-point; the resulting discussion tends to degenerate into a contest of wills,

“The validity of inquiring in action is threatened by a variety of defensive routines, including self-censorship and face-saving. Our research indicates that human beings, when dealing with threatening issues, typically act in ways that inhibit the generation of valid information and that create self-sealing patterns of escalating error” Argyris, et al. (1985, p.61)

This phenomena is partly related to the way the human brain is hardwired to treat incoming data,

“…whenever we look at the world we are only too ready to see the world in terms of our existing patterns… This is what makes perception so powerful and so useful. We are rarely at a loss. We can recognise most situations. This is also why the analysis of information will not yield new ideas. The brain can only see what it is prepared to see (existing patterns)” De Bono (1995, p.11)

Senge, et al. (1994) state that these self-generated beliefs about our world, or rather our experiences, go largely untested. Argyris’ (1990) ‘Ladder of Inference’ (see fig ?) depicts the fact that, not only do we self-generate beliefs about our environment based on only partial evidence; but that we continuously strive to uphold these beliefs by deselecting contrary information (see ‘the reflexive loop’).

The ‘ladder of inference’ is helpful to a point, in that it illustrates the fact that, even our most stubborn beliefs, may be based upon a partial representation of the ‘reality. It may therefore be helpful to use this model, or the underlying principle, with an individual or a group, in order to encourage a spirit of humble inquiry. However, the ladder omits the fact that we may also adopt beliefs based on second-hand information – perhaps owing to a particularly persuasive portrayal by somebody of a particular incident; or because a group has developed a high level of cohesion . Janis (1972) referred to this dynamic as Groupthink,

“…a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action”. Janis, I.L. (1972, p.9)

Janis observed that, in such cases, group members can be influenced to operate contrary to their better judgment – even when the group’s decision or behaviour is in opposition to personally held beliefs and values. I would argue against any notion that Groupthink is akin to ‘trust’ within teams. In fact, in some cases, Groupthink may be the result of a lack of trust – a fear of punishment or rejection. However, the superficial impression may have more than a passing resemblance to ‘trust’. In such instances, group cohesion and connectivity, can be damaging to the overall ability of a team to achieve its aims,

“… the ability of the group to stay connected and informed about each other’s work would be expected to have a positive impact on the group’s level of cohesion, efficacy, and potency. Yet, staying connected may also have a negative impact to the extent that information is rapidly transmitted about all of the problem areas in a group” Aviolo, B. Et al (2000, p.660)

Critically, where a team or group is exhibiting Groupthink, or else, transmitting negative beliefs between colleagues; there is an apparent lack of personal accountability for achievement of the shared-goal. Trust however, results in inter-personal openness,

“In all cases, trust was very closely tied to perceptions of organizational openness” Thomas, et al (2009, p.306)

In my own experience, a spirit of inter-team trust and openness, yields constructive challenge, divergent thinking and co-creation. This is vital if teams are to rid themselves of out-dated or erroneous assumptions and beliefs,

“All too often we are inclined to recapitulate prevalent thinking rather than to search for new directions or redefine our commonly held views and knowledge” Tillema, H. (2006, p.173)

The following extract from Senge et al’s (1994,) The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, provides a helpful illustration of how subjective interpretations, coupled with a lack of openess, can result in cross-purposes and misunderstandings,

“I am standing before the executive team, making a presentation. They all seem engaged and alert, except for Larry, at the end of the table, who seems bored out of his mind. He turns his dark, morose eyes away from me and puts his hand to his mouth. He doesn’t ask any questions until I’m almost done, when he breaks in: “I think we should ask for a full report.” In this culture, that typically means, “Let’s move on.” Everyone starts to shuffle their papers and put their notes away. Larry obviously thinks that I’m incompetent — which is a shame, because these ideas are exactly what his department needs. Now that I think of it, he’s never liked my ideas. Clearly, Larry is a power-hungry jerk. By the time I’ve returned to my seat, I’ve made a decision: I’m not going to include anything in my report that Larry can use. He wouldn’t read it, or, worse still, he’d just use it against me. It’s too bad I have an enemy who’s so prominent in the company.” Senge (1994, p p.243)

It is relatively easy for a dispassionate reader to spot the hasty assumptions being formulated in this extract. This however, does not alter the fact that, given the right (or wrong) set of circumstances, where our fight or flight mechanism has been engaged, we may all be prone to this process of thinking and judging.

In order to generate shared knowledge, understanding or meaning; we need inter-subjectivity – the sharing of subjective states by multiple individuals (Scheff, et al., 2006).

“Knowledge productivity requires that implicit beliefs and conceptions be challenged and open to external debate in order to become relevant for professional action. This occurs only when they can be communicated and shared with others.”

