Category: Free Essays

Tattooing Body MutilationSociology & Cultural Studies

Question. Undertake a case study of any contemporary cultural practice or set of practices of your choice, explaining what you consider to be their sociological significance.

Tattooing

Body mutilation has long been part of non-Christian cultures as a positive mark of identity, while in many modem Body modification practices are so prolific that an exhaustive account of the practices of body magic and marking around the globe is nearly impossible.

Body mutilation such as tattooing often functions as part of a healing ritual, protection against forces that may cause injury and admission to a social group. Cultural practices of body mutilation are often functionally akin to prayer as a practice that spiritually elevates an individual.

Tattooing is not the hideous custom which it is called. It is not barbarous merely because the printing is skin-deep and unalterable. -Henry David Thoreau. Several major religions exhibit complex attitudes toward self-mutilation and adornment. In the Old Testament, Leviticus 19.28 prohibits followers of Judaism from marking the body: “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor imprint any marks upon you.” The “Holly Koran” forbids marking the body. The Christian Bible associates body markings with sin as shown in the story of Cain, who was marked in punishment for slaying his brother.

Still, many people apparently have continued to feel a need for confirmation of their religion by marking their bodies. The Judaic custom of circumcision persists. Coptic, Armenian, Abyssinian, Syrian, and Russian pilgrims returning from the Holy Land frequently acquired souvenir tattoos to commemorate their journey. At the turn of the nineteenth century, it was traditional for Gypsies to tattoo these pilgrims, and the tattoo marks became part of the pilgrim’s social status.

An example of this is the Armenian title for one who has made the pilgrimage which is Mahdesi, which translates as “I saw death.” Because only religious pilgrims were tattooed, the religious tattoos were also known as Mahdesi. The tattoo is a code indicating a spiritual passage, or at least a religious pilgrimage. Similarly, in Turkey the souvenir tattoos were known by the Turkish word for one who has made the religious pilgrimage, Haji.

These religious tattoos became symbols of entry into a higher plane of spiritual existence and exemplify the overlap between Christian beliefs and body magic. First documented by a traveler in 1660, common marks included dots in the shape of a cross at the base of the fingers and crosses on the back of the hand or inside of the wrist. Biblical scenes marked the bearer as a devout Christian, but also served magical purposes.

Women chose Annunciation scenes to ensure fertility, and sufferers of illness placed tattoos on ailing parts of the body to promote healing. Although Greek and Latin Christian churches have criticized these practices, they persist, and many Muslim Arabs tattoo in disregard for the Islamic prohibition on marking the body. Even today, many American tattooees have permanent religious icons and emblems as well as personal magical symbols inked upon their bodies.

Tattoos are prompted by “the primitive desire for an exaggerated exterior” and are manifestations of deep psychological motivations. They are “the recording of dreams,” which simultaneously express an aspect of the self and recreate and mask the body As products of inner yearnings, self-concepts, desires, and magical or spiritual beliefs, designs on the human body formed by inserting pigments under the skin have been crafted by nearly every culture around the world for thousands of years.

Definitive evidence of tattooing dates to the Middle Kingdom period of Egypt, approximately 2000 B.C., but many scholars believe that Nubians brought the practice to Egypt much earlier. There was little anthropological attention to tattooing in the early part of the century because of preconceived notions of its insignificance to cultural analysis. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec cultures performed tattooing and scarification, and that the practice is thousands of years old in Asian cultures.

Although tattooing was practiced in pre-Christian Europe, the word tattoo does not appear in English until Captain John Cook imported it after a journey to the Pacific Islands in the eighteenth century. Although no connection has been made between the words tattoo and taboo, it seems highly likely that they are related. While enduring the process of acquiring socially meaningful marks, the tattooee is being formed and shaped into an acceptable member of society.

Prior to the completion of the tattoos the person is not only physically vulnerable because of the possibility of contamination during the penetrating process of tattooing but symbolically vulnerable as well. No longer without a tattoo, but without a finished tattoo, the person’s body and therefore the self are not yet completed. The person is a luminal entity not yet in society and therefore taboo.

Although the origin of tattooing is uncertain, anthropological research confirms that tattooing, as well as other body alterations and mutilations, is significant in the spiritual beliefs of many cultures. Various peoples tattoo or scarify during puberty rituals. In traditional South Pacific Tonga society, only priests could tattoo others and tattoos were symbolic of full tribal status.

Eskimo women traditionally tattooed their faces and breasts and believed that acquiring sufficient tattoos guaranteed a happy afterlife. In many African cultures scars indicate social status and desirability as a marriage partner. Scarification patterns often identify the bearer as a member of a specific village. Many of these practices are changing and fading as Western influences enter African cultures.

Until the mid-nineteenth century, Cree Indians living on the Great Plains tattooed for luck, for beauty, and to protect their health. Cree men with special powers received tattoos to help them communicate with spirits. A dream conferred the privilege of receiving a tattoo, which would be inscribed during a ceremony conducted by a shaman authorized to tattoo.

The ability to withstand the painful and tedious process of tattooing, which often lasted two to three days, confirmed the tattooee’s courage. Blood shed during the process was believed to possess magical power and was absorbed with a special cloth and kept for future use.

The ritual recreates the flesh bequeathed to initiates by their parents and experienced during childhood. The physical change marks a symbolic rebirth into a new spiritual, social, and physical reality as well as a real physical change. This magical use of the body reiterates the idea that physical and spiritual existence and their interactions are deeply entwined.

European “civilizing” cultures often attempted to eradicate body marking practices, often in the name of religion. In 787 A.D. Pope Hadrian I decreed a ban on tattooing. Constantine prohibited tattooing as an act of altering the body that God molded in His own image. Puritans in the New England colonies connected body markings with witchcraft, and those suspected of practicing witchcraft were searched for “devil’s marks” as proof of their alliance with Satan.

Quoting the Old Testament interdict against printing or cutting marks upon the flesh, the Puritans also condemned Native American tattooing. By the 1850s many Native Americans had adopted the settlers’ customs of dress and began to view tattooing as unnecessary and uncivilized. Africans brought to the colonies as slaves often bore scarification marks of royalty, social standing, or servitude, which were probably perceived by the colonists as heathen tokens of savage cultures.

In some cultures, the elite class marks the bodies of individuals considered pariahs or marginal members of society. In the Near East, slave masters sometimes tattooed slaves as a sign of degradation and branded incorrigible slaves. In late medieval and early modern Europe, slaveholders branded their slaves, a practice continued in France until the early 1800s and in Russia until the mid-1800s. Runaway slaves in Brazil, the renegade quilombos who were branded if recaptured, considered their brands marks of honor and infamy.

In Yoruba, where body markings placed one within society, slave owners denied their slaves distinguishing marks of social status. Exemplifying a much different assumption about body marking, slaveholders in the Americas branded and tattooed their slaves to place them firmly outside mainstream society. During the eighteenth century, prisoners incarcerated in France were physically marked. The use of body markings as positive signs of identification and inclusion in many African societies contrasts sharply with European use of the marks as signs of degradation and marginalization.

The American association of tattooing with exoticism solidified in 1851 when Dan Rice hired a tattooed man named James F. O’Connell to appear in his circus. During this time Rice was also fascinating America with another body image in popular culture, the blacked-up minstrel. The minstrel representation of the black body was replete with complex meanings of manhood, race, and class. The tattooed body on display was probably less familiar but equally intriguing. Without evidence of what kind of tattoos Rice’s employee had, or whether or not he performed, or served only as a display object, it is difficult to assess the meaning of his existence.

Perhaps O’Connell conjured images of a white savage, halfway between the articulate, civilized white man and the Native American who expressed his culture with paint and body markings. Perhaps audiences saw the tattooed man as Melville’s Queequeg incarnate; exotic, half-blackened with ink-and half? black, but not without feeling or humanness. P.T. Barnum followed Rice’s success by displaying an elaborately inscribed Albanian named Constantine, who was an extremely popular attraction. Barnum was the first to exhibit a tattooed woman, in 1898, which added the erotic element of viewing the female body.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century as the public became more familiar with the art of tattooing through the circus, which was primarily a working and lower-class entertainment, tattoo was also developing commercially. The first known professional tattooist in the United States was Martin Hildebrand who had an itinerant practice during the Civil War and opened a shop in New York City in the 1890s.

At the turn of the century, tattoos showed up in titillating and disreputable places. Tattooing became a shop-front industry in the disreputable Chatham Square area of New York City. Electric tattoo machines made tattooing cheaper and less painful and good tattoos easier to render. With this new technology, tattooing became popular among the lower classes and quickly came to be associated with blue-collar workers and ruffians.

Although tattooing was an upper-class trend for a brief period, by the 1920s the middle class considered it deviant. Tattoos were considered “a decorative cultural product dispensed by largely unskilled and unhygienic practitioners from dingy shops in urban slums,” and consumers were “seen as being drawn from marginal, rootless, and dangerously unconventional social groups.”

In the 1930s, the American fascination with body alteration as a deviant practice, continued. During this time a psychiatrist and writer named Albert Parry often wrote about the significance of tattoos and embedded stereotypes of deviance in the public discourse. Although Parry was an avid fan of tattooing, and bemoaned its decline in popularity, he called tattooing a “tragic miscarriage of narcissism.” He claimed tattooing was a substitute for sexual pleasure, evidence of homosexuality, and a source of masochistic pleasure.

Parry associated tattooing with abnormal sexuality. Although the exhibition of a tattooed woman in the circus in prior decades was tinged with a hint of sexual voyeurism, Parry explicitly constructed images of tattooed women as abnormal and accessible commodities. He claimed that five percent of American women were tattooed and insinuated that beneath their conventional clothes, these disguised women had marked their bodies with signs of desire and erotic adventure. Parry stated that “prostitutes in America, as elsewhere, get tattooed because of certain strong masochistic-exhibitionist drives.”

Parry reasoned that prostitutes obtained tattoos because they desired yet another reason to pity themselves and were seeking to be mistreated by clients. He also asserted that they believed tattoos would prevent disease and that they obtained sexual pleasure from the tattoo process. As proof of the prostitute’s urge to self-humiliate, Parry described several tattoos of cynical humor and sexual innuendo inscribed upon prostitutes, such as “pay as you enter.”

Conflating racism, homophobia, and the idea of women as a sexual commodity, Parry also claimed that English prostitutes etched names of their pimps on themselves or likenesses of “their Negro lovers, much to the chagrin of American sailors,” while French women inscribed the names of their lesbian lovers, and gay men tattooed themselves in order to seduce young boys. Parry relished the stereotype of tattooing as a perverse and deviant activity. His assertions reverberated for decades in the assumptions psychologists held about tattooed man and women.

Tacitly based on the preconception that marking the body is deviant, psychologists have sought to determine a connection between tattoos and psychopathology. Members and potential members of the military who bear tattoos have served as subjects for several studies that correlate tattoos and social adjustment. A study in 1943 concluded that “psychopathology or social or emotional maladjustment is significantly higher among tattooed than among non-tattooed men.”

A 1968 study concluded that sailors with tattoos were more likely to be maladjusted, and military men with “Death before Dishonor” tattoos were more likely than non-tattooed sailors to be discharged from the service. Other studies conducted during the late 1960s link tattooed women with homosexuality and masochism and tattooing practices in institutions with high levels of aggression, sexual insecurity, and social maladjustment. These studies both pre-selected the subject pools and ignored the effects of the institutional milieu on the tattooees.

Other studies of imprisoned populations reveal motivations to tattoo that are similar to the motivations to self-mutilate as a reaction to the surrounding environment. Similar to inmate self-mutilation, tattooing may provide relief from the numbness of incarceration and establish individual or gang identity. A 1964 survey of the public perception of tattooed persons revealed that a majority of people perceived tattooed individuals as physically strong and psychologically aggressive. This survey concluded that whether or not tattoos are indicators of social maladjustment, they may function to enhance the bearer’s self-image and integrity.

Returning to the theory of confirmation of the self in a pain-enduring interaction, one can understand the connotation of toughness and integrity that a tattoo confers. One psychoanalytic case study observed that a dominatrix in this relationship bore her tattoos as evidence of her ability to manage the ritual infliction of pain adroitly. This self-mastery and “toughness” earned her the right to control her submissive partners and proved her ability to alter, both own and her partners’ consciousness and identity.

The lack of understanding of the functional purposes of both the tattooing process and the final marks have led to a perception of tattooing as barbaric, deviant, and sexually perverse. Dominant American culture has considered tattoos as marks of degradation, criminality, and marginality. Without an understanding of manipulation of the body to inspire “sacred awe” in viewers and bearers of tattoos and other body alterations, one can not grasp the significance of these alterations as tangible establishment of personal, spiritual, and social identity.

Although body modifications such as tattooing and piercing have been construed as signs of deviance, during the past two decades body alteration has begun to filter into mainstream culture as a popular form of self-expression. Articles about tattooing and piercing proliferate in popular literature. Fashion magazines show models with tattooed ankles and pierced navels, and recruit well-known tattooed musicians for their pages. Children are able to play with tattooed dolls. Exhibits of tattoo art are shown in art galleries. Piercing boutiques and tattoo shops are conducting brisk business.

Several factors have encouraged a “tattoo renaissance” since the 1950s. Post war prosperity along the West Coast combined with a new interest in Asian cultures, many of which revere tattooing. The Japanese, for instance, have a long tradition of tattoo as an intricate body art. New technology and interest in tattooing as a fine art have produced new aesthetic standards, a wider clientele, and an infinite variety of tattoo designs, including “neo-tribal” stylistic forms that are heavily influenced by tattoo traditions of other cultures. Today, as sociologist Clinton Sanders notes, tattooing has become more professional and more of a fine art.

Tattoo artists are much more likely to have formal artistic and academic training than in previous years and to consider their tattooing practice a creative pursuit. A more diverse population is getting tattooed in the past two decades. New tattoo clients are better educated, have more disposable income, and care more about the decorative and aesthetic elements. Customer’s often custom design their own tattoos and the tattooer-customer relationship is changing from one of service provider and buyer to a collaborative effort. The relationship between a piercer and his or her client may be even more intricate and personal. With or without conscious realization of the significance of body making in other cultures, Americans today are adopting similar practices. To understand these practices as cultural phenomena, we must first understand their significance for individuals.

Tattooing and piercing are not just adornments added to the body surface like jewelry or cosmetics, but they penetrate the flesh. Piercing is a quick process followed by several weeks of tenderness while healing. Tattooing is a tedious, painful process followed by a period of transformation in which the wound heals and the redesigned body emerges. These adornments, like self-starvation and self-cutting, accrue significance from both the process of physical transformation and the final product.

The tattoo procedure is often a “highly social act” in which an individual manipulates and asserts identity within a specific social milieu. Getting a tattoo is often “a social event experienced with close associates,” who provide moral support, offer advice, and help pass the “anxiety-filled waiting time.” Many tattoo artists and piercers comment on the large percentage of their customers who belong to college fraternities or sororities and get pierced as part of the initiation process. It is rare that these individuals tattoo or pierce alone. Often several associates accompany the initiate to provide companionship and fortification.

Many cultures attach social status to body alterations and consider pain a crucial element for imparting meaning to body alteration. Yoruban scarification is not only considered aesthetically pleasing but announces the marked individual’s fortitude and ability to endure pain.

A Yoruban woman acquires her markings when she is old enough to marry and accept the painful ordeal of childbirth. Her kolo cicatrices “exhibit her willingness to bear pain. Aesthetic value is bound up with the value of endurance and the willingness to bear discomfort to accomplish a greater good.” Tiv women remark on the ability of scarification to indicate masculinity and the desire to withstand pain in order to be attractive: “What girl would look at a man if his scars had not cost him pain?”

Withstanding the pain of tattooing and other body alterations is also significant in American culture. The tattooee or piercee, like any initiate, vulnerably awaits the pain and new status the procedure will impart. Enduring pain is often considered crucial to gender constructions and demonstration of toughness. Although some tattooees have a difficult time bearing the pain, others see it as a “good pain.”

Part of the pleasure of a tattoo is the macho implication of being able to bear the pain, and during the 1950s and 1960s getting a tattoo was a common rite of passage into adulthood for many young men. Still today, withstanding the tedious and painful process with bravado may be required to gain membership in a youth gang, or to demonstrate rebellion against authority. College fraternities may require members to get tattooed or pierced as a sign of their loyalty.

One tattoo artist with many tattoos connects the pain of the process with the pleasure of creativity. “It’s a strange metaphor to say that pain is like an orgasm, but it is in a way. And it’s like labor too, to go through this pain to create a thing, to get it out of you. The design is inside of you, it just wants to get out.” The creative expression of identity is enhanced by the feeling of “aliveness” that accompanies the pain of the process for many people. “This sense of existing, of feeling, of enjoying life, [comes] to many with the touch of the needle.” The prolonged pain produces euphoria for many, and pain is also a meaningful and enjoyable element of the piercing process for some piercees as well as people who indulge in body branding or scarification.⁶²

Individuals who tattoo and pierce imbue the body with narcissistic or magico-religious powers to confirm identity and connect them to a deeper self-awareness, a social group, or a vision of integration with the cosmos. Similar to the way in which the self-mutilator or anorectic physically demarcates a change in self-awareness and interaction with the surrounding milieu, an individual who chooses to self-mark physically confirms a change in status.

The “badge of admission” may carry personal meaning as well as a message of affiliation with a religion, one other person, a community, a youth gang, a fraternity, a military organization, or any specific group. The complexity of the action lies in the fact that the confirmation of identity is based on distancing the self from a large non-marked portion of the population. Body markings are marks of disaffiliation with the mainstream and “visually proclaim a sense of camaraderie to others so marked.” The change in status, similar to the self-mutilator’s change in tension level and temporary “cure” of feelings of fragmentation,

Body alteration functions in similar ways in Western culture, but it accrues a different potency as a deliberate choice of identification because of the stigma it incurs as a rebellion against, rather than an embodiment of, dominant cultural values. American women, fully aware of the stigma attached to tattooing and body alteration that doesn’t help achieve standard beauty goals for women, are more likely than men to choose adornment that is not publicly visible and attach more personal meanings to their markings.

In a culture that has taught them to preserve their bodies for the enjoyment of others, women who tattoo themselves are implicitly making a declaration of independence from at least some aesthetic standards expected of them by families, friends, and society. One 21-year-old woman explained the reaction of her mother to her tattoo. “She asks me to keep it covered if we go out in public. It is a sign of disrespect to her.” One woman explained, “I did this not for my husband, not for my parents, not for a boss, not for anyone else but me, my internal reason was to make a statement.” Women mark their bodies as an act of reclamation of their identity after a divorce, as a gesture of healing from sexual or other physical abuse, or simply as self-celebration.

Body alteration symbolizes “control over and pride in the physical self” for many women. Centuries ago, this tangible evidence of self-control and self-celebration may have been enough to convict a woman of witchcraft and sentence her to death. If a “devil’s mark” was found on the body of a woman accused of witchcraft -whether self-imposed or organic in reality-it was interpreted as a chosen mark that confirmed the woman’s autonomous nature and rebellion against prescribed behavior. Her willful desecration of her God-given body proved her collusion with the Devil.

Today, a woman’s self-creation carries less formidable consequences. Similar to the ways of punk styles of “leather and metal access forbidden gender symbols and behavior” for women, tattoos and piercing provide a form of gender rebellion also. The 1970 study highlighted this idea when one of the woman subjects proclaimed her motivation to tattoo as “I want to act like a boy … anything they can do I can do better.” Tattooing and body piercing blur previous assumptions about gender roles for both women and men.

Historically considered a salacious and pagan badge by Western cultures, deliberate body alteration proclaims defiance of cultural standards for both men and women, and many body modifiers enjoy the shock value of their adornment and take pride in their stigmatized identities.

Piercers and tattooees reject mainstream norms of adornment while simultaneously embracing subterranean status. This is an especially important component of the body modification trend for adolescents who are trying to establish social identity and autonomy from parental authority. Recreating the body differentiates one from one’s previous childhood body, and conventional familial and cultural milieus.

One connection between body alteration and youth and popular culture is explained by Daryl “Bear” Belmares, who had been a professional piercer for nine years in 1996 Belmares attributes the rise in piercing popularity since 1990 to the influence of media and describes two general motivations to pierce. Some people are entranced by the trends of the look. “They come in and say ‘I saw it on MTV.’ They’ve seen the Aerosmith video that has a model with a pierced navel and think it looks sexy.” Their main motivation is a desire to be different.

