Thursday, May 29, 2008

haha i was reading the newspapers just now, came across an article, and i had to blog about it!

'Wrong sex', so couple abondon twin girls at UK hospital.

This Indian couple are citizens in Birmingham and they told the medical staff after the caesaream delivery that they were not going to accept the girls as they were the 'wrong sex'.

The mother is 59 and father 72, conveived the gfirls trhough in IVF in India, then returned to England for the birth.

And this is where LA society and identity comes in! Under the section GENDER.

Sex is the biological difference between men and women, while gender is the social differences between men and women. Therefore, your gender is a social construct. The above article of the Indian couple abondoning their twin girls may be explained through Sylvia Walby's theory of patriarchy. There are 6 structures that surbodinate women to men in the society, This includes: Household production, organisation of paid work, the patriarchal state, male violence, heterosexuality and cultural and instituitions and practices. In this case, women have less advantage and 'rights' compared to male, hence it creates a patriarchal system. Therefore, since girls are at disadvantage, does not 'carry family name', does not have equal rights, traditional parents hope for a male baby so he would be able to benefit more. Especially when the couple is so old, it would mean a lot to them to conceive male babies.

Because of these, waves of feminism are introduced. The 3rd wave of feminism should be carried out and make it successful lah! Whereby a revolutionary change is introduced into the society. Its quite freaky though, because matriarchal feminists argued that the male-female hierachy sjould be reversed and women should be the dominant gender. Even freakier: Feminists even suggested that technological advances in the procreation of children meant that it might be possible to do without men altogether, so that an exclusive female society could be created. Isn't that freaky! That's why its called radical feminism.

And I read something from Mr Koh's notes. Quite cool, never been brought up before or maybe its not really very relevant in our syllabus now, but its still under race and gender. As there was a second wave feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, it was said to be a common experience and commen interests among all women, it was challenged by black women in the women's movement. In the 1980s, black radicals in UK argued hat women from different ethnic backgrounds had distinct traditions and concerns that were not reflected in the priorties of the women's movement. Therefore, white feminists were accused of cultural imperialism in the judgements they made about minority lifestyles, and failing to address racism both outside and within the women's movement. So all these brings us back to race again right?

This is why, race, gender and identity are interlinked and are social construct. If humans can be less racist, den less problems right. Easier said than done.

Okay, long post. its LA! (: