The novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a ground-breaking work in American fiction. The topic of emotional/physical abuse, especially that endured by black American women of earlier generations is not openly spoken about or documented in history books. By bringing focus to this sensitive, yet saddening, experience of black women, the novel attracted…
Category: Gender Studies
The Hite Report (1976): A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality
Shere Hite is one of the most influential and controversial figures in sociology scholarship of the last half century. It won’t be an exaggeration to suggest that she is one of the most quoted authors in feminist scholarship; and her most famous work The Hite Report is even popular among lay readers. The Hite Report:…
Freedom Writers and the Economics of Race and Gender
The movie Freedom Writers is one of the most touching to have come out of Hollywood in recent years. Starring Hilary Swank in a lead role, the movie takes up a subject that is at the heart of American culture, namely juvenile delinquency and ways of dealing with it. It also touches upon the economics…
Character analysis from the movies Iris and The Notebook
The two characters chosen for this essay are those played by Judie Dench (Kate Winslet plays the younger Iris Murdoch) from the movie Iris and Rachel McAdams from The Notebook. The movie Iris, starring Judie Dench and Jim Broadbent is a masterpiece of the drama genre. The movie is a biographical account of British novelist…
‘Out of the Loop in Silicon Valley’ and Full Frontal Feminism
In the article titled Out of the Loop in Silicon Valley, written by Claire Cain Miller for the New York Times, some relevant issues pertaining to gender equality in the technology industry is raised. The high-tech industry, represented by the Silicon Valley in California, is a progressive place with ‘innovation’, ‘entrepreneurship’ and ‘creativity’ being the…
How did Cleopatra Influence the World?
Egyptian Empress Cleopatra is not purely a historical figure, for her life has been much romanticized and made mythical in popular culture. Known for her seductive allure and great powers of will and conquest, she came to represent the empowered woman of historic times. In the two millennia since her demise, the aura around her…
Is the U.S. and U.N. doing all they can to assist and protect victims of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM):
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an ongoing practice among many primitive peoples of the world. Rooted in religious doctrine and mysticism, this practice is a form of abuse against women, for it deprives them of attaining full sexual pleasure. Both the United States and the United Nations are powerful political entities that can do something…
How do adult movies affect our lives?
Despite gaining no legal or religious sanction, the adult movie industry is one of the biggest and thriving contributors to culture and economy. Here, adult movie is defined as that whose content is majorly comprised of implicit or explicit sexual acts (of various orientations) and action movies that are adult certified due to excessive violence…
Coping with Mid-life Crisis
Mid-life crisis refers to the observed phenomenon of depression, low motivation and lack of purpose seen in the middle of adult lives. This crisis is seen by psychologists as a product of several factors, including complacency, boredom, hormonal changes and natural ageing process. This is especially more pronounced in men than women, as the former’s…
The Search for 100 Million Missing Women
The author duo of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have made economics accessible to the general reader through their popular work Freakonomics and its sequel. Continuing on with the spirit of scholarly adventure, they yet again unfold unexpected correlations in understanding odd phenomenon. In the article in question, originally published in Slate magazine…