Women and the Birth of Sociology Fall 11

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1.  As with most accounts of history, it’s telling is at the mercy of the victor and the prevailing culture. Despite their contributions, fifteen prominent women were effectively erased, or “written out” of the history of the founding of sociology. The excerpt from “The Women Founders: Sociology and Theory, 1830 – 1930” by Patricia Madoo Lengermann and Jill Niebrugge-Brantley does not give any
specific date of this erasure only that at some point in time the names and contributions of these fifteen women were exsponged and credit given soley to the men assosiated with Sociology. Upon reflection, the reasoning behind such a crime of omission is not difficult to understand. Civilization has been a
patriarchal society since it’s inseption. Men, especially educated white men, were, and pretty much still are, the ruling class. Women were looked upon as “second-class” citizens who’s sole purpose in life was tend hearth and home, raise the children and be pleasing. The world of science was considered the domain of men. Men still constitute the greatest majority in most of the sciences. To recognize women as even partially responsible for the founding of any of the sciences would be tantamount to heresy.

2.  The founding women wrote about the issues of the day. Martineau wrote social analysis and translated the works of Comte. Ironic the translator of one of the “founding father’s” works should go unrecognized. Martineau wrote “How to Observe Morals and Manners” and published her
methodology. The focus of the women sociologists were as wide ranging as the issues of the periods they lived in. Trade unions, labor practices, the economy, slavery and immigration were just a few of
the issues they addressed. All these women were well known and well established in their field and were friends with many of their contemporaries such as Mead, Park and Thomas. Wells-Barnett was a
co-founder of the NAACP and together with Cooper, created an American version of Marx’s conflict theory to explain and illustrate their arguments concerning civil rights.

3.  The importance today of recognizing the contributions of Sociologies women founders lies in
the concept and ideology of Sociology itself, that society and institutions evolve and change relative to the actions of the people within that society. It is not only antithetical to the principals of
sociology, it is illogical to base ones viewpoints on matters of society without including the female perspective. It is not only hypocritical, but a slap in the face of the science of sociology to
ignore the contributions of any member of that collective. If the women of sociology had not been there, had not made the significant contributions they made, we would be much less progressive as a
nation in terms of civil rights, womens rights, labor practices and our social health as a whole. The NAACP might not have been established, although I admit this is purely conjecture given the
limited scope of the article and I think the world would be a much poorer place without the literature published by these outstanding women.

By D

Population Growth

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Great topic, i found the fact that population growth is fueled more by the reduction in death rates rather then the changes in birth rates. We have not even reached the upper limit of the average human life expectancy.  The population will only increase faster even with the life expectancy staying where it is at now.   Reading about the ZPG would only effect the population if it limited females to 2 kids for multiple generations shows how fast the population is expanding and what it would really take to just stabalize it.  I don’t see an off earth migration happening any time in our future, but that is my opinion.   We should focus on saving and sustaining our planet before we go and take over another.  Smail makes a great argument about this population growth topic.

Not getting by

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I would find it almost impossible to live off of the federal minimum wage. Massachusetts has one of the highest minimum wage an hour and it would still be difficult. Ehrenriech noted that in 1998, one had to earn an hourly wage of $8.89 to afford an one bedroom apartment and the normal survival items. The costs of living in America, have definitely gone up since 1998. When children get added into the equation, it makes it even harder to survive in America with the federal minimum wage. Parents usually find themselves working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. It is very hard to provide for children, especially when you can only make the minimum. Welfare is always an option but providing for two kids takes a lot of money and no matter what help a mother receives, the basic needs are hard to meet. As much as I would like to say that the federal minimum wage should be raised, the reality is that businesses could not afford it. Especially local, small businesses could not survive because they are already having trouble as well.