However, this is not merely a case of multiple contributors providing a description of an event as they experienced it, whilst other’s listen – although this is certainly part of it. Rather, as Bohm (1996) suggests, this is a process of collaborative creation,

“…in a dialogue, each person does not attempt to make common certain ideas or items of information that are already known to him. Rather, it may be said that the two people are making something in common, i.e. creating something new together” Bohm (1996, p.3)

This of course is no easy thing – certainly where time is scarce, or where a group is unfamiliar with one another and trust has not yet formed. According to Senge, et al. (1994, p.242), our basic paradigm can be characterised thus:

* Our beliefs are the truth

* The truth is obvious

* Our beliefs are based on real data

* The data we select are the real data

In order to open minds – and principally our own mind – sufficient to affect a shift or transformation in position or belief requires a particular mindset. The methodology used to generate, or create, shared knowledge and meaning therefore, must give attention to establishing conditions wherein participants are able to enter and contribute as sincere learners,

“To a visitor who described

himself as a seeker after

Truth the Master said, “If

what you seek is Truth,

there is one thing you must

have above all else.”

“I know. An overwhelming

passion for it.”

“No. An unremitting readiness

to admit you may be wrong.”

De Mello (1989, p.78)

Collaborative Enquiry

Collaborative inquiry involves sharing ideas and individual strengths by enhancing interactive questioning, investigation, and learning. In collaborative learning communities professionals discuss, study, and construct conceptual principles and ideas. They generate and enact new strategies for their work environment, and above all share insights about what they learn (Tillema, 2005),

“Collaborative inquiry, or co-inquiry, is the ability to dialogue within and across community boundaries. It involves cycles of action and reflection, and thus promotes learning. Co-inquiry invites loyal skepticism, challenging questions, and a plurality of perspectives.” Palus and Horth (2005, p.5)

These ideas conform with Lave and Wenger’s (date) Communities of practice.

“… groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.” Wenger, McDermott & Snyder (2002, p.4)

These communities too require a focus on shared interests, joint activities, and a shared repertoire of resources (i.e. experiences, stories, tools, solutions, etc), to frame knowledge in a form of collaborative inquiry. Knowledge about a system is developed through ‘collegial interaction’, not just from reading about documented processes or policies. Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, expert insight and grounded intuition (Davenport and Prusak, 1998). The exciting thing about this type of learning is that it is situated in the ‘practice’, therefore the benefits of new knowledge and meaning are immediately realised,

“Knowledge is created, shared, organized, revised, and passed on within and among these communities. In a deep sense, it is by these communities that knowledge is ‘owned’ in practice”. Wenger, E (1998, p?)

Furthermore, because these communities function as an informal network of people, drawn together by dint of shared interests and concerns – rather than having been assembled by top-down directive; any inquiry that takes place is focused upon where there is a shared interest, or energy. In this sense, the inquiry is generated from within the community. This, I think, has important ramifications for the authenticity of the learning that results.

Storberg-Walker (2008) has rejected notions that Communities of Practice can be universally applied and, further, claims that, although Communities of Practice theory offers valuable insights into learning, meaning, identity, and practice; the theory itself does not withstand serious scrutiny. Additionally, Cox (2005) questions the applicability of the concept of informal learning communities, to the heavily individualised and tightly managed work of the twenty-first century. In a more recent work, Wenger, with McDermott and Snyder (2002), recommends that managers foster informal horizontal groups across organisational boundaries. However, whilst this suggestion perhaps represents a potentially useful knowledge management tactic; there is a delicate line that exists between ‘fostering’ these communities and a conspicuous attempt to ‘manage’ or ‘controls’ them. When we introduce ‘management’ to Communities of Practice, we introduce formal measures, structures, roles and inducements. In this sense, we lose or diminish ‘citizenship’; the very essence and power of Communities of Practice, as originally defined by Wenger (1998).

When organisational conditions permit it, Communities of Practice contribute to the development of social capital. This is an organisation’s wealth that exists because of individual relationships and connections (Lesser, 2000); a stock of trust, personal networks and a sense of community (Cohen & Prusak, 2001). Wenger (1998) believed that Communities of Practice evolve (see fig. ?) – that the nature of the interactions would change over time and through experience; as would the strength and value of the connections.

Active

Members engage in developing a practice

Coalescing

Members come together and recognise their potential

Dispersed

Members no longer engage very intensely, but the community is still alive as a force and a centre of knowledge

Potential

People face similar situations without the benefit of a shared practice

Memorable

The community is no longer central, but people still remember it as a significant part of their identities

Typical Activities

Engaging in joint activities, creating artifacts, adapting to changing circumstances, renewing interest, commitment, and relationships

Exploring connectedness, defining joint enterprise, negotiating community

Staying in touch, communicating, holding reunions, calling for advice

Finding each other, discovering commonalities

Telling stories, preserving artefacts, collecting memorabilia

This is a useful framework with which to consider the commencement of a collaborative inquiry. When viewed in this context, the inquiry is less about an isolated research question, and more about the commencement of an ongoing cross-functional dialogue. As I consider this in relation to the terms of my research methodology, my aim becomes clearer. Again, I am no longer seeking to answer a particular question – at least not in isolation; I am seeking to facilitate the first three stages of development of Community of Practice – namely: (i) Potential, (ii) Coalescing, and (iii) Active.

