Gender Inequalities: what can we do?

Topic: Inequalities

Title: Inequalities: what can we do?

Source: Hitch hiking project; Wikkipedia, personal observations; class discussions.

Relation: CC: chapters 20-22, 24, and 15. RR: chapters 6-8

Commentary:

Inequalities have been a hot topic these past couple of weeks ranging from what types there are to what we can do about them. Inequalities have been around way longer than I have been born, Therefore I feel as though a lot of my opinions have been shaped based off of what I learned or was exposed to when I was younger and as I grew up. Inequalities did not seem like that big of an issue. People say that the biggest reason why inequalities, lets say gender for example, is because we are conditioned from when we are little to have that sort of biased opinions. We are conditioned to think that girls are suppose to be the caregivers in the family, that they are suppose to be stay at home mothers for the most part and that men are suppose to be the providers this was apparent in CC chapters 15, 20-22 and 24. Women are seen as weaker/more petite than men and that they should not be doing "men" work. In other cultures women are looked at as material objects to be owned just like a house or car. Gender systems are often dichotomous and hierarchical; binary gender systems may reflect the inequalities that manifest in numerous dimensions of daily life. Gender inequalities stems from distinctions, whether empirically grounded or socially constructed. Gender inequality is a result of the persistent discrimination of one group of people based upon gender and it manifests itself differently according to race, culture, politics, country, and economic situation. It is furthermore considered a causal factor of violence against women. While gender discrimination happens to both men and women in individual situations, discrimination against women is an entrenched, global pandemic. Gender inequalities is just one of many. People say that increasing awareness about different inequalities  is the main way of decreasing inequalities and in order to do this we need to inform and teach the younger generations in hopes that they will be more understanding and aware of the subject. Yes i believe that it would help in the long run and is a good start to help future generations. But i'm curious on what we can do now to now to increase awareness in today generations?

A Place in the Family

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #6 November 4, 2011

TOPIC: How do family and identity intersect?

TITLE: A Place in the Family

SOURCE: RR. ch 6, my own family, personal observations.

RELATION TO TEXT: RR. ch 6.

COMMENTARY:


Family and Identity are two terms that we are exposed to throughout our whole life. Our family is anyone one we consider part of our intermediate group whether it be by blood relation, adoption, grandparents, its the people who raise us throughout our life as well as our siblings. Identity is a term used to describe what something is, a label in a sense. One person can be labeled multiple things that make up who they are, giving them an identity. Family and identity intersect a lot from my observations. You establish the foundation of your identity through your family. Your family is your main teachers. In most family, lets take mine for example, the mothers take on their role as a mom once they have children. It becomes part of their identity, who they are. My mother had a different Identity before she had kids. People knew her in a different way. Once she decided to have kids her role changed, as well as her identity. People labeled her as a mother and she gladly accepted that label. With the label of mother came other responsibilities and expectations that go along with people identifying themselves as mothers. Mothers are suppose to nuture, care, feed, cloth, etc for their kids til they are able to do it themselves. this classifies a position within the family unit where others can identify her. whenever I talk about my mom to friends I do not say her name, I call her mom as does everyone else with their own mother. Not only does my mom have her own identity outside of being a mother but to me, my family and in the eyes of other people her identity is a mother.

Interpreting a Joke

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #5 October 20, 2011

TOPIC:Interpretive Processes/Speech Acts

TITLE: Interpreting a Joke

SOURCE: Personal Observations, Internet (specifically a facebook interaction), Class reading.

RELATION TO TEXT: Basso "Speaking with Names"

COMMENTARY:

