...and gender identity is and most importantly the difference between the two. As your biological sex is what you were born with (determined by your genitals) and your gender is your choice to whom you identify your self as. Before I go on, at this stage society will perceive this person with the genitalia of a male to identify them self as a ‘male’ or ‘man’. I find myself spreading awareness of this particular topic, especially to others with a similar age to me who may have never been aware or thoughtful towards such a subject. Finding it overwhelming, as many are either unknowledgeable or resistant to acquire such facts. I find the need to correct someone when they may ‘presume’ ones gender, implying so many of them speak with such cisnormativity which is the assumption of everyone being cisgender (whose gender and sex align). If your ‘sex’ is determined by your physical state, then your gender is your ‘mental’ state. First I must inform that gender goes beyond simply ‘male’ or ‘female’, we must destroy the idea of ‘gender binary’ as there is bigender, cisgender and agender. With bigender being both genders, cisgender being a gender that aligns with their biological sex and lastly agender, which is ‘with-out gender’. Once someone is knowledgeable of these basic terms, this can cause them to see people is such a different light. I myself have started to prevent cisnormativity, simply through not presuming ‘they’ may not be cisgender. It leads on to the curiosity of ‘gender’ it...
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...Gender, sexuality and visual representation Introduction Artist Mary Stevenson Cassatt, who shared the revolutionary ideas of artists such as Degas and Monet, was born on 22 May 1844 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although women were not encouraged to pursue a career, Mary enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts at the age of sixteen. She quickly felt frustrated by the male faculty and students who were patronising and resentful of her attendance. Regardless of these obstacles and her father’s disapproval of her career choice, she continued to pursue art and painting. Cassatt, an impressionist painter, did not conform to standard male images of women and therefore her paintings differ from the more general male representations, especially of women readers during the Victorian period. Cassatt expresses her world through women and therefore “…offers a new vision of the unconsidered facts of everyday bourgeois life…” (Yeh, 1976:359). Cassatt’s work is regarded by Yeh (1976:359) as women-centred art as she regards women as complete within themselves. In her work she represents women as independent, pursuing interests which are not necessarily directed toward the need of her family. Reading women, portraying the reader’s inner strength often occur as a theme in her paintings. Femininity in the Victorian era In the latter Victorian period women artists and their work were considered inferior. In an attempt to overcome the stereotypical female image their...
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...The aim of this essay is to identify how gender is represented within the media, particularly looking at examples from the television show How I Met Your Mother (Fox, 2005-2014). Looking at how both male and females have been stereotyped, how it affects the audiences, using research from scholars Stuart Hall, Gaye Tuchman & George Gerbner to support and extract information to my argument. Representation has been defined by Oxford dictionaries as ‘the act of speaking or acting on behalf of someone’(Oxford dictionaries, Online, 2015). Media representation are the ‘ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective’ (Twin cities, Online, 2015)...
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...“With reference to your own detailed examples explore the representation of the gender in the media today” The media influences how certain genders should take certain roles in our society. For example, men are stereotyped to be masculine and heroic whereas in everyday life, that is not the case. Representation is the way in which people are presented and perceived or interpreted in a particular way. Firstly is the New Man ( breaking the stereotype), this example is from the Amazing Spiderman. In the film, Andrew Garfield is presented as being the hero, but he approaches it in a different way. It proves that the hero is not traditionally ‘macho’ or aggressive as he is a geekier/nerdy lead character which goes against the norm. Also he is not afraid to be seen as smart and being clever due to him having a positive attitude. His iconography is that he is dressed as Peter Parker; which reflects his desire to ‘blend in’ with his 2 identities. When is being Spiderman, the colour pallet is always brighter. It also tells us that he is young, which creates audience identification. The mise-en-scene of the settings reflects his surroundings. For instance, in the city, he looks out of place, whereas at home, the lighting and colour pallet reflects his clothing. In The Amazing Spiderman, the lead still follows the stereotype to a certain extent as the lead is still a male, where he is still actively saving the day and the female role. He is not the victim in the film and is defined...
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...Should the Electoral system used in general elections in the UK be reformed? The election system that we currently have in the UK is a lot like marmite, you either love it or you hate it… There are many different arguments for and against this system, however people forget that within getting rid of the First Past the Post system, you will then need to then replace it. This then poses the vital question of which is the best fitting system and should we really change tradition? First past the post is a simple plurality system which requires the plurality of votes to win: that is one more vote than the second candidate. There is no requirement to obtain the votes cast. In contests involving three or more candidates, the winner may fall well short of an overall majority. MPs are elected in a single member constituencies. Each of the 650 constituencies in the UK elects one representative to the House of Commons. There has been a long running debate on this issue, as there are other electoral systems being currently used I the UK for other things for example the Supplementary vote used the elections of the London Mayer. People argue that one of the other electoral systems could replace the First past the Post, in May 2011 a referendum was held asking the public if they would want to change to the system to AV. This was a resounding ‘no’, which makes the question of a possible reform purely hypothetical at this moment in time. Was this because people do in fact like the FPTP system...
