In the spring of 2015, I took a basic sociology class that addressed worldwide issues. My professor at the time assigned a research paper as the final for the class. Each student was assigned with their choice of the many human rights to write about. I chose a human right that I felt very passionate about, human right #23; workers rights, specifically the part that states that every one, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. While looking into this topic my attention was drawn to the fact that despite how far we have come, women still do not receive equal pay for equal work when compared to men. During my research process I looked through hundreds of articles that showed the history of women activists protesting, …show more content…
The concept of somehow showing support for a worthy cause from behind a screen seems not only incomprehensible but also foolish in my opinion. Being an activist from your couch, on your phone and rating how important an issue is from the number of likes it gets is indisputably ineffective. The number of likes or retweets a post gets does not determine if any major initiatives will be taken to fix the problem, it simply makes people feel good because they believe they are becoming a part of some big change that will occur. In “Slacktivism” Makes the World a Better Place from the Couch Heidi Schlumpf, author and teacher, argues that despite the fact that slacktivism may not promise instantaneous change, it can be used as a good starting point for those who do want to get involved in communal matters. She supports her claim by first starting off her essay with comedy about slacktivism: “This morning I did a little work on the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Then I joined an environmental protest against genetically modified food and another one supporting undocumented workers. And, of course, a little feminist
Women now hold their place in the workforce and we have our eight hour day. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was one of the people who strongly believed that women needed opportunities for labor, and women have gotten those rights. On the contrary, women still get paid less than men. According to CNN Money, “men still make more than women in most professions -- considerably more in some occupations than others, according to a new study by the job search site Glassdoor”. Although we like to comfort ourselves with the idea that we have gotten our rightfully earned rights, we had not been given bathroom breaks until 1998. Furthermore, employees are still afraid to have a voice in the workforce. Employers establish rules that basically let laborers know that they are inferior. In Ehrenreich 's case, she witnessed being told that her bag was subject to being looked through at any time, and she saw how degrading drug tests were. Ehrenreich argues that“the drug tests, the constant surveillance, being ‘reamed out’ by managers- are part of what keeps wages low”(Ehrenreich 211) which is agreeable seeing as the low wage workers decline to fight for better conditions due to fear. Additionally, Barbara figures out that minimum jobs do not equal minimum labor, which has always been the case. I agree with that fact due to
“…when a young woman graduates from college and starts looking for a job, she is likely to have a frustrating and even demeaning experience ahead of her.” (Chrisholm 1969) This was stated in the oral speech Equal Rights for Women given by Shirley Chisholm. As I read the speech it was easy for me to identify where Shirley was coming from and the side she took on the topic of Women’s Rights. The lack of equality, weather that be with women or the African American race, is an issue. As a woman myself in today’s society she brought to my attention some very valid points. I thought the speech did a good job persuading me toward standing up for equality. Shirley successfully used arguments of parallel case, arguments from generalization and the
Women were granted the right to work in labor industries, as all the men joined in the World Wars. Even though women were still discriminated in the workforce by receiving lower pay than men, the number of women working increased around the United States. After women began changing the labor industries, their voting rights were granted, changing the political views of the United States. Even though women were discriminated against throughout society in the 1920’s, they still fought for their rights as women that deserved an important role within our society. This change in women’s attitude has influenced women across the world to value themselves and their importance.
Most traditional societies and until recent times, women generally were at a disadvantage. Their education sometimes was limited to domestic skills (“Women’s rights” n.p.). After, there was revolutions, and working women in the former soviet union intended to hold low paying jobs. They were also represented in party and government councils (“Women’s rights” n.p.). The late 1960s and early 70s active feminists organized numerous women’s rights group (“Women’s rights”n.p.). Women encountered discrimination in many forms. In 1960 equal opportunities were given to women (“Women’s rights” n.p.). During the women’s movement certain social institutions and traditional values, were questioned (“Women’s rights” n.p.). Else where in the world the women’s rights movement has also made progress in achieving its goals. In nearly every nation, women have the right to vote and hold public office (“Women’s rights” n.p.). Women’s rights movement made progress in achieving goals in nearly every nation after that (“Women’s rights” n.p.). Major unsponsored conferences on women were held in 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1995 (“Women’s rights” n.p.).