These individuals are likely to let their piercing heal over after a few years. Other piercers are “functional piercers” who spend more time premeditating their decision and pierce for sexual enhancement, to consciously mark a transition in their life, or to heal emotional scars. Although one might think that women are more likely to pierce as a narcissistic use of the body to establish identity, based on the proportion of self-starvers and self-cutters who are women, Belmares denied this gender distinction, noting that his clientele is 50 percent men and 50 percent women.

In 1969, Edward Podvall noted that “not only does the iconography of self-mutilation appear continually on the landscape of our culture as something seemingly more honest, authentic, pure, or disciplined, but it can be found as an unexpected posture within one particular developmental epoch.” He concluded that individual self-mutilation is an attempt to fend off developmental anxiety, and its prevalence may indicate “exoneration and approval by the surrounding culture.”

As a cultural phenomenon, the iconography of self-mutilation may be interpreted in several ways. Podvall’s depiction of self-mutilation as part of a developmental process, like Turner’s delineation of body marking as a resolution of an initiation process and like psychoanalytic theory of body narcissism and self-mutilation as attempts to combat fragmentation of the ego, reveals the cultural significance of body modification.

Self-starvation, self-cutting, performance art, and painful, permanent body adornment are potent expressions of rebellion, desire for autonomy, and need to disseminate tension. They are attempts to self-heal, self-initiate, and self-symbolize. Self-mutilation may augment self-awareness, provoke euphoric feelings of spirituality, and resolve a state of liminality by culminating in marks of identity.

In the context of culturally sanctioned rituals, these marks incur social inclusion and demarcate social status. In American society, which has considered body alteration practices barbaric and has few formal coming of age rituals that mark the body, the perception of these marks as deviant or perverse has been changing as they have become more common.

Conclusion:

Although the extent to which contemporary Western society accepts self-mutilation is debatable, many forms of self-mutilation are becoming increasingly popular as real and symbolic forms of self-creation. The public and private, individual and social spheres in which body alteration is significant are entwined. Self-mutilation cannot be separated from the culture in which it exists. As David Napier points out, American culture is obsessed with “coming of age” as a never-ending process. This struggle to achieve identity is reflected by the implosion of self and identity into the physical symbol, and reality, of the body.

The human body is an accessible and viable pathway to holistic integration of self and is a terrain upon which to carve and etch one’s deepest desires for identity and meaningful connection to both earthly and spiritual realms. At times altering the body is a form of play and adornment, assuming a mask, playing a role, at other times it is a desperate attempt to feel alive and combat a feeling of alienation and disassociation. Altering the body is an exploration of limits and boundaries of the self, whether in the arena of staged art, subculture, or the local tattoo shop. As individuals test their own limits, they test and change the limits of society.

Although still considered distasteful and non-mainstream by many people, body piercing and tattooing are being adopted by individuals seeking to fulfill spiritual and social identity needs. In contrast to societies in which body marks are inscribed according to cultural tradition, the self-chosen marks of today’s modem cultures are marks of disaffiliation with convention and historical values.

Finally, as individuals modify their bodies as exploration of their individual identities, the culture composed of these individuals begins to explore what it means to be human and what role the body plays in civilization. Tattooing is an act which is very much painful in some cases so why should someone get the tattooes even when they are so terrible. This is society‘s responsibility to set such standards for such unusual things so that every body can have clear mind about these weird things.

Bibliography

1. Edward Westermarck, “The History of Human Marriage” Volume: 1. Macmillan. London. 1921

2. Alfred Metraux, Easter Island: A Stone-Age Civilization of the Pacific Oxford University Press, New York. 1957

3. Tattooing and Civilizing Processes: Body Modification as Self-Control Michael Atkinson Journal Title: The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. Volume: 41. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2004

4. Tattooing, Gender and Social Stratifica

We cannot talk about groups without including social psychology; to me these two terms go hand to hand. According to Forsyth (2006), the meaning of group is two or more people connected to one another by social relationships (p.3). Social psychology according to Baron, Byrne and Branscombe, (2006), is the scientific field that looks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations (p.6).

The way roles, status, norms, and cohesiveness allow a group to function is by giving structure to its members. Each one of them plays an important part affecting the group’s members in different ways.

Roles – Different tasks assigned or obtained engaging specific positions within the group.

Status – Positions generally associated with different levels or categories in a group. The higher the level the better advantages.

Norms – Rules or regulations in a group that specify the way the members should conduct themselves.

Cohesiveness – all the factors that connect all the members together which will contribute for them to continue in the group such as “benefits”.

Definitely, cohesion is the foundation that establishes how well a group holds together. Group cohesion is characterized by the strength of the unity linking the group members and/or the group as whole. Cohesion develops if the group stays together with same members (stability) and develops more quickly in small groups (Group dynamics, 2010).

The way reciprocity, personal orientations, communication, and the discontinuity effect influence group’s cooperation vary and there is no doubt about how people utilize them to solve cooperation problems. There have been different studies on how directly and indirectly they are important determinants of successful cooperation. According to Baron, Byrne and Branscombe, (2006), in the situations in which cooperation could be developed, all the people participating in the process will benefit from it (p. 478).

Cialdini, (n. d.), indicated that according to sociologists reciprocity is one of the most prevalent norms in the human culture. It is basically when one person tries to repay what others have done to him/her. The way this “rule” of reciprocity enables people to do or give something to another with the confidence that is not being mislaid and will be paid in the future (para. 2).

According to Baron, at al, (2006), personal orientation is another factor that has a strong effect on cooperation. Some people are willing to work together with others in almost every situation, others would follow their own interests, and some are just there just to compete with others. These three distinct orientations are called cooperative, individualistic and competitive (p. 480).

Working in this field I have witnessed how communication increases cooperation as well as the lack of it decreases cooperation in a group of people. I have experienced how communication affects the credibility and correlate with trustworthiness as well as enable expectation of compliance to those involved. Baron, at al, (2006), indicated that communication can lead to increase cooperation if certain conditions are met (p. 481). Although this is true in most cases, I do not agree that in order to increase cooperation there has to be certain conditions but a common goal.

I understand that the way discontinuity effect influences cooperation is more when a group of people get together with the sole intention to compete against others other than establishes a relationship between them. For some people their main focus is to be more competitive than just being there to establish a relationship.

A social dilemma is based on how individuals in groups often find themselves between acting selfishly and cooperating for the common good of all. For example getting together with a group of friends in a restaurant, we start ordering food but there was not a previous discussion to divide the bill. I often find myself in a dilemma of what to order a modest entree or a nice high-priced piece of steak. The two major factors are, social facilitation, and social loafing.

Social facilitation – the effect of the presence of others in our performance. When the task is easy, the presence of others works as positive stimulus to perform better. When the task is difficult, the presence of others could affect negatively our performance (Social facilitation, 2010). An example of this is when I facilitate psycho-educational groups in my work. When I have ample knowledge of the topic or there is someone important in the group, I tend to be more energetic with the audience.

Social loafing – is when some people makes less efforts than others as a group, this usually happens when the contributions of each individual are combined to reach a group goal. An example of this, at my work there was a co-worker whom was supposed to be participant of a project in my department. The guy came to the first two meetings and after that he always had an excuse and left the meetings earlier than the rest of us. Another co-worker and I ended doing our part and his. The project was a success and at the time of the credits that person wanted his name to be included because he was part of the group.

According to Baron, at al, (2006), social loafing can be averted by identifying the role of each participant, this way each one know what to do and not just sit and watch others do the entire work. The second will be increasing the participant’s awareness and commitment to perform their tasks. Third, by giving emphasis on the importance of the participant’s task and therefore how will affect the outcome. And the fourth and most important is by letting the participants know that their tasks and/or contributions are unique due to expertise or experience (p. 475).

Perceived fairness in groups is very important to all individuals that are part of a group. This is important to maintain the satisfaction within the group. According to Forsyth (2006), member satisfaction creates a healthier workplace because people respond to each other in a more positive manner decreasing anxiety and tension in the group (p.153). We all want to be treated fairly and defend our status in whatever group we are involved but at the same time is a very complex issue to deal as not always all the parties implicated agrees. This fairness can be judge and describe based on three main categories of justice, distributive justice, procedural justice and transactional justice.

Distributive justice – is when the outcome in which the individual receive his/her dues, fair share and/or rewards based on the contributions.

Procedural justice – this is based on the idea of fairness of the process that resolves the argument and allocates or distribute the resources among all the individuals engage.

Transactional justice – is when the person has being explained the reasons why the resources or rewards have been divided like that and also the individual was treated in a courteous way throughout the process.

The social decision schemes are rules initiated by allocation of member’s views towards the group’s final decisions. Baron, at al, (2006) stated that some of those schemes are: majority wins, truth-wins, first shift, and unanimity decision rules.

Majority wins rule – when the group will decide on the arrangement that was initially supported by the greater part of the group members. For example when ten members of a club want to buy some equipment but the rest twenty five opposed to it declaring it unnecessary. No matter how hard those ten argue about the importance of buying it the majority of them opposed and decided not to buy.

Truth-wins rule – when the correct solution will be adapted or accepted by other members as the best decision just because is the most excellent answer. An example will be there is a financial problem in the group and some individuals are trying finding a solution. All of them make their propositions one of them provide extra information that based on his financial experience make more sense that the others. The members recognize that solution as its correctness.

First shift rule – when the group members are inclined to accept a decision consistent with the same line of the first shift in opinion revealed by any member. Example is when members are inclined to decision first given or modify at the beginning of the process.

Unanimity – when all group members agree in the decision made. Example is in a boxing match all judges point cards and results are in agreement toward the same fighter therefore a winner.

Members of a group could also change their attitudes in reaction to how others argument and their ideas. According to Forsyth (2006), persuasive arguments theory is an explanation of polarization in groups indicating that often group members change their judgment during group discussion (p.351). Usually members are more willing to convey arguments that are more reliable with social norms.

I understand that social norms are the rules a group of people use to show inappropriate or appropriate attitudes and behaviors regarding specific circumstances. In other words, social norms are behavioral expectations regarding a specific situation and/or condition. According to Baron, at al, (2006), descriptive norms are those that indicate how people behave in certain situations whether are approved or not by others (what is normal). The injunctive norms are those behaviors that people will perceive as approved or disapproved by others in certain situations (what have to be done).

Norms in groups come forward progressively in unclear situations as members bring into line their actions. According to Forsyth (2006), emergent norm theory is an explanation of collective behavior signifying that the uniformity in behavior frequently observed in groups is caused by member’s conformity to unique normative standards that develop spontaneously in those groups (p. 574). This relates to a situation in Mexico where a small community decided to take justice into their own hands. They were tired of being victims of crime and robbery and they did not trust justice anymore.

After a group of thieves robbed a family business, the owners asked the people in the community to help capture the thieves. More than four hundred people or residents participated in the pursuit of those bad guys. When the residents captured the thieves they were taken to a soccer field where the residents made them pay for their actions and beat them badly. The injuries were so bad and serious that three of the thieves were taken to the hospital. At the arrival of the police they had to negotiate for about three hours with the people trying to convince them to hand over the thieves assuring that they will keep them in jail (Carenas, 2010). Forsyth (2006) stated that people do not actively try to conform to the judgments of others, but as an alternative use the group consent when making their own behavioral choices (p. 575).

Although they might look similar, conformity, compliance and obedience are slightly different. I understand the difference of these concepts is as follows; Conformity is how we change our perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors based on the social norms or “conforming” to the expectations. Compliance is when a request is made and even though is optional the person agrees to do it. Obedience is following orders when they are given and submit to without questions because comes from an authority figure.

People choose to “go along” and conform in certain situations because they want to be accepted by others or to feel they “fit in” (normative social influence) and want to be right and look into others opinion to direct theirs (informational social influence) Baron, et al, (2006). In order for some people to feel comfortable when others are talking or doing something different, they tend to conform. According to Constable, Shuler, Klaber and Rakauska, (2002), “Those that conform tend to be obedient and compliant” (para. 1).

Some people will not conform and resist therefore they will go in the opposite direction. When this happens, the person wants to develop or maintain his/her individuality and/or maintain control over his/her life. A good example of this will be teenagers going against what their parents and society estipulate just to show they are different and also as desperately seeking acceptance from their clique, friends, and in some occasions gangs. There are others that even though they would like to conform they are not able to due to a significant limitation, like physical, cultural, and language between others.

Cialdini’s six principles of compliance are principles that will produce automatic responses from people. Those principles are liking, commitment or consistency, scarcity, reciprocity, social validation, and authority.

Liking – people are more likely to comply with requests or favors from people they know, like or are familiar with than “strangers”.

Commitment or consistency – people stand behind any previous decision they have made previously or are consistent with.

Scarcity – people are more likely to comply with requests that might be available just temporarily. Example, a person will buy a product because it is the last one of its kind.

Reciprocity- when a person complies to a request because that person or identity has previously granted us one and he/she feels obligated to do it in return.

Social validation – when people belief they need to comply because others are doing it and it might be the right thing.

Authority – people will comply with request from any authority figure because they know better.

Group decision making has advantages and disadvantages. Ideally one of the advantages is the diverse expertise and strengths of its members and the greater number of higher quality of alternatives that could be generated increasing the rate of a problem solution. A disadvantage is the so call “group think” which occurs when members of a group feel pressure to obey to what might be the dominant view in the group (Group Decision Making, 2010).

There are also serious problems that can interfere with the process to make precise decisions. Some of those group problems can lead to costly and devastating decisions. Among those are group think, group polarization, advocate technique, and authentic dissent (Baron, at al, 2006).

Group think – when there are high levels of acquaintance among group members and all of them make a decision believe that the group as whole cannot be wrong even though the results are no favorable. Example of this when a group of ten marines agreed to engage a confrontation against an army of fifty soldiers. Even though the odds for them to win the battle are minimum to none they made the decision to do it.

Group polarization – when individual members of a group change in the direction from conservative to more extreme action or point of view as a consequence of the group discussion. An example will be when some senators slightly opposed to a law reform but by the end of the meeting they strongly opposed to the reform to the extent of wanting to change it completely.

Advocate technique – better known as devil’s advocate; this is when a group member is assigned the duty of disagree and condemn the decision or action made by the majority of the group. It is usually done to motivate further discussion so the can be more careful on making decisions. An example of this is when a CEO of a company vote against the decision of all of the vice-presidents of the company so they could revisit the proposal and make changes as needed.

Authentic dissent – when one or more group members without being assigned disagree with the original idea with the intention of improving the quality of decision making process. Example would be member of an association want to change some of the ethic codes and four of them opposed to stimulate the examination of all possible angles of the original proposal.

Overall, one of the reason people usually look to belong in a group is identity. The sense of belonging to a group at times is so strong that it will defeat other characteristics of the person’s identity. This is called collective identity, which through the participating in social activities, people usually gains a sense of fitting in with a unique “identity” that exceeds the person (What is collective identity, 2008). According to Forsyth (2006), collectives as intergroup provide members with a broad view of the self, not only based on individual but also collective qualities (p. 582). This is the reason why people like to participate in a variety of social groups. As described throughout this essay, social groups provide immense satisfaction and sometimes immense risks from participating.

The terms group and social psychology go hand to hand when discussing collective and people’s behavior. Group is two or more people connected to one another by social relationships (Forsyth, 2006). Social psychology is the scientific field that looks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations (Baron, at al, 2006). The identification on how roles, status, norms, and cohesiveness allow a group to function as they cause us to act in some ways we might never will prefer to act. We all want to be treated fairly and defend our status in whatever group we are involved but at the same time is a very complex issue to deal as not always all the parties implicated agrees.

The social decision schemes are rules initiated by allocation of member’s views towards the group’s final decisions. Norms in groups come forward progressively in unclear situations as members bring into line their actions. Social norms are behavioral expectations regarding a specific situation and/or condition. Serious problems also can interfere with the decision making process which could end with costly and devastating results. With advantages and disadvantages participation in group is vital for any person as it helps establishing direct and indirect relationships with others in different ways.

“The essence of society lies in an ongoing process of action- not in a posited structure of relations” -Blumer, 1969,(p.71)

Although symbolic interaction theory is often applied primarily to the micro level, the structuring of interdependent lines of behavior at the meso and macro levels also involves shared definitions developed through interaction. The overall culture of a society is the objective outcome of these shared social definitions whereby subjective meanings are created, often expressed in material artifacts of various types, and either sustained or transformed through interaction.

Symbolic Interaction-Process Versus Structure

Many of the core ideas of symbolic interaction theory are grounded in the pioneering work of George Herbert Mead, particularly his perspective regarding the close relationship between the mental processes whereby people make sense of their environment and their interaction with one another. This relationship is manifested in the patterns of collaboration among people as they seek to develop shared interpretations of the situations they face. It is also reflected in how one’s self-concept develops through awareness of the perspectives of others. In addition, contemporary symbolic interaction theory draws on Charles Horton Cooley’s analysis of how one’s feelings about oneself (pride or shame, for example) reflect one’s sensitivity to the positive or negative reactions of others, especially in primary group settings. This is consistent with his often-cited concept of the “looking-glass self.”

Symbolic interaction theory is comparable in some ways to Georg Simmel’s focus on the forms of interaction, but symbolic interaction theory goes deeper than Simmel’s perspective in emphasizing the symbolic medium through which interaction takes place plus the subjective mental processes that accompany it. This focus on the subjective level may be compared to Weber’s emphasis on understanding the subjective meanings of individuals’ actions. But while Weber moved well beyond the level of individual actions and subjective meanings to deal with broad patterns of institutional and cultural change, many symbolic interactionists resemble Simmel in their strong micro-level focus.

Human beings relate to one another and to their environment in terms of interdependent roles they create and sustain. At the center of this process are the self-concepts or identities of the individuals involved as they interact and adjust to one another in face-to-face encounters. Human beings are thus transformed into students and teachers, friends and lovers, husbands and wives, team players and college graduates, customers and sales people, celebrities and deviants, soldiers and social workers, lawyers and police officers, members and outsiders, and so on. Social definitions are crucial even for defining the meaning and social relevance of human beings’ biological characteristics, such as sex, age, and weight, for example. The socially contrived character of large-scale institutional structures may not be as obvious as in small group relationships or children’s micro-level play worlds, but macro level social institutions are also socially constructed through widely shared subjective definitions that are developed and sustained through interaction. This implies that when subjective definitions and interpretations undergo widespread change, institutional transformation may occur, which then changes the context of subsequent interactions at the micro level. The divisions between micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis are not rigid distinctions. From r various micro-level social circles, networks of social relations extend outward, thus providing an opening to meso and macro levels of the social world.

The heritage one share as members of society also includes enduring cultural products and artifacts that have been constructed or reproduced by countless other people far beyond the range of one’s own limited social circles or personal knowledge. Language obviously transcends personal micro-level social settings, even though language is actually reproduced regularly in the context of face-to-face interaction as well as in mass media communication. Even one’s adaptation to the objective physical reality of the natural world (like the food one eats) is mediated through the symbols used to define and interpret it. All symbolic interactionists emphasize the micro-level linkages between the subjective consciousnesses, interpersonal interaction, and identity formation, as well as the symbolic and socially constructed nature of the larger social world.

Symbolic interaction theory today differs from the pioneering “social behaviorism” emphasized by Mead in the early part of the twentieth century.

Blumer’s Theorey:

Symbolic interaction theory, under the influence of Herbert Blumer, was in large part a critical reaction to macro level types of analysis, particularly as reflected in functional theory, and the strong emphasis on the notion that people’s behavior is largely determined by social structures. For symbolic interaction theorists, the strong emphasis on culturally scripted norms and institutionalized roles was misplaced. This focus seemed to leave little room for individuals to make choices or to improvise as they interpret and adjust to the specific situations they face. For symbolic interactionists social structures do not exist as an objective reality that is independent of the actions of its human participants. Instead, all aspects of the social world are negotiated, constructed, and reproduced or sometimes transformed through ongoing processes of interaction and subjective interpretation whereby people mutually shape one another’s perceptions, definitions, and responses to their environment. Within this general framework, several different areas of emphasis can be identified within symbolic interaction theory. Symbolic interactionist perspective serves as a general framework for role theory, reference group theory, analyses of social perception and person perception, self theory, and dramaturgic theory.

Of the various versions of symbolic interactionism, Herbert Blumer’s (1962) perspective expressed the strongest skepticism regarding macro-level theories such as functionalism. As he put it:

By and large, of course, sociologists do not study human society in terms of its acting units, instead, they are disposed to view human society in terms of structure or organization and to treat social action as an expression of such structure or organization. Thus, reliance is placed on such structural categories as social system, culture, norms, values, social stratification, status position, social roles and institutional organization.

