toptermpaper.com

Mongolias population of 2.8 million is growing annually by 1.5 percent. One-third of Mongolians live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Approximately one-fourth live in smaller cities, especially Darhan, Erdenet, and Choybalsan. The rest of the population is spread throughout rural Mongolia. Most of these inhabitants are nomadic herders. With rural conditions increasingly harsh, more people are moving to cities-a trend that threatens the survival of traditional nomadic society.

Reform has allowed freedom of religion, and more than one hundred monasteries have reopened. Many young Mongolians are receiving an education through these traditional centers of learning, and people are once again able to practice cherished traditions. Boys are increasingly applying to become monks, and Buddhism is rapidly regaining its popularity. Kazakh Muslims (about 4 percent) are free to practice Islam. Christianity is gaining influence.

Urban wedding ceremonies take place in “wedding palaces.” Afterward, many couples now go to a Buddhist monk to receive a blessing or have their future predicted. A large feast treats as many relatives and friends as the new couple’s families can afford to feed. In rural areas, common-law marriages are typical. Rural couples receive a ger from the husband’s family. Mongolian families traditionally exchange gifts in conjunction with a wedding. The groom’s family usually gives livestock, while the bride’s family offers jewelry and clothing.

(Culture Grams)

National culture-including societal organization, governance, land management, cultural customs, and material culture-was largely shaped by the nomadic pastoral lifestyle. The legacy of Genghis Khan’s empire is a rallying point for Mongol nationalist pride today.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

Lamaism, the Tibetan form of Buddhism, entered the Mongolian society in the sixteenth century. It had a strong impact on the Mongolian culture for centuries. Mongols sought the counsel and help of the lama (priest or monk) for every aspect of their life: migration, marriage, childbirth, disease, and death. Since 1949, Lamaist beliefs and practices have decreased drastically.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

After the fall of communism, Mongolia witnessed a religious revival and more and more people sought comfort from spiritual activities. Despite being unfamiliar with religious ceremonies and prayers, people flocked to temples for religious services and many families began to send one of their children to join the monkhood.

The devout also contribute money to the temples and invite the Lamas to their homes for lavish feasts.

(REL)

Due to Mongolia’s small population, women are a vitally important part of the workforce. Men and women have an equal place in the Mongolian economy and this equality carries over into the home. Women still tend to do more than half the housework and play the primary role in supporting the family, but the role of the Mongolian woman is undergoing rapid change.

(WIC)
People
Mongolia

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Population:

2,832,224 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 27.9% (male 402,448/female 387,059)

15-64 years: 68.4% (male 967,546/female 969,389)

65 years and over: 3.7% (male 45,859/female 59,923) (2006 est.)

Median age:

total: 24.6 years

male: 24.3 years

female: 25 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:

21.59 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:

6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 52.12 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 55.51 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 48.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 64.89 years

male: 62.64 years

female: 67.25 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.25 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS:

less than 500 (2003 est)

HIV/AIDS – deaths:

less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Mongolian(s)

adjective: Mongolian

Ethnic groups:

Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)

Religions:

Buddhist Lamaist 50%, none 40%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4% (2004)

Languages:

Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.8%

male: 98%

female: 97.5% (2002)

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mg.html#People

Birth

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.birthdaycelebrations.net/traditions.htm (Birthday Celebration)

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ (Birth – % of Skilled attendant at Delivery)

http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/global_monitoring/data.html (Birth – % of Skilled attendant at Delivery)

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder —– Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/profiles.htm (Abortion)

How is birth viewed in the culture?

Fertility is important in Mongolian society, so childless women usually experience social stigma.

(WIC)

Are there any customs regarding the way newborns should be swaddled, whether they stay in the house, carried around in public, etc.?

Are babies normally birthed in hospitals or at home?

Is there a preference for doctors or midwives?

Skilled attendant at delivery (%), 1997-2005*

97

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/mongolia_statistics.html

More than 95 percent of all pregnant Mongolian women receive ante-natal care. As of 2004, the maternal mortality rate was 98 deaths per 100,000 live births. Estimated infant mortality rates for 2006 are 52 per 1,000.

(WIC)

Are there any formalities/celebrations in the culture regarding newborns?

Among Buddhists there are many naming ceremonies. In some traditions, children are named between the ages of three and eight. After children are born, their parents have their Kika’s drawn up. The Kika is a very specific horoscope which many Buddhists believe determines all aspects of a person’s life including marriage and death. At the naming ceremony, a rimpoche, or Buddhist holy person, looks carefully at the child’s Kika and selects a name which reflects the traits and predictions described in the Kika. After cutting a strand of the child’s hair, the rimpoche announces the child’s name.

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:ybpfeaiYiCUJ:rainbowwarrior.coa.edu/laura/ceremony/religiuosceremony.htm+Buddhist+naming+ceremonies&hl=en&gl=in&ct=clnk&cd=1

How are birthdays celebrated in the culture? Are they important events?

How does the culture view abortion?

Abortions are legal in Mongolia and available on request.

(WIC)
ABORTION POLICY
Grounds on which abortion is permitted:

To save the life of the woman Yes

To preserve physical health Yes

To preserve mental health Yes

Rape or incest Yes

Foetal impairment Yes

Economic or social reasons Yes

Available on request Yes

Additional requirements:

An abortion can be performed during the first three months of pregnancy and later if the pregnant woman suffers from an illness seriously threatening her health. Approval of the family or of the spouse is required.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT

Government view on fertility level: No official position

Government intervention concerning fertility level: No intervention

Government policy on contraceptive use: Direct support provided

Percentage of currently married women using

modern contraception (15-49*,1994): 25

Total fertility rate (1995-2000): 2.6

Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000): 47

Government has expressed particular concern about:

Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion No

Complications of childbearing and childbirth Yes

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990):

National 65

Eastern Asia 95

Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000): 67.3

For all women of ages specified.

BACKGROUND

Under the Mongolian Criminal Code of 6 July 1960, abortion was generally illegal. If it was performed by a physician, it was punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment. If it was performed by a person lacking the highest medical qualifications, or if performed under unsanitary conditions, the punishment was increased to up to five years’ imprisonment. Nonetheless, under general criminal law principles of necessity, an abortion could be performed to save the life of the pregnant woman.

In 1986, the abortion provisions of the Code were amended. Although abortion is in general still considered a serious offence, the Code authorized medical authorities to establish the conditions for the performance of legal abortions. Three years later in 1989, the health law was amended to reflect this change. Paragraph 56 of the Code was modified to provide that becoming a mother was a matter of a woman’s own decision. During the first three months of pregnancy she could obtain an abortion on request and, later in pregnancy, when necessary due to illness. Abortions were to be performed by physicians under hospital conditions, and the Ministry of Health was to approve a list of illnesses justifying the performance of an abortion on medical grounds.

The health law was revised in 1998 but its provisions on abortion remained the same. The 1996 National Population Policy of Mongolia adopted by Parliament stated that abortion should not be promoted as a means of family planning. The Government considers the abortion rate to be too high. The Government also reiterated in 1999 that abortion is generally permitted if a pregnant woman requests it and that abortion is publicly subsidized.

Prior to these amendments to the law enacted in the late 1980s, legal provisions governing abortion in Mongolia echoed the pronatalist population policy of the Government. In responding to the Eighth United Nations Inquiry among Governments on Population and Development, the Government indicated no position on the fertility level and no policy to modify it. The Government remains seriously concerned over the high levels of infant, child and maternal mortality.

The Government has attributed the relatively high abortion rate, 25.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, to shortages of modern contraceptives, as well as to a lack of knowledge concerning contraceptive use. Many women choose to have abortions carried out illegally by private physicians because of cheaper costs. Induced abortion accounts for a large percentage of maternal mortality in Mongolia, causing at least 850 maternal deaths each year.

The Government seeks to increase the contraceptive prevalence rate to more than 50 per cent by 2001. The National Reproductive Health Programme was adopted in 1997. The Government reports that, since the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1984, successful steps have been undertaken to ensure access of women to reproductive health-care services. Each provincial centre and some district cities have established reproductive health cabinets attached to the local public health centres. These cabinets provide services such as counselling, and pregnancy monitoring and evaluation. A National Adolescent Health Programme was adopted in 1997.

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/profiles.htm

Childhood

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.right-to-education.org/content/age/armenia.html

http://www.cohre.org/get_attachment.php?attachment_id=3069 (Sub-Saharan Africa – Rights of Women

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder —– Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

What is a normal childhood in the culture?

Are children raised by their parents or grandparents?

What role do grandparents and extended family members play in the raising of a child?

Attitudes about child rearing are generally quite relaxed and all family members participate in the supervision and moral education of children.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

What are normal childhood activities in the culture?

Are children revered or just another piece of the population?

Are male children valued more?

At what age do children begin school?

Offices are generally open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6 p.m. Shops are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Grocery stores have the same hours as shops but often are open on Sunday. A large open market featuring consumer goods, rural crafts, and assorted items operates several days a week on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar.

(Culture Grams)

Are children expected to contribute to household income?

How is child labor viewed in the society?

Coming of Age

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder —– Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

What marks a child’s coming of age in this culture?

At what age do children normally “come of age?”

Are there certain rites or celebrations that mark coming of age?

What is expected of youth in this phase of life?

Are there certain difficulties experienced by this age group?

At what age are children expected to work & contribute to the maintenance of the family?

Dating & Courtship

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/ (Sexuality )

http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/ (Sexuality)

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder —– Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

What are the general attitudes about dating in the culture?

Dating is fairly common.

(WIC)

Dating between schoolmates and coworkers commonly leads to marriage.

(Culture Grams)

Is there are distinction between courtship and dating in the culture?

At what age do people generally start dating?

How do men and women meet each other?

Mongolian women usually meet men at schools, in the workplace, and at social gatherings.

(WIC)

If dating is not customary, describe how people get together for marriage? Is it arranged?

If marriages are arranged, talk about how. What are the rituals around it (classified ads, matchmakers, astrology, etc.). If marriages are arranged, what are the factors in finding a suitable mate?

Are chaperones customary? If so, who serves as the chaperone?

Are there popular venues for dating?

Does a man or woman pay for dating expenses?

Describe a typical dating experience.

How long do people generally date before they get married?

Generally speaking in the culture, what are considered desirable attributes in a man?

Generally speaking in the culture, what are considered desirable attributes in a woman?

Does religion play a role in dating?

What are taboos of dating in the culture?

Is sex in dating common or taboo? What is the view of pre-marital sex?

If premarital sex is common, is birth control promoted, practiced, or taboo?

Is cross-cultural dating or cross-religious dating allowed or encouraged? Do people date outside their social, economic, education, religious, and ethnic categories?

How important are parents’/family approval for dating?

How does a proposal for marriage occur?

Arranged marriages are traditional in Mongolia, but for the last century, young Mongolians have become increasingly free to choose their own partners with minimal parental involvement. They normally marry within their own tribes.

(WIC)
Marriage

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/asian_traditions.html

(Wedding Celebration)

http://www.myhappylove.com/lyrics/wedding-traditions.html (Wedding Celebration)

http://www.right-to-education.org/content/age/armenia.html

(Minimum Schooling / Marriage / Employment Age )

http://www.coe.int/t/e/social_cohesion/population/demographic_year_book/2003_edition/04%20country%20data/ ( Population/Marriage/ Divorce/ Fertility)

http://www.cohre.org/get_attachment.php?attachment_id=3069 (Sub-Saharan Africa – Rights of Women

http://kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/ (Sexuality)

http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/ (Sexuality)

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder —– Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/reports.htm (For the status of women rights)

http://www.international-divorce.com/ (Divorce & Custody)

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/hostfamilies/culturequest_index.htm

Is marriage considered a sacred/spiritual act or simply a legal act in the culture?

At what age do people normally get married?

The legal marriage age for Mongolian women is 18, but most women marry in their early to mid twenties.

(WIC)

Mongolians usually marry between the ages of 18 and 25.

(Culture Grams)

Does hierarchy in the family play a role in who is able to get married or who gets married first?

How are marriages celebrated? What are the rituals associated with the marriage ceremony?

A custom of “denying entrance on marrying” has been common among the nomadic and seminomadic Mongols. The bridegroom, accompanied by relatives, rides to the bride’s yurt (house). He finds the door slammed in his face. After repeated requests, the door is finally opened. He presents a hada (ceremonial silk scarf) to his parents-in-law on entering and is given a banquet with a whole lamb. After the meal, the bride sits with her back to the others. The bridegroom kneels behind her and asks what her nickname was in childhood. He drinks at her house all night long. The following day, the bride leaves the yurt first. She circles the yurt on horseback three times, then speeds along to the bride-groom’s house. The bridegroom and his relatives ride after her. The door is also slammed in her face and is only opened after repeated requests.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Urban wedding ceremonies take place in “wedding palaces.” Afterward, many couples now go to a Buddhist monk to receive a blessing or have their future predicted. A large feast treats as many relatives and friends as the new couple’s families can afford to feed. In rural areas, common-law marriages are typical. Rural couples receive a ger from the husband’s family. Mongolian families traditionally exchange gifts in conjunction with a wedding. The groom’s family usually gives livestock, while the bride’s family offers jewelry and clothing.

(Culture Grams)

The wedding day is begun at a local temple where the couple separately asks for the blessings of Buddha. Both bride and groom are then dressed in outfits traditional to their region.

At the mutually auspicious astrologically designated wedding time, the bride and groom are individually taken to the shrine room of their local temple or a hall hired for the occasion. Here, the couple sees each other for the first time on that day.

Spiritual Buddhist wedding traditions don’t necessarily require the presence of monks or the use of a temple’s shrine room. For these traditions, the wedding location would be equipped with a shrine to Buddha featuring candles, flowers, incense and a statue or image of Buddha.

The ceremony begins as the entire assembly recites the Vandana, Tisarana and Pancasila readings. The couple then lights the candles and incense sticks surrounding Buddha’s image and offers him the flowers within the shrine. Because of the secularity of Buddhist weddings, there is no assigned set of marriage vows. However, the bride and groom will recite their expected undertakings using the Sigilovdda Sutta as a guide. The Sigiloydda Sutta says:

“In five ways should a wife, as Western quarter, be ministered to by her husband: by respect, by courtesy, by faithfulness, by handing over authority to her, by providing her with ornaments. In these five ways does the wife minister to by her husband as the Western quarter, love him: her duties are well-performed by hospitality to kin of both, by faithfulness, by watching over the goods he brings and by skill and industry in discharging all business.”

After these vows are spoken, the bride and groom can exchange rings. If monks are present, the marriage vows will be both preceded and proceeded by their chanting.

After the Wedding

Once officially married, the couple receives their guests with the huge feast and decorations prepared in the previous days to the wedding.

http://www.urbandharma.org/udnl2/nl021004.html

Finally, the assembly or perhaps the parents only, should recite the Mangala Sutta and Jayamangala Gatha as a blessing.

http://www.buddhanet.net/funeral.htm

What are the cultural expectations of marriage?

Do men and women have equal say in their marriages?

What are the typical roles of the man and woman in marriage?

How much do parents or in-laws have to say about their offspring’s marriage? What degree of involvement do they generally have?

Where do couples normally reside–in their own place, with parents, etc.?

The sons, after marrying, move out of their parents’ home. However, they live nearby and may travel with their parents in search of new pastures. In seminomadic districts, families often include parents, sons, and daughters-in-law.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Are affairs common? Are they culturally accepted?

Are men or women allowed to have multiple spouses?

Mongolian traditional society allowed polygamy as long as the husband could provide for each wife. However, polygamy was legally banned some time ago and is no longer practiced.

(WIC)

Do laws equally protect the rights of individuals in a marriage?

How are anniversaries celebrated in the culture?

Is divorce legal or acceptable in the culture? Under what circumstances is it acceptable to divorce?

What is the process in the event of a divorce?

Mongolian women could initiate divorce and remarry afterwards. In such cases the new husbands usually accepted a divorced woman along with her children, as acquiring a “ready-made” family was believed to indicate an existing spiritual connection.

(WIC)

Do women retain any rights?

What happens to children of a divorce?

A Mongolian woman can initiate divorce. In most divorce cases, the mothers get custody of minor children.

(WIC)

Is remarriage for widows condoned in the society?

Family & Parenting

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.cohre.org/get_attachment.php?attachment_id=3069 (Sub-Saharan Africa – Rights of Women

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder —– Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.unece.org/stats/trend/ (Population/ Families & households/ Employment/ Housing)

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-profiles.html (Family)

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/reports.htm (For the status of women rights)

http://www.international-divorce.com/ (Divorce & Custody)

What does the family unit in a home look like? (i.e. 2 parents, children? Parents, children, all relatives?, etc.)

Is there an imposed or cultural idea about how many children are the right amount for a family?

What is the typical family size?

Nomadic extended families often live in a camp of several gers. Husbands take care of herding and slaughtering, while wives handle milking and food preparation. Older children care for younger siblings.

Urban families live either in high-rise apartments or in a ger, with its surrounding fence and storage shed. A ger in or near a city will have electricity but not heat or water. Due to a housing shortage, three generations must often share a small apartment; parents sleep in the living room and children and grandparents in the bedrooms. Urban families have one or two children. Both parents generally work outside the home. Networks of family reciprocity are an important means of support. For example, rural relatives may supply their city relatives with meat and dairy products, and the urban dwellers may reciprocate by taking one or more of the rural family’s children to live with them in the city so they may receive a better education.

(Culture Grams)

Traditionally, families were the main unit of production in this herding society. The kinship system was patrilineal and sons generally established households in a common camp with their fathers.

Several generations of families customarily live together in a nomadic camp known as a khot ail (“group of tents”) and share herding tasks. This camp, generally consisting of two to seven households, serves as a way of pooling labor for herding and has numerous social and ritual functions.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

A Mongolian family generally consists of a husband, a wife, and their young children.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

How central are children to the family?

What are the general reasons for having children?

Children have always been treasured in Mongolian culture, and large families were historically the norm. Large families were considered desirable because many children ensured extra help and security in old age. Although family size is changing today, the country is still so sparsely populated that some people still believe it is advantageous to have “as many Mongolians as possible.”

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

How important is birth or gender order?

Is there a family hierarchy or cultural custom in terms of childbearing (i.e. the youngest child of a family may not have children until the eldest has had them, etc.)

What is the expectation or role of each parent after the birth of the child?

Who is the “head” of the household?

Mongolian women traditionally held a higher social status than women in many Asian cultures. Still, a woman’s primary role was as a homemaker.

(WIC)

The father is head of the family, but the mother is responsible for household affairs.

(Culture Grams)

Who makes the chief decisions for the family?

The Mongols are monogamous. The family is dominated by the man, but herders usually consult their wives about major decisions.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Traditionally, Mongolia has always been a patriarchal society. Mongolian proverbs such as “If a husband does not beat his wife once a month, he is not a man”

Today, Mongolian men often maintain the appearance that they are the family decision-makers, even if their wives actually make the decisions. However, the number of single-parent families headed by women is growing in Mongolia.

(WIC)

Who earns the income?

Who customarily manages the household? (Mother, Father, Grandparent?)

Describe typical family life? (daily routines)

What are the roles of the children (up to 10 yrs.)?

What are the roles of adolescents (11 and up)?

What are typical/favorite family activities?

Urban wedding ceremonies take place in “wedding palaces.” Afterward, many couples now go to a Buddhist monk to receive a blessing or have their future predicted. A large feast treats as many relatives and friends as the new couple’s families can afford to feed. In rural areas, common-law marriages are typical. Rural couples receive a ger from the husband’s family. Mongolian families traditionally exchange gifts in conjunction with a wedding. The groom’s family usually gives livestock, while the bride’s family offers jewelry and clothing.

(Culture Grams)

Is meal sharing with the family typical/mandatory?

Dinner is considered the main meal of the day. The whole family generally eats dinner together.

(Culture Grams)

Is divorce common?

Today, divorce is relatively rare in Mongolia. In most divorces, mothers receive the custody of children and are entitled to child support and alimony.

(WIC)

With whom to the children go if there is a divorce?

What cultural expectations are there in terms of “duty” to parents?. What or how much do children “owe” their parents in adulthood? Does hierarchy/economics/education/or other play a role in terms of which child has more “responsibilities” or “duty requirements”? (i.e. in Japan/Korea, etc.)

Most Mongolians live in nuclear families, tho

There are various types of works and with each type there is a different type of work orientation attached, for example in a regular manual labour one would not expect the worker to bring on high commitment to work as this worker will be working in order to meet ends with taking care of the family as his main goal. On the other hand in a skilled laboratory, for example, the scientist will be expected to work and bring along a good quality of work orientations so that the work goes on smoothly and the other research counterpart benefits due to a workers high quality work. Here the worker has the science related work as the main goal, and family and other criteria comes secondary.

Initial studies have concentrated in generalising the work force and the work orientations they bring about at a work place. Though this was not very wrong at their times but in modern times this has changed as there is a lot of division in a similar type of work itself. For example, in a production company, there are people who are working at a manufacturing level, there are people who are working at R&D level, and there are people who are working at business level. At the business level there are further divisions including HR, sales, marketing etc. At each level there are different types of orientations expected out of the worker. A skilled labourer working at a plant will have different expectations and future goals as compared to the ‘big boss’ sitting at the executive level.

The main issue here is that the old studies have concentrated on generalising the work orientations. In these new times there are new requirements to consider in order to make the work a better place which is beneficial for both the worker and the employee. Though we can learn a lot from old researches, newer studies are still required as the times have changed in a major ways. Therefore specific studies are required in order to understand what is beneficial for both.

The meaning of work

There are many definitions of work. In theology work can be the Karma or “deed”, in “physics” it happens when and where a certain amount of energy moves a body of specific weight through a specific distance and at the level of ‘human labour’ it may involve employment or house work.

In economic term labour is the amount of work done by humans and can include ‘manual labour’ (which is the physical work done by someone or a group of people), ‘waged labour’ (where a worker sells his labour and an employer buys it for hourly/pre-decided payment), or ‘project management’ (where the main aim is to finish a task).

“Work is a social duty and contributes to social order in any society, it is also there to promote moral worth in the individual” (Anthony 1977) The Ideology of Work (International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library), Even religion has paid emphasis to work like in Islam, work ethic argues that life without work has no meaning and engagement in economic activities is an obligation (Yousef 2001:153) even Buddha singled out laziness as a cause of downfall of men and nations and urged that everyone should put forth effort (Niles 1999:858).

The basic reason for a person to work is for economic gains. Working to survive, to gain food, shelter, etc. a person wants to work to gain self- respect. But is it all about money? This is a question mostly asked to people who wants to associate career success to the amount of money they earn. Work is not always about money, this is because there are certain other terms involved including job satisfaction and career growth. Gallie, D and White, M (1993) Employee Commitment and the Skills Revolution, London: Policy Studies Institute. At the level of nations, every nation wants its people to work in order to contribute to the society. In certain countries it is an obligation where everyone must work to the best of their ability and contribute to society (Britain, Japan, USA) in others it is an entitlement where everyone has the right to a meaningful and interesting job with proper training (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) [Status and type of job (Baruch, 2004)]

The ‘modern’ work ethic and introducing orientations to work

According to Watson, work is the essential prerequisite of personal and social advancement and of self-fulfilment (Watson 1995:115). It is the meaning that working individuals attach to their work, which predisposes them to think and act in particular ways and with regard to work it is very important (Watson 2002).

There are two types of works (Watson 1995), one which gives intrinsic satisfaction is enriching, provides any kind of a challenge, enables development and self-fulfilment, so here the work has an expressive meaning. On other hand, work which gives extrinsic satisfactions yields no value and is only a mean to meet the ends. Here, satisfaction or fulfilment is sought outside of work like in a hobby of some sort. Here the work has an instrumental meaning

Work orientation basically Refers to the ethics, expectations, and state of mind that any worker brings to an establishment. This topic has been of concern to many people. There have been studies which have revealed that “work orientation” influence the experience of job. Work orientation is related to motivation but is not motivation, it is associated with commitment but is not commitment.

In the year 1960, studies were carried out in a car plant in Luton by Goldthorpe, Lockwood et al. Here he concluded his study with a paradox which was that workers were neither satisfied nor dis-satisfied with their work. They did not appear to be deriving any intrinsic or social satisfaction from job but did not express dissatisfaction with their work. [Goldthorpe J, Lockwood D, Bechhofer F and Platt J, 1968, The Affluent Worker: industrial attitudes and Behaviour, Cambridge Univ. Press.] Here he showed that an instrumental worker works to meet an end , has a calculative involvement, i.e. is not too indulgent or job oriented, and there is a clear separation within job and non-job related activities. Therefore the worker brought a only a limited amount of work orientation into the work organisation. Though in conclusion Goldthorpe says that the worker has a choice to leave the job and go elsewhere where he can have a better job satisfaction.

This work by Goldthorpe has been criticized by many including Devine Grieco, Daniel Beynon and Blackburn. They said that all the work in industrial societies has an instrumental basis or nature, i.e. the worker joins the work knowing that this will be only to meet the end not to gain other things (Devine 1992; Grieco 1987). The ‘instrumental worker’ does not have much choice as concluded by Goldthorpe (Beynon and Blackburn 1972) because either he is unskilled in other kind of work or he is limited in initial resources to start a work of a specific kind. Also Daniel said that Work orientation is not static (Daniel 1973).

According to these critiques, Goldthorpe was overly simplistic with focus on money or as they said ‘fulfilment’ because he chose a problematic group for managers to work upon, also he forgot to understand that manual labour was a lot more accessible to investigation which in the first place is not liked by workers who are doing this kind of job.

Also his studies, did not had a control comparison with professionally orientation to work which includes qualifications, feeling of success, values placed on ‘hard work’, extent of control over destiny and feeling good about current job and attachment to organisation. His studies also did not include gender which is an important part to study at a society level because of many families now a days have both members working.

Introducing gender

There have been many studies done including by Hakim in which there is introduction of women and men at a same level in the work force and their studies. Since Goldthorpe et al’s study ignores gender, Hakim’s (1991) talks about women ‘grateful slaves’ and self-made women and men and compare them. Hakim’s (1995) polarity thesis: work-centred women, home-centred women and ‘drifters’ / Hakim’s (1998, 2001) preference theory

He put forwards a ‘preference theory’ in which there are 3 kinds of women;

Work-centred women which constitutes of (25%) of the total population surveyed. These women were childless and were committed to work, investment in training, qualifications etc.

His second group consisted of Home-centred women which constituted of 28% of the surveyed population who had family as their main priority. They did not prefer to work as they believed in qualifications as only for intellectual dowry.

The third category of working women were adaptives’ which were a mix of both (47%) and combined a balance between raising children and reaching career goals despite of not totally being highly committed to career. According to them qualifications obtained for working was there to help them gain promotions etc.

His work challenges the traditional feminist ‘myths’ and shows that women were aware of individual differences (preferences). Though his work was survey based there were no dialogs with the women themselves (Procter and Padfield 1998; Caven 1999; Fagan 2001). He also assumed that orientation to work is static and predetermined (Fagan 2001). According to many critiques he Overemphasised choices and preferences and totally ignored structural and economic factors involved.

Bringing men back in

“It is notable that there is in practice only one ‘choice’ of work history for men, compared to three for women. Feminists who emphasise that women’s choices are constrained and not ‘completely free’ overlook the fact that women have more choices than men” (Hakim 1996:134,

But is this really the case? According to Nolan this is not the case as many men fits the ‘adaptives’ category (Nolan, 2009). Fagan shows this by talking about how Men’s commitment to work declines around time of childbirth (Fagan, 2001). Also Structural demands prevent men from spending time with family (Pleck, 1985) which makes them prefer to be adaptive rather than being totally work oriented.

Work orientation and gender relation:

Work orientation basically Refers to the values, anticipations, and feelings that any worker brings to an organisation. This topic has been of interest to many people. There have been researches which have shown that “work orientation” effect the experience of job. Work orientation is Related to motivation but is not motivation, it is associated with commitment but ISN’T commitment and it links with effort bargain and implicit contract

Men mostly prefer to work in order to have a personal satisfaction and job related satisfaction i.e. their orientations to work are similar (Caven, 2009). More related research is needed in this area as this is a topic which integrates many other things including salary related rewards, career growth, time spent in job compared to time spent at home balance (Hakim, 2008; Raiden and Caven, forthcoming). There is also a need to show how and why a person’s orientation towards a particular job or from a particular job changes.

Conclusions

The further research is indeed needed because initial studies have concentrated more upon general way of obtaining data. Also there has been a generalization of groups and initial researchers thinks that they can generalise people from all sorts of work in a specific category, this is not true as various types of jobs have their own requirements and faults which can attract a person or repel a person from that job, for example, a manual labour job given to a student during his time at the university will help him financially and keep him busy but the same job to the same student after his graduation will have no reason for the student to continue to work upon unless he is not getting a job in his specified field.

Also original studies focussed on men and manufacturing and from that time there has been a lot of changes in the types of jobs available in the market today, there are jobs in various kinds of fields including science, arts, skilled labour, etc, also there have been sub division of work and thus there are different requirements at different levels. Further research in required to find out different orientations to work and the specified areas related to different aspects of work.

Just like there are various definitions of work, there are many types of works done in a society. When a worker goes to an office there are certain things accepted out of him like work ethics, good practice, better outcome at highest level of quality, similarly the worker also expects certain things out of the employee.

This essay will attempt a brief review of the history of the concept ‘culture’ and its relationship with the concept ‘civilization’, in order to understand the two concepts, without making any claims towards offering anything new in the analysis of the chronological account of how the definition of culture changed over time. [1] Instead, the essay will attempt to explore the harmonies and dis-harmonies in the utilization of the two concepts, as a way of coming to terms with immanent ruptures and continuities which were explicated in various ways in which the logic and lexicon of these concepts were deployed in the different anthropological traditions over the years.

From the outset, I would like to mention that I almost abandoned this particular topic because of the difficulties I encountered in finding a concise definition of, mainly the concept of ‘culture’. When, after several weeks of reading, it finally dawned on me that actually there was none, it all started to make sense – that the subject of defining the concept of ‘culture’ has never been closed and was never intended for foreclosure. This meant that understanding how the concept was variously deployed was as important as appreciating the manner of its deployment, especially in ways in which this was always associated with the concept of civilization, whose definition was more straightforward.

The notion of Culture:

Following a very unsuccessful search for a concise definition of the concept ‘culture’, it dawned on me that Terry Eagleton and several others was after all correct when he said that ‘culture’ was one of the few very complicated concepts to have ever graced the English language (Armstrong, 2010: 1; Eagleton, 2006: 1; Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952). Culture was a very difficult concept to define because the evolution of its etymology and its deployment varied in different contexts and anthropological traditions, both contemporary and classical. Its meaning in one setting was often contested in another.

The word ‘culture’ was first used in America [2] , and in etymological terms, its contemporary usage has its origin in attempts to describe man’s relationship with nature, through which resources were extracted. It depicted the outcomes of extraction of resources from nature through a process of labor, for example, through crop farming and livestock production (Eagleton, 2006: 1). It was in this sense that the concept was first formally deployed in the 19th century in Germany, where the word used was ‘Kultur’, which in German referred to cultivation. [3] The early German usage of the word culture was heavily influenced by Kant, who, like his followers, spelled the word as culture, and used it repeatedly to mean ‘cultivation’ or ‘becoming cultured’, which subsequently became the initial meaning of civilization (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 10). The way the concept was first used in modern English borrowed from the usage first made of the word by Walter Taylor, which dates back to 1871, although according to Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952: 9), Taylor’s use of the word culture, which was borrowed from German, was similar to the way the word civilization was used in Germany.

The above sense in which the concept culture was for long deployed depicted it as an activity or occupation that entailed a materialist dimension related to the extraction of resources from nature. Coming from Walter Taylor, the modern scientific sense of the word culture no longer refers primarily to the process of cultivation, but more generally as a manifestation of customs, beliefs and forms of government (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 10). The latter sense signifies some abstraction to the transcendent and divine realm of spiritualism. Over time, the concept was also deployed in other ways that depicted it as an entity (Eagleton, 2006: 1). There was also a sense in which the concept of culture also depicted the transformation that took place in society’s experiences with changing technologies of production as capitalism developed, although this understanding was quite often deployed in racist terms to differentiate between less industrialized nations of the non-west from the more industrialized European societies.

It is true, as observed by Eagleton that the relationship between nature and culture was such that ‘nature produces culture which changes nature’ (Eagleton, 2006: 3). In this sense, there is a part of nature that is cultural, and another that is not. The part of nature which is cultural is that part which labor transforms, for example, into works of art, monuments, skyscrapers (or building structures) or cities. Such products of culture are as ‘natural as rural idylls are cultural’ (Eagleton, 2006: 4). Because culture originally meant ‘cultivation’, or managing the growth of crops, which means ‘husbandry’, the cultural therefore would imply that which was within ones means to change. As pointed out by Eagleton (2006: 4), ‘the stuff to be altered has its own autonomous existence, which then lends it something of the recalcitrance of nature’ in much the same way as the extent to which culture transforms nature and also influences the rigorous limits nature imposes on the cultural project.

To this extent, I am in agreement with Eagleton (2006: 4-5) that the idea of culture signified a double rejection, of, on the one hand, the representation of culture as an organic (biological) determinism; and, on the other, as an interpretation of culture as an embodiment of autonomous spiritualism. To this extent therefore, culture rebuffs naturalism and idealism founded in biological determinism by insisting that from the point of view of culture, there was also a representation within nature which exceeded and dismantled nature. It also represented a refusal of idealism because even the highest-minded human agency had its humble roots in our biology and natural environment.

The resulting contradiction from this rejection of naturalism (emanating from organic determinism) and idealism (as a result of autonomy of spirit) led to a contest between what had actually evolved and what ought to, which transfigured into what Eagleton described as ‘a tension between making and being made, between rationality and spontaneity’ (Eagleton, 2006: 5).

Consequently, although the relation between humans and nature was important to an understanding culture, in this paper, I consider the social relations between humans and nature in the course of extracting from nature, through which humans change nature to be the most important. This is what is central to understanding the concept of culture, which makes it possible to view it as a systematic way of life and living, that humans consciously develop that is transferred from the past to the present and into the future. It depicts some semblance of historically assembled normative values and principles internal to social organizations through which a diversity of relationships are ordered. In this way, it is possible to see how culture becomes an abstraction of itself, in its own right, which does not reify culture as a thing as this essentializes culture. I am inclined to agree with Armstrong (2010: 2) in her definition, which presents culture more as a process of meaning making which informs our sense of who we are, how we want to be perceived and how others perceive us.

The above said, we also need to recognize that while culture is important, it is also not the only factor that shapes social relations between humans in the course of impacting on nature in ways that change it. Several other social, economic, political, geographical, historical and physical factors come into play. It is necessary to recognize that culture, which embodies as much as it conceals its specific history, politics and economics; is, as also pointed out by Franz Boaz [4] , not inert. It is an inherently Boasian conception to view culture as extremely dynamic; as having life, and existing in a continuous state of flux, as new notions of and about culture continues to emerge. This means that cultures cannot be expected to be static and homogenous. As new cultures emerge, tensions are usually generated. The totality of any culture and its individual trait cannot be understood if taken out of its general setting. Likewise, culture cannot also be conceived as controlled by a single set of conditions (Benedict, 1934: xv).

