Month: June 2019
Stem Cells: what they are and what they do
As the world advances in medical technology, there is developing research on the focus of Stem Cell therapy. Countries around are using government funds to boost their programs and be competitive in the global innovation race. However, the United States (U.S.) created laws that limits the governments' funding towards Stem Cell research programs. These laws created by President George W. Bush have stopped the growth of U.S. Medical technology in comparison the world. According to Bush his main reasoning to restricting funds on research was because, At its core, this issue forces us to confront fundamental questions about the beginnings of life and the ends of science (qtd. in Park). Present day, due to the presence of unregulated clinics that are giving unregulated treatments, the FDA is now cracking down on research programs (Sifferlen). The governments' focus has been towards Human Embryonic Stem Cells (HESC), which originate from the fetus (Lo, Parham). But as researchers have found, there are more to Stem Cells than just HESC, such as pluripotent stem cells (PSC), which are cells with a lot of potential and more than 200 different tissue cells (CIRM). Categories of PSC include; Adult Stem Cells (ASC), which originate from bone marrow and fats within the body that can replenish damaged/ dead tissue (UNMC). Cord Blood Stem Cells (CBSC) which come from the umbilical cord after birth, averaging over 500 million cells (Nature Biotechnology). PCS stay away from the least amount of ethical conflict in comparison to HESC. Even though there are other routes such as PSC that do not have as much controversy, the main conflict over Stem Cells solely focuses on HESC. Advocates push more for stem cells because they believe there are many benefits that will help the general population. However, critics disagree with this advancement because of economic matters. Stem cell therapy should be used more generally in the medical field because there are a lot of benefits that come from it.
Stem cell therapy introduces new methods of medicine for major diseases. The therapy can replace old methods and be better. Especially those that are ineffective and hindering. Take for instance a cancer patient who undergoes chemotherapy. The treatment kills the cancer cells, but in the same fact it also kills regular cells. This leads to weakening the immune system and potential of new diseases being introduced. If scientists can find a way to create cells based off of attacking the cancer cells instead of regular autoimmune cells, then the probability of patients dying will be reduced. There has been a study done already at the University of Minnesota where researchers conducted a bone marrow transplant on a patient with HIV. The results. The patient was ostensibly cured (Nature of Biotechnology). The possibilities on stem cells are endless and as the California Stem Cell Agency (CIRM) believes, there's no limits to the types of diseases that could be treated with stem cell research (CIRM). And if the focus was solely on ASC/ CBSC, then controversy will be avoided. Furthermore, the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) informed the public that success has already been demonstrated in various clinical applications on ASC (UNMC). Additionally, ASC can also be used in minor treatments. For example, public star Joe Rogan explains how he had a bad shoulder injury and instead of doing regular treatment which would require medication, he instead did stem cell therapy and insists that he felt 100% better in a short amount of time (Rogan 11:3512:00). Instead of contributing to the opioid crisis in America, which as The National Institute of Health (NIH) states, Everyday, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids, stem cells can be a means to decreasing these statistics (Opioid Overdose Crisis). If ASC/CSBC can be a contributing factor to stopping this crisis than funding these programs more will benefit the U.S... Furthermore, the Stem Cell Institute located in Panama, have already taken matters into their own hands and started the research process. These studies lead by Dr. Neil H. Riordan, PA, PhD, focus on many deficiencies such as autism and cerebral palsy. The institutes studies' have shown great results. In particular, a patient with cerebral palsy showed improvement by being able to walk again after a couple rounds of treatment (Riordan). Follow up an explanation that ties into subject/overall theme. Imagine the limitless possibilities if the U.S. government funded research for stem cells more. Those disabled can be helped by effective treatments. Old methods can be replaced, and the U.S. can advance in medical technology.
Stem cell therapy will benefit the economy and eliminate high costed medicine. Medical expenses in the U.S. are constantly affecting producers and consumers. In 2017, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that the U.S. spent about 333.4 billion dollars in retail prescription drugs (CMS). Globally, the pharmaceutical market is expected to grow to 1.3 trillion dollars (Ruggerio). Additionally, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported that the Health and Human Services included 5.74 billion dollars in their budget for cancer research (NCI). In comparison, The NIH reported in 2017 that the government funds 3.2 billion dollars in stem cell research and development (NIH). This shows the difference in funding between programs, and how there is an inequality. A possible reason to why the government does not invest is due to lack of evidence of stem cell economic success. But as shown in California alone, the CIRM, who received 1.2 billion in funds, generated 286 million dollars in tax revenue. Furthermore, with the small funding, it allowed the agency to create 38,000 jobs (CIRM). This goes to show, if the U.S. where to invest more into research programs then the economy would create a sustainable revenue and more job opportunities. So forth, decreasing the funds on other programs and equaling all benefits the people as well. Take for instance, the global pharma companies, who totaled a profit sale of almost 600 billion dollars (Ruggerio). This is a good thing for the companies but ultimately hurts the people because some (especially the ill), need their products in order to survive. By pushing stem cell therapy to the public, the U.S. can stop these outside money machines from growing. Additionally, if the U.S. figures a way to include stem cell into healthcare programs once research has been completed, it will increase revenue and satisfy the consumer-which is the American people. Now this does not mean to completely abort other healthcare funds, but rather level the playing field so that way the economy can grow equally along with medical innovations. The key is to start investing more into stem cells so that there is a greater output for society.
Although there are many benefits to Stem cell therapy, there are many flaws that critics capitalize on. For instance, a main argument against stem cells, is the economic value of the therapy. According to Nature Biotechnology/ Sarah Webb, the estimated cost for a cord blood transplant treatment is about 40,000$ (Nature Biotechnology). This makes stem cells inefficient and expensive. As it is the U.S. spent about 4 trillion dollars in 2015 on healthcare alone (The Effect). So, from the government's funds perspective, (stem cell therapy can be expensive). And as the Agency for Healthcare research and Quality reported, direct medical cost for people in 2015 was roughly 80.2 billion dollars (Economic Impact). Critics believe that the cost makes stem cells inefficient for consumers, therefor focus should be centered on other technological matters. This is a fair point that critics argue, however, from an economic standpoint, stem cells are still in the beginning stage. There is no surplus; therefore, the therapy is expensive. Compare it to when flat screen televisions first came out. At first, they were expensive. But as more companies started to invest, now these televisions are cheap. That surplus principle can be applied to stem cells as well. The limits on funds drastically make the price for a treatment to be inflated. As Aaron Levine, associate professor at Georgia Tech and Guest Researcher at Centers for Disease Control Prevention, shows, the U.S. is clearly underperforming in Stem Cell science (Harvey 79). If we want the cost of stem cells to be reduced, then the U.S. has to invest more like Australia where they invested 2.56 percent of total government funds in 2008 (Harvey 74). MAYBE EXPAND ONE MORE SENTENCE TO END OVERALL ARGUMETN?
Work Cited
California Stem Cell Agency. 2018, www.cirm.ca.gov/patients/power-stem-cells.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid, National Health Expenditures 2017 Highlights, United States, 2017.
Economic Impact of Cancer. American Cancer Society, 3 January 2018,
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-basics/economic-impact-of-cancer.html
Gibson, Mel., and Neil Riordan. Joe Rogan Experience #1066Mel Gibson & Neil
Riordan. Youtube, 17 January 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtL1fEEtLaAJoe.
Harvey, Olivia. Innovation and commercialisation in the stem cell industries in
Australia: State strategies and other opportunities to build a competitive position in the global stem cell economy. Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, vol. 16, issue 1, 2010, pp. 72-83. U of New South Wales. Ebscohost, www.palgrave-journals.com/jcb/.
Holland, Suzanne, et al., editors. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate.
MIT Press, 2001, Google Books pp. 16-33.