(Blumer, pp.188-189 in Rose, ed. 1962)

Blumer coined the term symbolic interaction and promoted Mead’s strong emphasis on the interrelated processes of mutual role-taking, interaction, and subjective interpretation that occur as people adjust their actions to one another in dealing with the particular situations they face. This emphasis on the need for people to improvise their responses to their environment and to one another seems to downplay the habits and memories that individuals bring to situations that they encounter over and over. It also seems to push the cultural and institutional “framework” that might influence their interpretations into the background. Even though social organization, culture, roles, and other structural features of the social world may not determine people’s behavior in a strong sense, such features may nevertheless be taken into consideration, especially in familiar situations. When people repeatedly face similar types of situations, they may employ ready-made responses with only a minimal amount of negotiation or reflection. This does not mean that social organization determines people’s behavior as an external force. It does suggest, however, that patterns of interaction and interpretation are not always as fluid as Blumer seems to suggest.

People do indeed sometimes face novel situations that are unstructured and ambiguous and so will need to make a conscious effort to make sense of them as they explore with one another how to cope. In other situations, they may each have their own distinctive ideas on how to respond and so will need to negotiate their differences. But in many routine situations they already share an implicit understanding of its salient features and know how to respond. This means that very little negotiation is required if any. Regardless of these variations, patterns of social organization, including written rules and established authority or power structures, are never automatically self-enforcing. Instead, these “structural” factors become relevant only to the extent that people remember them and decide how to apply them. Sometimes there may be discussion and debate regarding whether or how an established rule or custom should apply. If there are large differences in power and authority, the negotiation actually may be quite minimal, as those with relatively less power realize the futility of trying to get those with greater power to see things their way.

By pushing social organization, culture, and similar concepts that transcend particular situations into the background, and by emphasizing the fluid and indeterminate nature of the immediate social world, Blumer’s approach makes it difficult to establish principles of social behavior that apply across different situations or to move from the micro to the macro level. However, other symbolic interaction theorists give more emphasis to stable structural categories than Blumer did. These structural influences do not determine behavior from the outside, as external or objective forces, however; instead, they are encoded in individuals’ subjective consciousness and shared memories and expectations. Although they may be interpreted to apply in unique ways in different situations, they are nevertheless reflected in participants’ predispositions regarding how to respond to the specific situations they face.

The contrast between Blumer’s view of the fluid and undetermined nature of the social world versus a more structural version of symbolic interaction theory can be illustrated through the process whereby individuals’ self-concepts are developed, maintained, and changed. The relation between individuals’ self-concepts or identities, their social roles, and the reactions of others can be traced back to the pioneering work of Mead and Cooley. Contemporary symbolic interactionist theory offers several different strategies for exploring how individuals’ self-concepts or identities are expressed through the different roles they perform. The following section will deal in more detail with the relation between people’s role performances and their identities.

Blumer’s image of the fluid and negotiated character of the social world implies that identities and social roles are not fixed but instead are largely improvised in each encounter as individuals seek to align their own self-concepts and intentions with the expectations of others. In contrast to Blumer, a more structural version of symbolic interaction theory puts greater emphasis on the standardized and routine expectations and behaviors of various roles. With this alternative focus social life is viewed as having a higher level of predictability than implied in Blumer’s perspective, especially in routine situations. Although behavior is not determined by social roles, with no room for individual variations, this structural version is closer to the conventional forms of sociological analysis that Blumer criticized. While roles may not be scripted in detail, there are definite guidelines and expectations that people tend to follow. People’s self-concepts are multidimensional. They may reflect roles associated with various personal characteristics as well as with the social positions they occupy. These roles include, for example, those associated with gender, age, family status, occupation, race or ethnicity, residential location, leisure time pursuits, general lifestyle preferences, and so on. Such roles are likely to be partially structured by general cultural expectations as well as by specific expectations that develop among people who interact on a regular basis. Even so, there is room for considerable improvisation in most cases as individuals express their own unique individuality and seek to satisfy their current needs and concerns.

There are three fundamental premises underlying a symbolic interactionist perspective; and it is to Blumer’s great credit that these premises receive emphasis in his work. All are in fact central to Mead’s arguments, even while none of them originates with Mead.

The first of these premises holds that an adequate account of human behavior must incorporate the perspective of the actor and cannot rest entirely on the perspective of the observer alone. The second of these premises asserts the priority of social interaction and the derivative, emergent nature of both self and social organization from that social process. The third argues that self, or persons’ reflexive responses to themselves, serves to link larger societal processes to the social interactions of those persons.

The first and last of these premises contain between them the justification for insisting that socially formed meanings that are aspects of the subjective experience of persons are not only legitimately but are necessarily part of observers’ accounts of the social behavior of human beings.

Contrary to Blumer’s position would be the emergent character of social life as well as ignoring the reality in experience of the dialectical relationship of what Mead called the “I” and the “me.” However, working from Blumer’s perspective on these matters does not require that one must retreat to phenomenologies of individual minds, or forgo attempts to develop theoretical explanations of social life that have some general applicability.

If one accepts interaction as the source and substance of society, i.e., accepting the foundational character of the social process, it will surely be the acceptance of Blumer’s emphasis on the emergent character of self and social organization. This acceptance in turn implies the recognition of some degree of indeterminacy in attempts to foresee what will be from what is at any given moment of that social process. Further, such indeterminacy is principled and not merely a recognition of the incompleteness or inadequacy of present knowledge.

The central role of self in mediating the relationship of social process and social behavior, one of the basic premises of symbolic interactionist thought whose emphasis in Blumer’s work need to be emphasized.

Without invoking a concept such as self, attempts to come to grips with obvious variability of persons’ behavior in the face of apparent constancy of circumstance-biological, ecological, cultural, or social-are likely to founder similarly in a complementary way the concept of self permits dealing with that variability in specifically social terms.

Meta-theoretical Conceptions of Blumer:

The metatheoretical ideas proclaim the impossibility of general, predictive sociological theory as a consequence of the centrality of meanings and definitions in the production of human behavior. For Blumer, all social life is actively constructed by participants in the very process of interaction itself because this “micro-constructivist” process is taken to be descriptive of social life in general, it is also taken to be descriptive of the meanings and the interpretations applying those meanings assumed to be critical for each “next step” in the processes of interaction. Meanings in that sense are truly emergents, subject to literally continuous reformulation on a moment-to-moment basis. If meanings are indeed central, and if meanings are constructed in and particular to the experience of individual actors, emergent from their ongoing experience, it follows for Blumer that the generality required of the predictive, theoretical concepts in terms of which theoretical arguments are couched cannot exist. Preexistent concepts cannot match the emergent interpretations of actors constructing their lines of social interaction. Given all of this, Blumer concludes, sociology can expect to be able to develop after-the-fact understandings of behaviors that have occurred, but cannot anticipate the development of general explanatory sociological theory in a predictive sense.

Methodological consequences of Blumer:

His metatheoretical argument has methodological consequences. For one thing, it implies the futility of a research enterprise that is initiated by a priori theory, or that anticipates behavioral outcomes via hypotheses arrived at deductively from such theory. For another, it suggests that research methods that fail to focus directly upon actors’ interpretations by setting up prior procedural or substantive constraints on how issues are formulated or are attacked-experimentation and survey research methods are cases in point-necessarily lack va1idity and the capacity to generate meaningful data. And for yet another, it underwrites the condemnation of the application of mathematical or statistical manipulations of data in efforts to draw from those data their sociological implications, on the grounds that numerical data are necessarily bereft of the meanings that define the essential character of sociological phenomena. Thus along with denying the possibility of explanatory sociological theory, Blumer severely restricts the legitimate range of investigatory (data gathering) techniques as well as analytic methods.Apparently, in his own mind only participatory observation meets his strictures but even that method would not survive a thorough logical analysis of its fit to Blumer’s methodological arguments.’

It is important to note that Blumer’s ideas which are fundamental to defining symbolic interactionism do not necessarily lead to the metatheoretical and methodological ends at which he himself arrives. Actors’ perspectives, the definitions of situations they call into play that are critical to the course and the content of interaction, are not unconstrained. Both the meanings those are possible to invoke in the course of defining situations, as well as the particular meanings from the range of possible meanings that are likely to be invoked, are not random events. They are, on the contrary, subject to the constraints of extant social and cultural systems. Further, there is some reasonable stability over time to the meanings attached to social objects. For practical purposes these do not change willy-nilly or from moment to moment in a way that signifies great change in behavioral outcomes. If there were no such stability, if meanings did not in general entail relative constancy from moment to moment, from day to day, even from year to year, there is no way that social life could have the predictability that enables people to live their lives as they do.

The fact that meanings can change radically and precipitously does not argue that in general they do change radically and precipitously. This implies that one can indeed formulate general statements or theoretical propositions that go beyond the phenomenologies of single individuals, statements or propositions that are not subject to a priori rejection, whatever their fate may be at the hands of empirical evidence. To recognize that social life is constructed via definitional or interpretive processes and that there are few limits on what constructions are possible does not require one to abjure reasonably strong predictions, or to anticipate that predictions, when based on solid theoretical grounds, will lack credibility or validity. Neither does it obviate the recognition that the social process sometimes, perhaps even frequently, crystallizes and stabilizes in a manner that permits the theoretical recognition of “selves” and “social structures” that they themselves operate to constrain and limit the possibilities for emergence in social life, that operate to transform possibilities into probabilities.

Substantive ideas in Blumer:

In substantive terms, it is Blumer’s treatment or lack thereof of social organization and social structure are both nonessential and highly problematic. For Blumer, “society consists of the congeries of lines of individual action, the fitting together of these lines. Individual action is a matter of persons guiding their own action by interpreting the significance of things for that prospective action; group action is a matter of aligning individual action through a process of role-taking, i.e., searching out the meaning of others’ acts by ascertaining what they are doing or intend to do (Blumer 1969, p. 8).

Social organization and social structures enter action only by shaping situations and providing the symbols used in interpreting situations, “only as they enter into the process of interpretation and definition out of which joint actions are formed”; and, in any event, they are less important in modern society than in stabilized, settled societies precisely because in the former there are fewer situations calling for previously regularized and standardized actions.

Conclusion

There obviously exist a number of very different senses of what symbolic interaction is substantively and what it implies methodologically. The problem is not that these different senses exist; the problem rather lies in the artificial and unnecessary oppositions among them created by the polemics that have historically characterized the literature of symbolic interactionism-the polemics of social movements and embattled minorities, the polemics that define orthodoxies and heterodoxies in seeking to recruit adherents to the banner being waved by the pure. The fact of multiplicity of alternative viewpoints in itself is healthy: self-control, choice, freedom and various other good things spring from alternatives symbolically represented in human experience. But multiplicity of views can be unhealthy if there is no communication across differences, if either structural or cognitive barriers prevent the alternatives from in fact entering the experience of persons, for then each person becomes the prisoner of his or her preferred -perspective.” One is then used by perspectives rather than using them and the perspectives themselves are likely to ossify, to become unquestioned Truths and not potentially fallible ideas subject to logical and empirical examination and reformulation.

Overpopulation, resource crisis and environmental pollution are the three major social problems of the contemporary world; they are also three major obstacles that restrict economic and social development and the improving people’s living standard in the world. China has the largest population in the world and there are more than 1.3 billion people in China. And now, China is serious shortage of fresh water, arable land, forest and grassland, energy and other resources (Rozelle, 1997; Deng, 2008.) Per capita of these resources are less than one-third of the world’s averages. Per capita consumption of mineral resources is not to half the world average. As China’s social and economic development increasingly, the total population is approaching the maximum carrying capacity of resources, environment. Irrational exploitation of resources exacerbates the shortage of resources and waste further, and the trend of ecological deterioration has not been fundamentally reversed. Population growth on resources and the environmental impact of socio-economic sustainable development has become the most important issue. So to deal with the population problems, all the people and stakeholders are required to cooperate with the Chinese government and then raise a sustainable development to deal with the problems.

In this paper, it will first have a look at the background of China’s population problems and then talk over which people are affected by the pollution and the barriers that are stopping the people to get a sustainable development. In the following part, it will have a brief introduction of the six processes which is developed by Dr. Mark Diesendorf and used to deal with the population problems. Next, how the six processes are implemented will be discussed. At the end of the paper, there is a brief discussion on the relationship of the steps and their dependence on each other and a conclusion will be presented as well.

The direct problems which result from over population are the environmental problems and health problems. But the environment is changeable that it can flow from one place to another, such as air pollution, water pollution. So it implies that every people in China are affected by the population problems.

With the increasing of population in China in recent years, China has suffered a lot. More people mean more energy and resources that could be consumed, but there will be more waste let out. Therefore, it will make the environment pollution to move forward a single step. So many environmental problems have appeared one by one. For example, in order to have good harvest of more and more fertilizers are used to improve the crop productivity (Jiang, 2009). But the low efficiency of the fertilizer use makes most of the fertilizer leave into the soil or flow with the water thus it both causes water pollution and soil pollution (Foy, 2001; Green, 1993; Jin, 2001). So in many places, especial in the rural areas, there is no fresh water to drink but it is also a lack of running water in these areas, that it is a great threat to people’s health. In addition, with the population growth, more people move into the city, so this leads an increase on the price of house. But on the contrary, in order to save the cost to the enterprises, many enterprises invest in the rural area directly; in order improve its profit, a large mount of the waste materials are let out into the river without any treatment. To the city people, with a growth of population, they are also the victims. More and more people live in the city, that much more rubbish is produced. Now many cities are crowded with rubbish and it is becoming a headache problem to the government.

Although in order to have sustainable development, there many barriers before implementing the six steps to deal with the problems. It mainly concludes political factors, economic factors, legal factors, educational factor and cultural factors.

Political factors: China is on the way of socialism, but now it is primary stage of socialism. Although the central government has enacted many laws and politics, but few of the local officers follow the path of central government. In their eyes, economy development is the most important. If the economy has risen up, it will reflect their hard work on the position that it will bring greater chances to promote. But in fact, it is quite harmful to the local people to a long term.

Economy factors: China is a developing country and developing economy is the biggest theme all the time. Thus it misleads a large number of the officer pay much more attention to economic development without regarding the population problems. But the population problems react to the economy development. The population problems prohibit the economy development in many places. Moreover, many local governments are very poor in China especially in the west of China. Although they realize the population problems are quite harmful to local development, it is hard to de with it. In order to achieve instant success, GDP is the best choice, thus they have to give up the idea to deal with population problems.

Legal factors: China is on the way of primary stage of socialism, many laws are not perfect. Family planning policy is not effective at present, especially in the west China. In addition, many of the families have realized the population, but they prefer boys to girls that there are at least two children if eldest son is a daughter (Luo, 2008). Moreover, some families have three or four children. Because of the special national conditions, to some degree, the local law may be not useful to them because of special relationship in China.

Educational and cultural factors: A survey shows that only 21% of all the Chinese people enter in school that many people get little education. With little education, the people could not realize the importance of population problems and they have little knowledge to protect the publicity. In addition, family planning policy education is very poor in China’s education. Another, there are 56 nations in China that they differ in culture significantly. Difference in culture will lead different attitude towards population problems and water protection.

More money is input to deal with population problems and more money is punished for the parents with more than one child. With the development of economy, more and more money has been input into deal with population problems. Because the government have realized that development building on destroying the environment is an unsustainable way of development because of population growth. So in order to deal with the population problems, money input will be a basic factor. And in fact it takes effects in many places.

Education. In order to deal with population problems, education is a key measure. First, more measures to dealt with the population problems will be developed through education. Second, through education, it will improve people’s awareness of population problems. Now, China government has input more and more money in education year by year. At present, many universities have the major named sociology science or sociology, and so on. It implies that the government has fully realized the seriousness of the population.

The six step process is developed by Dr. Mark Diesendorf, the University of New South Wales. He gives us an easy but practical six step process to get a sustainable development process. The six steps are following.

First, present a guiding vision, goals and scenarios. Second, Develop sustainability policy in all sectors, at all levels, with all types of instruments. Third, Create supportive environments. Fouth, Strengthen community action. Fifth, Develop personal and organizational skills. Sixth, reorient the system. (Diesendorf, 2000)

The model will be used to give out a sustainable development process to dealing with population problems in China.

China is becoming one of the core countries in the world, especially after the economy crisis. But now the population is becoming one of the biggest problems in China. On the one hand, in order to protect astogeny, more new births are encouraged, but on the other hand, to have a sustainable development process and maintain full of vigor, new births are limited. So it is difficult to achieve a medial policy. Therefore, in order to have a health, livable and sustainable development in China, there is a vision that is designed for China. The vision could be: in order to create a country with health, harmonious, and livable lives in China, China should do its best to improve people’s life in a sustainable aspect.

Goals and scenarios: To deal with population problems, there is a long way to go. First, the growth trend of population problems should be under controls. There are many families which have more than one child. So measures should be taken out to restrict the families to deal with the population problems. Second, reduce the birth rate in rural area, especially in China. There is a lack of realization of reducing reduce the birth rate thus broadcast of the population problems is essential to local people to help them realize the seriousness of population problems around them. Third, improve the life standard to deal with the population problems. At present, population problems are affected by the life standard because in many poor places in the west China, people think that more children mean much happier. Early birth means that early happiness will come. Forth, more laws should enact to ensure these measures to take effect normally.

First, money is essential to deal with the population problems. Finance support is one of the most important measures to handle with population problems. Without money, any treatment measures could not take effect.

Second, stricter laws should be carried out to assess the quality of the people’s life. There could be an annual assessment of the population problems. In addition, the present laws to assess the population problems should be improved and perfected.

Third, develop new ways of accumulating the achievements in local official career. In the past, GDP is unique target to accumulate the achievement in local official career. But now although GDP is important, the green GDP is encouraged. If the officer pursue the number of GDP, not focus on the quality of GDP, it is difficult to deal with population problems efficiently.

Forth, recycle economy is encouraged. In order to have a saving and harmonious society, recycle is an efficient way. With more children birth every day, more energy and resources will be consumed, so in order to improve the efficiency of energy and resources, recycle economy is encouraged.

Fifth, improve monitoring of dealing with population problems. While dealing with energy and resources, monitoring is important to make sure to operate normally. Because there is an interpersonal relation in China, that many laws may be ineffective. So improving monitoring of population problems would be effective to avoid special interpersonal relation in China.

To deal with population problems efficiently, supportive environments are necessary. It main contains cooperation, transparency and compliance with relevant stakeholders. To the families with more two children in the rural areas, the government should warn them to realize the burden of the family and the whole society. But the birth control measure should be put among them. The government should help them how to get birth control in daily life. The government also could organize a group of specialist to give guide the birth control.

Population problems in national minority are also not ignored. Useful and practical ways of birth control should be widely broadcast among them. In addition, more village officials could be introduced to bring new concerns to national minority area.

Although many laws have been carried out and will take effect, it is difficult for a single or few people to take them into practice. So it needs community action. As James Fallows said in an email (main ideas), in the past decades, because of the Chinese people’s support in the population problems, China’s have got greatest achievement in reducing the number of new birth, they also pave the path to population problems (Fallows, 2007). It implies that community actions play a great role in reducing birth rate. So the community should be called to deal with population problems. To deal with population problems, college students are the most suitable community. In China, there is a social practical activity in both summer holiday and winter holiday and now it is becoming a required course to them. They have many advantages among other groups. For example, people in the rural area would believe college student more than because many of them desire to go to university, but they have no chance. Second, the college students have many channels to deal with the practical problems when they meet in social practical activity. They can get easily in touch with the specialists. In addition, there are so many college students in China that they can spread the knowledge in each corner.

In China, it is a pity that not many personal and organizational skills in dealing with population problems. The main reasons are following: it is a lack of personal power among the Chinese people because of the economic level to some degree. There is also a lack of education and public awareness in reducing population. As Jared Diamond said, in China there is a low awareness in public protection, because China input low invest in public education—is just half of the developed countries as a percentage of GDP. China has a population of 20% of the world population, but China has put only 1% of the world’s investment in education (Diamond, 2005).

But now the situation is becoming much better than before. More and more people have poured in deal with population problems voluntarily. For example, a large number of people want to be volunteers in BeiJing Olympic Games 2008 and ShangHai World Expo in 2010. In addition, the government has input more (including finance and politics measures) in dealing with the population problems.

