Powerful Discourses Regarding Women's Bodies

The Importance of the Biology/Society Dualism to the Gendered Body The body has played an important part in sociology to explain the differences between the two sexes, and why these differences exist. A lot of social debate is about the relationship between the biological and the social. At one end of the debate there are those who see activities such as sexual behaviour entirely based on biology, they are called biological determinists who argue that there is biological…

Power use is around us whether noticed or not. Power in Discourse Analysis is a medium to achieve an end. The end is for stronger of the two sides of the discourse. Power in discourse analysis is the use of language in a discourse allowing the person who acquires knowledge and high status in the discourse takes control of the discourse thus having the higher power. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss nature of power argued in Discourse Analysis, attempts made to define ‘power’ in social research…

Discourse of Sex and the Creation of Docile Bodies Subjection is a process that operates in society, and according to sociologist Michel Foucault, can be applied to a multiplicity of discourses. Foucault explains that the beginning of the nineteenth century marked the age of sexual repression and censorship, which became a time of subjection through exerting disciplinary control over a docile population. In his The Introduction to the History of Sexuality, Foucault explains how the scientification…

In her essay, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses,” Chandra Talpade Mohanty explores the simplified construction of the “third-world woman” in hegemonic feminist discourses. In contrast, in her essay “US Third-World Feminism: The Theory and Method of Oppositional Consciousness in the Postmodern World,” Chela Sandoval specifically analyzes “US third-world feminism” and how it is the model for not only oppositional political activity, but also consciousness in the United…

questions regarding existence and knowledge. Many philosophers attempt to satisfy them, such as René Descartes. Descartes was a modern philosopher and rationalist, or an advocate of “the view that through unaided reason we can come to know what the world is like” (792). Descartes attempts to seal conclusions on such questions by using his mathematical knowledge and relating them to philosophy. Traces of such views can be found in many famous works that include the Meditations and Discourse on the Method…

the accompanying images. Frequently, the representation relies on the use of stereotypes and cultural bias. The language used in news stories can be used to represent particular groups or cultures which conform to the existing stereotypes – it is a powerful tool by which the attitudes can be constructed, promoted or challenged. People in the news are defined by their gender, race, age, sexuality or religion and therefore can be exposed to discrimination on these grounds. Mostly, the representation of…

Women’s Bodies in Taoism “I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.” This powerful statement by Henry Emerson Fosdick so simply defines the concept of a common Chinese religion. Taoism is a religion practiced by many Asians and by people around the world. It is a religion that is so beautifully complex and yet based on principle as simple as breathing in and out. This paper will outline some basic…

Maquiladoras and the Exploitation of Women's Bodies Works Cited Missing In a changing economic and political climate gender stereotypes in Juárez, Mexico refuse to change. With an increasing number of women forced into the workplace in maquiladoras(1), men's position and women's assumed position in society is being challenged. This changing economic environment in an unchanging cultural environment is part of the reason that young women are disappearing being raped and mutilated before ultimately…

CIVIL SOCIETY The last section of our research project deals with the civil society discourse in a try to respond to our primary question regarding who is responsible for the tragedy of deaths at sea. Therefore, primarily, we attempt to give a concrete definition of the civil society and its engagement in European migration policy. Then, the second step is to give voice to International Organizations regarding their views on the matter of responsibility of National Governments, EU and Frontex in…

The women’s movement had been characterized by women's wish to acquire equal legal status to men by obtaining civil and political rights recorded in the Constitution and legislation. In Romania, the first wave of the feminist movement had been held simultaneously with the women’s movement in West, and it had been a movement of the elite, educated women with access to international information. An important period of this movement was before the establishment of the Romanian Constitution in 1923.…