Kenya Duggan Stereotypes

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie brings into consideration to Keim discussion, by emphasizing the connection between a “single story” and “stereotypes” regarding the subject of Africa. One of the dangers Adichie includes in her discussion are individuals being denied the opportunity to tell their story. Adichie draws similarities to Keim when discussing her own personal journey to find her authentic cultural voice, and she emphasizes the many misunderstanding that society, including herself, have made. Adichie admits to not only facing stereotypes, but addresses her own opinion regarding the topic. Adichie admits that as a child, she had initial biases regarding a servant that was employed by her family. According her explanation, she believed that the capability of someone “the servants family” coming from a certain background, made them incapable of such artistry. The same misconceptions can be seen in present day society, we often are prejudiced on who or what can be cultured.

It is hard to challenge what is seemingly normalized in society. Especially when looking into the realm of gender and sexuality, the male and female gender accompanied by heterosexuality is often just accepted and deemed as a social norm. Social institutions such as marriage, health-care laws, and the economic system benefit those who act within the heteronormative behaviors and appropriate gender expression. The gender binary, though, is far from accurate when assuming personal identity. If someone follows the social script of the femininity, he or she is expected to be female and possess female anatomy. The same goes for men: if he or she expresses masculinity he or she is expected to be male with male anatomy. Anything outside of this expectation is deemed socially unacceptable and subject to backlash. With the strong ties Western society has to the gender binary and appropriate gender roles, it is impossible to picture anything else. The Fa’fafine in Samoa, however, present a great challenge to the norms instilled in society.

After reading chapter 3: "Prejudice and Discriminations" and as well the article "Transgender African-Americans' Open Wound: ‘We're considered a Joke’”, I have a better understanding of the challenges that certain group undergo due to prejudices and discrimination that exist within their own racial group and other groups of our society. Although the LBGT community has made its social conditions a little more better, there is still those within their group that are even more marginalize, this is the case of a African-American transgender. African Americans transgender face twice as much prejudice and discrimination. They battle prejudice and discrimination from their own racial group and from society because of their skin color and their gender

In history, people of all races describe women as too sexual, inferior or unpresentable. Women have always been the oppressed gender group throughout the world. The descriptions of women provided in Olaudah Equiano's and Ventre Smith's narratives are very different compared to the European's descriptions of indigenous and African women provided in Jennifer Morgan's paper. Equiano and Smith describe women in a very peaceful manner. While, the European's describe indigenous and African women in a disgusting tone, comparing them to "monsters" or "animals".

This subjugation of women to men leads to statistics such as women are infected with HIV earlier than men. Kiruthu et al provide evidence, as do Petros et al, for why it seems that way. That women are consistently favoured below men, that they are subsequently unable to secure for themselves a career as illustrious as that of a man, and that the responsibilities of the household have fallen to them make poverty real. Petros et al show that women acknowledge the interplay between poverty and HIV/AIDS, with particular regard to sex work. If men were to be infected, say the authors, they need only blame the women for their promiscuity. As mentioned in Kiruthu et al, this extremely unequal relationship perhaps didn't exist – and certainly didn’t in the Kikuyu tribes of Kenya – before the colonial

“Passing - Profiling the Lives of Young Transmen of Color” is a documentary that reveals the negativity that three transgender men of color encounter with the cisnormative society as they were transitioning. These men unfortunately experienced both the mistreatment when they were women as well as the social expectations they feel the need to fulfill as men. Although they were able to recognize the toxic masculinity and misogyny that they experienced as women, they also faced an entirely different and new reality when they transitioned. After transitioning, one individual mentioned that as a man, he felt that he was unable to voice his opinion when he disagrees about something, because unlike women, it was not socially acceptable for a man to

The homosexual community is one of the most misunderstood and degraded cultures in today’s society. Homosexuals are usually the brunt of much of the misunderstanding and, as a result, have most of the unban legends and denigrating jokes that are found in modern tradition centered on themselves. Two legends stand out above many others; the myth of “Gerbiling”, which describe a supposed cruel and exotic practice of gay men, and “The Gay Roommate”, in which a gay man sexually assaults his heterosexual roommate in a college dorm. Both of these legends exemplify the fact that, through misunderstanding or fearing a culture, you can create horrible monsters out of average men.

