Sunday, January 26, 2020
The comfort women
The comfort women The comfort women issue has been a controversial topic since December 1991, where Kim Hak-sun and several other Korean women came forward in a lawsuit against the Japanese government demanding reparation as former ââ¬Å"comfort women.â⬠[1] Undoubtedly, there is an abundance of literature concerning the issue from both Japanese and American scholars. In addition, the media illustrates many different positions that have been and are still argued today. Yuki Tanaka, however, provides an interesting analysis of Japans comfort system in his book, Japans Comfort Women: Sexual slavery and prostitution during World War II and the US Occupation. He begins on a personal note concerning his father and uncles being part of the Kwantung Army; one of many groups who participated in the comfort system. Tanaka suggests that the Japanese soldiers were not ââ¬Å"monstersâ⬠but average and banal human beings whose participation was a ââ¬Å"personal choice,â⬠not a mass conspiracy of evil.[2] In essence, Yuki Tanakas book provides a sound examination of the origins and structure of the comfort system during World War II, as well as its further establishment for the Allies during the US occupation. However, Tanaka neglects the issue of ââ¬Å"slaveryâ⬠and overemphasizes the issue of ââ¬Å"sexâ⬠within the comfort women system. While this is not to say that he fails to acknowledge the slavery issue, his book is driven towards the universal connection between war and sex, in relation to his focus on the ideologies of masculinity and dominance as sole grounds for the brutality against comfort women in Japan and later on in the expanse of Asia. In this review, I examine Tanakas approach on the comfort women issue by evaluating how his literature is structured. I also examine his literatures dependency on the aspects of dominance, masculinity and sex during the wartime as reasoning for his chosen direction on the comfort women issue. Lastly, I examine Tanakas use of terminology throughout his book and determine whether his chosen terminology indicates a trivial bias or an unconscious effort to categorize the differing levels of brutality in which the Japanese military and the Allied occupation forces exploit comfort women. Tanakas motivation to further investigate the comfort women issue stems from the continued silence from his father and uncles concerning certain Japanese war experiences. He suggests that he learned about his fathers wartime experiences through a historical filter, which is often a common practice with history-telling. Tanaka states that the silence warrants a further examination of the history of Japanese prostitution, as well as the practice of wartime prostitution by other nations, specifically the US and Australia.[3] Although Tanaka does not excuse what Japan did to women during World War II, he explains that it was ââ¬Å"part of a pervasive pattern of worldwide male aggression and domination.â⬠[4] Ultimately, Tanaka universalizes certain aspects of Japans military prostitution and the institution of the comfort system. This provides an interesting and rational approach to the issue, since deeming the comfort system as an isolated incident would be careless and ignorant. Tanaka structures his book into six chapters: the origins of the comfort women system, procurement of comfort women and their lives as sexual slaves, comfort women in the Dutch East Indies, why the US forces ignored the comfort women issue, sexual violence committed by the Allied occupation forces, and Japanese comfort women for the Allied occupation forces. In chapter one, he provides a detailed illustration of the how the comfort system started and how it grew from mass recruitment, coercion, abduction and transaction. Tanaka specifically relates the structure of the comfort system to the karayuki-san system of overseas prostitution. He highlights the progressive nature of the Japanese military prostitution system of using professional Japanese prostitutes to using Korean women in the comfort stations. In chapter two, Tanaka examines the significant emergence of Korean women in comfort stations during Japans colonization of Korea. While most literature concerning the comfort women issue focus on the exploitation of Korean women, Tanaka analyzes the circumstances pertaining to the use of Korean women as the main source for the comfort system. To enhance this aspect, he uses testimonies from Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese and Filipino comfort women victims to emphasize the drastic expansion of the system from China and the Shanghai Incident in 1932, to the entire Asia-Pacific zone after Japans attack on Pearl Harbor.[5] In chapters three and four, Tanakas focus turns away from the Asian community and towards the international community to examine common characteristics of military prostitution between the Japanese military and the Allied occupation forces.[6] Tanaka first examines the Dutch, Eurasian and Indonesian comfort women in the Dutch East Indies, where the Dutch military prosecute the Japanese military for crimes against the Dutch women, but not for the Asian women situated in the Dutch East Indies.