The Systematic Destruction of Women's Agency in Juárez, Mexico
As citizens, people rely on the state as an agent that acts on their behalf, by providing them with benefits such as basic protection. However, the state itself derives its power (or agency) from the fact that its citizens give up some of their individual agency in exchange for the benefits that belonging to a state provides. People are, thus, both the creators and the subjects of the state. In Juárez, Mexico the state has been shaped by a patriarchy that is very oppressive to women. The women are then subjects to this very oppressive state. Virginia Woolf claims that these women can gain agency and freedom by obtaining economic independence. But, in the case of Juárez, Mexico this economic freedom has deadly effects. Woolf's argument is very limiting and applied to a much more ideal situation. In this essay I will explore the climate in Juárez that seems to prove Woolf's theory wrong. I will also look at how her claims can offer hope to the women of Juárez so that they can alter the climate so that everyone has agency not just the men and the state.
Mexican culture has always placed the women in the home. Placement in the private sphere without the opportunity to earn money has always limited women's agency and freedom. Men have typically held the position of power because of their economic independence. As the holders of power in the public sphere, men have created a patriarchy in which the opinions have governed the laws that are passed within Mexico. Before the murders in Juárez began, and even still, women were offered very little protection by the government especially when it came to violence and rape. The machismo culture in Mexico sets up a climate in which young women can be beaten raped and murdered with little to no consequences. Domestic abuse laws in Mexico, state that a woman may not file domestic abuse charges if her wounds heal before the end of 15 days. Women are constricted to the private sphere according to Mexican culture. The women give up their rights to be in the public sphere with the hope and understanding that they will be protected in the private sphere. They, however, do not receive this protection. Men can essentially beat their wives with no consequence. Additionally, rape laws are very lax.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, born as Juana Ramirez de Azbaje, is a well-known extraordinary figure from the colonial period. Sor Juana had a desire for education at such a young age. In the seventeenth century, it was the intellectual midpoint of Spanish colonial America. During this time Mexico City was politically and religiously the center of New Spain; the terrains went from California to Central America. In Latin American history the church and state defined women’s roles, which eventually change over time. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz articulated her experiences though writing, she broke silence about racial and gender inequality, and her legacy remains today.
Lira, L. R., Koss, M. P., & Russo, N. F. (1999). Mexican American women’s definitions of rape and sexual abuse. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21, 236–265.
Kerschen, Lios. “Critical Essay on ‘Romeo and Juliet’.” Drama for Students. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. Vol. 21. Detriot: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 Dec 2013.
Women, like black slaves, were treated unequally from the male before the nineteenth century. The role of the women played the part of their description, physically and emotionally weak, which during this time period all women did was took care of their household and husband, and followed their orders. Women were classified as the “weaker sex” or below the standards of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades unfolded, women gradually surfaced to breathe the air of freedom and self determination, when they were given specific freedoms such as the opportunity for an education, their voting rights, ownership of property, and being employed.
Sofonisba Anguissola was one of the most prominent female painters of the Renaissance. Not only was she one of only four women mentioned by Giorgio Vasari in his famous Lives of the Artists, she also paved the way for later female artists. One may look at Sofonisba’s upbringing and assume that her talents were a result of her wealth and family background. However, if investigated more carefully through both analytical secondary sources and primary sources, it becomes clear that Sofonisba’s painting abilities formed because of her talent, not her wealth. Sofonisba integrated herself into the artistic community and used her second-class status as a female painter to accelerate her career: because she was not able to study as an apprentice in a workshop, her models were usually family members, she pioneered the style of genre painting. Historian Joan Kelly argues in her essay, “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” that women did not experience a Renaissance during the actual Renaissance. Sofonisba’s training and connections were extremely helpful to launch her career, refuting Kelly’s argument that women only were taught “charm” during the Renaissance. In addition, Sofonisba married her second husband for love, not for money, debunking Kelly’s argument that marriages during the Renaissance were not based on love. Though Sofonisba’s life as a woman is a unique case in terms of wealth and profession, her success and fame, talent, and marriage (van dyck?) disprove Kelly’s argument that women did not have a Renaissance during the Renaissance.
A revolution occurs when a need for drastic change is necessary to alter ones way of living. The change they are fighting for would end up to be a positive impact once victory prevails, but of course with every battle there are disagreements and violent quarrels. Revolution may seem to be a negative connotation, but there are always two sides to every story. Just like many other countries around the world a Latin American country called Mexico went through a revolution of their own. Although the Mexican Revolution was mainly fought for the distribution of land, it opened a gateway for the women. One of their main issues during the Mexican revolution dealt with women and their struggled determination for equality. Having many roles in society with restrictions placed upon them, an urge for mobilization, and a wonderfully strong woman role model named Hermila Galindo, it gave them all a reason for the extra push they needed for the change they wanted for the future. Being able to finally put their voice in action the women of Mexico fought proudly for what they believed was right.
