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Research Log #1

Date: September 9, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: # 1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer
from the wage gap.

Excerpts:

“Did you know that in 2015, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what
men were paid, a gap of 20 percent? While the number has gone up one percentage point from 2014, the change isn’t
statistically significant — because the increase is so small, mere tenths of a percent, it doesn’t amount to perceptible
change”

“Among full-time workers in 2015, Hispanic and Latina, African American, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian
and other native women had lower median annual earnings compared with non-Hispanic white and Asian American
women.”

“The gender pay gap also grows with age, and differences among older workers are considerably larger than gaps
among younger workers. Women typically earn about 90 percent of what men are paid until they hit 35. After that
median earnings for women are typically 74–82 percent of what men are paid.”

“As a rule, earnings increase as years of education increase for both men and women. However, while more education
is a useful tool for increasing earnings, it is not effective against the gender pay gap. At every level of academic
achievement, women’s median earnings are less than men’s median earnings, and in some cases, the gender pay gap is
larger at higher levels of education.”

Analysis:

This website uses recent statistical evidence to prove that the wage gap between men and women still exist.
This information comes straight from the AAUW, AKA the American Association of University Women. The
demographics shown on this website display that there is not only a wage gap between men and women, but between
white women and women of color. This is important, especially to me, because I believe that neither gender nor race
are liable excuses for people to be paid differently. What makes this site even better is that it’s written by a man named
Kevin Miller, which gives me hope that there are men out there who view the wage gap as a problem, too.
The website is mainly statistics, which is good. This means that there is no room for bias or opinion-based
“facts”. This website is also the verified site for the AAUW organization, which makes it more trustworthy.
Within the website I found it most striking how women of color are paid less than white women. Even more so
how some race groups have less of a gender wage gap than others. For example, one of the graphs on the website
showed that the median annual earnings for a Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander woman is $33,091, and a Native
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander man is paid $39,510. For this race group, the woman is paid 84% of what the man makes.
However, in the Caucasian race group, a woman’s median annual earning is $42,026 while a man is paid $55,166. In
this instance, the woman makes about 76% of what a man makes in this particular race group. I find this interesting,
because the wage gap between men and women who are white is more significant than the wage gap between Native
Hawaiian/pacific islander men and women, yet the average white woman still makes more than the average Native
Hawaiian woman. I don’t understand how that happens. America is one of the most powerful countries in the world,
yet the logic when it comes to the wage gap is weak.
Work Cited:
Miller, Kevin. “The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2017).” AAUW: Empowering Women
Since 1881, Mar. 2017, www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/. Accessed. 10
Sept. 2017.
Research Log #2

Date: September 18, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: # 1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer
from the wage gap.

Excerpts:

One consistent mark against wage equality lies in family. Even though statistics do not account for part-time or
unemployed mothers, the family factor still exists. According to Hilary, "For women, having Children has a negative
effect on wages, even when labor market experience is taken into account." Among married persons working full-time,
the ratio of women's to men's median weekly earnings is 76.4 percent for those with no children under the age of 18,
but only 73.6 percent for those with children.

Society is aware of a gender pay gap, yet statistics clearly show that while it has narrowed, there is always room for
improvement. So what can you do to move it forward? There is a legal route. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed to
"prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers." This offers working women a
legitimate avenue to seek renumeration for unequal pay. It you believe a male counterpart is making more for the same
job, start with your Human Resources Department. Present your argument and let them do some research.

E.J. Graff, a resident scholar at the Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center, and co-author of Getting Even: Why
Women Don't Get Paid Like Men and What to Do About It (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2005) believes that women
won't take a stand against gender pay gaps until we realize how much it effects our bottom line.

Higher levels of education increase women's earnings, just as they do for men. However, there is no evidence that the
gender gap in wages closes at higher levels of education. If anything, the reverse is true: at the very highest levels of
education, the gap is at its largest.

