The authour of this book focuses on the way women are regarded in the American society. This is in relation to their race, age and class. The authour stresses the point whereby women areregarded as not fit to rule America. An example being Hillary Clinton’s candidature for the American presidency that was unsuccessfull. The idea that women are not fit to be leaders is also in implanted in the young women, who statistics show that they voted for Obama rather than Clinton. The older women over 50 supported Clinton in large numbers. This brings out the question of age, the young generation people are prejudiced about gender, and they prefer men to rule.
The authour also talks about race, where the racism cases have reduced since the 1940s. Despite voting in a black as president, racism still exists. This is because for other posts, blacks have been discriminated when it comes to electinve posts. The fact that Americans voted in Obama ahead of Clinton is emphasised by the author as discrimination against women and not reduction of racisim.
The authour actually convinces the audience when she explains the different aspects of gender and sexuality discrimination. Backed by the statistics, the fact that the mentality of discrimination against women is implanted into women is normal in America. With the real life examples and statistics actually bring out the credibilty of the article. However, the author makes some assumptions in her arguments. There is the assumption that when it comes to elections, the electorate only considers the gender and race of the candidates not the agenda and principles of the candidate.
Part B
1. How have women progressed over the years in terms of their representation in politics?
2. How is race and gender a major factor when it comes to politics?
Terms and concepts
1. Macro/social structures: these are the structucres set by society. They are also ethical views of the society.
2. Micro/psychological structures: these are the personal views and mentality of a given individual.
Works Cited
Weber, Lynn. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework. London: Oxford University Press, 2009.
