Pornography In The Media Essays (1058 words) - Sex-positive Feminism

Pornography in the Media It started by way of messengers and scribes, evolved through the presentation of newspapers and radio, brought us together with television, and now serves us world- wide via the ever-popular Internet. It is the mass media, and even from the earliest days of its existence, it has contributed greatly in ways that both enlighten and enrich society, and ways that deteriorate and perplex it. It is not a surprise to learn, then, that the mass media is the most powerful source of information we have, and nothing else in today's world influences public perception quite as heavily. Unfortunately, however, most of what is broadcast or transmitted in the news today is with reference to the chaotic condition of our planet, or something else that society as a whole sees as detrimental or damaging. But the news on television is not the only type of media taking the criticism of society. Other forms of mass media, specifically movies and television programs containing pornography and violence have been heavily criticized. The underlining concept to be debated here is that society is negatively influenced, specifically, by these images of pornography and the result is increased violence against women. This assumption, and it is indeed only an assumption, is completely fallacious, however, as no concrete and completely conclusive evidence has ever been formulated in support of the theory. The key premise here is that the mass media does not cause undesirable social behaviour and in actuality, the media people should not be dubbed as the bad guys. They simply use their power in the most constructive ways possible in order to promote their ratings and popularity. One way to do that is to concentrate on what sells: sex, violence and disaster. Having said this, why is it then, that many in society still believe otherwise; why do they continue to believe that pornography is evil and is a major cause for violence against women, specifically rape? There are many reasons for this misinterpretation and through the following few points, an attempt will be made to show that pornography has very little to almost no correlation with violence against women (of course nothing is absolute in society). In order to demonstrate this, it must be made evident that pornography is not evil and does not cause undesirable social behaviour by displaying nude women in sexually explicit circumstances. Thus, it is important to indicate that women are not treated only as sexual objects through the media. This is done in an attempt to quash any traces of evil in pornography. Subsequently, a second point, that some may consider to be completely bizarre, can be addressed; that pornography actually reduces the amount of violence against women. For thousands of years, sex itself has been considered evil and revolting. This is exactly why the concealment of the sex organs and teaching feelings of shame toward human sexuality is so common worldwide. These same feelings of shame are the chief reasons that sex is considered a personal and private matter. Contrary to the beliefs of many, the mass media did not create these settings; society creates this image. In some societies, women have no reservations with regard to living their entire live completely naked, while in other societies, females cover themselves from head to toe, only revealing their eyes. The media has been bombarded with criticism, overwhelmingly from the female community, relative to the amount of sexually explicit material that is published in magazines and that appears on television and in the cinemas. A common argument against pornography is that the media portrays women as being nothing more than sexual playthings and objects to satisfy male sexual desires. As before, the media once again, is not to be held responsible for creating this image; these views are products of society. It would be absurded to assume that women in this society are treated as sexual objects only because the media releases or broadcasts pornographic material. A magazine associated with make-up and skin care, for example, will quite obviously not be concentrating on much else. Such a magazine would not display pictures of women who mountain-climb or women who water-ski; only images of make-up and text referring to skin care would be relevant. Clearly, society does not consider women to be beings who's only purpose in life is to worry about make-up and skin care; but why are the complaints only directed towards pornographic media then? The answer to this question may be more complicated, however, what remains obvious is that the media does not portray women as only being able to fill male sexual desires. To say that pictures featuring nudity, etc, are making objects out of women is foolish. One should consider females who pin-up posters of male rock stars or children who collect hockey or baseball cards. Society, however, does

Animal Farm- Comming to power essays

Animal Farm- Comming to power essays In George Orwells Story Animal Farm we read about the overthrown of an established power system by the characters that, at the beginning, dont fully realized that they usurp the same power. Animal Farm takes place at the Manor Farm, in England. One day an aged boar, Old Major, was preaching to his fellows animals, comrades from the farm, about a dream he has. His sermon was about great visions and beautiful horizons for all the animals in the world. The enemy of all the animals was man , tyrant that feeds on the misery of all the animals. Only his overthrowing could end their doomed, tragic lives. The rebellion against their enemy was coming. The old pigs idealistic visions of the animal world in which all animals are equal, had been exciting news for all the four-legged gatherers, who had been listening to the eye-opening slogans of freedom, especially to the pigs who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The story of the Orwells novel Animal Farm continues revealing more and more the pigs hungry craving for power. Soon after the brilliant speech of Old Major, the boar died but his dreams about the animal freedom, executed only through the rebellion against the man, were not forgotten. Particularly the pigs, considered the smartest of all the animals in the farm, were eager to get started the necessary preparations for the future rebellion against the man. Two leading brains of the preparations were Snowball and Napoleon. Not long after the death of Old Major, the rebellion became the reality. The master of the Manor Farm, Mr.Jones ,was driven out from the farm by the hungry and neglected animals. The farm, was renamed, by the new owners, the Animal Farm. A new era of freedom had come to the insignificant farm in England. The freedom of all animals could echoed in the bleating of sheep : Four legs good, two legs bad. Since Ol...

