Societys Influence On Society - 1953 Words

Society in its greatest forms is diverse however, nowadays it seems that much has changed. People are now saying that they themselves are diverse except as Mr. Kenneth Gibbs Jr. said, â€Å"diversity is a property of groups, not individuals†. This idea that diversity cannot be found in any one person and only in a group shows that society has a lot to gain from supporting it. In many ways this has changed though, society, as seen in the next few paragraphs, has gone through a horrible change that has led to it segregating certain cultures and praising others.This will only further show that society has much to gain from supporting a culturally diverse community and environment. In the past decade so much has happened that society has changed†¦show more content†¦What he is saying is that the word diversity is so overused that it has been warped to fit the ideal American. This is causing the segregation and hatred for others in this new generation, but it is also causing more acceptance. Children, the new generation, nowadays are more acceptable to different cultures and the people in them. They, as the future of any culture, have mostly managed to grasp the concept of being accepting. This something that their parents haven’t quite yet understood. In New Zealand Kirsty Johnson, an education reporter, wrote about the kids going to school New Zealand and how they were with the cultural difference between themselves and the other students. â€Å"One student was specifically asked about the others reacted to her headscarf, she merely replied, ‘no one cares’†. As Kristy stated, â€Å"Race is of no particular concern to the kids, though they re proud of where they come from†, she is stating that the kids of this school show no judgment towards each other, this level of accepting is just one of the things that society can gain by being supportive of the cultural difference in any environment. Another thing that society can gain from an env ironment of culturally diverse people is that they will know more about the many different cultures around them. It is important that society learns that not everyone that is different is

The Issue Of Child Marriage - 1637 Words

Introduction In the United States, marriage is seen as a sacred and consensual institution, but in developing countries, many children are introduced to marriage in a different manner. According to the United Nations Population Fund, one girl in every three is married before the age of eighteen in developing countries (Child Marriage, 1). Are the measures previously taken by the International Law community that attempt to put and end to child marriages an effective measure to stop this violation of human rights? I argue that, although there are substantial International Law actions already attempted at ending this barbarism, I do not believe that they are enough to prevent the circumstances that child marriages spring from, including†¦show more content†¦Finally, I will explain potential solutions for this issue and what the international community should be doing. During my research, I find that the current attempt to stop child marriages is weak and a great deal of the fig ht is emerging from non-profit organizations, which can only do so much to fight the issue. I find that the main reason that this occurs throughout the world is because of the exceptions allowed, contrary to the minimum age of 18 for marriage in most countries. Because this is a severe human rights issue on children, the International Law community should step in further and move this up in the agenda to fight and prevent the perpetrators causing such atrocities. Background According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, child marriages, marriages where at least one of the parties is under the age of 18, began when mothers and families started to force their teenage daughters into marriage at an early age to prevent them from rape as well as to secure a safe economic future for their daughters (Child Marriage and the Law, 1). This issue is very prevalent in countries such as Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Niger, being the most prevalent country, is reported to have â€Å"every three in four girls married before their 18th birthday† (Where Does It Happen, Girls Not Brides). In addition to this heavy statistic, Girls Not Brides also reports that globally â€Å"more than 30% of today’s women were married before their 18th

Disability and Sport Hypermasculinity Explored Free Essays