[7] The issue of race is a significant aspect to how the comfort system is structured, as well as how the US and other Allied occupation forces fail to prosecute the Japanese military for crimes against humanity for all comfort women victims. Tanaka highlights the aspect of racial discrimination to place responsibility on the Allied forces for exacerbating the issue by failing to take action against the Japanese military. He also examines how the US occupation forces, along with the British and Au stralian troops, maintained similar policies of ââ¬Å"military-controlled prostitutionâ⬠[8] as the Japanese military. In addition, Tanaka raises important questions pertaining to whether these policies are still a common practice in contemporary military forces, and whether this issue is ââ¬Å"integral to the relationship between war and sexuality.â⬠[9] Tanakas approach to the comfort women issue takes on a broader focus, which encompasses other nations as active participants in their acts of brutality against comfort women. In chapter five, Tanaka uses a wide variety of Japanese and American documents to examine the true nature of the Allied forces military-controlled prostitution and the extent of the violence and rape suffered by women. With this chapter, Tanaka aims to bring the problematic relationship between war and sexuality into the spotlight of the comfort women issue. In chapter six, Tanaka establishes that the characteristics of the wartime comfort system were similar to the Recreation and Amusement Association (RAA) established specifically for the Allied occupation forces. He maintains that the RAA was a less brutal establishment of military prostitution than that of the Japanese wartime comfort system. However, historian Bob T. Wakabayashi argues that ââ¬Å"[i]f the Allies sexual exploitation of women was less brutal, then, this was largely because it was more lucrative for the women.â⬠[10] Throughout the book, Tanaka emphasizes the problem of venereal disease, which only increased a s the comfort system expanded. While policies were implemented to prevent the spread of venereal diseases, none of the implemented polices attempted to discontinue the system. This, Tanaka suggests, shows how the preventive policies only increased venereal disease because soldiers were working around the policies to find other ways to meet with prostitutes. By examining how Tanaka structures his book, his approach on the comfort women issue suggests that he believes the role of the Allied occupation forces in the comfort system is explained by the ideological relationship between war and sexuality. Tanakas approach to the comfort women issue is defined by his books dependency on the aspects of dominance, masculinity and sex during wartime. He uses these aspects to universalize characteristics of the comfort system as an example of the relationship between war and sex. In addition, Joy Damousi also suggests that Tanaka views ââ¬Å"racism and nationalism [as] interrelated within the ideology of masculinity â⬠¦ [where] sexual abuse of women symbolized the dominance of the conquerors.â⬠[11] Wakabayashi, however, argues that Tanaka purposefully shifts the issues focus from Korea to the Asia-Pacific zone to look for ââ¬Å"charges of criminalityâ⬠from international law rather than domestic law.[12] Tanaka addresses the parallel between the violation of the womans body and the domination over the enemy on the battlefield. He states that the brothels and prostitutes were used because soldiers believed that women were there to help the soldiers who fought to protect the ir country.[13] This type of reasoning indicates that the soldiers saw their relations with comfort women as a transaction of returned favors. Tanaka states that the soldiers mindset stems from aspects of dominance and masculinity enforced in preparation for the war. Tanaka also theorizes that sexual activity, especially during wartimes, provides an escape from reality, similar to the effects of alcohol.[14] Ultimately, it is used as a weapon against death. In relation to war, violence is needed when fighting wars, which translates into violence against women, in this case against comfort women. Physical domination over women, especially women of the enemy, translates into the humiliation of the enemy.[15] This type of war mentality is very common, not just with the Japanese military, but with the Allied occupation forces as well. Wakabayashi, thus, questions why Japan is the only country under litigation if other Allied occupation forces from the US and Australia also played a role in exacerbating the comfort system. A. Hamish Ion disagrees with Wakabayashis assessment and states that while the Allied occupation forces behavior was cruel, it ââ¬Å"does not equate with that of the wartime Japanese military.â⬠[16] Ultimately, the sexual abu se of women is inevitable during wartime because soldiers are trained to exude masculinity and dominance, which Tanaka explains is the ââ¬Å"military culture of sexualized masculinity, a phenomenon common to military organizations regardless of nationality.â⬠[17] Tanaka provides an interesting comparison between war and sexuality in relation to how this ideological relationship shaped the comfort system during World War II and into the US occupation. While Tanaka gives the impression that he believes the Allied occupation forces played a significant role in exploiting Asian women, he reasons that it was less brutal than the exploitation suffered during the wartime. Wakabayashi argues that Tanaka shifts the focus of the comfort system towards the Asia-Pacific zone for the purpose of using international law to evaluate the Japanese military. However, one must acknowledge that Tanakas shift in focus also emphasizes sexuality and its effect on war. For this reason, he concludes the use of sex was a main factor in sustaining military discipline.[18] Tanakas use of terminology throughout his book also factors into how he illustrates the comfort women issue. From examining his term use, the reader can question whether his literature depicts a bias or merely an effort to distinguish the severity of Japans military prostitution and the Allied occupation forces exploitation of women. Throughout his book, Tanaka does not use the term ââ¬Å"coercedâ⬠like many other authors do in their literature. Instead, he consistently uses the terms ââ¬Å"forcedâ⬠and ââ¬Å"recruitâ⬠in reference to how comfort women were procured. This is especially pronounced in chapter two: procurement of comfort women and their lives as sexual slaves, where Tanaka examines the circumstances of Chinese and Filipino comfort women. Often times, the Japanese military did not have to conceal how they were treating civilians.[19] In this case, using the term ââ¬Å"coercedâ⬠implies bullying and intimidation, while using the term ââ¬Å"forced â⬠implies an outright proactive recruitment. In addition, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes definition of ââ¬Å"coercionâ⬠states that ââ¬Å"government authorities [were] breaking into private homes and taking [women] like kidnappers,â⬠[20] which proves to be a fitting definition in the procurement of Chinese and Filipino comfort women. Tanaka also uses the term ââ¬Å"procureâ⬠as a more general reference to how the Japanese military were obtaining and acquiring women for the comfort system. The overall use of this term encompasses terms such as ââ¬Å"coercing,â⬠ââ¬Å"forcingâ⬠and ââ¬Å"recruitingâ⬠in relation to the comfort system because it only specifies that the women were obtained, not the method in which they were obtained. Wakabayashi also hints at Tanakas ââ¬Å"slight biasâ⬠when referring to ââ¬Å"sexual slaveryâ⬠for Japan and ââ¬Å"military-controlledâ⬠prostitution for the Allied forces.[21] Ultimately, Wakabayashi feels that Tanaka ââ¬Å"downplays Western military sexual violenceâ⬠[22] because he categorizes Japan and the Allies role in the exploitation of women differently. Wakabayashi also accuses Tanaka of being hypocritical because Tanaka states in his introduction that he means no offence by using terms such as ââ¬Å"comfort womenâ⬠and ââ¬Å"comfort stationsâ⬠in his literature, which he describes as ââ¬Å"cruel euphemisms.â⬠[23] In addition, Wakabayashi is bothered by Tanakas use of the acronym ââ¬Å"RAAâ⬠to refer to the ââ¬Å"Recreation and Amusement Associationâ⬠established specifically for the Allied occupation forces. However, it can be argued that Tanaka uses acronyms throughout his book, including the terms General Head Quarter s (GHQ), venereal disease (VD) and Government Issue (GI). His use of acronyms could either mean he is attempting to save the reader from repeatedly reading ââ¬Å"venereal diseaseâ⬠numerous times, or that he is trying to downplay the Allies involvement in the exploitation because most of his acronym usage is located in the chapters focused on the Allies. It is not difficult to see why Tanaka downplays the Allied occupation forces involvement, especially when he refers to terms such as ââ¬Å"prostitutionâ⬠and ââ¬Å"sexual slavery.â⬠In this case, prostitution implies ââ¬Å"payment of sexual union.â⬠[24] Tanaka provides a brief examination of the structure of a comfort establishment by the Recreation and Amusement Association (RAA). The GI is to pay at the front desk and pick up a ticket and a condom before meeting with the comfort woman. In the morning, the comfort woman goes to the front desk to claim half of the money paid. Therefore, one could agree with Tanaka and argue that the RAA and the Allied occupation forces were not as brutal in their exploitation, which is why only Japan is involved in litigation concerning the comfort women issue. By examining Tanakas terminology throughout his book, one can establish that his use of certain terms indicates a bias, but not an unexamined one. His chosen terminology als o emphasizes the sexuality aspect of war and its effect on how both Japanese and Allied troops influenced the comfort system. This review centers around the argument that Yuki Tanaka overemphasizes the aspect of ââ¬Å"sexâ⬠and not enough on the aspect of ââ¬Å"slavery.