Open Space Technology (incomplete)

“Fostering co-inquiry within your organization means setting up an environment that feeds creative exchange and collaborative learning.” Palus & Horth (2005, p.5)

“Hailed for its utter simplicity — and it’s power, Open Space starts with open-minded leadership, an issue that really matters, and an invitation to co-create something new and amazing. What happens in the meetings is high learning, high play and high productivity, but is never pre-determined. And what emerges, over time, is a truly inviting organisation, that will thrive in times of swirling change”, Herman (1998)

My Methodology (incomplete)

This section contains an account of the method that I followed in order to conduct my research.

“In the final analysis, the right way to do Open Space will be what works for you. Experience has shown that any individual with a good head and a good heart can achieve satisfactory results. Owen (1997, p. 20)

Stage 1: Invitation

Owen (1997) states that only the people who ‘care’ about the issues that you’re hoping to explore should attend an Open Space event,

“If we only did what we cared to do, not much would get done. Or would it? Isn’t it true that jobs done by people who don’t care are not worth a whole lot? Is it not also true that that people who care greatly accomplish incredible things” Owen (1997, p.20)

Whilst I think there is a risk to accepting this statement indiscriminately – People who ‘care greatly’ sometimes accomplish very little too; I was anxious to also demonstrate my own openness and trust (both in the process and the people) by appealing to concerned volunteers. In doing so, I thought about a number of individuals who, I believed, should be involved, but that probably would not volunteer themselves. But I was struck by the following injunction,

“… Open Space can only fail for two reasons: if people show up with no passion and/ or if somebody tries to control the process in order to achieve some sort of pre-determined outcome(s).” Herman (1998)

In addition, Shaw (2002) states that acting without a clear outcome in mind is not the same as acting randomly without intention. This point helps to define the ‘open’ in Open Space. Open Space is about discovering, or opening to our awareness, possibilities. This idea runs contrary to conventional wisdom about working effectively. Covey (1998), for instance, made himself and his publishers extremely wealthy by counseling us all to “begin with the end in mind” Covey (1998, p.95). However, the more that we focus on the end result, and the more detail that we add to our sense of a desired outcome; the fewer options that remain available to us. For this reason, Open Space Technology ‘begins with a question in mind’.

My invitation therefore included a basic description of the issue that I wanted to invite people to explore and a few high-level questions to give the event further definition. My method of advertising this event utilised two channels:

(1) Posters inside and outside the conference rooms at the two head office sites.

(2) A ‘bulletin’ on the organisation’s intranet homepage with a link to the invitation on the organisation’s Learning Management System.

The invitation was open to all staff, irrespective of hierarchy and was worded as an opportunity to contribute to the creation of practical solutions (see below):

Dear Colleagues,

You’re invited to take part in an inquiry into Trust and Openness in our teams here at YBS.

We all use a variety of technologies to ‘stay in touch’ with one another, e.g. Email, mobile phone, voice mail, text messaging, instant messaging, Sharepoint – also, social networking sites like Facebook and Linkedin, etc.

These tools make it possible for us to communicate with people who may be working on multiple projects and tasks, across a number of different offices and buildings – even the humble post-it note is a form of technology that helps us to manage our communication with people who are not physically proximate.

However, I’m interested in the impact that these technologies – or rather, the working practices that have evolved alongside them – have on the amount of trust and openness we have within our teams? Are we overly reliant upon these technologies? Do we actually communicate less because of them? Are we always selective in our methods of communication – or do we follow habit?

The event will take the form of a number of small discussion groups, the specific agenda for which will be set by participants at the start of the day – each discussion group will be focused upon achieving fresh understanding and practical outcomes, both for the organisation and the individual. If you’d like to be a part of this, please show up promptly at:

09:30 to 16:30

on Monday the 16th November

in Conference Rooms 3&4 (Yorkshire Drive)

If you are unable to commit to the entire day, but would still like to play some part in this inquiry, you’re welcome to come along for the opening of the event and contribute for as long as you’re able.

Alternatively, if you are unable to attend, but would like a member of your team to be part of it, feel free to pass on this invitation. The only condition here is that people attend because they want to. The effectiveness of this sort of event hinges upon there being a group of people who have chosen to be there.

If you have any further questions about this event, please get in contact with me.

Stage 2: Climate

“…reaching knowledge productivity in professional learning is to a large extent dependent on the arrangement of learning environments that stimulate professionals to develop, exchange and communicate their knowledge”. Tillema, H. (2006, p.174)

“Knowledge productivity requires that implicit beliefs and conceptions be challenged and open to external debate in order to become relevant for professional action. This occurs only when they can be communicated and shared with others.” Tillema (2005)

Stage 3: Set-up
Stage 4: Facilitation and Data Gathering/ Capturing
Stage 5: Closing
Stage 6: Data Analaysis

“Mauthner and Doucet (1998 cited in Elliot 2007) point to the fact that there is not nearly as much written on how to analyse qualitative data as there is on how to collect it. They argue that:

“…it is important for researchers to become more methodologically explicit

about the ‘nitty-gritty’ of the analytic process” (ibid. p.158)

They suggest multiple readings of the transcripts be done to cover plot, the storyteller, relationships and the broader social context. What is also of great importance is that the reader reads, with their own response in mind, in this case meaning I read and note and broaden my awareness of my response to the texts. Four questions that must be answered are:

1. What do we notice?

2. Why do we notice what we notice?

3. How can we interpret what we notice?

4. How can we know that our interpretation is the right one?”

Critique of the Research Methodology

As I reflect upon the methodology that I employed in order to answer my research question, I have identified a number of issues that, I think, may have affected the quality and trustworthiness of the overall research findings. Some of these were inside of my control and some were as a result of issues that, at the time, I could have had little foresight of.