Chemistry Study Tips

Chemistry Study Tips Studying chemistry can be stressful and feel overwhelming. There is no magic formula for learning chemistry, but you can develop an effective strategy for success. Whether youre in middle school, high school or college, these simple steps will get you on the right track. Basically it involves not getting behind, doing your own work, and not psyching yourself out: Dont procrastinate!Cramming does not equal learning. If you wait until the night before a test to start studying you will suffer, your grades will suffer, etc. Chemistry problems take time to work. Chemistry concepts take time to master.Dont ProcrastinateIts worth repeating! In chemistry you build from one concept onto the next. You need a solid knowledge base to progress.Try Flash CardsHey, they are used in elementary and primary school because FLASHCARDS WORK. Some of the information gets learned while making the cards and the rest can be learned during practice. You get to switch around the order in which you view topics, which is something most notebooks dont provide. Get some index cards and give it a try!Try a HighlighterUse it judiciously. The goal is not to turn your book or notes fluorescent. Most texts already have important concepts in bold typeface. Unless your teacher is very unusual, he or she will almost always mention likely test questions, answers, and concepts. High light them! Some teachers take questions from a test bank, but those who write their own are usually keeping a mental tally of concepts while teaching. Use MnemonicsWhat you are doing here is taking the first letters of words in a sequence you are trying to memorize and making a phrase from them to serve as a memory aid. Example: the sequence of the first few elements in the periodic table H, He, Li, Be, B, C, N, O, F, Ne could be (well, the one that came to my mind was actually dirty, which is easier to remember) Hi Henry, Lookin Big, Bad, Certainly Nasty, Old Friend - Not! Ok, it isnt great literature. One popular mnemonic device is for metric prefixes: Kilo- Hecto- Deca- Meter (liter, gram) deci- centi- milli- Kangaroos Hopping Down Mountains Drinking Chocolate Milk. Also, such phrases are even easier to memorize if you put them to music.  Work the ProblemsYou work through the example problem in the book or in class just fine. Great! That doesnt mean you understand how to apply the formulas when the conditions or wording changes. Its vital to work problems. I know it seems like a good idea to divide problem sets with classmates or to put down answers from the back of the book when youre short on time, but you truly need to work those problems to practice the skills you need for tests and beyond. Know Your TextDo you have a glossary? Answers to problems in the back? Self-quizzes? Appendices full of useful information? Find that out sooner rather than later. Learn your way around your text. Use the glossary. You cant communicate about a subject without learning the terminology.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade - Research Paper Example The trans-Atlantic slave trade has normally been considered only regarding the adults. However, now children’s experiences are also being counted. According to an estimate, children made up one-quarter of the African slaves made to migrate to America. In spite of this big number there is indeed a lack of sources and apparently, no importance is given to what the children experienced, leaving their voices unheard. Enslavement Children were very unwilling to participate in the slave trade and in spite of their age they saw themselves captured and in imprisonment after the war. The women, children and the older people became particularly vulnerable after their men were killed during the war; the ones who were spared death were then ransomed or even sold as slaves. After military expeditions, there were commercial caravans that actually brought textiles and imported goods and traded the slaves with those. Another way of acquiring slaves, particularly children, was through kidnappi ng and this method was more common in certain regions in West Africa. The kidnapping was done when the kids were away from their parents or guardians, maybe simply playing outside, working in fields or taking a calm walk. This was not the only way, however, and the traders even bought children from their families who were more than willing to â€Å"sell† them for money since they were desperate for money and food. Still, others were pawned or bargained for by their parents or used to repay debts or given to be acquitted of any crime they or their family members might have committed. Weak children were also sometimes sold and so were the ones whom their parents thought brought them ill luck. The upcoming events after the capture were a nightmare for the slaves. The traders sold off some children to be sent for the coast while others were sold many times. Several of these kids remained within Africa only and became slaves to whoever bought them. Many others could not survive th e sea route. The ones who were able to reach the coast alive were taken to a factory or post where merchants bought them and kept them inside prisons with the other slaves. These children were then completely stripped and their bodies were rubbed with palm oil. Many times their heads were also shaven. After the merchants had bought their slaves they â€Å"branded† them in order to make sure that their â€Å"property† does not get mixed up with someone else’s and they are able to distinctly make out which their cargo is. The brand was normally a symbol on their chest or back. The Middle Passage According to the slave traders the individuals less than 4’4’’ in height were considered to be children and these children were permitted to stay on the deck with the women. These deck people were, on rare occasions, given certain favors such as giving them old clothes, teaching them how to play certain games or even how to sail. Some children, however , did not play or eat while others preferred to stay with the women and cry all night. If a child was taller than the specified height he was automatically kept with the adults and there they were treated like an adult too. The conditions there were worse and there was no concept of hygiene. If they cried or did not eat or sleep they were punished harshly.  