â⬠This is because Tanakas approach on the comfort women issue is dependent upon the relationship between war and sex. This relationship implies a universality of certain characteristics of the comfort system or at least characteristics of military prostitution exploited by all nations. By examining the structure of his book and the terminology he uses, one can identify that Tanaka aims to investigate certain war experiences that the older generation of World War II, from Japan, the US and Australia, maintained silence about. In essence, Tanaka relies heavily on the aspect of ââ¬Å"sexâ⬠where A. Hamish Ion also points out, ââ¬Å"the issue at heart is not sex but slavery.â⬠[25] Tanakas book provides an interesting yet reasonable approach to the comfort women issue. He manages to examine different sources from the Japanese Archives, the Australian National Archives and War Memorial, as well as the US National Archives, which allowed him to map out patterns and continuities between military prostitution and war mentality. He provides many primary documents throughout his book, including comfort women and military officials testimonies, witness reports, statistical data as well as photographs. He attributes most of this research to his fourth and fifth chapters, which would have turned out differently had he not visited the US National Archives. Tanakas book not only provides insight to the origins and structure of the comfort system during World War II, but also establishes the Allied occupation forces as a major contributor for the silence maintained concerning the comfort women issue. Therefore from this abundance of information Tanaka provides, one can co nclude that the established silence on the issue was not for the lack of resources, but because literature has over-examined different aspects of the same angle. [1] I use the term ââ¬Å"comfort womenâ⬠without quotation marks throughout the review to stay consistent with the authors use of the term in his book. [2] Yuki Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women: Sexual slavery and prostitution during World War II and the US Occupation (New York: Routledge, 2002) 3-4. [3] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 2. [4] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, (Forward) xvi. [5] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 5. [6] Raymond Lamont-Brown, ââ¬Å"Sex Slaves for the Emperor,â⬠Contemporary Review 281, no. 1640 (2002), http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=EAIMuserGroupName=yorku_main, 181. [7] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 78. [8] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 92. [9] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 6. [10] Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi, ââ¬Å"Review: Comfort Women: Beyond Litigious Feminism,â⬠Monumenta Nipponica 58, no. 2 (2003), http://www.jstor.org/stable/25066215, 245. [11] Joy Damousi, ââ¬Å"Review: [untitled],â⬠The American Historical Review 108, no. 4 (2003), http://www.jstor.org/stable/3523712, 1122. [12] Wakabayashi, ââ¬Å"Beyond Litigious Feminism,â⬠249. [13] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 87. [14] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 174. [15] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 176. [16] A. Hamish Ion, ââ¬Å"Review: [untitled],â⬠The International History Review 23, no. 2 (2003), http://www.jstor.org/stable/40109381, 475. [17] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 179. [18] Damousi, ââ¬Å"Review,â⬠1122. [19] Tanaka, Japans Comfort Women, 48. [20] Hirofumi Hayashi, ââ¬Å"Disputes in Japan over the Japanese Military ââ¬Å"Comfort Womenâ⬠System and its Perception in History,â⬠The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 617 (2008), http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/gtx/start.do?prodId=EAIMuserGroupName=yorku_main, 124. [21] Wakabayashi, ââ¬Å"Beyond Litigious Feminism,â⬠243. [22] Wakabayashi, ââ¬Å"Beyond Litigious Feminism,â⬠243. [23] Wakabayashi, ââ¬Å"Beyond Litigious Feminism,â⬠244. [24] Sarah Soh, ââ¬Å"From Imperial Gifts to Sex Slaves: Theorizing Symbolic Representations of the ââ¬ËComfort Women,â⬠Social Science Japan Journal 3, no. 1 (2000), http://scholarsportal.info.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/, 65. [25] Ion, ââ¬Å"Review,â⬠474.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Critical Review: with No Direction Home: Homeless Youth on the Road and in the Streets by Marni Finkelstein
