fSarah has 12 post(s)

In Cabeza’s passage “Between Love and Money: Sex, Tourism, and Citizenship in Cuba and the Dominican Republic”, she discusses how the sexual relationships may be viewed as forced or cultural. Some ways in which sexual relationships were viewed as cultural was that because of the citizens of Cuba having interracial sexual relationships it attracted a huge pool of tourists which in turn has spurred their economy. Because of these vast array of sexual relationships, it was seen as a cultural movement because it was a regular occurrence that everyone seemed to be doing. It was also seen as forced because of the dramatic difference in social and economic inequality. It was a way for those who were considered minorities to make a living since they saw that tourists were paying money to fund sex – trade relationships. Additionally, since this is what most people were doing to rise up the social ladder some of the minorities may have felt forced to do the same. Cabeza makes an implication that women were seen as those who were monstrous and were capitalistic invaders. On the other hand  she compares men as those who stole capital and attempted to get sex for free. It was also seen as an economic movement in that women refused to give away sex for free. Not all minorities were capable of having a sexual relationship. Physical appearance and where one went in Cuba or even the Dominican Republic had a lot to do with who would be able to rise up the social ladder and who would feel forced to stay where they were. Cabeza explains that some women felt a sense of sexual citizenship in  that in order for women to be protected from oppression that they had to have felt threatened first. On the other hand, some women did not see themselves that way, instead, they felt that not  being able to make a family and not being able to procreate was a huge concern/central focus for them.

The author discusses how an increasing number of female workers are migrating from their home lands to other prosperous countries. However Parrenas explains how a Filipina mother had to leave behind her children in order to find work. A global care chain is when there are interlinked relationships around the world from caring for one another when the parents are away at work. The author also describes how a commons is shared land that can be used to collect firewood, hunt, and allow animals to graze large acres of land.

Many citizens from all over the world were frequently anxious about the balance between work and family. They did not have any time to visit their families and very often missed them. Not only do families migrate for work but they also migrate for food and shelter. In some instances, parents feared being labelled as bad parents for having to leave their children to find work. However, I don’t think they should have feared this because they are creating a better future for their kid(s) as well as leaving them with a trusted friend or family member. The kids would most likely be understanding when the parent comes back from work. Additionally, they were several families that envied those who migrated for work and could participate in global care chains.

They were some kids who became older that seemed to question why their parents left for work while their colleagues parents stayed. These are all situational instances, some children have better opportunities than others and depended on the image of the parent’s role.

There was also complications in parental roles in new families. Often times children felt that they had to look after their siblings moreso than the host parent  could do for them.

Lastly, the author concludes explaining how the market has hindered life living in the commons in that most families migrated to find work and not stay in these rural areas.

Patricia Hill Collins discusses in her essay “Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought” discusses the love that families had for each other from mixed backgrounds. Collins uses the example of black women riding buses to their white families and another example of white families discussing their love for their black mothers.

Although these families had different racial backgrounds, they still felt a sense of being an outsider. They felt as if they did not belong to their spouses as well.

Collins explains that although black families might feel like outsiders, that there is beauty in the fact that one can triumph against these kinds of racial differences, become a feminist, advocate, and a distinguished scholar.

Moreover, Collins explains that feminism varies from person to person and opinions of black feminists should not be weighted against each other. There is no single way of distinguishing which opinion is right or wrong. They do not create their own standards similar to what present day media portrays. Since there are different methods of oppression, there are different thoughts between each feminist.

One time where I felt like an outsider was when I was ordering a smoothie at Cold Stone Creamery. Everyone else on the line (approximately 25-50 people) were ordering ice cream. Although this is a simple example of what it feels like to be an outsider, it felt as if I wasn’t supposed to order a smoothie from there even though they do offer them. This situation is unique from other experiences of when a person would experience themselves feeling as if they were an outsider, which is what Collins hopes the reader will understand.

Society can make a person feel as if they are a minority in a majority if oppression is not resolved. The motif in this essay is that even in the tightest of situations a person can still feel different.

In chapter 4 of Foucault’s novel History of Sexuality, he discusses the two different time periods of situations that involved sexuality. The first being the prohibition time period, where it was required of the people to conceal all or most of their body and they also had a lack of freedom of speech. The second being a less repressive time period, where the government were less strict on certain laws.

Additionally, the usage of medicine to treat sexual disorders during this time period was widely prevalent, and was used for adverse things other than control, such as creating a flourishing economy.

Foucault also explains that the repression of poorer class through sexual exploitation ultimately led to a greater power in government and allowed them to explore new methods of repression. This occurred by first imposing the idea that differences in sexuality of children and females were all apart of a certain genealogy. This evoked fear in those who did not want to have a change in sexuality and led to preventative measures.