* I had intended to issue an open invite to the Open Space event so as to ensure that only concerned volunteers were in attendance. However, upon reflection, I see that – either consciously or unconsciously – I found myself talking to people whom I know to be supportive of me and my work, about this event. If I’m honest, I think that I did this out of concern for myself, rather than for the good of the research. As it turned out, a high percentage of these people did ‘volunteer’ their time to contribute to this event. And whilst I’m comforted that not everybody that I spoke to came to the event, it is impossible to know, of those that did show up, which were genuinely interested in the issue at hand?

* The topic of trust and openness coincided, albeit inadvertently, with a major organisational project. At that point, only certain employees were privy to the details of the project and they had each signed a confidentiality agreement. Despite the best efforts to keep the project secret however, speculation was rife throughout the organisation – largely due to the number of senior staff who had been rendered unavailable for business-as-usual activity. Present at the Open Space event were both staff who had signed the agreement and staff who had not. Throughout the event there was a palpable sense of there being two camps – albeit the ‘those in the know’ camp was significantly the smaller of the two. When people were describing trust and openness, I believe that, in some instances, this issue took precedent over the issue that I had planned to research. In the interests of integrity with respect to Open Space however, I chose not to intervene or attempt to engineer discussion to the topic at hand. If anything, I believe that this revealed a new dimension of ‘remoteness’ to rank alongside time, space and organisation. This point will be further reviewed in the ‘discussion of research findings’ section (to follow).

* As I review the invitation that I created for the Open Space event, I can see an obvious bias that I ought to have surfaced and declared from the outset. My hypothesis from the beginning of this inquiry has been that; for all of the benefits and convenience that we derive from remote communication technologies, we pay a price in terms of a reduction in trust and openness within our teams. I think that I could have made this more explicit in the invitation. Although, I was conscientious in explaining this during the introduction of the actual event.

* Although the invitation to participate in the Open Space event was open to all staff, very few non-management staff attended. This raises questions about (a) the comprehensiveness of the research findings, (b) the extent to which non-management staff feel empowered to contribute in such an event, and (c) the extent to which non-management staff trust the organisation enough to feel safe enough to self-disclose on such a platform.

* The Open Space event took place at one of the head office buildings. This automatically excluded the majority of the organisation’s branch staff. Again, this raises questions about the comprehensiveness of the research findings. This is a particular irony because branch staff are wholly reliant upon remote communication technologies for developing and maintaining relationships with colleagues in Head Office and throughout the branch network. This also presents an opportunity however for a future research – ‘an inquiry into the effect of remote communication technologies on remote workers’, conducted through the medium of remote communication technologies – e.g. webinar.

Research Findings (incomplete)

Session 1/ Group 1

Discussion Topic/ Question

“I think we all secretly like working in silo from each other – do you agree or disagree – and if so, Why?”

Summary of Content

* Yes – working in silo gives you a sense of freedom

* Yes – working in silo means that you can make decisions more quickly (sometimes it’s better to do something and then inform people that you’ve done it)

* Yes – to defend against other teams who are in open competition with us

* Yes – My objectives are all individual, I don’t have time to be ‘teamy’ and achieve my objectives.

* Yes – It’s simpler

* Yes – You not exposed that way

* Yes – otherwise you end up with decisions by committee

* Yes – Best way

Give an account of the specific characteristics of ‘modern time’ as outlined by Peter Osborne.

The term modernity has become deeply contested in the last quarter of a century. The emergence of deconstruction as a hermeneutic tool of analysis inclined sociologists, historians and philosophers to prefer the concept of post-modernity as a designation of the present. Peter Osborne believes that there is little evidence that could plausibly justify this shift in terminology. He sets out to inquire into the philosophical dimensions of the term modernity and maintains that, once modernity is understood in its theoretical and conceptual complexity, the post-modern fails to display the necessary differentiating criteria that would make it a notion in its own right. At the heart of his investigation thus lies to reveal the inconsistencies in other thinker’s philosophical interpretation of modernity.

The first chapter focuses on two interpretations in particular: Marshall Berman’s account of modernity and Perry Anderson’s critique of it.^[1] Three aspect takes centre stage in Osborne’s analysis of modernity: modernity as a category of historical periodisation (1), modernity as a quality of social experience (2), and modernity as a project (3).^[2] His thesis is that neither Marxism, as it animates Berman’s account of modernity, nor Anderson’s critique captures the peculiar characteristics of modernity as a concept of temporality. The essay will briefly recapitulate Osborne’s rendering of Anderson and Berman’s interpretation and then outline the semantic shifts that led to the conceptual ambiguity of the idea of modernity.