Hunt, John A., et al. Impact of cell purification technique of autologous human adult stem cells
on inflammatory reaction. Biomaterials ed., vol. 34, 2013, pp. 7262-7631. Elsevier
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.06.065.
Lo, Bernard, and Lindsay Parham. Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research. Endocr.
Rev., vol. 30, no. 32009, pp. 204-13,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726839/.
National Cancer Institute. NCI Budget and Appropriations, National Institute of Health, 2018,
https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/budget.
National Institute of Health. Funding Facts, U.S. Department on Health & Human Services,
Research Portfolio Online Report Tools, 2017.
Nature Biotechnology. Banking on cord blood stem cells: new research will shed light on claim
from commercial banks that cord blood--derived stem cells can be used in diseases beyond hematological disorders. Lexile Measure, vol. 1530, 2013. Nature Publishing Group, go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Journals&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm?¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CA337720563&docType=Article&sort.
Opioid Overdose Crisis. National Institute on Drug Abuse, March 2018,
https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis
Park, Alice. "George W. Bush and the Stem Cell Research Funding Ban." TIME, 20 Aug. 2012,
pp. 2, healthland.time.com.
Ruggerio, Dario. The Pharmaceutical Business: Pros and Cons. LongTerm Economy, 01, June
2015, https://www.lteconomy.it/en/articles-en/articoli/the-pharmceutical-business-pros- and-cons.
Stem Cell Institute, edited by Neil Riordan, 20 Aug. 2012, cellmedicine.com.
Stiflin, Alexander. FDA Cracks Down on Stem Cell Clinics but Patients Are Still at
Risk.TIME Magazine. TIME 2017, time.com/4920259/fda-crackdown-stem-cell-
clinics/.
University of Nebraska Medical Center. Stem Cells. UNMC, 2018,
www.unmc.edu/stemcells/educational-resources/prosandcons.html.
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Stem cells: What they are and what they do. (2019, Jun 26).
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Drug Screening on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells as an Effective Form of Treatment
This proving iPSCs are a better option because they have similar findings as the mouse model with more of an advantage linking to the human patients since these iPSCs were from human patients with the disease. Overall the end goal is to find a drug that slows the progression or stops the neurodegeneration in humans for this specific disease and being able to test the drugs out in human cells rather than animal cells would have more advantages.
Another important aspect of iPSCs is the number of cells obtained is more than what can be gathered from using a mouse model (1). The number of cells grown is a key factor that leads into using a drug screening and the best part is being able to test small amounts of drugs with large libraries of 3,000 different kinds of compounds (1), which testing many drugs needs an effective way to obtain many cells and can be done with iPSCs. In addition to that, once certain drugs are shown to be effective, also called hits, they can be selected for more in-depth screenings which can also be done on primary cells as well (5). This is very helpful in the fact that the certain drugs can be tested in different types of cells such as Purkinje and dorsal root ganglions since motor neurons are not the only cell type that gets affected by this disease and to test the drugs on them would help give more insight on the drugs affect.
Drug screenings are also highly cost-efficient where performing smaller tests on multiple compounds can save more money in the long run (5). Figure 2 is a great depiction of how the flow of drug screening can lead to the end goal (5). The timeline shows how in the beginning, the drug screening is less expensive than the end experiments and once learning more about the hits that were obtained from the first screen then it leads into refinements and optimizing only if the results continues to provide beneficial (5). This is where Gilmore et al.'s lab (1) is heading towards with the iPSCs after completions of testing the 384-well plates. In addition, other recent articles such as Chuang et al (2) and Lariosa-Willingham et al (4), discuss the use of drug screening showing this is an acceptable test that is currently still being used in research.
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Positive and Negative Aspects of Embryonic Stem Cells Use
For centuries, past scientific discoveries have paved the way for future innovations. In addition, they have also positively impacted and influenced the medical and science field. A new discovery that scientists are looking into are Embryonic Stem Cells”otherwise known as ES Cells. While scientists are rushing to observe and experiment with ES Cells, many support the use because of the benefits, while others strongly oppose. ES cells are proven to drastically benefit the medical industry, but the morality of the process of extracting them are questioning and controversial. In this paper, the ethicalness, benefits, and disadvantages of Embryonic STEM cells will be evaluated.
To begin with, an embryonic stem cell is a cell that is derived from an early stage human embryo. In order to be harvested, the egg cell must be fertilized by a sperm cell and be less than a week old. According to the National Institutes of Health, scientists discovered ways to derive embryonic stem cells from early mouse embryos more than 30 years ago, in 1981. The biology of mice is similar to humans, so this aided scientists to take a step further in their experiments. After this discovery, scientists discovered a procedure on how to extract stem cells from blastocysts”or a ball of approximately 100 cells that will eventually form an embryo.
As humans age, their bones weaken and many cells that are essential for health become inflicted with disease and/ or damaged. According to an article, Cell Division Can Be Halted In Multiple Ways, With Implications For Cancer, published by Brown University, Cellsexcept for cancerous onescannot reproduce forever. When aging cells stop dividing, they become 'senescent.' Senescent cells do not function the way young cells do, and are believed to be associated with skin wrinkles, immune system problems and age-related diseases, including cancer. In this excerpt, the article points out that senescent cells are in connection with reasons for illnesses in the elder population. As organs and muscle cells deteriorate, the functions of the body system are affected. Moreover, the importance of ES Cells is that they have the possibility of being reprogrammed into any cell. When a fertilized egg in the fetus begins rapidly multiplying, the inner cells in the blastocyst can induce to become any specific somatic cell or vital organ. Since ES cells have the ability to become body cells, heart cells, nerve cells, and blood cells, scientists believe that this can replace deteriorating cells and possibly cure cancer. The benefits of ES Cells can be limitless in the medical field because stem cells can be a possible source for cell transplants, which will reduce the need for organ donations. Also, because ES cells have the ability to differentiate into vital cells, it introduces new propositions to cure cardiovascular disease and type one diabetes. In the future, doctors will have the opportunity of transplanting stem cells and organs produced by stem cells.
Although, ES Cells are exponential and may have the ability to go beyond science and medicine, there are negative aspects that are tied to them. Furthermore, the disadvantages of extracting stem cells from the inner cell of embryo leads to the destruction of the cell. The inner cell of the embryo is essential for life and is needed in order for the human embryo to develop into a fetus. People strongly oppose the use of ES Cells because of the source that it is acquired from, so they see it as an immoral act. There are many other approaches that scientists can take to search for stem cells that include all of the characteristics of the human embryonic stem cells. For instance, new findings have found an abundant amount of stem cells in body fat. According to Susan Lim, adult stem cells can be discovered in our blood, in our bone marrow, in our fat, our skin and other organs. Susan Lim”a surgeon pioneer”has a new proposition for transplanting cells instead of organs. Lim claims that instead of using ES cells for use, scientists can use other sources of stem cells for their studies. While ES Cells are highly significant, the ethicalness of the extraction is controversial. The ES Cells discovery will always be a landmark finding, but, unfortunately, ES Cells are unethical, and a new way must be found to enhance human health.
The importance of Embryonic Stem Cells will effectively encourage scientists to search for additional procedures for cures. While the possibilities of using ES Cells are fascinatingly endless, scientists must discover other types of STEM cells”with the same characteristics as ES Cells”because the extraction of ES Cells destroys the embryo, which is seen as unethical in the eyes of many. As scientists continue their research, new discoveries will uncover ways to enhance human health.
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Greek Myths
In Greek mythology, there are a variety of themes within every myth. Heroic behavior is a theme that is most prominent in Greek mythology. Throughout the tales that have been passed down through generations, most of the time there is a hero with the story. I will be focusing on the myth of Perseus and Medusa, Hercules and the twelve labors, and Theseus and the Minotaur. It is constant throughout these myths that the problem is solved by the hero and all is saved.
