Question 1. A

 The social construction of gender is well elaborated by Barker and Feiner in Liberating Economics. It elaborates the perspective of women on various issues that enables it to bring out how gender is constructed. The modern woman has space within the society to contribute and influence her position. In today’s society equity is required for the progress of the economy. But this is not the reality on the ground. The reality on the ground actually states that women are oppressed and taken advantage of. In spite of proving that they can do whatever a man can do, women are still looked down upon and underpaid. Most devalued work still belongs to women. In most developing countries, gender is constructed mainly on social and cultural customs. In these countries women suffer from lack of food and diseases. Even in the most developed countries women still encounter challenges due to the manner in which the society has constructed its walls around their gender. Therefore no matter the place, the gender construction around women is inclined toward oppressing women (Barker& Feiner, p 1).

Domestic work which most women undertake is now considered as part of the economy yet, most domestic workers are unpaid. Women  engage in gainful employment .This has not yet given them an edge above their counterpart men  as they still have the responsibility of catering and caring for their children. Women earn income from domestic work for the first time in a long time. But the amount of time committed to domestic work is more than the work men engage in. Although women are taking rapid strides in their careers and education, the corresponding number of underprivileged women caring for babies of more privileged people and working as domestic workers is increasing daily (Barker& Feiner, p 2).

Universally women have made strides in the business world which was once dominated by the men only. Female business persons are however rare to find in the informal parts which would have played a role in employing the poorest women. In the academic and political sector, the presence of women had been duly noted as it has reached an all-time high than never seen before in the history of the world .This has helped to reshape the gender roles of women in the society (Barker& Feiner, p3).

In his book becoming a gendered body by Martin, the social construction of gender is centered on the fact that the differences brought about by contrast in natural physical of both men and women naturally brings out gender imbalance .For example women will always give birth hence they are meant to take care of children and their home, on the other hand men are always stronger and aggressive hence are protectors of home and providers. The book gives an explanation to research on how the concept of body differences was built. The use of space time and movements can impact and conceptualize social gender. In schools, programs and activities undertaken by children unconsciously influences their activities and mold their minds. This socially constructs their gender. Therefore young boys will quickly come to the realization of their gender role in society and the same will happen to girls. For example girls are taught to be neat and tidy and they do not take part in extracurricular activities thus this forces them to adopt into a more relaxed and well-dressed role. On the other hand boys are encouraged to play and to be more aggressive which prepares them for their social gender roles. By controlling choices, behavior and physical activities through directions one is able to set a framework for adoption into gender roles. This procedures and systems create awareness that one is different from another due to the physical contrasts (Ferguson, p 1).

Both men and women cry themselves differently. Their bodies are central to this observation. The way men and women handle themselves is very much related to their sexuality and a times it is not linked to sexuality .Women’s movements are directly linked to their sexuality but in some cases it is not related. For example the pace at which a woman walks is not linked to her sexuality but the manner in which she moves her steps is more restricted than a man’s movements. Generally, the physique of a woman is more hindered and their motions are tethered. For example a woman will close their legs and often cross their hands hence take very little space but men take large steps are more agile and flexible. This differences may seem to dictate and influence the gender roles in the society such as leadership and profession. The physical contrasts are far reaching than the studies seem to suggest. Social construction of gender seem centered around the fact that the presentation, surveillance, observation and interpretation of bodies has assigned men and women their gender roles as they are customary known. The female body is more controlled in her childhood days than the man’s body. A restricted physique regulate the body and creates a context that impacts their social relationships. These regulations send signals that one can be either be dominated or can manage themselves when given any status or authority. Also, gender specific relations rely entirely on very strong gender appearance, observation and analysis of physique. Therefore bodies that exhibit strong features take power and other status that easily enables them to maintain their hierarchy in societal gender (Ferguson, p 2).

Question 1b

Whereas Martin in, becoming a gendered body explains that social gender construction relies heavily on the physical appearance, barker and feiner in liberating economics focus on the role and facts that show women are able to do whatever a man can do and their role can change based on their ability and not what has been dimmed fit for them (Ferguson, p 3). Over time, women have proved that they can become successful in anything that people perceive as a ‘man only activity’.

Question 1c

The main contrast between these two books in relation to social construction of gender is that social construction of gender is based on bodily appearance while the other book tries to claim that gender is constructed based on society’s cultures and customs that individuals observe and conclude women as the lesser gender. Social construction of gender produces inequality because when one gender dominates all the roles due to their physical appearance, other factors are ignored that might have generously influenced societal gender equality (Barker& Feiner, p3).Both men and women deserve equal chance.