American study (early urban) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American study (early urban) - Essay Example As a result, wealth was concentrated in the hands of the population that already had wealth and, even though there was an increase in personal income, social mobility opportunities remained highly limited (Gorn 404). While there were certainly artisans who moved into the middle class through becoming owners and managers of the factories, the industrial revolution mainly made most skilled artisans permanent wage earners with limited advancement hopes. During the 17th century, the northern cities, especially seaport towns, were dominated by the water, which was the main source of transport and offered most of the population’s sustenance. Majority of the colonial population in these seaports were rural settlers and were involved in agriculture, fishing, and lumbering, which they sent to European and Caribbean markets (Nash 1). Towards the latter years of the 17th century, the seaports were no larger than ordinary European villages with, for example, Philadelphia having only 2,200 inhabitants, mostly because the regional populations they served were sparse. The society in these seaport towns was still organized around the nuclear family, while the networks in society were also heavily pervaded by kinship. In addition, order was maintained by strictly adhering to status and rank, while there was a clear differentiation in social roles. However, towards the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, social consciousne ss began to change as feelings of unity bred by class standing, economic position, and occupation emerged (Nash 4). Adjustments in the population’s expectations and aspirations also began to change from what was common in pre-industrial European life. Artisans during this period were a diverse and large group that formed a link between the upper classes and the labourers and, within this group, differences in status and wealth also existed due to business acumen, skill acquisition, and health (Nash 8). Another cause

Plot Summary of A Midsummer Nights Dream :: A Midsummer Nights Dream, William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a romantic play about love-struck relationships that deal with lust, jealousy, and revenge. Key characters are Theseus, Hippolyta, Lysander, Hermia, Egeus, Demetrius, Helena, Oberon, Titantia, Puck, and Nick Bottom. Theseus is the king of Athens, who is engaged with his fiancà ©, Hippolyta, the queen of Amazon. Lysander is an Athenian man who is in love with Hermia, the daughter of Egeus. Hermia is also in love with Lysander. Demetrius is an Athenian man who also loves Hermia, and wishes to wed with her. Helena is Demetrius’s old lover, and a close friend of Hermia. Oberon is the king of fairies, and Titantia is the queen of fairies. Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is a fairy who makes love potions for Oberon. Lastly, Nick Bottom is a weaver whose head is turned into an ass for his ridiculous mistakes and foolishness. The setting takes place in Athens and in the forest. The time period is approximately around ancient Greece. There are three conflicts throughout the play, which are: the dilemma between Lysander and Demetrius both falling in love with Hermia, Helena’s plan to regain the relationship with Demetrius, and the decision of whether the Indian prince should be knighted or not. Lysander and Hermia wishes to wed together but Egeus wants her to wed with Demetrius. They both eloped to the forest, in order to get married at Lysander’s aunt’s house. Helena is, however, still in love with Demetrius. Demetrius cruelly left her for Hermia. For revenge, Helena overheard the news of elopement and told Demetrius, who follows her to the forest to hunt for Lysander and Hermia. The problem of Indian prince is that Oberon wishes to have him knighted, but Titantia is against it. Key events are: when Oberon sees the trouble between the love-triangle of Lysander, Hermia, Helena, and Demetrius, he decided to help. Oberon sends Puck to make love potions and powders on Demetrius’s eyelids, so he can fall in love with the first person he sees, supposedly Helena. However, Puck mistaken Lysander for Demetrius, and instead puts on Lysander. As a result, both Lysander and Demetrius are in love with Helena. Oberon also demanded revenge for Titantia, and makes Puck use his love potion on Titantia.