Analysis:
This article consisted of many different topics regarding the wage gap, even including how to potentially
“solve” it. However, as described in the excerpt above, the solution isn’t so simple. Although there’s a law that
technically blocks unequal pay, it’s astounding to see how often it still happens. And although it happens so often, it’s
even more astounding to hear that hardly anyone takes a stand against it. Even women themselves find it hard to take a
stand, and, if they do, it’s because they themselves are the ones suffering from the wage gap. But one might often
wonder how many would take a stand for someone else in that position.
Interestingly enough, having children apparently has a “negative affect” on their pay. The difference is 3%,
and although that seems like a small sum, it can actually have a huge affect on a family’s income. And, regardless of
how small the wage gap, there should be no gap at all. It’s odd how something as simple as having a child can affect
the amount you’re paid. But hey, if simply being a woman can affect your earnings, bearing a child shouldn’t be that
much of a surprise.
The author didn’t go much into detail about the saying reverse statement “at the very highest levels of education, the
gap is at its largest.” But I’m assuming this means that in fields where a higher level of education is required, the pay
gap between men and women are more significant than those that have a lower education standard. This, again, is
really not surprising.

Work Cited:
Compton, Michele. "The Gender PAY GAP." Women in Business, vol. 59, no. 6, Nov/Dec2007, p. 32. EBSCOhost.
Research Log #3

Date: October 12, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3 There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: # 1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer
from the wage gap.

Excerpts:
“The Securities and Exchange Commission took a shot at it last week, approving a rule that would require companies
to disclose their C.E.O. pay gap — comparing how much chief executive officers take home compared with ordinary
employees.
That’s a fine idea. But here’s a better one: require companies to publish their gender pay gap.”

“Claudia Goldin, a labor economist at Harvard, has crunched the numbers and found that the gap persists for identical
jobs, even after controlling for hours, education, race and age. Female doctors and surgeons, for example, earn 71
percent of what their male colleagues make, while female financial specialists are paid just 66 percent as much as
comparable men. Other researchers have calculated that women one year out of college earn 6.6 percent less than men
after controlling for occupation and hours, and that female M.B.A. graduates earn on average $4,600 less than their
male classmates for their first jobs.”

“It’s not that men are intentionally discriminating against women — far from it. I’ve spent the past year interviewing
male executives for a book about men and women in the workplace. A vast majority of them are fair-minded guys who
want women to succeed. They’re absolutely certain that they don’t have a gender problem themselves; it must be some
other guys who do. Yet they’re leaders of companies that pay men more than women for the same jobs.”

“Linda Babcock, an economist at Carnegie Mellon and co-author of the book “Women Don’t Ask,” has found that one
reason for the disparity is that men are four times more likely to ask for a raise than women are, and that when women
do ask, we ask for 30 percent less. And so women are told we need to lean in, to demand to be paid what we’re worth.
It’s excellent advice — except it isn’t enough.”

“The analysis showed that men who were passed over for partnership were routinely offered retention bonuses to keep
them from quitting. Women weren’t. Ms. Churchman believes that’s because men often threatened to leave, while
women typically decided to work harder and try again next year.”

“There’s a strong argument to be made for transparency not just for women, but for minorities and other disadvantaged
groups. African-American men earn less than white men, for example, though a Harvard Business Review analysis
found that controlling for education, black men out-earn both white and black women.”

Analysis:
This article from The New York Times discusses the modern wage gap. The article is fairly recent, being that
it’s publishing date is in 2015. This means that, for the most part, all statistical evidence and quotes taken by specialists
are up to date and credible. Not only that, but The New York Times is a very credible and reliable source for
information. I do think this article comes off as maybe a little biased, just because of the way the author, Joanne
Lipman, adds in her own personal opinions throughout the article. However, this is an informative and persuasive
article, and her point of view is valid seeing as how she is a woman.
The only “problem” with this article is the lack of statistics. Lipman does include some, but very sparsely. It
consists of more quotes from specialists within that line of work than actual statistics, and that’s fine, but numbers are
more believable than a specialist’s opinion. Even if that specialist’s opinion comes straight from a recent demographic,
seeing real numbers or graphs and charts makes the claim a little more credible. Besides that, the article itself was
extremely profound and interesting. It covered all areas of the gender wage gap concisely and interestingly enough to
keep my attention.
The excerpt about men disproving of the wage gap was a really great one. It’s nice to see that the opposing
gender is opposed to the wage gap. However, saying how upsetting it is is different than actively doing something to
fix it, and I think that was a great thing of Lipman to point out. If someone who is being paid higher than someone
else, not because of their station but because of their race or gender, opposes the wage gap but does nothing to fix it or
advocate for it, they are unfortunately still part of the problem.

