Comparing Societies Weakness from the Perspective of Two Authors
Carol Travis and Ellen Goodman are both writers from different backgrounds with different experiences, but they share a common opinion. Both writers find a weakness with in our society. In the article In Groups We Shrink From Loner’s Heroics Travis expresses his views on societies weakness. He believes our weakness lies in the lack of emergency response in groups. In the article Countering the Culture of Sex Goodman feels the weakness is lack of sexual education given to teenagers. Though they both have different opinions, they represent a strong case for both sides.
In Carol Tavris’ article, In Groups We Shrink From Loner’s Heroics, there is information about a social concern. Tavris feels that society does not respond to emergencies the same in groups as they do individually. “Something happens to individuals when they collect in a group. They think and act differently than they would on their own. Most people, if they observe some disaster or danger on their own – a woman being stabbed, a pedestrian slammed by a it-and-run driver – will at least call for help; many will even risk their own safety to intervene. But if they are in a group observing the same danger, they hold back.” (Tavris, 17) Even though people were put through, identical test the ones who were in the group atmosphere did not respond as much as the people who where alone. “In one experiment in behavioral psychology, students were seated in a room, either alone, or in-groups of three, as staged an emergency occurred: Smoke began pouring through the vents. Students who were on there own usually hesitated a minute, got up, checked the vents and then went out to report what certainly seemed like a fire. But the students who were sitting in groups of three did not move. They sat there for six minutes, with smoke so thick they could barely see, rubbing their eyes and coughing.” (Tavris, 18) Travis uses famous example such as Rodney King, who was beaten by 4 police officers while in front of 11 other officers, and Kitty Genovese, who was repediatly stabbed to death in front of her 38 neighbors. Tavris believes that people should be more responsive in groups then they currently are.
Ellen Goodman’s article, Countering the Culture of Sex, is an article that describes a different perspective of societal flaw.
The 19th-Century was a period in which the expression of sexuality and sexual compulsion was firmly repressed. Charles E. Rosenberg explores the typical behaviors of the sexes, and how they related to the expression, or repression, of sexuality in “Sexuality, Class and Role in 19th-Century America.” Medical and biological literature tended to adopt very sex-negative attitudes, condemning sexual desires and activity. This literature was often ambivalent and self-contradicting. Initially, people viewed sex as a normal human behavior: they believed sexual excess was bad, but thought it was natural and necessary after puberty because horniness left unsatisfied and untreated could cause disease. However, in the 1830s, the previous sex-neutral attitude was quickly replaced by a harsher, more negative view of sexuality. “Quacks,” or charlatans, tried to instill people with a crippling fear of sex by warning them of
Barristers' Perspectives on Rape and the Sexual Offences Act 2003 - (2010) 174 JPN 47
This brings up Greta Christina’s article, “Are We Having Sex Now or What?” (Christina 2014) the author questions what really counts as sex as her sexual partners sexes changed. Friend A thought similarly to her, thinking that just penile-vaginal sex counted as the “real thing.” Although Friend A didn’t have female partners to have this ideology, she didn’t regard as other forms of sex, such as oral, orgasm inducing and electronic sex as sex. This delves into the common theme and into the thesis of how the idea of sex is individual as well as structural in the inkling that society and cultural norms, starting from the inner mechanisms of say one’s family and then branching out as to how others perceive these norms is how the ideology of sexuality is born. As a straight CIS woman of Hispanic decent, Friend A understood how others perceived her but also had a perception of herself because she doesn’t have to think about other forms of sex since she is content in just one form. It’s a blissful unawareness of
The statistics clearly show a group of people who’re affected by the heinous acts of sexual assault. Everyone knows that sexual assault isn’t a topic that’s on the top of the list to talk about; people usually even try to go as far as to hide it or to cover it up. Though, it’s clear for certain; covering something up doesn’t make it alright – It won’t make it go away and the problem is still there. For that exact fact, it is the very reason that sexual assault is something that needs to be brought to the
As smoke poured into the room the three strangers waiting in the lobby just sat there until it was unbearable to breathe. Believe it or not people do this, just so that they don’t get embarrassed. Carol Tavris’s essay she is successful in getting the point across that people act different in groups than they do alone. She has many appeals to emotion, logic, and being the renown psychologist she is, she has credibility. She wasn’t trying to change the way people act in this essay. just to try and make people realize what happens in groups and the horrible things that could conspire.
Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article “Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X”. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and opinions of Steele’s findings.