Reorient the system is the largest challenge when get a sustainable development process. Because it links barriers—political factors, economic factors, legal factors, educational factor and cultural factors together. But the governments play the greatest role in reorienting the system. As referred above, the central government has made many useful laws, but the local government could not follow the path, mainly because there is a large of economic interest to the government. As GDP is the most important target in their eyes. Another, the economy growth is imbalance in different areas in China and the concept diversity towards population in national minority; especially there is a big difference between west and east. So in order to achieve a sustainable development, China should reform many laws relevant to population problems.

Each of the six steps could not stand separately. First, in order to realize sustainable development, the most import thing to do is have a goal and vision, which is step 1. But without step 1, all the following steps are useless. With a goal and vision, measures should be carried out to realize the goal. But measures can take effect only under proper policy; that is step 2. With a politic guarantee, the measures could take into practice and good supports environment are necessary; that is step 3. In order carry out the measures, community action are needed as well, and this step 4, because the laws and measure can take out by the people, not a single person. But now, in order to have good performance on reducing birth rate, personal and organization skills will help; that is step 5. To have a large scale to deal with population problems, there would be a big challenge that it should reorient the system and that is step 6. In all, the six steps is an organic entirety.

In conclusion, in order to get a sustainable development in China, population problem is a serious problem. To deal with population problems, there is a specific analysis of the background and the victim. All the people in China are the victim of population problems. In the process of deal with population problems, there are both barriers and useful factors. The main barriers conclude political factors, economic factors, legal factors, educational factor and cultural factors, because China is in the primary stage of socialism. But there are many useful factors as well including money and education. More and more money is input in dealing with population problems and invested in education. After analyzing the background, a six-step process is raising out to deal with population problems. It includes a guiding vision, goals and scenarios, sustainability policy in all sectors, supportive environments, community action and personal and organizational skills. The six steps could not exist alone, on the contrary, they an organic part.

The Central Claims of Critical Theory

In order to understand the central claims of Critical Theory, it must first be defined. What is Critical Theory? Critical Theory first coined as such in 1937 is a name given to a series of new approaches to the study of culture, literature and thought that developed during the 1960’s primarily in France (Leitch, 2001). It refers to a series of pathways for intellectual inquiry that first emerged with the end of the 18^th century European Enlightenment (mid 1600’s to late 1700’s) (Nowlan, 2001) in which the causes associated with it were legal equality, the right of ordinary Europeans to hold their rulers to account, the rule of law, transparent government, freedom of expression, the right of nations to self-determination and to freedom from colonial domination – and they are as relevant today as they were two hundred years ago (Glendening, 2003). Critical theory questions and challenges that which seems obvious, natural and simple in the world around us – the conviction that what is, or what is in the process of becoming, or what appears to be, or what is most commonly understood to be, or necessary and inevitable – it does not accept any of this (Nowlan).

The Frankfort School is the name given to a group of German Jewish intellectuals associated with the Institute for Social Research (Institut fur Sozialforschung) founded in 1923. Their work was an attempt to integrate psychoanalytic insights and the domain of culture into a Marxist analysis of twentieth century societies. The group composite was that of thinkers such as Horkheimer, Adorno and Marcuse (Agger, 1993). According to these theorists a “critical” theory may be distinguished from a “traditional” theory according to a specific practical purpose: a theory is critical to the extent that it seeks human emancipation, “to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them” (Horkheimer, 1982, 244). Theories aim to explain and transform circumstances; critical theories provide the descriptive and normative bases for social inquiry aimed at decreasing domination and increasing freedom in their forms. A clarification is given to what is not clearly understood or is questionable.

Theories arise in many ranges – anthropology, film, religion, linguistics and political science – and even family lifestyle. Critical theory is not a system, nor it is reducible to any fixed set of proscriptions (Bronner, 2002). Today, social theory is in crisis because of growing dissatisfaction with the dominant methodologies and conceptions of social theory and research. The 1960’s is when Stephen Eric Bronner became interested in critical theory as new theoretical paradigms emerged that questioned prevailing quantitative, empiricist, and positivist conceptions of social theory. But where did the central claim of critical theory begin?

Since the Frankfort School was the first Marxist-oriented research center affiliated with a major German university directed by Carl Grunberg, it tended to be empirical, historical, and oriented toward problems of the European working class movement. Works by Karl Korsch, Georg Lukacs and others also had works published in its journal Archiv fur die Geschichte des Sozialismus und der Arbeiterbewegung. Grunberg retired in 1930 and Max Horkheimer became the director. Under Horkheimer, the Institute sought to develop an interdisciplinary social theory which could serve as an instrument of social transformation publishing a journal Zeitschrift fur Sozialforschung (1932-1941) that contained a wholesome collection of articles and book reviews. These compilations detailed social theory and defined any misconceptions of their meaning.

Horkheimer, upon assuming his position as Director, delivered an inaugural address on January 24, 1931, entitled “The State of Social Philosophy and the Tasks of an Institute for Social Research (Bronner and Keller 1989: 25-36). Within the contents of the text, he defines social philosophy as an attempt to elucidate the “fate of human beings, insofar as they are parts of state, law, economy, religion, in short, with the entire material and spiritual culture of humanity. He criticizes Kant for grounding social philosophy in the experience and faculties of the particular individual (Ibid: 33) and praises Hegel’s theory as an improvement but yet questions speculative metaphysics and their tendencies to celebrate a higher transcendental sphere of Being and meaning over concrete existence. (ibid:38-39). Horkheimer continued to defend the importance for critical social theory and envisaged a program of supra-disciplinary research which would investigate current social and political problems. Philosophers, sociologists, economists, historians, and psychologists would be united in and ongoing research community who would do together what in other disciplines one individual does alone in a laboratory, – which is what genuine scientists have always done: namely to pursue the great philosophical question using the most refined scientific methods; to reformulate and to make more precise the questions in the course of work as demanded by the object; and to develop new methods without losing sight of the universal (ibid:41). Hence we see the first steps toward the formation of critical theory in the making.

It is impossible to characterize the “Frankfort School” as a whole since its work spanned several decades and involved a variety of thinkers who later engaged in sharp debates with each other. Rather, one should perceive various phases of Institute work: 1) the empirical-historical studies of the Grunberg era; 2) the attempts in the early to mid-1930’s to establish a materialist supra-disciplinary social theory under Horkheimer’s directorship; 3) the attempts to develop a critical theory of society during the exile period from about 1937 to the early 1940’s; 4) the dispersion of Institute members in the 1940’s and the new directions sketched out by Horkheimer and Adorno; 5) the return of the Institute to Germany and its work in Frankfurt during the 1950’s and 1960’s; 6) the development of critical theory in various directions by Fromm, Lowenthal, Marcuse, and others who remained in the U.S.; 7) the continuation of Institute projects and development of critical theory in Germany by Jurgen Habermas, Oskar Negt, Alfred Schmidt, and others in the 1970’s and 1980’s; and finally 8) contributions to critical theory by a variety of younger theorists and scholars currently active in Europe and the United States.

Kellner believes that a crisis of critical theory emerged with its fragmentation after World War II. Social theory stopped developing despite some empirical research projects and sustained meta-theoretical analyses be certain of its members, especially Adorno (Kellner, 1989). He believes that critical theory provides the most advanced theoretical perspectives within contemporary social theory from the 1930’s through the early 1960’s; new socio-cultural developments since then have rendered obsolete some of its theses concerning on-dimensional society, the media, technology, and so on. In particular, critical theory has not continued to theorize new technologies, new developments in the media, changes in socialization practices, and new cultural developments. This is surprising as earlier contributions were precisely in these areas (Wiggershaus, 1986).

Adorno did a great deal of work in social theory in the 1950’s and 1960’s, as well as turning out an incredible profusion of texts in the areas of literary criticism, cultural critique, philosophy, and aesthetics. His work turned from supra-disciplinary research to philosophical reflections (Kellner, 1989). Herbert Marcuse argued that Marxism had degenerated into a rigid orthodoxy and needed concrete experience to revivify the theory and that it neglected individual’s problems. He was concerned about individual liberation and well-being in addition to social transformation. The intentions of his writings were of great interest, yet many were unpublished and unknown (Kellner, 1984).

The theory of hegemony by Antonio Gramsci reserves a place for the intellectuals in society. Men find themselves born in a process independent of their will, they cannot control it, they can seek only to understand it and guide their actions accordingly was noted to be economic determination by Marx. Gramsci was concerned to eradicate economic determinism to develop its explanatory power with respect to super-structural institutions. His holdings were that class struggle must always involve ideas and ideologies, ideas that would make the revolution and also that would prevent it. He stressed the role performed by human agency in historical change: economic crises by themselves would not subvert capitalism. He was more “dialectic” than “deterministic”: he tried to build a theory which recognized the autonomy, independence and importance of culture and ideology (Strinati, 1995).

The works in the last decade relative to critical theory has followed Habermas in attempt to develop a more adequate philosophical aspect of critical theory (Heinemann, 1986). A deficit of social research and elaboration of new theoretical perspectives has come about with contributions from members of the postmodern camp who attempt to theorize the impact of new technologies, the media, and other socio-cultural developments (Kellner, 1988 and 1989).

The focus on democracy as the location for cooperative, practical and transformative activity continues in the work of Jurgen Habermas, as does the attempt to determine the nature and limits of “real democracy” in complex pluralistic, and globalizing societies. Habermas’ work is concerned with rethinking the tradition of critical theory and German social philosophy. He has advanced that tradition in distinctive ways. His rationality consists not so much in the possession of knowledge and thus primarily concerned with the consistency and conten of one’s belief’s, but rather in “how speaking and acting subjects acquire and use knowledge” (Habermas, 1984). Rationality, freedom and justice are not just theoretical issues to be explored and debated. Habermas’ entire work aims to defend and continue the enlightenment project against the challenge of Weber’s instrumental rationality, Horkheimer and Adorno’s earlier critical theory and Nietzscheanism in the forms of post-structuralism as presented by Foucault and Derrida and the postmodernism of Lyotard. The reconciliation of the competition of claims of the reason of the life and the world are contributions of Habermas to contemporary and social theory. His account and his answers are not complete, but raise questions without losing the hope of continued research (Rasmussen, 1990).

People create conditions and deal with them. Their opinions influence the thoughts of others. In his theory, Habermas fails to incorporate or appreciate gender and racial inequality. Habermas’ calls for particular “reconstructive sciences,” whose aim it is to render theoretically explicit the intuitive, pre-theoretical know-how underlying such basic human competences as speaking and understanding, judging, and acting. It is not certain if Habrmas’ theories are built on a conception of the world in which essentialist characteristics (middle class, white, males, or class) dominate. Historically discourses of rationality and progress have sided with men over women (Stanley and Pateman, 1991). Certain valuable elements are cited of by Selya Benhabib (1986) that can provide basis for a wide-ranging normative critique of contemporary society.

An excerpt from Critical Theory and Society: A Reader: “essay is a stylistic vehicle with its inherently unfinished quality is the logical form for generating anti-systemic claims and fostering the existence of reflexivity” perhaps best describes the logic that inspired Bronner and Kellner to publish this book. Within is a collection of seminal essays, many appearing in English for the first time, which provides an excellent overview of the critical theory developed by the Frankfurt School. An essay is a short work that treats of a topic from an author’s personal point of view, often taking into account subjective experiences and personal reflections upon them (Wikipedia). What better way can a criticism be announced than through an essay? Personal opinions are relished because they may have something within their contents that was not seen by others. In the essay Le Prix Du Progress by Max Horkheimer exemplifies the nature of discussions that were presented to the early theorists. A French physiologist, Pierre Flourens, was disenchanted with the use of chloroform. He states his belief, and cites his reasoning. The essay ends with Horkheimer’s comments. Somewhat in the form of an editorial for a newspaper, but yet an answer is given. A concern was presented – a problematic thought was answered. Another famous essay by Theodor Adorno elaborates on Culture Industry

Reconsidered. In it Adorno explains the term culture industry, corrects inconsistencies from a prior publication and remarks on the term “mass culture” (from “The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Cuture” London: Routledge, 1991). In Critical Theory and Society: A Reader are included the works of Horheimer, Erich Fromm, Lowenthal, Pellock, Herbert Marcuse, to mention a few.

The time realm of critical theory displays evidence that modern culture needs to redefine the conclusions of its predecessors. The understanding of theories, imply that they have to be updated continually to include new circumstances. Modernization has to be critiqued to include the changing of the times. We should be concerned with something other than uncovering the past. Instead we should reinvigorate the present, salvage the Enlightenment legacy, and contest those who would institutionally freeze its radicalism and strip away its protest character (Israel, 2001). The inclusion of the way people act and why they act can begin with critical theory of family. Family history provides an example of some of the theoretical deficiencies as in social scenes. The family is attacked and defended with equal vehemence. With a dominant empiricist tradition, historians have come to the field of family history without a clear sense of what the significant questions are. They have not self-consciously theorized the family as a field of investigation. Instead they began by adopting the conventional wisdom of sociology which, goes back for Federic Le Play (L’Organisation de la famille selon le vrai modele signale par l’histoire de toutes les races et de tous les temps –Paris, 1871), and saw a broad change in the family from an extended form of the Middle Ages to a nuclear form of modernity (Shorter, 1975). From the family come the leaders of the world. Understanding distinct family structures enables an outline to the future tasks of its members. The tendency of Marxist social theorists is to view the family as a dependent variable, a secondary structure, unintelligible in its own right, which will change after the revolution. The family is an intelligible as a structure (Morgan, 1975) composed of race, religion, gender, which impose these factors towards their beliefs.

From a “Gramscian” perspective the mass media have to be interpreted as an instrument to spread and reinforce dominant hegemony – or they can be used to spread counter-hegemonic ideas too. “Pop culture and the mass media are subject to the production, reproduction and transformation of hegemony through the institution of civil society which cover the areas of cultural production and consumption. Hegemony operates culturally and ideologically through the institutions of civil society which characterizes mature liberal-democratic, capitalist societies. These institutions include education, the family, the church, the mass media, popular culture, etc. (Strinati, 1995: 168-169).

From Strinati’s point of view the main problem with Gramsci’s ideas is the same as the the Frankfurt School’s theories and Althusser’s work: their Marxist background. The framework does not allow history to contradict the theory, and the interpretation of reality becomes rather elementary.

Critical Theory offers an approach to distinctly normative issues that cooperates with the social sciences in a nonproductive way. Its domain is inquiry into the normative dimension of social activity, in particular how actors employ their practical knowledge and normative attitudes from complex perspectives in various sorts of contexts. It also must consider social facts as problematic situations from the point of view of variously situated agents. In conclusion, Kellner feels that in order to find a way out of the contemporary crisis of social theory, it must develop new perspectives. Critical Theory should be responded to with theoretical analyses of developments within the capitalist economy and of changes in class stratification, the labor process, new technologies, the media, and politics. The central claims of critical theory should be emphasized by those who wish to revitalize it in an attempt to politicize it with new social movements and existing political struggles to build a better society. The development of both its “analysis of the present situation and a new politics is in order to become once again the cutting edge of radical social theory” (Kellner, 1989). Critical theory enables the development and refinement of the ability to engage in comments as critics, through movements encompassed around incomprehensible situations of society. All productive and concerned citizens should be the empowered critical agents that are able to question, challenge and contribute toward the progress of transformation of the prevailing status quo within the communities, societies, and cultures that are worked in to help maintain and reproduce every day. In relation citizens should not only be inescapably interested, but also vitally important as participants to opinionate on theory (Nowlan).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Agger, Ben. 1993. The Discourse of Domination: From the Frankfurt School to Postmodernism. Northwestern University Press. January.

Bronner, Stephen Eric. 2002. Critical Theory & Its Theorists. Routledge Publishers: 2^nd Edition. April.

Bronner, Stephen Eric and Douglas Keller. 1989. Critical Theory and Society: A Reader. New York and London: Routledge.

Glendening, Marc. 2003. Visions for a democratic Europe. Brussels, December 12.

Habermas, J. 1987. The Theory of Communicative Action. Volumes 1 and 2. Boston: Beacon Press.

Heinemann, Benhabib, Seyla. 1986. Critique, Norm, and Utopia. New York: Columbia University Press.

Horkheimer, M, 1982. Critical Theory. New York: Seabury Press.

Israel, Jonathan. 2001. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and theMaking of Modernity 1650-1750. Oxford University Press.

Kellner, Douglas. 1984. Herbert Marcuse and the Crisis of Marxism. London and Berkeley: Macmillian and University of California Press.

– 1988. Postmodernism as Social Theory: Some Problems and Challenges,” Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 5: 240-269.

– 1989. Critical Theory, Marxism, and Modernity. Cambridge and Baltimore: Polity Press and John Hopkins University Press.

Leitch, Vincent B. et al. (eds), The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (New York/London: W.W. Norton, 2001.

Morgan, D.H.J. Social Theory and the Family. London, 1975.

Nowlan, Bob. Introduction: What Is Critical Theory and Why Study It? University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. September 21, 2001.

Stanley, L and Pateman, C. 1991. Feminist Interpretations and Political Theory. Cambridge: Polity.

Rasmussen, D. 1990. Reading Habermas. London: Blackwell.

Shorter, Edward. The Making of the Modern Family. New York. 1975.

Strinati, Dominic. 1995. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. Rouyledge, London.

Wiggershaus, Rolf. 1986. Die Frankfurter Schule. Munich: Hanser.

Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay

“Suicide terrorists are said to be fanatics.” Discuss this statement with regard to the analysis of suicide terrorism and Asymmetric warfare.

This paper is a discussion on modern suicide terrorism, starting with a brief history of suicide terrorism, moving onto definitions, characteristics, theories and the asymmetries of suicide terrorism. Suicide terrorism can be dated back to ancient times; it is the evolution of the suicide bomber that brings the most notoriety. With many analysts such as (Gunaratna, 2000; Winkates, 2006), trace the evolution of modern suicide terrorism to Sri Lanka and Lebanon in the 1980s. Acts of suicide terrorism in the past have been relatively confined and their use limited to a small number of locations around the world. In the last decade there has been a significant expansion in the scope and frequency of suicide terrorist attacks. The number of terrorist attacks fell from 660 in 1988 to 250 in 1998; the number of suicide terrorist attacks was climbing rapidly (Clayton, 2003, p. 18). This increase in suicide attacks during the period 2000-2005 “is 2.7 times greater in comparison to the period beginning in the 1980s and lasting until 1999” (Pedahzur & Perlinger, 2006, p. 1987).

During the period 2000-2009 the scope of suicide terrorism expanded dramatically, with suicide terrorist attacks in Indonesia (Bali), Sri Lanka, Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United States, England, Spain, Russia, Chechnya and Bangladesh. Although there have been suicide attacks within the west, it is the rapid increase of attacks within countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq that is the notable with a year on year increase. Saudi Arabia became so alarmed with the rise in suicide terrorism that in April of 2006 the Saudi government announced plans to build a multibillion-dollar electrified fence along its 560 mile border with Iraq (Dreazen & Shiskin, 2006, p. A1). According to ISAF, in 2008 suicide bombings increased 26 percent from 2007(ISAF, 2009, toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, January 2009). There has also been a noticeable change in the individuals who carry out suicide attacks, once seen as mainly carried out by young men for either Religious or political reasons and yet there has been an increase in the number of women and children now playing an increasing part in suicide missions . One of the latest attacks took place on the Moscow subway, killing 35 and wounding many more; both of these attack where carried out by female suicide bombers. Suicide terrorism can be seen as inexpensive, deadly, and especially effective in accomplishing terrorists’ goals (Hoffman, 2003, p. 1; Jalalzai, 2005, p.110) attacks have also become increasingly effective in terms of the destruction they cause and the number of people they kill, as the suicide terrorists adopt new innovations such as explosive vests (Gall, 2006, p. A15).There is an asymmetry within suicide terrorist attacks, western countries have a reliance upon smart weapons in the conflict against those seen as terrorists. These weapons can cause huge amounts of damage without the need to directly attack the enemy with ground troops, thus lessoning the casualties sustained during combat operations.

The use of a suicide bomber in effect becomes the human equivalent to the smart bomb. The weapon is self directing to the target, it can make changes to the target location, timing and delivery method on an ad hoc bases making the suicide bomber the ultimate smart bomb (Hoffman 2003). The use the human body as a weapon is not a new phenomenon being well documented through the ages.