The legend behind Medusa, is that she was once a gorgeous woman who was turned monstrous. Medusa lived in Athens in Greece, and was a woman who worshiped the gods and goddesses. Every day, Medusa would boast about her beauty to others but no one ever listened. One day she went to the Parthenon which was the biggest temple in Greece. At the altar, Medusa stated how beautiful the temple was, but that it wasted on Athena since she is prettier (Ancient History Encyclopedia). Others who were there fled immediately because they know how angry Athena will be once she hears what Medusa said.
Athena heard medusa compare their beauty and almost immediately appeared in the temple. She told Medusa how foolish she was to compare their beauty and told her that her beauty will one day fade and she will be left with nothing (Ancient History Encyclopedia). When Athena said she would make her beauty fade away now, Medusa hair turned into snakes along with her body. She was then vanished to the end of the earth to live where no innocent people would fall victim to seeing her and turning to stone.
Perseus was ordered by the King to deliver him the head of Medusa, in order to free Danae. Perseus then traveled the next day to go and behead Medusa. Hermes and Athena both came to Perseus and said that they wanted to help him on his quest since he is the son of Zeus. Hermes gave Perseus a gold word that belonged to Zeus, and Athena gave a polished shield to protect him from Medusa's eyes. Perseus was also given armor to wear that would make himself invisible to others.
All of these would work well in Perseus favor in defeating Medusa.
Perseus then set off and discovered the gorgon sisters guarding Medusa's lair. He took the eye that the old sisters used for sight and wouldn't give it back until they told her where Medusa was. One sister said the information and Perseus was off to find Medusa again (Ancient History Encyclopedia). When he arrived, there wear stones of men who had looked Medusa in the eyes. Medusa knew that there were trespassers when her snakes were hissing. Medusa went looking for the intruder while Perseus used his shield to locate Medusa. After an altercation with Medusa, Perseus severed her head successfully and placed it in a bag for protection. He traveled home with it and was able to free his mother. He used Medusa's head to turn the king and his followers to stone forever.
This myth has two examples of heroism within it. The most obvious is the way Perseus freed his mother. He severed Medusa's head and turned the king to stone, which saved his mother. The other heroic part of this myth is the actually slaying of Medusa. Medusa is a monster who would turn anyone who crossed her path and looked at her into stone. Once Perseus had killed Medusa, innocent travelers would no longer be turned to stone from accidental contact. No more people would be turned to stone for eternity by the monster of Medusa. This is heroic because not only did Perseus save his mother, but he also prevents future misfortunes.
Hercules is required to complete twelve labours, which displays heroism within most. His first labour was to bring King Eurystheus the skin of the Nemean Lion, who had been terrorizing the town. Hercules is widely known for his strength, which is why this is a possible task for him. Hercules ventured to Cleonae where he met a boy, who said he had to return within thirty 30 days with the skin of the loin (Tufts University). If he did not return within thirty days, or if he died, the boy would sacrifice himself to Zeus. He grabbed arrows to use against the lion and other weapons as he was unsure if the golden fur was damageable.
Hercules got to Nemea and began his tracking of the lion. He shot an arrow and quickly discovered it bounced off of the lion. Unfortunately, the lions golden fur was impenetrable. Hercules continued to track the lion to its cave that had two entrances (Tufts University). He blocked one of the entrances and grabbed his club to use against the lion. He used his club to stun the Lion and then his mighty strength to choke the animal to death. Ignoring the lion's strength ad claws, Hercules was able to destroy the terrible lion.
Hercules then returned to Cleonae before the thirty days, carrying the slayed lion. Since he returned in time, Molorchus and Hercules were able to sacrifice to Zeus together, instead of Molorchus as a dead man. Hercules then ventured back to Mycenae to tell Eurystheus about his completed labor (Tufts University). The King grew terrified of him since his was able to complete what he thought as an impossible task. The king forbade the hero Hercules from entering the city. He was afraid of Hercules capabilities, but still wanted to assign him labors. He then would send Hercules commands through a herald, to avoid seeing him in person.
This myth has two significant reasons as two why the heroic theme applies. Hercules was assigned a labor to protect the city by destroying the Nemean lion that was taunting Nemea. He defeated the lion, saving the city and keeping them safe. He was viewed as a hero for that action alone. He also was able to save Molorchus from sacrificing himself to Zeus. Molorchus stated that if he returned within thirty days, they would both be able to sacrifice the skin of the lion to Zeus. However, if Hercules did not return within thirty days, or died, then Molorchus would be sacrificed to Zeus. Hercules not only defeated the lion and protected Nemea, he also saved Molorchus.
As the myth goes King Minos of Crete fought a hard battle with his brother to become king. One he won, he prayed to Poseidon for a snow white bull. He wanted the bull to be a sign of approval of his kingship from the god. Once the bull ascended, Minos was ordered to sacrifice the bull. However, Minos believed that the bull was so beautiful and pure that he couldn't sacrifice it. Poseidon was angered by the disobedience and made it so Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, would fall in love with the snow white bull (Ancient History Encyclopedia). Once she was so deep in love, the bull and Pasiphae mated and had a male child with the head and tail of a bull. The Minotaur was original cared for by the mother, but it was vicious when it grew up.
The Minotaur was then kept in a labyrinthin for safe keeping due to its erratic behavior.
King Minos son had died, and the city of Athens was held responsible for his death. The king had ordered the city to pay tribute by sacrificing seven of the noble youth and seven of the finest maidens every year. The sacrifice involves the sacrifices to be sent to Crete on a ship, and cast into the labyrinth and be eaten by the Minotaur (Ancient History Encyclopedia). This was a gruesome sacrifice that was followed for many years by the people from the city of Athens. Theseus, the son of King Aegeus of Athens, wanted to stop the sacrifice by taking the place of the youth in the sacrifice.
Theseus and the daughter of King Minos, Ariadne, had fallen deeply in love. They had traveled together on the ship with black sails toward the labyrinth that held the Minotaur. When he arrived in the place of the sacrifices, he used the thread that Ariadne gave him to unravel as he traveled deep into the Labyrinth. This would help Theseus find his way out of the Labyrinth after defeating the Minotaur. He managed to defeat the Minotaur after a battle, and restored safety to the youth and the city of Athens (Ancient History Encyclopedia). There would no longer have to be sacrifices every seven years from the Athenians.
I believe that there are two reasons as to why this myth has a heroic theme. The most obvious example is that Theseus slayed the Minotaur and was able to save the youth from further sacrifices. This restored peace to the city of Athens and the youth knowing that they would no longer have to sacrifice the young to the beast. The second example is a subtle thought of freedom for the Minotaur. The Minotaur was locked away in a Labyrinth when he grew up due to his behaviors. The beast had no control over this and was locked away for the rest of his life. I believe that the Minotaur must have been miserable and wanted to escape the Labyrinth. I think that when Theseus defeated him, he was a hero to the beast since he was then relieved of his imprisonment.
From my analysis of a few Greek myths, I believe that heroism is a huge role that is played within the myths. It gave hope to the believers and worshipers of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. I believe that heroes were placed in most Greek myths to provide happy endings to their beliefs and tales passed down through generations. I believe the theme is still relevant in everyday life and culture. Movies are made that constantly have heroes that save the day and create happy endings. There is an antagonist and protagonist in every movie to create a plot and an interest from the audience. This causes viewers to despise one character and make the other character out to be the hero. Similar to the Greeks, heroes will continue to be incorporated everyday life, whether in a movie, a book, or in a religious belief.
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Cloning Argumentative Essay
Dolly the Sheep was cloned on July 5, 1993, and she died on February 14, 2003. The normal lifespan of a sheep is 12 years. Dolly did not even live 7. How does this make you feel? What if Dolly was a human? Cloning is the process of generating a genetically identical copy of a cell or an organism (Rugnetta). One day, a human clone will most likely be born into this world. However, cloning is awful and should stay illegal because it is dangerous, it is unethical, and it is unnecessary.
