The Gendered Society Rhetorical Analysis

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Professor Calkins English 101 17 March 2012 The Gendered Society Howard president Lawrence H. Summers dew a lot of attention and criticism by giving a speech at a National Bureau of Economic Research luncheon. In the speech, he said that innate difference between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers. Plenty of people were upset with his speech, because they thought it is disrespectful to women. In my opinion, people’s negative reaction to Summers’s speech is justified. There are two aspects to support my opinion, first is the discrimination for women in the workplaces, the second is the nurturing climate. However, there are also positive reaction to Summers’s speech, such as some famous…show more content…
Pregnancy discrimination complaints filed with the Federal Equal Employment opportunity commission jumped 39% from fiscal year 1992 to 2003, according to a recent analysis of government data by the Washington-based National partnership for Women&Family (Armour, 2005). Marilyn Pickler, 23, says she was working for auto dealership Berge Ford when she told a manager about her pregnancy. About a week later, she says, supervisors told her she was being fired. They told her they were concerned that it would not be safe for her to drive, which was part of her job, while he was pregnant. “I burst into tears.” Pickler says, “They thought I was not going to be able to do my job. They thought I would throw up or have a cramp. But pregnant women work every day. It just was not fair.”(Armour, 2005) Even though it is hard to admit, the society is a gendered society. Gender discrimination in the workplace did exist and still continues in one form or the other, this in fact obviously ignored by Summers. Gender difference is the product of gender discrimination or gender inequality, not the other around. In fact, gender difference is the main outcome of gender discrimination. There are two reasons for gender difference, first and also the most important is the nurturing climate, the second is cultural differences. In most cultures, men are encouraged to be stoic and to prove their masculinity; on the other hand, women need to be passive, helpless and dependent. Form the moment of birth, males and females are treated differently. Gradually, they acquire the traits, behaviors, and attitudes that the culture defines as “masculine” or “feminine.” We are not necessarily born different, we become different through the process of

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