Osborne notes first of all the more mundane characteristics of modernity. Philosophers and ordinary people alike would identify the notion of modernity with a ‘distinct span of time’ that is ‘identifiable’ and suggests a particular form of periodisation.^[3] This specific type of periodisation however already gives rise to some unsettling conceptual questions, amongst others what modernity in essence actually represents: a concept for understanding the present, or a form of social experience. He notes that modernity is suffused with different forms of time-consciousness and that the temporality of periodisation lies at the heart of the sociological discipline insofar it allows sociologists to engage in cross-temporal comparisons. In fact it is sociology that benefited most from the transformations in the notion of temporality which are somehow reflected in the notion of modernity. Osborne captures the basic dilemma of how to comprehend change in society through the lens of temporal structures:

‘…The problematic character of these assumptions (on the nature of the present) comes into view as soon as the issue of change within the present is raised otherwise than as an extrapolation of developmental tendencies built into the relationship between pre-given structural social types…’^[4]

This problem marks the potential and limitations of sociological inquiry. Modernity is constant change within the present, but we can only understand it through the emergence and transformation of social structures. This may permit us to compare societies across the times but it feeds upon an obscure notion of modernity as an unproblematic form of temporality. What we loose through this sociological kaleidoscope of analysis is the certainty that the historical process is radically open. Osborne contends that Marxism as well as Postmodernism attempt to rectify this problem and that both fail to succeed. Let us now turn to his critique of Marxism first.

Osborne credits Marxism with a novel view of historical time. In a way, Marxism reconciles plausibly the concepts of change and temporality while preserving a notion of modernity as something distinctively different to all previous ages. At the core of Marxian analysis lies the modes of production, a starting point that is reminiscent of the sociological view. Osborne points however to the crucial difference between the two by noting that Marxism achieves the visionary fusion of constant change and modern times only at the expense of a historical determinism that undermines any sensible concept of history as an open and uncertain path. In this sense, Marxism fails even more than the sociological view of modernity to attune to the philosophical consequences of the dual characteristics of temporality in modernity: that is denotes a form of time-consciousness and at the same time functions as a periodising category that has inscribed in itself various types of temporality.

Berman’s answer to this problem that pervades Marxism as a historical analysis of societal change is, according to Osborne, to replace the historical project of communism with the notion of a radically open future. Osborne remarks caustically that such an act of simple replacement lacks any justification.^[5]

Anderson’s critique of Berman then provides Osborne with a valuable counter-perspective. The crux of Anderson’s argument is that Berman’s account of modernity fails to acknowledge the differentiated forms of temporal experience that are implicit in modernism as a series of movements.^[6] Osborne immediately points to the problem that such a critique would necessarily involve two different usages of modernity. On one hand, Anderson would argue from the perspective of modernity as a designation of a historical phenomenon, whereas on the other hand, he would need to use modernity as a category for the analysis of historical processes. This conceptual discrepancy however invalidates, so Osborne thinks, the potency of his critical remarks.^[7]

What neither Berman nor Anderson consider is the dual nature of modernity as historical reality and as a concept capable of creating a ‘coherent whole’ through its periodising thrust.^[8] He concludes that philosophers must recognise the nature of the ‘reflexivity of the historical experience’. He writes:

‘For there is something decidedly new about modernity as a category of historical periodisation: namely, that unlike other forms of epochal periodisation …, it is defined solely in terms of temporal determinants…’.^[9]

The key to reconciling these different aspects of modernity is what Kosselleck would term a Begriffsgeschichte, a history of the concept. Mapping the semantic change that the concept of modernity undergoes can provide us with clues as to its complex philosophical conditions. So while neither Anderson nor Berman consider the ‘logic of modernity as a category of historical periodisation’ they fail to comprehend that modernity is not a chronological category (Adorno).^[10]

Kosselleck’s interpretation of the emergence of the term Neue Zeit (new time) hints, so Osborne believes, at the structure of temporality that characterises modernity in contradistinction to other forms of temporality in pre-modern times. The critical intervention occurred with the claim of the Enlightenment that the new times were marked by recognition of autonomous reason. Modernity thus acquired a sense of something qualitatively new. It provided for the first time in history a ‘conceptual space for abstract temporality of qualitative newness’.^[11]

While modernity could now be understood as a form of social experience, it also was seen as something that happened and continues to happen. While the latter was hinted at already in the process of the accumulation of capital as conceptualised in Marx’s critique of capitalism, the former aspect of modernity now unfolded into two dimensions: firstly, the experience of contemporaneity, and secondly, the experience of ‘register[ing] this contemporaneity in terms of a qualitatively new, self-transcending temporality.’^[12] Osborne notes that this

‘…is achieved through the abstraction of the logical structure of the process of change from its concrete historical determinants – an abstraction which parallels that at work in the development of money as a store of value.’^[13]

This would now complete Osborne’s alternative interpretation of the relationship between temporality and modernity. As he summarily remarks: ‘Modernity is permanent transition. Modernity has no fixed, objective referent.’^[14] In a critical addendum he analyses Habermas and Foucault’s notion of modernity and concludes that both fail to distance themselves from the project of constructing improbable ‘universal histories with cosmopolitan intent’.^[15]

Modernity as Osborne outlines it in his critical review of various thinkers is inexorably tied in with the notion of progress that falsely allows the ‘projection of people’s present as other people’s future.’^[16] He thus closes the circle in returning to the fallacy of the sociological account of modernity, one that has exaggerates universalising discourses of progress. Consequently, the idea of decline has no purchasing power in these philosophically erroneous notions of modernity.