Works cited:
Lipman, Michele. “Let’s Expose The Gender Pay Gap.” The New York Times. 13 Aug.
2015.https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/opinion/lets-expose-the-gender-pay-gap.html Accessed 9 Oct.
2017.
Research Log #4

Date: November 1, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: # 2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.

Excerpts:

“Gender stereotypes are the broad views about the roles of respectively gender. Gender roles are usually neither
appropriate nor impropriate; they are only erroneous simplifications of a person’s traits as male or female. Society,
overtly or covertly, imposes social status determined by gender and corresponding roles on a child.”

“The strongest influence on gender role development occurs within the family setting, with parents who thereby pass
their own beliefs about gender (Witt, 1997). Mothers’ gender stereotypic beliefs interact with the sex of their child to
influence their perceptions of the child’s abilities (Jacobs & Eccles, 1992).”

“From nature perspective, comprising traits that are inherited or genetic, girls and boys behave differently. Heredity
determines psychological gender differences as well. Parental behavior towards child’s nurture, consciously or
unconsciously, depends on these preconceptions about behavioral tendencies of sexes. Recognition of the analytical
independence of sex category, and gender is essential for understanding the interactional work involved in being a
gendered person in society (West & Zimmerman, 1987).”

“Family like other social institutions is gendered and governed by the value of acquiescent along the gender
parameters, and the members have to conform to its norms and values by behaving accordingly. Parents, having
different gendered personal attributes, play a fundamental role in developing gender differentiation in the society.
Gender-role socialization’s intensity is determined by norms prevailing in our social setup.”

Analysis:
In this academic EBSCO journal, co-written by Shereen Yunus Khan and Shahida Sajjad, discusses the largely
apparent role family plays in the demonstration of gender roles. Though boys and girls do have very apparent contrasts
in the beginning, their contrasts only grow as they begin to conform to the norms of society. They will behave
accordingly, but are also influenced by the norms created in the household, too. Though society may seem to be the
more prevalent of the two, it’s most noticeably the household environment that shapes a child. This article is very
scholarly and well-written, so much so that it might be difficult for someone to process at times. Evidence is often
provided in the form of in-text citations; almost every other sentence is quoted from someone else’s work. Though
their dependence on other’s work might be a little heavy, they still make very compelling points and don’t fail to
educate readers of the topic at hand.

Works cited:
Khan, Shereen Yunus and Shahida Sajjad. "Parental Behavior to Discipline Their Children on the Basis of Gender
Roles." New Horizons (1992-4399), vol. 11, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 29-39. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=122600005&site=e host-live.
Research Log #5

Date: November 1, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: # 2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.

Excerpts:
“Meanwhile, as adolescents' social networks expand beyond their immediate families and neighborhoods, peers play a
greater role in influencing their opinions, attitudes, and behaviors [1]. As boys and girls begin to establish
independence, enforcement of social norms—including gender norms—by parents, peers, schools, and other
community institutions becomes particularly poignant. While these changes and developments can create major
opportunities for girls and boys, they also expose them to new risks. The behaviors that they adopt and the social
context in which they live can set trajectories for their health and well-being as adults.”