First of all, cloning is unacceptable because it is dangerous. About 99% of clones die in the womb and the ones that don't often suffer genetic abnormalities that worsen the quality of their whole life (Sample). Also, researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute found that clones have an, ...increase in birth size and a variety of defects in vital organs, such as the liver, brain, and heart (NHGRI). Is it really okay to bring more people into this world that have a predisposition to having to suffer their whole lives just because some humans think it would be cool? Second, cloning should stay illegal because it is unethical. Even though everyone on this planet has different definitions of what is moral and what is not, most people can agree that cloning humans, at least, is immoral. According to the Journal of Medical Ethics, Children still die of leukemia and other diseases because there are no appropriate tissues for transplantation, (Williamson 97). If there are more people coming into this world, some of whom may need more medical attention because cloning hasn't been perfected yet, who's to say how many children could die waiting for transplants because clones need them. If it is okay with you to let children die unnecessarily so that our society can have cloning, then fine. But that just does not sit right with me.
Finally, cloning is awful because it is unnecessary. As of 2016, the human population was growing by 83 million a year (Worldometer). Is it really necessary to bring even more people into this world? About 795 million, or about 1 in 9, people in the world do not have enough food to live a healthy life (Food Aid Foundation). While most of these people live in developing countries, there 40 million people in the United States that are hungry (Feeding America). Feeding all of the hungry children in the world would cost 3.2 billion a year (WFP). This may sound like a lot, but cloning research can cost a lot of money too, between buying supplies and paying the test subjects (Herper). If this money was instead spent on feeding the children, our future could be way better than it is right now. To summarize, cloning is awful and needs to stay illegal. Many of them die in the womb or suffer from disabilities because it is dangerous. Cloning is unethical since it can cause already living children to die, and it is unnecessary because the human population is growing incredibly fast as it is. Humans should just mind their business and leave nature the way it is. Haven't we already done enough to hurt it?
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Treatment of Transgendes
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Treatment Of Transgendes. (2019, Jun 24).
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Being Transgender and being Transracial
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Being Transgender And Being Transracial. (2019, Jun 24).
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Transgender Rights in Pakistan
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Transgender Rights In Pakistan. (2019, Jun 24).
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A Role of Sonny’s Blues
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A Role Of Sonny's Blues. (2019, Jun 24).
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Blue as a Tool for Narrative Development
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Blue As A Tool For Narrative Development. (2019, Jun 24).
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Role of Music in Sonny’s Blues
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Role Of Music In Sonny's Blues. (2019, Jun 24).
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Family Dilemma in Sonny’s Blues
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A Story of Sonny in Sonny’s Blues
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An Importance of Jazz in Sonny’s Blues
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Sexism in Rock N Roll
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A Problem of Sexism
Abstract
Sexism exists and will continue to sprout thorns in the vines of modern efforts to promote social progression. It's a reality that is sobering and sharp in the side of activists and marginalized communities, but it's history and continuously changing effect on society is interesting considering social norms and how standards are changing. One way that this is reflected is in the way that advertising and marketing has changed, or rather hasn't, in the past 100 years since the 1920's. The shift in the way that women desired to have themselves represented in society was finally brought to light in a way that the modern world of North America had never seen before: Women could vote. While in hindsight, many would see this as a basic right considering that women make up over 50.8% of the modern day population according to the U.S. 2017 Census, it was not a reality until August 18th, 1920. With this right to vote, it represented much more than just being able to determine who would be voted into office and legislature, it was the first step to kicking down the barred doors of a quelled rage and necessity to be a full and equal part of society.
With all of this in mind, representation matters to this 50.8% of the world, as it's ripples in how it affects culture and stereotypes in society impact the daily lives of women and female identifying communities. This representation or lack of thereof is primarily pushed through advertising and branding. Consumerism is the main driving force of our economy and society, Americans faced with different types of marketing and branding from a daily basis as much as a minute by minute ratio. Analytics can even advertise different products and campaigns depending on your search history on any device. With all of this in mind, why is it that women are constantly objectified and hyper sexualized in ads when the reality is that the majority of women do not see themselves represented or recognized in these campaigns. To further investigate this, My question is Does sexual appeal and sexism within advertising actually work and how does it reflect in the modern market?
Aerie v.s. Victoria's Secret marketing, and literature review
While the demographic of today's market strives towards diversifying the way products are marketed towards women and men, the undertone of using sexuality in an idealized and fantasized manner still prevalent today, one of the most basic examples seen in the Victoria Secret Campaigns where the models often differ from what the customers actually look like. However, this is typical considering that the right to vote for women was only acquired within less than 150 years since the women's suffrage movement. In a study I conducted to examine the general opinion of a random sampling size as to what advertisement the viewer gravitates towards, I presented two different campaigns from the companies Aerie and Victoria's Secret companies that market towards the female demographic and sell lingerie and comfort wear. The viewer was shown a campaign ad photo and a video to accompany it. They were then asked the question of Select which Campaign you find to be a better advertisement in which would more so incline you to buy the advertised product which in this case is women's lingerie. and made a selection. Both survey images did not include the company name in order to remain un biased.
These results came back in stating that they preferred the Aerie campaign in comparison to the Victoria's secret Ad, with only one vote for the Victoria Secret campaign and the other 15 votes for the Aerie advertisement. It can also be noted that in the last year according to Business Insider, that Aerie's in store sales went up by a record 38% in the first quarter of 2018, while VS brands went down by 5% last year. This data only further confirms that the market in regard to using sexuality and women as a selling point within advertisements are moving in a different area that supports more so a body positive message no matter what demographic rather than enlisting in providing a photoshopped fantasy. The Aerie campaigns also make it a point within their ads to include that all the photographs and videos used to advertise for the underwear brand are untouched and have not been airbrushed to stray from the organic image. This is a stark contrast to the Victoria Secret campaign which is infamous for retouching and using models who, according to customers who have been interviewed in the past, are hyper sexualized and unrealistic.
In the article Empowerment/Sexism: Figuring Female Sexual Agency in Contemporary Advertising by Rosalind Gill, Gill explains how this shift came to be in the modern age.
Advertisers had to respond to ?sign fatigue', to viewer scepticism, and also to the impact of feminism on lifestyles and attitudes (Goldman, 1992). Women's increasing financial independence meant that they became targets for new products and also forced a reconsideration of earlier modes of representation: showing a woman draped over a carto take an emblematic image of sexism from the 1970smay not be the best strategy if the aim is to sell that car to women. Moreover, by the late 1980s and early 1990s, advertisers had begun to recognize the significance of many women's anger at being objectified and bombarded with unattainable, idealized images of femininity.
Advertisers started to rethink their engagement with female consumers and their ways of representing women.
There is also a strategy that advertisers have used in the past in where in the past, the female icon used in adverts were shown as their worth to a man being the most valued aspect of their existence, which can be shown in this example of a vitamins commercial. The commercial displayed below here states that The harder a wife works, the cuter she looks! and when asked how the wife can always seem to thrive on household chores, she responds that she takes her vitamins. The goal here being that if she wants to be worthy of her husband's attention and to be beautiful to him, she must work harder to keep the house running and keep her pep up while doing it.
In the early 21st century however, there was a new icon that is identified as a Midriff who encapsulates what is the target audience in this century. The midriff, as defined by Rosalind Gill as a young, attractive, heterosexual woman who knowingly and deliberately plays with her sexual power and is always ?up for it' (that is, sex). This figure has become known in some advertising circles as the ?midriff', named after the fashion for exposing this part of the body that was ubiquitous between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s This can be seen for example in the advertisements for the Wonderbra?® where the woman in the advertisement is seen in a cleavage bearing bra, and in between her breasts is the slogan I can't cook, who cares? The point of it was to use feminism in a way to appropriate it to the benefit of advertising agencies. This strategy called ?commodity feminism' tries to take the energy that is in feminist ideals but repackage them where it loses its social and political objectives.