Bibliography

Peter Osborne. The Politics of Time. Modernity and Avant-Garde. London and New York: Verso 1995

Perry Anderson. Modernity and Revolution, in A Zone of Engagement, London and New York: Verso 1992

____. The Notion of Bourgeois Revolution, in English Questions, London and New York: Verso 1992

Marshall Berman. All that is Solid melts into Air: The Experience of Modernity. London and New York, 1983

1

Introduction

This essay employs excerpts from the narrative of a 38 year old woman named Francesca, a lady who has been given a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to illustrate key concepts form the sociological, and psychological literature. This approach will illustrate the writer’s ability to critically appraise the literature, its relevance to the narrative in question, and using narrative, places these concepts within a real life clinical situation. This in turn provides insight into the value of narrative as a methodological approach in the 21st Century and how it intertwines with the rich tapestry of sociological theories and concepts that are available to the researcher studying the current sociological evidence base. For the purpose of this assignment, peer reviewed articles and textbooks were searched within the past 10 years.

The work introduces RA as a clinical entity (pivotal to understanding the comments of Francesca) and goes on to outline the use of narrative, particularly its utility in the study of chronic disease. The essay then goes on to cover some key important issues, namely:

The biomedical versus the sociological approach of illness management
The Study of Personal Illness Narratives
Sociological perspectives on depression
Chronic Illness and Disability
Social construction of medical knowledge and the Politics of Disability
Labelling
Stigma.

For each of the above, concepts are presented and mapped against selected statements from the narrative of Francesca (written in italics for clarity). These statements illustrate real world data gleaned from Francesca; valuable comments that are grounded in the experiences of a person living with a chronic disease. The work also contains an appendix comprising a reflective postscript which outlines the way that the work evolved from earliest outline, to the finished product.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects not only the synovial joints but multiple body systems (Goodacre 2008). The exact cause of RA remains unknown; it is a disease that affects more women than men, often of a young or middle age demographic unlike osteoarthritis which affects predominately older people. RA follows a somewhat unpredictable course of exacerbations and remissions. RA carries huge psychological problems in view of its unknown aetiology, uncertain prognosis, and loss of function. Additional symptoms include early morning stiffness, pain, limitation of activities of daily living, and socio- economic problems inasmuch as it may have a severe impact upon a person’s ability to work and function in society (Kojima et al 2009). The discussion now begins with a section on models of illness.

Biomedical and biopsychosocial models of disease

The biomedical model of health takes the reductionist view that people are “biological entities” (Lewis 2009 p745). In the clinical management of RA there is some merit in this biomedical approach, for example the monitoring of inflammatory mediators in the blood as a marker of disease activity or responses to drug intervention is well established in the literature (Lee & Kim 2009). This biomedical approach is reinforced by the GP comments from the narrative, i.e. That there was “no cure” and that “the tablets” were the key to preserving normal function. This approach may contribute to Francesca’s frustration, as it ignores the wider psychological and sociological ramifications of living with a chronic debilitating disease such as RA. It is unclear form the narrative whether the GP tempered his comments by adding that there are means by which the signs and symptoms of RA can be successfully managed.

Critical appraisal of the literature reveals that biopsychosocial models advocate a more holistic view of illness, for example according to Smith (2002) the biopsychosocial model seeks to address not only the client and his or her illness but also their capacity to deal with being ill. The value of adopting the narrative approach as part of the biomedical model is effectively illustrated at the point where Francesca states

“I just burst into tears”

At the perceived effect that this illness will have upon her loss of function in the future.

So whereas the biomedical model will operationalise function using objective outcome measures, here the use of narrative permits a biopsychosocial approach that provides rich client centred data on how it feels to be diagnosed with chronic and currently incurable disease. This in turn can help to inform our understanding of Rheumatoid arthritis as a disease thereby influencing the social construction of medical knowledge by giving voice to service users (Balen et al 2009).

The Study of Personal Illness Narratives.

Illness narratives concern a person’s views and beliefs about their illnesses and the effect on their lives (HydA©n 2007). There is increasing acceptance and recognition of the valuable role that such grounded narratives play in understanding the journeys that people with chronic diseases such as RA have to embark upon if they are to manage their illness on a day to day basis. For example Haidet et al (2006) found in a narrative study of people with diabetes that people narrated four illness-management strategies whose story elements were in dynamic interplay, each with unique variations for each individual revealing a level of complexity that had not been previously described.

As a method, narrative provides rich data (Furman & Cavers 2005; Poindexter 2002) and in this case gives a voice to Francesca that would otherwise remain unheard (Grills 1998).Much can be gleaned from studying Francesca’s narrative, for example Francesca begins to paint a picture of her hopes and fears upon being given a diagnosis of RA combined with an insight into her past and thoughts about the future.