It is also Franz Boaz [5] who noted that culture is some form of standardized or normative behavior. An individual lives in his/her specific culture, in as much the same way as culture is lived by an individual. Culture has a materiality that makes it manifest in diverse patterns implying that it meaningless to try and generalize or homogenize about cultural patterns (Benedict, 1934: xvi). Thinking of culture as socially constructed networks of meaning that distinguish one group from another implies not only a rejection of social evolution but also an endorsement of ‘cultural relativism’, which is also a Boasian tradition. [6] Boaz [7] rightly argued that perspectives that view culture in evolutionary terms tend to end with the construction of a unified picture of the history of culture and civilization, which is misleading. Tendencies which view culture as a single and homogenous unit, and as an individual historical problem is extremely problematic (Benedict, 1934: xv). I consider the distinctive life-ways of different people as the most basic understanding of the notion of culture. ‘Cultural relativity’ is a recognition that different people have cultures and life-ways that are distinct from those of others.

The notion of civilization:

The concept of civilization, like culture, also has a complex etymology. By 1694, the French were already using the verb civiliser, and referred to the polishing of manners, rendering sociable, or becoming urbane as a result of city life (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 11). The French notion of civilization referred to the achievement of human advancement manifest in certain customs and standards of living. The French considered civilization as the end point of a process of cultivation that took place over centuries (Elliot, 2002). The English lagged behind the French. [8] In 1773, Samuel Johnson still excluded civilization from his dictionary, preferring civility, and yet civilization (from the word civilize) captured better the opposite of ‘barbarity’ than civility. The English subsequently adopted the concept of civilization deriving it from the verb to civilize and associated it with the notion of civilizing others. The 1933 Oxford Dictionary defined civilization as: “A developed or advanced state of human society; a particular stage or type of this” (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 12). By the 18th century, the word civilization in German was associated with the spread by the state of political developments akin to the German state to peoples of other nations. It was somewhat similar to the English verb to civilize (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 11). For the Germans and English, the concept of civilization invoked an imperial political agenda that was apparent in the way they deployed the concept.

The harmony and dis-harmonies in deployment of concepts of culture and civilization:

The evolutionary thinking about culture and civilization in the philosophy of Durkheim:

Among the scholars who attempted a very rigorous narrative intended to distinguish between culture and civilization was Emile Durkheim, whose writings were first published in 1893. In trying to come to terms with the complex division of labor and associated behavioral changes that occurred with the industrial revolution in England, Durkheim, argued that inside modern industry, jobs were demarcated and extremely specialized, and while each product was a specialty, it entailed the existence of others in form of the labor they input into its production. As society evolved from agriculture to industry, so did culture of the pre-industrial era give way to civilization associated with the conditions of progress in human societies. Durkheim extended the concept of division of labor from Economics to organisms and society, from which its association with culture was derived, arguing that the more specialized an organism’s functions were, the more exalted a place it occupied in the animal hierarchy. For Durkheim, the extent of division of labor in society influenced the direction of the development of the evolution of mankind from culture to civilization (Durkheim, 1984: 3).

Durkheim used division of labor to make the distinction between culture as a preserve of the pre-modern mediaeval society and civilization as belonging to the modern industrial society. Durkheim argued that all societies are usually held together by social solidarity. In the pre-industrial societies, where social bonds were based on customs and norms, this solidarity was mechanical while in the industrial societies, which were highly individualistic, the solidarity was organic, and social bonds were maintained by contracts which regulated relations between highly individualistic beings. To Durkheim, societies transition from relatively simple pre-modern societies to relatively more complex industrial societies (Durkheim, 1984: 3).

Durkheim argued that division of labor influenced the moral constitution of societies by creating moral rules for human conduct that influenced social order in ways that made industrial societies distinct from the pre-industrial ones. It created a civilized, individual man, capable of being interested in everything but attaching himself exclusively to nothing, able to savor everything and understand everything, found the means to combine and epitomize within himself the finest aspects of civilization. For Durkheim, tradition and custom, collectively defined as culture were the basis of distinction of the simpler societies which defined their mechanical form of solidarity that they exhibit. The modern societies, according to Durkheim, were characterized civilization (Durkheim, 1984: 3-4).

Durkheim advanced an essentially Darwinian argument. In the biological determinism of Durkheim, it is argued that the shift from mechanical to organic solidarity was comparable to the changes that appeared on the evolutionary scale. Relatively simple organisms showing only minimal degrees of internal differentiation ceded place to more highly differentiated organisms whose functional specialization allowed them to exploit more efficiently the resources of the ecological niche in which they happened to be placed. The more specialized the functions of an organism, the higher its level on the evolutionary scale, and the higher its survival value. In similar ways, the more differentiated a society, the higher its chances to exploit the maximum of available resources, and hence the higher its efficiency in procuring indispensable means of subsistence in a given territory (Durkheim, 1984: xvi).

There were fundamental contradictions in the perspectives of Durkheim. If Durkheim denigrated culture to the pre-modern, and viewed society as developing in evolutionary terms to the industrial, it could be assumed that he also believed that the solidarity which was associated with the industrial society was better. What then explains the fact that Durkheim was deeply convinced of and concerned about the pathology of acquisitiveness in modern capitalist society? Durkheim did not believe that the pathological features of the industrial society were caused by an inherent flaw in systems built on organic solidarity. Rather, he thought that the malaise and anomie were caused by transitional difficulties that could be overcome through the emergence of new norms and values in the institutional setting of a new corporate organization of industrial affairs (Durkheim, 1984: xxi).

For Durkheim, the flaws in industrial and class relations did not mean that the pre-modern characterized by culture was better. That the class conflicts which were inherent in the industrial society and were associated with the structure of capitalist society would be overcome by the emergence of a new corporate society in which relations between employers and employees were harmonized. Beholden to none of the political and social orientations of his day, Durkheim always attempted to look for a balanced middle way (Durkheim, 1984: xxii).

The contemporary play of relationships between culture and civilization has, to say the least, rendered wanting, the ideas which were advanced by Durkheim. For example, if culture is a preserve of the pre-modern, what explains the pervasiveness of barbarism within civilized formations of the industrialized world? Can we have culture in societies that are characterized as civilized or with civilization? Or are societies that are said to possess culture devoid of civilization?

The contradictions in the etymology and deployment of concepts of culture and civilization:

The usage of ‘culture’ and ‘civilization’ in various languages has been confusing. Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary for English defined both ‘culture’ and ‘civilization’ in terms of the other. ‘Culture’ was a particular state or stage of advancement in civilization. ‘Civilization’ was called advancement or a state of social culture. In both popular and literary English, they were often treated as near synonyms, though ‘civilization’ was sometimes restricted to ‘advanced’ or ‘high’ cultures (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 13). As early as the 1950’s, there were some writers who were inclined to regard civilization as the culture of urbanized societies characterized by cities. Often, civilization was considered a preserve for literate cultures, for instance, while the Chinese had civilization, the Eskimo were seen as in possession of culture (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 13).

The English language distinction between civilization and culture made in the past was different from that made in the German language. In German, civilization was confined to the material conditions, while the English expression sometimes included psychic, moral, and spiritual phenomena (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 13). The German Kultur also referred to material civilization, while culture in English over time came to mean something entirely different, which corresponded to the humanities. The German Kultur also related to the arts of savages and barbaric peoples, which were not included in any use of civilization since the term civilization denoted a stage of advancement higher than savagery or barbarism. These stages in advancement in civilization were even popularly known as stages of culture; implying that the word culture was used synonymous with the German Kultur (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 13). In English, ‘culture’ was a condition or achievement possessed by society. It was not individual. The English phrase ‘a cultured person’ did not employ the term in the German sense. There was a sense of non-specificity in the way in which the concept ‘culture’ (‘Kultur’) was deployed in the German sense (Krober & Kluckhorn, 1952: 13).

From its etymological roots in rural labor, the word culture was first deployed in reference to ‘civility’; then in the 18th century, it became more or less synonymous with ‘civilization’, in the sense of a general process of intellectual, spiritual and material progress. In Europe, civilization as an idea was equated to manners and morals. To be civilized included not spitting on the carpet as well as not decapitating one’s prisoners of war. The very word implied a dubious correlation between mannerly conduct and ethical behavior, which in England was equated to the word ‘gentleman’. As a synonym of ‘civilization’, ‘culture’ belonged to the general spirit of Enlightenment, with its cult of secular, progressive self-development (Eagleton, 2006: 9).

Form my reading of the literature on this subject, it was not clear at what point culture and civilization begun to be deployed interchangeably. Suffice to mention, however, that in English, as in French, the word culture was not unconditionally interchangeable with civilization. While it was not entirely clear, between the two concepts of culture and civilization, which predated the other, they both shared a transcendental association with the notion of cultivation, as something which is done to (or changes in) humans in the course of exacting labor upon nature to change it, that leads to the development of human qualities to suit the needs of collective humanity. Culture, which emerged in German from the notion of Kultur, which meant cultivation, appeared as a form of universal subjectivity at work within the particularistic realm of our separate individualities. For Eagleton (2006: 8), it was a view of culture as a component of civilization which was neither dissociated from society nor wholly at one with it.

This kind of focus also portrayed an essentially Kantian notion of man as becoming cultivated through art and science, and becoming civilized by attaining a variety of social graces and refinements (or decencies), in which the state had a role to play. This Kantian conception therefore distinguished between being cultivated and being civilized. Being cultivated referred to intrinsic improvement of the person, while being civilized referred to improvements of social interrelations (interpersonal relations), some kind of ethical pedagogy which served to liberate the collective self buried in every individual into a political citizen (Eagleton, 2006: 7; Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952: 11).

There was a sense in which the concept of civilization had an overwhelming French connection (coming from the concept civilizer), in the same way culture was associated with the Germans (from the concept Kultur). To be described as civilized was associated by the French with finesse with regards to social, political, economic and technical aspects life. For the Germans, ‘culture’ had a more narrowly religious, artistic and intellectual reference. From this point of view, Eagleton (2006: 9) was right when he observed that: (i) ‘civilization’ was deployed in a manner that played down national differences, while ‘culture’ highlighted them; and, (ii) the tension between ‘culture’ and ‘civilization’ had much to do with the rivalry between Germany and France. I am reminded here of Eagleton’s famous phrase that: ‘civilization was formulaically French, while culture was stereotypically German’ (Eagleton, 2006: 10-11).

Towards the end of the 19th century civilization and culture were invariably viewed as antonyms. If, however, the description by Eagleton (2006: 9) of French notion of civilization as a form of social refinement is acceptable, then one can also accept Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952: 14) description of civilization as a process of ennobling (or ‘creating nobility’) of humanity through the exercise by society of increased control of the elementary human impulses. This makes civilization a form of politics. In the same light, I also agree with Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952: 14) that culture’s German connections link it with the control of nature through science and art, which means culture embodies technology (including equipment) as well as knowledge systems (including skills) relevant for subduing and employing nature.

The implications of the above are two-fold: (a) culture and civilization, can not be looked at as antonyms or binary opposites, in the sense in which evolution theorists would want us to view the relationship between these two concepts – with culture as being akin to an inferior status while civilization is ascribed to the superior; (b) both tend to depict not only elements of normativity in advance in life-forms, but also constantly improving internal conditions of the internal elements of these concepts that define humanity which they embody. There is a way in which the elements embodied by these concepts depict superiority in their respective life-forms. Even when there are tendencies for overlaps in the elements depicted by these two concepts, for example, their association with politics, art, technology and urban living, there is a sense in which both concepts cannot be viewed as stages of development one from the other.

It appears to me that Eagleton viewed civilization as a value-judgmental concept that pre-supposed an improvement on what went before, to whatever was not only right, but a great deal better than what was (Eagleton, 2006: 10). Eagleton was also non-presumptive when he pointed out that historically, the deployment of the term put it within the lexicon of a pre-industrial European middle class, which used the concept to justify imperial ambitions of mercantile and early industrial European capitalism towards those they categorized as of inferior civilization (Eagleton, 2006: 10). This fact has to be borne in mind if the concept when the concept is deployed today.

Culture on the other hand, required certain social conditions that bring men into complex relationships with natural resources. The state becomes a necessity. Cultivation was a matter of the harmonious, all-round development of the personality. Because there was overwhelming recognition that nobody could do this in isolation, this helped to shift culture from its individual to its social meaning. Culture had a social dimension (Eagleton, 2006: 10).

Whichever was, between culture and civilization, the progenitor of the other, there is a dual sense in which these concepts appear linked by their enlightenment era roots; and also not linked at the same time. I agree with Eagleton that “civilization sounds abstract, alienated, fragmented, mechanistic, utilitarian, in thrall to a crass faith in material progress; while culture seems holistic, organic, sensuous, autotelic and recollective”. However, I have reservations with Eagleton’s postulation of, first, a conflict between culture and civilization, and secondly, presentation of this conflict as a manifestation of a quarrel between tradition and modernity (Eagleton, 2006: 11).

One of the greatest exports from the Enlightenment era was its universalism. Post-enlightenment political philosophy contributed significantly to critiques of enlightenment’s grand unilineal narratives regarding the evolution of universal humanity. We can look at the discourse of culture as a contribution to understanding the diversity inherent in different life-forms with their specific drivers of growth. Increasingly, it had become extremely perilous to relativize non-European cultures, which some thinkers of the time idealized as ‘primitive’ (Eagleton, 2006: 12).

In the 20th century in the primitivist features of modernism, a primitivism which goes hand-in-hand with the growth of modern cultural anthropology emerged, this time in postmodern guise, in form of a romanticizing of popular culture, which now plays the expressive, spontaneous, quasi-utopian role which ‘primitive’ cultures had played previously (Eagleton, 2006: 12).

While todate the concepts ‘civilization’ and ‘culture’ continue to be used interchangeably, there is also still a sense in which culture is still deployed almost as the opposite of civility (Eagleton, 2006: 13). It is not uncommon to encounter culture being used in reference to that which is tribal as opposed to the cosmopolitan. Culture continues to be closed to rational criticism; and a way of describing the life-forms of ‘savages’ rather than a term for the civilized. If we accept the fact that ‘the savages’ have culture, then the primitives can be depicted as cultured and the civilized as uncultured. In this sense, a reversal means that civilization can also be idealized (Eagleton, 2006: 13). If the imperial Modern states plundered the preA­-modern ones, for whatever reasons, is it not a statement of both being uncultured and lack of civility, quite antithetical to what one could consider as civilization of the west. What sense doe it therefore make to posture as civilized and yet act in an uncultured manner?

Can viewing culture as civilization, on one hand, and civilization as culture, on the other hand, help to resolve the impasse in the contemporary deployment of these concepts? One fact is clear, either way; it has potential to breed ‘postmodern’ ambiguities of cultural relativism (Eagleton, 2006: 14). Alternatively, if culture is viewed, not as civilization, but as a way of life, it simply becomes an affirmation of sheer existence of life-forms in their pluralities (Eagleton, 2006: 13).

Pluralizing the concept of culture comes at a price – the idea of culture begins to entertain cultural non-normativities or ‘queer’ cultures, in the name of diversity of cultural forms. Rather than dissolving discrete identities, it multiplies them rather than hybridization, which as we know, and as Edward Said observed, all cultures are involved in one another; none is single and pure, all are hybrid, heterogeneous, extraordinarily differentiated, and non-monolithic (Eagleton, 2006: 15).

Attempts to valorize culture as a representation of particular life-forms associated with civility can also be perilous. There is a post-modern sense in which culture can be considered as an intellectual activity (science, philosophy and scholarship), as well as an ‘imaginative’ pursuit of such exploits as music, painting and literature. This is the sense in which ‘cultured’ people are considered to have culture. This sense suggests that science, philosophy, politics and economics can no longer be regarded as creative or imaginative. This also suggests that ‘civilized’ values are to be found only in fantasy. And this is clearly a caustic comment on social reality. Culture comes to mean learning and the arts, activities confined to a tiny proportion of humanity, and it at once becomes impoverished as a concept (Eagleton, 2006: 16).

Concluding Remarks:

From the foregoing analyses, it is clear that understanding the relationship between culture and civilization is impossible until we cease to view the world in binaries in which the West (Europe) was constructed as advanced and developed with the non-West perceived as primitive, barbarous and pagan. Historically, the West’s claim of supremacy was always predicated on their provincialization of the non-west, whose behavioral patterns were judged from the experience of the West, and characterized in generalized terms as traditional customs and therefore culture. I agree with Benedict, that the West did all it could to universalize its experience to the rest of the world, even when this experience was different from that of those from the non-west (Benedict, 1934: 5).

Assumptions of the mutual exclusivity of culture and civilization in society are premised on perceived irreconcilability of values and beliefs. Religion was always used in the West to posit a generalized provincialism of the non-west. It was the basis of prejudices around which superiority was justified. No ideas or institutions that held in the one were valid in the other. Rather all institutions were seen in opposing terms according as they belonged to one or the other of the very often slightly differentiated religions.

In this contemporary era of highly globalized populations of footloose movements an

The Millennium Development Goals are an integrated set of eight goals and 18 time-bound targets for extending the benefits of globalization to the world’s poorest citizens. The goals aim to stimulate real progress by 2015 in tackling the most pressing issues facing developing countries – poverty, hunger, inadequate education, gender inequality, child and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation. UNDP helps countries formulate national development plans focused on the MDGs and chart national progress towards them through the MDG reporting process (Wacc, 2006).

In most developing countries, gender inequality is a major obstacle to meeting the MDG targets. In fact, achieving the goals will be impossible without closing the gaps between women and men in terms of capacities, access to resources and opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and conflict.

Millennium Development Goal 3 is ‘to promote gender equality and empower women’. The goal has one target: ‘to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005 and to all levels of education no later than 2015’. Four indicators are used to measure progress towards the goal: the ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education; the ratio of literate women to men in the 15-to 24-year-old age group; the share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector; and the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments.

The existence of a separate goal on gender equality is the result of decades of advocacy, research and coalition-building by the international women’s movement. Its very existence demonstrates that the global community has accepted the centrality of gender equality and women’s empowerment to the development paradigm- at least at the rhetorical level.