In this critical review of Marni Finkelsteinââ¬â¢s ethnography ââ¬Å"With No Direction Home: Homeless Youth on the Road and in the Streetsâ⬠I will analyze and evaluate some of the strategies and methods used by this author. One primary issue I will discuss is the sample population. Finkelstein may have set the population limitations to strictly for this ethnography. Her limited observation location and time is also a major issue. She chose to study a transient population that, very likely, primarily comes out at night. Yet, she limited herself to one primary location and she only went there in the daytime. I will discuss the lack of follow up to the individual interviews as well. While she discovered some fascinating information about this subculture, she did not find what she stated she initially set out to find. Finkelsteinââ¬â¢s goal was to study ââ¬Å"gutterpunksâ⬠(Finkelstein, 2005), but what she actually studied were the substance abusing homeless youth of Tompkins Square Park. In her original hypothesis she wanted to learn about ââ¬Å"alternative youth subcultures, especially those revolving around musicâ⬠(Finkelstein, 2005). She does not seem to have accomplished this goal. There was little talk about music in the ethnography, on her part or the part of the kids. Was it because she found that there was no relation to music or because she did not specifically try to find youth involved with the music. It seems like she basically settled for just plain old homeless drug addict and alcoholic kids, which would be great if her goal was not more specific to finding ââ¬Å"gutterpunks. â⬠The ethnography is also based on an extremely small sample size. According to Finkelsteinââ¬â¢s own numbers, she only interviewed 50 youth over the period of the two summers. That seems like an extremely low number of participants for which to base an entire ethnography. I would think that over a period of two summers- letââ¬â¢s call that 6 months- a researcher would have the opportunity to encounter hundreds of potential candidates to provide informational interviews. Part of the trouble may have been that she limited her participants ages to being between 15-20 years old. I believe that this restriction left out a great deal of potentially vital informants and information. It may have substantially limited her population size. For example, the 25 year old, named Scratch, who had been on the streets for 10+ years, would have been a cornucopia of information. But, all she did was use him to refer her to other kids in her required age group. The street culture in Tompkins Square Park did not have age limitations. Iââ¬â¢m not sure that Finkelstein should have either. Itââ¬â¢s important to note that all of the kids involved were heavily dependent on drugs and alcohol. Also important to note, is that she was paying her participants. This combination may have created unintended consequences. Itââ¬â¢s possible that the kids were willing to tell vivid and imaginative stories to Finkelstein in hopes of being interviewed again and, thereby, being paid again. Many of the youth were willing to admit to prostitution in order to earn money for drugs or alcohol. Is it possible that they would prostitute lies about their own lives for the same end? Is it possible that they never really left New York? Did they just move into shelters in the winter? Itââ¬â¢s impossible to know for sure. These kids are caught up in the culture of lies and delusion surrounding drugs; that is to say, who says they arenââ¬â¢t just verbally fantasizing with Finkelstein and passing it off as the truth. The location limitation was also unfavorable for this kind of ethnography. If one is going to write ethnography about a transient population, they should become somewhat transient themselves. Traveling with the youth would necessarily be required in order to get a full picture of their culture. The stories from the kids may have been accurate and detailed, or they may have been fabricated, but, either way, it is not the same as having experienced it personally. In order to fully understand and appreciate a subsistence strategy, one must subsist from it, if only for a brief period. She might have considered a more interactive participant observation model to more fully experience their culture. Finkelstein should have gone out into the park when more kids were out and about. She mentioned that she only when out in the daylight, ââ¬Å"I would try to get to the field site early before the kids were either too drunk to be interviewed or completely passed out in the grassâ⬠(Finkelstein, 2005). Because these kids are alcoholics and drug addicts, it is very likely that much of their life takes place after sundown and before sun up. I imagine that they have quite a tolerance and are relatively functional for much of the early part of the evening. ââ¬Å"Drugs and alcohol were a major part of the kidââ¬â¢s livesâ⬠(Finkelstein, 2005). I can certainly appreciate her concern for personal safety, but if th is is the population she wanted to study she might have made more of an effort to be around when the activities were in full swing. She only mentioned being at one party in the book. I have to believe that there were countless similar activities during her research, of which she was not a part. I have gathered from the ethnography that Finkelstein interviewed each kid only once. From that interview, she sprinkled quotes throughout the book. She mentions a few times in the book that she would interview kids and then never see them again. For accuracy purposes, and to get an idea of the level of honesty from her informants she should have conducted multiple interviews with the same kids. This would