The Sociologist and the Movie Man Gerry Garibaldi, a high school teacher and Michael Kimmel, a professor of sociology both explain how the consequences of the feminism movement are harming boys in school and later in life. Kimmel and Garibaldi present their views on the gender education problems in their articles “How The Schools Shortchange Boys” and “A War Against Boys”. Both make passionate arguments and prove that boys are at a disadvantage in modern feminized classrooms. Kimmel’s arguments about the problems boys face in the American educational system are more convincing than Garibaldi’s, because his style of argumentation is more objective, supported by more statistics, and provides unbiased restatement of opposing views. Garibaldi shares his professional experience in order to For example, he says, ”females diagnosed with learning disabilities simply don’t exist” (426). Even if the number of girls in special education programs is smaller in comparison with boys, Garibaldi did not hesitate to reduce the number to zero. He is more emotionally attached than Kimmel, far more aggressive and seems incredibly outraged. Kimmel in his article “A War Against Boys” presents three key problems with boys: lower grades, lower class rank and fewer honors, but unlike Garibaldi he does not take the boys side. He discusses the differences between boys’ and girls’ behavior in academics, “girls suppress ambition, boys inflate it” (432). Kimmel believes that girls do better in some academic areas and males do better in others. He provides logical explanation for rising test scores of girls compared to boys. Kimmel states, “Girls are more likely to undervalue their abilities, especially in the more traditionally “masculine” educational arenas such as math and science. Only the most able and most secure girls take courses in those field. Thus, their numbers tend to be few, and their mean scores high”
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Show MoreThere is a long history of single-sex schooling, in which males and females attend specific classes or schools only with members of their same sex. This separation of genders may be done for educational purposes or in combination with other factors, such as social interactions that occur between male and female students. There is some support for the idea that single-sex schooling can be beneficial, especially for outcomes related to academic achievement and more positive academic aspirations (Lee, 2008). Although, there are many benefits of children attending single-sex schools, evidence shows that sex segregation can also gender stereotyping and legitimizes institutional sexism (Kennedy, 2000).
Women are faced with extreme pressure and alienation in their career fields, and on average earn less than men. Men, on the other hand, face similar pressure, while underachieving compared to women academically, and facing more dangerous occupations. Clearly, this system benefits no one. Michael Kimmel illustrates this point in “A black woman took my job': Michael Kimmel argues that it is in men's interest to work for gender equality.” The title itself emphasizes how the fight for gender equality will benefit both genders. He discusses how sexism is harming men by narrowing their worldview (2). Slaughter, Ullman, Kaplan, Dorment, Knestaut, and Miller all agree with Kimmel to some extent. They all agree gender equality does not exist. When all these perspectives are brought together, it becomes clear that it is in the best interest of both genders that the fight for equality is still pursued. Hopefully, one day women will earn as much as their male counterparts and be equally represented in both careers and intentional unemployment, and men will be attaining higher education goals and employed in less dangerous occupations, and both genders will be relieved of some of the pressure to dedicate 100% of their time to both a career, and a
We may be personally responsible for our own misconceptions of gender and masculinity. Our actions about these topics speak louder than words. Sociologist, Ann Oakley argues that parents often mold their children around certain behaviors, with positive and negative consequences, to adhere to the standards that are socially acceptable. Oddly there is a strong back lash to this sort of treatment in females. In a study done conducted by Michael Messner, when asked who was a tomboy and who was a sissy as children, women raised their hands more often to identify with the tomboy image. The tomboy trait celebrates masculinity and restricts femininity. Often children explore many traits about themselves, as Allen explained to Pascoe, “When you’re younger…you’re a kid. You are wide open…You just do what you want” (Pascoe 118). Darnell, a football player, stated “Since you were little boys you’ve been told, ‘hey don’t be a little faggot’” (p 55). Darnell showcasing that males are conditioned very early like females about their roles of masculinity. These children are taught about how masculinity works. In the school Pascoe researched, a faculty member, Mr. Ford, reminded males students through his reply to a backhanded comment made to him from another student that men should engage in sexual actives with women, not men. Another...
Boys are encouraged to be tough, and competition is also supported. While girls who demonstrate competitive or bold personality characteristics are often labeled as “bossy” or “pushy”. Children construct their own gender identity through their family, but also through school interactions and the consumption of media. “An update of the classic Weitzman study found that although the majority of female characters were portrayed as dependent and submissive, male characters were commonly portrayed as being independent and creative” (Eitzen et al. 2012:246). The impact of this gender inequality goes way further than just childhood play. When male and female stereotypes are deep rooted and taught so early, it is easy to see the connection between that type of socialization and the misrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and politics. In “The Egg and the Sperm” Martin argues that even male and female reproductive processes are constructed using gendered stereotypes. The egg is described femininely and seen as passive, and the sperm is portrayed as active, behaving very masculine (Ferber, Holcomb, and Wentling 2013). The use of language perpetuates gendered stereotypes and normalizes the higher status of one gender over the
Education is a potent institution used to reinforce gender differences. In our reading we found that children are much more likely to separate themselves at school in gender categories than in their neighborhoods. As Barrie Thorne points out in her book Gender Play, “Apart from age, of all the social categories of the students, gender was the most formally, and informally, highlighted in the course of each school day” (pg 34). I feel that many experiences in elementary school have reinforced my gender outlook. I spent much of my time in elementary school racing the boys and biting my nails to show I wasn’t scared to “break a nail” and never wearing a dress. Recess was a fight for me half the time. I didn’t like the connotation of being called a “girl.” Now I realize that I was trying to oppose the gender role I was expected to perform, yet eventually I grew out of that “phase” of fighting against the norm and joined the ranks of the girls. I moved from the field, to the bars and jump rope. I see now that the change I went through was just giving in to the reinforcement around me to be feminine. Instead of fighting against the grain, I chose the easy road by...