“Gender inequality means inequality between men and women in accessing the existing resources” (Saroukhani 1991:673). In the view of Krammara & Treicehr “any kind of behavior, policy, languages, and other actions that represents a fixed, comprehensive, and institutionalized view in regard to women as inferior beings, means gender inequality”. (1985:185). Therefore, gender inequality refers to the differences between men and women in receiving social and economic advantages which is often to the benfit of men at the expense of women, which means men take superiority over women.

Men and women experience the world of work quite differently. Wage disparities, occupational sex segregation, and gender differences in authority, for example, are well recognized (e.g., Padavic and Reskin 2002). Despite distinguished changes in work, meaningful differences in these areas remain persistent features of contemporary society (England 2006, 2010).

While there are certainly other factors at play, this paper focuses on discrimination in a variety forms, including in hiring (Gorman 2005; Goldin and Rouse 2000), promotions (Olson and Becker 1983), wages (Meitzen 1986), glass ceiling, and as well as sexual harassment (Welsh 1999).Of course, documenting the contemporary occurrence of gender discrimination in employment is only a first step. As Reskin (2000, 320) argues, “We need to move beyond demonstrating that employment discrimination exists, and investigate why it persists in work organizations.” We must look at processes that lead to unequal outcomes for women and men. The real challenge is to uncover how discrimination unfolds in actual work settings.

The issue of gender inequality can be considered as a universal feature of developing countries.One of the areas of disparity between males and females is related to the difference in their employment status which is present through occupational segregation, gender-based wage gaps, and women’s unequal image in informal employment, unpaid work and higher unemployment rates (UNFPA, 2005). As women in developing countries have low status in the community, the activities they perform tend to be valued less; and women’s low status is also perpetuated through the low value placed on their activities (March et al., 1999).

In the case of Mauritius, even though there has been a rapid change in the society where women have reached a high level and hold status such as Judges, Directors, Engineers which were unconceivable to be the fields where women could emerged; there are still some occupation where women are entangled in the culture norms and could not take the lead. For example, there are some sectors such as Fire Men at the Fire Services where there are no female officers.

There are less women who work as Electrician, Plumber or even Carpenter, as these occupations do not allow women to perform well due to their physical strength. Besides there is no doubt that there are organisations which are gender biased. Most of the organisations are entirely rules by male managerial culture as when organisations were first performed; only males were in the paid workforce.

Despite there has been an increased in the education field at all level and the increase of women in the workforce, there has been a minor change to the men dominated culture in the workplace where women are still treated as inferior agents. Our study focused on how gender inequality still has an impact on the Mauritian female within the workplace.

General context
An Overview of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries

The issue of gender inequality can be considered as a universal aspect of developing countries. Unlike women in developed countries who are, in relative terms, economically empowered and have a powerful voice that demands an audience and positive action, women in developing countries are generally silent and their voice has been stifled by economic and cultural factors.

Economic and cultural factors, together with institutional factors state the gender-based division of labour, rights, responsibilities, opportunities, and access to and control over resources. Education, literacy, access to media, employment, decision making, among other things, are some of the areas of gender disparity.

One of the areas of disparity between males and females is related to the difference in their employment status which is distinct by occupational segregation, wage inequality, and women’s unequal representation in informal occupation, unpaid work and higher unemployment rates (UNFPA, 2005). As women in developing countries have low status in the community, the activities they perform tend to be valued less; and women’s low status is also perpetuated through the low value placed on their activities (March et al., 1999).

In-depth analysis of DHS by Hindin (2005) showed that only 17% of women in Zimbabwe, 12% in Zambia and 4% in Malawi have higher status job than their partners. The respective percentages of women whose partners have higher status jobs are 52, 43 and 53.

Women are also overrepresented in the informal sector. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 84% of women’s non-agricultural employment is informal compared to 63% of men’s. The figure is found to be 58% and 48% for women and men, respectively in Latin America (UNFPA, 2005). Studies generally show that women are more likely to be engaged in work which is for longer hours than men. For instance, in 18 of the 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, greater than 50% of women were employed and even in six of these countries the percentage of employed women was greater than 75% (Mukuria et al.,2005).

However, as most of the employed women work in agricultural and other activities which are mostly considered to be having limited or no financial returns, their employment does not contribute much to their status in the workplace. Thus, women in those countries are dependent on their partners in most aspects of their life. In spite of its importance in enabling women to get access to information about personal health behaviours and practices, household, and community, the percentage of women exposed to different types of media is limited in most developing countries.

Women’s limited access to education, employment opportunity, and media, attached with cultural factors, reduces their decision making power in the society in general and in a household in particular. Regarding their participation in decision making at national level, though the number of women in national parliaments has been increasing, no country in the world has yet achieved gender parity.

According to the millennium indicators data base of the United Nations, cited in the UNFPA (2005), the percentage of parliamentary seats held by women in 2005 was 16% at world level, 21% in developed countries, and 14% in developing countries. This low representation of women in national parliaments could be due, among others, to type of electoral systems in

different countries, women’s social, economic status and beliefs about women’s place in the family and society, and women’s double responsibilities for work and family (UNFPA, 2005).

Women are underrepresented in the formal sector of employment. The survey conducted by the Central Statistical Authority (CSA, 2004) showed that women account for less than half (43%) of the total employees in the country. Considering the percentage of female employees from the total number of employees by employment type, the highest was in domestic activities (78%) and followed by unpaid activities (59.3%). In other types of formal employment (e.g. government, NGOs, private organizations), the percentage of female workers is less than 35.

On the other hand, the survey showed overrepresentation of female workers in the informal sector. About 58% of working women work in the informal sector whereas the percentage of working men in the informal sector was 37.7 % (ibid).The breakdown of the federal government employees by occupational groups also indicated gender disparity. From federal government employees found in the clerical and fiscal type of jobs 71.3 % were female, while the percentage of females was slightly more than half (51%) in custodial and manual type of jobs.

Women make up 25% and 18% of the administrative and professional and scientific job categories, respectively, indicating that upper and middle level positions are overwhelmingly dominated by men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005). This concentration of women in the informal sector and low level positions has implication on their earnings. In this regard, the survey showed four out of ten women civil servants earn Birr 300 a month compared to two out of ten for men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005).Ethiopian women’s access to mass media is one of the lowest. In their DHS comparative report, Mukuria et al. (2005) show that, among 25 Sub-Saharan African countries.

Chapter 2
Component of gender inequality-horizontal and vertical segregation

Jonung (1984, p. 45) defines the presence of occupational gender segregation as when women and men are given different occupations that is reliable with their overall shares of employment, irrespective of the nature of job that they have. Gender segregation mean when the percentage of one gender is higher than that of males and females in an occupation. It reflects the gender differences in employment opportunity. The number of occupation with segregation against women is far greater than the number of occupations with segregation against men. Occupational gender segregation consists of two main component dimensions known as horizontal and vertical segregation (Blackburn et al, 2000).

Horizontal segregation is known as under or over representation of certain group in the workplace which is not ordered by any criterion (Bettio and Verashchagina, 2009). According to Anker (1998) horizontal segregation is an absolute and universal characteristic of contemporary socio-economic systems.

It focuses mainly when men and women possess different physical, emotional and mental capabilities. Such discrimination occurs when women are categorized as less intelligent, hormonal and sensitive (Acker 1990). Women are labeled as unreliable and dependent workers when they are pregnant. They are less competent as they will not work as long and hard as others. They become more stressful and sensible to tiny issues happen in the workplace. Martin (1994) declared that in masculine management style, most of the time women possess ‘soft skills’ and men possess ‘hard skills’. It is this concept which creates gender segregation in the workplace.

Vertical segregation referred to the under or over representation of a clearly identifiable group of workers in the workplace at the top of an ordering based on ‘desirable’ attributes such as income, prestige, authority and power.

Huffman (1995) finds that women do not possess enough supervisory authority at work, in education, occupational experience and prestige. One reason that women lack authority is because most women are more concentrated in female-dominated occupations which comprise fever position of authority than male-dominated occupations. Moreover, it is viewed that men’s have greater status value, that is men’s personality are more valuable than women’s and they are much more skilled. (Broverman et al. 1972; Deaux and Kite 1987; Eagly 1987).

Men possess more powerful position in the workplace (Bridges & Nelson 1989). Women’s wage rates are lower than men’s even if their qualifications are similar. As women enter in the workplace, this reduces the level of prestige related with the task and men leave these occupations.

Sex discrimination-discrimination, harassment and glass ceiling

In many parts of the world, women have experienced breakthroughs in their rights in employment. Despite these advances, women from every country and culture continue to face sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. The international community has recognized both discrimination based on sex in the terms and conditions of employment and sexual harassment as violations of the fundamental human rights of women (Gudrun and Danya, 1998).

Although sex discrimination is prohibited by law, it continues to be a widespread problem for working women. There are three forms of sex discrimination that have an effect on women in organizations: overt discrimination, sexual harassment and the glass ceiling. Each has negative effects on women’s status and ability to perform well at work.

Overt discrimination

Overt discrimination is defined to make gender as a decisive factor for employment-related decisions. This type of discrimination was targeted by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited making decisions based on sex in employment-related matters such as hiring, firing, and promotions. It consist such behaviours as to refuse to hire women, to pay them inequitably or even to steer them to “women’s jobs”. Overt discrimination also led to occupational sex segregation where jobs are classified by low pay, low status and short career ladders (Reskin, 1997).

Sexual Harassment

MacKinnon (1979:1) defined sexual harassment as “the unwanted imposition of sexual requirements in the context of a relationship of unequal power”. As in overt discrimination, sexual harassment is a persistent gendered problem for women in the workplace around the world. Sexual harassment is a type of sex discrimination, but one manifestation of the larger problem of employment-related discrimination against women. It now appears obvious that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination.

There are three psychological dimensions of sexual harassment that continued to persist worldwide: sexual coercion, gender harassment and useless sexual attention ((Fitzgerald et al., 1995; Gelfand et al., 1995). The case of sexual harassment in the workplace is mainly due to obtain more power and status than the opposite sex (e.g., Baugh, 1997; McKinney, 1992; Piotrkowski, 1998; Riger, 1991; Welsh, 1999)

Statistical discrimination is another form of sex discrimination in the workplace, it consists of sex-typed job assignment (i.e. “error discrimination”-Aigner & Cain 1977, England & McCreary 1987, Bielby & Baron 1986a). For example, employers put men into jobs which consist physical demands and women into jobs demanding social skills (Bielby & Baron 1984, Farkas et al 1991). However, employers introduce gender segregation in job assignments exceeds technical or economic justifications: within the “mixed-sex” occupations that either sex could presumably perform, small differences in job requirements were accompanied by large differences in sex composition (Bielby & Baron 1986a:782).

The Glass ceiling

The term ‘the glass ceiling’ was coined in a 1986 Wall Street Journal report on corporate women. The glass ceiling is a concept that most frequently refers to invisible or artificial barriers that do not allow women from advancing past a certain level in corporations, government, education and nonprofit organization (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission -FGCC, 1997; Morrison and von Glinow, 1990). These barriers reflect “discrimination … a deep line of demarcation between those who prosper and those left behind.” The glass ceiling is the “unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements” (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission 1995b:4; emphasis added). This official description suggests that the definition of glass ceiling must know that it reflects job inequality that is unexplained by a person’s past “qualifications or achievements”; it reflects labor market discrimination, not just labor market inequality. For the purpose of this study, the glass ceiling concept is discussed regarding women who suffer from discrimination in the workplace.

The usual method to know where there is discrimination is to look for inequalities that are unexplained by prior personality of the employees. Inequalities that originate from past discrimination in education or training or from choices that people make to pursue nonmarket goals such as family, volunteer work or leisure are not generally measured as part of a glass ceiling. Therefore, glass ceiling inequality represents a gender or racial difference that is not explained by other job-relevant characteristics of the employee.

The glass ceiling is a third type of discrimination that affects women in the workplace and it is an important factor for women who do not get enough access to power and status in organizations. It also includes gender stereotypes, lack of opportunities for women to get promotion and prevent women to get higher income than men.

Nowadays many of the people immigrate to other countries. To some extent, there maybe exist five factors which cause people to leave their motherland and immigrate to other countries. The factors are living conditions, natural disasters, higher education chances, religious persecution, and escape of the punishment of law. These factors motivate them to leave their motherland to immigrate to other countries. Maybe some of them are forced to leave their motherland while others may voluntarily immigrate. Before beginning this thesis, two definitions must be made clearly. One is “migrants” and the other is “Permanently”. Migrant is someone who goes to live in another country or area, especially in order to find a good job (LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English). “Permanently” means lasting or remaining without essential change or on expected to change in status, condition or place (The Free Dictionary).

The first factor is the living conditions. In many regions of the world today people live in tragic situations of instability and uncertainty. It does not come as a surprise that in such contexts the poor and the destitute make plans to escape, to seek a new land that can offer them bread, dignity and peace ( U.S. Catholic Bishops, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, Nov. 15, 2000). So if a person lives in a country which is poorer than their target countries or where unemployment rates are higher, he may immigrate to the latter. Take America and Mexico for example, a survey shows that at 4.25 an hour, the U.S. minimum wage is approximately six times the prevailing one in Mexico(why do people immigrate,2005). That is to say, Americans lead a wealthier life than Mexicans. Therefore, undoubtly a great many Mexicans move to America. When they move to America, they will receive a higher wage for the same job than they can get in their own country. At the same time, the developed countries with high-cost employees want to attract people to go to their countries.

The second factor is the natural disasters. On many occasions, the natural disasters can not be predicted, so human beings always suffer a lot from them. Although people can not predict them, they can evade them. People who come across a natural disaster in their own countries will move to other countries. Take Ireland for example, a majority of Irish people had moved to other countries because of their country’s starvation. Because of this disaster, more than one million of its people were died of starvation and more than two million people immigrated to other countries, so today Irish people can be found in many developed countries such as Australia, Canada, America, Great Britain and some other developed countries (The Society and Cultural of Major English-Speaking Countries, 2005). The above example shows that the natural disasters are also a very important reason for the people emigrating from their own countries.

The third factor is that many developing countries’ students want to have an overseas study, so they may move to another country. When they finish their studies, a number of them will choose to settle down at the foreign countries to find a job.

The forth factor is religious persecution. From some aspects this is the main reason which leads a huge number of people immigrating to other countries. In the Middle Ages Antisemitism in Europe was religious. Though not part of Roman Cathelic dogma, many Christians, including members of the clergy, have held the Jewish people collectively responsible for killing Jesus, a practice originated by Melito of Sardis. As stated in the bostom college Guide to Passion Plays, “Over the course of time, Christians began to accept that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for killing Jesus. According to this interpretation, both the Jews present at Jesus Christ’s death and the Jewish people collectively and for all time, have committed the sin of deicide, or God-killing. For 1900 years of Christian-Jewish history, the charge of deicide has led to hatred, violence against and murder of Jews in Europe and America. (A View’s Guide to Contemporary Passion Plays, 2003). The above example shows that religious persecution is also a factor which leads to the people move to other countries.

The last but not the least, the fifth factor is the escape of law punishment. Many people who violate the law of a country may escape to other countries. This kind of phenomenon is more and more ordinary in today’s world, because there is not a common law validating to every countries. And the law in this country may not have the same validity in other countries. So the people who violate his own country’s law can flee to other countries. Take the millionaire Lai Changxing for example; he is a businessman and entrepreneur from Jinjiang, Fujian, people’ Republic of china and he is also the master of the lucrative Yanhua Group. He violated Chinese law of anticorruption in 1999, and then he fled to Canada. So he can not be punishment by Chinese law. (Accused Chinese Smuggler Gets Canada Work Permit, 2009).

Conclusion

As the world changes all the time, there are maybe other more factors. But from the factors mentioned above which lead the people emigrate from their motherland to other countries can draw a conclusion that people will not immigrate to other countries without reasons. There do exist some reasons which motivate them to emigrate. Some immigrators are voluntary to immigrate to others while some immigrators are not voluntary to immigrate to other countries, and they have no choice. However, when most people get old; they may still want to go back to their own countries. Just as the proverb says, “east, west, home is best.”

Reference

Accused Chinese Smuggler Gets Canada Work Permit, (2009). Reuters

Stephen, (1887).Longman Dictionary of ContemporaryEnglish.Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Paper.

Smith, T., (2006). The Root Causes of Immigration. Available at: http://www.ccky.org/Pastoral%20Resources/Immigration%20Series/7%20-%20Root%20Causes%20of%20Immigration.pdf. Retrieved on 2010-04-01

Susan Paley M.A. and Adrian Gibbons Koesters, (2003). A View’s Guide to Contemporary Passion Plays. Available at: http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/ViewersGuide.pdf. Retrieved on 2010-04-06

Thomas, (2005). Welcomingthe Stranger among Us: Unity in Diversity.Beijing: Higher Education Press.

Zhu Yongtao, (2005). The Society and Cultural of Major English-Speaking Countries. Beijing: Higher Education Press.

According to Ritzer, the Mcdonaldization of society has standardized the consumer experience. Critically discuss.

‘The McDonaldization of society’ was originally published in 1993 and has since been revised and republished several times. In this text Ritzer argues that a process of ‘McDonaldization’ has taken place in which ‘the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world’ (Ritzer, 2004, pg 1). This process has revolutionized the principles of business and transformed our experiences of production and consumption. Ritzer’s concept is based on the work of Weber and his theory of rationalization (Weber, 1964). Weber argues that modernity is characterised by instrumental reason, with an increased emphasis on efficiency, control and the use of technology. This was initiated by a decline in traditional authority and the influence of charismatic leaders. The authority of rationality is based on rules and the application of science, logic and reason. These rules are carried out by bureaucratic structures in which groups of peoples are organised into hierarchies, each having individual responsibilities. They must follow the rules and regulations set by those who occupy a higher level in the hierarchy (Ritzer, 2004). Ritzer uses his McDonaldization model to demonstrate this rationalization process. The bureaucratic characteristics of the fast food restaurant include a complex division of labour in which food is prepared elsewhere and delivered frozen. A crew of labourers then perform a specific role repeatedly, such as cooking food and serving customers. For Ritzer, the fast food restaurant has come to represent the growth of rationalization in the twentieth century and its increasing influence on everyday human interaction and personal identities.