“For girls, HIV/AIDS, complications associated with early pregnancy, childbearing and unsafe abortions, infectious
diseases, unintentional injuries, and suicide account for significant mortality [1]. Girls are also more likely than boys to
be subjected to harmful traditional practices such as child marriage that have long-standing consequences for their
health. Girls are less likely to complete secondary school or have secure employment and are more likely to be
exposed to intimate partner violence and sexual abuse”

“Gender inequities manifest in different ways, such as discriminatory laws, policies, and sociocultural practices,
unequal power, or access and control over resources. At the root of inequities are gender norms, which prescribe
differential status, power, access to resources, and expected behaviors (including in relationships) according to
culturally appropriate expectations for males and females. While girls and boys are affected by gender norms, girls are
more likely to experience the negative repercussions and outcomes of these norms.”

“Gender norms and attitudes, shaped in early childhood and adolescence, become entrenched over time (We
distinguish “norms” as widely shared social expectations from “attitudes,” which reflect individual beliefs related to
gender equality). For example, almost half of adolescents (15–19 years), including both boys and girls from a range of
countries, agree that wife-beating is justified in some situations”

“Within this context, the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS) was conceptualized to better understand: (1) how
gender socialization (We define gender socialization as the process of learning widely shared social expectations [i.e.,
norms] and attitudes associated with one's sex.) occurs in early adolescence (10–14 years); (2) how gender norms and
attitudes, including those related to sexuality, form in early adolescence; (3) how these evolving norms and attitudes
shape health trajectories as individuals transition through adolescence into adulthood; and (4) appropriate measures
and methods for research on these issues for this age group.”

Analysis:
These excerpts come straight from the Journal Of Adolescent Health, a very reliable source. This journal
emulates EBSCO because of its layout and inclusion of abstract and references. There is also a link to a generated
citation of this journal. Overall, this source proves to be very credible. However, most of their claims did not come
with statistical evidence. Gender roles seem to be a difficult point to prove because of its lack of demographics, but
journals taken off EBSCO or even JAH tend to not have many stats, anyway. Nevertheless, this website proves to be
extremely credible, and one that’ll be used for future reference. It advocates for many different areas of gender roles,
from sociocultural practices to the roles that peers and parents play in the way people view themselves and their
gender. JAH also touches lightly on discriminatory laws and policies, which is something one never thinks about when
considering gender inferiority. Also, this article includes men. Although they might not experience it as frequently as
women, they still do suffer from gender inequity, which is important to note.
Works cited:
Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman. “Implications of the Global Early Adolescent Study's Formative Research Findings for
Action and for Research.” Journal of Adolescent Health. Volume 61.Issue 4 , S5 - S9.
http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(17)30358-0/fulltext Accessed 31 Oct. 2014
Research Log #6

Date: November 1, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: # 2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.

Excerpts:

"So now when I look in the mirror I see a person who really doesn't look like a girl. She doesn't look like a boy. Really, what she 
looks like hasn't been labeled yet. She looks like ME."' 

Cutting one's hair was just one example of how some feminists in the 1960s and 1970s rejected traditional standards of feminine 
beauty as oppressive and objectifying of women. Feminist criticisms of makeup, high heels, and miniskirts have been well 
documented by scholars, and nearly every his­ tory of the so­called second­wave feminist movement recounts the protest at the 
1968 Miss America Pageant as the epitome of feminist critiques of fashion and beauty culture. 

While not all feminists cut their hair or rejected feminine beauty culture, the politicization of hairstyles, dress, and self­
presentation became central to the cultural politics of the second­wave feminist movement, widely discussed in feminist and 
mainstream periodicals alike. 

Fashion trends such as long hair on men, jeans and pants on women, and unisex clothing also challenged previously established 
norms of gendered dress. Nor was women's liberation the first social movement of the era to politicize self­presentation; hippies, 
student and anti­Vietnam War activists, and Black Power advocates all appropriated self­fashioning styles as part of their political 
activism 

Analysis:
Titled “The Clothes I Wear Help Me To Know My Own Power”, this academic journal from EBSCO discusses the
beginning of unisex clothing, hairstyles, etc. With unisex clothing becoming a prevalent topic, it wouldn’t hurt to go
back in time and discover its origin. In this article, the author, Betty Luther Hillman, brings up the late 1960’s, where
female activists were beginning to cut their hair short, and male activists would grow their hair out and wear gender-
neutral clothing.