Domestic Violence

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The common occurance of woman being beaten in India is astounding. It seems like a common way of life for many of the women in India and the way their societies are allows it. It is an eye opener to see that almost one quarter of women are being beaten and that is only the wives that are admitting it. Alcohol is considered a large reason for the beatings but that seems to just be one way for a husband blame the beatings on something other tahn themselves. Abuse is a standard of living with the children being reprimanded by getting hit by their parents. They will grow up to do the same to their children and wives. The wives in Japan are experiencing violence also and on larger scales, a larger percentage of Japanese wives are beaten than Indian. This doesn’t subside when the woman try to get out of this situation. It can lead to worse beatings and some are beaten to death. I watched the movie “Yesterday” and the woman was getting beat by her husband and an officer saw it happening and looked the other way. This situation is very common in Africa and is looked at as normal. In vietnam domestic violence is against the law and is taken very seriously. I suppose it depends on your culture whether things can change or they will just carry on the way they are. Its too bad people can’t feel safe in their own homes. A governmant in some cases just needs to step in and “police” domestic violence.

Lets Reduce Global Population

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Smail gives a few reasons as to why even a fully effective populations control program wouldn’t be enough to reduce the worlds population.
Smail says that even if a program of zero population growth were implemented immediately by limiting human fertility to roughly 2.1 children per female which is called the replacement rate, global population would still continue on its path of rapid expansion. Demographers estimate that it would take two to three generations at the replacement rate to reach a point of population stability. This is because 1/3 of the population is still under the age of fifteen and have not reproduced yet.
Smail also mentions how adult longevity is contributing to the worlds population. He says the on going gains in this longevity will continue to keep the population high regardless of the fertility aspect.
Smail sees how the earths long term carrying capacity in finite. This is a problem because resources whether they are renewable or non-renewable will run out with so many people on the planet. All in all humans wouldn’t be in existence if it wasn’t for earths resources. So running out would result in the end of humanity.
What Smail means by his statement is, as of this moment in time humans view themselves in regard to the Earth as the masters of the earth. The fact that we feel entitled to destroy Eco-systems by cementing over land or polluting waters and among other things, we are acting like we own the earth. But in fact we are as important as any other living organism. We wouldn’t exist without these other ecosystems and organisms. We share this Earth and have “co evolved with literally millions of other life forms.” Smail is basically saying that we need to stop thinking in this master mentality and start thinking in a co-existing mentally with Earth and all of its life.

Prostitution

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Some people in the world view prostitution as something that an individual is free to choose, that deciding to go into prostitution/trafficking is mainly just a life work decision, a way to make money.

However Farely argues that that isn’t so. Farely first states that “Prostitution is many kinds of violence against women, but it is often not clearly understood as such.” She says that because it is so profitable, the real reasons women go into the sex business are concealed. These reasons could include sexism, racism, poverty and child abuse.

My view on prostitution can go both ways, but mainly I agree with Farely and her side of the argument. The only thing that sways me in the other direction is the fact that some women actually do enjoy that kind of life ad I say that because I have seen interviews with women that actually choose that life style and have a solid clear perspective on what they are doing and the reasons they enjoy it. Also these women had careers and could have continued on with them. But who knows if there aren’t some deeper issues even with these women who freely choose to become a part of the sex business.

Many women become prostitutes because either their race, sex or class oppression left them with no other choice.Race plays a part by in prostitution women are purchased for their appearance, including skin color and characteristics based on stereotyping. There are also other factors that involve race. The female sex is the gender that is most prevalent in prostitution and trafficking however there is a small percentage of men who are also involved. Also factors (such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, job opportunities,etc.) that can propel people into prostitution are more common occurrences in woman’s life than in a mans life. Class oppression also plays a role in deciding to go into prostitution. As Farely states “The economic vulnerability and limited career options of poor women are significant factors in their recruitment into prostitution.” When a survey was conducted amoung 854 people in prostitution from nine different countries, it was discovered that 75% of the people were currently or previously homeless. Education which isn’t available to alot of people in lower classes affects ones ability to get a job and build a career. Which even though a woman might not want to go into prostitution , it’s their only option left to survive.

The legalization of prostitution involves state, country or city ordinances that regulate prostitution. Decriminalization is a legal approach that decriminalizes the enforcement of all laws against prostitution. Decriminalization would normalize commercial sex.

Farely is opposed to both because no matter if prostitution is legalized or decriminalized, violence will still be prevalent among the women involved. I agree with Farely that either way with the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution physical and mental harm will occur in the sex business.