string(118) " to increase box office and rental sales, narratives are filed with homogenizing representations and saleable themes\." Whether you prefer â€Å"the Blade Runner†, â€Å"the Man Without Legs†, â€Å"the Fastest Man on No Legs† or Oscar Pistorius, this young man’s story will serve as a case study of mainstreaming in ‘disability sports’, specifically in the film Murderball. Pistorius is a 21-year-old South African below the knee amputee who won gold in the 100, 200 and 400 meter events at the 2006 Paralympic Athletics World Championships. Pistorius was regarded as being fast enough to earn a spot for the 200- and 400-meter sprints on South Africa’s Olympic team. We will write a custom essay sample on Disability and Sport: Hypermasculinity Explored or any similar topic only for you Order Now Pistorius asked to be allowed to run in the Olympics if he would qualify for his country’s Olympic team. The world governing body for track and field (IAAF) ruled on 14 January 2008 – invoking its rule 144. 2 which deals with technical aids – â€Å"that double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius is ineligible to compete in the Beijing Olympics because his prosthetic racing legs give him a clear competitive advantage† (IAAF, 2008). The story of Pistorius well serve as the example of attempted mainstreaming of disability in sports, on the elite international front. Does the film Muderball make progress in mainstreaming disability through sport? The merits of the film will be analyzed through the lens of the relationship sport and disability, as well as its connotations for mainstreaming in disability. Murderball presents a unique opportunity to reflect on representations of disability in the contemporary North American context. The narrative of the film constructs a rugby wheelchair rivalry between Team U. S. A. , captained by Mark Zupan, and Team Canada, coached by Joe Soars. Murderball does exceptionally well in muddling the notions of people with disabilities as fragile and helpless, countering ableist assumptions about what persons with quadriplegia can accomplish. However, based on a close reading of the film, it is suggested that Murderball accomplishes this disruption through the celebration of ableist, sexist and heterosexist tropes. The following is a critique the film’s construction of the relationship between competitive international sport settings, disability, and masculinity by drawing on anti-normative politics. It is proposed that recuperations of normative identity in Murderball rely on a jingoistic and violent moral authority, while subjecting themselves to the constraints of normalcy. Due to its popularity and its subject matter, the film presents a unique opportunity to reflect on representations of disability, through the unique lens of sport, in the contemporary North American context. In portraying disabled men participating in a highly risk involving contact sport in intensely belligerent nationalist settings, the film differs from the majority of North American cinematic portrayals of disability. As Irving Zola, in his Missing Pieces: A Chronicle of Living With a Disability, points out that â€Å"the use of the concept of danger was questionable, for a basic human right  is the right to take  risks†, a right which a quadreplegic does not surrender. Murderball serves to humanize disability in this regard. It was compelling to undertake a critical examination of the film that Murderball works exceptionally well to disrupt notions of people with disabilities as fragile and helpless, and that disability was humanized through the story presented. Kurt Lindemann and James Cherney (2008) similarly argue that: â€Å"wheelchair rugby is itself a communicative act that sends a complex message to both the community of sport and our broader social collectives that counters ableist assumptions about what persons with quadriplegia can accomplish† (p. 08). Within the discipline of disability studies, premises of disability have evolved in the last several decades. Nigel Thomas and Andy Smith (2009) note that there has been â€Å"a shift from medical, individualized definitions and ideologies of disability to more socially constructed explanations of disability, which place more responsibility for disability on mainstream society† (p. 23). The medical model, however, is not without its merits. Disability has become a topic in sport sociology with increasing depth in recent years. Themes that have commonly been addressed include: disability sport policies, governing bodies, and the opportunities for participation they provide; media portrayals of disability sport; the ways that athlete’s identities are negotiated through medical and social models of disability; and the role sports play in managing the stigmatization of athletes with disabilities. Within the study of the sociology of sport masculinity has become a dominant topic of discussion. David Howe and Carwyn Jones (2006) consider the classification of disabled athletes into competitive classes in amateur associations and Paralympic competition. They claim that the International Paralympic Committee has marginalized the disability sports community by controlling classification systems and imposing restrictions on opportunities for equitable sports practice. Their justification is, that this threatens the ideology of Paralympism while ignoring the empowerment of non-elite