This new shift in this recent time is taking a new direction with how women are depicted in adverts. The modern woman is financially independent, is usually part of the LGBTQ community, and is aware of the deafening results of the #MeToo movement. Above all, what people want in the products that they buy and the adverts that are directed to them is to see themselves in these advertisements. This can be seen in the shaving adverts from the company Billie which uses inclusivity and representation to advertise their razors. The models are some who are minorities, lgbtq youth, and women who get to choose However, Whenever, (and) if (they) ever shave. It is an unprecedented take on traditional shaving campaigns, where the actress or model is a typically a heterosexual white woman who shows that being shaved is the equivalent of being attractive and feminine. Ads like Billie show that generation x women are redefining what it means to be feminine, and are taking power of the definition.
It's important to note, that while these are facts and realities of our daily lives, why does it matter? Advertising and Marketing in a hyper consumerist country and world is extremely important because if affects everything in our daily lives. Like said previously, adverts surround us continuously and infiltrate our phones, computers, and social medias as much as 5,000 adverts exposed to a single person daily. And when something becomes a normality, often it can be hard to discern how it is affecting people psychologically. Shaving campaigns from the 1920's are an excellent example as to how something that was used to sell an item became a mentality for the majority of the modern world.
The 20's were filled with everything the American dream could offer. Riches, entertainment, luxury, and the liberation of female sexuality that came with the suffragette movement to secure women's right to vote. The Flapper was a stylish young woman who challenged conventional standards, one of them being the lengths of their dresses and lack of sleeves. In this change, shaving companies saw an opportunity to take on a new consumer, and used rhetoric to shame women for body hair. Since much of a woman's goal and intention was to marry rich or win the attention of a man, this made them east targets for companies to start gearing products towards females to increase sales. How embarrassing! says the man in the image at seeing a woman with a mustache. This use of shame to make women buy the razors is just a small example at the larger point that marketing an idea can change the mentality of an entire country and world at large. As stated in Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising By Anthony J. Cortese, Ads try to tell us who we should and shouldn't be. This couldn't be any truer, in this example where a marketing scheme became a global mentality. Cortese also illustrates the three main trends in advertising towards women.
- There is a major distinction between what is considered to be appropriate behavior for males and females
- Males are dominant females are passive insubordinate. The sexual objectification of women requires that they remain silent and lack a voice
- The masculine role is appreciated it while the feminine counterpart is disregarded or scorned
These guidelines to how marketing has affected society is not only unbelievable, but is still relevant to this day in the way that companies seem to gear their strategies when marketing their products towards a changing demographic. In an interview that I conducted with Karen Cudillo, Glamor Magazine's college woman of the year, we discussed some of the long term affects of how advertising can either hurt or support women and all identifying persons in the strides to make changes to become a more inclusive and validating society for all persons. As an activist for not just only women, but immigrants and LGBTQ youth, everything matters. You cant put up a billboard and not have the intention of impacting a person. Actions are caused by intentions and those actions have the power to disregard human kind or to bring it to the table and make it a worthy partner in this circle we call life. Karen recalls growing up as a immigrant in the United States and often felt that she did not see herself represented in what Corporate America defined as American. There were so many times that I would look at my friends who had dolls who were dressed as doctors, princesses, and career women, and they were all white. It seems silly at first, but in hindsight it is those small details in your upbringing and branding from companies that give off the message that minorities are not destined to be doctors, lawyers, or Vets when they grow up.
In essence, it is the little things, and often the big billboard signs that shape the way that society functions. It has only been 150+ years since the start of women having a say in voting results, but since that time much has happened that could lead to a more successful future in where advertising agencies as well as modeling/acting agents will select people who represent the consumers who are buying into the product, rather than just using women as a tool to further exploit and objectify them in society for the pleasure and political agenda of men. While in the past it would have been suitable to display women in a domesticated and minor counterpart to the male species, this is no longer the case and the sooner that agencies realize this, the better they can serve not only the companies in which they are working for, but the people who buy into them.
Cite this page
A Problem Of Sexism. (2019, Jun 24).
Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/5/
A Story of Serena Williams
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A Story Of Serena Williams. (2019, Jun 24).
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https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/5/
Significance of Sexism Today
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Significance Of Sexism Today. (2019, Jun 24).
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https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/5/
The Buried Voice of Sexism
All throughout history people have been fighting to be seen as equal to each other. Whether it is between men and women, or between the races, humans have always struggled to find a common ground among us all. American society has always struggled against racism and sexism; however, we need to bring attention to the unspoken side of sexism to give men a voice while they struggle to find closure after suffering through sexual assault, homophobia, and the aftermath of abuse.
In recent years, the issue of sexual abuse has become more prominent. The normalization of sexual assault has brought with it the dangerous effects of rape culture. This horrible mentality is constantly broadcasted in songs and movies without a thought, this shows the acceptance of abuse and its consequences. Many have come to accept the now common excuse to this crime. It couldn't have happened because surely if it had someone would have said something at the time. Due to this survivors who come forward are harassed and blamed for not keeping their mouths shut. The hostility that most brave survivors of sexual assault face for speaking out has vastly discouraged other victims from speaking up. (Grady) Both male and female survivors face this terrible backlash, but unfortunately for men they often have it even worse than women. Sexism and rape as a whole is primarily seen as a female issue. Male victims are often overlooked and not taken seriously when voicing their distress. Survivors feel helpless and frustrated due to this. (Friedersdorf)
In order to properly acknowledge male survivors we must eliminate the myths surrounding their assault. Such as the myth that men can not be sexually assaulted. The extent to which men are sexually assaulted is difficult to determine due to the fact that so little men speak up. Those who do find their voice are many times ignored or mistreated, but fortunately for actor and ex-footballer player, Terry Crews, his large following helped keep his voice afloat. Crews took a stand on twitter after many accusations were brought up against Film producer Harvey Weinstein. Crews said he was promoted to share his story in the wake of the ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal. This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happen to me, he wrote. (Mumford) He went on to describe how a high level Hollywood executive had groped him at a party the previous year. He later went on to publicly identify that executive as Adam Venit. (Victor)
Crews described how Venit had groped his genitals in front of wife at an industry function. When Crews pushed the man off of him the only response he received was laughter. The actor said he was tempted to further retaliate but was afraid of being ostracised due to Venit being a powerful and influential executive. After Crews spoke out he said he hopes that his publizing his experience would deter a predator and encourage those victims who feel hopeless. (Mumford) Situations such as these and even more serious ones are easily forgotten and erased, but with movements such as #MeToo more people have chosen to speak up. If we could only continue the opportunities for victims to publicize their experiences those who feel they do not have a voice will hopefully find it amongst their pain.
Other myths that are embedded in the minds of many Americans is are that only gay men are sexually assaulted, and only gay men assault other men. These myths add harmful biases against those who have been hurt. Many do not not want to address it because there is so much denial around abuse happening to men. (Edelhart) The truth is that men can be sexually assaulted regardless of size, strength, appearance, or sexual orientation. Your sexuality has no more to do with being raped than being robbed. Rape survivor, Gabe Wright, fights to spread his message that rape can happen to anyone at anytime: male, female, straight, or gay. It is nothing about gender or sexuality, he said. It's just about power and control (Masterson)
As for the second myth the reality of it is that most men who sexually assault other men identify themselves as heterosexual. This fact helps highlight a previous point. Sexual assault is about violence, anger, and control over another person, not just lust or sexual attraction. (5)
Many victims fear how their sexual orientations may be perceived after speaking out if the perpetrator was also a male. Victims often end up spiraling into depression and confusion as they question their sexuality after going through assault. Homophobia and gay stereotypes may affect whether the victim publizes his assault. LGBTQ men are often times victim blamed. Because of their sexuality people will claim that the assault was actually consensual and that they are simply seeking attention by accusing the perpetrator. Homophobia can be used by the attacker in order to silence their victims. The attacker could be committing sexual assault as a hate crime know as corrective rape. Corrective rape occurs when a perpetrator assaults their victim in order to cure or fix them if they are part of the LGBTQ community. They could also threaten to out the victims if they decide to speak out against them. Some go as far to say that they deserved to be raped because of what they identify as. (Umich) The myths add onto the homophobia by painting non-straight men as weak and dangerous. Queer men can even end up developing self-loathing attached to their sexuality.