When presented with a patient suffering from severe gangrene, how do you react? In many cases, empathy is lost and replaced with personal disgust. Because of its’ gruesome appearance and foul smell, gangrene carries an undeserving social stigma with it. These patients may be staring death in the face, so why are we staring at them?
The urinary system is composed of the kidneys, the ureters, the urinary bladder, and the urethra ("Urinary System", n.d.). These organs and tubes shape what is called the urinary tract, the body’s drainage system for removing urine from the kidneys, storing the urine, and then expelling it during urination ("Urinary System", n.d.). The first part of the urinary system is the kidneys. The kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs located in the upper abdominal cavity against the back muscles ("Urinary System", n.d.). The kidneys are responsible for filtering the blood to remove waste and chemicals to produce urine ("Urinary System", n.d.). Blood is carried through the renal arteries to the kidneys where they are filtered by nephrons - tiny filtering units in both kidneys that remove harmful substances and waste from the blood (Durani, 2015). The toxins and waste sifted by these nephrons are blended with water to produce urine (Durani, 2015). On average, the kidneys will filter 120 to 150 quarts of blood a day to produce about 1 to 2 quarts of urine ("The Urinary Tract & How It Works", 2014). The next
Are books or movies more popular? Most people like to read books more than watch movies. Actually, directors are inspiring and often make movies from good books, because there is already an audience and a successful plot. In creating fiction books, the writers use narrative, description, dialogue, expression of thoughts, and figurative language, but the directors use pictures, modes of shooting, colors and contrasts, setting, props, costume, make-up, actors expressions, gestures, sound and editing. For example, examine the differences between 101 Dalmatians novel and adaptions. Both animated and live-action movies are based on Dodie Smith’s novel. Despite the fact that both movies are a successful adaption, but the animated version is superior. Because, the Pongo, who provider of the narrator’s voice, plot elements and the sequencing, and the character development.
Indigenous people of the world have historically been and continue to be pushed to the margins of society. Similarly, women have experienced political, social, and economical marginalization. For the past 500 years or so, the indigenous peoples of México have been subjected to violence and the exploitation since the arrival of the Spanish. The xenophobic tendencies of Spanish colonizers did not disappear after México’s independence; rather it maintained the racial assimilation and exclusion policies left behind by the colonists, including gender roles (Moore 166) . México is historically and continues to be a patriarchal society. So when the Zapatista movement of 1994, more formally known as the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación National (Zapatista Army of National Liberation; EZLN) constructed a space for indigenous women to reclaim their rights, it was a significant step towards justice. The Mexican government, in haste for globalization and profits, ignored its indigenous peoples’ sufferings. Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, consisting of mostly indigenous peoples living in the mountains and country, grew frustration with the Mexican government. It was in that moment that the Zapatista movement arose from the countryside to awaken a nation to the plight of indigenous Mexicans. Being indigenous puts a person at a disadvantage in Mexican society; when adding gender, an indigenous woman is set back two steps. It was through the Zapatista movement that a catalyst was created for indigenous women to reclaim rights and autonomy through the praxis of indigeneity and the popular struggle.
2. The leading topic of the book is the history of the convention, which took place in 1848 and its further impact. First, the author starts from an introductory chapter, which describes in details the sufferings of women of that time. It is the first example supporting the diversity of topics touched by the author. For example, the McMillen mentions that the majority of women did not have any right to vote, receive the same amount of payment for the work they did equally with men, or hold property. All these issues have a relation to economic and political aspects, which penetrated the society of that time. In addition, throughout the book, the author mentions class divisions and discrimination based on race. All these discussions represent the book’s intention to touch on political, socia...
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
Smolkin, S. (2013,September 15). Ontario human rights commission eases way for foreign professionals in Canada. The star, Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/2013/09/15/ontario_human_rights_commission_eases_way_for_foreign_professionals_in_canada.html
Lets begin by discussing the big picture view of the urinary system. It is comprised by the kidneys, ureter, bladder, and the urethra. Referring to the anatomical position the right kidney is lower than the left kidney due to the liver being large. In a transverse cut and view from above one can see that the digestive organs are in a separate cavity from the urinary system. The peritoneal cavity houses the digestive organs and it houses serous membrane which secretes a small amount of fluid in the cavity that lubricates organs so that they experience very little friction as they move about inside of the body. The kidneys are in the retroperitoneal cavity, literally that means behind the peritoneal cavity. Unlike the digestive organs the kidneys are not allowed to move much when the body moves. They are held in place by perirenal fat, this fat firmly holds them in place. If someone gets to abnormally thin the kidneys can slip causing the ureter to get pinched.
As a future elementary school teacher, I would like to teach my students how to respect and understand people who come from different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and people with special needs. Children need to be made aware of differences in people that way they can become more tolerant and understanding. Over the past semester we have learned about a lot of different philosophers that all have different ideas relating to teaching children and people in general. Matthew Lipman is the founder of Philosophy for Children, a program many teachers have implemented into their classrooms that teaches children critical thinking and reasoning skills.