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Global population

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J. Kenneth Small discusses the issue of global population and how it is a danger to our future on earth. He feels that if the population keeps growing at such a fast rate it will ultimatley cause a “plague of humanity.” Right now our earth is supporting 2.5 billion people and it could potentially double in the near future leaving us with an overpopulated world and very few resources. He talks about ten inescapble realities that we are going to face in the future. A fourthfold increase in population within a century even with a zero population growth program by limiting fertility. Our population would still continue to grow rapidly. Population overgrowth is not just effected by fertility but by the decrease in mortality due to the increase of longevity . The only way the mortality rate would increase at this point would be for a death pandemic, world war or breakdown in public health to occur. Eventually there will be little space for people to colonize and create communitiesand homes. It will be a huge impact on human life to add another 3 to 4 billion people in a matter of a century. Earth finate resourcesr, for example, fossil fuel, food supply and fresh water will also run out evenntually. This ecological damage from overconsumption of resources will lower the standard of living immesnly. This overgrowth is also predicted to occur in under-developed places in the world which poses and even bigger problem because in these areas there are less resources to begin. We really need to start thinking critically about what we are going to do about this issue because before we know it life on earth will be at risk with no options to turn to. It is a scary thought to think about our children, grandchildren and great granchildren facing these issues because we didnt change our ways of life.

nicklel-and dimed on not getting by in america

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one would find it almost impossible to live off of minimum wage. Massachusetts has one of the highest at $8.00 an hour, yet that sill doesn’t seem like enough. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, in 1998 it took an hourly wage of $8.89 to afford a one bedroom apartment, Barbara Ehnrenrich said in her essay on not getting by in america. Costs of living have gone up since 1998, and When you add children to the equation, it becomes necessary to work more than one job to make ends meet unless you want to live in the temporary homeless shelters that are sometimes dirty, and full. It then becomes necessary to provide for child care which isn’t cheap. Welfare would be an option but providing for two kids takes money and no matter what aid a mother gets, if she is earning minimum wage, food and basic needs will go unmet.
As much as it would be great for minimum wage to go up, small business owners are strapped already and raising wages would put some businesses under which would be counterproductive. This is why it is important to go to school and get a good education so you can get a good job and provide for yourself and your family.

Domestic Violence

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While reading chapter 41 I came to realize domestic violence is an on going issue in the world we live in today. It is a common practice for men In Indian cultures to beat their wives. Although the thought of beating your wife in the United States is highly illegal and out of cultural norms, to India’s culture it is remarkably normal. When it comes to childbirth, in India having a boy is valued much greater than having a girl. The reason for this is because girls are looked at as negative weight. Girls in Indian society tend to move away and marry with different families where as boys tend to stay within the family and help out with financial assistance, whether its working jobs to help pay, or helping the father work.

One duty a man must fulfill in the family is keeping his wife in check. This means that if the wife does the slightest bit of wrong she quickly needs to be told so. By being told she is doing wrong is not good enough Indian society feels. The way the men go about doing so is beating their wives. If a man only beats his wife under the influence of alcohol he is considered good. India’s culture believes that “a good husband and only beats his wife excessively when drunk” neglecting the fact that too many men are beating their wife to a pulp and do not realize it. If the wife exceeds the reasonable standards and acceptable circumstances, set forth by the village. The townships leader will interfere if the beating is taken overboard.

This is absolutely not the way to treat any woman. Although that is there belief and norm, as being an outsider looking in I cannot fathom the thought of putting that much torment and abuse towards any human being, male or female.

By. Luke

Nickel and Dimed

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Minimum wage is something that is becoming more and more prevalent with the society that we are living with. With jobs scarce and highly desired people will take a job for minimum wage even though their skill sets are greater than the wage. Living a life on your own with this type of pay would involve eating food low in nutrition and having to often go with out. Cable may be sacrificed for rent or gas money. Making ends meet becomes almost impossible. Humans can survive because millions are doing it already. Sometimes minimum wage is forced to support an entire family, the family adjusts and understands the circumstance the majority of the time and all work together to make their live’s go forward. It is a bad situation raising children with a low income but regardless it is still a situation. I don’t believe that minimum wage should be raised because when minimum wage is raised so is everything else in the economy and they would be in the same situation but it would just hurt the economy even more.

BY HUNTER