After reading Basso, “Speaking with Names” which is an article about/deciphering a speech act that happened between a group of Apache Indians, I started looking for speech acts during conversations I had with others. While on facebook this morning I came across a friend’s status update post of a joke. The joke goes like this, “Why did the hipster burn his mouth on his coffee?....he drank it before it was cool.” As I read this I couldn’t help but laugh. This joke is considered a sort of speech act because it hold a double meaning that requires and allows you to think in order to understand it. It is makes sense literally because anyone is going to burn their mouth if they drink coffee before it cools down. But what makes the joke funny is because of the sterotype that goes along with hipsters and that is the thought that they do everything before it was trendy or common, that they are above doing it when it becomes a trend because they are “too cool”.  So hipster and cool are the key terms. This joke is appropriate only during certain times. I would be kind of scared if I tried to tell this joke around a group of people who actually consider themselves a hipster because this joke gives them a negative connotation and I don’t think they would take the joke lightly. It can only be told in a lighthearted manner, around people you know. What I found interesting is that I got to witness the affect that the joke had on the internet. Reading responses to the status were different because I can witness what is being said without having to be around it or participate in it. It was cool reading peoples thinking process once they “got” the joke.  One person even wrote that they had to read the joke 4 times in order to understand what the joke part was. It reminded me of when Basso heard Lola’s and her friends conversation and had no idea what they were talking about until he learned the places of their stories to understand Lola’s culture. In order to understand this joke you have to understand the American subculture that it is referring to.

"Going Green"

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #4 October 6, 2011

TOPIC: Key Metaphors and Frames

TITLE: "Going Green"

SOURCE: Personal observations and experiences; wildlife 210 dicussion; class readings for this week.

RELATION TO TEXT: RR. pg. 86. Kwakwaka'wakw metaphors of hunger.

COMMENTARY:

Food is a common domain when it comes to key metaphors, the meanings that people in a specific culture attribute to their experience. According to Stanley Walens, " the act of eating is a key metaphor for the Kwakwaka'wakw (RR. pg 86)." to the Kwakawaka'wakw eating gives life by giving nutrition and freeing souls. They believe that when a person dies you must put their bodies on a scaffold so that birds and ravens can eat their bodies so that their souls can be freed and be able to enter a salmon so when that salmon is caught and eaten the human soul can be released back into a newborn child. Their art is filled with carnivorous animals with large jaws such as wolves, killer whales, hawks. they also believe that greed and conflict can be solved by controlling hunger, therefore eating is highly ritualized. Thus the act of eating becomes a metaphor through which much of their life is understood and described. As I read about the Kwakawaka'wakw and how eating has a huge impact on their beliefs it made me think of another area where food has a huge impact on a culture. I hear the term "going green" used quite often and at first I just thougt it meant you were a going to try to eat healthier, found that term to be the basis of a specific culture. Someone who is "going green" is someone who lives as organic, and enviromental friendly as possible. These people only eat local organic food (unprocessed), minimize their energy comsumption( such as riding a bike and not leaving light on), and overall try to as environmentally conscious as possible. Its their lifestyle, what their beliefs and opinions are based on. Going green doesnt mean being healthier but is a growing culture in which alot of groups, to name a few: vegans, vegetarians, environmentalist, bases their lives on.

Cultural Illnesses

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #3 September 22, 2011

TOPIC: Cultural Illnesses.

TITLE: bipolar disease vs. witchcraft- are their similarities?

SOURCE: personal observation and experience, internet readings.

RELATION TO TEXT: RR. p. 49, the meaning of illness.

COMMENTARY:
what classifies as a cultural illness? According to Wikipedia, Cultural bound syndrome, aka folk illness, in medical anthropology is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture. My mother is diagnosed with being bipolar and in Western Society we define it to be a mental illness where as the individual has mood swings, depressive episodes, and the such. Diagnosis is based on the person's self-reported experiences, as well as observed behavior.There are also many classes of bipolar disorder based on the intensity and how often the moods swings happen. Bipolar disorder is often treated with mood stabilizing medication and, sometimes, other psychiatric drugs. Genetic factors contribute substantially to the likelihood of developing bipolar disorder, and environmental factors are also implicated. What I find interesting is that if my mom were to be placed in a society in southeast Africa, specifically amongst the Chewa of Malawi, they would think that her episodes are the cause of someone that has bewitched her. To them their belief is not as scientific as we would classify it. They believe, RR. p. 49, " illness and death are induced by witchcraft when someone fails to observe some social norm." Their way of curing the victim is first by asking the victim what wrongs they have committed, with whom they have quarreled with, and who is jealous of the them. the "Ill," victim would then consult a diviner to discover the call of the illness. so the way they would go about "curing" my mom is by trying to help her solve any social disputes she has with friends and family. Thus, the Chewa medical theory is a social theory of illness, not simply a supernatural one. these to situations, in my opinion, are the same illness. They both show the same symptoms but have different names. I think the reason behinds the different ideas of curing this illness is based on the cultural beliefs and morals. The Chewa do not agree with our beliefs because they have different lifestyles, and grew up in a different environment that shaped their views, than the western culture.