have been more likely if she was willing to spend more time in their ââ¬Å"natural habitat. â⬠Follow up on the interviews with the youth should have been done. Talking with the family or schools of the kids would have added much needed detail to the ethnography. Since she was paying the kids, perhaps she could have paid more for verifiable information about their previous mainstream lives. Then followed up on the information provided and reported her results. It would have been nice to have a section on what their families and teachers said about how the kids were before their lives on the street. Perhaps, verifying or debunking some of the information the kids told her. Itââ¬â¢s not only important that the kids are on the street, but why. What lead them there and are the youth truthful overall? It would have been interesting if Finkelstein could have interviewed ex-Tomkins Square Park kids for her book. Do they ever get out? Do they move on to other arenas for homelessness as they age? Clearly, in Chapter 9, the kids have plans for the future. Itââ¬â¢s also clear that their plans are of then just a shared illusion. They donââ¬â¢t currently have the means or the wherewithal to accomplish the goals theyââ¬â¢ve set out. The kids, like Jeff and Joyce, clearly have plans to buy land, but no real idea of the amount of money it requires. I am sure there are people that did grow up and out of this subculture. I would like to have heard from them on how they got out and what became of their lives. I canââ¬â¢t say that have the answer on how to find them either, but it would have been interesting. Finkelstein did make macro conclusions from individual or micro level research. But she does come up with some interesting information about the small group of Tompkins Square Park youth she interviewed. This should not be disregarded, as homeless youth often are. It was eye opening to pear into this culture and community. The homeless kids often had a common bond because of prior abuse. (Finkelstein, 2005) They also bonded out of shared needs. Whether those needs be drugs, alcohol, or food, they were willing to share with those they knew were in the same situation. When they would panhandle they would pool their money with other youth. If one got some food, he or she would share it with another who was nearby. This happened specifically when Finkelstein bought some pizza for a youth named Tommy. Although he was starving himself, he effortfully walked across the street to give half of it to a girl who was panhandling. Tommy did not know the girl; he just knew they shared the common bond of being homeless. The Tompkins Square Park youth considered themselves apart from mainstream culture. Yet, they required it for survival. If they were truly apart from society they would have been growing or hunting for food. They would have traveled from place to place on foot. That simply did not happen. Wasting of food by mainstream society allowed them the opportunity to dumpster dive for food. Caring people would sometimes buy them food. Modern modes of transportation allowed them to travel around the country in quick fashion. The kids panhandled and begged for money. They participated in this ethnography because they were getting paid to do it. While the youth would like to consider themselves apart from mainstream, the reality is that they are just one part of it. What one has to keep in mind always, is that these are not highly idealistic youth as much as they are kids caught in the fog of drug and alcohol addictions. From the drugs and alcohol came the extreme level of violence. These youth walked around with weapons, usually a knife or things called ââ¬Å"smileys. â⬠The smiley would be made from a bicycle chain which sometimes had lock on it too. This weapon appears to have the capability of causing some pretty disfiguring injuries. These kids have no qualms about deploying these weapons. In fact it seems to be a regular event. This level of unreported violence is definitely one area where they keeping themselves separate from mainstream society. The question for me is: Are they reverting to more primitive behaviors because of the lack of civilized structure or is the alcohol and drug use the main problem. Finkelsteinââ¬â¢s ethnography is a remarkable piece of anthropological work. It s also possible to learn from some of her mistakes. She states that her objective is to study the relationship between music and this subculture of kids on the street. She never makes any further reference to that issue. How did the music play a part in this culture? She stated that the size of the street kid population is substantial, approximately 100 million worldwide, but she only had 50 youths in her study. She interviewed them only once without and any follow up with the youth themselves or their families, school, or other organizations. Furthermore, she studied a transient population from one single location, primarily Tompkins Square Park. It would seem appropriate to have traveled with this population to get a real sense of their culture. Did they act in California as they acted in New York? Did they really travel at all? A main concern is that this work is based on personal stories from youth who are deluded by drugs and alcohol. There is no real verification of the facts presented. From these personal stories Finkelstein makes claims about all homeless youth, when she should really just be discussing Tompkins Square Park youths.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
