The Inner Girl

Eve Ensler describes social justice as men and women finding their “girl cell.” Everyone has this cell, that is suppressed for various reasons around the world. She describes it as passion, and vulnerability, which she believes are out greatest strengths. We have, however, been taught the exact opposite; we are taught that vulnerability is weakness. It is for that reason that everyone is trained not to be a girl. She relates this to the mass amounts of rape and genocide happening in other countries. There are just a few women who embrace their “girl cell” and make a difference about what is going on in their situation. She also witnessed that when a man’s “girl cell” is completely suppressed leads to violence. They pretend to be fine when they are broken inside. She finally relates her entire speech together by saying imagine what we do to other girls in the world, just based on what we do to our inner girl. Girls are raped, killed, enslaved, etc. They are objectified in many societies.

This form of social justice is different than any other we have discussed this term; mainly because she relates it back to what we do to ourselves. She is discussing feminism; however she is not just discussing cases of feminism, she is showing how we suppress our “inner girl.” The amount of unfairness we give out “inner girl” is just a small comparison to the amount of unfairness people give to other girls. The cruel treatment that girls are put through in many countries can be stopped is more people embraced their inner girl. Doing so would raise more awareness about the injustice that is occurring, and possible decrease the amount of suppression that is occurring.

Research

So far the research process has not been too terrible. I have never been one of the people that moan and groan when a teacher announces that it is time to start the annual research paper. I don’t find it hard at all. Although a lot of work must go into the paper, its not hard, or worth the complaining.

As far as my topic goes, it has been hard for me to find a variety in the information I am finding. There are more than plenty of sources, however they all the information they contain is basically the same material, just said in a different fashion. I’m sure there is plenty more information out there just waiting to be found, I am just going to have to dig and rummage through a lot of stuff to find it. I feel that will be the hardest part of the entire research paper; even with as simple as that task is. It is also hard to break the habit of going directly to Google to find any information i am looking for. Database searches aren’t much different from a Google search, however it is the principle. It has always been as simple as going to Google.com to learn anything and everything you want to know; and now the world wide web is forbidden for this paper.

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Annotated Bibliography

Kelly, Rita Mae, and Jane Bayes. “Implementing Comparable Worth In The Public Sector: Theory And Practice At The State And Local Level.” Policy Studies Review 5.4 (1986): 769-775. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.

The information in this academic journal is somewhat dated; however it is an example of the progress that women have made in the fight for equal compensation in the work force.  The origination of the fight for equity in salary among men and women originated with the Federal Equal Pay Act in 1963.  The pay equity movement for women it based on the assumptions that gender discrimination in the workplace should be deemed illegal and that men and women should have an equal opportunity to possess equal positions.  It is also states that “women’s work” should possess equal worth as “men’s work.”  Examples of women’s work are professions in the areas of childcare, nursing, and teaching; while examples of men’s work are professions those that require strenuous physical labor.  This source also states that there was a common thought that equalizing the value of men and women in the workplace would cause women disinterest in the effort of trying to achieve true and complete equality in the workplace.  Another factor causing hindrances in the efforts of women to gain equality was the fact that either a woman’s salary would require an increase, or there would be a need for a decrease in the salary of a man.  This stated, a company would have potential of losing millions, potentially billions, of dollars by increasing a woman’s pay; but at the same time it would drive men to quit their jobs if their salaries were docked.  This source will be useful for describing the trend in the fight for equal pay among men and women, starting back during the Kennedy/Johnson administration.

Meric, Linda. “Women still seek paycheck equity.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution [Atlanta, GA] 7 Feb. 2010: A23. Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.

This article is based on the most recent US Census when it was written; taken in 2010.  The facts stated from the census showed that “the pay gap between men’s and women’s earnings actually widened slightly between 2007 and 2008, from 78 percent to 77 percent.”  The salary gaps in ethnic groups other than the white working class are slightly greater.  In the Latino ethnic group, women only make 68 percent of a man’s salary while doing the same job.  Lilly Ledbetter, a woman fighting to receive compensation for the discrimination she faced in the workplace that was reflected in her salary, filed a lawsuit in attempt to close the gap in salary.  Although her court case was overturned, it was the beginning of a new effort to receive equality.  This source will be useful due to the fact that it has statistical information backing up the evidence of sexual discrimination in the workplace.