Question 1d

Both authors make their points clear and precise to the point. Social construction of gender has been greatly impacted by sexuality and physical appearance. But as time progressed women have proven that social construction of gender was biased against them as they can do as much work as men can .The only gender construction that cannot be switch are gender based on biology such as giving birth. Therefore gender roles must be reconstructed.

Question 2a    

According to Mitchelle Alexander, a racial caste system has evolved over time from the Jim Crow laws of segregation to the current judicial justice system that is designed to oppress black Americans. The previous system namely: slave system and Jim crow system  are synched together in the  current system to come up with an underclass racial group .Both systems, she vividly explains, have their foundations deep within a society that actively participated in  campaigning for freedom and civil rights. But at the same time denying blacks the same things that they champion for. After the Jim Crow system was overthrown and done away with by human right movements, there remained a space that would unify whites living in abject poverty with blacks through the judicial system. But instead the justice system has been used to control blacks. The media perpetuated blacks as drug users and the justice system locked them in prisons (Alexander, p1).

Question 2b

According to Mitchell alexander the new Jim Crow is the United States legal system that disguises its racial discrimination through its efforts to reduce drug abuse. This method abuses and harms black Americans. It is similar to Jim Crow system since it covers oppression and racial discrimination through the justice system. The justice system also compares with Jim Crow system in the sense that it seems voluntary and free system one in which a wrong doer can avoid punishment by simply abiding by it. If one breaks it, they go to jail. The role of politics in the justice system remain the same because a good conduct is required for one to avoid the full force of the law, undermining the fact that all humans can commit an offense and find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Yet, there are blacks who have been sentence to life in prison just because they are first time offenders. Both the Jim crow and the justice structure do not bother to come up with  measures  that would reduce crime rate and put in system programs that would promote good behavior, they are sole focused on punishing the offender  through authoritative control. The notable parallel difference between Jim Crow’s system and the justice system is that they brought out clearly the issue of race in America. The role of any racial caste structure is to specify and give a clear interpretation of race. Slavery was associated with black and Jim Crow reminded black Americans that they are average citizens (Alexander, p 18).

Question 2c

The new Jim Crow is different from the new Jim Crow in his mode of administration. It is covered by policies that seem to promote equal rights and extends a hand of justice to all citizens equally but it does not. Instead it is a network that uses various methods to oppress black people through law, legal organizations and customs that coordinate and facilitate to make sure that blacks are oppressed as a race (Alexander, 56).

 

The new Jim Crow socially constructs race on the basis of controlling through mass incarceration. People who have committed crimes are handled by the justice system that controls their lives. They are labeled as criminals and are put in jails for long period of time than any country in the globe. They are then discharged back into the society as average second class individuals. The society does not trust them and they are also denied some of their rights such as voting. It is also hard for them to get decent employment due to their past records and therefore hard for them to secure any resources. By doing this, their lives are controlled and their power is very limited. This cycle continues and in the end the society closely associates becoming black with prison and criminal activity. The society in turn fears and isolate their neighborhood. The black lack as a community are then neglected (Alexander, p7).

An ever increasing presence of black people in prisons was caused by the efforts made by the government to fight drugs. It seems like the war on drugs was focused on blacks especially the innocent and has led to new disciplinary ways. The rate of incarceration in America is high in spite of them having a very low crime rate. The rate of imprisonment is around ten percent more than other foreign countries. This points toward the manner in which the justice system reacts to crime that raises alarm which then points back into history when segregating existed to separate blacks from whites. It seems like segregation has evolved over time to what is witnessed today. (Alexander, 19).

 The consequences of social inequality have led to an increase in crime. This is due to lack of balance in the economy. Inequality breeds disparity in income, unemployment which causes crime. Social inequality affects the way people participate in issues such as politics. When people feel that they are oppressed they tend not to care on who rules over them. This in turn affects their attitude and their participation in such events. Trust can only be built in a society where everyone is seen as equal and deserving in each and every opportunity as the next citizen.

Question 2d

 Michele alexander analysis is persuasive enough but it does to have enough evidence to expose more light into her information. But it is consistent enough to develop interest. She does not give the other side of black Americans, therefore it is not easy to get the full picture of her story. Obviously there are Americans who are free, she does not a give third party opinion chance hence her judgments and conclusions are based on her own perspective and are not inclusive of professional opinion of  others. Secondly, she fails to link the old Jim Crow system with the new Jim Crow system as seen from a black free man’s eyes. The old system oppressed all blacks unlike what Alexandra claims. Therefore her issues try to prove oppression on blacks and racism due based on the past and not solid evidence.