Ritzer identifies four aspects of McDonaldization, one of which is ‘predictability’ and relates most closely with this essay title. This aspect of McDonaldization implies that all products and services are standardized, that is they are identical at any time and in any place (Aldridge, 2003). To standardize means it is free from any irregularities, all the products are made to conform to one another. Shlosser (2001) refers to this characteristic as ‘uniformity’ (pg. 5). This is the key to the success of any business franchise he argues. ‘Customers are drawn to familiar brands by an instinct to avoid the unknown. A brand offers a feeling of reassurance when its products are always and everywhere the same’ (Schlosser, 2001, pg 5). Both Schlosser and Ritzer argue that the success of the fast food industry, through the production and consumption of standardized products, have encouraged other types of industry to adopt these methods of business. This has meant that identical copies of various stores are now spread across the world, leaving smaller businesses unable to compete (Schlosser, 2001 and Ritzer, 2004). For example, Subway now has 27,000 outlets in 85 countries and Starbucks opens an average of 6 new coffee shops per day (Ritzer, 2004). Standardization has made its roads in areas like education, healthcare, shopping, leisure and sport.

It is worth concluding my introduction by outlining the other three characteristics of Ritzer’s McDonaldization theory. Then I will proceed to discuss the question of whether the McDonaldization of society has standardized the consumer experience. The first dimension is efficiency ‘the optimum method for getting from one point to another’ (Ritzer, 2004, pg 13). By following predetermined steps, businesses can function efficiently as every stage is carried out quickly and easily. This idea of efficiency is promoted by businesses as beneficial to consumers, but in reality serves their business interests as customers are increasingly providing their own labour while paying additional charges for the privilege. Ritzer offers many examples, such as salad bars, ATM machines and drive throughs. ‘A few years ago, the fast food chain McDonalds came up with the slogan “We do it all for you.” In reality, at McDonalds, we do it all for them. We stand in line, take the food to the table, dispose of the waste, and stack our trays. As labour costs rise and technology develops, the consumer often does more and more of the work’ (Ide and Cordell cited in Ritzer, 2004, pg 61). The second aspect is calculability, Ritzer argues that McDonaldization involves ‘calculating, quantifying. Quality tends to become a surrogate for quality’ (Ritzer, 2004, pg 66). Mcdonaldized products and services are quantified, tasks are done within a certain time and products are a specific size, numerical standards are applied to almost everything. The size of a Big Mac never changes (Aldridge, 2003). Microwaves in the home mean that meals can now be prepared in minutes, saving time for other activities. News broadcasts are condensed into minute snippets of information so we are not bogged down with detail and useless information. Ritzer argues that although an emphasis on calculability means that we can pay very little for large sizes, the quality of these goods are becoming ever more substandard. The final dimension of the McDonaldization paradigm is ‘control’. This involves the use of nonhuman technology to remove the uncertainties caused by human agency and to ensure that both employees and customers are ‘pliant participants in the McDonaldizing process’ (Ritzer, 2004, pg 132). Employees are not required to think for themselves or apply human logic to their work. They must follow instructions, push buttons on tills and scan barcodes. The skill and potential of human actors has become insignificant in a McDonaldizing world. Our everyday interactions are now based on the use of machines. Ritzer’s critique of these four dimensions is discussed in his chapter on the ‘irrationality of rationality’ where he acknowledges the benefits of the McDonaldization of society, such as increased variety, the availability of 24 hour shopping and increased speed of service. But despite the obvious benefits he argues that rationalization produces unreasonable systems in which human reason is undermined. His arguments mirror those of Marx and his discussion of alienation (1844).

Ritzer’s analysis of McDonaldiztion can be extended to many fields of consumption which have become increasingly standardized. For example, many argue that higher education has become McDonaldized. Previously, academics who teach in higher education were able to control their methods of teaching and dictate the nature of its content. This diversity in teaching styles and approaches has been reduced to a homogenized, product orientated system in which the student is now thought of as a customer. The quality of education is now highly controlled and regulated, teaching and research is bureaucratic and rationalized to serve economic interests. Evidence of this can be found in the emphasis on skills and employability placed on students as well as the use of postgraduate students and other low wage teaching assistants to lead classes. Higher education institutions are forced to compete with one another for funding and rank positions for the quality of teaching and research. Students opinions are now recorded by way of course evaluations which amount to surveys on customer satisfaction (Poynter, 2002). Lecturers and tutors are often required to develop and update new skills in technology in their teaching, this includes the use of power point and blackboard. Students also use technology in their studies in order to prepare them for their careers and the world of business. Although there is no national curriculum in place for higher education, this may change in the future and a national standard may be put in place (Hartley, 1993). This mass production of education is likely to cause a decline in its quality. Ritzer argues that we have seen ‘the ultimate step in the dehumanization of education, the elimination of a human teacher and of human interaction between teacher and student’ (Ritzer, 2004, pg 155). It is interesting that Ritzer suggests not only that university education has become McDonaldized, but that the subject of sociology has too. He discusses the McDonaldization of sociology textbooks and sociological theory or ‘standardized theory’ (Ritzer, 1998, pg 37) but does not consider his own contribution to this phenomenon in writing the McDonaldization thesis. Many argue that his books have made social theory more palatable for students (Smart, 2006).

There are many other examples of standardized consumer experiences. Ritzer identifies fie aspects of this standardization or ‘predictability’. Each can be related to specific areas of consumption. Hotel chains are a perfect example of ‘predictable settings’ the growth of these chains has changed the way we experience hotel stays, while previously they were very diverse and owned by individuals who ran them in different ways and offered varying services and amenities. Now customers know what to expect from well known chains as each establishment is identical to the next (Ritzer, 2004,). The existence of individually run guesthouses and bed and breakfast is not a thing of the past as Ritzer seems to imply. These types of hotels are still hugely popular by consumers who wish for a more traditional, less standardized experience.

The use of ‘scripted interaction’ has created a more routinized experience for the consumer, we encounter this form of pseudo-interaction on almost a daily basis in fast food restaurants and supermarkets as well as other places. Many supermarkets require their staff to follow a number of compulsory ‘steps’ when serving customers, such as great the customer, offer to pack, promote certain products, say goodbye etc. Ritzer argues that consumers are subjected to inauthentic, insincere, treatment. I would argue however that although workers are required to ask certain questions, it is not as scripted as Ritzer claims, many businesses encourage their staff to engage in natural conversation with them.

Ritzer highlights that employee behaviour has become set to a specific standard. Workers must dress and act in a certain way. Detailed employee manuals are often distributed containing the do’s and don’ts of the job. Disney is a good illustration of this, Bryman (2004) discusses the emotional labour of employees working in Disney theme parks in which they must act as characters when delivering service, they are required to present the idea that they are taking part in the fun and not simply working. They internalise the culture of Disney by using a specific vocabulary and adopting a Disneyized persona in their work.

The standardized nature of products, as well as the processes involved in their production, is another aspect of Ritzer’s ‘predictability’ theory. In McDonalds, the food is easy to prepare and pre-cut to look identical to one another. The methods of preparation are the same in every restaurant, as is the packaging in which it is served. Ritzer argues that simple menus ensure predictability and uncomfortable seating (which is often in short supply) ensures that customers eat and leave quickly. It is important to note however, that McDonald’s restaurant has changed in recent times, the menu has grown and now includes more healthy options and alternatives to the classic items like hamburgers and milkshakes. The decor and seating have also changed and is now much more vibrant, creating a dining experience in which customers are not forced to leave quickly but relax and take their time. This is something Ritzer may have to factor into the next edition of his book. He also argues that ‘regional and ethnic distinctions are disappearing from American cooking’ (Ritzer, 2004, pg 99). The predictability of food in a McDonaldized society means that the food consumed in one city, is the same as any other. The standardized nature of the food served in fast food restaurants means that we can purchase the very same product in most parts of the world he argues. This can be disputed in that there are always cultural variations in the food served in different countries, such as the meat used and sauces supplied the restaurant. Religious and cultural beliefs have an impact on the type of food on offer. The menus are certainly not as standardized and uniform as Ritzer claims. Turner (2006) identifies this as a major criticism of Ritzer and argues that ‘the extent and uniformity of McDonalds is not an illustration of cultural standardization’ (pg 82). He goes on to cite ethnographic studies which prove that McDonaldization is not a straight forward process.

Standardized consumer experiences also involve keenness by businesses to ‘minimize danger and unpleasantness’ (pg 102). Again, Disney theme parks are a useful illustration of this as they are extremely controlled environments free from crime and disorder. Shopping malls are another good example as they protect the shopper from the dangers of the outside world and provide a relaxed, upbeat environment.

Ritzer discusses and documents an extensive number of areas of consumption which are characteristically rationalized and standardized. At this point, the argument that McDonaldization of society has standardized the consumer experience’ is quite convincing. However, many writers have criticised Ritzer’s McDonaldization thesis and I would like now to outline a few of the critiques that have been put forward, some have already been mentioned. I will then summarise and conclude the essay.

Kellner (1999) points out firstly that Ritzer manages to cover a diverse number of areas simply because his thesis is ‘so broad as to conceptually grasp and interpret a wealth of data’ (pg. 186). Kellner argues that Ritzer’s theory relies too heavily on Weber’s work on rationalization. This generates a one-sided and limited optic that needs to be expanded by further critical perspectives ‘ (pg. 187). Ritzer’s methods of research are also quite limiting and can be described simply as journalistic, he uses every day, observable illustrations which are easy to relate to and discuss. Therefore he is heavily reliant on media articles to exemplify his arguments. Absent from his theory is a consideration of the subjective aspects of McDonaldization and the role of human agents. How do we as individuals view the McDonaldization process and how does it serve our interests? There seems to be too much focus on production, with a disregard for the diverse experiences and practices of consumption. Kellner suggests that cultural studies be included in the McDonaldiztion thesis. The McDonalds experience today for example, has arguably entered the post-modern realm, where McDonalds advertising has come to represent ‘ a quasi- mythical, hyper real world of Americana, family fun and good times’ (Kellner, 1999, pg 191). Kellner proposes that a multiperspective approach would be more valuable and the incorporation of the work of theorists such as Marx and Baudrillard would be useful.

O’Neill (1999) is also extremely critical of Ritzer and questions whether ‘McDonaldization’ is a sufficient theory to explain the changes to our experiences of consumption in recent times. He describes Ritzer’s books as ‘theory burgers’ only suitable for the ‘lay population’ (O’Neill, 1999, pg 53).he concludes his chapter with the statement ‘only you can stop teaching/reading Ritzer!’ (pg. 55).

To conclude, Ritzer has claimed that the fast food restaurant has standardized everything related to the production and consumption of goods. From the shape and size of fries to the scripting of human interaction. This revolutionary system is indicative of changes in other areas of social life today, and marks the beginning of future changes to come. Ritzer convincingly backs up his claims with an analysis of other phenomena such as education and leisure. By utilizing Weber’s classic work on rationalization and the iron cage of bureaucracy (1964) Ritzer applies and extends it to present day experiences of production and consumption. It is probably reasonable to say that the McDonaldization of society has standardized the consumer experience. But with his overly pessimistic analysis, Ritzer fails to offer any insight into the deeper social and cultural reasons and ramifications for this process. His theory is overly descriptive and presents a simplistic view of contemporary consumer culture. What is needed is, as Kellner argues, a theory which offers more than a one dimensional perspective and takes into account the subjective experiences and symbolic value of our practices.

Bibliography

Aldridge, A (2003) Consumption. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Bryman, A (2004) The Disneyization of society. London: Sage.

Hartley, D (1995) ‘The ‘McDonaldization’ of higher education: Food for thought?’ Oxford review of education. Vol. 21. Pp. 409-423. Published by Taylor and Francis Ltd.

Kellner, D (1999) ‘Theorizing/resisting McDonaldization: A multiperspective approach. In Smart, B [ed] Resisting McDonaldization. London: Sage.

Marx, K (1844) The economic and philosophical manuscripts. New York: International publishers.

O’Neill, J (1999) ‘Have you had your theory today?’ In Smart, B [ed] Resisting McDonaldization. London: Sage.

Poynter, G (2002) ‘Modules and markets: education and work in the “information age” in Hayes, D and Wynyard, R [eds] The McDonaldization of higher education. USA: Greenwood press.

Ritzer, G (1998) ‘The Mcdonaldization of American sociology: A metasociological analysis. In Ritzer, G [ed] The McDonaldization thesis. London: Sage.

Ritzer, G (2004) The McDonaldization of society: Revised new century edition. USA: Sage publications.

Schlosser, E (2001) Fast food nation. London: Penguin.

Smart, B (1999) ‘Resisting McDonaldization: Theory, process and critique. In Smart, B [ed] Resisting McDonaldization. London: Sage.

Taylor, S and Lyon, P (1995) ‘Paradigm lost: the rise and fall of McDonaldization’ International journal of contemporary hospitality management. Vol. 7 No. 2/3.pp. 64-68. MCB University Press.

Turner, B. S (2006) ‘McDonaldization: the major criticisms’ in Ritzer [ed] McDonaldization: the reader. California: Pine forge press.

Weber, M (1964) The theory of economic and social organizations. New York: The free press.

The problem of abandonment of babies that has become more serious over the years with more and more babies is being abandoned in our country. According to Syed Zahar, 2010, on Valentine’s Day, charred remains of a baby, believed to be a few days old, and was found in a rubbish bin in Kuala Krai, Kelantan. On March 21, a newborn baby girl was found abandoned in the rubbish dump of a shopping mall in Ipoh, Perak. Then on March 26,A a day-old infant was found dead in Kampung Melayu Subang. The latest data from the police showed that 65 babies have been dumped this year alone, 26 of them boys, 25 girls and the other 14 being foetuses. This brings the total to 472 cases since 2005, in more than half of which, or 258, the babies were found dead in our country and a total of 79 cases were reported on last year (The Star online, 2010). Official statistics reveal an average of 100 cases annually but these figures do not include abandoned babies who died after being abandoned or those babies that disposed off without a trace. So, this issue deserves urgent attention by everyone before it goes out of hand.

In our opinion, government should play an important role as to reduce the cases of abandoned babies by classify the abandoned baby cases as murder and attempted murder or enforced the law in our country. Those responsible for babies who die would be investigated for murder while abandoned babies found alive would be classified and investigated as attempted murder. Police should investigate and use modern technique such as the DNA test to identify the parents of the abandoned baby. Besides, police should also set up a special squad if they need to probe cases of abandoned newborn babies so as to track down the suspects swiftly. According to The Star on 17 August 2010, there is an 18-year-old factory worker and his 17-year-old girlfriend in Malacca became the first couple in the country to be charged under the Penal Code for baby dumping. The couple pleaded guilty to the offence, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ jail, a fine or both. This is the only way to bring those responsible for the death of a baby to justice. Many cases involving baby-dumping could not be resolved fast because of lack of information and expressed the need for public cooperation to help police to solve the cases. So, as a citizen in our country, it is now the time for the society had to be a “busybody”, especially in matters pertaining to social problems.

An NGO in Malaysia has opened the country’s first “baby hatch” for rescuing unwanted newborns as authorities’ battle increasing cases of abandoned babies (VR Sreeraman, 2010). A “BABY hatch” is a place where an unwanted child might be left anonymously by parents. The hatch has a small door which a mother can open and place her baby on an incubator bed. Once the door is closed an alarm bell will alert the NGO’s staff to the baby’s presence, after the mother has left. Although the “baby hatch” helps to avoid newborn babies being abandoned at the roadside or in a rubbish dump, but many people feel that it seems to encourage pre-marital sex. However, the aim of the “baby hatch” is to discourage women, especially young unwed mothers, from abandoning their newborn and instead have them placed with caring parents. According The Star newspaper, the baby boy abandoned at the baby hatch on 27 June 2010 has been adopted. The baby hatch, set up on May 29 by OrphanCARE, received its first baby on June 27 when an unmarried couple in their early 20s left the newborn there. With the establishment of the baby hatch, government hoped there would be a reduction in the number of babies being dumped. Besides that, NGO plans to place baby cots where mothers can leave their unwanted babies anonymously to save abandoned babies. Unlike the baby hatch, that the baby cots, which would be located at the premises of NGOs, were merely a place for women to place their unwanted babies. The baby cots would most likely be made of wood and designed with an umbrella-like shade to keep out crows and protect the child from the blistering heat. Once a baby is dropped in a cot, the NGO concerned would alert and contact the police and the welfare department. This objective is to protect the abandoned babies’ lives.

Nowadays, cases of baby abandonment usually results from unwanted pregnancies. So, educating youths on the risk of having sex, especially unprotected sex are needed. Sex education should include in our school syllabus, not just implemented as a brief part of other subject like biology, moral and physical education, but as a subject on its own. From the many cases as we know, it was found that many youths did not know their own bodies. Some did not even know that they will get pregnant if they have sex. So, these provide the authorities with a good reason that it is time we had sex education in our schools as one of the subject. Knowledge is power and sex education is not about free sex. Sex education is about giving our children informed choices. Sex education will teach the child about his or her body, changes to the body at puberty, hormones, how to form stable meaningful relationships, responsible relationships, unprotected sex, consequences of having sex and how to say ‘no'(Mariam Mokhtar, 2010). Awareness and education on sexual health will play a vital role in helping to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies and cases of abandoned babies.

Besides, Government or non-governmental organization should provide shelter homes for pregnant unwed girls and unwed mothers to solve the problem of abandoned of babies that has become more serious in our country. Basically a young mother would abandon her baby because she is afraid. She does not wantA to keep her baby and she just wants someone to take it, keep it safe, and make sure it gets a good home because she might be unmarried. Because of this, the welfare department officers will be on 24-hours standby to help those having such problems and give them counselling. They should also take the initiatives to identify cases of unwanted pregnancies in their respective areas and provide assistance to the mothers to prevent them from abandoning their babies. While caution need to be taken in implementing any measure as not to encourage young girls to be involved in sexual relationship before marriage, it is equally important to ensure that those who have already crossed the line do not shy away from seeking help and doing the right thing.

