Marcus Hearne

PSC301 Final

Part I.
3)

The election results this cycle shocked many. The modus and analysis of the
unexpected victory of Donald Trump has been the subject of much debate in past
months. I believe this extremely tumultuous election is the result of a combination
of technology, a lassie-farie media/news market and the paradoxical ethos of the
candidates personal and political identities. Arguably, the American populous, to
date has never been presented with such a polarizing choice; male conservative vs.
female liberal.
I believe gender was a factor throughout the general race to the end that
differences between Trump and Clinton were drawn out early during the cycle.
Indeed, no objective metric for determining the impact these differences in polling
results exists; it is hard if not impossible to quantify how sexist rhetoric, subtle or
not affects an election. Consequently, I believe that in looking at this rhetoric, for
example the media/Hollywood making fun of Donald Trumps manhood because of
his hand size and Donald Trump insinuating that Hillary isnt goodlooking, Can you
imagine that, the face of our next president we can see dire and cheap attempts to
appeal to their respective political bases. Ironically, you can almost begin to draw a
pattern between the type of political humor that exists between both parties. On the
liberal side you can see how the Im smarter than you, you dumb conservative
role has practically cemented itself; just as it was during the 2008/2012 election
cycle with Obamas zingers. Contrasted to the conservative traditional family
values and rejection of the politically correct narrative only helped to bolster the
disdain among Trump supporters. Indeed, It seems that left to their own devices
politicians and the media/Hollywood reinforce the gender based stereotypes.
In this light I believe it is fair to say that I have never seen political showmanship so
apparent and pandering to their bases so manufactured and insincere multiplied
exponentially by social media that it was practically force fed to unsuspecting
voters as news when in reality it was biased manufactured sensationalist garbage
designed for profit. I think it is also important to note that first woman president
or even woman president would conceivably help Hilarys chance at a stable
economic period. I can not tell you how many people I discussed with and dozens of
pieces I read that heralded her role as the first female president as though her
politics and personality were disassociated from her gender, the latter of which was
infinitely more appealing.
As far as the progression of womens issues, I would expect to see the nomination
of conservative justices on the supreme court that vote against or do not support
modern facets of feminists struggle for equal rights. To that end I also believe that

it is too late, politically and culturally to move against rulings like Roe V Wade that
are the corner stone of what rights women currently have.

Part II.

5)
The distribution of different socio-economic paradigms throughout the world
have large impact on the status of womens rights and gender equality in that
region. Countries that belong to the European Union and are social democracies are
perhaps the top proponents of equality in the world. Social democracies generally
afford equality to its citizens by way of interfering in markets and policy where there
is an unfair advantage. In Sweden for example equality is virtually guaranteed.
Womens rights here are among the most forward thinking of developed nations.
Bodily rights such as the right to have an abortion and birth control are explicitly
guaranteed by laws and an equality doctrine exists; as well as life rights such as
paid maternity leave.
Contrast this to the United States capitalist, open market mechanism of markets
and policy. Womens rights are not explicit, some of the protections women enjoy
such as the right to abortions and birth control in America are the result of court
rulings and trials, which implicitly form the [often shaky] groundwork for gender
less-than-equality. The unwillingness in large part to interfere in markets such as the
labor market which is primarily controlled by corporate interest have effectively
served to stonewall the progression of womens rights. Like other developed nations
American women can vote and have many of the same rights as a man. In practice,
however, they are not necessarily all considered equal especially when a subjective
circumstance, such as, workplace discrimination is considered. Furthermore, lack of
federal protection and an entitlement to equal rights, spelled out in the proposed
EPA limit the legal status of women. Accordingly, the life rights of women as
mothers and their compensation while on maternity leave is limited.
Accordingly, America does not fare as poorly as other nations, especially 3 rd world
countries. In countries throughout the Middle East womens bodily rights are
largely ignored and often explicitly infringed upon, as is the case with FGM. This
inequality is rooted in theocratic principals and strict interpretation of Islam.
Theocratic legislatures in these countries downgrade the status of women . In some
cases women are property of the man they are married to or their fathers. Women
in certain parts of the Middle East do not enjoy the right to vote, hold office or
participate in the daily activities that a man is able to enjoy. These severely
restrictive policies hurt the chance for the realization of gender equality.

6)
Strictly interpreted Islamic culture dose not value women as equal persons and
furthermore disparages and systematically exploits them. It is common practice in
less developed Islamic countries for prepubescent women to be sold by their
families as child brides to men who essentially see them as property and
homemakers because of the pretext of their interpretation of a 2000 year old book
and often have multiple wives. This level of exploitation is unacceptable.
However, what if we introduce a system where women knowing and freely
relinquish their rights or choose not to enjoy them. Such a conservative construct is
not more apparent than in Mormonism, a religion that prides itself on communality
and family values where often the woman assumes a homemaker/child rearing
position oftentimes in a pusedo-polyagamic lifestyle. Of course, the glue that holds
this type of belief together is the consent and lifestyle choices of women. It is not a
Mormon doctrine to exploit or belittle women into these types of relationships.
Malala Yousafzai is a cultural leader who I believe inspires women across the globe.
By sharing the story of her violent persecution and life under Taliban rule in Pakistan
she has cemented her role as part of a new generation of womens rights and social
activism that demands action to stop the injustices such as the ones she has
experienced.