Pape (2005, p.11) calls the Zealots and the Sicarii the “world’s first suicide terrorists”. The name sicarrii means “dagger-men”, “who would infiltrate Roman-controlled cities and stab Jewish collaborators or Roman legionnaires with a sica, kidnap the staff of the Temple Guard for ransom, or poison their enemies” (Bloom, 2005, p. 8). The Zealots and Sicarii used violence to encourage public uprising, including the Jewish War of AD 66. They would attack their victims in broad daylight and in highly public places with little apparent regard for their own safety or escape. Pape (2005) notes that many of these attacks “must have been suicide missions, since the killers were often immediately captured and put to death – typically tortured and then crucified or burned alive” (p. 12). Assassins were an 11th – 12th century Shia Muslim sect from the Nizari state, their name, the assassins comes from the Arabic word hashishiyyin. According to Pape (2005), “the Assassins created an effective organization for the planned, systematic, and long-term use of political murder that relied on suicide missions for success. Pape (2005) reports that “between 1945 and 1980, suicide attacks temporarily disappeared from the world scene” (p.13). Pape (2005) and others (Laqueur, 2003) note the occurrence of politically- and/or religiously driven hunger strikes and suicides (particularly self-immolations) during this period but Pape (2005) claims “there is not a single recorded instance of a suicide terrorist killing others while killing himself” (p. 13). Reuter (2004) disagrees, citing a pro-Palestinian “Japanese Red Army”-sponsored attack on Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on May 20, 1972. In what Reuter (2004) notes as the “first suicide attacks in the Middle East”, on this day three Japanese gunmen with machine guns killed twenty-four people at the airport. They made no effort to escape, and two were shot dead by the airport guard (Reuter, 2004, p. 136).

Inspired by Iran’s use of “human minesweepers” against Iraq, Hizbollah, launched a series of attacks against Western and Israeli targets in Lebanon (Winkates, 2006, p. 92). Hizbollah suicide attackers killed 80 and wounded 142 in its April 1983 attack on the American Embassy in Beirut, killed 241 and wounded 81 in its October 1983 attack on the US Marine headquarters near Beirut and its attack against the French Multinational Force, killed 58 and wounded 15 (Winkates, 2006, p. 92). In November 1983, Hizbollah suicide terrorists killed 88 and wounded 69 in an attack on the Israeli Defence Force headquarters in Tyre and a month later killed four and wounded 15 in an attack on the American Embassy in Kuwait (Winkates, 2006, p. 92). Sprinzak (2000) notes that Hizbollah leaders were initially very uneasy about the decision to launch suicide attacks, under the reasoning that Islam does not approve of believers taking their own lives. Hezbollah’s spectacular success at achieving its goals of expelling foreign forces from all of Lebanon inspired other organizations such as Hamas, Tamil Tigers and al-Qaeda to adopt the suicide terrorist method of attack (Pape, 2005, p. 14). The Tamil Tigers were founded in 1972 as a Marxist, ethnic Tamil, Hindu separatist group seeking independence from the Sinhalese Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka. Their Black Tiger division trained to launch suicide attacks against Sri Lankan political leaders, military targets and civilians (Pape, 2005; Winkates, 2006). Hafez (2006) observed that outside of the Middle East, the Tamil Tigers “have led the pack in the number and sophistication of suicide missions”. It is estimated that the organization completed some 250 successful suicide attacks between 1987 and 2006 (Hafez, 2006, p. 5).

In the early 2000s, ethno nationalist and Islamist Chechens began launching suicide attacks against Russian targets (Hafez, 2006, p. 5). Al Qaeda began launching attacks against American and Saudi targets in the Middle East in the mid-1990s. Al Qaeda’s spectacular entry into the suicide terrorist hall of fame occurred on August 7, 1998 when suicide terrorists used two delivery trucks loaded with explosives to blow up within minutes of each other, the American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing a total of 224 people and injuring more than 4,300 persons (Reuter, 2004, p. 142). A little more than two years later, in October of 2000, Al Qaeda suicide bombers detonated 225 kg of explosive charges alongside the American destroyer, the USS Cole on a refuelling stop in the Yemeni port of Aden, killing 17 American sailors and injuring forty. A year later, Al Qaeda suicide terrorists launched their principal suicide operation and what is described as one of the biggest single suicide terrorist action to date, the 9/11 attacks in the United States, killing about 3,000 (Reuter, 2004, p. 144). This attack lead to explanations of suicide terrorism becoming defined as, first, that the suicide terrorist was irrational and/or mentally ill (Brym & Araj, 2006; Pastor, 2004; Wintrobe, 2003).Secondly that the “deprivation hypothesis” this theory uses the explanation that that suicide terrorists were educationally, economically or otherwise deprived compared to their peers (Brym & Araj, 2006; Krueger & Maleckova, 2002 .In recent years the Bush Administration has advanced both of these theories in some of its anti-terrorist expression. President Bush repeatedly spoke out against the evil and irrational terrorists who commit these actions. The Bush Administration argued that poverty reduction programs in terrorism-prone regions will reduce the incidence of suicide terrorism (Pastor, 2004; Pape, 2005). Numerous studies have found little or no support for these two theories of suicide terrorism, recent studies have provided evidence which directly refutes these theories. Krueger & Maleckova’s, study in 2002, on the economics and education of suicide bombers directly refutes the deprivation hypothesis of suicide terrorism. Krueger & Maleckova 2002 concluded that, the evidence that we have assembled and reviewed suggests that there is little direct connection between poverty, education, and participation in or support for terrorism. Indeed, the available evidence indicates that compared with the relevant population, participants…were at least as likely to come from economically advantaged families and to have a relatively high level of education as they were to come from impoverished families without educational opportunities (Krueger & Maleckova 2002 p. 9).

Numerous studies have established that overall, suicide terrorists do not suffer from personality disorders or mental illnesses which would explain their participation in suicide terrorism (Berko & Erez, 2005). As Wintrobe 2003 argued, it is possible to explain suicide terrorist acts “in rational choice terms, and that, while such acts are indeed extreme, they are merely an extreme example of a general class of behaviour in which all of us engage” (Wintrobe 2003 p. 2). Explaining that, suicide terrorist is not necessarily irrational. A third theory of suicide terrorism focuses on the influence of culture, especially religious culture, on suicide terrorists (Brym & Araj, 2006). These explanations have often been used to explain suicide terrorism among Shia Muslims, based on the tradition of the “cult of sacrifice” (Hafez, 2006; Bloom, 2005). Although this fails to explain the existence of suicide terrorism among cultures and religions with no established “cult of sacrifice” and it cannot sufficiently explain suicide terrorism among secular, nationalist groups (Pape, 2005; Hoffman, 2003). Furthermore, as Brym & Araj 2006 point to, while such cultural resources likely increase the probability that some groups will engage in suicide attacks, one must be careful not to exaggerate their significance. One difficulty with the ‘clash of civilizations’ argument is that public opinion polls show that Arabs in the Middle East hold strongly favourable attitudes toward American science and technology, freedom and democracy, education, movies and television, and largely favourable attitudes toward the American people. They hold strongly negative attitudes only toward American Middle East policy. This is less evident of a clash of civilizations than a deep political disagreement (Brym & Araj 2006 p. 1973).

A more recent theory of suicide terrorism has been offered by Robert Pape (2003, 2005). Based on his analysis of suicide terrorism from 1980 through 2004, Pape presented a three-part model describing the causal logic of suicide terrorism. Pape’s theory de-emphasizes the role of religion including Islamic fundamentalism and focuses on the role of terrorist organization strategy and secular nationalist objectives. Pape argues that suicide terrorism follows a strategic logic aimed at political coercion (Pape, 2005, p. 21). Pape argues that suicide terrorism is part of an organization’s broader campaign to achieve political objectives, usually in response to a foreign occupation. Pape goes on to argue that suicide terrorism also follows a social logic since terrorist organizations “often command broad social support within the national communities from which they recruit” (Pape, 2005, p. 22).

A number of analysts, including Bruce Hoffman (1998, 2003) have advanced explanations of suicide terrorism which propose rationale-choice models emphasizing the role of organizational factors that support Pape’s theory. Theorists have argued that Pape’s theory is overly simplistic (Atran, 2006; Bloom, 2005; Brym & Araj, 2006). Brym & Araj 2006 argues that “strategic thinking is only one element that may combine with others in the creation of a suicide bomber” (Brym & Araj 2006 p. 1972). Atran has recently challenged Pape’s theory on a number of points, including Pape’s sampling methods which completely discount the explosion of suicide terrorism in Iraq (Pape 2005, p. 130). Atran calls into question Pape’s dismissal of the role of ideology and religious fundamentalism as well as his assessments of the effectiveness of suicide terrorism (Atran, 2006, p. 132). Other recently emerging theories of suicide terrorism include Pedahzur & Perlinger’s 2006 social network perspective explaining suicide terrorism in terms of social motivations and Bloom’s multi-factor model of suicide terrorism (2005). There is a development towards more complex models of suicide terrorism accounting for the role of individual, social, cultural, strategic, ideological, and organizational motivations and factors in suicide terrorism (Smith, 2004).

Defining terrorism especially the suicide terrorism will never be an easy task, as Dershowitz (2002, p.4) observes, there is difficulty in a definition that everyone can agree upon is illustrated by the catchphrase, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. Dershowitz (2002, pp. 4-5) breaks down most definitions of terrorism into three main elements: 1) the nature of the targeted victims; 2) the nature of those who commit the violence; and 3) the method by which the terrorist seeks to influence their audiences. Atran (2003, p.1535) observes that “the concept of ‘terror’ as systematic use of violence to attain political ends was first codified by Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution”. Robespierre saw terror as an “emanation of virtue” that delivered swift justice (Atran, 2003, p. 1535). Another major difficulty occurs in separating the concepts of “terror” and “terrorism”. Pape (2005, p. 9) explains that “terrorism involves the use of violence by an organization other than a national government to intimidate or frighten a target audience”. Pape (2005, p. 9) explains further that most terrorist strikes or campaigns have two general purposes: “to gain supporters and to coerce opponents”. While Pape’s (2005) definition excludes the possibility of state-sponsored terrorism, numerous other definitions are wide enough to include terrorist acts conducted by or on behalf of a nation state as well as those conducted by private organizations or individuals (Dershowitz, 2005; Winkates, 2006).

Winkates (2006,pp. 88-99) defines terrorism as “the premeditated threat or use of violence against persons or property, designed to intimidate non combatant victims, the object of which is to change or to stabilize private or public policy”. Definitions of suicide terrorism combine the concepts of terrorism and suicide. As with definitions of “terrorism”, the definitions of suicide terrorism found in the literature vary. Hafez notes, one problem in defining suicidal terrorism concerns the various possible perspectives on the act:

…how one describes acts of self-immolation committed in order to kill others is a task fraught with controversy. Those whose support these acts of violence prefer to call them ‘martyrdom operations,” and their perpetrators ‘heroes’ and ‘freedom fighters.’ Those who oppose them prefer to call them ‘homicide bombers,’ ‘suicide terrorists,’ or ‘suicidal murderers’ (Hafez, 2006, p.4).

Hafez’s own definition of suicide terrorism relies on the more descriptive term of “suicide bomber” or “human bomb” which is defined as “an individual who willingly uses his or her body to carry or deliver explosives or explosive materials to attack, kill or main others” (Hafez, 2006,p. 4). Bloom’s definition of suicide terrorism is defined as “a violent, politically motivated attack, carried out in a deliberate state of awareness by a person who blows himself or herself up together with a chosen target. The premeditated certain death of the perpetrator is the precondition for the success of the attack” (2005, p. 76). In terms of the objectives of suicide terrorism, Bloom describes this as, although a suicide attack aims to physically destroy an initial target, its primary use is typically as a weapon of psychological warfare intended to affect a larger public audience. The primary target is not those actually killed or injured in the attack, but those made to witness it…Through indoctrination and training and under charismatic leaders, self contained suicide cells canalize disparate religious or political sentiments of individuals into an emotionally bonded group (Bloom, 2005, p. 77). Pedahzur states that “suicide terrorism includes a diversity of violent actions perpetrated by people who are aware that the odds they will return alive are close to zero” (2005, p. 8). Pape agrees in that , What distinguishes a suicide terrorist is that the attacker does not expect to survive the mission and often employees a method of attack such as a car bomb, suicide vest, or ramming an airplane into a building that requires his or her death in order to succeed. In essence, suicide terrorists kill others at the same time that they kill themselves (2005, p. 10). Pape further argues that a broad definition of suicide terrorism “could include any operation that is designed in such a way that the terrorist does not expect to survive it, even if he or she is actually killed by police or other defenders”. Pape also argues that “We might call such operations suicide missions instead of suicide attacks” (2005, p. 10). Winkates argues that “the best litmus test for definitive suicide terrorism is the intentional and successful sacrifice of a human life to achieve a terrorist objective” (2006, p. 89).

Hoffman (2003) argues that two key characteristics of suicide terrorism explain its growing popularity with terrorists groups around the world: “suicide bombings are inexpensive and effective” (p. 2). While coordinated multi-target attacks such as the 9-11 attacks and the London bombings may require extensive planning and considerable investment, even these types of suicide terrorist attacks are less expensive than many conventional terrorist attacks and definitely less expensive than funding an army. The majority of suicide attacks are carried out by individuals, minimizing the amount of investment and administrative overhead. The reliance on “human bombs” provides terrorists with “the ultimate smart bomb” (Hoffman, 2003, p. 2). Such smart bombs can be extremely efficient and effective. One of the characteristics of suicide terrorism is its effectiveness against the selected target. As of 2003, suicide terrorism accounted for just three percent of all worldwide terrorist acts, but for 50% of all terrorism-related deaths (Clayton, 2003, p. 18). This is another factor contributing to its effectiveness. The high-kill rate of suicide terrorism increases the amount of terror such attacks instigate in target populations. As Furedi 2007 notes, “The threat represented by mass-casualty terrorism is not confined to its capacity for destruction. Public dread of this phenomenon is underpinned by the assumption that this is a treat that is unpredictable and random and its effect incalculable” (Furedi, 2007, p .7) adding further to the overall result; suicide terrorism becomes effective in producing fear, justifying its deployment in conflict, by highlighting the unpredictable ability of the act, to produce more fear than the actual act. The act of suicide terrorism highlights an important asymmetry; terrorist need to be successful only once to kill Americans and demonstrate the inherent vulnerabilities they face, (US Congress, 2002). The asymmetry of suicide terrorism is not only the causation destruction, but to seize the attention of Governments and the population of the nation it targets, as Laqueur (1999) notes;”Terrorism has been with us for centuries, and it has always attracted inordinate attention because of its dramatic character and its sudden, often wholly unexpected, occurrence.” (Laqueur, 1999: p, 3)

Asymmetric terrorism reaches out not merely through the use of physical violence but through the symbolic transgression of social morality and national security. Terrorism, as Townshend, (2000); Laqueur, (1999); Chomsky, (2001) have suggested, goes right to heart of what makes us safe; it forces us to pay attention to it whether we want to nor not. The proliferation of video taped messages from leaders of suspected terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda is a testament to the symbol over the actual act of physical violent; there is nothing violent in the images of Osama bin Laden addressing the world through the Aljazeera television networks but it has symbolic presence – in a world that is dominated by media and communication technology, as Van der Veer and Munshi (2004) suggest, one of the major successes of modern terrorist organisations is their ability to use the resources of their enemies: the Internet, satellite television, mobile phones and the mass media. Even the condemnation of terrorists in the media, can aid the cause of terrorist organizations; by describing physical acts of violence through the duality of good and evil or right and wrong, the Western media merely serve to elevate and obfuscate the real nature of terrorism which, as research has shown[1], is far more fractured and complex. In this sense, much of the terrorist organizations’ aim, of seizing attention, is actually carried out by the opposing media; eager for a story and for a simple answer. Suicide terrorism has become a relatively successful military and political strategy; the 9/11 attackers commanded the attention of the world not only through their own efforts but through their target’s media; the American television companies, the European press and the global media conglomerates all shared in the process of captivating the public’s imagination that, as Towshend(2000) notes; “dramatically amplifies the anxiety about security which is never far from the surface of society.” (Townshend, 2000: 8), the communication of the message and the success of this are inextricably linked to the terrorist organisation itself. A highly ordered group with distinct political aims is likely to be more successful in delivering its message than a disparate, non-focused organisation whose aim is to spread confusion and fear. Douglass McFerran(1997) details that many of the IRA campaigns of the 1970s and 80s had distinct short term as well as long term political aims, very often terrorist attacks on mainland Britain were specifically concerned with achieving a specific political target such as protesting over the widespread imprisonment of suspected terrorists or the treatment of those all ready in prison.

As Townshend details this is not the case in every terrorist act; the PanAm flight 103 attacks for instance that saw a plane explode over town of Lockerbie in 1988 had no prior demands or message attached to them and very little admission of guilt after (Just, Kern and Norris, 2003: 285).The nature of the attack is likely to influence the success of the communication of demands; Dobkin (1992) details that in 1970 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked three airliners in order to not only secure the attention of the world’s media in which they were successful, but to demand the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners in British military jails. Their demands were largely met and most of their hostages were released; however when compared to the contemporary Munich terrorist kidnapping where members of the Black September group killed eleven Israeli athletes in an attempt to secure the release of 236 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.Hoffman (1998) details that the Munich kidnappings were not only failures in terms of communicating and achieving recognisable demands but also in media manipulation: “The Palestinians had not only failed to obtain their principal, stated demand — the release of terrorists imprisoned in Israel and West Germany — but, to many observers, had hopelessly tarnished the morality of their cause in the eyes of the world. Indeed, international opinion was virtually unanimous in its condemnation of the terrorists’ operation.” (Hoffman, 1998: p, 72). But, again, this can often have the opposite to the desired effect. Robert Singh (2003) suggests that the 9/11 attacks merely served to strengthen the socio-political position of the American people, the very group that came under attack; he also suggests that the security systems around the globe became more vigilant and aware of any gaps in their processes: “Rather than initiating a transformation, 9/11 accelerated trends, policies and approaches that were well established. If the attacks’ most immediate political effects were certainly dramatic – the Bush administration’s approval ratings soared and public confidence in the federal government attained levels unseen since the early 1960s” (Singh, 2003: p,52).

Al-Qaeda, built upon this position when coalition forces invaded Iraq and later Afghanistan, the fear that is produced by asymmetric warfare attacks is sometimes seen as the main outcome, Somali “rebels” succeeded in influencing the American public, after pictures of dead American soldiers where broadcast on CNN, in the same way as the Madrid Suicide bombings had on the Spanish public, directly influencing government policy and leading to the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, the American government forced by the public outcry pulled troops out of Somalia. With limited resources and limited damage to western societies al-Qaeda, has managed to change the very ideals for which it is said the war on terror is conducted. It has become a norm in Europe that after a terrorist attack, new security legislation and other measures are established to combat the threat of terrorism; however most of these policies seem to neglected the human rights of the citizens. These changes are highlighted by Arce (et,al 2009) the traditional treatment of terrorism-as-asymmetric-conflict in terms of the relative resource disparity between terrorists and their ultimate targets, an additional asymmetry exists through the definition of success. For the target government, success is defined in terms of security against all possible attacks; whereas for terrorists one success is often enough to alter the political landscape, airways, etc. If one target is successfully attacked, then counter terror policy and the competency of the government itself

can be subject to public scrutiny.(Arce, et,al, 2009). Thinking and organizing in a different manor than an opponent in order to amplify advantages and by doing so also exploit an opponent’s weakness. Changes to asymmetrical warfare have been greatly affected by the digital age, no matter the policy initiatives in trying to undermine the terrorist’s propaganda and promote its own; the forum of the internet allows suicide attacks to be displayed to a world audience. The filming of “Martyr videos” and attacks can serve both as a recruitment campaign reaching to all corners of the world and a forewarning to those who oppose terrorism. Understanding and defining suicide terrorism is open to debate; there have been a number of successes in terms of securing specific demands in the past – not least of all the 1970 ‘skyjacking’ operation by the PFLP. However, we have also seen how terrorism can be divisive, how it can engender the very opposite of what it sets out to do. As we saw with the London bombings, a post 9/11 society is one that treats the threat of terrorism as a consequence of modern city living. This is perhaps the one main reason why terrorism may become considered a strong military strategy: today the more terrorist activity there is, the more political value it has, yet the less it affects every day individual life. However, of course, terrorism is perhaps the only strategy that many disenfranchised groups have which may account for its constant presence on the global political stage. Ultimately, however, terrorism is a symbolic act, an act that depends upon fear for its meaning; as the public becomes more and more exposed to images and symbols of terror they also become more and more immune. As Baudrillard suggests (2003) the violence of the terrorist is likely to become merely just another image in the media and the terrorist themselves just another face on the television screen and it is this, ironically, that provides its greatest counter measure.