Foucault also describes the usage of the term blood as a metaphor for how the caste system evolved. He compared it to the concept of sex, to prove biological relations and it’s genesis.  One of the major goals of the Bourgeoisie at this time were to provide themselves with a body and a sexuality. The usage of sexuality was to empower the body.

Foucault states that repression has manifested sexuality into becoming a taboo like culture.

Dating back to the Victorian Era, the idea of having to confess everything that one has done, and analyze all of his or her actions, further pushed the idea of a different culture in sexuality.

Moreover, Foucault explains that there were so many things that could have been changed during this time period without exclusively changing the political ideologies of their government.

In part one of “We Other Victorians” by Michael Foucault, he describes how sexuality was an openly discussed topic in the seventeenth century. However as we moved into the Victorian Era, it soon became an abomination to a wide variety of things in this topic. Foucault describes the Victorian Era as monotonous, tyrannical and constituted a lack of freedom of speech.  During this repressive time period, a great deal of revolt would be required to reinstate their freedom. Foucault makes a distinct connection between the incompatibility of labor and sex.

Foucault explains the freedom one has to speak on matters regarding sex stems from the feeling evoked from violating the law during the Victorian Era and the attitude of transgression as a result of prohibition from sex. One of the results that come from the freedom to speak on topics of sex during this time was enlightenment and liberation.

Foucault also seeks to analyze why discussing sex is considered a sin, why one must feel guilt towards this matter, and he also seeks to investigate what led biblical references to believe that sex should be repressed. This is considered one of the beliefs that the monarchs during the Victorian Era strongly believed. Moreover, it seemed to Foucault that prohibition, censorship and denial were ultimately the ways in which the monarchs of the Victorian Era governed their people.

One question I had based on part one was why the Victorian’s believed they should govern their people based on religious books/studies and if they felt that this government would fit all of the citizens in the United Kingdom. If they believed this form of government did not fit all people, what was done to those who didn’t believe in it, as opposed to those who protested their government?

Another question I had based on part one was how did this system of utilitarianism manifest after the seventeenth century? How did the Victorians rise to power? Was there a sharp change of thought amongst all or most of it’s citizens,  were there any socio-political groups that rose to oppress those in favor of liberation?

In Bell Hooks’ “Eating the Other”, she explains how western societies have exploited those with cultural differences. They’ve become intensely interested in these different cultures that it has brought up strange desires. In Britain, whenever “the Other” was discussed in conversations, it has always made referenced to those with different sexual desires that deviated from what was considered normal. In modern culture of the United States, they’ve connected the idea of being culturally diverse to having diverse sexual interests. They’re both seen as odd sources of pleasure in  that it is different from what society is usually being exposed to. As a result of the exploitation of “the Other”, western society is seen as usual as being dominant over “the Other”, especially in those who have power.

Another way in which culture is strongly connected to sexual desires, is the idea that it is an “exciting experience”. Hook provides an example of a time where she was walking by Yale University, and she noticed a several white male students discussing how they’ve created a task of having sexual relations with as many women of different racial backgrounds as possible. This example shows us how western society have tried to escape what they’re normally exposed to, and in doing so have sexually exploited “the Other”. They’ve also generalized the idea that women of certain racial backgrounds might be easier or harder to have sexual relations with. Moreover, in establishing this task made by the western society, they are admitting to the fact that they’ve had a white supremacist society for some time by associating other women of different races as weird or interesting.

Hook also describes the idea of imperialist nostalgia, which is the mourning of western societies of their past successes in racial inequality. These societies do not claim responsibility for their actions and even further deny the existence of their ancestors actions. This idea is another way in which exploitation can take form of “the other”.  Hook also says the longing for pleasure is another reason for the desire to westernize and/or take part in other cultures. Additionally, lesser -economically represented groups have been lured into western society with the promise of political change and recognition. In doing so it reinstates the idea of a nationalist society.

In CJ Pascoe’s novel, he discussed how during an event in a gymnasium, two boys dressed as nerds for a short play. Accompanying these nerds were their girlfriends and two gangsters that sought to bully the nerds. The nerds showed a short sequence of events where they attempt to gain their girlfriend back from a kidnapping by gangsters by power working out. This was a bit hilarious to the audience in the gymnasium because of the generalization that nerds are tall and skinny. Proceeding this, the nerds proceeded to save their girlfriends from the kidnapping.

