Miss Piggy And Miss Housekeeping By Claudia Rankine Citizen

Are women really inferior to men? Of course not, but this is the mindset that has been a part of the world since the beginning. For a long time, even women did not believe that they measured up to men. In her book Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen wrote, "A women, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can (Gurko 1974, 5)." Beginning in the early 1900's, though, women began to want changes in society. They wanted to have a say in the decisions that were made, especially in the area of politics. They did not believe that men should be the only people allowed to vote, when they, too, were active members of society. Women's suffrage changed the face of

Men and women have always been unequal, and it has always been an issue of women wanting to be equal, and men wanting to be superior. Maybe in other countries across the globe they are more equal, but in America they are not as equal and women want them to be. Women are portrayed as the ones that are supposed to stay home and take care of the kids and cook and clean the house all the time. Men are supposed to be the workers of the family and they are not supposed to be the ones that cook the meals or clean the home. The man is supposed to be the worker, the woman is supposed to be the housewife, and women are supposed to give birth to kids

Equality involves the perceived idea that everyone is created equal. Although this is a concept that is all over America, it is more ideal rather than a reality. Equality is the idea that individuals are treated the same, regardless of their race, gender, or religion. Since the founding of

Therefore, the men feel they have superiority over the women and the women were thought to be small-minded about critical issues.

“But, I 'm already resigned to this fate / Looking over my life, I recall / If it hadn 't been / for the loneliness / I 'd have no companion at all. ” This stanza from “Loneliness”, by Lora Colon evokes the negative impact a lonely fate has on a person. Words like “resigned” and “loneliness” establish a sense of depression and resignation. During the times of the Great Depression, many people felt similar feelings of melancholy and stoicism. Jobs were hard to come by, and realistic dreams of success were scarce. John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, allows readers to see the life of the Great Depression. The two main characters, George and Lennie, search for jobs, like many other migrant workers. They dream of owning their own land, however, Lennie’s habit of getting in trouble prevents their dream from being reality. After he accidentally causes more trouble at their new job, George is forced to kill him out of mercy. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck shows that even if one meticulously plans out the road to their American Dream, fate will inevitably intervene and lead one to desolation and loneliness.

Imagine a person being labeled as inferior because of a complexion they cannot control. African Americans have been treated unfairly solely because of the color of their skin throughout history. The idea behind this is what is defined as colorism, which is the prejudice or discrimination against individual with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic group (Oxford Dictionary). Colorism has been prominent throughout history, allowing discrimination and hatred towards people with darker skin, more specifically African Americans. In a world filled with racism, prejudice, discrimination, colorism is another factor that has similar effects when it comes to the treatment of African Americans. Martin Luther Kings Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man both connect to the role that colorism plays in the lives of African Americans. Martin Luther King’s letter explicitly explains how society influences colorism and how it creates injustices. Ellison’s novel gives further insight on the more psychological and personal affect colorism has on Black people by using lots of symbolism in the novel throughout the novel to portray it. Constantly being put down because of how dark someone is will eventually lower an individual’s confidence, knowing that they will miss out on opportunities simply because they have darker skin. Colorism negatively affects how people treat African Americans and also how African Americans feel about themselves.

 equality – It means that regardless of our race, gender, or sexuality, everyone should be treated as equal and given the same opportunities to achieve their best.

Often times our society confuses equality for equal. Although the words may look same and share similar letters, the two have completely different definitions. As an African American citizen living in America I feel like we focus much on being equal opposed to having equality. Thus when having equality you are giving equal opportunity and more door become available, despite when being equal you are just like everyone else. However, unlike the novel “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I would rather have equality than to be one hundred percent equal to someone else. When making everyone equal you take away ones individuality, creativity, and strengths; eliminating competition and status feuds. Yet in order for them to make everyone equal they must instill fear and diagnoses everyone with false handicaps.