Because society expects men to be in control it is difficult for it to accept men as victims. The emotional needs of male victims are largely ignored, but if a man reacts as something more emotional than what society accepts they can be seen as less. (Umich) No matter how it occurs, sexual assault can having lasting emotional consequences. Victims constantly question themselves and the situation. Beliefs about manliness and masculinity are deeply ingrained in society and can lead to intense feelings of inadequacy for the male survivor. (5) Shame, guilt, and anxiety lead to questions such as: Is there something wrong with me, could I have stopped it, will people find out, do they already know? Survivors see their assault as a loss of manhood because they think that they failed to defend themselves. (Edelhart) Many put themselves into a John Wayne mentality. If something bad happens to you, just walk it off and do not acknowledge it to yourself or anyone. (NYPost) Victims suffer mental illnesses like PTSD and depression. For most men the idea of being a victim is very hard to handle. Men break off any forms of relationships they have and isolate themselves. Many drown in the world of drugs and alcohol, and become more violence, causing harm to themselves and others. (5)
The weight of sexual assault is a difficult one to bare. The majority of victims struggle to get their feet back onto steady ground after an attack. It is important to understand that people may not be able to function at 100% capacity for a while after following a major trauma like sexual assault. Survivors need to recover emotionally and physically. Talking about the assault has been proven to vastly effect how well victims recover, but unfortunately, the stigma placed around male sexual assault victims has dramatically stunted their voice. They will have to deal with their feelings in order to heal and regain a sense of control over their life. (5) For many some of their smallest steps in recovery will be extremely difficult, but by far the hardest part will be speaking up. This is why it is important to give males a greater opportunity to speak out against the violent committed against them. This will force society to open its eyes and become more accepting of male victims to help get them the help they deserve. The more men raise their voices the more others will be encouraged to do the same,and to eventually eliminate the stigma held around them.
America is a place of great development, but there are many topics that we are very slow to change. Men should not be forced to silence themselves and feel ashamed of what has been done to them. Just like female victims they deserve to be seen and receive closure. We have been battling against major issues like racism and sexism for as long as the United States has been a country. Many changes and outstanding achievements have been accomplished in the 21st century as people keep evolving. We must now focus on the unspoken side of sexism to help men find their voices in the middle of one of the most change producing times in our history. By being more open and understanding we can keep their stories and voices from being buried.
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The Buried Voice Of Sexism. (2019, Jun 24).
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https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/5/
My Understanding of Sexism Problem
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My Understanding Of Sexism Problem. (2019, Jun 24).
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The Pimp Sexism Sells
How Hip-hop communicates the lived experience of people living in Urban America
Hip Hop and Pimpin'
After a careful analysis of the selection of readings provided for this assignment, I decided Chapter 8 of Tricia Rose's The Hip Hop Wars was a perfect example to utilize in order to portray how hip hop, particularly Gangsta rap; communicates the lived experience of people living in Urban America. Titled There Are Bitches and Hoes Rose begins explaining commercial hip hop by alluding to one of its signature icons: the pimp. Namely, ...an important facet of urban street cultures and illicit economies, and once relegate to folklore, underground vernacular culture, and the margins of mainstream society, pimps have become popularized and mainstreamed. (Rose, p.167)
Rose goes on to emphasize the influence of black pimp culture on hip hop by providing examples of rappers who regularly perpetuate pimp culture in their music. Furthermore, Rose situates Many rappers began drawing from pimp culture, style, sland and attitude as part of their identities. Moreover, pimp culture in hip hop has proven to be a part of beyond just the music, it has been commercialized in such a way that rappers can sell pimp based products (Rose, p. 168). For instance, Rose refers to Nelly's energy drink; Pimp Juice, as well as one of my personal favorite MTV shows growing up: Xzibits' Pimp My Ride. Originating from the 1980s hip hop structure that set the stage for the dehumanization and sexist ideals behind the infamous pimp-playa-bitch-ho" sequence, it is no surprise that pimping is embedded in hip hop and needs it in order to maintain its relevance in mainstream culture.
It's Pimpin!
In an attempt to prompt some sympathy for pimps, there are cuddly, fuzzy-hat image of pimps in some mainstream outlets and celebrated films (Rose, p. 168) Again, this includes one of my personal favorite movie franchises of all time, Friday, in which there are pimps present in all three movies, respectively. Moreover, Friday After Next' Money Mike is a pimp strategically portrayed in such a way that can compel viewers to perhaps sympathize and/or advocate pimps and their ideologies; with Mike's colorful clothing and eccentric hyperbolic mannerisms for instance. This misleading portrayal wholly ignores the legitimate exploitation of Black women by pimps and instead of acknowledging how problematic pimp culture is at its entirety as current self aware consumers; we still continue to disregard and/or normalize the evident glorification of the exploitation of Black women.
Furthermore, Rose highlights these conceptions by referencing the infamous Snoop Dogg lyric Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks, which accurately epitomizes the attitude male rappers have towards women. Case in point, Women are bitches, and bitches are whores and prostitutes (Rose, p. 168) Additionally, a lot of modern day music that belongs to and/or stems from the Hip Hop genre unfortunately sustains this ideology and remains just as problematic and attests to the Pimpin mentality that started so long ago. For instance, in G-Eazy's But A Dream (released in 2017) G Eazy references Big Pimpin. Once more, this further affirms the notion that without ?Pimpin', hip hop cannot be sustained.
Reevaluating Hip Hop& Myself
I've always known gangsta rap to be vulgar and demeaning which is ironically what made me gravitate towards it when I first started listening to hip hop. One would assume my peers and I wouldn't be interested in something that debases us at the capacity that it does. However, I can honestly say there was nothing more exhilarating than listening to a record that I surely was not supposed to be listening to at 13 years old. I wasn't even sure what the word pimp meant, as I shouldn't have. But 50 Cent's P.I.M.P was definitely my ring tone at some point. Essentially all I knew and cared about was the song sounding good. Likewise, whether it was Jay Z's Big Pimpin with lyrics like
You know Ithug em, f*ck em, love em, leave em
Cause I don't f*ckin need em
Take em out the hood, keep em lookin good
But I don't f*ckin feed em
Or Mac Dre' ?Feelin Myself'
I didn't really pay attention to the underlying messages the lyricism contains. As I previously had mentioned, many of the products pimp hip hop resulted in were things I favored myself, a young woman of color. In spite of the fact that over the years I've grown enough to completely be able to comprehend the meaning and detrimental impact behind songs like Suga Free's Bitches Ain't Shit or I'd Rather Give You My Bitch. However, I have yet to stop listening to this music. Whether I want to reminisce by jamming to some Pimp C, (est. 1987) or just listen to some newer problematic songs by Playboi Carti (est. 2009).