Most cases of abandoned babies were due to weak family institutions and where the responsibility of bringing up a child was left to other parties. So, parents and family members are actually also playing an important role to prevent the unwanted pregnancies so that it will not becoming rampant in our country. Most of the parents in our country are full time workers that force them to spend about 10 hours out of their house per day. As a result, most of their children are abandoning of love and time by their parents. Their parents are too busy with their work and career development. This situation can cause lack of time between the family members. In relation to that their children tend to find others affection among their peers. It can contribute to their feeling in trying new things such as find someone who loves them or having sex with their partner. When parents come to know of their children are pregnant before they had married they will blame the whole world instead of helping them and providing the necessary support to them. Parents or family members should not blaming others if their children became pregnant or gave birth to babies conceived out of wedlock but take the necessary steps to support them in times of distress. As you all know, raising a baby as a young teenager is already tough but dealing with the stigma will let the parents and the child feel more pressure. This is why counselling from social agencies do their big part in helping these women deal with the discrimination.

In our point of view, teacher should teach young people commit to abstaining from sex until marriage to avoid unwanted pregnancies through education because people also believe that it is morally wrong for the people to have sex before they are married. Since sex is one of the natural force that one cannot resist, as human being we can resist having sex at the wrong time or we should use the effective contraception to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The use of effective contraception, such as the oral contraceptive pill and condom not only reduce the risk of getting unwanted pregnancies but also reduced the rate of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome) infection. We may not be able to stop our teenagers from having sex before marriage, but we can at least tell them about responsibilities and consequences of having unprotected sex before married.

Government and non-governmental organization should also set up a special school for pregnant teenagers to let them complete their education to ensure a better future for them. They should not be alienated and left feeling as if they have been excluded from the society when they got pregnant. The school will also take care of the needs of pregnant teens and this, indirectly, will rid of negative perception against them. Arguments that say setting up such school or the baby hatch would encourage teenagers to be involved in premarital sexual activities should be considered, but we should look at this by taking into consideration that it is already happening, baby dumping has already happened. So what is wrong with setting up the school to give them a venue, a place for them to seek help and save themselves from being trapped in the cycle further. I think we have to give them a second chance, which is more important. The reality is that it is already happening and we need to take action to address the problem, otherwise we will lose young individuals who could contribute to our country.

Last but not least, another way to overcome abandoned babies is to create awareness through media. Every country should have a common reminder to their citizen by advertising through any sorts of media whether it is newspaper, television, radio and etc. The citizen will also be educated not only through school but also through media. Media plays a huge part in creating awareness and by doing so it could help to minimize the rate of abandoned babies in the future. People who are not educated are the main problem to this cause because they don’t know the value of a new born life and abandoned the baby for the sake of themselves. Through media can also promote ways to handle unwanted babies rather than abandoned them on valleys or dustbins. The role of media is essential because it can deliver a message throughout the nation in a split second and at the same time a lot of people will receive their message at once. Media is the best and fastest way to promote or create awareness among other roles. Media serve as a constant reminder to people about how to react and prevent abandoned babies happening and to also promote alternative to donate the babies rather than to leave at somewhere and let the baby die off. In other ways of it is cruel to deal with the issue that way and the babies is paying the price for the mistake their adult are making. That is wrong because there are still so many ways to handle things and people prefer to handle things the wrong way to protect their dignity and to cover the shameful things that has happen to them. There is no dignity left for those who their abandoned babies in dark alleys so why care to protect them?

Baby dumping has become a hot topic with newspapers highlighting new cases almost every day. We think that, in solving the issue of abandoned babies, the main goal should be towards creatingA awareness among youths that abandoning of babies is not the easiest way out. We have to let them know there are places and people that can provide help and it’s also these NGO’s duty to reach out to those going through unwanted pregnancies.

Society too should play their part by understanding the problem and not discriminate unwed mothers. Accidents happen and human make mistakes are no way to redress an initial oversight. In conclusion, let’s hope morals of the people in this country not deteriorate as we take this road towards achieving the status of a developed nation. After all, it’s not much use in having a first-world infrastructure and system when the citizens are still in a third-world state of mind.

Iranian women have fought for the equal rights throughout the 20th century. In this paper I intend to argue about feminism in the present urban communities in Iran. Iran is a vast country and discussing women situation in the rural areas makes this essay totally different. The women’s movement in Iran has both expanded and transformed since the revolution. Before the revolution the liberation of women was connected to the process of secularisation. Under the Islamic Republic, however, women are increasingly making arguments for the expansion of their rights by pointing to protections under the constitution, while others are reinterpreting Shari’ah law. Some scholars have referred to the emergence of ‘Islamic feminism,’ a term that highlights the difference of approaches that coexist within the women’s movement in Iran. As a result, the terrain of women’s rights is one of unprecedented cooperation among disparate groups on the one hand and severe ideological and political struggles on the other.

In discussing these approaches in present urban areas of Iran, it is of vital importance to distinguish between three groups of women who I will talk about them. The first group is women who identify themselves as Secular feminists and are under the influence of women movement in western societies. The second group are women who try to reach equal rights for men and women but as they try to do so under the guidance of Islam and national identity, they make a distinction between themselves and western feminism which they believe will lead to corruption as there is now in the West. They can be named state feminists or Islamist feminists in Islamic Republic of Iran. Minoo Moallem writes about one of these women, Zahra Rahnavard who is one of the equal rights activists and the wife of opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi in the recent demonstrations against government after the 2009 presidential election in Iran:

Zahra Rahnavard … charged the West with being a system where women are made into “decorative objects.” She calls upon her Muslim sisters to question what the “sham civilizations” have made of women, not to act like dolls, and not to display a debilitated will. She asks women to refuse to be part of the harems of the rulers and the communal harems of the streets. Her allusion to the collective appropriation of women in the streets and her rejection of unveiling have made it possible for her to think of contractual structure of the Muslim family and veiling as sites of women’s agency. For Rahnavard, it is through unveiling and Westernization that Muslim women have been turned into objects to be possessed by all men in the public sphere. To resist capitalist rulers and challenge sexual objectification, she asks women to return to veiling and the Muslim family, where women are considered subjects rather than objects of the marriage contract. (2005; 185)

The third group includes mostly secular educated women who are not familiar with the notions of western feminism but as a result of modernisation in Iran and under the influence of global mass Media are aware of women situation in other countries and try to simulate a modern life like the ideal type of a western woman for themselves. They have combined some traditional values of an Iranian woman and some modern values of a western woman. As Reza Ghasemi in his acclaimed novel, The Nocturnal Harmony of the Wood Orchestra, describes Iranian women in their transition to modernity:

The history of invention of Modern Iranian women is like the invention of car. The difference is that the car was first a carriage with changed content (They removed the horses and replaced the engine) and then slowly the appearance changed but the modern Iranian women first changed the appearance and then when they had been looking for appropriate content, they faced the trouble… So everyone as to their personal tastes and their mental demands made a combination of traditional female with modern woman which can be stand in a range of a woman wearing Chador to miniskirt. This woman asks to share in all decisions, but asks all the responsibilities from man…She asks man to work equally in home but at the same time considers the man who works in home of poor character and weakness. (1996; 86)

Considering the distinction between these groups, I will argue about feminism as a political movement to gain equality and to free women from oppression in Islamic republic of Iran and the role that each group plays in obtaining this goal.

Liberal Feminism:

Actually in today’s Iran, liberal feminism is the only perspective that can hardly breathe under the pressure of the Islamic government. This feminism always has two aspects which are against the government’s will in Islamic republic of Iran. Abdee Kalantari believes that in a political theology that divides the political sphere into good and evil and sees the west as enemy (evil), feminism as a modern western movement is a threat to the whole existence of this theology (2007). In other hand, fighting for the equal rights in law usually opposes Islamic rules which are not easy to face. Hence, women movement not only has to fight with the deep traditions of Islam in the society but also to protect itself against the fundamentalist government which obtains its legitimacy from these traditions.

The Islamist ideology denies women individuality, autonomy and independence and this is inside this Ideology that the key objective of Iranian’s women’s rights activists, both secular and Islamic, became the modernization of family law and women’s equal rights in matters of marriage, divorce, and child custody. Other concerned issue is domestic violence, with many articles in the feminist press describing domestic violence as both a social problem and a violation of women’s rights. A third concern was women’s under-representation in formal politics and the need for greater participation in parliament, the local councils, and the highest political offices. These are the reforms that both Islamist and Secular activists are still fighting to reach them.

The Islamist feminist do not seek to deny the rules of law and they insist on the preservation of Islam, family and marriage even when it comes in opposition of equal rights. Their aim is to suggest a more flexible interpretation of Islam rather than the one that the government presents. This group can be criticized in the same way that Zillah R. Eisenstein’s has criticized the liberalism because of feminizing the private sphere and the separation they make between public and private spheres. She argues that this separation could be the basis to liberalism’s downfall. As it becomes clear that liberalism is incompatible with equal rights for women, feminism will search for alternative grounds to build its agenda. This gendered separation of spheres will lead liberalism to a lack of concern with the forms of oppression that take place in the private sphere(1981) and that is the same concern that secular feminist in have in Iran.

In contrast, the secular feminists work through small-scale Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) and try to develop some analyses of women’s collective interests and their oppression in private as well as public life. They have noticed the issues that have been argued in the history of feminism in the west. They write about equal rights as well as body, sexuality, power, homosexuality, violence, pornography and so forth. The problem is that they cannot publish their ideas and normally internet is the only media they can use to raise their voice to be heard. There are many feminist websites that represent this group and they keep working despite the filtering of the government. (e.g. http://www.irwomen.com, http://www.meydaan.com, http://www.feministschool.com ) .Hence, the middle class urban women are the most common audiences of these activists, since the other groups access to the internet is limited. This lack of audience urges this question that whether there is a feminist women movement in Iran? If there is, will it stand against Repression, censorship and attacks of the fundamentalist government and even the traditions of a religious based society? As Ahmadi argues that secular feminism faces two barriers in its way, first is the framework of an Islamic republic where fundamentalists hold absolute power over certain state institutions and the other is an “inside force,” a “from within” perspective which has been needed to alter the dominant fundamentalist discourse”(2006). Hence, in obtaining liberal demands of women movement in Iran is of vital importance for secular feminism to keep its unity with the Islamist feminists, since as Ahmadi elaborates it is the group that not only can expand the domain of dialogue with clerical scholars, but also are able to overcome long-term hatred toward western feminism in Cultural context of Iran (2006)

These activists could has been labelled as a group of urban middle class ladies who could not be regarded as speaking for all women in Iran until the August 27th of 2006, when they launched a campaign named “One Million Signatures for the Repeal of Discriminatory Laws”. The aim was to collect one million signatures in support of changing discriminatory laws against women in their country, but what made this effort important and even a danger for the government, though the organizers of the campaign considered that its demands conform to Islamic principles, was the way they used to collect these signatures. The concept is simple and revolutionary, melding education, consciousness-raising and peaceful protest. Starting last year, women armed with petitions began to go to wherever other women gathered: schools, hair salons, doctors’ offices and private homes. Every woman is asked to sign. But whatever a woman decides, she receives a leaflet explaining how Iran’s interpretation of Islamic law denies women full rights. The material explains how Iran’s divorce law makes it easy for men, and incredibly difficult for women, to leave a marriage, and how custody laws give divorced fathers sole rights to children above the age of 7. [i]

The One Million Signatures Campaign is a new and innovative movement because it has not taken shape around one progressive and famous central figure, rather it is a broad movement, where activists visit with other women, engage in face to face discussions with them, they go home to home, and explain to each woman about women’s rights. Any signature is equal to conscious these activists tried to make for women from any background and any class. Their main goal is to create a dialogue among citizens and educate them about their rights and it makes women to become sensitive to their status under the law and in society. It seems that the Consciousness raising groups are the inspiring idea of this campaign. The Idea that women should gather in small groups and give accounts of their own lives and how they ‘became’ a ‘woman’ and then they will understand to which extent, they share similar problems with other women with different backgrounds and ages and these problems produce by social relations and institutions. As Pilcher and Whelehan argue we can consider the main success of these groups in inspiring many women to turn to feminism (2004) and that is the same success that Iranian secular feminists try to reach. They hope to involve women, not all of whom were actively involved in feminism, but all caught up in the debates of the time and seized by the urge to fight for their equal rights in law and make the process of one woman’s coming out of false consciousness into enlightenment, possible.

The campaign success in changing the laws is comparable with NOW, (National Organization for Women) founded by betty Friedan in 1966, as both expressed not as a self-conscious political theory, but as a ‘common sense’ application of pre-existing values to women’s situation. As Bryson argues NOW’s campaigns gained some early legal victories changing laws and could amend the United States constitution to give women equal rights which very nearly succeeded, and it has been a major force in changing attitudes to women in education, employment and the media. Despite the criticisms that later feminists made about equal rights campaigns such as NOW for focusing narrowly on formal legal and political rights which ignores economic (2003), cultural and sexual exploitation and oppression of women, I think that such campaigns are the basic steps of opening debates about other forms of oppression in the traditional and religious society and fundamentalist government of Iran that will take a position against such debates in that level.

Marxism Feminism vs. Post Feminism:

Since Russia has been the most powerful neighbour of Iran in the contemporary history, this country has had a great influence on the history of Iran. That is why Marxism as an ideology has the greatest effect on the history of modern Iran after Islam. Before the Islamic revolution in 1979, Classical Marxists worked within the conceptual notions laid out by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and other nineteenth-century thinkers and dreamed of a society without classes as they believed that existed in USSR. These groups were an undeniable factor in the triumph of revolution, but due to vast suppressions and executions of the new Islamic government in 80s, these groups lost their power and prevalence within the society, but the Marxism discourse has still an inevitable impact on the Iranian intellectual prospect.

The secular feminist as a part of Iranian intellectual discourse are not an exception. This group besides the equal rights movements has always tried to theorize the roots of patriarchy in Iran and Marxism feminism has been one of the most useful perspectives for them to do this work. Many of these theories regard classism and capitalism as a key factor which work parallel with patriarchy in women’s oppression (Look at Afshar; 1983). This analysis suggests women to fight with all the displays of capitalism to free them from oppression. They criticize the new Iranian woman in her support of capitalism and the way that Iranian women present their bodies which is one of the most important areas they see as capitalism system uses to oppress woman. As Shahidi states a practical consequence of this approach to the “woman question” was the de-sexing of woman, clearly visible in the baggy clothes and absence of cosmetics among female activists. These women oppose the compulsory veil but believe that with or without a scarf, a woman-doll will remain the same (1994).

In the contemporary history of Iran, the woman body has been the main indication of political change. [ii] It is an interesting point that the binary of mind/body which is traceable in western thought, present itself in Iran with the beginning of the project of modernization. Reza shah saw unveiling as one of the most important markers of Westernizing and the Islamic republic made veiling compulsory in order to make an anti-western society and in all these fundamental changes women’s body has been the object of change. If the Reza shah project made many women to stay in home and even quit going to school [iii] the veiling did not make the modern Iranian woman who I recognized them as the third group of women who make efforts having equality with men, to leave the public sphere. They continued to work and study alongside men and they used their body especially their faces to object compulsory veiling which had tried to ignore their body. Young and older, the Iranian women defy the Islamic hijab publicly, and confront the state’s Islamic body politics with a body politics of their own. The youth mock the Islamic hijab, deconstruct it, reform it, and make it succumb to their modern desires. They reveal their hair in public by pushing back their mandated headscarf, transforming it into a garment used for their beautification. Against all cultural mandates of the Islamic state, they reveal their body curves under their remodeled and modernized “Islamic” garb. They wear loud makeup, walk elegantly, and bring their sexuality to the public. They reject the control of their body by the state, and celebrate their womanhood by defying the Islamic hijab. Since eyes, nose and hands are the only features on show, eye make-up is applied with scientific precision and Tehran has become the nose-job capital of the world. Iranian women spend one million dollar in make-up industry every year [iv]

Oppressing by the government and morality police, these women have been always criticised by a large group of secular feminists who believe that wearing make-up and presenting the sexual body are the representation of objectifying woman by capitalism. Ezzat Goushegir in his praise of Ariel Levy’s book; Female Chauvinist Pigs, writes in his personal weblog [v] that this is the same raunch culture in Iran that in the universal capitalist system, uses the ideas of feminism about equality and emerge women to appear as a face of capitalism in the society and by this way marginalizes the true demands of women movement. He considers Marxism as a perspective that challenges this objectification and Commodification [vi] . (2007)

Marxist feminists believe that cosmetic surgeries and make-up industry are two effective instruments of capitalism which not only objectify women, but also make them to pay money for correcting their body image into the Ideal body of Capitalist society. They deny these things as Levy denies them to be liberating and rebellious. Levy argues that how women decide to give meaning to sex industry by producing the fake idea that presenting their sexuality would empower them (2006). I am not going to criticize this book and even I agree with Levy to some extent. The problem is that how Iranian feminists use the book and translate western feminists’ ideas to apply them on the totally different context. Levy in this book refer to sexist TV shows which distribute the illusion of liberation among women, shows that means the pornoization of culture for Levy (2006). It is the culture that benefits Capitalism, but how about Iran? As I mentioned the history of Iran is not the history of capitalism, it is the history of religious ideology. In Iran power is not within the bourgeois’ class but at least in contemporary Iran in the hands of clerics (Mullahs) who do not necessarily own economical capital. The most obvious reason for this claim is that the opposition in Iran never could blame the leaders of Islamic republic for having wealth. This is religious capital that structures the power in Iran and ironically this power agrees with secular feminists in the issue of objectification of women and two different thoughts leads to same consequences in the cultural context of Islamic Iran.