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...Electoral systems There are two main types of electoral systems in the UK: First Past the Post (FPTP) Proportional Representation (PR) First Past the Post (FPTP) FPTP is the voting system used for the election of MPs to 'seats' in the UK Parliament. It is a system in which the 'winner takes all' and usually gives a clear majority both at constituency and national level. This means that a candidate in a constituency only needs one more vote than the nearest rival to win the seat. Similarly, political parties only need to win one more seat in the House of Commons to have a majority. Advantages of FPTP There is very little chance of extremist parties being elected to Parliament under FPTP because they are unlikely to gain enough votes in any one constituency. Generally the results of elections using FPTP can be calculated quickly. When necessary, this makes the transfer of power from one party to another much easier. Disadvantages of FPTP The main criticism of FPTP is that the number of votes cast for a party in general elections is not accurately reflected in the number of seats won. An example of this was the 1997 election when the Conservatives gained 18% of the vote in Scotland but not one seat. This is mirrored at constituency level, where the winning candidate may have received only one third of the votes cast. Indeed, a government may be elected on a minority vote, as happened in 1974 when Labour won the general election on the number of seats gained...
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...BTEC PUBLIC SERVICES ASSESSMENT 2 Understanding the Democratic Election process in the UK Introduction: What is UK Election? A formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position in UK is called Election. According to fixed term parliament act on 15th September, 2011 the next election will be held on 7th of May 2015.The act provides for general elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every five years. There are two provisions that trigger an election other than at five year intervals. A motion of no confidence is passed in Her Majesty's Government by a simple majority and 14 days elapses without the House passing a confidence motion in any new Government formed A motion for a general election is agreed by two thirds of the total number of seats in the Commons including vacant seats (currently 434 out of 650) Previous to this act, the duration of a Parliament was set at five years, although many were dissolved before that, at the request of the Prime Minister to the Queen. ●text: http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/general/ Importance of Election Education: Instructors, counsellors and others who work with young people play an important role in Educating new and future voters about the electoral process. For this reason it is important that those who work with youth do what they can to educate youth about the democratic process. In the 2005 British Columbia general election, only 35% of eligible...
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...political climates, and they gained different levels of influence within government as a result. The emergence of the German Greens in the twentieth century coincided with the rise of new social movement protests during the 1960s 1970s. This movement brought about a heightened awareness of social and environmental problems among new-left student populations, as well as citizen action groups, that helped set the stage for a “Green challenge within the electoral process” (Burchell, 2002, p. 53). The German Greens achieved their first electoral breakthrough at the federal level in October 1983, with 5.6 percent of the vote and the election of 27 Green deputies (Burchell, 2002, p. 53). In the Germans’ case, the structure of proportional representation served as a...
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...“democratic” electoral system… Firstly, the main issue within the first past the post system is the democratic persona it creates; due to the fact that only the votes of the successful party are counted and the remaining votes (no matter how close) are discounted therefore making it based on a “winner takes all” system and in effect, undermining the remaining candidates as well as electorates whose votes are discounted. This can be seen evidently in the 2010 general elections as although labour had won 258 seats, conservatives had won 307 seats therefore stating conservatives had received more votes than all other parties and so their votes are the only one that count whilst all other votes are redundant. Systems involving proportional representation, such as the Additional Member System (AMS) are more democratic as electorates receive two votes so they have an impact to the results as both votes are counted. However, this is not all entirely true as in a first past the post system; parties still have to reach a certain number of seats in order to earn a majority and thus avoid a coalition. On the other hand, not all is negative for the system; FPTP is considered to be a simple and publicly accepted. This is a positive outlook on the...
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...The current electoral system has been constantly assessed and targeted by civilians who believe that First Past The Post is no longer effective and should be gotten rid of. Even though it lost in the 2011 referendum, People still believe the electoral system should be changed, especially the liberal democrats who are in favour of this change because they would benefit. FPTP is a simple plurality system the candidate with the most votes in one constituency becomes a MP and then the party with the most MPs becomes the government. The first reason i think the electoral system should be reformed is that the system is very unrepresentative as large mainstream parties with their supporters concentrated in certain constituencies do well and win. For example the constituency of Buckingham is highly populated with conservative supporters meaning that any other people living in that area who want to vote for labour or any other parties will continuously lose, so their votes are wasted and even more votes are wasted if losing parties' supporters are spread out rather than concentrated making it unfair especially to fringe parties. However, even though it can be seen as unrepresentative, it is quote an efficient method as it usually guarantees that one party will win the majority and become the government making it easier to pass laws in parliament unless there is a coalition which would lead to clashes in ideas. Another argument for reform is that minority governments are formed...