In this essay the difficulty in defining, theorising and understanding has been discussed. The asymmetries involved within terrorism have also been discussed, showing that with the use of digital media and little resources the ability of the target to respond to attack within its own borders can become limited to the change of political policy, which in turn may undermine the authority of the government within its own borders. The September 11 attacks and during the post Cold war era, the world has seen no greater power than the United States. International Relations have seen the control and dominance of the United States over the world’s structure. However, after the Twin Tower attacks, the world started realizing the role of others inside the international arena, these others preferably labeled terrorists; questioned the validity of several theories that were formulated as soon as the end of the Cold War was announced, these theories were trying to predict the shape and attitude of the world as it entered a new era. It has always been known that every era in history adapts an indication that will mark it as distinctive, and therefore all of those theories were simple speculations on the nature of what could be such an indication. Theories valid, some predicted the rise of democracy and liberalism, others feared the return of barbarism and anarchy. Also, other theories predicted a clash that will divide the borders of the world according to culture, civilization, ethnicity, and most importantly religion. The world has dramatically changed with terrorism as the key player. It is also very clear that the asymmetries involved in terrorism are very powerful, as it was able to question the strength of the United States, and was able to reform the political policies of many world countries. Terrorism is the world’s most fearful enemy, an enemy that is powerful, aggressive, and most importantly ambiguous. There is no concession within society on terrorism, for many it is not a problem and life continues, for others it has change their view of world order and politics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
2008 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 1230, Public Law 110-181) http://www.defense.gov/pubs/OCTOBER_1230_FINAL.pdf Accessed 06/04/2010,
Arce, Daniel G; Kovenock, Dan; Robertson,B, Suicide Terrorism and the Weakest Link, CESIFO WORKING PAPER NO. 2753,CATEGORY 2: PUBLIC CHOIC

World Health Organization Assistant Director-General Catherine Le Gals-Camus finds that more people around the world die from suicide than other causes. 1. According to Dr Anuradha Bose, associate professor in pediatrics who also works for the CMC’s department of community health, suicide is the third largest single cause of death among Indian youth between the ages of 15-19. One in every three cases of suicide in India is committed by people due to academic pressure.

2. A suicide is reported in India every 15 minutes and it is believed that there are many more cases of suicides that are not reported, so the actual number is very high.

3. Kerala, the state with the highest literacy rate in all of India also has the highest suicide rate which is an alarming factor for academic pressure.

4. The average suicide rate in India is 103 per 100,000 people compared with the worldwide average of 14.5 suicides per 100,000 people.

6. More than 100,000 people commit suicide in India every year and 3 people a day take their own lives in Mumbai.

The rate of suicide among females in India is close to three times that of males. The average rate for suicide among males in India is 58 for every 100,000 and 148 for every 100,000 women. This is contradicting to the situation in other parts of the world where the rate of suicides is high among men rather than women.

Females, in contrast to males, characteristically are more open to ask for medical help and to communicate their anxieties and fears to significant others. Males tend to be acutely aware of feelings of sexual inadequacy or inadequacy of masculinity and believe it shameful to communicate such feelings. This seems to hold true for college-age males and females as well as adolescents.

POSSIBLE REASONS

Although the reasons for suicide in students are likely as varied as the people who commit them, there are some primary reasons for the high suicide rate in India. Here are some of the most common reasons for committing suicide in India.

1. Pressure to perform: In this modern age, from the moment the child is born, he’s brought up in a very competitive fashion. They are under tremendous pressure to deliver at schools well as sports and for competitive examinations.” Parents and society expect a lot from the children and the pressure to perform is high. A lot of students contemplate suicide because they could not achieve the good scores expected by their parents.

2. Family conflict, including domestic violence: India is losing the support that has traditionally come from the joint family system, as many couples now opt to live on their own, away from the rest of the family. There is less bonding and interaction with the family members and the feeling of neglect make the children feel unwanted and they get depressed.

3. Ragging: In few cases, ragging in colleges has been found reason for suicide in their first year. The emotional and humiliating treatment that the seniors give the juniors, make them want to forget everything by ending their lives.

4. Copy-Cat: Another explanation for the high teenage suicide rate was “copy-cat suicides” where children read about suicides in newspapers and decide to do the same thing themselves. There have been many incidents where children try to imitate suicides scenes from movies for fun and end up getting killed

5. Virtual Lifestyle: These days children are hooked to videogames and computer. The internet can be considered as boon or bane. Children have been sucked into the virtual world and they have been so addicted to it that they find it hard to live in the real world. This has led to many suicides as they have not been able to become normal again

The factors responsible behind the student suicide are quite different from other suicides like found in elders. The few trends have been observed in a survey in educational institutes across in US. Out of 2402 students, 1078 (45.8%) had psychological problems, half (1201 students) perceived problems in their role as students, 930 (45%) reported academic decline, 180 (8.82%) students reported that life was a burden, 122 (6%) reported suicidal ideas and 8 (0.39%) students reported suicidal attempt. There was significant correlation between student’s perception of life as a burden and class they were studying, mother’s working status, psychological problems and problems students experienced in relation to study, peers, future planning and with parents.

Risk Factors

Biological Clues: Family history of mental illness including depression, puberty, cognitive impairments, disability, chronic illness, substance abuse, anxiety, mood disorders and conduct disorder

Sociological: Contagion, peer pressure, family conflicts, drug and alcohol abuse, other abuse, academic pressures; expectations of school, family and self; break-up in a relationship, interpersonal losses, legal or disciplinary issues, bullying/harassment, negative social environment, victimization experiences

Psychological: Negative self-talk like “I’m no good” or ” I am not worthy”; poor distress tolerance, poor resiliency, poor interpersonal problem-solving, black and white thinking, previous suicide attempt

Existential: failure to see the good in the world, hopelessness: “What’s the point – it’s not going to change”

Communication

The addressing of this social problem can be divided in two types-

Proactive- Raising awareness among the students community at large at not to feel depressed and communicating that suicide is not an end to problems.

Reactive – This communication for those who need help right at the moment. As suicide tendency is very ephemeral tendencies quite some time. If the patient can be counseled right at the moment than suicide can be avoided.

I would propose an integrated communication plan across the channels as they have different reach and richness.

Before going deeper we have to select the central communication idea for the campaign. As the basic problem is depression due to some failure , the value of life should be shown in all the campaign.

The central idea can be

Life is to live and not to end.

You can end you life, not problems.

The creative brief can be framed around what the chetan bhagat has mentioned in a address to students to a university-

Don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing every day. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

Mass communication-

This can be divided further in different execution ideas-

Movies: – Few movies and documentary can be made which showcases the people who sometimes were depressed and thought of doing suicide have fought against the problem and become successful. The recently released film “3 idiots” portrays such a character in which a brilliant student commits suicide due to failure in the exams.

Textbooks:- Last page of text books can be devoted to such na motivationall stories about the people who did not do well in studies but able to make the histories in their field. People like Sachin Tendulkar , Bill gates , Mark Zukerberg who are college drop outs can be cited to make sure that text book and exams are not the end in itself.

Newspapers:- The stories of committing suicide should not be given prime importance as it may promote the copycat to further to take the path. Society should not sympathize with the people who commit suicide as it gives a signal to potential person to reach that destination.

Counseling:

Every college should have time to time personal interaction with their students and family members on their academic performance and behavioral changes if any. Research shows that timely personal counseling is the most successful factor in preventing suicide cases. If needed, a professional psychologist can be sought for effective counseling.

The counseling should be extended to parents and teachers. They also have to be educated that not every child can be best at everything and they have to find out their child’s interest. Recently released movie “Taree Zameen Par” showcases this that every child is good at something and we have to nurture their interest rather than imposing their will on the students. Some psychologist suggests that parents drives the things which they were not able to do during their times through their child an in this process they go beyond the capabilities of the child.

The overall personality of a student should be other parameter like sports and art also in students morale boosting.

Help Line-

Various help line is set up across the world who help the person who are depressed and counseling.

Few of the most popular one are as below-

http://www.samaritansofboston.org/ You are not alone.

http://www.befrienders.org/

A helpline in Mumbai, called Aasra, has been operating for several years to tackle the problem.

Connect to Young kids-

Face book page – Fight Against Growing Teenage SUICIDES having 768 likes

In January Samaritans hosts an annual memorial service open to all suicide survivors.

Dr. Anuradha Bose has begun a program of family life education, which includes information on sex and relationship for high school students which he hopes will help, but he admits it’s a small start to a big problem.

Maharastra, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Bombay Psychiatry Society (BPS) have launched an intitiative ‘Life is Beautiftul’ to locate syndromes of depression in child. They recently roped in Amir Khan as a Brand Ambassador fot hits.

Campaign

Motivation –

Parent Counseling

Help line-

Suicide Rate Men

The suicide rate for young men is much higher than for young women in western developed countries. Discuss with reference to gender and competing explanations of suicide.

For many, a rational response in life is to fear death after all life is our most personal and valuable asset, and it is not surprising that a copious amount of research has been devoted to suicide. The functionalist Emile Durkheim was the first to put forth the study of suicide in a serious attempt to establish empiricism in sociology, believing what is traditionally regarded as the most individual of all acts to still be open to sociological investigation. Before attempting to discuss the question at hand it may seem obvious, however, necessary to define what is meant by suicide.

According to Durkheim “the term suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result”. This definition is used to separate true suicides from accidental deaths ( Durkheim 1897 quoted in Thompson 1982:110).Suicide is a problem of considerable magnitude and is recognised as one of the main causes of premature mortality in young adults in western developed countries. In the United Kingdom alone there were 5554 suicides in adults aged 15 and over in 2006, according to the national statistics this represented almost one percent of the total of all deaths at ages 15 and over.

Gender differences in suicide rates become apparent when presented with data stating three quarters of the above 5554 suicides were by men and the highest rates were among the 15-44 age group (office for national statistics, 2006). Other research shows that for those males in the 15-34 age group suicide is the second most common cause of death (Charlton et al.,1992)2* Of all that is known about the phenomenon of suicide it is a general consensus that gender is a major factor in differential suicide rates, the main issue concerning this essay.

Although Durkheim wrote little about gender differences in suicide; primarily due to his claim that ‘women are not imaginative enough and intellectually complex enough to kill themselves’ ( a statement seriously lacking any empirical support) (Durkheim 1897 quoted in Maris 2000) it is important to note that he did lay the ground work for research to come. This essay will discuss the competing explanations of gender differences in suicide, specifically the statistical findings that the suicide rate for young men is much higher than for young women in western developed countries.

The first explanation that will be put forth is that the gender socialisation of males increases the likelihood of male suicide completion compared to that of women. This explanation will be discussed in relation to differences in help seeking behaviour, differences in choice of method and the relationship between alcohol/drug abuse and suicide in men. Following this, a further explanation to be analyzed is that of the ‘masculinity crises’ and its part to play in the alarming rate of male suicides.

Although the above will be presented as explanations for the title under discussion, all explanations put forth will be approached with caution and appropriately analyzed and evaluated. Finally having suggested explanations, I will question the methodology used in the study of suicide and whether this contributes to what may appear to be higher male suicide rates. In effect, do men really commit more suicide or is this simply based on unreliable data collection?

Socialisation and the social construction of gender are highly relevant in explaining the higher suicide rate in men. It is important to firstly explain what is meant by gender and to distinguish its meaning from sex. Sex refers to the biological and anatomical differences between ‘males’ and ‘females’ which includes a variation in hormones, chromosomes and genitals, Gender however, refers to the cultural classification of people as either ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’.

Many sociologists argue that gender is socially constructed through socialisation. Ann Oakley for example saw gender role socialisation taking place through manipulation, such as the dressing of girls in pink pretty clothing, through verbal appellations in telling boys only girls cry, through canalization for example directing boys toward more aggressive toys and girls toward dolls, finally by exposing boys and girls to different activities for example directing girls towards the more domestic tasks ( Oakley, 1972) *3.

In short it is thought that male socialisation in many respects increases the likelihood of suicide. Goldberg (1997) states that the socialisation of men in this way has created a ‘prescription for suicide’, through reinforcing the stereotype of masculinity permission is given to men to be inexpressive and more violent a combination which inevitably increase the risk of completed suicide. This notion can be used to explain why it is that although mental illness is more prevalent among women than men, men commit more suicide.

Depression specifically is regarded as one of the major risk factors for suicide mortality, around 30% of those who have committed suicide are reported to have suffered from depression (Bertolote et al, 2004)*5. It seems strange that although women display higher rates of mental illness than men (Foster 1995) 9* more men opt to take their own lives. It is argued that as a consequence of women’s learned gender roles they are more likely to seek professional help when experiencing problems which may lead to suicidal thoughts. Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend state that:

Sex differences in the seeking of help correspond to attitudinal differences: women are more likely to admit distress . . . to define their problems in mental-health terms . . . and to have favourable attitudes towards psychiatric treatment. (Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend 1977: 1338) 6*

Men on the other hand are encouraged from infancy to ‘tough it out’, to be silent and strong and to display independence and self reliance, consequently it is less socially acceptable for men to ask for help. This underlying social unacceptability results in mens reluctance to disclose suicidal thoughts and to discuss general emotional problems. The suicide in Avon study found that in the 4 weeks before death 80 per cent of men who had committed suicide had in fact had no contact with professional help, be it a GP or any other form of support organisation (Vassilas and Morgan1997) 7*.

It appears that gender socialisation to some extent contributes to the comparatively higher rate of male suicide completion. It should also be noted that stereotypical gender norms means women are more likely to be labelled as mentally ill. Some feminists argue that cultural sexism, coupled with specific sexism from professionals, makes women more susceptible to psychiatric labelling.

Furthermore women are labelled as mentally ill whether they conform to the female gender stereotype or whether they reject them (Chelter 1972:115) 8*. In this way the health service maybe deemed patriarchal and misogynistic, however, this increased likelihood of women being labelled mentally ill means help is quicker to be provided and suicidal thinking is quicker to be recognized in women in comparison to men.

Another way traditional male socialisation maybe partly to blame for the higher male suicide rate is in one’s choice of suicide method. Gender differences in the choice of suicide method have consistently been found, it is argued that the traditional male role is consistent with more aggressive thus more successful methods of suicides. Women tend to use methods of lower lethality than men, favouring poisons such as the deliberate overdose of pharmaceutical medication, this accounted for 26% of female suicides in 1996 compared to only 6% in males.

Men however use more violent methods such as firearms which accounted for 63% of male deaths in 1996 and hanging which accounted for 17% of all male suicides (Maris et al, 2000). Canetto and Sakinofsky (1998) have stated that in western society suicide completion appears to be more socially acceptable for men whereas a failed suicide attempt is deemed emasculating this in part has contributed to higher successful suicides in men in order to avoid the ridicule of their masculinity. The conventional Gender socialisation of men thus makes them more vulnerable to suicide completion, this may also explain why it is thought that women attempt more suicide than men yet more men die.

To critique the above claim one could argue that the choice of method is more complex than gender socialisation; it may have more to do with the availability of certain methods. In countries where there is greater access to firearms due to looser restrictions there is a higher use of that method in the attempting suicide. Nevertheless, one could still maintain that in western developed countries due to the adherence to female norms women are less likely to have access to guns and feel more comfortable with their use, resulting in an increase use of other methods such as prescription drugs.

Some have argued that the choice of method is far more complex than what has just been suggested; even if men and women opt for the same method (the method is held constant) men are still more likely to die. A study by Shneidman and Farberow (1957, cited in Lester and Lester 1971:88-90) of suicidal behaviour in Los Angeles found that out of 24 men who chose to jump from high places in an attempt to kill themselves 16 succeeded, this was compared with only 9 out of 20 women who succeeded by using the same method.

Further to this, an article titled ‘values destroyed by death’ noted that women are socialised more so than men to be more concerned with their physical appearance and this may even extend to their appearance after death. This may therefore influence their choice of suicide method, opting more for a method that would be less disfiguring, such methods are also more likely to be less lethal (Diggory and Rothman 1961 cited in Lester and Lester 1971:90).

This notion that women have a concern with their physical appearance even after death seems far fetch, nevertheless, many do hold a consensus that gender socialisation certainly does play its part in the choice of suicide method which manifests itself in higher male suicide completion.

The relationship between Alcohol and substance abuse and suicidal behaviour has long been recognized. Alcohol and drugs can affect a person’s ability to reason, their judgment and can act as a depressant. This increased depression over time and decreased inhibition makes a person vulnerable to attempting suicide especially with a history of mental illness.

According to research men are nine times more likely to abuse alcohol than women, and those men who are diagnosed as alcoholics are assigned a six times increase likelihood of suicide compared to the general population.( Harris et al ,1997) 12*. Once again this may be partly due to the notion that male gender socialisation results in men responding to stress and problems through distracting themselves by use of alcohol or drugs as this is more socially acceptable, in contrast women are more likely to talk about their problems as shown above.

In western society a man’s masculinity also renders itself open in measurement in relation to how much alcohol he can consume. All this in turn affects and increases the likelihood of suicidal thinking. However other studies such as that by Rossow (1993 cited in Maris et al 2000:358) 13* in Norway between 1911 and 1990 found that there was a positive relationship between alcohol and suicide in men but not for women. A similar outcome was found by Makela (1996 cited in Maris et al 2000:358) 14* in Finland. This shows that alcohol alone is not sufficient to be labelled an increase cause of suicide in all cases; the matter is complex in nature and requires a deeper understanding of its direct and relational affects in men.

Although all above explanations contribute some blame to traditional male socialisation it is important to note that many others argue that the differences between the two sexes are predominantly biological not social. They have claimed that higher amounts of testosterone and other androgens in males make them more aggressive and because suicide is considered to be violence or aggression turned toward one self it seems men are more biologically likely to take their own lives.

Studies of brain biochemistry specifically of serotonin metabolite CSF 5-HIAA (cerebrospinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic) and its relationship to suicide specifically to violent suicide has shown that male suicidal subject have lower CSF 5-HIAA and account for the majority of violent suicides. Maris et al (2000) suggested that gender based biochemical differences may play a part in different suicidal behaviour.

Although from a sociological perspective one can not agree with the extreme view that biology is largely to blame for differences in suicide among men and women, it seems reasonable to speculate that it may have some part to play even if one is to conclude suicide to be a social phenomenon.

Another explanation that many sociologists have pointed to in explaining the alarming rate of young male suicides is the notion of a ‘masculinity crisis’. society has changed dramatically over the last thirty or so years, the western world has become less patriarchal as gender equality becomes more the norm.

Roles, in both the work place and at home are not as gender defined as they once were and it is now not uncommon to see men stay at home as househusbands whilst their wives go out to work in high paid employment. Platt and Hawton’s systematic review (2000) 20* shows a strong relationship between unemployment and suicide especially in men. If taking the UK as a prime example then it is clear that there has been a move away from heavy industries that have traditionally been seen as ‘masculine’ and a move towards more service and information sectors which are traditionally viewed as feminine jobs.

This has brought about many opportunities for women but at the same time has resulted in higher unemployment rates for men. The breadwinner mentality is still strong in the western world and not being able to provide for ones family is a major worry for many males, and to have been able to do so at one point but not anymore can have a devastating affect.

In a materialistic capitalist society, like those to be found in the Western World, material goods are symbols of wealth and prestige and if one is not able to provide them anymore, they can begin to see themselves as worthless. Arthur Britain ( 1989) *28 and Susan Faludi (1999) 27*, among many other sociologists often argue that men are experiencing more confusion they are not coping with the consequences of changes in the gender order.

The rise of feminist movements, the decline of heavy manual work as well as gay and black politics brought about a collapse of the legitimacy of patriarchal power. This can therefore be seen as a positive for many women increasing their independence as they no longer become soley reliant on their husbands for money. Men however have traditionally based their identity on their work and had a safe position as the head of the family as the breadwinner this gave then comfort and a sense of place, changes that upset this are seen to have a negative effect on men leaving them uncertain about their position in general.

They can no longer guarantee holding the highest power in their working lives whiles at home there is no certainty that they will be the breadwinner. Consequently there is a split between retributive man, those who assert traditional masculinity and the new man, these men don’t rigidly hold the traditional masculine stereotype and are regarded as more emotional and more concerned with their body image.

Those who maintain the traditional masculine identity, the breadwinner and head of household mentality find themselves in conflict with the changes in the gender social order, their position can lead to isolation and aggression, two emotions very much associated with suicide. On the other hand those who have adapted to these changes are less confused of their position and are less prone to suicide than the former.