Throughout history, social movements have continuously formed because of a person who had the courage to stand up against the injustice they witnessed in every day live. When I was a child, I remember feeling as if it takes a superhero-like person to start a social movement. However, I have found that through the use of social media today, any person with a passion for making a change can spark a social movement. Social movements are a powerful way to help people believe that their voice matters and they should stand up for what they believe in. Before the advancement of technology, it took a lot longer for social movements to become prominent in society’s media outlets because of the difficulties of not having enough time in one’s life to
If the founding fathers didn’t stand up for the things they believed in we would have never separated from Britain and established our own country. However, today it seems like retweeting a cause you believe in or watching the new makes people think they are politically active or active in a cause. For example, “These days, however, most Americans think that just sending out a tweet or a social media post counts as advocacy” (Schwartz 1). When in reality they never had to leave the comfort of there home to make this stand. But, studies do also show that the more active people on social media for a cause may actually be more likely to get involved with the cause even farther and take action. “ But while calling yourself an activist for sending out a supportive tweet seems a little lazy, there are indications in the study that social media posts do translate to more involved behavior”(Schwartz 1). Depending on perspectives mass media can either hurt or help people will to stand up for their
Technology has had a negative impact on this generation- we have lost and forgotten many things because of it. In Malcolm Gladwell’s “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, he discusses the difference between social media activism and “real” activism and the loss of human connection that he has identified. He believes that with social media activism, we lack the connections a community should have because we don’t get together in person- we are satisfied with being connected through technology. He also thinks that as time goes on, we will only get worse when referring to the ideas that we are delusional because the issues we fight about (such as getting phones taken away) aren’t as important as we think.
From Slacktivism to Activism is an interdisciplinary course that will be team-taught by members of the sociology, history, political science, philosophy, and psychology departments. Through readings, case studies, guest lectures, and class discussions, students will discover what transforms an initiative into a social movement and elevates an activist to a position of social leadership.In addition, students will develop a template to put positive action behind their heart-felt convictions and will use this template to develop a
received the right to attend schools of higher education, but she hasn?t receive the rights to equal access for career paths, or promotions in careers traditionally filled by males including the fast growing field of computer technology.
Social justice in gender has not only been a hot topic in todays society, but in history as well. In 1920, women were granted the right to vote; just 64 years later than men. This was seen as a huge controversy as it portrayed that men obtained the
University of South Carolina, 2004. Pearson Education. Info please. Almanacs: “Key Events in Women’s Rights Movement” 2005 31 March 2005. Wohlpart, Jim.
From the beginning of time, females have played a powerful role in the shaping of this world. They have stood by idly and watched as this country moved on without them, and yet they have demanded equal rights as the nation rolls along. Through the years the common belief has been that women could not perform as well as men in anything, but over the years that belief has been proven wrong time and time again. So as time marches on, women have clawed and fought their way up the ladder to gain much needed equal respect from the opposite sex. However, after many years of pain and suffering, the battle for equal rights has not yet been won. Since women have fought for a long time and proven their importance in society, they deserve the same rights as men.
My research topic is second wave feminism and how it is linked to The Handmaid’s Tale and other situations. Each society throughout history has distinguished differences in the roles of its males and females. These gender role differences reflect biases, also known as prejudices, held by members of a society. Gender prejudice is also referred to as sexism and is based on stereotypes held about women and men. Stereotypes of men are usually more positive in societies than stereotypes of women as the males are considered more independent and posing greater physical stamina. Negative stereotypes of women are usually held by both men and women in a society owing to the lack of self-respect and self-confidence imparted to females by society's prejudices.
Although there are endless issues to be addressed involving the equal rights of men and women, I would be sitting here until my ass rotted away if I wrote about all of them. I decided to write about the reproductive rights of women because I was completely unaware about it all until taking Introduction to Women’s Studies in college this year. Being a birth control and condom user, I was horrified with the fight women had to go through in previous years to gain access to these
Social media gave the cause an urgency much more potent than getting highlights in the evening news while sitting on the sofa. This matters when it comes to changing public policy where the majority view is what ultimately starts change. Well put by writer David Carr, in an article titled “Hashtag activism, and it’s limits” Carr stated “sure hashtags come and go, and the so called weak ties of digital movements are no match for real world engagement. But they are not only better than nothing, they probably make the world, the one beyond the keyboard, a better