How Socialization Influence a Person
How Socialization Influence a Person Socialization is the process when the person learns different aspects of life interacting with other people from his or her environment. Every individual is connected with the other people and makes all decisions in accordance with the principle ââ¬Å"we influence those who is influencing usâ⬠. The socialization phenomenon is the process of learning of different peoples and individuals regardless of their age. Each person has to be acquainted with the rules of the social group he/she belongs to. Social group may be a family, teenager crowd, army or country. Socialization is the process when the person lives in strict accordance with the way of life that society leads. The influence of socialization becomes obvious in everything. This process includes all aspects of everyday life, such as: principles, values, rules of life and goals people set up and share with each other. Being socialized means being aware of everything. The first and the most important part of the socialization process is the family. It exerts a great influence upon us and affects every individual because family members are the closest persons and we spent with them a considerable part of our life. They are the first persons in the entire world who teach us how to live and what principles stick to. Family is a nation in miniature where the same rules are established. Thatââ¬â¢s the first place where we learn to trust and to interact with the people of our environment. We grow up and exceed the bounds of our family circle. Here we have to say that peers might have one of the most important influences on our life next to our family. People get used to trust the peers and spend most of their time with them that leads to some kind of isolation from other social groups. The other part of social development is school. The school years play an exceptionally important role in the socialization process of young generation. No matter what background the kids already have when they go to school, they are taught to be productive members of the nowadays society and be well-prepared to the serious adult life. It is important to realize that we all
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
The Effects Of Anorexia Nervosa On The Human Body
The Effects of Anorexia Nervosa On the Human Body Anorexia is a lack or loss of appetite for food as a medical condition and is also considered an emotional disorder categorized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Anorexia is found in all people, male and female of any age and in some cases can be life threatening. The reason Anorexia and all eating disorders in general are important to study is because they are a significant part of society. Eating disorders also hold the title of the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Therefore, more people are dying of EDââ¬â¢s each day. The main cause of these deaths is not only from malnutrition, but suicide. Eating disorder are long lasting and more than often result in death. More effective methods of treatment and recovery need to be discovered and practiced in order to reduce these numbers. Essentially, there are two subdivisions of anorexia. One type is linked to another type of eating disorder known as bulimia, which is characterized by bingeing and purging where a person eats and then purposefully vomits the food that was just consumed. The other subtype takes place through severe restriction of food and calories or starvation. The exact causes of anorexia nervosa are unknown. However, it has been noticed that the condition sometimes runs in families. Young women with a parent or sibling with an eating disorder are likelier to develop one themselves. There are also psychological,Show MoreRelatedEating Disorders : Deterioration Of The Mind1117 Words à |à 5 PagesAdvance Placement Psychology Mr.Cuetara May 4th, 2015 Abstract Eating disorders are in no way, to be considered ââ¬Å"no big dealâ⬠. It affects the lives of many poor unsuspecting human beings and in some cases, fatally takes lives. This topic presents many things that most people donââ¬â¢t know. Such as the fact that bulimia nervosa has similar symptoms to using the drug heroin! Rotten teeth, pale and dry skin, and even failing organs are usually signs that someone may have bulimia. There are always key signsRead MoreEating Disorders And The Body Image1573 Words à |à 7 Pagesstruggle daily to maintain a perfect physical body image in hopes of receiving approval, love, and happiness. The need to maintain this perfect image is supported by society and the media with a mirage of messages that you can be happy if you obtain