It could however be that the new man may be in part a media myth and the existence of the myth has created further uncertainty amongst males about how best to be a man. It should also be noted that this notion of masculinity being in crisis is controversial as although the breakdown of such rigid stereotypes has had a negative effect on those who would have found solace and comfort in being the dominant figure it has had an equally positive affect on males who have found themselves in the past to be subordinate and exploited such as homosexuals.

There are also many men who have adapted happily and suffer no confusion as well as many who have maintained their position as the breadwinner. Others such as Kimmel (1987)15* have noted that as evident in historical research this alarming concern over the role of man is by no means a new occurrence, in this sense caution should be taken not treat it as so, as it becomes easier to associate and in part blame the rise in young male suicide with what may initially seem as a new crisis in men.

It should also be maintained that although there is much debate over this ‘masculinity crisis’ and the breakdown of gender roles many feminists believe that western society is still patriarchal and the exploitation of women is still present. In 1991 6.53 million women earned less than two thirds of median male earnings, were mostly engaged in part time work and comprised 65% of all low paid workers (Oppenheim,1993)29*.

Although such figures have improved in the last 17 years, progress has not been so drastic to warrant labelling the west as having broken-down patriarchal power. Some scholars particularly feminists have gone further and rejected the idea that a crisis in masculinity could even exists pointing to evidence like the above. Irene Bruegel’s (2000) 16* a feminist economist presents a sceptical account of the feminisation of the work force, she like many others is cynical that men are hard done by and maintains that women can still be seen to be the subordinate class.

The sociologist John Maclnnes (1998) 17* presents a more extreme view on the matter stating that ‘masculinity’ does not exist as the property, character trait or aspect of identity of individuals, as a result any theory that relates a ‘crisis in masculinity’ in its explanation such as that used by many sociologists to explain the higher suicide rate in males must be equally flawed. Another critical point to make regarding this so called ‘masculinity crisis’ is that it may be right that men have lost some power but it is wrong to see this power as a loss in relation to women, the collapse of the predominantly male employment industry may be more to blame.

It could therefore be suggested that this so called crisis may not be one of masculinity but one of the working class. If we are to acknowledge the existence of a ‘masculinity crisis’ then it is evident that this problem in masculinity is far more complicated and sophisticated than one may initially think, it seems strange that we talk of a crisis in masculinity but there is no such crisis in femininity considering the gender roles for both sexes have in part broken down.

The relationship between a masculinity crisis and suicide can appear to be a direct one but as it only affects such a small proportion of males, there must be other underlying factors which combine with this feeling to have such an immensely negative effect on ones life.

All these explanations can go some way to piecing together why exactly suicide is more common in males. Yet, because, they offer an opinion and evidence to back it up, does not mean they should be taken as definite arguments. The relationship between gender and suicide is complex as although the most consistent findings in sociology are sexual differences there are other important variants within these male, female based differences. Racial variations in gender differences are evident in many statistics, according to Maris et al (2000:149) in 1996 white males comprised 73% of all completed suicides, yet the ratio of male to female suicide is larger among blacks with 6:1 compared to 4.3:1 among whites. It also appears that white females are far more likely to commit suicide than black females.

Although this essay is specifically focused on the western world there are still variations within these different countries nevertheless the male suicide rate is consistently greater than that of females in most societies. An exception worth noting (although not part of the western world) is the People’s Republic of China where the suicide rate among women is far greater than among the men (Shiang 1998 cited in Maris et al 2000:148)18*. Sexual orientation is also a variant found in male and female differences in suicide. Some epidemiologists have found that homosexuals are at a higher risk of suicide, this is due to negative experiences they may encounter that are linked to their sexuality.

It is however gay and bisexual men that have been found to be at an increased risk of suicide as lesbian and bisexual women in such situations seem to report a desire to hurt themselves while gay and bisexual men have a greater desire to want to die (D’Augelli et al, 2001)21* However it is difficult to know the true risk of suicide for gay or bisexual men as sexual orientation is not recorded at the registration of death and due to stigma still attached to gay men that strongly conflicts with the traditional identity of a masculine man, same sex relationships are not necessarily made public (Remafedi et al,1998) 19*

To further evaluate the title itself it is important to mention the many methodological issues in the study of suicide, some of which may even lead one to question whether the statement under discussion is simply based on unreliable and problematic research. Firstly, most research on gender differences in suicide are based on official statistics which like any other statistics are socially constructed. Whether a sudden death is classified as a suicide is ultimately the coroner’s decision who is generally influenced by other people.

The relatives and friends of the deceased might persuade the coroner not to record the death as a suicide (Douglas,1967) 25*. Due to this J.Maxwell Atkinson (1978) 26* states that when positivists study suicide what they uncover are simply the commonsense theories of coroners for example their increased tendency to record the deaths of lonely people as suicides. Further to this in having argued that there are sex differences in the social acceptability of suicide there may also be sex differences in the willingness to record any death as a suicide.

The high rate of male suicides may be due to the fact that suicide is more socially acceptable for males and so more coroners are willing to classify them as such. Canetto (1992-3)22* suggests that our stereotypical views that ‘she died for love and he for glory’ also affects a coroner’s and societies interpretation of the reasons for suicidal behaviour, with women more likely to of committed suicide due to problems in their personal relationships, stress and mental illness whereas men do so because of threats to their public persona. Another problem which may affect the gender differences in suicide statistics are the method a person may choose in taking their own life.

It may be the case that some methods are more likely to lead to a classification of suicide. Platt et al (1988,220) 23* conducted research on suicides in Edinburgh between 1968 and 1983 and found that ‘suicide and undetermined deaths could not be differentiated by gender, marital status, previous psychiatric contact, age or social class’ the only important factor was method, with those opting for more severe active methods such as firearms or hanging being much more likely to be classified as suicides than those choosing passive methods such overdoses or poisoning. In this sense because active methods are more likely to be used by men, men appear to have a higher rate of suicide yet this may simply be because the methods they use are more likely to be classified as such.

Another problem with suicide statistics is that they tend to ignore attempted suicide and concentrate on the cases in which death occurs, has this created a moral panic in men as they appear to have higher rates of completed suicides? It could be argued that the very focus on the higher male suicide rate detracts from the fact that suicide attempts are much higher in women. On average the rate of female attempted suicide is 1.5 times higher than those for men with the highest rate found in those aged 15-24 (Hawton and Heeringen, 2000, 55-56) ADD IN BIB.

It could therefore be suggested that although suicide completion is much higher in men an equal focus should be assigned to the higher female attempted suicide rate, one should not mask or detract from the other. In this way it becomes more appropriate to describe suicidal behaviour as a problem of both young males and young females. One should however, take caution not to confuse self-harm with suicide attempts as some mental health professionals often use the terms interchangeably (Favazza and Rosenthal 1993 cited in Duffy and Ryan 2004)30*.

An attempted suicide is the direct intent to ends one’s life, self harm is not. Suicide statistics can be affected in this way; it may be the case that the lack of differentiation between the two terms has lead to an overrepresentation of attempted suicides, this is of course a speculation and further research is required to discover the extent to which this is true. It is evident that suicide; as a sociological subject is a complex phenomenon to study and this is not helped by its many ethical dilemmas.

Suicide is not something which many would be comfortable talking about with a reporter or filling in a questionnaire beforehand if they were feeling such a way and even after, if relatives or friends were to give their opinions on why the event occurred, there would be a strong tendency for bias- to either protect the deceased or to offer what they believed was the real reason. If we are to accept that males are more likely to cover up their emotions, then suicide is likely to be less expected and therefore the answer to the questions regarding why, are more difficult to come by.

Such ethical problems have lead to the consensus that suicide is grossly underreported and thus underestimated in official statistics. However, there has been some improvement in the gathering of statistical information and it is this that leads one to question whether changes in suicide rates such as the increasing male suicide rate is due to changes in suicide statistics not in the actual changes in suicide rates (Kelleher 1996) 31*.

In considering future research, it is important to mention that although there is an impressive body of quantitative research, this is not always the best method to use when in cases such as suicide and gender comparisons. Statistics highlight the facts; that males do commit suicide more than females. In such a subject, however, a deeper analysis is needed to explain why exactly this is and why although the figures evidently show males to kill themselves more, the reasoning’s behind this might not be at all dominated by gender based assumptions.

There is a need for more qualitative based research, such as individual case studies which will give a different angle and deeper insight into suicide. However, it is essential that care should taken not to compare men and women as though the two groups are homogeneous a flaw found in a lot of existing studies. It is therefore imperative to emphasize that not all men are the same what may be the case for one man may not apply to another, there is a diversity of masculinity and femininity and generalizations should be avoided.

In conclusion sociologists have debated greatly over why exactly suicide is more common in males than in females. In this essay it has been suggested that the socialisation of males in western society is partly to blame. Through the reinforcement of what society deems acceptable male behaviour men are less likely to ask for help professional or otherwise when experiencing suicidal thoughts or any illness which may lead to an increased likelihood of attempting suicide. Conventional Gender socialisation of males is also consistent with more aggressive thus more successful methods of completed suicides.

As stated above in western society suicide completion appears to be more socially acceptable for men whereas a failed suicide attempt is deemed emasculating. Alcohol and drug misuse also appears to have a stronger relationship with the socially constructed notion of ‘masculinity’, because the abuse of such substances is closely linked to suicide, men are thus more vulnerable to the taking of their own lives. The idea of a ‘masculinity crisis’ was also presented as a contributing factor to the higher male suicide rate.

Sociologists have suggested that society is now at odds with the basis of masculinity, with the partial break down in the roles of both men and women, men appear to be confused and more likely to commit suicide. It has however been strongly emphasised that all explanations that have been presented are simply suggestions to shed light on why young men appear to commit more suicide than young women in the western world, they are not definite reasons for the differences in the suicide rates between the two sexes.

Many males are subjected to western gender role socialisation or feel a lack of role in society but the percentage of those who commit suicide are so small that it suggests that there must be other factors or a combination of reasons for them to do so. It is on the whole difficult to make generalizations when the ultimate cause of suicide, even in cases where the event is likely or a note is left because the defining factor remains hidden. Individual actions often require individual research and understanding but this proves immensely difficult in the use of statistics because quantitative data focuses on generalisations.

Suicide statistics should therefore be approached with caution as in some cases they appear to show higher male suicide rates when this may not be the case. It should also be noted that suicide is for many a last resort. Although in some cases, death is the main intention; in many others it is often a cry for help- the intention is to live, to feel worthy and to highlight one’s pain and problems in the most extreme ways.

Bibliography
Thompson, Kenneth. 1982. Emile Durkheim. London: Tavistock Publications.
Sources: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency)
Lester G, Lester d (1971) Suicide The Gamble With Death. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall

Introduction

In this assignment, I have been asked to evaluate the main points of subcultural theories and critiques of them. In order to answer this question put to me, I will go on to describing exactly what a subculture is, I will then go on to state the different theorists who have given theories as to what subculture is, why it happens and how they may evaluate and apprehend it, showing their opinions throughout. I will then evaluate each theory and show the strengths and weaknesses of each, and throughout my evaluation I will be using plenty of references throughout to back up any points made, and finally go on to a concluding summary.

Firstly we must state what exactly culture is before we can delve in to any explanations of what exactly a subculture is. Williams suggests that there are many ways in which culture has been described and defined throughout history although the best way to define culture is that of ‘particular way of life which expressed certain meanings and values not only in art and learning, but also in institutions and ordinary behaviour’ (Williams 1961:pg 57). There can be said to be many different ways in which a selection of society can be seen as a subculture, the first is that of reactive subcultures in which people feel a direct oppression from mainstream society and react against all that is seen as the typical ‘norm’. There are also independent subcultures which are said to have complete separate, and that of their own, norms, values and beliefs than that of mainstream society.A Brake also suggests that the best way to define a subculture is to suggest that it is like a ‘culture inside of a culture'(Brake 1985). Further into his book he then goes on to suggest that ‘Subcultures exist where there is some form of organised and recognised constellation of values, behaviour and actions which responded to as differing from the prevailing set of norms.’ (Brake 1985:pg 8).

In some circumstances the norms and values we share in day to day life with all of society are followed but not in the same way by all, therefore creating these subcultures. From the day we are born, we are already surrounded by a subculture lead by class and the particular ways of life in which a working class family may have may be in complete comparison to that of an upper class family. We are all brought up with complete different values of life and some people may see it more as tradition within their family, which is to be followed religiously. One example of this can be seen with the subculture of gypsies, where it is tradition to get married mainly by the age of 16, they live in caravans, statics, shallays and it is tradition for gypsies to attend the Appleby fair every year and even though this is not seen as the norms and values of everyone, it is to them. You could say that there are so many subcultures out there that it is impossible to state every one. An example of this could be that of what type of person you see yourself as and you religiously wear certain clothes to ‘fit in’ with a particular group i.e. Chavs, Hippys, Goths, Emos, Punks, Geeks, Popular, Tom Boys etc the list goes on. Another way in which people could suggest to support different values are that of homosexuality and the religions which oppose it as a sin of God. Longhurst et al argues that subcultures also arose from hegemony and quotes Clarke et al’s statement that ‘hegemony refers to the moment when a ruling class is able, not only to coerce a subordinate class to conform to its interests, but to exert a hegemony or total social authority over subordinate classes.’ (Longhurst et al 2008:pg244). As this was due to the fact that after the second world war a lot of reconstruction of the country as well as the economy was going on and the government, who mainly consist of white middle and upper class men, where changing the ways in which the working class lived their lives, and they took into account Cohens view that labour was being polarised and this meant that the wealthy were getting ‘specialised, high tech, well paid jobs’ and the poor were being forced to stay poor as they were only able to secure themselves ‘dead-end, unskilled labour.’ (Longhurst et al 2008:pg 243). These quotes show and tell us that the wealthy could see their jobs as a job and a career, however the poorer people could only see themselves as labourers, which in some cases me be used as a more generous term for skivvy, lackey, slave etc where they earn less money for doing a ‘hard days graft’ as you will, but yet the highly paid jobs are more than likely to be quite an easy job to do. Society in those days needed hard workers to do the labour jobs as those were the areas which needed upkeep however the areas the wealthy seemed to have jobs in would more than likely have no effect on society if it were to keep going or stop all together and therefore many are meaningless jobs but they are getting more money to do them. This is the kind of subjects in which set off the rebellions and therefore there was the creations of these subcultures in other areas than just class, but against governmental choices and the decisions they may have made which had an adverse affect on one class as it did on another, causing further friction between classes and we still see this going on today.

One of the main theorists to evaluate subculture was that of Albert Cohen and he mainly shows his theory of the subculture functionalist through his book called Delinquent Boys : The culture of the gang. In this book, his main points are that it is the clashing between that of the middle class and the ‘delinquents’ which was a harsh term produced by middle classes to describe the poor in order to portray them as being non educated with no intelligence and no drive to have goals in their lives. His view was linked to that of Mertons Strain Theory and Cohen, as well as Merton, argue that everyone has the same goals in life however the working classes never get the opourtunity to actually go forward and achieve these goals. However where the two theorists differ, is how this revulsion of middle class culture leads to crime and law breaking behaviour. Merton has the view that because the working class do not get the chance to succeed in life, this then leads most down the path of crime and this is the main result of no success, suggesting that they have no choice in the matter, and that in order to survive they must turn to crim. Cohen on the other hand suggests that because the working class cannot have success in reaching goals in life, this then leads them to make up their own goals which involve crime and aggressive, law breaking behaviour (Cohen 1955 cite). Suggesting that they choose to break the law and commit crime and they see this as a way of life, and see nothing wrong with this. This subculture is reflected by Cohen to be the delinquent subculture with their own norms and values and their goals being to commit crime and it is seen as a positive thing to do, as if they reach their targets and goals by committing crime.A The main goal for this subculture which Cohen suggests is to gain that of status by any means necessary, whether that be good or bad publicity and they don’t care which way they are portrayed by the media and other sources, as long as they are publicised and he suggests that these peoples key features are ‘malice’, ‘negativistic’behaviourand ‘non-utilitarian’ behaviour (Cohen 1955 cite). ‘Malicious behaviours are committed out of spite….bullying of non delinquents….Negativistic by believing that their behaviour is right precisely because it is wrong according to the norms of society….Non-utilitarian as their activities do not produce a direct economic benefit.’ (Regoli et al 2009:pg192).He also suggests that they have traits such as being very ‘versatile’, ‘hedonists’ andA having great ‘group loyalty and autonomy’ never betraying one of the groups rules. ‘Versitility is shown in their tendancy to dabble in many delinquent activities – stealing, vandalism, trespassing, truancy and so on….Hedonism as delinquents are often impatient and impulsive…out for fun and don’t take kindly to rules, scheduals or organization, nor do they plan ahead, study or practice. Future gains and goals are of no importance to them….Group autonomy as they are close to other members of gang but hostile to outsiders.’ (Regoli et al 2009:pg192-193).

This delinquent subculture was also separated not only from middle class society through social exclusion from the norm, but they were separated by sex as Cohen states in his book that ‘male delinquency is at least four times as common as female delinquency.’ (Cohen 1955:pg45). He also suggests that even though there is this subculture group which is apparent in order to try to gain a voice within the middle class society and to stand up for what they believe in and their rights as an English Citizen, there still never seems to be no resolution and that this battle will go on forever more ‘some groups, which may sometimes be counted excessive, sub-cultural solutions may not emerge, or particular individuals may not participate in them, Nonetheless, the problems of adjustment may be sufficiently intense and persistent that they still press for some kind of change.’ (Cohen 1955:pg 71).

This dissertation explores the lives of eunuchs, the ‘third gender’, in contemporary India. It aims to bring out the several misconceptions harboured about this community and suggest measures to improve their living conditions.

“One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.” – Anonymous

Over the years, the hijra or eunuch community has occupied an extremely marginalized position in Indian society. By and large, their presence has provoked mixed feelings of fear, awe and contempt from the general public. Over the last two decades, the community has captured the western scholarly imagination as an idyllic case in the transnational system of ‘alternative’ gender sexuality. When it comes to these type of analyses, as Rosalind Morris states, the ‘hijra’ becomes either,

“an interstitial gender occupying a liminal pace between male and female or a ‘drag queen’ who is a hero(ine) in a global sexual resistance”

Yet there exists a very different reality from that suggested by these theorists – a reality

based on rejection by family, cultural and societal isolation as well as neglect. Their identification as a uniquely positioned third sex becomes a lot more complicated when the hijra lifestyle is discussed with respect to this contemporary reality, instead of historical or mythical representation.

The community has been subjected to vicious abuse or a lack of empathy, on a mental or physical level from different sections of society at various levels. These sections include the lay person, law enforcers and worse, their own biological parents and relatives.

Lying at stake is the fundamental human right to be different, the right to recognition and choice of different pathways of sexuality, in other words a right to sexual orientation, a right to immunity from the oppressive and repressive derogatory labelling of despised sexuality.

Expressed in the form of narratives that were penned down after listening to a number of Hijras, this piece of work, at a very primary level, captures the lives of a few of the people from the community that we all choose to shun, despise or simply not bother about. It brings out and analyzes the many stereotypes and superstitions associated with this community. The testimonials of the Hijras and Kothis with whom I interacted bring alive the unimaginable and gruesome violence they are subjected to, especially, at the hands of the police. This dissertation also aims to bring out and deride the atrocities the hijras are subjected to, the injustice that has been meted out to them in various spheres of life and suggest developmental measures in this regard. Above all, this piece of work is dedicated towards creating a little more sensitivity and empathy for this community, that so far does not enjoy most of the basic human rights that we, the ‘normal’ people, take for granted.

THE HIJRAS: WHO WE ARE
The ‘hijras’ are generally considered to constitute a ‘third gender’, neither male nor female. Even in their own narratives, the hijras view themselves not simply as ‘neither man nor woman’, as the title of Nanda’s(1990) ethnography on the hijras suggests, but also as deficient in terms of masculinity and not completely feminine. Instead of taking a place outside the female-male binary, the Hijras have created a life somewhere in between, one that is restricted by deep-rooted cultural constructions of femininity and masculinity.

Largely, the community expresses a feminine gender identity, coming closest experientially to what would be referred to in the West as a transsexual, that is, ‘a female trapped in a male body.’ It is a socio-religious construct marked by extreme gender nonconformity in the sense that there is no correlation between their anatomical sex and gender identity.

In India, there is a widespread belief that hijras often pick up or kidnap infants and castrate them in order to increase the population of the community, but there are no statistics or factual evidences to support the same.

