SOCI 3991
Assignment 3
2017.12.24
Question Two: Rigid Gender Roles
The 21st century has provided numerous platforms for change, from allowing all forms of sexuality to promoting cultural diversity. The eradication of irrelevant traditions has been among one of the greatest achievements in this century. In the past societies, the members have always had to follow specific gender roles and expectations, which barely underwent any changes. As a result, the gender expectation of men is that of protective and dominant beings, with women playing a more adaptive and supportive role. This explains why most societies existed as chauvinistic ones, with the men controlling all the power, while the women were allocated the role of being primary care givers. As a result, the allocation of power to women was an uncommon thing, as this was perceived to be a role meant for the men. The emergence of movements such as the feminist movement in the 19th and 20th century was a result of trying to challenging the rigid gender roles (Connell, 2014). One of the major reasons why the 21st century has endured a phase of change when it comes to gender roles is due to the contribution of such movements.
As stated above, the feminist movement was one of the major factors that has brought about a reduction in the rigid gender expectations in the society. In the 20th century, the access to education and opportunities for men was very different compared to women. Due to the lack of equal opportunities between men and women, the latter lagged behind in the society. The number of men who were successful in the society was higher, as most women did not receive similar education and employment opportunities. A look at the American society during this period reveals that the provision of additional employment opportunities and access to similar education opportunities, especially higher learning, completely changed the narrative. With women receiving similar higher education qualifications, this meant that they could compete for jobs with their male counterparts. However, the main issue is that the society was taking a long time to respond to these changes. As a result, women struggled breaking through careers and sectors considered male-dominated, such as engineering. It took a while for the employers to agree that a woman could do a similar job to a man, as long, they have similar qualifications.
One of the most interesting things is that women have proven to be more effective compared to their male counterparts, in these formerly male-dominated sectors. For example, women have proven to be better in leadership positions and decision-making, when compared to their male counterparts in some cases (Schwartz & Han, 2014). However, it is clear that the gender expectations are still oppressive when it comes to women in the employment sector. Even in the 21st century, some very qualified women miss employment opportunities to men, even though they might be more qualified. In such cases, the women are left out due to insignificant reasons, with one assumption being that women lack emotional intelligence, and this may cloud their judgement. In other cases, the women miss the opportunities since the other employees, might not consider them as pillars of strength, especially in leadership positions. A recent issue that has emerged in the American employment sector is that women receive lower wages compared to the male counterparts within the same job positions (Bell et al., 2014). Such an issue only highlights that rigid gender expectations still exist within the society.
Despite the fact that there is evidence that proves that cultural change has brought about changes to rigid gender roles, a lot more still needs to be done. Now, the amount of progress that has been achieved is so far tremendous. However, the commitment of the society is still necessary to ensure that all relationship partners and issues associated to gender roles are streamlined. For example, men still play the leading role in the making the majority of the decisions. Women still depend on men as their source of protection and expect them to provide perspective. On the other hand, men still depend on women as the primary care givers of their families. As much as diversity has emerged, and men are getting more involved with taking care of their children, it is yet to be accepted within the society that this is a role that men are expected to perform. If the society continues moving along the same line and does not change the overall perspective of rigid gender roles, in the future, things will be quite different. The complete eradication of rigid gender expectations remove the oppressive expectations that men and women have to deal with.
Question Five: Betty Anne Gagnon
An in-depth analysis into the story of Betty Anne Gagnon reveals a much bigger issue: the challenges that individuals with mental disability or conditions face (ref.?). It is a common fact in the medical world that mental illnesses do not receive the same amount of concern or research provided to other treatments. The medical sector has shown increased concern in finding treatment for chronic conditions such as Cancer, while patients suffering from mental conditions lack the same attention. The amount of research carried out on mental conditions and illnesses is quite low, and this is evident from the information that physicians or psychiatrists have when it comes to dealing with such conditions (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2016). As a result, it is increasingly difficult to handle a loved one or family member who suffers from a mental disability. The case of Gagnon and the circumstances under which she met her death reveal the challenges that mentally disabled individuals face in their lives. The case also reveals the need for a network or support for mentally disabled individuals through institutions such as non-governmental and government organizations, law enforcement agencies, and family.
One of the main pillars of strength for an individual battling mental disability is their family. As a result, one’s family ought to be their source of strength and provide the assistance that they can manage to the individual. However, it is very sad in this case that Gagnon’s death was related to her sister. It is very motivating that her father was increasingly involved in her life, and he tried to provide her with a good and close to normal life. According to the accounts provided about her by three of her friends, it is clear that Gagnon was a lovely soul. She worked to make ends meet and she had a sharp memory, despite her disability. Therefore, this raises numerous questions about the events that led to the death of Gagnon. One of these questions being if something would have been done to prevent the loss of her life. It is clear from the facts of the case that if intervention were sought early enough, it would have been easy to prevent Betty from losing her life.
The lack of proper support from her friends and family resulted in a number of challenges. First, the development of severe glaucoma is something that they could have realized early enough if they were extremely keen. However, due to the lack of proper follow up, it became easy for her to hide the condition. As much as she was independent, her friends needed to understand that she was still mentally disabled, and needed supervision to some extent. One of the earliest time to notice that something might have been going wrong was when Gagnon’s old friends could not keep in touch. Despite leaving a message for Denise, Gagnon never called back and this was quite unlike her. At this particular moment, considering that her friends had not reached out to them for about three years, they should have not made the assumption that everything was good. The consideration to give her up to an organization dealing with disability was another sign that the family missed that things were not going well, and it would have been proper to try to intervene in this case (Riddell & Watson, 2014). One of the largest disappointments in this case is that despite seeking help for Gagnon, none of the organizations contacted offered the desired assistance.
At this point, it would be correct to blame the organizations that failed to get involved in the demise of Betty Anne Gagnon. Despite these organizations providing specific help to disabled individuals, they failed to do so in this case. This raises numerous questions about the effectiveness of these organizations and their effectiveness. It is the role of these organizations to ensure that they can provide the desired assistance to individuals dealing with disabilities. The failure to do so means that the government should deal with such agencies accordingly. On the other hand, the government also lacks the proper commitment to assisting individuals dealing with disabilities. The government agencies that are meant to assist members of the public dealing with disabilities need to undergo strategic changes to ensure that they can achieve the expected duties (Szmulker et al., 2014). The death of Betty Anne Gagnon only highlights the challenges that the larger population of disabled individuals in the larger society face, and the lack of proper support systems to give them the required assistance. The story is more of a wakeup call to all these organizations that deal with individuals dealing with disabilities.
References
Bell, A. V., Michalec, B., & Arenson, C. (2014). The (stalled) progress of interprofessional collaboration: the role of gender. Journal of interprofessional care, 28(2), 98-102.
Connell, R. W. (2014). Gender and power: Society, the person and sexual politics. John Wiley & Sons.
Mackelprang, R. W., & Salsgiver, R. (2016). Disability: A diversity model approach in human service practice. Oxford University Press.
Riddell, S., & Watson, N. (2014). Disability, culture and identity. Routledge.
Schwartz, C. R., & Han, H. (2014). The reversal of the gender gap in education and trends in marital dissolution. American Sociological Review, 79(4), 605-629.
Szmukler, G., Daw, R., & Callard, F. (2014). Mental health law and the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. International journal of law and psychiatry, 37(3), 245-252.
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