Women: The Oppressed Majority
Question 1: How is women’s subordinate position different from that of oppressed racial and ethnic groups? How is it similar?
Women’s subordinate position differs from that of marginalized racial groups in that, they are not isolated by residence. Thus, women have cultural and physical traits that differentiate them from dominant groups while other oppressed ethnic groups do not possess such characteristics. However, these two groups have some similarities. They are both deemed to fight subtly while opposing the system. The two groups are believed to be emotional, careless, and feeble. Women supposedly try to outsmart men with feminine tricks, as historically blacks supposedly outwitted whites by pretending to be respectful. Additionally both groups are similar in that, neither women nor the oppressed racial groups are accept a subordinate position in society to any further extent (Schaefer 348).
Question 2: How has the focus on the feminist movement changed from the suffragist movement to the present?
The suffragist movement focused on getting women the right to take part in an election. Amid various changing issues since 1960s, feminist movement too has experienced considerable changes. In the early 1960s, women had to be aware of feminine mystique, keeping in mind that society perceived them only as their kids’ mother and their husband’s wife (Schaefer 351). Presently women are aggravated that time does not permit them to do it all. This is in terms of their career, motherhood, and marriage. The feminist movement is now laying its focus on the limits that business put on careers of women with family, domestic violence, and male prejudice in medical research.
Question3: How do the patterns of women in the work place differ from those of men?
The work force has revolutionized in relation to gender over the past forty years in industrial states. Women are increasingly taking part in the work force. However women are restricted to certain posts and when they enter nontraditional positions, they receive lower salaries than men in similar positions. Trends indicate the proportions of women in workplace are growing slightly in the professions, signifying that some women have advanced into better paying jobs, but these achievements has not altered the general picture. Women are doing better in management level but they still lag behind men in terms of their numbers in those positions (Schaefer 353).
Question 4: How has the changing role of women in the United States affected the family?
In America, women are normally the homemakers and caregivers for their kids (Schaefer 361). As women now have to work outside their homes, the burden of taking care of their children is becoming too much for them to bear. Married couples are fraying at the edges mentally and so are their jobs and marriages. Women are becoming overburdened and psychologically drained by the conflicting demands of work place duties and home chores (Schaefer 361). This is causing women to conduct abortions with the aim of reducing responsibilities. The changing role of women is also causing family break ups since women no longer have time for their husbands and children.
Question 5: What are the special challenges facing women of subordinate racial and ethnic groups?
Majority of women encounter differential treatment not only because of their gender but also because of race and ethnicity. Women of minor ethnic groups experience disparate treatment and have less control over their lives than members of a dominant group. Prejudice, bias, segregation, and even extermination are some of the challenges facing women from minor ethnic groups. Women of minor ethnic groups are faced with inferiority complex twice defined. This is termed as Matrix of domination (Schaefer 364). Stigmatization can also be integrated in this matrix, for example sexual orientation, religious conviction, disability and age. A woman from a given racial group faces the challenge of whether to join her brothers to fight against racism or confront them for sexism (Schaefer 364).
Work cited
Schaefer, Richard T. Racial, and ethnic groups. Vol. 1. Prentice Hall, 2004.