If Levy talks about shows such as Girls Gone Wild in America, Iranian Women appearing in television programs will not be allowed to wear make-up because it is against Islamic law, “repulsive jokes” between men and women on television or radio is also prohibited [vii] No Magazine has the right to publish a woman’s face on the cover and using plastic woman models with head (even with hijab) in clothing shops is forbidden. In this cultural context a new reality has emerged in Iran, a reality created by women. The Iranian women are playing an instrumental role in the grassroots challenge to the Islamic Republic through their deconstruction of the hijab and their direct challenge of the state’s body politics. Challenging the Islamic dress code, they use the everyday life as the site for gaining rights and respect from the society and the state. They demand the right to live as free women. Humiliated, assaulted, and arrested randomly for being women, they have gained resilience, lost their fears of confronting the state, and battled the repressive social and cultural Islamic codes of conduct. Using deviance as a weapon, they are creating a reality unimagined by the architects of the Islamic Republic.

Naomi Wolf in her book beauty myth has the similar idea as Levi and argues that Women should be able to adorn themselves with pretty objects when there is no question that we are not objects. She believes that they cannot be free of the beauty myth unless they can choose to use their faces and clothes and bodies as one form of self-expression out of a full range of others. She claims that public interest in a woman’s virginity has been replaced by public interest in the shape of her body (1991). We cannot ignore that Iranian women still live in a society that virginity is more than a public interest; it is a religious and legal rule. The rule that has been ignored by these women using solutions such as Hymenoplasty [viii] and this is a surprisingly hot topic in Iran. It is of vital importance to consider if any great theory which we believe in is applicable in other contexts. Wearing make-up and cosmetic surgery is kind of self-expression for Iranian woman, a self who express itself standing against the fundamental laws of ignoring her. It is a kind of resistance against the discourse of fundamentalism.

Hence, Body and sexuality is the battlefield of first and third groups. Two secular groups which must be united in opposition with fundamentalism that does not believe in basic rights for women, while both these groups to some extent believe in equal rights for men and women. The ironic side of this battle is that how secular Marxist feminism and Islamist feminism with two different approaches to women issue; blame the third group which is the main potential force of fighting patriarchy, to objectification of women or in their word for acting like dolls. It is true that strong roots of tradition still exist in the third group. They do not identify themselves as feminist because what they have learnt about feminism is women who try to work and wear like men; women who make them misunderstand feminism when there is not a long history of feminism in Iran to make the idea clear for them. Although they do not identify themselves as feminists they have almost same ideas with the new generation of feminists in west: the third generation or wave, which its life powerfully has shaped by popular culture, particularly music, television, film and literature as they believe to fight with women oppression. Media figures represent third wave icons in their tendency to refuse to adhere to a feminist party line, but also in their resistance to comply with the types of ‘feminine’ behaviour deemed compatible with media and mainstream success. (Pilcher& Whelehan; 2004) In other words these women as Genz and Brabon reveal are merging notions of personal empowerment with the visual display of sexuality. These women does not manipulate their appearance ‘to get a man on the old terms’ but ‘has ideas about her life and being in control which clearly come from feminism’ (2009; 93). Although these Iranian women do not identify themselves as feminist but their notions of sexual freedom come directly from the Iranian feminism that has fought for women freedom and equality during the last 100 years. [ix]

Secular feminism has two ways to walk in. The first is to stand against this group and blame them of objectifying their femininity and the other is to stand beside them to fight against fundamentalism which is the greater force of oppression for both groups than patriarchy. In the second solution I believe that Secular feminism should try to make other women familiar with basic notions of feminism such as economical independence and equal payments’ and other non-radical ideas that is bearable for a society in transition to modernity and not completely modern. Secular feminist must notice that Islam as an ideaology has a great power in the life of even most of secular women. Mohanty in her article on the problem of western feminism on theorizing women issues in developing coutries, referring to Modares, criticizes feminist writings which treat Islam as an ideology separate from and outside social relations and practices, rather than a discourse which includes rules for economic, social and power relations within society (1988; 70). Hence secular feminism which is affected by the west must look over the feminism history and experiences in the west and try to match them with the cultural context of Iran. I do not believe that feminism in Iran and west has to go to the same way. Although the third wave feminism is an idea that comes after the long history of first and second wave feminism in west, the Idea of sexual power that this generation emerge is the fact that young women in Iran practice against the government every day. This practice’s influence is obvious by the number of morality polices that the government use to control these women. Hence, post feminism is a perspective that worth applying not only imagined as a chronological distinction between second and third wave feminism in the cultural context of Iran. This attitude in Iran must not consider as backlash but as a conjunct to the first group to be influent in Iran. Secular feminism has to satisfy these women who object feminist theories which failed to address their problems.

Conclusion:

In this essay I distinguished three groups of women who can be helpful to reach equality and freedom from oppression in the current cultural context of urban middle class women in Iran. The conjunction between secular feminists and Islamist feminists who try to find liberation through the organized movement for constitution amendment and consciousness rising is traceable. I see this trend as the most relevant perspective for Iranian society that benefits both urban and rural communities in Iran. In the second part I tried to criticize the orthodox Marxism that has a deep root in the history of Iranian intellectualism and its influence on secular feminism in Iran as well. I think that this trend will lead to a separation between secular feminist and secular women who both are fighting against the fundamentalism in Iran. Secular feminism, using the postfeminist notion of sexual power can analyze the practice of these women instead of blaming them to objectifying their sexuality. If feminists look at postfeminism as a turn to cultural differences and not as a chronological event in the west, they can move on faster and easier in the way of freedom from fundamentalism and patriarchy as well.

Notes:

In January 2009, President Obama signaled his commitment to improving the lives of working women with the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. By signing this act into law, President Obama signed a significant shift in the view of American polity toward the status of women in the workplace. While this change is significant in the upward mobility of women, only a small portion of women in the workforce will benefit from this new law.

Introduction

Many explanations have been offered by scholars for gender-wage disparity. Pay disparities have often been attributed to the segregation of women in certain female-dominated occupations, disparities in professional skills, education, and experience, and differences in family status, as well as the role of industry and wage structure. What that said, evidence still suggests that at least part of this gender pay gap is due to discrimination which may be subtle and even unconscious. While the pay disparity exists in nearly every traditional field, jobs associated with male roles continue to be better paid than jobs associated with roles that are considered traditionally female even though these jobs may often require the same skill level. Women dominate jobs in nursing, home health assistance, child care, teaching, cleaning, and food preparation; most of which replace things that women historically have performed in the home for free. While women are making strides in our white collar sections of our economy, working-class America has not yet benefited from this economic and cultural power shift.

Jobs held mainly by women are paid at rates that on average are 20% less than those equivalent jobs held mainly by men. Improvements in pay for women have been related to a greater presence of women in the labor force, rising educational attainment, and the movement into professional and managerial jobs, but there still continues to be an unexplained gender pay gap against women. Today, women with the same amount of education and experience earn 81 percent of what men do; although, this is better than the 60 percent they earned in 1980. This pay gap has persisted and remained relatively consistent for the past 2 decades.

Historical Relevance & Social Welfare Policies

Recent research indicates women now make up almost half of the American work force and earn 60% of college degrees in America. Empowerment alone is not entirely responsible for this revolution. Politics has played a big role in the movement of women into the work force. A number of policies in the 1960s seemingly targeted gender discrimination in the labor market. Legislative efforts that have attempted to address this problem include the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent amendments, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Acts of 2009 and 2012. These changes along with the rise of the service sector and the decline in manufacturing have supported and encouraged the entrance of women into the American workforce, but progress has not been uniform as seen in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).

The Equal Pay Act

On June 10, 1963, the Equal Pay Act (EPA) was passed by Congress dictating that women and men must receive equal pay for equal work on the recommendation of President John F. Kennedy’s Commission on the Status of Women. Under the mindset that men were the heads of households and therefore where the primary income producer in families, women had previously been paid less when employed in identical jobs. Regardless of the fact that in many homes women were considered the breadwinners for reasons ranging from death or disability of a spouse, divorce, and/or single parenthood. The EPA prohibits gender-based pay discrimination among employees within the same work place who do “substantially equal” work. Although gender can no longer be viewed as a drawback, demonstrable differences in seniority, merit, the quality or quantity of work, and/or other considerations might merit different pay can be used if proven. The statute of limitations for filing a suit is 2 or 3 three years, depending on whether the discriminatory act is intentional. In order to recover under the act, a woman must prove that an employer paid higher wages to men, male and female employees conduct an equal amount of work that requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and men and women performed the work under similar working conditions. The act establishes four main defenses for employers. An employer may pay a male employee more than a female employee if the employer can establish that payment is based upon a seniority system, a merit system, a system whereby earnings are based upon the quantity and quality of production by the employees, or a differential based upon any other factor other than the sex of the employees. While the first three of these defenses have been the subjects of litigation, the fourth exception if often litigated more frequently.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered our nation’s benchmark legislation. Signed into law on July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act paved the way for future anti-discrimination legislation and President Lyndon Johnson asserted his commitment to President Kennedy’s legislative agenda, Passage of the Act ended the application of Jim Crow laws, which had been previously upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson. Congress eventually expanded the Civil Rights Act to strengthen enforcement of these fundamental civil rights. These changes were needed to strengthen the original proposal submitted by President Kennedy in response to the racially-motivated violence across the South which occurred during tumultuous summer of 1963. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and subsequent amendments prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex in a broader set of categories, including hiring, promotion, and other conditions of employment. It requires filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 days after an intentional discriminatory act. Although the inclusion of the word “sex” in the original draft of this 1964 Act was considered a joke, this inclusion has become the basis for most gender-based discrimination policy in the United States. As a result of fears regarding the impact of this legislation on his predecessor, congress adopted the Bennett Amendment into bill shortly before its passage in 1964. “Interested parties” feared that an employee filing suit under Title IV could file a wage discrimination case without the need to prove “equal pay for equal work” as required under the EPA. The Bennett Amendment provides that an employer may pay his employees different wages based on gender if the provisions of the Equal Pay Act authorize such differentiation.

Executive Order #11246

On September 24, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson issued Executive Order #11246. Generally considered the nation’s first affirmative action order, Executive Order #11246 requires companies receiving federal construction contracts to ensure equality in the hiring of minorities. The order was amended in 1967 to include gender discrimination.

The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on February 5, 1993. FMLA is considered a labor standard classifying requirements for eligible employers and also a major milestone in the legal support of family life. FMLA recognizes that family life events have an impact on the workplace and requires the workplace to accommodate those events to provide job protection. Entitlements for employees who meet FMLA eligibility requirements include job protection and unpaid leave for a qualified medical and family reason. Eligible employees may take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12 month period for the serious health condition of the employee, parent, spouse or child, or for pregnancy or care of a newborn child, or for adoption or foster care of a child. An FMLA-eligible employee is an employee who has been in the business at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months. Work must be done at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. FMLA does not apply to workers in businesses with fewer than 50 employees, part-time workers who have worked fewer than 1,250 hours within the 12 months preceding the leave and a paid vacation, workers who need time off to care for seriously ill relatives other than parents, workers who need time off to recover from short-term or common illness like a cold, or to care for a family member with a short-term illness such as child, and workers who need time off for routine medical care, such as check-ups.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) dictates that families receiving public assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program take personal responsibility for their low-income lives and that paid work is essential to moving the family out of poverty. The PRWORA represents the change in the welfare system that no longer permitted poor families to receive assistance while staying at home with children. With the passage of PRWORA, Congress essentially ended single mothers’ entitlement to income support by emphasizing paid employment.

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act

In 2009, President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck, not as previously stated the first paycheck. Victims were previously allowed 180 days from the date of the first unfair paycheck.

Interpretation of Such Policies

The 1963 Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act combined are thought to settle the matter of equal pay in law. In 1963, when the Equal Pay Act was passed, full-time working women were paid 59 cents on average for every dollar paid to men. This means it took 49 years for the wage gap to close just 20 cents; a rate of less than half a penny a year. [1] In a 2007 U.S. Census Bureau report in, median pay for women is less than of men in each and every one of the 20 industries and 25 occupation groups surveyed. In fact, men working in female-dominated occupations still tend to earn more than women working in those same occupations. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, if equal pay for women were instituted immediately across the board, it would result in an annual $319 billion gain nationally for women and their families (in 2008 dollars). [2] Over her working life, a typical woman could expect to gain a total of $210,000 in additional income if equal pay were the norm (these numbers include part-time workers). [3]

The Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are important laws, but they are hard to enforce, and legal cases are extremely difficult to prove and win. Part of the problem is that many women can be underpaid without knowing it. Many companies continue to make it taboo to discuss salaries even though in some cases these policies are unfair and/or sometimes unlawful. In addition, without knowing what a job truly pays, women can devalue themselves when negotiating a new salary. Suing is also not a practical remedy for women since awards are limited under the EPA to 3 years’ worth of pay, which may make it difficult to find a lawyer to accept the case. In addition, the EPA does not allow participation in class action lawsuits for wage discrimination, and since discrimination is almost never in the form of a smoking gun, women still continue to suffer from “the glass ceiling and old boy’s network.” Recent court decisions and settlements reveal women earning low wages, faced with systemic discrimination in hiring, pay, promotions, or working conditions. In 2011, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) settled lawsuits against 3 employers in low-wage industries for systemic sex discrimination. [4] Although this civil action is promising, the Supreme Court has recognized the “fear or retaliation leads many victims of pay discrimination to remain silent.” Low-wage workers face substantial risk of retaliation by standing up to an employer to challenge discrimination and often remain silent. Unavailable resources also make options for low-wage workers difficult. Women who complain are labeled troublemakers which may follow them as they seek other employment. Employers often fight back aggressively and seek to ruin the credibility of the employee as they seek to defend the company. Women are often subjected to questioning about their sexual history as well as gynecologic medical records in efforts to intimidate them in court. Legal cases can be extremely difficult to prove and win since enforcement of the laws is complaint-driven and, unfortunately, most of the information needed to prove a complaint is held by employers. Pursuing an equal pay case under these circumstances can be devastating to the personal lives and finances of the plaintiffs.

The first Executive Orders addressing discrimination in private sector grew out of the unique labor market conditions created by America’s entry into World War II. The basis for these orders was felt to fall under the President’s authority to provide for national defense. A significant national commitment was signaled by the Johnson administration to social policy. By issuing Executive Order #11246, President Johnson signaled his belief that to truly level the playing field affirmative measures were required to undo the consequences of the historic exclusion of minorities and women from many areas of the workplace. The President’s authority to issue this Order derived from his authority to ensure that government procurement was conducted in an economical manner. The relationship between the supply of labor and these Executive Orders is evident in that the eradication of discrimination is empirically related to economy and efficiency in government. As a byproduct, research has determined the effects of affirmative action on the gender pay gap estimating that employment of women increased somewhat faster in contractor firms as a result of the effects of affirmative action, but women have seen greater employment opportunities in the economy as a whole most particularly in the public sector. In the private sector or those contractors that are not subject to affirmative action provisions, affirmative action laws and regulations are few and far between. Under Federal law, only 2 types of private-sector employers are required to implement affirmative action plans; those that have federal contracts or subcontracts in excess of $50,000 and those that have at least 50 employees. This translates to 1 in 4 American workers holding jobs in the private sector covered by mandatory federal affirmative action programs. The role of these policy changes cannot be ruled out in both the increase in the gender pay disparity.

Coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is far from universal and many low-wage, single-income workers simply cannot afford to take time-off from work without pay. Low-wage workers in particular would benefit from expanded paid leave policies as they are less likely to be covered by the federal policy since they are considered the working poor and are in greater need of pay during time-off from work for major life events. Women make up 59% of the low wage service-related work force with nearly two-thirds of those earning minimum wages. Women in low-wage positions often have significant demands on their time including, but not limited to holding down multiple jobs, raising children, pursing education, and training. Many single-mother families live paycheck-to-paycheck and may fear being easily replaced by their employers. Lack of information about better paying jobs or options available to them, lack of transportation, and the inability of low-wage female workers in single income families to easily recover from job loss all factor heavily in a decision to challenge discrimination or remain silent.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 was at the time considered a “reassertion of America’s work ethic.” This Act single-handedly increased the poverty rate of low-wage families, most of them headed by single mothers. This legislation was passed in the middle of the strongest labor market in decades, especially for low-wage work, and was followed by sharp increases in the employment of unmarried mothers. The hope was that as former single welfare mothers entered the labor market they would eventually climb the job ladder; although, research has shown that wage profiles for less-educated workers remain stagnant even if earnings profiles slope upward. Female workers with low levels of education not only typically earn less; they are also hit hard by the wage gap. Less-educated, low-wage workers experience little wage growth while working for the same employer and only limited gain. Their experience is also less meaningful than for that of more-educated workers when moving to a new employer. The occupational segregation of men and women into different jobs in the service sector explains the single-largest portion of the gender pay gap, 49.3 percent. Many jobs that women have historically held by women are underpaid when compared to men’s jobs that require similar levels of skill. A traditionally male job can earn more a traditionally female job. It is not that the male job has a much higher level of skills than the female job, but that our society values these jobs differently and this is a choice we make. Jobs considered traditionally female have been systemically undervalued for such a long time that we think it is natural, but in fact this is an ongoing legacy of past discrimination. [5]

Finally, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act provides women with a critical tool to challenge discriminatory pay practices, but it will not change pay disparity. The Act amends Title VII and restores the law that existed before the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in the Ledbetter case with regard to the timing of legal challenges. With a record number of women currently participating in the workforce, wage discrimination hurts the majority of American families by compromising their economic security today and their retirement security tomorrow. Rising employment rates have forced an unprecedented number of women into the position of primary breadwinners for their families. This alone makes pay equity even more critical. While the Ledbetter Act does not end pay disparity, it brings women one step closure to making real progress in pay disparity. Stronger incentives are needed for employers to follow the law, women need to be empowered to negotiate for equal pay, strengthen federal outreach, and education, and enforcement efforts such as those contained in the now failed Paycheck Fairness Act are needed. Discrimination would then be deterred due to strong penalties for equal pay violations as well as retaliation against workers who ask about wage practices or disclose their own wages.