Anne Moody saw the true hideousness of racial violence shortly after beginning high school. Emmet Till was killed by a group of white men for merely whistling and showing interest in a white woman. Anne was surprised at how unaware she was to the things happening around her. I don 't remember if anyone was murdered, but back when I was in high school it was almost as if whites viewed it to be cardinal sin for an African American male to be with a white woman. This too was a time where I saw the true reality of what it was to be an African American versus a White American. Anne 's mother informed her to continue throughout life as if nothing happened but understandably she couldn 't. While working Anne could not focus and her rage began to display. Mrs. Burke made an attempt to talk to Anne concerning Emmet Till 's death but Anne acted as if she didn 't know what Mrs. Burke was speaking of. Mrs. Burke told her that that is what happens when black people step out of place with whites. It was at that point Anne began to fear for her life now learning the true outlook of being an African American. I see on a daily basis where African Americans accept injustice and move on with life as if it doesn 't matter. Instead of standing in the gap for what could very well hit home African Americans tend to turn a blind eye to the corruption and cruelty we face.

Throughout the novel it is apparent that everyday instances of racism occur, causing people of color to feel outcasted. There are two very obvious occasions where this happened. In the first instance two African American woman are in a workspace of primarily all white co-workers. When a woman they worked with got these two names mixed up, it was stated that she had a “fifty-fifty chance of getting it right” insinuating that these two women are the only black ones working here. Later, the woman who had the mix-up with the names wrote an apology note; however, in the note she stated it was “our mistake” and seemingly put part of the blame on the to women. This is a primary example of how African Americans can be thrown against a white background making them seem different than everyone else.

In History equality is very important because for white men we have always had equality but for example in the textbook its quotes " in 1776, there was no equality for the half million slaves who labored in the colonies. Nor was there equality for women, who were viewed as inferior to men in terms of their ability to participate in society." Right there it proves that in 1776 not all American had equality only those that the government felt that should have it. Next the book also says that we have achieved equality by abolishing slavery and granting the right of women voters even though we have done that we will most likely never achieve equality be cause there's always going to be other high in stats than other or richer or even poorer than others therefore we still have not reached equality completely until everyone is treated as the same type of social class as the next person after them. Another thing is equality in medical care as you realize or may not if a homeless person with no money were to try to seek medical care ey would be denied but if a billion dollar man were to be in the same situation they would not hesitate to help

“What is equality?” one might ask. We all have different views on specific topics and can describe what something truly means to one’s self like in the 3 text, “I have a dream,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (published; 8/28/1963, genre; narrative and argumentative), “If we must die,” by Claude Mckay (published; 1919, genre; narrative and lyric), & “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (published; October 1961, genre; satirical & dystopian science-fiction short story). In all 3 texts the authors are giving their touch on equality. Equality can convey being treated the same when a colored and a white man/woman are next to each other as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr says. You can also see equality as Mckay who thinks it’s being on the same level of strength and worth as a white man being in the shoes of a colored man. Or equality can be being exactly the same in every way as anyone around you in every exact way in Vonnegut’s eyes. All these 3 authors have a particular view on how to answer “What is equality?” and we can compare their ideas.

Equality is a way of treating everybody in an appropriate way that suits their needs without showing them up and treating them

What is equality? Is it just a political nomenclature or an ideological concept? Or is about working towards creating a fairer society in which each individual can enjoy his/her rights and freedom without any judgement considering that “[w]e will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.” Will Rogers (1924, p210).

The devaluation of women is built into the culture all through industry and popular culture. When a baby is born he/she is like a blank slate to be written on by his/her surroundings, including family and society. For example, I am a Christian, however I was not born a Christian, going to Church and being taught about the Bible by my parents and teachers brought me to identify myself as a Christian. There are certain gender roles that are set up in societies that limit males and females to certain behaviors they are "supposed" to portray. The media in many cultures, particularly American culture, continues make the devaluation of females more "socially acceptable".