different lifestyles

ARCHIVE ENTRY DATE: #2 September 8, 2011

TOPIC:  Relativism-cultural relativism

TITLE: Different Lifestyles

SOURCE: Personal observation and experience

RELATION TO TEXT: RR. p. 8 the Ethnocentric Fallacy and the Relativist Fallacy, p. 12 cultural relativism.

COMMENTARY:

 

I grew up mostly in the Arizona and Bakersfield, ca, going through life as I thought as normal; I went to school, hung out with friends, played sports, went to church and had a mildly disfunctional family. That’s just how I thought life was suppose to be. I knew people were different but I still had a naïve belief that people are just like me. According to our text I had more of an ethnocentric way of thinking in a sense as I thought that my way of thinking and living was right. When the topic of relativism, specifically cultural relativism, came across in our readings my interest was sparked. Relativism (RR p.8) is the thought that no behavior or belief can be judged to be odd or wrong because it is different. When I arrived to Humboldt three years ago I was not only shocked at how lush and green everything was but at how different the locals lifestyles and interactions with one another was.  As I started dating my current boyfriend, who was born and raised in Humboldt County, I was amazed at some of the things that he did and grew up with that he viewed as normal. For example, all my life I went to public school that was always 400 kids or more in the same grade as you and had access to all types of resources all the time where as my boyfriend went to a charter school where there are no more than 15 kids and at different ages go to the same building, usually a house, and that is your school.  Another example was my views about religion. I grew up going to church roughly 4 times a week. I wasn’t sure exactly why I went all the time but I do believe a big part of it was due to the fact that everyone else around me went and it was just a normal thing to do. I never questioned it. I found it interesting when my boyfriend told me his views about religion. From my understanding he believes, and so do some of the other locals I asked this question to, more so in the energy and aura of things that coincide with nature. To me I instantly thought “hippy”. These are two example of diversity between two cultures. Mine being my upbringing in Arizona and Bakersfield (desert areas) compared to his being in Humboldt (forest area). As I applied the enthnographic method to the locals of the Humboldt area, particularly my boyfriend and his local friends, the easier it was for me to understand how he could think the way he does. I was starting to think more like a Cultural relativist which is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture (RR p.12). By putting all my personal biases aside and trying to see how and why he believes what he does due to his culture and upbringing I was able to better grasp and understand him and the culture around him.

people arent food.

TOPIC: What is Culture-What is my culture?

SOURCE: Personal observation and experience

RELATION TO TEXT: RR p.7 judging others' beliefs and behaviors, cultural "difference"

COMMENTARY:

If someone were to walk up to me and ask me to define culture my first response would be my background or where i originally came from. If they then proceeded to ask me what My culture is I would then tell them well i was born in Arizona but spent most of my time in California, then i would of probably sum it up as American. It wasn't until later on that I realized there is more to the word culture. One of the things that caught my attention as I was reading(ch.1 RR) was the section on death and how different people view it and their traditions that go with it. I grew up thinking that people are not food, and that canabalism is completely horrific. When I read that the Wari practiced eating their dead out of compassion I was shocked. Not only that I found it strange that they believe it helped with their grief. When I was young I was told that whenever someone dies you are suppose to bury them. But when I put all my other preconcieved biases aside and tried to see it from their perspective as well as an onlookers prospective and payed more attention to their beliefs, traditions and rituals and what they signify to themselves I began to have at least an understanding about the meanings behind their actions even though my beliefs completely conflict with it. Now my response to those two questions above would be more along the lines that culture is more information and behaviors you have learned starting from when you were born til the time you die by the people who surround you and people use that information and knowledge to interpret experiences. As for my culture I would say that it is quiet diverse but simply put is the place grew up.