Francesca’s narrative provides us valuable insight into her views of the self- a key component of narrative (Voilmer 2005), her relationships to others, and how these relationships have changed or may change in the future. In her narrative Francesca gives us some insight into the pain of living with rheumatoid arthritis, in her comments we can detect also a stark dichotomy in that she notes how healthy she had been in the past then uses the term “Excruciating” to describe her current pain, thus Francesca’s narrative hints at the loss of self in that she will no longer be a dancer or even a valid spouse as exemplified by the narrative quote.

“I won’t be the woman he fell in love with”

Here she literally describes herself as becoming another person. Here Francesca is able to provide the reader or researcher with valuable information on the loss of the self, which resonates with other narrative research (Roe & Davidson 2005; Doba et al 2007). Francesca goes further and also hints at the change in her illness self concept (ISC) that is to say the extent to which a person is defined or consumed by their disease or disability (Morea et al 2008). Francesca also hints at the concept of disease as a biographical disruption, described by Bury, this is said to occur when a person’s planned future cannot unfold as planned. (Bury 1982);

will he even want to marry me? I’m too young to have this.

What makes Francesca’s narrative particularly interesting is the fact that she is a twin; this may emphasise any change in self since she has in essence an unchanging control (her twin sibling) to against which to compare herself as her disease, her self identity (and possibly disability) progresses. The next section outlines sociological perspectives on depression.

Sociological perspectives on depression.

Francesca’s depression is likely to be multifactorial; for example there is evidence that the disease RA itself causes depression (Kojima et al 2009) as will living with pain. From a sociological perspective Francesca’s strained personal relationships may contribute to depression, for example her fear of being rejected as a potential spouse (Waite & Gallagher 2001), see below.

will he even want to marry me?

This feeds in to the earlier section on biomedical versus biopsychosocial models of health and illness and the different paradigms or world views in which they are situated. A biomedical explanation of depression is likely to focus on the biochemical aspects of the person whilst a more sociological approach would acknowledge the impact of socio economics, personal relationships and so on (Covic et al 2003). Caution is needed however here since the short excerpt of narrative that we have provides no direct evidence that Francesca is in fact depressed, indeed a review of the literature suggests that there is a tendency to over diagnose depression (Parker 2007).

Chronic Illness and Disability.

A chronic incurable disease such as RA would require Francesca to make significant adjustments to her life over time. The sociological literature now provides increasingly refined conceptualisations of these adjustments, acknowledging that the experience of chronic disease necessitates adaptations in multiple domains of the person’s life. This adjustment is often referred to as a trajectory (Stanton et al. 2007). This concept, introduced by the sociologist Strauss in an attempt to capture experiences and behaviours occurring in response to chronic illness (Strauss & Corbin 1998), goes beyond depicting the physiologic unfolding of disease and encompasses the total organisation of work done over the course of the illness (Strauss et al 1984). Francesca’s narrative hints at this changing trajectory tracing the commencement of her life changes to a time six months ago when she was much more active and defined herself as a dancer. Furthermore Francesca looks to her future and wonders about her ability to fulfil the stereotype of a perfect spouse.

It is important to engage with how Francesca and her fiancA© will make sense of the illness. The term “illness cognition” has been defined as “a patient’s own implicit common sense beliefs about their illness” (Leventhal and Nerernz 1985, p. 517). When people experience symptoms, they embark upon a cognitive search which enables them to interpret and make sense of the symptoms they are experiencing. Typically a critical review of the literature distils out into five categories:

Identity, including the description of symptoms experienced and their meaning (e.g. pain, fatigue).In the narrative Francesca describes her pain as “Excruciating” for example.
Belief about causes (e.g. accident, genetics or stress). People like to have a label for their symptoms for legitimisation although, once given, people are likely to interpret diverse symptoms as evidence of the label. Francesca has problems with causality and is likely to do so for the foreseeable future since there is no established medical cause for RA.
Timeline (beliefs about duration and time for recovery), namely is it acute or chronic? These beliefs will be re-evaluated as time progresses.
Consequences (e.g. loss of lifestyle, goals in life). These representations may only develop into more realistic beliefs over time. Francesca uses the narrative to discuss the change in her life from active dancer to unappealing spouse within the space of six months.
Beliefs about controllability. (Furnham, 1989; Landrine and Klonoff 1992, 1994)

These categories are pivotal to understanding how people make sense of, and decisions about managing a changeable chronic disease such as RA. Evidence of Francesca attempting to make sense of her symptoms by embarking upon a cognitive search may be seen in the example below:

I couldn’t understand it – I’m the healthiest person I know. I’ve never had problems with my health – never had a day off sick in my life. I never go to the doctor, no matter what, I’ve always been fit as a flea.