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...“democratic” electoral system… Firstly, the main issue within the first past the post system is the democratic persona it creates; due to the fact that only the votes of the successful party are counted and the remaining votes (no matter how close) are discounted therefore making it based on a “winner takes all” system and in effect, undermining the remaining candidates as well as electorates whose votes are discounted. This can be seen evidently in the 2010 general elections as although labour had won 258 seats, conservatives had won 307 seats therefore stating conservatives had received more votes than all other parties and so their votes are the only one that count whilst all other votes are redundant. Systems involving proportional representation, such as the Additional Member System (AMS) are more democratic as electorates receive two votes so they have an impact to the results as both votes are counted. However, this is not all entirely true as in a first past the post system; parties still have to reach a certain number of seats in order to earn a majority and thus avoid a coalition. On the other hand, not all is negative for the system;...
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...constituency a candidate has to gain a minimum of a one vote advantage over the nearest rival. This system is not proportional which means that for every constituency there is only one MP representing them in Parliament. Even though the FPTP system has come under criticism, it remains as the electoral system used for Westminster and local government elections, and its advantages are the following. The FPTP system is very simple and easy to understand. The voters only have to write an “X” to indicate their choice. There is no need to rank candidates or to make more than one preference, in contrast to other more complicated systems where confusion arises. For example, there are a huge number of spoilt papers under various types of Proportional Representation as a result of voter confusion. In Scotland when STV was used there were thousands of spoilt ballot papers. However it could be argued that the advantage of ease is overrated as the electorate could be prepared enough to cope with another system as they do in other countries such as Germany or Switzerland. Speed is another lauded attribute of FPTP. We can get the results in constituencies just hours after the polls close and a verdict on who will secure the ability to govern alone before the next dawn breaks. By contrast other electoral systems can take days to calculate as votes are redistributed. In the Republic of Ireland it can take many days to discover who has the ability to form a government as recounts and redistributions...
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...for. First Past the Post (FPTP) The British electoral system is based on the FPTP system. This system is very clear-cut and definitive, the candidate with the highest number of votes in a constituency wins. In order to vote in a FPTP system you simply mark a cross (X) next to the name of the candidate you are choosing. Alternative Vote (AV) Voters must rank the candidates on the ballot paper in order of preference. If a candidate receives 50 per cent or more of first preferences then they are elected. If not, then the candidate with the lowest number of first choices is eliminated and their second choices are redistributed to the other candidates. This process continues until one candidate has an absolute majority. Proportional Representation Publicity and Electioneering Activities It is important that a candidate becomes well known in the area they are hoping to represent and to this end they will often...
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...Table of Contents Motivation 1 Introduction 2 Definitions and Explanations 3 Merits and Demerits of the Plurality and PR systems 4 Analysis 5 Conclusion Motivation The motivation behind selecting the assignment topic is that elections and the understanding of the electoral systems seem to be at the center of understanding Political Governance 1 Introduction In discussing the assignment question the paper will endeavor to first provide definitions and explanations for the terms; democracy, representative democracy, electoral systems, plurality system and proportional representation. The presentation will proceed to identify and analyze the merits and demerits of the plurality and proportional representation electoral systems with reference to the practice in South Africa and Zambia. However, the analysis on the merits and demerits of the two electoral systems will be preceded with a discussion on the relevance of elections in a democracy. In conclusion, the presentation will strive to augment the viewpoint(s) developed from the analysis and offer an opinion as to whether it would be beneficial for South Africa to adopt the plurality electoral system. 2 Definitions and Explanation The word democracy is one that has a variety of versions in practice and theory, however, according to Johari (2013, p. 491) almost all governments proclaim to be democratic.1 Hague and Harrop (2010, p.84) write that the core principle of...
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...Altruism is the will and intention to help another without regard for oneself. The will or instinct to help others is a driving force for altruistic behavior. Animals can engage in altruistic behavior; however they do not realize that they are being altruistic, therefore the behavior that is exhibited is not altruistic. For a behavior to be altruistic one needs to understand that they are benefiting others at their expense. Humans possess the will necessary to perform altruistic deeds, and can put it to great use. Humans are still animals, and may perform altruistic behaviors without realizing it. Altruism in politics is rare, but it is necessary to prevent social groups from being outcast. A proportional representation system will allow for altruism by helping minorities be represented at all times, while not requiring the current majority to relieve their representative power. Frans deWaal shows that alrutism is actually more natural than it seems, despite the apparent inconsistencies they present. Altruism is a choice to help others over one’s self. Only humans can be truly altruistic, as humans have the potential to make choices and realize their consequences almost completely, however seemingly altruistic events due occur naturally in the animal kingdom. “Taking on the midwife role another female spent no less than two and a half hours assisting the in experienced mother”(deWaal 688). The helper bat did know actually know and think about its actions and consequences. The...
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