In the world today, people are encouraged to value the family. Incorporated with a family is sex. A portion of females in our society today, are brought up to cherish their virtue and taught that sex is a very sacred and special thing that should be only shared with the one you love. Unfortunately, with so much resting on the importance of sex and love people may be come infatuated with it and sometimes even obsessed. “Mother, monogamy, romance. High spurts the fountain; fierce and foamy the wild jet. The urge had but a single outlet. My love, my baby. No wonder these poor pre-moderns were mad and wicked and miserable. Their world didn’t allow them to take things easily, didn’t allow them to be sane, virtuous, happy. What with mothers and lovers, what with the prohibitions they were not conditioned to obey, what with the temptations and the lonely remorse’s, what with all the diseases and the endless isolating pain, what with the uncertainties and the poverty – they were forced to feel strongly. And feeling strongly (and strongly, what was more, in solitude, in hopelessly individual isolation), how could they be stable?” (Huxley 41). This suggests the way of living in the World state sees love, romance and sex as a flaw in our society today. However their mistakes of such assumptions are represented in misfits who do not share the same instincts as the other citizens of the state.
In Countering the Culture of Sex, Goodman addresses teenage sex and the media. Sex is sold throughout the United States by the television and music. Goodman thinks is the media is going to continue to propagate this material to the youth of the nation, then there needs to be a complete view of sex and the consequences. The images teenagers see today are only positive images of sex. They do not put the bad facts: sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, and pregnancy, with all the good advertising sex has developed in their minds. Goodman stands for a movement towards correct portrayal of sex in the media.
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
Let’s talk about sex! Sex is primarily for the survival of our species. It satisfies our urge to reproduce and leave generational legacies on the world. Everyone does it; everyone is here because of it. Yet in society, it 's considered to be a taboo subject to discuss. Most people are uncomfortable openly talking about it, but those who do are often criticized because of their differences. As a result, the effects of the sex being such a private topic are more harmful than simply being open about it. However, in today’s society, it not that everyone cannot be open about their sexuality, it 's mostly unacceptable for women to be open, thus posing double standards on women. I wonder if the connotation of sex is a result of society’s morals
...though the researchers weren’t looking for it, he results represent ideas that can help the bystander effect in a situation. Smaller numbers increase the percentage of realization when it comes down to an emergency. The victim, if cohesive, actually plays a big role in causing the bystander effect as well. When a victim is unable to verbally communicate with bystanders, it lessens the chance of help. If a victim is capable of communicating, the help given could be more efficient. This is because it can help break the diffusion of responsibility. A victim looking a bystander directly in the eyes can even spark a quicker reaction in them. These are all ideas that psychologists still study today, and many even consider learning about this phenomenon a requirement.
Nowadays, more people tend to care about and work on social justice. Women’s rights, as one of the topics, draws people’s attention. The society and female-selves have rethought the meaning of being women in the 21st century. Therefore, nowadays twenty-something girls start to behave differently from early generation. One of the behaviors becomes ambiguous, which is female sexuality. In “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom”, Leslie Bell argues that neither contradictory directing nor expectation from others is the main reason that causes female sexuality. She sets up this claim, because the identity a woman established by herself impacts more on a woman’s sexuality. Establishing an identity is more important because it’s more independently authentic, also it represents what the woman wants, who she truly wants to be. Another reason is that, sexuality is one of the changed-behaviors that women use to prove their established identity. Therefore, female sexuality is driven by identity rather than social expectation or confused directing from others because, first, the identity is established by a women herself independently; second, the identity is the way how a women defines who she is, which matters more than any other outside effects; third, women decide to have a certain kind of sexuality in order to prove their defined identities.
“Famine, Affluence, and Morality” is a piece written by a moral philosopher, Peter Singer, who places a challenge to our traditional notions of charitable giving. The essay argues in favour of donating, and of the moral obligation imposed upon us to contribute and help the global poor with humanitarian purposes. By critically assessing Singer’s writing, this reflection paper will study the main arguments advocated for from his work, as well as possible objections.
Siedman, Steven. “Social Theories of Sexuality: Marxism and Feminism.” Social construction of Sexuality. Ed. Jeffrey C. Alexander. New York: W. W. Norron and Company. 13-24. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
How does 'sexuality' come into being, and what connections does it have with the changes that have affected personal life on a more general plane? In answering these questions, Anthony Giddens disputes many of the interpretations of the role of sexuality in our culture. The emergence of what he calls plastic sexuality, which is sexuality freed from its original relation of reproduction, is analyzed in terms of the long-term development of the modern social order and social influences of the last few decades. Giddens argues that the transformation of intimacy, in which women have played the major part, holds out the possibility of a society that is very traditional. "This book will appeal to a large general audience as well as being essential reading for those students in sociology and theory."(Manis 1)