...guments about women’s advancement in education do not convincingly show that it is signaling “the end of men” in education. It is valid that the society should be concerned at the rate men are lagging behind. Even though Rosin thinks that Women are dominant in America, she forgets to include the women of other countries whose voice will never be heard. It is going to be hard to get men to go back to school, you cannot make anyone do what they are not willing to do. If this trend continues, we would see generation after generation of women using their knowledge from their education to do things that would change the world. Every child deserves a quality education. When I was younger, my mother always told me that I should be grateful for having the opportunity of going to school, because there are some people in this world who will never have the opportunity to go.
As time allowed more men and more women to be schooled together, it was evident that a woman's presence alone would not ensure an equally beneficial education. The school systems continue to follow a gendered curriculum, created mainly by men in order to serve men. It is the reinforcement of the gender biases and assumptions through their methodical distribution and teaching of stereotypes and ideas that put the education of men and women on two separate levels. There is no example to follow when it comes to the equal education of children because even though they receive the same education, it is far from equal. It is this along with the lack of recognition towards women who have achieved greatness both in and out of education that creates an outsider status for the female student (Lasser, 1987).
Sadker, Myra, David Sadker, and Susan Klein. "The Issue of Gender in Elementary and Secondary Education." Review of Research in Education 17 (1991): 269. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
In Susan Faludi’s “The Naked Citadel”, she analyzes the homosocial nature of men as she tries to discover the causes behind sexism and to find out “why men who oppose women’s progress are so angry” (Faludi, 72). The main subject of her reading is the all boys college named the Citadel and its vehement opposition to admitting a female into its ranks. The boys become aggressive and angry about the thought of an independent and unique woman becoming a part of their student body. The thought of it threatens the gendering society established within the Citadel where the boys rely on each other to establish their own gender identities. Gender identities rely a lot upon the shaky foundation of the social dominance of one sex over the other. In today’s
The belief that one sex, male or female, is treated better than the other is a controversial topic. In most cases it is believed that boys have the upper hand in this war against the sexes. “The War Against Boys”, an article by Christina Sommers takes a closer look into the origin of this belief. In the article, Sommers argues against those who believe that boys are dealt with at better hand than girls and explains why in several ways. Christian Sommers effectively uses ethos, pathos, and logos to build the credibility of the article, win the audience over, and to build her argument.
Brooks argues that male and female brains work and experience things differently. He suggests that this theory is also the reason as to why young girls are surpassing their male counterparts in school settings. He incorrectly assumes that by separating males and females, males will be allowed to break free from gender stereotypes. Brooks strengthens his argument with results of brain research on sex differences. But, Brook’s argument is unpersuasive. He categorizes all young males, and suggest that single sex-schools are the best solution for them. He wants to apply a black-and-white solution to something that is just not that simple. While Brooks uses comparisons and surveys to convince the reader, his argument simply does
In the reading, Playing in the Gender Transgression Zone, McGuffey & Rich argue that the ways youth build their “hierarchy” in school, camps, etc. can explain the way ‘gendering’ in society’ happens and why. It discusses how boys are seen as the high status members of society. This is a result of the ideology of hegemonic masculinity. This says that there is a predominant way of doing gender relations that elevates the status and privileges of masculinity over femininity. This establishes a socially constructed level of male social power and explains why male dominance continues on past the middle school ages. Men still have high status in higher level of social organization, especially political/ governmental institutions.
Feminism is a word that is stock-full of implications, and has many misconceptions. Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti attempts to give a broad overview of what feminism is, and how you should feel about it (hint: it’s positively). The book is directed primarily towards the younger generation, and talks about a variety of issues relevant to the feminist movement today and in history. The weaknesses of the book include the casual writing, the assumptions Valenti makes, and the contradictory statements that are consistently made. The strengths include providing an entertaining, broad overview of feminism, and discussing ways to contribute to gender equality. Overall, the book is more likely to be a positive experience for high-schoolers that identify as women then college-aged individuals looking for a critical analysis of issues society faces in regards to gender inequality.
Imagine living in a time when your only role is to get married, bear children, and take care of your house and husband. Adrienne Rich proposes an ulterior idea in her essay “Taking Women Students Seriously” Women should not only question the gender standards but discuss the gender norms that society has created; by discussion and attention to the matter we can eliminate it all together. Women are not represented in school curriculums enough and have a large misrepresentation in society. Rich draws attention to: What women have working against them in education, how women are perceived in the world by the media and advertising, and the gender roles that society pressures young children to contort to. By striking up a discussion
The reality that boys are failing, especially through elementary, middle, and high school, strikes many as news. Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail, cites teachers’ experience that have noticed distinct differences between boys and girls. He presents multiple witnesses of boys’ and girls’ education, one of which is Kenneth Dragseth, the superintendent of schools in Edina, MN. In 2001, He noticed the disparity between the participation of girls and boys in education. He first noted the recipients of almost all academic achievements and scholarship awards were girls. Dragseth initiated specific research into the disparity between boys and girls, and discovered even more details. In a study, he further discovered that girls earned honors awards far more than men, while boys earned suspensions far more than ...