“Equal pay is not only about fairness – it’s about survival Gender * Sex discrimination persists as a real problem for women in the workplace.” St Louis Post-Dispatch [MO] 25 June 2009: A15. Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Web. 10 Oct. 2012

In modern times, the fact that women do not receive equal compensation for the same job as men is more of a matter of survival than equality.  The “breadwinner” in a lot of modern families is the women; therefore it affects the overall financial status of a family.  “In Missouri, the typical woman had to work from January 2008 through April 2009 to earn what her male counterpart received in 2008 alone.”  “The Paycheck Fairness Act is a comprehensive bill that would create stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, empower women to negotiate for equal pay, and strengthen federal outreach, education, and enforcement efforts.”  This article also brings to notice that the inequity in male and female salaries is not just affecting the current financial status of a family; it also determines their security in retirement.  This source will be useful in describing specific examples of how families are affected in modern times.

Library Session

In today’s library session, there was a lot of talk about the databases and other sources available to the students at JWU.  All of this information will be very useful while compiling information from many different sources during the research process.  I really like the the library catalog doesn’t only search for books located in the JWU stacks; it looks for online articles, magazines, videos, and various other source mediums.  I feel the databases are going to be the most useful to me.  With a topic that is still under scrutiny, there probably is  not a lot of literature in the stacks.  Most of my information will come from news articles and other similar sources discussing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, President Obama’s first piece of legislation.  It is also good to know that theses sources are still available to us when the library is closed, that way our schedules do not have to be planned around library hours to ensure all necessary research is completed.  I feel that I will be frequenting the GREENR and Academic Search Complete databases more than any of the other ones that are available.  I have checked both of these out and they both have a lot of information on my research topic that comes from various sources.  Since these databases are so broad, there will be a variety of information on any topic that needs researching.

Aaron Huey: America’s Native Prisoners of War

Wasichu was the name that the Lakota Indians on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota gave Aaron Huey when he went to visit.  the name Wasichu is a word that means non-indian or the one who takes the best meat.  He relates the name that the Indians have given him to social justice.  He says it is unjust that the native people of the land that is the United States have become prisoners in a place that was originally theirs.  The government has almost completely stripped them of their rights.  During the 1800s, America’s greatest victories during wars was the defeat of the native people.  Huey says this is a social injustice due to the fact that most of what we knew back then came from the Indians.  The early American civilizations would not have survived without the knowledge they obtained from the Indians, however the Indians are treated as if they were a nuisance.
In 2010, 75-95% of the Lakota Indian population were living below the poverty line.  The infant mortality rate in the Lakota population is higher than the US National average.  There is a 70% dropout rate among students attending school.  The life expectancy of a Lakota male is only 46-48 years.  These statistics are all pulled back to the topic of social injustice.  If they were here before any settlers, why are they prisoners of war?  Why do they not receive funding for schools? Why is their health care poor?  They did not choose to live on a reservation.  They were TOLD to live on a reservation.  Those who are born on the rez. are born into poverty and would have a very hard time venturing off the rez. into American society, so they just stay where they are.  It is not fair that these people have to live in such a dirty, poor, and illness infested area.  It is not a life that anyone  desires, however it was forced upon them by the government.  Why is the US so proud of their victories in the 1800s when they wouldn’t have been possible without the people they were in combat with?
I agree that the way the Lakota, or any other Indians on a reservation, have to live.  The lifestyle was forced upon them, even though I’m sure they dream of more.

Bryan Stevenson: Injustice

During the TED Talk “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” by Bryan Stevenson, he talks about how he was raised, his decisions, and his career.  He relates social injustice to the fact that one in six people put on trial and sentenced to the death penalty is actually innocent.  After being sentenced, the case is later brought back up to find people to be innocent, thus wasting however many years that person spent in jail when they could be exercising their rights as a working class citizen.  I agree with the fact that this is a social injustice.  I’m sure a majority those innocent people who are founded guilty for a crime are those that cannot afford to choose their lawyer.  Instead they are appointed a pro bono lawyer that may not be able to argue their case as well as any other lawyer could have.

 

He also discusses the abuse of the mentally ill people who are incarcerated.  This is also an injustice in society because those people did not choose to be mentally ill.  It is what life handed them, and they may not know how to deal with it.  This fact should not lead to unfair and unjust treatment while incarcerated.  They have not made the choice to be mentally ill, and should not receive unfair treatment for something that cannot be prevented.

 

Another point discussed in this TED talk was the trial of children as adults.  As a lawyer, Stevenson has represented a thirteen year old black child who was being tried just the same as a seventy five year old white male would have been.  I believe this is also an injustice.  Although the child’s crime may have been severe, they are still a child.  Oftentimes a trial for children is altered to where it does not scare the child, and the people in the courtroom are friendlier.  There is a reason for this.  I feel that a trial for a child being tried for the crime of an adult should still be altered for the sake of the child.  Although the punishment may be more severe, they should not be tried the same as a 75 year old man.  It may be seen as a way to scare the child into shape, however the child should not be scarred for the rest of their life from the events occurring during their trial and punishment.  This opinion can also be altered based on the crime committed by the child.