Criticism/Critical Debate

The consequences of the wage gap are both widespread and numerous. When women are paid less than men, the means by which they support themselves and their families is compromised. The number of single-family households has risen dramatically over the past 4 decades. The increase in the number of single-mother families can be correlated to the increase in child poverty in the United States. Unsurprisingly, single parent families headed by women are nearly twice as likely as single parent families headed by men to live below the poverty level. Although most children reared in mother-only households do well, there may be adverse consequences for others. By earning less, women will automatically experience the disadvantage of a less stable economic status and may be less likely to question their wage status due to fear of poverty.

The wage gap disparity is also visible in fringe benefits, which currently make up about 30 percent of total compensation. Lower wages means lower lifetime earnings resulting in lower pension benefits upon retirement. The lack of coverage or lower benefit levels may not be a problem for some women, since they receive benefits through a spouse, but for other women, lack of adequate health or pension benefits from their job is a serious problem. As with wages, the gap in fringe benefits is thought to be related to differences between men and women in human capital and job characteristics. Some studies contribute differences in human capital to motherhood and parenting responsibilities since women are largely responsible for childrearing in our society. The correlation is that women are felt to less likely than men to gain work experience and skills, and therefore, are less likely to qualify for high-paying jobs; however, studies have demonstrated that when controlling for sex-based differences in work hours, work interruptions, and part-time work, childless women earn no more than mothers and single women earned no more than married women. Thus, these wage disparities are not exclusively attributable to motherhood, and factors other than unequal sharing in childrearing duties must be at play. Supporting studies have found that in narrow sections of students graduating from the same law school with the same amount of experience, the human capital argument failed to explain the gender-based wage disparities in the American labor force.

Another consideration for the wage disparity can be found in the role of industry and wage structure. This discrimination clearly starts the second women begin their first job, and follows them no matter where they go or what they do. New graduates not only make less, but continue to make less with each subsequent degree and the gap actually widens as they progress. Women make less than men no matter what industry or occupation they enter. This can be attributed to the decline in blue-collar jobs where women are under-represented. The rise of women in blue collar jobs has benefited women in that traditionally men have been more likely to be union members than women. Union representation has historically helped to increase the gender pay gap, but the share of unionized workers who are female has increased as unions have grown in certain public sector and service-related occupations that have a greater share of female workers. This in itself has played a relatively small role in the declining gender pay gap.

Public sector and service-related occupations remain crucial for women. Women have historically been overrepresented in public-sector employment. Public sector jobs generally pay more than jobs in the private sector raising the average pay for women in our contemporary economy, but recent decisions by many state and local governments to respond to diminished revenues and budget shortfalls by cutting public-sector jobs have had substantial economic effects on women. Although state and local public-sector workers have significantly higher levels of education than their private-sector peers, they are consistently underpaid relative to similar private-sector workers in similar jobs, and the disproportionate share of women and minorities working in state and local government has also translated into higher rates of job loss for both groups in these sectors. Affirmative action has played a significant role in public sector jobs, but this has mainly benefited white women, many of which are not coming from the lower-class labor market. According to the United States Labor Department, the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action are white women. The Department of Labor estimated that 6 million women workers are in higher occupational classifications today than they would have been without affirmative action policies.

Conclusion

The empowerment of women is considered to be one of the greatest changes in the past 50 years. This has been manifested in equal rights acts, changes in social welfare legislation, and changes in employment legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Act. The changes have all in one way or another corresponded with the rises in the labor market that have both supported and encouraged the entrance of women and minorities into the American workforce. Improvements in pay for women have been related to a greater presence of women in the labor force, rising education attainment, and the movement into professional and managerial jobs, but pay disparity still persists.

Historically, legislation favoring the elimination of discrimination in the workforce has been used also to support economic growth. This would suggest that the driving factor behind this legislation is not discrimination or gender parity, but capitalism/the economy. Executive Order #11246 and The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 are examples of this. The impact of these Acts on low-wage female workers is evident. More low-wage single-mother households are living in poverty at this time than ever before. In fact, there has been no legislation to date to protect part-time and contingent workers at all and their numbers are growing. These workers are not eligible for time-and-a-half overtime, minimum wage protections, and they have very little job security. Most low-wage single-mothers are also not covered by the Family Medical Leave Act.

The impacts of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its subsequent amendments, as well as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Acts of 2009 and 2012, are largely felt to be in the public sector, which is subjected to monitoring and oversight by the EEOC, and in the private sector in the form of blue collar jobs which are dominated by unions. Unions provide better benefit protection, safety protection, and job security. Lilly Ledbetter herself benefit greatly from protection in her job due to her union. Studies have shown that women who have had the benefit of being supported by union membership experience significantly less pay disparity. Low-wage workers often find it hard to unionize, especially in the private sector as this is often discouraged by employers. Workers are often bullied and intimidated to discourage talk of union membership. Strong unions in these sheltered areas would greatly benefit low-wage workers.

Better enforcement of existing laws and regulations is also needed as well as stronger laws such as the Paycheck Fairness Act to address this issue. Lawsuits will not have a significant impact on pay disparity as individual wage discrimination cases are very expensive to pursue and difficult to argue. Private cases also do not have an important impact on the labor market. Class-action lawsuits are rare and are usually based on many employees and one employer or a few employers, and are generally not feasible in wage disparity cases. As previously mention, they are forbidden under the EPA. Finally, the fact that this problem is not concentrated in one area or agency makes it difficult to assess. Change is needed from outside these organizations. Federal standards should be adopted to specifically address pay inequality at all levels of government and even in the private sector.

Internet Sources

American Civil Liberties Union, www.aclu.com.

The ACLU takes an active role in defending the freedoms granted to American citizens by our Constitution and laws of the United States in this country. The ACLU brings many discrimination cases on behalf of workers each year, testifies in front of Congress on behalf of women’s issues, and works hard to lobby for women’s rights in the workplace.

National Committee on Pay Equity, http://www.pay-equity.org/.

The National Committee on Pay Equity is a coalition of organizations working to eliminate sex-based and race-based pay discrimination to achieve pay equity.

The American Association of University Women, http://www.aauw.org

The American Association of University Women advances equality for women and girls through legislation, research, advocacy, and philanthropy. Its mission is a community to break through economic and education barriers so that women have a fair chance.

There are obvious outgrowing numbers of gays and lesbians communities in our country and all over the world. People become increasingly engaged into homosexual affiliations. Many variables influence the emergence of sexuality in all young people. These variables are changes in biological processes, relationships and community interactions.

The level of acceptance between gays and lesbians has changed over the years. The researchers would like to determine the level of acceptance of the society between gays and lesbians.

This study was conducted with the purpose of analyzing the factors that lead to the acceptance of society between gays and lesbians. This study identified the variables and factors influencing and may affect the society’s level of acceptance between gays and lesbians.

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to determine the factors that lead to the acceptance of the society between gays and lesbians.

Specifically, it sought to determine the following:

– What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

age
sex
civil status
religion
educational attainment

– What are the attitudes and behaviours of gays and lesbians which contributes to the level of acceptance of the society?

– What are the factors that influence the emergence of being homosexual individual?

– What are the challenges faced by lesbians and gays on the acceptance of the society?

– How the respondents are reacting to communities of gays and lesbians?

Significance of the Study

The study has significance to gays and lesbians, as they will be aware of the level of acceptance of the society to them and the factors that contribute to the willingness of the society towards them.

To the parents, that they will be aware of the condition of their children, as the findings were presented to them, they will be encouraged to improve their views and beliefs regarding homosexuality.

To the society, that they will be aware of the happenings to the homosexual based on their opinions, beliefs, and views, as they give it in relation to their acceptance and may find ways to improve the level of acceptance between gays and lesbians.

Scope, Delimitations & Limitations of the Study

The respondents of this study include 25 lesbians, 25 gays, 25 parents of either lesbian or gay, and 25 individuals who have gay/ lesbian friends. They will be asked regarding attitudes and behaviours of homosexuals which contribute to their level of acceptance in the society. They will be given chances to give their opinions, views and beliefs regarding homosexuality.

Definition of Terms

The terms included in the research paper will be defined to facilitate understanding of the study.

Lesbian. Homosexual woman; the condition in which a woman is sexually attracted to, or engages in sexual behaviour with another woman.

Gay. Homosexual man; the condition in which man is sexually attracted to, or engages in sexual behaviour with another man.

Homosexuality. The condition of being sexually attracted, covertly, or overtly, by members of one’s own sex.

Society. Organized and interdependent community.

Morality. Degree of conformity to moral principles.

Acceptance. Willingness to accept.

CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter includes discussion on related literature and studies both foreign and local, which provides relevant facts about the society’s level of acceptance between gays and lesbians. It also aims to determine the level of acceptance from past to present.

Foreign Studies

On the study conducted by the researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation entitled “Inside- out : A report on the Experience’s of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals in America and the Public’s Views on Issues and Advices Related to Sexual Orientation”. The are two national public opinion surveys: one, to gather information on the experiences of seslf-identified lesbians, gays and bisexuals: and the second to gauge the general public’s attitudes towards this group and their views on key policy issues related to sexual orientation. They did it to determine where the public really stands. Researchers found out that large majority of self-identified lesbians, gays, and bisexuals believe that there is more acceptance today compared to a few years ago. One third from their respondents say that their family or a family member has refused to accept them. According to the research, lesbians are more likely to report not having been accepted by their families.

It was found out that majority of the general public reports knowing someone who is gay, lesbian or bisexual believes that there is more acceptance of lesbians and gays today compared to a few years ago. Most say that greater acceptance is either good for the country or does not matter one way or the other. The majority also believes that homosexual behavior is a normal part of some people’s sexuality. Individuals age 65 and older those with a high school education or less and those who do not have lesbian and gay co-workers, friends or family members are least likely to have accepting attitudes towards lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. Religious affiliation also has significant effect on attitudes and level of acceptance. Overall, the public is increasing accepting gays and lesbians in the society.

On the study conducted by Elizabeth Mehren entitled “Homosexuals finding more Acceptance. Poll says” states that gays and lesbians have experienced a dramatic rise in acceptance over the last two decades, according to a new Los Angeles Times Poll-2004. In ltwo Los Angeles Times polls in the mid- 1980s and other data from the same era, the level of sympathy toward gays and lesbians was half what it is today. Researchers found out that gay people in general are feeling more comfortable in society and society is feeling more comfortable with gay people. The study revealed that 62 percent say their community accepts gays and lesbians.

Based on the survey conducted by the members of the Public Agenda Organization entitled “Ambivalence and Mixed Messages”, acceptance of gays and lesbians has risen significantly, and currently about half of Americans say homosexuality should be an acceptable lifestyle. Survey questions about whether American society should accept homosexuality often draw different responses depending on the examples mentioned which is an indication of public ambivalence. Questions that raise the issue of fair treatment typically draw much higher levels of public support. For instance, substantial majorities of Americans say they support equal protection for homosexuals against hate crimes and equal rights in terms of housing and jobs. surveys show that slight majorities say a gay person could be a good role model and as good a parent as anyone, yet they are divided on whether they would allow a homosexual to baby-sit their child and half say they oppose allowing gay couples to adopt.

The survey conducted by the faculty & staff of The University of Arizona entitled “Equity’s 1992 Campus Climate Report” was aimed to investigate the climate for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals on campus. Majority of their sample comprised of heterosexuals. They allow their respondents to rate in the scale of 1-10 on every question. As a result, majority placed 8 to 10 range on the level of acceptance with the women expressing high level of acceptance than men. Respondents’ employment status had no significant impact on the acceptance scale, with no major differences surfacing among faculty, staff, and graduate students. They also asked if their religion influences their views on homosexuality; seventeen percent of the respondents marked “yes.” But not only religion appeared to influence people toward negative views. A series of items asked respondents to characterize the level of respect shown for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals by others in their department, specifically their immediate supervisor, co-workers, department head, and students. All in all, the responses to questions about respect levels in departments reveal that the immediate environment for gay, lesbian, and bisexual members of the University is not a particularly good one, but that department heads and supervisors show generally higher levels of respect than co-workers and students.

Justin J. Jagosh, in his thesis entitled “Moving toward understanding and acceptance: Parents’ experiences after finding out their children are gay, lesbian, and bisexual” aimed to explore how the parents will accept their child’s sexuality. Through qualitative inquiry, 12 Canadian parents (7 mothers and 5 fathers) were interviewed to develop an in-depth analysis of their thoughts, feelings, and actions in relation to having gay, lesbian, and bisexual children. He found out that parents went through a process of understanding and acceptance, in which they made sense of past experiences they had with their children, reacted emotionally to finding out, changed their perspectives on issues, and shared their experiences with others. There are still hindering factors but with the strategies suggested in which researchers, educators, health professionals, media personnel, parent support groups, and parents themselves can use like some mentioned above, it will not be difficult for parents to understand and accept their gay, lesbian, and bisexual children.

Foreign studies

On the book overview of Lesbian, Gay and bisexual identities and youth by Anthony R. O’Angelli, Charlotte Patterson explore the psychological dimentions of lesbian, gay and bisexual identities from puberty to adulthood. There are changes in biological processes, relationship and community interactions influence the emergence of sexuality in all young people.

The article, Chasing the Rainbow; Is a Gay Population an Engine of Urban Revival? Cities are beginning to think so by Richard Florida sees that openness to the gay community is a good indication of the low entry barriers to human capital that are so important to spurring creativity and generating high-tech growth. The homosexuality represents the last last frontier of diversity in our society, and thus a place that welcomes the gay community welcomes all kinds of people.

Also an article in New Zealand by the LGBT organization on that country which is entitled “A Civil Union Ceremony in Wellington” last December 20006 states that New Zealand society is generally fairly relaxed in acceptance of gays and lesbians. The gay-friendly is epitomized by the fact that there are several Member if Parliament who belong to the LGBT community, gay rights are protected by the New Zealand Human Rights Act. And New Zealand is relatively small population. The LGBT community is small, but still visible, with Pride festivals and LGBT events held around the country throughout the year.

Local Literature

J. Neil C. Garcia in his book “Philippine Gay Culture: The Last Thirty Years, Binabae to Bakla, Silahis to MSM” tackles the perception of Filipinos to gays and lesbians from the last thirty years. The anxiety of Western civilization toward its many different genders- not just masculine and feminine-finds its fecund expression in the varieties of camp (butch/femme) and transvestisms (macho, queer, transvestophilic, transgenderist, etc.) which, over the last century, have come to be institutionalized as legitimate self-expressions within the gay and lesbian cultures of the United States, Europe and Australia, This anxiety is deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian metaphysical tradition which, until recently, was a rather inexorable force in the Western subject’s life. On the other hand, this study has argued that the Philippines has its own dualist tradition in respect of sexual identity, and although it would seem that the effeminate bakla and the mannish tomboy attest to the fluidity of gender concepts and roles in our culture, at the level of desire they merely reinforce the babae and the lalake, whose pale reflections they are. Rafael cannot be farther from the truth when he ascribes to kabaklaan the parodic and self-reflexive character which it doesn’t (yet) possess.

As things stand, the dominant conception of the bakla identity strictly confines the bakla to an agonistic effeminacy (a poor copy of femininity). In fact, the masculine bakla is simply unthinkable. He therefore must be a closet case, or a double-dealing fraud (silahis). Suffice it to say, then, that at the core of the social construction of the bakla is “coreness” itself. As a recent ethnography reiterates, the bakla is a “man with a woman’s heart” who, like a real woman, deeply desires a real man to be happy.

The “silence” of local psychological institutions in the early sixties about homosexuality and homosexual counseling seems strange, given that globally, the problems of adolescent homosexuals never fail to make it in the agenda of any conference on juvenile mental health (for only obvious reasons). By the rest of the 1960s, as well as the early seventies, however, this situation had palpably changed, and homosexuality was made to belong under the aegis of psychological science, as may be proven by the existence of positivist works on it which were written around this time. (A partial listing of the sundry academic studies on homosexuality in the Philippines is included in the last section of this book). The consequence of this is the renewed and intensified medical psychopathologization of the bakla as inversion’s homosexual: a man whose psychological being does not coincide with his anatomic sex. Only this time, his sexuality has become the central defining feature of his by now “psychosexually inverted” identity.

He concluded that the bakla is the only kind of (male) homosexual Philippine culture has, relatively speaking, known; and therefore also the only (male) homosexual Philippine culture has discriminated against and/or dismissed as sick, deviant and sinful-as bakla, precisely. Any local text proclaiming itself gay or homosexual cannot help but relate itself to and to situate itself within kabaklaan, hence.

CHAPTER 3

Methods and Procedure

Research Methodology

The researcher used descriptive method in the study. Descriptive method of research is a fact finding study with sufficient and accurate interpretation of the findings. It describes what is. It describes with emphasis what actually exist such as current condition, situation practices, or any phenomena. Since the study is concerned in the Analysis on the acceptance of the society between gays/lesbians.

Subjects of the Study

The researchers chose 100 respondents divided into four categories. These composed of 25 gays, 25 lesbians,25 parents of gays or lesbians and 25 individuals who have gays or lesbians friends.

The Sampling Technique

The researchers used simple random sampling and the size of the population is 200 and the study of population is people who have known a friend or any related of gay and lesbians also the respondents and the parents.

Sample:

25 respondents

25 gays

25 lesbians

25 parents

Those 25 to sum up of 100 is from the population of 200 and was chosen by simple random sampling.

Procedure of Data Gathering

The researchers used in the method of collecting data is normative survey, researchers used this for its very effective and looking for the commonalities of the said subject. This would be the best and most appropriate method to use in data gathering.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The role of the statistical treatment of data in research. The researchers is considering much in the age and gender also their state of consciousness and the rationality and also the emotion are being needed through the research.