Most hijras in India live in groups that are organised into seven houses, known as ‘gharanas’, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad being the more populous centres. Each house is

headed by a ‘nayak’. This person’s job is to appoint spiritual leaders or gurus who train their ‘chelas’ ( wards who are lower in rank) in ‘badhai’- the well known singing, dancing and blessing ritual. The guru’s responsibility is furthered to act as a protector of his chelas, both from within as well as outside the community. Any quarrels amongst hijras are decided within the community by the ‘nayak’ and senior gurus acting as law makers, the punishment ranging from imposing fines and expulsion from the community, if the offences were of a higher degree.

According to popular religious practice, they are believed to be endowed with special powers to confer fertility on newlyweds or new born children. According to tradition, they are expected to sing and dance at weddings as well as childbirth functions, and in lieu of their services they are rewarded with money, clothes, jewellery etc. Singing and dancing has a respectable status in the Hijra community; it gives them a sense of power as it reaffirms the fact that the people who asked them to sing and dance during the childbirth or any other functions, believe in their powers. The custom of hijras being called for dancing in weddings and childbirth is more prominent in the north, and therefore, sadly, the number of Hijras in the south who take to prostitution to earn money are much more than those in the northern parts of the country.

One of the more common Hijra complaints in the form of public appeals to the government is the non availability of decent jobs for them, hence they do not have any choice but to take to prostitution to earn their livelihood.

The Kothis

Kothis like hijras are transgender persons who identify themselves with the feminine gender. The kep difference lies in the fact that hijras usually settle into a fixed gender role after the castration process, whereas kothis display an ambiguous dual gender identity that swings between the masculine role of the husband demanded in the marriage relationship and the feminine role in the same-sex relationship outside. In simpler words, a kothi can be

described as a male homosexual who takes a feminine role in sex with other men. They, largely and essentially belong to a non-English speaking lower middle-class background and feel marginalized in all contexts, whether in terms of economic status, language, education,

or sexuality. Due to the pressure extended by family as well as society to conform to ‘normal’ norms like marriage and reproducing, many kothis marry and raise families , but continue to have same-sex relationships outside, often under hidden and covert circumstances. Economic problems within families as well as non acceptance of this ‘abnormal’ member within the family drives many other kothis to sex work.

Sadly, even when they do make an effort to seek employment in more ‘decent’ professions, both hijras and kothis are very often subject to sexual harassment at the workplace which makes it impossible for them to continue working there.

There exists a visible, symbiotic relationship between hijras and kothis that is strengthened in the face of oppression, due to the lack of support systems for kothis in cities and towns. This has led kothis to depend upon hijra subcultures for both assistance and support – emotional as well as otherwise. Hence due to the existence of such a relationship, there is a constant, perpetual exchange of languages, behaviour, mythologies between the hijra and the other homosexual subcultures.

The early years, the young transgender – confused; and the attitude of parents:

Typically, when they are young and born into so called ‘normal’ families, initially the parents humour the boy child if he behaves like a girl. But as he grows up, once he turns eleven or twelve, the parents start getting irritated at the child’s behaviour. By the time he is in his teens, the father typically starts abusing and beating the child. Such an attitude displayed by the parent is more pronounced in villages and small towns since here awareness is less. The transgender child himself does not realize the reasons behind his behaviour; he cannot understand why he feels like a female inside, and gets more frustrated with the constant chastising by the parents. Soon he runs away, usually with the aid of a sympathetic elder in the village, who directs him to a hijra community in some other village.

The hijra community and the first signs of awareness by the individual about his own biology:

When he reaches there, the hijra community welcomes him and explains to him the reasons behind his so called ‘queer’ behaviour. They give him the option of becoming a part of their community after the conversion process into a transsexual, castration followed by surgical regeneration of the vagina, or to remain as he is and explore the world by himself. In most instances, the individual at that moment decides to stay as he is, and goes into the village to seek employment opportunities. As most hijras testify, very soon the transgender individual is then raped, in most cases by policemen who arrest them on the supposed grounds that they are homosexual. It is tragic to know that the law enforcers are usually the ones who sexually violate these individuals first. After being abused multiple times, sexually as well as physically, the broken individual returns to the hijra community and asks for acceptance into their family.

The castration process is never smooth in nature, usually carried out without the aid of modern anaesthesia or antibiotics. The operation costs for the surgical reconstruction of the female biological organs (such as the vagina) range from a minimum of seven thousand rupees (no anaesthesia) to a high of fifty thousand rupees. Since most of these individuals are poor, they settle for the operation that requires lesser costs. Depending upon the money, the expertise, and the success of the operation, the surgical reconstruction varies from being partially to fully complete. In many cases, if the surgery goes wrong, it might lead to blockage in the urinary passage and this could be terribly painful for the individual.

The hijra family:

A hijra family comprises ‘daughters’, ‘sisters’ and ‘mothers’ – no males. After being rejected by their own biological families, the hijra family becomes the first and only source of emotional support. They are strong, close knit and provide safety and security for the abandoned people.

However, due to poverty, discrimination, lack of education and skills, many of them have no means of earning money. So, they engage in commercial sex work and begging. Most hijras do not think twice about joining the sex trade, what with being abused physically and mentally multiple times.

Transgender, Transsexual and Intersexual:

At the most basic level, we take a look at the meanings of terms, ‘transgender’, ‘transsexual’, ‘intersexual’ and ‘androgyne’. A Transgender is a person who is assigned a gender at birth based on his/her genitals, but feels that the assigned gender is a false representation of himself/ herself. Such a person’s identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these roles. ‘Gender-queer’, ‘third gender’ are also names given to transgender individuals.

According to The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health (ICD), “Trans-sexuality is a need that certain individuals have to live and be acknowledged as a member of the opposite sex, usually accompanied by a sense of discomfort with one’s one’s current sex, and a desire to have hormonal and surgical treatment to make one’s body conform as much as possible with one’s preferred sex.” On the removal of the sexual organs he/she was born with, a transgender becomes a transsexual. In simpler words, Transsexual men and women desire to establish themselves permanently as a member of the gender with which they identify, often using medical help for the same.

One out of every two thousand births is an ‘intersex’ child, and usually the birth leaves the parents of the child frustrated, confused and depressed. It also leaves them with a dilemma as to which gender the child belongs. ‘Intersexed’ individuals do not have all the regular combinations of physical features; they have some chromosomal, genital anomalies. In simpler terms, such individuals may have biological characteristics of both males and females, i.e, these individuals have some parts of males and some of females. In some cases, an intersex person might look unambiguous sexually, but internally the sex anatomy is mixed, i.e he may have AIS – complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome and therefore, even though he has a Y chromosome and testes, the individual is otherwise completely female on the outside. Thus the fundamental difference between an intersex individual and a transgender is that unlike an intersex individual, a transgendered person is born with the conventional male or female anatomy.

All the same, unlike other ‘normal’ humans, he feels himself/herself to be a gender different from the one he/she born as.

Discrimination against hijras: Education, health, employment

The highly populated country that India is, with several different castes, religions, languages, the hijra community becomes an almost invisible minority. Biases against hijras are prevalent in our society in all walks of life. They are not granted education in schools, colleges or universities. Over ninety percent of the hijras have not even completed their secondary education. Hence, they do not get jobs, and in the rare occurrence that they do get employed, the salaries they receive are minimal. Due to the harsh economic conditions, they resort to sex work and begging. Hygienic activities are not practiced by those who are in the flesh trade. Even though the usage of condoms is insisted by them to protect themselves as well as their clients from HIV/STD, the people involved in this trade are still prone to getting other diseases like skin diseases due to lack of hygienic and safe practices. Even in hospitals and clinics, many transgender and transsexual people are discriminated against, and not given the respect or dignity that every human being deserves.

Most of the transgender and transsexual people live in slums. Even if they have the monetary power to rent a house, due to the misconceptions about their lifestyle, most people refuse to give them a house on rent. Contempt, hatred and fear form a major part of the general impression about this unfortunate ‘third gender’. Even in public places like bus stations, railways stations, theatres, temples, offices, malls, even in public toilets, hijras are abused.

A LOOK THROUGH HISTORY:

Most hijras believe their origins to date back to the period of the Mahabharata. In it, Arjuna has to hide himself for a year. He decides to dress up as a woman as this is completely opposite to his till then great warrior status. During this period when he is a ‘drag’, he is a dancer in the king’s court, and also a wedding singer.

Then later, during the Kaurava Pandava war, the pandavas want to make a human sacrifice, believing that it would ensure victory in the war. No one is ready to volunteer, till finally, Aravan, the son of Arjun comes forward and offers himself for sacrifice. He has only one condition, that, he should enjoy one night of marital bliss before the sacrifice. This proves to be a difficult situation since no king is willing to marry his daughter to Aravan, knowing fully well that she would be widowed the next day. Finally, Lord Krishna takes a female form and spends one night of marital bliss with Aravan. Aravan is duly sacrificed the next day. The story has become more and more popular through the ages and now, every year, in the village of Koovagam in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu, there is a temple festival and thousands of hijras travel through the breadth of the country to attend it. Aravan is the temple’s main deity and thousands of hijras pay homage, or in a mock ceremony get married to his idol, and in the process become ‘Aravanis’. One night before the festival ends, the hijras enjoy a night of ‘marital bliss’ with their lovers and the next day, a massive effigy of Aravan is taken through the streets of Koovagam and then the body is set to flames.

There is a passage in Zia Jaffrey’s book, ‘The Invisibles: a tale of eunuchs in India’, that talks about the Ramayana. According to legend, when Rama went to the forest, many people followed him. Rama then asks all the ‘men and women’ to go back. The hijras, being neither ‘men nor women’ stay put and wait for Rama to return for fourteen years. On Rama’s return, he is touched by their devotion and blesses them for their loyalty by sanctioning them the power to grant blessings on auspicious occasions like childbirth, marriage, and other functions – hence the custom of ‘badhai’, in which hijras sing, dance and confer blessings.

The hijras also worship ‘Bahuchara mata’. As legend goes, a woman, Bahuchara was travelling through a forest in Gujarat. She is accosted by some dacoits who threaten to rape her. She cuts off her breast and offers it to them, in exchange asking them not to touch her. She then dies and becomes an earth goddess. During the ‘conversion’ process, i.e, the castration process, a hijra midwife cuts a coconut to see if the process should continue. If Bahuchara mata agrees, the coconut will slice into two clean halves. The hijra who is undergoing the castration process, mutters ‘mata mata mata’ until the process is complete. As legend goes, Bahuchara mata appears in front of impotent men and orders them to cut off their genitals and become her slaves. If they do not agree, they would become impotent for the next seven generations.

According to another popular legend, a king in Gujarat fell madly in love with ‘Bahucharimatha’, a beautiful goddess who rode a peacock. The king wanted to marry her, but she was not ready to have a sexual relationship. When he continued to persist in his endeavours, she relented but told him to first have a bath in a pond. On coming out of the pond, he was aghast to discover that he was emasculated, and would not be able to consummate his union with the goddess. The goddess pacified him by saying that he would soon find a community of people who would voluntarily castrate themselves in his honour.

Around the world

Eunuchs were a part of the Egyptian court, during the time when the Assyrian empire was ruling the country.

In Rome, Emperor Constantine had a number of eunuchs tending to him for haircuts, baths, dressing and other functions.

In the Byzantine royal court too, there were a number of eunuchs employed to handle domestic and administrative work.

The Ottoman Empire had two categories of eunuchs taking care of the harem. The black eunuchs served the officers with maids of lower ranks, whereas the white eunuchs (those brought from the Balkan states) served those who were recruited in the Palace school.

In India, eunuchs were employed by kings to take care of the ladies’ palaces, serve as guards and messengers for the royal ladies.

LITERATURE REVIEW

After getting a general understanding of the hijras, the categories, their lives, their history, I would now proceed to examine the literature that has been devoted to them.

The Invisibles: A tale of Eunuchs in India is a bold, beautifully written, thought provoking book about the hijras of India by Zia Jaffrey. In the book, Anita, a hermaphrodite is handed over to the hijra community by her parents when she is just four years old because they cannot accept the fact that they do not have a ‘normal’ child and are crushed by what they see. Another character, Kamal, born as a male, believes herself to be a female and castrates herself, while a third character Jagoman is kidnapped in Delhi, drugged and then castrated against his will. In the book, Jaffrey takes us on a journey throughout the country to find out who the hijras really are, why the subject has not been researched on much and why is it taboo, and why their history was never recorded. The book gives a detailed description of the lives, practices, culture and history of this unfortunate gender; raises pertinent questions about society’s attitude and in many ways illuminates not just the grim world of the eunuchs but also that of India, itself.

‘Neither Man, nor Woman: The hijras of India’ is an astounding piece of writing by Serena Nanda. Initially, it aims at correcting the common misconception that all hijras are men who undergo a ritual castration, thereby removing their genitals and becoming hijras. The book informs us that the hijras might have come from various sexual ambiguous backgrounds – some may have been born as intersex, while others would have been born as male or female but failed to develop at puberty, or males who continued living as hijras without ever getting castrated. Nanda goes on to make comparisons of Indian hijras with other alternative gender roles belonging to other cultures, such as the transsexuals living in many Western societies and also with the ‘Berdache’ of native North America. What is intriguing but all the same extremely interesting to note is that although most societies, especially the Asian, accept the ambiguity of gender by creating a third gender role, Western society seems extremely adamant on the theory that a person can be either male or female only. In fact, even the homosexuals and transsexuals in these societies are considered to be a member of either of the two above genders.

‘Transgender Rights’, as the title suggests, is a book on the transgender rights movement that started in the United States of America thirty years back and is still going strong. The book assesses the victories and failures of the movement, the future challenges as well as opportunities. The movement fought for the rights of transgenders and transsexuals. The book is, in essence, a collection of articles that covered the rights movement, offering new perspectives and it examines important topics like employment opportunities, public health, economics, and grassroots organizing. This path breaking book is an essential resource in the fight for the freedom and equality of those who cross gender boundaries

‘Changing Sex and Bending Gender’, edited by Alison Shaw and Shirley Ardener is a compilation of nine essays about the cultural and historical construction and deconstruction of sex and gender. The initial chapters speak about the definitions of sex and gender; and that even though sex is based on biological characteristics and gender on social classifications, the definitions do not stand fixed across cultures. The next two chapters discuss the cultural pressures in the sex classification when a child is born. With 1.6 percent of children all over the world being born with ambiguous genitalia, the book offers several examples of the response to this, across cultures. As expected, the reactions do not vary much across cultures. The final three chapters deal with the lay man’s interpretations and misconceptions about other alternative genders. The objective of the book is to bring out the fact that sex and gender are not ‘fixed’ concepts and what happens when individuals push these two concepts beyond the point that society has defined as permissible. The book is an excellent read, especially for people who want to pursue anthropology or gender studies.

‘The Female Eunuch’ by Germaine Greer is one of the most popular and widely read books on feminism. Published in 1970, it became an international bestseller and was translated in over ten languages. It is a passionate, almost furious, hard hitting book on the present standing of women as compared to men, in the world. The book, at that time, served as a wakeup call to all women. It contends that sexual freedom is the key to women’s liberation. It compares the psychological differences resulting from years of social conditioning, with the biological differences that are present between men and women. A section has been attributed to society, of its origins, its development over the years and where it currently stands. Through this book, Greer exposes the nature of inequalities that exist when it comes to gender rights and issues, and suggests strategies that could help improve the situation, if anyone chose to do so.

‘The Autobiography of a Sex Worker’ by Nalini Jameela is an extremely personal, honest account of the life of Nalini. The book gives deep insights about the life of sex workers, and the circumstances in which they make their choices. Brought up in an Ezhava family, in her early years, Nalini works in the clay mines. Through the course of the book, we notice the slow yet gradual changes in society. Being extremely poor, and having children to support, she decides to resort to commercial sex work to earn money. The story goes back to the dark days of Emergency, when the police used to routinely arrest and torture innocent people, most of them who were poor and whose voices could not be heard. She recounts her interactions with the police in a chillingly, honest manner. Over the years, with the advent of organizations that worked for social rights, gender rights etc, the situation improved even though there were still innocent people who were jailed. The account is neither cynical, nor does it have any traces of self pity. Nalini understood that to take care of her children, she would need to sell her body. The love that she displays for her daughter is heart warming. The book is an important read, one that helps us to understand that society can be exploitive, unforgiving and it has multiple layers, many of which are hidden to the naked, believing eye.

KNOWLEDGE GAP:

At the most basic level, there exists a lack of knowledge amongst the lay man about hijras. The first step, therefore, should be to create basic awareness in the minds of people, to sensitize them, to reach a stage where hijras can also expect a life of dignity.

There are too many misconceptions and stereotypes related to hijras. This has led to a lot of social stigma being attached to this gender.

Lack of opportunities, be it education, employment, health.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The objective of my research methodology would be to illustrate the social marginalization of eunuchs by pointing out, statistically and otherwise, their absence in social, legal and political organizations.

This will be done through,

Analysis of secondary data

A review of works on the subject by authors, academic as well as non academic literature, news reports, blogs and websites.

Primary Research

Taking interviews of hijras, first-hand accounts to verify conclusions derived from the secondary data. Also, conducting interviews of individuals working in social organizations, devoted to improving the conditions of hijras.

Empirical Observations
EXPECTED CONTRIBUTION:

My thesis does not claim to have a tangible and substantial measurable contribution but adds to the domains of human sensitivity, sensibility and conscientization. A postmodern condition, such as the one we claim to have arrived at, cannot be complete unless all its participants have equal access to what constitutes a minimum ‘life of dignity’

However, the objective of my research, studies and thesis, does comprise suggesting measures that, if implemented, would ensure that the hijras can enjoy a life with certain rights that every human being deserves. These would include sustainable and feasible proposals for employment, education and healthcare opportunities.

THE CONTEXT OF MARGINALIZATION:

Indian society is deeply divided along the lines of gender, caste, religion, class, language, education, all of which intersect with sexuality to create deeper divides and

oppressions. While hijras are despised and treated with contempt in most societies, they are supposed to have a sanctioned place in Hindu society (especially in weddings, births and festivals) as a recognized ‘third gender’, accommodating gender variation, ambiguity and contradictions. There is an arguement that says that unlike other sexual minorities such as ‘bisexuals’, ‘gays’ and ‘lesbians’ – all that largely remain closeted, the hijras overall are a visible force , and part of an organized community. Despite this supposedly elevated status amongst the sexual minorities, reality is starkly harsh. All over the country, in any part where the Hijras reside, their lives are physically, mentally and emotionally scarred by experiences of shame, dishonour and gruesome violence. In the contemporary scenario, it’s not just the ambiguous gender but also the class dimension of the hijra and kothi community that has a severe impact on issues which the upper class so conveniently take for granted, such as access to education, employment etc. The violence that they suffer on a daily basis is something that no other community in this country faces.

Imagine yourself in a situation where practically the entire world looks down upon you, a mere look at you is met with contempt, imagine a world where you do not even enjoy basic privileges like education, a job, a life. Imagine a world where not even your parents and siblings can accept you for who you are and choose to hate you for no apparent fault of yours. Imagine being beaten up every day by random men. Imagine being penetrated physically, mentally every day by random men. Imagine crying every day.
Welcome to the world of Hijras.

In most of South India, the hijras do not even have the cultural role that their counterparts have in the northern parts of the country. Most employers are not ready to hire them for available jobs. Often, they resort to hiding their gender identity but if found out, in most cases, they are thrown out from their positions. Therefore sex work becomes, in most cases, the only form of employment. They usually run bath houses, also known as ‘Hamams’. The Hamams are generally visited by working class men and the police. Of course, most of these men are married. It is an extremely dangerous profession, as they are often subjected to the sadistic whims, fancies and atrocities of cruel customers.

Narrated below are the testimonies given by some of the hijras I had the privilege of meeting and speaking to. As is clear, kothis and hijras take up sex work for a variety of reasons. One reason involves the pragmatic consideration of supporting the family. There is also the pride which comes from being able to support the family. Another reason has to do with the

self-acceptance of being a hijra and with the related discovery of a certain kind of freedom that living in the hijra community can provide. Many hijras and kothis fiercely assert that there is nothing disreputable about being a sex worker and it is as legitimate a piece of work as any other.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Journals & Publications

People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka(2000).Human rights violations against sexuality minorities in India report (first edition).PUCL KARNATAKA.

People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka(2007).Human rights violations against sexuality minorities in India report (second edition).PUCL KARNATAKA.

Bodies That Don’t Matter: The Discursive