Pascoe believes that one should not be characterized as not manly enough just because they dress in a certain way, especially in this instance. The barbells were a symbol of masculinity in this novel and should not be, because any one can lift barbells and it should not put a label on who they are as a person. In retrospect, if one chooses to not lift barbells that should not have a label put on them as well. Pascoe goes on to describe several other generalizations such as femininity, hypersexuality and black cultural style. Pascoe affirms that masculinity should be thought of only as a culture of dominant practices and nothing else should be associated with it, including gender. Talcott Parsons, a sociologist, believes that men and women should adhere to their gender roles because it helps to create a well ordered society. For example, women cannot be breadwinners of the family and men cannot be caretakers. R.W. Connell, also a sociologist, argues that very few men are dominantly masculine, and that most men incorporate some form of femininity to themselves. The idea of multiple masculinities has inspired and influenced countless studies in sociology. All in all, Pascoe believes sexuality should not encompass certain gender specific rituals, and that gender differentiation should be illustrious.

In Morgan’s novel, chapter 1 discusses the concept of monstrosity because of how the Europeans used biblical references such as satan to describe the black women of their indigenous lands such as Jamaica or the West Indies. Several Englishmen have portrayed black women during this time as monsters by exploiting their labor on their own land and described the cultural differences between them in racial ways. An example of how they were portrayed at this time as monstrous would be the description of the black women’s bodies while naked during laborious work. They went into significant detail of how different they were from the Europeans to make them feel like they needed to be put into labor. Native Americans were also made to be seem monstrous because of their cannibalistic behavior and rituals which gathering dead human remains. Again the Englishmen went into detail of the Native Americans eating habits which were made to be seen as culturally inferior from that of Europeans.

The concept of monstrosity can also be seen in Federici’s chapter discussing the degradation of women and those who were forced into labor. When an open – field system failed and returned back to feudalism, this led people to scavenge for food and hunter/gather for crops. There was an increase in poor squatters and they were led to beg to their knees for a job. There was a deep hatred for this economic system and led to great instability between social classes after the collapse of these open fields. Even the elderly had to take care of themselves and had no on to watch over them, they’ve even started to loot. After the appropriation of a wage slave system, many workers defied this because this led them to have to defend their land from being taken away from them because of an inability to pay. The workers felt that they would rather work on the roads than to be offered a wage.

In Chapter 1 of Jennifer Morgan’s novel, she discusses how it wasn’t until European colonization/influence that African Americans – especially women were led to believe that they were inferior, because they did not look the same. They noticed a racial inequality as a result of this. Europeans were led to believe at this time period that they were superior in some ways because of the harsh treatment of the African Americans. As a result of this racism and brute labor, bills that became laws were passed to reinforce the harsh treatment of the African Americans. Morgan also writes although there is a distinct concept of races biologically speaking, that should not ratify how humanity should be like. Several people in this chapter have varying opinions of how they saw the black people during this time. For example, one Englishman saw a black woman in the Cape Verde islands and marveled at her beauty. However, people such as Lynda Boose and Peter Erickson did not view black woman at this time as people to look up to.  They viewed them as assets for their marketable labor and fertility. Not only were black women racially discriminated against, but indigenous people to Amerindia were too, and were called wild or savage. Additionally, biblical references were made to black women describing them as a symbol of the devil. Moreover, Native Americans, those indigenous to our country were described as cannibalistic for eating one another and was characterized as savagery.  The West Indies and Jamaica have also put black women to labor use and have become  profitable lands. There was a wide cultural difference between England and Jamaica in terms of black beauty. It was very hard during this time period for the Europeans to let go of this tragedy of thought. Ultimately, exploitation of the Africans for labor have led to a superiority complex of the Europeans.

In this chapter Federici discusses how a few different economies emerged from the crisis of feudalism. Among those were capitalism and social/economic equality in an egalitarian society. Although capitalism did not directly evolve from feudalism during this time period, it became known as the foundations of capitalism because it allowed for more economic freedom.
Since feudalism has grown weaker it has shaped the early Middle Ages. Africans during this time period were subject to cruel working conditions on plantations. Although land privatization and the Price Revolution were not enough in creating a capitalist economy it helped to create a working class.
During 16th century Europe, creations in technology and imperialization have helped stabilize their economy. Another way in which land was privatized was through enclosures, which eliminated communes and lands that were being leased. This was not very effective because it continued onto the next century and communities were not being taken into consideration.

During this time period food was scarce, and was necessary in order to develop capitalism and ultimately ended in looting and assaults in stores.

The first sign of unsustainability during the capitalist system was public assistance. This showed that Europe was unable to provide enough food and as a result had to come up with programs to help those who could not afford it. Additionally, death and sickness seemed to run rampant in lower class Europeans than upper.

Over time, Mercantilism was a new system developed that encouraged population growth to help support sustainability. However, this has led to the state having to reduce labor because of the sudden surge in population. This has resulted in the criminialization of procreation and the devaluation of women’s labor. This issue was resolved through the continuation of privatizing land.

In 1807, slaves in Europe have become a valuable asset and were encourage to procreate. This has led to an increase in sexual assault and have become profitable. Ultimately, the distress that women and slaves had to endure during these time periods have helped to shape capitalism because of their hard work and effort put into plantations.