athletes (Howe Jones, 2006, p. 44). While providing an analysis of sport’s structure, choices, and fairness for participants of all abilities, Howard Nixon (2007) advocates for the creation of diverse sports opportunities for people with disabilities. My critique of Murderball does not extend to the sport’s governing body, or policies that effect the sport, however the case study of Oscar Pistorius serves this exact purpose. How do individuals with disabilities negotiate their identities through sport? Both social and medical models of disability affect disability sport participants’ identity formation, while success in international disability sport may lead to positive subjectivity, changed self-understanding, and an increased sense of personal empowerment. Much research of participation in disability sports at the school age indicates that physical activity is a normalizing experience for these children as it facilitates friendships and social identity (Taub Greer, 2000). The problems of normative aspects of the representation of athletes with disabilities in Murderball demonstrates that people with profound disabilities can be aggressive and athletic. It must be noted that all of the people with disabilities depicted in Murderball are elite athletes in international competition who are shown making aggressive plays on the court and whose off court commentary is full of macho bravado. The limited representation of people with disabilities in popular films may be partially attributed to the pursuit of profit. In attempt to appeal to the largest audience possible and to increase box office and rental sales, narratives are filed with homogenizing representations and saleable themes. You read "Disability and Sport: Hypermasculinity Explored" in category "Essay examples" Normative narratives allow the maximum projected audience to relate to the story, by relaying common themes such as normative masculinity Murderball subscribes to this familiar scheme by placing the athletes at the center of a very conservative political project. The film positions quad-rugby players as worthy subjects of the documentary according to their ability to participate in a sport that requires affirmations fitting with normative masculinity such as power, violence, hypersexuality, and strength. Meanwhile, The players’ contentions with stereotypes associated with disability is unfortunately overtaken by a seemingly constant reiteration of the athletes’ capacity for athletic competition, and this is demonstrated through their sport participation and physicality. This situates the athletes’ conformity to hegemonic masculinity in that â€Å"the athletic male body has been a mark of power and moral superiority for those who bear it† (Dutton in Dworkin ; Wachs, 2000, p. 49). The opening scene effectively illustrates the ethos of the film in this respect. Mark Zupan undresses and gets himself ready for a workout. As he begins to dress in athletic shorts, he removes his shirt revealing a defined white, muscular torso, his physical presence doesn’t seem weak or fragile. He is clearly capable of dressing himself, the absence of a sound track is noted as uncharacteristic for contemporary North American cinema. This leaves an uncomfortable silence as accompaniment for an intimate moment rarely depicted on camera. The mere fact that he has an obvious impairment and uses a wheelchair is also atypical for popular cinema. This silent visual representation provides context for the film’s opening credits and sets up the primary subject of the film. The uncomfortable image is contrasted with Mark Zupan’s capacity to be independent and fill the screen with his presence. His large bold tattoo is featured in the center of the picture as he lifts his leg with his hands. Zupan assembles a wheelchair highlighting its mechanical efficiency with close up shots of nuts, bolts, spokes and a battered metal surface covered with an American flag sticker. An electric motor makes noise, as the wheels are pumped up. The name Zupan is affixed to the pump with athletic tape. Although he does not represent completely normative masculinity as a man with a disability, the other aspects of his presence in this scene – his strength, his ability to perform complex technical tasks self sufficiently, and his loud tattoo and goatee – are symbolic of a strong masculine physicality. His embodiment also works to code his non-conformity as marketable. On a surface level, then, the film’s popularity can be considered a success for disability cultural activist movement. It is an authentic portrayal of a disabled subculture that avoids the traditional narrative traps of many mainstream disability films. The audience is immediately directed to check their well- intentioned sympathies at the door, along with any preconceived notions about the fragility of the disabled body. Disability sexuality, a taboo and uncomfortable ground for many non-disabled viewers, is reclaimed with a vengeance. Indeed, one