Works cited:

HILLMAN, BETTY LUTHER. "The Clothes I Wear Help Me to Know My Own Power." Frontiers: A Journal of
Women Studies, vol. 34, no. 2, June 2013, pp. 155-185. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=90100345&site=ehost-live.
Research Log #7

Date: November 15, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: #3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.

Excerpts:
“What terrorists like Dear and Republicans in Congress want is basically the same: to shut down Planned Parenthood
and deny women access to abortions. If they got their wish, it would serve only to make poor women poorer and
increase the number of unintended pregnancies.”

“Taking away the option to seek an abortion would not just infringe on the constitutional rights of poor women; it
would almost certainly make them poorer. If Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that made abortion legal throughout
the country, were overturned and states were allowed to implement their own bans, poorer nonwhite women would see
their abortion rates decline more significantly, according to researchers. In part, this would be due to the simple
problem of having to travel long distances just to reach a clinic.”

“Shutting down Planned Parenthood wouldn't just affect access to abortion, of course. The group provides many
other services to low-income women. Poor women are more likely to have sex without birth control—and access to
affordable contraception would shrink further without the existence of Planned Parenthood. Among 491 counties
with Planned Parenthood clinics, 103 have no other place where low-income patients can obtain affordable
contraception.”

Analysis:
The EBSCO resource is an article called, “Born, Not Free.” The title was concise, yet it was clear in
explaining what this article was going to be about. The defunding and urge to shut down Planned Parenthood
is a very hot and controversial topic, especially because it deals with abortion. Abortion aside, this article
touches on how Planned Parenthood is not just for abortions, but a healthcare clinic, mainly used by low-
income women. Not only does this dismiss a woman’s right to her own body, but it makes it extremely
difficult for a nonwhite lower class woman to receive proper care for a reasonable price.
Throughout the article no stats were given, but a fair amount of quotes from right-wing conservatives were
given to further prove the author’s point: there are women in this country who are unable to achieve proper
care because a fair number of conservatives, including our president, don’t think abortion is ethical. More
demographics would’ve been helpful in further proving the outrageous number of women who are suffering
because of the defunding.

Work Cited:
COVERT, BRYCE and MIKE KONCZAL. "Born, Not Free." Nation, vol. 302, no. 2/3, 11 Jan. 2016, p. 8.
EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=voh&AN=112313479&site=ehost-live.
Research Log #8

Date: November 15, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: #3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.

Excerpts:
“Without any legislation stopping a sexual assailant from claiming parental rights of a child, individuals are free and
clear to pursue custody or visitation rights of their biological offspring.”

“Seven states don't have any laws preventing a rapist from claiming parental rights, but that's not to say that these
states are oblivious to the issue. Maryland, for one, has been working for years to pass a law that would allow a rape
victim to terminate her attacker's parental rights.”

“But these legislative protections vary greatly. In 20 states and D.C., a rape conviction is required before a victim can
request termination of parental rights.”

“For advocates, this is a problematic barrier, since the majority of sexual assaults don't even make it to prosecution,
according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics”

“In July 2016, Hawaii passed a law stating that parental rights may be terminated if there's clear and convincing
evidence that the child was conceived through sexual assault.”

There are also exceptions, called "carve-outs," to consider. Some states may not apply these parental rights laws if, say,
the person convicted of sexual assault is the spouse of the victim at the time of the attack or if they were cohabiting
after the assault.

Between 2005 and 2010, just 36% of the nearly 300,000 annual average rape or sexual assault victimizations were
reported to police, the bureau reports. Even when you look at both reported and unreported rapes during that time
period, roughly 12% of victimizations resulted in arrests.