From the narrative provided we also have limited information concerning Francesca’s partner’s views, for example (although not from Dave himself)

Dave wore me down, telling me I’ve got to see a doctor

This may be interpreted in various ways, not least that Dave was keen for Francesca to obtain a diagnosis and thereby a label to legitimise the illness, whether such labelling is disabling or enabling is not fully resolved in literature (Huibers & Wessley 2006). Francesca’s comment does however open up the interesting issue of how partners cope with chronic disease, in RA in particular there is evidence that a strong marital relationship correlates with the couple’s psychological adjustment to the illness (Mann & Zautra 1990). These authors go on to claim that in RA, partners are most affected by their perceived vulnerability to disease and coping ability, whereas the wives who have RA were more affected by pain itself and how they will cope with the effects of the disease- reflected in Francesca’s comments below;

I started having excruciating pains in my feet when I woke in the morning

To further corroborate the findings of Manne & Zautra (1990) concerning male worries about coping at a more abstract level see the example below:

Dave has been great but he has his own worries – he’s just been laid off from his job and he’s worrying about paying for the wedding

Mann & Dieppe (2006) have also more recently acknowledged coping differences between males and females in RA, (n = eight women with RA ages 31-60 years and their partners, and 4 men with RA ages 43-75 years) although methodologically their sampling may be flawed in that those couples currently experiencing severe martial problems are unlikely to submit to the type of phenomenological interviews that they undertook.

The social construction of medical knowledge and politics of disability

It is not possible in an essay of this length to provide a full account of the politics of disability, primarily since the topic is multi-factorial, fluid and indeed is covered to an extent in the other sub sections of this work, furthermore we have insufficient data from the narrative to comment in depth. Kitchen and Wilton (2003) comment that our views of disability as a medical entity viewed in paternalistic terms have changed in favour or equality and empowerment. However Francesca can expect to experience a host of politically related issues, for example social exclusion and poverty (Foley & Chowdhury 2007).

Francesca has already stated in her narrative;

I’ve got to work- we need the money.

In terms of medicine’s social construction, as far back as 1982, Wright & Treacher (1982) claimed that medical knowledge inevitably contains a social component incorporating moral values and prejudices, and that diagnosis ascribes a certain meaning. We still see this thirty years later where the GP abruptly (allegedly) advocates of drugs to preserve normal function. This reinforces the paternalistic medical approach. RA in its early stages does not present with any obvious physical deformity and affects the young demographic, it is conceivable that she may experience disbelief from her peers; this may in turn make her life difficult in an era of financial unease, Government budgetary cuts and political uncertainty.

Labelling.

Labelling theory (social reaction theory) has its roots in the work of sociologist Howard Becker (Becker 1997). It centres on peoples tendency to negatively label those who are different from ourselves. As a person with chronic arthritis Francesca will not be immune to this labelling, for example being labelled as “disabled” or “arthritic” are all real possibilities. Arthritis organisations and acts such as the Disability Discrimination Act ( DDA) are at great pains to encourage activity and maintenance of full function and contribution to society, however all this may be negated by her GPs comments that there is;

no cure and I had to take tablets everyday to be able to function normally.

Labels can however be positive, Francesca describing herself as “glamorous” for example on two occasions in the narrative, and her previous label of salsa dance teacher is something that defines her in a positive way.

Yes, I’m a salsa dance teacher

Stigma

Stigma has recently been defined by Scambler (2009) as “a social process, experienced or anticipated by exclusion, rejection, blame or devaluation that results from experience, perception or reasonable anticipation of an adverse social judgement about a person or group”(p441)

Francesca may feel stigmatised by all of the factors previously discussed, attitude of her GP, loss of self, worry about the future, inability to act out the role of spouse. Factors such as depression, the lack of a cause for her RA and her inability to teach salsa dancing may amplify her feelings of being stigmatised, it is also important form the wider perspective to acknowledge that stigma may affect Francesca’s partner. Struening et al (2001) for example reported that 43-92% of caregivers (to people with mental health problems) reported feeling stigmatised, again this suggests that living with this disease does not only affect Francesca but also her partner.

Conclusion

This essay has employed extracts from the narrative of a 38 year old lady with Rheumatoid arthritis, to illustrate some key sociological concepts. The essay has provided a valuable opportunity to map some key concepts from the literature onto a narrative excerpt. Whilst the essay has not been able to enter the field in great depth; It is a testament to the thick description provided by patient narratives that such a wealth of information can be generated form a relatively short piece of description.

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Appendix Reflective postscript

This is written in the first person since it is a reflective piece of writing

This was a challenging yet fascinating project to complete. I was unsure how to approach the topic and how much weight to attach to the various theories available and the comments of Francesca , once it became clear that I was actually trying to explain what was going on with Francesca by using academic theory to illustrate her comments the task became rather enjoyable. Tight word count restrictions as always meant that I had to do some brutal editing, but the positive side to this is that it makes one more selective in ones writing. For example my earliest version was heavy on sociological theory and light on mapping this theory to the comments of Francesca, whereas the final version makes more explicit links between what Francesca says and the theory behind why she says it.

The fact that I had some real comments to sink my academic teeth into made the process of literature searching interesting and relevant since I was able to think about Francesca’s comments and her personal situation for each search that I undertook.

The areas that gave me most difficulty were the political aspects of disability since they seemed so wide ranging and actually intertwined with everything that I was writing about. All in all I have learned a great deal about the usefulness of narrative form this project.