The Pill

Margaret Sanger made many contributions to society, but her most important one was advocating the right to use contraceptives. She helped educate people about birth control and even helped develop a contraceptive pill. Sanger lived to see her efforts become a reality when the Supreme Court overruled a Connecticut law that "prohibited the use of contraception." Sanger's most important contribution was that she allowed everyone the right to privacy over contraceptives and abortions.

When reading the 1966 pill article, I felt it was extremely conservative and seemed to exaggerate how the pill would affect society. However during the 1960s, many adults may have been worried about the younger generation, since the 1950s were such a conservative decade. I also think the pill could have been a small catalyst to the sex, drugs, and rock and roll that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. I do think, like the article stated, that the pill "provides an invitation to premarital sex." However, I do not think "moral anarchy" will or has occurred by taking the pill. I do think the pill allows more women to have safe sex without getting pregnant.

I thought it was interesting to hear about the cultural norms before the pill was created. I was not surprised to hear how many people looked down upon those who had sex before they were married. However, I was surprised to hear how women wore girdles in the 1950s. I tend to associate wearing girdles with the 1700s through the 1800s, not something that was worn in the mid-1900s. It was also interesting to hear the male perspective on birth control; I wish the clip showed more about his point of view. I really liked the quote in the after clips about how the pill gave the woman a sense of "ownership over my body." Having a child can affect your life in such a dramatic way, that taking a pill to prevent this from happening can also have a dramatic impact on your life. The pill allows women to choose when they want to have a child. I also think the pill can prevent couples from having more children then they desire or can handle. Many people in the after and before videos described how their world was very sheltered and how the pill changed that because, as one person stated, "it changed our most basic assumptions about the way life should be organized." I think what surprised me the most about the videos was how the pill affected women's careers. It was disturbing to hear that a company hung up on a women during an interview because she had young children. While there is still gender inequality in the workplace, I think the pill greatly affected the level of respect and treatment women now receive in their jobs.

Religion's Role in Government

I do not think that religion should have a role in the government. Since new leaders are often elected every few years it would be difficult and somewhat controversial to continue to have one leading religion influence the government's decisions. Today, there are numerous religions around the world. Within a country people could be practicing from any of these religions, thus it would be difficult for the government, if influenced by a religion, to please the majority of the citizens. The text book talked about how often times conflicts within countries deals with religion. The examples listed in the textbook, such as Israel's frequent spot in the news over religious disputes with their neighbors, are violent.
One religion can be powerful without having a large following. Therefore, a powerful religious group can become intertwined with the government. This religious group can then proceed to change many of the laws of the country. If different religious groups were elected then the laws of the country would continue to change, potentially wrecking havoc on the land. Or if one religion continues to be elected they could become more fundamentalist, creating differences between the majority and minority groups. I think if religion does not play a role in the government, then there is a higher likelihood of having peace within the country.

Racial Inequality

While reading the two stories of Max and Byron, I was shocked at how different their lifestyles became, even with degrees from college institutions. I was surprised that Byron still did not earn as much money as Max, despite having recieved an Ivy league education and being conservative with his money. It made such a difference for Max's lifestyle when his parents were able to contribute money to his education and home. I feel I can most relate to Max and his situation. While our family did not have much money when I was young, my parents will still be able to retire comfortably, like Max's parents.

Although this website was supposed to focus on race, I felt the two stories were more about the socio-economic differences between the two boys. However, I feel that one's race can affect one's socio-economic position even today. There still exists prejudices and discrimination against race, religion, gender, and cultures. This discrimination can greatly affect generations and could take many generations before people change their beliefs about others. I think education, the media, and politics can help shape future generations towards becoming a more equal society.

Social Construction of Gender

I thought the book did a good job of exploring various cultures and their views on gender. American culture is so predominately patriarchal that it was interesting to read about other cultures. I thought the !Kung seemed to have a good balance of power between the men and women. One can see how other norms work in different regions, I think the a problem of gender inequality is that once norms are established it is extremely hard to change the norms. The UN's Conferences on Women are good examples of this. Many consider the United Nations to be a powerful, influential organization, yet it is difficult for them to promote women in politics and equality around the world. I think in order to reach equality, the media, education systems, and powerful leaders of a culture all need to agree that this goal should be reached.
Gender norms can easily be seen by just exploring one aspect of a culture, such as advertisements. Ads are created to promote a product in an appealing manner. If the majority of the public finds the ads appealing, then the majority of the public may copy the actions in the ad or buy the product. I thought the book did a good job of pointing out the differences between ads. Oftentimes, ads are just something we look at for a few seconds and then move on with our lives. But it seems as if the pictures can truly influence how we behave or what we purchase. It would be interesting to find a study of how appealing men and women found ads portraying traditional roles versus unconventional roles.

Global Inequality

From the podcast, I was better able to understand how global inequality ties into sociology studies. Understanding how global inequality affects social stratification is relevant to our everyday life, no matter where we live. By looking at where people live or whether or not they are homeless, most people are able to see the effects of global inequality in their neighborhood. Finding out who benefits from this structure can help us gain more insight into how global inequality is created and possibly try to shorten the wide gaps between the rich and the poor.
I think the topic of global inequality is especially prevalent now with the government discussing how to decrease our trillion dollar debt. Although America is a strong core country in the world, there are still people living in poverty. While our power may be strong, our economic power would be stronger if we did not have trillions of dollars of debt. Global inequality can be seen throughout the world, from powerful countries to cities and even in small communities.