Nevertheless, I always find a way to justify my actions which Rose also tackles in the reading. Likewise, Many women and girls say that since they are not "bitches and hoes," these rappers are "not talking about me" because I don't "behave that way" Rose asserts. Nonetheless, I have definitely justified listening to hip hop because I had truly believed that those words really did not apply to me, however Rose describes this type of response as a "...kind of distorted self-defense...a valiant but tragic effort to pretend that such labeling is not hurtful to all women no matter how one acts". (Rose, 177) and I agree, I compartmentalize. I love empowering music by Hip Hop artists and groups such as Black Star and/or Lauryn Hill. Nonetheless, there is a vast swath of music that I also find myself constantly fond of. I maintain this love for pimp hip hop by actively disengaging with its lyrics and their ramifications on my community. I don't skip the E40 song if it comes on shuffle. I'll casually do my homework while listening to Project Pat's Gorilla Pimp. I dance to Hypnotize Camp Posse as I'm getting ready to attend a party that is most probably going to play Juvenile once or twice. And while all of this is rather embarrassing and cringe-worthy to admit, I know I'm not alone. I believe it is a rarity to find music or movies or art that thoroughly and accurately embodies our beliefs, values, and aesthetic preferences respectively, so fans like myself are forced to set aside their principles, in order to feel as if they can enjoy pop culture fleetingly.
With that, in spite of pimp hip hop's popularity it is important to note however, that pimp hip hop, although prevalent, does not represent all of hip hop to me. Hip Hop has birthed so many other subgenres, so I will say that I don't think it is just to paint the entirety of a brilliant genre of music as the chief symbol of pimp culture. In conclusion, I honestly don't think I will be able to completely eliminate problematic songs from my playlist, especially old ones I grew up listening to, however, I will truly try and make an effort to diminish listening to newer artists that continuously perpetuate the insolent behavior and mentality of the pimp.
Cite this page
The Pimp Sexism Sells. (2019, Jun 24).
Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/5/
Sexism in the Music Industry
Sexism in The Music Industry
Sexism has two main definitions. It can be defined as a prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex () or as behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex (). There are multiple types of sexism (Old Fashioned, Neo-sexist, and Ambivalent). Most people will try and take a neo-sexist approach. They will try to deny that sexism exists, especially in the music industry. It subjects women to sexual harassment and objectification. It also affects how they are represented within the industry. This affects their record sales and success in the industry overall. Women have to work ten times harder than men in the music industry. Song lyrics also tend to glorify the mistreatment, objectification, sexualization, and brutalization of women.
The theory used to analyze this cultural aspect is Symbolic Interactionism. Symbolic interactionism origins go back to the 20th Century when Cooley and Mead began to pave the road for future symbolic interactionist. Cooley and Mead's original applied this theory to explain human behavior. They applied it to help gain a better understanding of how our interactions with others affects a person and how it helps one grow. The Chicago School soon followed in their footsteps. Howard S. Becker came along in the late 1950s. His contribution to the theory was his work entitled Outsiders. In this work, he looks at Jazz musicians and marijuana users. Throughout the work, he describes how deviance is a social construct. He believed that these people weren't deviants but were seen as deviant because they went against the norm. Becker's research also showed that a "high is not a fixed product of the chemical properties of marijuana but a condition that is verbally defined, recognized and learned only in interaction with more experienced users."().
Later on, in the 1950s, Goffman came out with his most important work. He designed and put to use a new dramaturgical model. This model considered interaction with others. It also considered self-presentation. Goffman believed that life is very much like a theatrical performance, everyone has a role to play and different scenes to act out. These scenes can either be heavily scripted or heavily improvised. The model separated a person's life into two separate areas. The two areas are backstage and frontstage. Backstage is where a person is able to relax and practice. Frontstage is where all the practice is put to use. A backstage space is any private space. For example, your room. A front space is any public area. For example, a meeting. All in all, the theory says that we are not born with certain behaviors. It states that we pick up behaviors from our day to day interactions with one another.
This theory is important in today's society because this theory actually shows what happens when one human interacts with another. Sexism is a huge problem in society. It plagues women all across the world. It especially plagues women in the music industry. There are three different types of sexism (Old-fashioned, neo-sexist, ambivalent). Old- Fashioned sexism is when a person is very open about the fact that they see the genders differently and they believe that a man should be the breadwinner and the women should take care of the home. Neo-sexism is when a person denies that sexism exists in today's' society. Ambivalent sexism can be split into two separate sub-categories (Hostile and Benevolent). Hostile sexism is when men are outwardly derogatory to women, examples of this can be seen in the popular music genre of Rap. Misogyny is heavily present in Rap Music, a leading authority in the Hip Hop culture has said: Hip Hop's sexism is visible, vulgar, and expressive. Benevolent Sexism within the music industry is more discreet and is more targeted towards females' artists who might be offered in help for sexual acts, this also seen within the Hip Hop culture. Benevolent Sexism often translates to something much darker in other genres of music as well.
Sexual assault and abuse are heavily entrenched within the music industry and as stated earlier, men who are usually in positions of power tend to abuse them. Rap Music is not the only music genre with prevalent sexism, heavy metal is notorious for being very sexist. Groupie culture is unique to metal and rock music, some of the experiences that these female fans have are not pleasant. 25 percent of former heavy metal groupies say that they experience some type of sexual assault or rape during their days as groupies. Other women who were not fans but in fact were artists have claimed sexual assault. Music executives often target young females who aim at stardom, by offering the work for success. This was the case with Yasmin Lajoie and Michelle De Vries. At the age of 21, Yasmin Lajoie was offered her dream job as an A&R assistant at a Major London music publishing office. In a letter, she wrote she states that "casual misogyny was everywhere" ("Paper Cuts: A Letter by Yasmin Lajoie", 2018). In this letter, she also mentions how her bosses would make inappropriate jokes and compliment her breast. At 23, she was molested by a manager of an artist they were trying to sign. When she told her bosses, they told her not to make a big deal of it. De Vries' assault happened while she was waiting for her work permit to come in. Her bosses made her stay with an older employee. While she was staying with him, he acted completely inappropriate towards her. She said that he would come into her room completely naked. A few months later, De Vries found out that her work permit was approved months before. The harassment didn't end after she moved out. One day the same colleague pulled her and another woman into his office. He then exposed himself and proposed a threesome. She and other women quit soon after the incident. They went to a lawyer and was told if you report this, you will never work in this industry again (Aswad, 2017).
Gender Diversity within the music industry is growing especially today, and a good example of that is the Rock group Pussy Riot. In a music genre known for its objectification of women. Pussy Riot paves the way in Russia, where there are few freedoms. Pussy Riot also doubles itself as a political group often getting jailed for performing a song with lyrics that are not too fond of the government. Another example of a woman breaking traditional roles within music is Female Rappers. Female Rappers such as Lil Kim, Missy Elliot, and Roxanne have gained respectable roles within the Rap industry. These women even though successful in their fields still face sexism.
Even though diversity in the Music industry is increasing, women still do not hold a sizeable chunk of the music industry. In fact, in some genres the representation of women is actually decreasing, A study mentioned by the New York Times writer, Ben Sisario, stated that female representation in pop music has decreased in the last 6 years. In an Analysis done by Billboard, of 600 songs from 2012 to 2017, that of 1200 artists only 22.4 percent were women. Female producers have the most disappointing statistic with only having 2 percent representation within the music industry. The music industry, however, does have a better representation of woman than some industries. An article published on Forbes website states that Billboard comes up with a list of the 100 powerful people in the music industry. The list includes leaders of tech, management, and recorded music. It has been reported that In 2018, 17% of the list was females, up from 10% in 2017. Men still hold most of the top jobs. (Blistein, 2018`). Many believe that the music industry is still very much a Boy's Club.