this perfect image. Society s ideals of what the human body should look like have caused numerous people to develop abnormal eating patterns in a contempt to conform and seek society s approval of their body image. An eating disorder is an ailment thatRead MoreAnorexia Nervosa- Eating Disorder1685 Words à |à 7 PagesEffects of anorexia are mostly seen on the outside of the victimââ¬â¢s body, but do not be fooled. This detrimental eating disorder affects oneââ¬â¢s mind just as much as it would the body. What Anorexia does to the mind is that it distorts the way one views their body. Victims of anorexia become fixated on their body image and overly critical about their flaws and weight. Even being obviously underweight, Anorexics will continuously deny that they have a problem and continue with their fatal practices.Read MoreA Research On Schizophrenia And Anorexia Nervosa1269 Words à |à 6 Pagescan ââ¬Ëget into the mindââ¬â¢ in a way that results in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder (MDD), post-dramatic stress disorder (PTSD), anorexia nervosa, and substance dependence. Even though the review article covers five types of mental disorders, I ââ¬â¢m going to focus on schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa. Overtime, research has shown a robust relation between the social environment and the prevalence of mental illness. In large western cities, like NYC, there is a higherRead MoreEating Disorders : Anorexia Nervosa1462 Words à |à 6 Pages Many individuals nowadays suffer from many illnesses, one in particular is eating disorders. There are many types of eating disorders, but there are three common ones that are known today, which are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Eating disorders are not healthy, this type of disease can be very fatal and crucial to one s health à mentally, physically, and socially. The purpose of this report is to provide background information about eating disorders, strategiesRead MoreEating Disorders And Body Image Issues1655 Words à |à 7 Pagesobese, distorted body image, and prolonged food refusal (anorexia nervosa) and/or binge eating followed by purging through induced vomiting, heavy exercise, or use of laxatives (bulimia nervosa).These ailments are not pretty. In this society, where only the fit and thin bodies are accepted and appreciated, eating disorders are more common than they should be. Children, starting at a young age, see skinny people on telev ision and in magazines. They hear comments on how their bodies look, then hearRead MoreEating Disorders and the Media941 Words à |à 4 PagesAssociation of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, ââ¬Å"the body type portrayed in advertising as the ideals is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females.â⬠(ââ¬Å"ANADâ⬠) Body image has been a controversial theme because of the influence of the media. It is a widely known fact that eating disorder cases are on the rise. The concept of body image is a subjective matter. The common phrase, ââ¬Å"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,â⬠holds true meaning in this sense. Oneââ¬â¢s view and value of their body is self-imposedRead Moreï » ¿Eating Disorders; Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity in America1070 Words à |à 5 Pagesï » ¿Eating Disorders; Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity in America In many other countries, living skinny enough to show bones means they live in poverty while having excessive weight shows individuals living in higher class society. In America, obese and anorexic are two body types that have been called diseases, in which they is very similar and different in many aspects. I do not approve of anorexia nervosa or obesity. I want my readers to understand the effects of these diseases and what they canRead MoreThe Influence Of Media Reporting On Society s Perception Of Beauty1730 Words à |à 7 PagesIn the words of Emma Stone, ââ¬Å"youââ¬â¢re a human being, you live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damn red velvet cupcakeâ⬠( 2010, page number). It is evident that over the last decade the media has created an image that is unrealistic and unattainable for teenage girls. As such, based upon a macro perspective, the societal roles, status and expectations of young women have been impacted negatively. This paper will analyze how the com bination of media reporting, socioeconomics and socioculturalRead MoreSocial Norms Of A Female s Beauty And Body Image1234 Words à |à 5 Pagesââ¬Å"Youââ¬â¢re a human being, you live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damn red velvet cupcake.â⬠ââ¬â Emma Stone. The world is rapidly changing in the world of women. Even over the last decade, the role and social norms of a female has changed substantially. With that said, societies standards of a women s beauty and body image has a direct effect on teenage girls, leading many to develop eating disorders such as anorexia. There are two main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa and bulimia
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