The Critique Of Culture In The Sand Child By Tahar Ben Jelloun

Gender defined roles are continuously adapting to the new societal norms of the era. There is a surplus of historical events that have reimagined the traditional expectations of a man or women.

Throughout history, women have been regarded as of lesser value than men particularly in the public sphere. This is the result of gender stratification. Gender stratification refers to the issue of sexism, “or the belief that one sex is superior to the other” (Carl et al., 2012, p. 78). The theory that men are superior to women is essential to sexism. Sexism has always had negative consequences for women. It has caused some women to avoid pursuing successful careers typically described as “masculine”—perhaps to avoid the social impression that they are less desirable as spouses or mothers, or even less “feminine.”

Women have been downgraded and mistreated because of their gender. From birth, Women and Men grew up with very different rules to follow. Men were raised to be the head of the house and do work for a living. Growing up as little girls, women were taught to raise their kids and make food for their families. “Strong family structures were necessary because the family was the basis for all other institutions. The government, church, and community all worked through the nuclear family unit.”(“Gender and

And, finally, Fatima is shocked to learn that some older women in American culture get sent to the retirement centers away from their families (p. 185). First of all, lives of Iraqi women are centered on their womenfolk. Fatima feels sorry that Elizabeth is so far from her mother and all on her own in a foreign country. And then, the older age is the deserved age for Iraqi women when, after life hard work, they “enjoy the repose and respect as members of their children’s households.” (p. 185) Mothers pick wives for their sons. And, as in case of Laila’s friend, they can really spoil lives of their daughters-in-law if they choose to. “In spite of the relative obscurity in which these women lived” they had an incredible influence on men, their husbands and especially their sons. (p. 56) So, Fatima genially feels sorry for Elizabeth with her inferior American customs.

Porter, Katz, and Plait have very similar arguments. The problems lie within society’s cultural system. In order for there to be change adult men need to speak up and set examples. Instead of remaining quiet, men need to provide “powerful models of anti-sexist manhood to young men” (Katz). These expectations that society puts on men need to be diminished. It needs to be “made clear that sexist attitudes and behaviors are unwelcomed”

Gender order according to our text is labeled as “hierarchal” (2008), stating that “Men dominate women in terms of wealth, power, and social position, but not all men dominate all women” (2008). While this may be true, it is creating a divide between the two genders. This divide is apparent by looking at the pay scales between men and women, and even how the

In her memoir the princess Sultana expresses how she was looked down upon by the men of her country and how she was never loved by her father due to the lack of a male organ. She also describes that men are taught from an early age that they are superior to women in every way. They grow up witnessing their fathers abuse the women of the family, which leads them to scorn all females. By the time an Arab man marries he treats his wife as a virtual slave who must obey his every command. Throughout her life she witnesses many events that demonstrate these beliefs. Some of her earliest memories are of her older brother Ali and the abuses she suffered because of him (Sasson ch.1). The worst tragedy that occurred in the book was the marrying of Sultana’s sixteen year old sister to a man of sixty-eight. After five weeks of marriage her sister tried to commit suicide. Her husband was a sadistic who subjected her sister to horrible sexual

Theses: women's voices and opinions being suppressed, men being able to hold females as property, the double standard of males and females.

Ahmed, a product of society, is raised as a man and thus exhibits characteristics of a man. To receive the privileges granted to men, Ahmed conceals her feminine physique by binding her chest. Furthermore, her father trains her to be aggressive because society expects violence in men and weakness in women. “My father gave me a blow…and

Gender inequality is a social problem that is widespread in society. It is referred to as the unfair treatment of individuals based on one 's gender. Historically, laws have opposed women to go to school, access certain jobs, and purchase property. Gender inequality has been experience through culture – honor-killing, sex-selective abortion, and society – occupation, gender roles, and education. The social expectations of men and women differ between cultures that are constructed socially and culturally. These expectations are displayed in roles, and behavior believed both by men and women and their interdependent relationships. Gender inequality can be further understood through the structure of sexism. Discrimination takes place in gender inequality for the reason that men and women are treated on the basis of gender alone (Amjad, R., Ashfaq, M., Kousar, R., Saghir, A., 2010).

Social status and structures have definitely shaped the construction and experience of gender inequality. Men and women are constantly analyzed, compared, and grouped together in society. The result of this yields discrepancies in how sexes are viewed by society. Throughout my examination and explanation of gender inequality, I concluded both men and women are victims to gender inequality.

Gender stratification is the cuts across all aspects of social life and social classes. It refers to the inequality distribution of wealth, power and privilege between men and women at the basis of their sex. The world has been divided and organized by gender, which are the behavioural differences between men and women that are culturally learnt (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1997:218). The society is in fact historically shaped by males and the issue regarding the fact has been publicly reverberating through society for decades and now is still a debatably hot topic. Men and women have different roles and these sex roles, defined to be the set of behaviour’s and characteristics that are standard for each gender in a society (Singleton, 1987) are

The economics of intimate partner relationships play a role in patriarchy and the reinforcement of women abuse. Martin (1981) states that meritocracy is a discourse that everyone has equal opportunity in the workforce. It fails to recognize the barriers that prevent people from having the same opportunities as others. For instance, women face many social pressures that prevent them from working in the public sphere such as discrimination, sexism, being pushed down to apply for certain jobs because it dominated by males and may not have the physical requirement like body mass. Martin (1981) argues that capitalism supports patriarchal families and the idea that a woman's place is considered to be in the private sphere, the home, while a man is to be in the public sphere. Martin (1981) states that capitalism is about competition and succeeds when barring disadvantage or vulnerable populations including women from advancing to the top of the hierarchy so that people, predominantly white males, would remain in power. One strategy to prevent women from advancing in their career is to receive minimum wage and less income than men which therefore makes them easily replaceable in the work force. This defines women as temporary workers (p. 41). This leaves women economically dependent on men and gives a reason

Throughout history, countless acts of gender inequality can be identified; the causes of these discriminating accounts can be traced back to different causes. The general morality of the inequity relies on a belief that men are superior to women; because of this idea, women have spent generations suffering under their counterparts. Also, a common expectation is that men tend to be more assertive and absolute because of their biological hormones or instinctive intellect. Another huge origin is sexual discrimination; even in the world today, many women are viewed by men as just sex objects rather than a real human being with

According to Helsin, Possamai and Possamai-Inesedy (2011 p. 625) gender stratification occurs when a specific gender has unequal access to power, property and prestige. As gender is classed as a master status it forms a significant structural characteristic within society (Helsin, Possamai & Possamai-Inesedy 2011, p. 310). Therefore, it is society, through social construction that determines what gender norms are considered appropriate and can be passed through generations of people via agents of socialisation such as family, mass media or in the form of symbolic interaction (Macionis & Plummer 1997, pp. 139-141).