Balance of power: East African Region

The last half of the nineteenth century saw most of the African countries gaining political independence. However, their united voice in the fight against colonialists seemed to last only for as long as the colonial powers was still in charge of the continents political affairs. In East Africa, the three major partners: Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda adopted differing policies in terms of land, public investments strategies and political approaches. The policies symbolized the emergence of divergent post-independence national approaches.The result was each nation taking different paths aimed at promoting its strength regionally. However, not all the strategies were intended to result into taking of differing directions by the nations but rather some had unintended consequences. This paper will look at the East African region’s balance of power strategies and politics as from 1970’s to the modern day. The East Africa region emerging from years of war, civil strife and violen ce currently offers fresh grounds for interplay of power games and intrigues. Each country is increasingly seeking to assert its position as the regions strength.This is unlike other world regions where power intrigues have reached climax and relevant alliances formed against or for in a bid secure the relevant states positions. For instance, in the United States region the U. S has asserted its authority and countries in fear of it have had to positively align themselves and the resentful ones like Cuba have undertaken a negative alignment. However, the question as to who wields the power balance in their favor is no longer an issue. The same cannot be said of the East African region.The region is currently in a race for minerals exploration and policy formulation aimed at consolidating each nation’s position. Even as its nations head towards an economic integration, they cannot help but treat each other with caution and more so Kenya which is considered economically advanta ged. This makes it a rich ground for analysis of the power issues. The East African region has seen substantial and profoundly unmistakable changes in terms of strategic frameworks. These transformations dating back to the colonial days have had the effect of shaping up the power balance in the region.The most profound transformation aimed at balance of power was the fall of the East African Community in 1977. This was a result of each nation’s diverse approach to consolidate its positions of strength in the region. Kenya apparently based on its economic strength demanded to be awarded more seats in the regions decisions making organs, Idi Amin adopted dictatorship and expansionist ideas that threatened the regions stability and balance, while Tanzania undertook a more socialist approach unlike Kenya’s capitalist.Uganda’s Idi Amin was often viewed as militant as he not only ruled dictatorially, but also made attempts at expanding his regional power militantly. F or instance, is his 1978 attempt at annexing part of northern Tanzania formally Kagera. The result was constant tension between the states. Tanzania on the other hand often viewed Kenya as being an economic predatory nation more so regarding its material and human resources and hence embarked on policies aimed at locking out its population from taking over the countries investment opportunities and professional market.Generally, they embarked on protectionist policies against a nation they believed had the potential of sucking up its market and in one instance considered joining the Southern Economic Block. Kenya on the other hand, contrary to its neighbors disregarded the idealistic socialistic block then that would have had severe economic, social as well political consequences given its years of British linkage. In balancing its position, Kenya opted to adopt a wait and see policy in positioning itself on international issues.In general, Kenya opted to take non-aligned positions that would neither peach it alongside the west or the East’s rivalry at the time. Basically, the Kenyan policies aimed at protection of its integrity territorially, securing its economic as well as political structures but most importantly sustain its unique East African economic status. Kenya as a country has had to reckon with the challenges faced by its neighbors that have continuously threatened its economic stability in the region.The death of president, Kenyatta in 1978 came at a time when the Somalia- Ethiopian war was still on, Uganda was making attempts at annexing Kagera area of Tanzania. The then vice president, then took over powered and declared ‘Nyayoism’ often translated to mean following in the footsteps of the preceding president Kenyatta. Just like his predecessor, Moi adopted a neutral approach towards its neighbor’s conflicts and in stead focused on consolidating the countries position of power in the region. The re-emergence of the Eas t African Union saw Rwanda and Burundi join the bandwagon.While Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan are not part of the East African Union, they have often been considered as part of East Africa geographically. Consequently their activities have an effect on the political balance in the region. The race for a balance of power has thus increased in the recent past with Kenya dominance increasingly being threatened. Rwanda emerging from a gristly genocide has in the recent past embarked on policies that are attractive to the investors hence its recent ranking as having the best rate of project execution in East Africa and the leading regions investment destination.Its IT system is only rivaled by Kenya’s. Worth mentioning are also its new airports and radar systems bearing high sophistication. This advancement has often been cited as threatening to Kenya’s position as the economic hub in the region. Ethiopia’s infrastructural expansion