Analysis:
Titled “Where Rapists Can Gain Parental Rights”, this article discusses the lack of law that protects raped women from
their assaulter trying to gain custody of their child. This website provided the names of the states that don’t have laws
protecting rape victims from custody fights. It also lists the states that can block the custody if the rapist is convicted of
rape. According to CNN, 12% of victimizations result in arrest. CNN is a very reliable source, and gives the proper
statistics to back their claim. At the end of the article, there is a list of every state in the U.S, including their laws
regarding the possibility of a custody battle. Hawaii’s laws were included, which was good and informative. Though
Hawaii’s laws protect women from their rapist seeking custody, many of the other states listed don’t. If some states
allow rapists to seek custody, and some others requiring a conviction (which, as stated, only go through 12% of the
time) before blocking the custody battle, who will protect our women?

Work Cited:
Hare, Breeanna, and Lisa Rose. “Where Rapists Can Gain Parental Rights.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Nov.
2016, www.cnn.com/2016/11/17/health/parental-rights-rapists-explainer/index.html.
Research Log #9

Date: January 2, 2017


Name: Alina Morton
EQ: How is our gender-biased society affecting women?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Many women are reduced to the domestic workforce, and suffer from the wage gap.
#2: Gender roles play a big part in a woman’s daily life.
#3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.
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Point that this Source/Information Proves: #3: There are many laws that are used to control and oppress women.

Excerpts:

“Breasts are not genitalia. However, when they are displayed in public in the United States, an oversexualized 2
patriarchal society, they are treated as sexual organs; this is because “many men and women are much more familiar
with breasts in a sexual context.”

“Considering that “breasts are the most visible sexualized anatomical feature on a woman ,” it follows that breasts are a
woman’s primary source of objectification and the most noticeable sign of her femininity . “That women live our
breasts actively, as sites of desire, sensitivity, and pleasure, is profoundly underthematized in our cultural imaginary.
What is thematized instead, obsessively, is the role of breasts in animating male desire .”

“In the sixteenth century, it was fashionable for women, from pauper to royalty, to wear gowns that fully exposed their
breasts. Today, stemming from America’s puritanical roots, even classical high art that features nudity can be deemed
offensive. America’s archaic attitude regarding nudity is not commonplace around the world, and furthermore, America
only hypersexualizes female breasts”

“Occasionally, women go topless in public to bring awareness to specific political issues, including breastfeeding
advocates, breast cancer survivors, sexual assault victims, and gender equality activists . These topless women activists
face harassment, arrests, criminal charges, and possible stigmatization as sex offenders.”

“A more honest application of First Amendment principles would protect a woman’s right to express herself in a
political arena in the same way as a man can freely express himself in a sports arena , which would better protect the
political message of women and, consequently, their psychological sense of self-identity and well-being.”

“For instance, it is disconcerting that a topless male can expose his nipples and receive a hug from Jamie Fee Curtis at
a Hillary Clinton rally without public rebuke, but law enforcement will cover and arrest topless female activists in
similar situations.”

Analysis:
In this article, titled “Exposing Nipples As Political Speech”, the author, Debra L. Logan, discusses the stigma of a
woman exposing her breasts, and the verbal, as well as legal, repercussions she could face. Logan talks about the
double standard women face in regards to their breasts. While men are free to be shirtless, women are disallowed. A
man jogging through Times Square without a shirt wouldn’t even be given a sideways glance, but female activists in
Times Square going topless to protest against the breast stigma would be jailed.
In this article, many facts were provided, as well as citations from other works that emulate the opinion of Logan.
Statistics weren’t given, but they weren’t needed. Facts, especially in regard to this topic, don’t always need statistics.
The credibility speaks for itself in this article, and provides readers with not only insight to the double standard, but
one very clear conclusion: Breasts are not genitalia. So why are we treating it as such?

Work Cited:
LOGAN, DEBRA L. "Exposing Nipples as Political Speech." Law & Psychology Review, vol. 41, 2016/2017, pp. 173-
190. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=124410831&site=ehost-live.

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