Gina's College Collection

Among all kinds of discrimination, one of the most prominent throughout history has been sexism: the favoring of one gender group, usually men, over another (women).  In the past century, much legislation has been created to augment women’s freedoms, such as suffrage, yet even today, a “glass ceiling” still exists so women continue to be paid and treated unequally, but why?  I believe the answer can be found in the history books and a text concerning a different, but no less upsetting, issue: AIDS.  In the “AIDS Inc.” chapter of her book The Invisible Cure, molecular biologist Helen Epstein speaks of the prejudice against those with HIV/AIDS, and this topic is summarized in the “About the Author” section, where it’s described as “the social stigmas of infected peoples as well as an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude” (Emerging, pg.109).  The mention of this attitude is referring to the fact that people who aren’t directly impacted by AIDS believe it’s of no concern to them and that the people tormented by these stigmas aren’t like them.  This thought process can also be applied to sexism; for thousands of years, through several different cultures and religions, women were believed unintelligent, overemotional, and only capable of bearing children or doing housework.  By forcing women to take on these roles, pushing them “out of sight” and away from important tasks in society such as participating in government, the men kept them “out of mind,” further lessening their understanding of how women felt, and creating a “cycle of social stigmas” (Emerging, 109).  Essentially, these thoughts have been held in society for so long, with women only recently successfully protesting for equal treatment, the roots of this prejudicial weed may never be completely pulled from some men’s minds.  This is why sexism still abounds.

Citations

Helen Epstein, “Aids Inc.” The Invisible Cure, “Emerging,” edited by Barclay Barrios, 3rd ed., Balford/ St. Martin’s 2016, pg. 109-121

Molecular biologist Helen Epstein wrote in The Invisible Cure about the spread of AIDS in Africa and methods to combat the issue.  Uganda found a solution in personal talks about experiences with the disease, a strategy utilizing “social cohesion,” defined as “the tendency of people to talk openly with one another and form trusted relationships” (Epstein, pg.116).  This method caused HIV rates to drop, since it “[P]ersuad[ed] Ugandans to come to terms with the reality of AIDS…and change their behavior” (Epstein, pg. 116).  On the other hand, countries who didn’t explicitly speak about the subject due to close-knit families being separated during colonization, like South Africa, weren’t as successful.

Still recalling Anne Hallward’s TEDx Talk on the benefits of speaking out, I listened to one of her radio talks, “The Unheard Stories of LGBTQ Teens,” in which she spoke to members of this group about being discriminated against and finding support.  I believe this talk is attempting to facilitate Epstein’s “social cohesion” within the group and between gay and straight people.  Hallward and her guest speakers encourage LGBTQ and straight individuals to band together through methods including forming clubs such as a Gay-Straight-Trans Alliance and getting teachers who are part of this minority to “come out,” so that LGBTQ students can openly discuss their challenges at school without feeling threatened.  In addition, support from non-LGBTQ friends and relatives is stressed as important to these teens’ mental health, although listeners are warned by all of the guest speakers to be careful, since not everyone is trustworthy.  Unfortunately, there are inconsistencies; for instance, the fact that some speakers chose anonymity by leaving out their last names goes against the idea of total transparency required for “social cohesion” to work. In dealing with what listeners should do, however, “social cohesion” is completely supported.

Citations

“Emerging,” edited by Barclay Barrios, 3rd ed., Balford/ St. Martin’s 2016, pg. 109-121

Hallward, Anne, “How Telling Our Silenced Stories Can Change the World” www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dMlsnrLN9U

While listening to/reading this TEDx Talk, I found I could relate well to Hallward’s general topics.  As I explained in my previous post, I too have felt shame in the way Hallward describes as the desire to”go into the closet” (1:57).  I’m often hard on myself, and this especially showed through during my high school years. It was difficult for me to make friends then, and I mainly attributed this to the disloyalty of the people I met.  However, a part of me still blamed myself, telling me I just wasn’t good at human interaction, and this led me to isolate myself from others, which only lessened my social skills further.  Meanwhile, at home, I was gaining more responsibilities, and whenever I had to be corrected in the way I did a chore, I felt ashamed at not being able to perform a simple task, and would shut myself in my room.  Exactly like Hallward explained the feelings of those trapped in their own shame, I would “look out that crack of light and [I’d] see everyone else out there and they seem[ed] so normal and happy” (2:18).  This is what Hallward described as the ashamed person’s perspective: they would assume others were better off and above them. I observed the other students at my school with all their friends and apparently happy lives, as well as my mom able to do tasks with ease, and I felt pointless.

I was not at all surprised to find out that we would be reading about the topics of shame and treating others’ differences with understanding, as the issue of equality has been in the news a lot recently.  It’s especially apparent at the moment with more legislation dealing with LGBTQ rights.  Hallward, in fact, summarized this movement in remarking that “as gay/lesbian couples have been coming out of the closet for decades now, it becomes a larger political force” (9:00), showing us that by bravely revealing their secret, these people are standing up for others like them, which inspires more to come out and push for equal treatment.

All in all, I agree that shame is a serious health hazard, and I find Hallward’s mission to relieve others of the pain they keep inside through radio admirable.  Although I’m not ready to speak aloud about my problems, perhaps I’ll give some more of her talks a listen.