of the difficulties in analyzing Murderball is that its most radical features are simultaneously its most conventional. Thus, while non-disabled viewers may find their assumptions and stereotypes challenged by the masculine sexual bravado of Murderball’s quadriplegic rugby players, there may be a simultaneous sense of relief at the ironclad endurance of male heterosexual privilege. Heterosexuality no longer functions as evidence that a disabled masculinity has finally been ‘cured’; instead, it is the masculinization of disability that holds the power to rehabilitate heteronormativity from its own gender trouble. Therefore, Murderball serves as an interesting case study of the intersection between disability studies and masculinity. The popularity of this film demonstrates a powerful cultural backlash against representational histories that have conflated feminization, male homosexuality, and disability. The film successfully remasculinizes its subjects, celebrating disability and strength, resulting in the inevitable hypermasculine body. Ironically, the rhetoric of masculinity in Murderball is also the source of its anatgonism. The film’s ‘crip’ critique of able-bodiedness relies on repeated heteromasculine performances. A close reading of the film reveals masculinity as the visual mechanism through which disability is beginning to find its place on the contemporary cultural stage. Murderball harnesses the normalizing powers of masculinity, presenting a narrative of gender that helped to generate mainstream appeal in the box office and, more importantly, mainstream approval of a stigmatized social identity. A question that must be mentioned is what does the film Muderball mean for quadripelegic women? The same logic that masculinizes the quadriplegic or paraplegic man also functions to both masculinize and desexualize the quadriplegic or paraplegic woman. Disabled women, and particularly disabled female athletes, are not celebrated as having been liberated from oppressive conventions of gender, nor are they given access to normative femininity. Indeed the few images of disabled women that the documentary presents function more as a set of brief snapshots that, while easy to miss, momentarily interrupt the temporal, and often verbal, logic through which these ‘boys’ become ‘men’. These more or less static images haunt the film’s perimeter, a subtle threat to the coherence of a narrative that celebrates quadriplegia as the natural outcome of the hypermasculine male body. The concept of mainstreaming has been prominently constant in the world of disability for many years, while its definition has evolved substantially. Mainstreaming, initially referring to merely placing individuals with disabilities in regular classes with able-bodied individuals, was introduced in the 1960s (Reynolds, 1962). The majority of professionals in the disability field did not accept mainstreaming. It was mostly regarded as â€Å"a statement of what could or should be possible† (Aufesser, 1991). Initially, the premise of mainstreaming only included integrating those with ‘mild disabilities’ and definitely not those with physical disabilities. During the movement of deinstitutionalization in the 1970s, the definition of mainstreaming underwent a significant shift. The ‘new’ interpretation of mainstreaming is highlighted by the Cascade System, a model first proposed by Reynolds in 1962 and amended and reintroduced by Deno in 1970. This revolution, of sorts, gave way to new terms such as ‘normalization’, ‘least restrictive alternative’, and ‘continuum of service’. The Cascade System can be characterized as a two-box system in which parallel but separate educational programs for regular and special education operate within school buildings. The implementation of the Cascade system was difficult at best, and nonexistent a lot of the time. The model helped create understanding and support around a better system that â€Å"facilitates tailoring of treatment to individual needs rather than a system for sorting out children so they will fit conditions designed according to group standards not necessarily suitable for the particular case† (Deno, 1970, p. 35). The philosophy behind this model is commendable and is the only logical framework within which to develop a system of mainstreaming. Therefore, Murderball has already been mainstreamed in some regards. The excitement and intensity of the sport attract a large following, able-bodied and disabled alike. The stories of Pistorius and Mark Zupan extend beyond bionic runners and wheelchair rugb y. Several other issues arose as a result of the Pistorius controversy. Can the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, the newest human rights instrument for people with disabilities, give some guidance? By invoking the rule 144. 