Whilst facilitating an enrichment project for KS4 learners, it was my pleasure to work in collaboration with a ex-pupil of mine (who had left the school two years previous.) in order to explore the issue of homosexuality, homophobia and briefly touch on stereotypical views in society.

Emigrating to the United States has affected where I am today. Moving abroad is the starting point to understanding who I was and who I have grown to be. My life before being part of an innovative nation, I was born to believe that women were only created to raise a family, cook, clean, and keep their heads down. No one ever mentioned that I could conquer any challenges that came my way or how I carried a voice within me that could influence the lives around me. The novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie brushes on different scenarios where she also encounters gender discrimination during her time in Lagos, Nigeria.

Dr. Kathryn Boucher is a social psychologist at the University of Indianapolis. She received her undergraduate degree at University of Kentucky in Psychology and Art History. She went into college with a major of Biology because she really liked the way scientists think, but as soon as she found out that there was a way to incorporate scientist’s thought process with social justice issues she changed her major to social psychology. Dr. Boucher went on and received her graduate degree from Indiana University in Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, allowing her to become a professor that teachers Statistics as well as other Psychology courses.

“In this single story, there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way; no possibility of feelings more complex than pity, no possibility of a connection as human equals (Adichie, 4:48)”. Eventually, she started to understand her roommate in why she had these images of Africa. Maybe her roommate only heard about the catastrophes and the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Adichie began to ask her audience what if her roommate knew a different side of Africa. “What if my roommate knew about the female lawyer who recently went to court in Nigeria to challenge a ridiculous law that required women to get their husband's consent before renewing their passports?

Kenya is a successful African-American female who is working her way up the ladder as an accountant. Expectations run high for Kenya. She becomes so involved in her work, that she never makes the time for some excitement in her life. Kenya has this unrealistic dream of finding the “perfect black man”, her friends tell her that she needs to let loose and expand her horizons. Kenya then agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly. Kenya is nervous to meet Brian, upon meeting him she cuts the date short because she realizes that he is a white man. Kenya’s parents are all about having the perfect status, and they have a set structure of how things should be for their children, and one of those things is dating/marrying someone of the same race. Kenya’s character is quite similar to Gay, and the privilege she was exposed to. In Peculiar Benefits when talking about her privilege she says, “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is accept and acknowledge my privilege. I’m a woman, a person of color, and the child of immigrants but I also grew up middle class and then upper middle class. My parents raised me and my siblings in a strict but loving environment.” (Gay, therumpus.net). Kenya feels that she has to conform to her parents’ morals,

In the second chapter White Tigers, Kingston explains how in Chinese culture women are inferior to men. The novel hits home on the issue of heterosexual relationships in which women are beneath men. Kingston explains that her family’s cultural beliefs and practices view women as a burden compared to men. She recounts that villagers would say “feeding girls is like feeding cowbirds”. By saying this the villager are comparing girls to animals. This comes from the belief that when a woman marries a man that you give your daughter to the family of her spouse. Kinston explains this when she says: “When you raise girls, you’re raising children for strangers.” The efforts of Women’s Suffrage are being recognized all over the world today, not only at home but in the workplace. My mother has spoken at events regarding women in the workplace. From her I get the initiative to believe that women are equal to men in every

Though Kenya’s impoverished and underdeveloped conditions were certainly not highlighted in the film, I believe it is important to observe. These conditions are best displayed by the state of the primary school. In the film, students were forced to sit 5 students to a desk and were crammed into a tiny room. Moreover, the Kenyans were highly grateful for the concept of free education. This highly contrasts the state of American schools, which are typically well funded. Americans are used to the concept of free education, so much so, that people now desire free higher education. I believe this theme is important to note because it is the key difference between the Kenyan and American

In modern day Africa homosexuality is illegal for gay men in 29 countries and for lesbians in 20 countries making homophobia a widespread epidemic. This legal status of homosexuals in