has also been cited as meant to chal lenge Kenya’s position in the region. However, in reaction to this Kenya has currently embarked on a massive infrastructural expansion with roads being built more significantly in Nairobi and its environs.Kenya is also undertaking enormous expansion of its main airport while the Kisumu airport is undergoing upgrading to an international status. While Tanzania has been unable to do much with its mineral rich resources to strengthen its position of power in the region, the same cannot be said about Uganda which has re-emerged strongly from dictatorship under Idi Amin. Its recent striking of oil has seen Kenya vehemently embarking on the search of the same in a bid to ensure that it is not overtaken by Uganda.Additionally, Uganda has often been viewed as being militant and bearing expansionist ideals with its recent attempts being the attempts to acquire Migingo islands which allegedly belong to its neighbor, Kenya. Analysts have been quick to argue that this could be attempts b y Uganda to test Kenya’s ability to respond to external threat. However, Kenya’s diplomatic approach to issues still leaves its neighbors wondering its standing militarily though bearing in mind that it probably still holds the regions military as well as economic power.However, the recent striking of huge uranium deposits by Tanzania is likewise making the race for position of power in the region more complicated. The general summary of all these boils down to a race fro the regions economic leadership which is often accompanied by military leadership. Probably the realization of the common market has even catalyzed the race more as each country sees prospects of expanded markets for its produce. However, the milestone made by Kenya is still unrivalled and the expansion of the market would probably see professional services exportation from it.This is a position that all indications show that Kenya is not yet ready to relinquish as witnessed by its heavy investment in oil exploration as well as other minerals. Recent reports indicate that Kenya has struck uranium too and is likewise close to striking oil. In terms of policies, the East African countries have often treated each other with caution more especially the other countries viewing of Kenya which has often been cited as being at an economic point of advantage. This has seen various regions countries employing protectionist policies against Kenyans who are considered aggressive economically.Kenya has also embarked on key foreign relation aimed at securing its positions against the external threats from countries like Somalia which are constantly posing the threat by Al shaabab and piracy which has greatly affected the regions trade. Piracy has led to the Kenyan government having to review its policy on money laundering which could negatively affect the economy. This is due to the belief that the money collected in terms of Ransom is being laundered to the Kenyan market. This has arisen fro m the recent large unaccounted for balances announced by the Central Bank of Kenya.In conclusion it’s worth mentioning that despite Kenya’s dominance in the region, its position is increasingly being threatened as most of the regional players attempt to shift the balance of power in their favor. The region however, remains under siege more so regarding the increasing violence in Somalia, and Sudan. Some analysts have argued that the race for economic power in the region could live it far ahead of other regions in Africa in the near future. Paper break down This paper considers the East African geographical region in respect the period immediately after independence, early 1970’s to the modern period.Its appropriateness for study is based on the fact that it is currently re-emerging from a period of wars, civil strife and other forms of unrest that rocked it immediately after independence. These include the Uganda’s dictatorship under Idi Amin, Ethiopia an d Somali wars, civil strife in Sudan and most memorable Rwandan Genocide. Out of this has come the increased realization of the regions potential and hence a race for economic power position to outdo Kenya which has remained relatively calm save for the recent 2008 post-election violence.The region that has lot of current power plays to offer. The regions balance of power dynamics is depicted b the power balance plays as a result of the regions volatility and the diverse nature of policies outlined by individual states to consolidate their positions within the region. the countries in the region themselves face power shift dynamics either as a result of war or politics some thing that makes the region unique and possess two level of power balance dynamics namely; regional and national level dynamics.The proposed hypothesis then can revolve around whether or not power parity can be a recipe for peace in the region which more effort being shifted towards attaining power equilibrium ra ther that engagement in conflicts. However, the balance of power may be threatened by the interstate protectionist views held by the member states towards each other and more so those considered economically strong. The paper thus takes an overall look into the region as an emerging field for power play in search of economic superiority citing various statesmen and women who have had a role in the situation.Works Cited Aluanga, L. â€Å"The trouble with Kenyan Boarders† The East African Standard, 10/05/2009, 12 Onyango, C. O. Race to unseat Kenya from regions leadership, The East African 40(5) 2010:16, Oyugi, O. W. (2004) Politics and administration in East Africa, Nairobi; East African Educational Publishers, 2004, 313-319 Potholm, C. P. & Fredland, R. A. â€Å"Integration and disintegration in East Africa† Washington, D. C. : University Press of America, 1980 Segal, A. â€Å"The politics of land in East Africa,† Comparative Series, East African Journal, 1(287) 2007:1-22