2 and dealing with technical aids for Olympic, Paralympic, other-lmypic, and international sport, it opened the dialogue for further progress. The future of ‘enhancements’ and their impact on the Olympics, Paralympics, other-lympic, and international sport has not been thoroughly researched, and it is expected that an increase work into this issue will emerge. Another interesting dynamic that is touched upon is the relationship between the Olympics, Paralympics, other –lympics and international sports. Will we be exposed to any changes in the relationship between the ‘lympics’ due to the Pistorius case? Bottom of Form Deno, E. (1970). Special education as developmental capital. Exceptional Children, 37, mildly retarded—Is much of it justifiable? 229-237. Works Cited Dworkin, S. , ; Wachs, F. (2000). The Morality/Manhood Paradox. In J. McKay (Ed. ), Masculinities, gender relations, and sport. (pp. 47—65). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Hoare, Q. ; Nowell Smith, J. (Trans. ; Eds. ). New York: International Publishers. Howe, P. D. , ; Jones, C. (2006). Classification of disabled athletes: (Dis)empowering the Paralympic practice community. Sociology of Sport Journal, 23(1), 29—46. â€Å"IAAF Oscar Pistorius – Independent Scientific study concludes that cheetah prosthetics offer clear mechanical advantages†, International Association of Athletics Federations, 14 Jan 2008, available at:http://www. aaf. org/news/newsId=42896,printer. html; Kurt Lindemann and James L. Cherney. â€Å"Communicating In and Through â€Å"Murderball†: Masculinity and Disability in Wheelchair Rugby. †Ã‚  Western Journal of Communication  (2008): 107-25. Lead Article. Taub, D. E. , ; Greer, K. R. (1998). Sociology of acceptance revisited: Males with physical disabilities participating in sport and physical fitness activity. Dev iant Behavior, 19(3), 279—302. Thomas, N. , ; Smith, A. (2009). Disability, sport and society: An introduction. New York: Routledge. How to cite Disability and Sport: Hypermasculinity Explored, Essay examples

Jesus Essay Thesis Example For Students

Jesus Essay Thesis It is finished! John 19:30. What Christ is referring to here is theaccomplished salvation of the people. What that means is that when we aresaved,we do not have to put out burnt saccrifices up to Him. It is no longer neededbecause Christ died for us, which took away the iniquities of our sin. He didthis out of great love for us. This is exemplified in John 3:16 For God soloved the world that he gave his only begotton son that who so ever belief inhim shall have eternall life!. That verse is very important to us, or should be,because in a way, one could base his/her relationship with the Lord upon it. Thereason is because God loved us so much that he did that for us so that is theleast that we could do. In Genesis 3:15 it says that we will be punished for oursins. Yes, that is true, but God will forgive and forget them if we repent. Yousee this is not possible without Jesus dying for our sins. In Romans 5:6-8 itsays that Christ died for all of us. Even the bad ones, ALL. This is a sign ofthe Victory that Christ had won a victory here. The reason is because of all ofthe lifes that he saved and will later be saved. In Romans 5 it says that Jesusdied for All Sinners! We are all sinners so his death was for all. When Jesus says that It is finished, he can also be reffering to the olderpredictions of Christs life. There is one in particular that it might have beentalking about in Isaiah. That is the one in which Isaiah talks of the life ofJesus and the crusifiction, in very short and brief detail. The suffering in which Jesus took for us lasted all through the night, and thenin the morning the thrusted a sword into His side to see if he was alive. Afterthe water poored out of His side, you can say that it is officially over. In myheart it is not completely over, just that of that era. Jesus will always livein my heart and not until the very end times is it over in my heart. When the life of Jesus was over, at the same exact time God tore the cloth inthe temple from the top to the bottom. The reason it had to have been God isthat no one would be capable of tearing it from the top. This was to show thewrath of God that He had upon the world at this time. I am sure that He feltbadfor His son for having to go through all of this. God loved the world so muchthat He did this for us though. We should all acknowledge the fact that is thereason for the crucifiction. This little message actually means a whole lot to me. I feel that when he saidthat It is finished, he was reffering to the fact that we no longer have tosacrifice. I believe that this is a very strong statement to believers, thatthey would acknowledge the love and a lesson to the non-Christians that theywould possibly just think about it a little and maybe they will also think alittle more about how they are living their life. I feel that we all DO fallshort of the glory of God, but we a supposed to do the best we can to be moreand more like Him. I love my lord with all my heart and will continue to mywhole life.Words/ Pages : 1,298 / 24