Because of this, it's hard for women to break through in music. Women in the music industry don't have the same opportunities as men. In an article written by Jon Blistein, entitled New Study: Music Industry's Greatest Gender Disparity is Behind the Scenes. The article sums up the results from a study conducted by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. During the study, researchers studied 600 songs that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in the years of 2012-2017. The research showed that "only 22 percent of those songs were by females. Even fewer songs -12 percent- had a female songwriting credit"(Blistein, 2018). The researchers believed that the studio is what contributes the most to this unfair gender gap. It is very rare for females to get a producer credit on a record. In the few cases when they are given credit, they are also the artist. The researchers also looked at producer credits on the top 100 songs, during 2012, 2015, and 2017. All together they looked at 300 songs with 651 producer credits.
Works Cited:
- Aswad, J. (2017, December 18). Music Executives Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Assault in BBC Report. Retrieved from https://variety.com/2017/music/news/uk-music-executives-accused-sexual-misconduct-bbc-tv-1202643699/
- Blistein, J. (2018, June 25). New Study: Music Industry's Greatest Gender Disparity Is Behind the Scenes. Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/new-study-music-industrys-greatest-gender-disparity-is-behind-the-scenes-203036/
- Oware, M. (2010). Brotherly Love: Homosociality and Black Masculinity in Gangsta Rap Music. Journal of African American Studies,15(1), 22-39. doi:10.1007/s12111-010-9123- Paper Cuts: A Letter by Yasmin Lajoie. (2018, January 28). Retrieved from https://www.auxoro.com/artists/2018/1/28/a-letter-by-yasmin-lajoie-paper-cuts
- Seidman, S. A. (1992). Profile:An investigation of sex?role stereotyping in music videos. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,36(2), 209-216. doi:10.1080/08838159209364168
- Sperling, V. (2014). Russian feminist perspectives on Pussy Riot. Nationalities Papers,42(4), 591-603. doi:10.1080/00905992.2014.924490
- Vincent, A. (2017, July 07). Kesha's comeback: A timeline of her bitter legal feud with Sony and producer Dr Luke. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/comeback- kesha-timeline-bitter-legal-feud-sony-dr-luke/
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Sexism in The Music Industry. (2019, Jun 24).
Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
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Pope and Sexism
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Pope And Sexism. (2019, Jun 24).
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Sexism in Modern Society
Introduction
Sexism refers to the retrogressive acts of discriminating against people based on their gender identity or sex. Typically, both male and female genders can be victimized in different contexts. However, discrimination and prejudice against the girls and women are more common compared to the male gender (Deegan, 2014). Sexism is a global social problem that affects both genders. For instance, most organizations have more male than female leaders. Additionally, discrimination against women has led to men assuming most of the political offices globally. The female population is significantly more than their male counterparts across the globe. However, due to sexism and negative stereotypes against women, most elective posts are held by men. Women have also been demoralized from pursuing technical subjects due to sexism. Currently, most college students pursuing scientific courses such as Engineering, Architecture, Medicine and Computer Programming are predominantly male (Deegan, 2014). Contrarily, women dominate the arts courses such as Sociology and Philosophy. Parents encourage their male children to study scientific courses while neglecting the females. Sexism is, therefore, a global problem that hinders women empowerment and sustainable development.
Gender roles have also contributed to sexism. Most primitive societies believe that women are intrinsically inferior to men (Deegan, 2014). As such, these societies tend to favor men while disregarding women. The primary domestic duties such as washing utensils, cleaning the house, cooking and laundry services are reserved for women. Conversely, the technical and economic activities such as carpentry, masonry, and electrical services are reserved for men. Therefore, men become more economically empowered as a result of the division of labor and gender roles. In extreme cases, sexism and gender discrimination may precipitate domestic violence, rape, and other forms of sexual harassment. The term sexism was predominantly applied during the second wave of women movements in the 1960s (King, 2016). During this period, women campaigned against racial discrimination and gender prejudice.
The philosophy of sexism holds that one gender is superior to the other and thus deserves more recognition in the society. For instance, employers may prefer having men in management positions over women. In this scenario, women are discriminated unfairly. Some organization favor male employees as they are deemed fit for manual jobs. Women are also preoccupied with domestic responsibilities such as raising children. Similarly, women have a high likelihood of requesting for maternity leave ones they become expectant. Therefore, some employers view women as a liability in the organization. The patriarchal societies have bolstered sexism through enhancing men dominion. In this society, men are perceived as the heads of their family (Deegan, 2014). As such, women in the patriarchal societies are economically and socially oppressed. Wage disparity between men and women in the workplace is still prevalent in most organizations. Although some women are more competent than their male counterparts, they are paid lower wages.
Sexism is closely related to feminism. However, the two terms are distinct. Feminism movements were created to advocate for women's rights and end the social disparity and gender inequity. As such, feminism encompasses the affirmative actions aimed at empowering the female gender. The feminists acknowledge that women are socially marginalized (Deegan, 2014). Therefore, they define sexism with a particular focus on women empowerment. Feminism is the philosophy that encourages equality between the male and female gender by addressing the factors that inhibit women success. However, sexism is the perception or believes that one gender or sex is superior to the other. There are minor cases in which men are marginalized. As such, sexism addresses the gender issues without a specific focus on women. The society discriminates against women by their gender identity. The biological sex is used as the determining factor for the social stereotypes. However, biology does not provide the information regarding one sex being superior to the other (Deegan, 2014). Thus, the gender discrimination against women is a societal perception that cannot be scientifically verified. The constitutions of most states provide for the rights of all citizens regardless of their gender. For instance, the bill of rights guarantees equality for both genders in the United States. Nevertheless, due to employers' perception as well as social stigma, few women work in construction sites and other strenuous workplaces.
Sexism and discrimination against women is not only prevalent in technical and strenuous workplaces, but also other sectors prefer having more men than women. Female employees endure inappropriate and derogatory comments from their male counterparts. Most supervisors and management staffs in the contemporary organizations are men. The few women in the leadership roles sacrifice other aspects such as raising a family to maintain their positions. Sexism is also evidenced by the wage gap between the male and female employees. Additionally, men are preferred by employers as they are deemed intelligent and reliable compared to the female employees. Women have been considered homemakers for many years (Fine and Asch, 2018). As such, a section of the society believes that their functions are limited to house chores such as cooking and raising a family. Sexism negatively affects single mothers who are unable to find employment due to their gender. These women are unable to cater for their children as the society does not empower them economically. Due to the increased costs of living, there is a need for both men and women to be financially empowered. When both parents are financially empowered, the family income becomes sufficient to meet the basic needs as well as improve their living standards. By empowering women, the society will learn to appreciate their contributions and also end the social stigma that portrays men as the sole economic providers (Deegan, 2014).
Although sexism mostly focuses on the female gender inferiority, studies highlight that in some cases men are also marginalized (King, 2016). For instance, the modeling and fashion industry is mostly dominated by women. As such, there is a need to address the disparity by encouraging more men to venture into the industry. Traditionally, female children get more parental attention and care as compared to their male counterparts (King, 2016). The society expects men to work for long hours to provide for their families. Sexism is also illustrated by the fact that men are required to be physically strong while women are expected to be modest, kind, and obedient.
Opinion and Conclusion
Sexism affects both male and female genders in different ways. However, the feminist movements have focused on addressing women grievances by advocating for affirmative actions. This social problem can be solved if organizations pay women the same wages as their male counterparts and provide a positive atmosphere for growth to both genders. To end sexism, both genders should be treated equally to ensure a cohesive existence in the society.
References
- Deegan, M. J. (2014). Goffman on gender, sexism, and feminism: a summary of notes on a conversation with Erving Goffman and my reflections then and now. Symbolic Interaction, 37(1), 71-86.
- Fine, M., & Asch, A. (2018). Disabled women: Sexism without the pedestal. In Women and Disability (pp. 6-22). Routledge.
- King, D. K. (2016). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a Black feminist ideology. In Race, Gender and Class (pp. 36-57). Routledge.
Cite this page
Sexism In Modern Society. (2019, Jun 24).
Retrieved November 4, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/5/
