Creating and Presenting: Student Example

Imaginary Piece

To whom it may concern,

My name is Emma Parkes and I am a member of the Women’s United Nations. I am writing to express my disgust at the treatment of women in society.

On 18^th December 1979, the UN developed a Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women that was signed and ratified by 186 countries. I find it extremely encouraging and significant that 186 countries have not only signed this convention but also ratified it, however I am dumbfounded that there are still 39 countries in the world that are yet to do this. In the convention it states that “…the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields”. I completely agree with this, and believe that if gender equality was to occur everywhere in the world and women were able to be who they want, it would significantly aid the development of a country, particularly second and third world countries; and the world could be one where all women have the opportunity to determine who they will be without ever being treated as second class citizens.

The poor treatment of women in second and third world countries, I believe, is a result of many things, including a lack of education and awareness and also systems such as India’s caste system. This type of culture makes various groups within society feel different from each other in a way that discriminates and vilifies those deemed to be lesser. For centuries women have been discriminated against and victims of violence and abuse and, although in today’s world much has been done eliminate this, it is still prevalent. If a young boy has grown up in an environment where he has seen his father and grandfather treat their wives, sisters and daughters as though they are inferior, how do you think he is going to behave? He will feel as though he is superior to females and perpetuate the circumstances where women are ostracised from the mainstream and determined to be nothing more than slaves. For these men it is the opposite experience to the women. Feeling the same as the powerful male role models in their lives, they are happy to step in to the privileged shoes of inheritance that are theirs. 

India’s caste system plays a big part in discrimination. It is a hierarchy consisting of five levels: Brahmin, the priests; Kshatriya, the public servants such as police and soldiers; Vaisha, the merchants and businessmen; Shudra, the skilled and unskilled workers; and at the very bottom of the scale, the Harjian, the ‘untouchables’. This system actually prevents people from moving up to a higher level and so they are stuck a merchant, or a farmer or even an untouchable. Different levels rarely intermarry, which brings me to another issue – arranged marriages. How can a woman be expected to wed a man she barely knows? Her parents may feel that selecting an appropriate partner for her is best, in case she chose someone of a different caste level but do they really know who is right? The number of women, many at very young ages, who are married off to abusive men is unbelievable. Women are constantly being told that they are no good for anything besides cooking, cleaning and reproducing and when it is all they hear, they begin to believe it and accept the label and limit themselves to nothing but these tasks. They do not get an education, a decent job and many do not have social lives outside of their family. It is as if they have no identity. It is decided who they are by other around them, including ‘family’ who they are not even connected to by choice and do not relate to.

The poor treatment of women is not only prevalent in countries like India. The limit on the number of children that is law in China is also discriminating to women. It is in our nature to want children and telling a woman that she must have an abortion simply because she already has one child is wrong. How can a government tell a woman that she is not allowed to have any more children? Due to this one-child policy, many female babies are being murdered because families prefer to have males. How can this be okay? How can we sit back and allow a mother to murder her own daughter simply because she only wants a boy. It is cruel and inhumane.

Issues relating to women are not limited to just second and third world countries. Although women in first world countries may experience slightly better conditions, they are still faced with discrimination. Women are repeatedly shown images of models and told that that is how they should look. They are looked at differently if they are wearing clothes aren’t ‘in’ or their hair is a ‘different’ colour or perhaps they simply weigh a bit more. This is damaging to women and in their fight to ‘fit in’ they conform to these stereotypes and have no individuality about themselves. We are even exposing our young daughters to this kind of exploitation, you only have to walk down the toy aisle in any store and you are bombarded with dolls whose unrealistic proportions and inappropriate outfits send the completely wrong ideas to girls about how they should look and what they should wear.

Women around the world are still facing discrimination at school, in the workplace and even in their homes. They are being restricted to certain careers – if they are even allowed a career; they face lower wages and judgement from males. They are constantly told that they are the inferior sex and are treated as though they are second class citizens. How do you think this all impacts a woman? It depresses her, angers her and frustrates her. She is restricted and limited. How can she be herself and do the things she wants to do; be the things she wants to be? She can’t. Which is why we need to improve awareness, educate people and make changes within society to remove the stigma that comes with being a female so that we can be ourselves, have whatever career we want, and simply put, to have our own identity that is decided by us.

Regards,

 

Emma Parkes.

Creating and Presenting: Student Example

Expository writing piece

“We are what we love. We are the things, the people, the ideas we spend our days with…without the, we are empty.” Our identities are complex and determined by many factors. One important factor that helps to develop our identity and sense of belonging is relationships. Relationships can impact our identity in many ways, both positively and negatively. They can also give us a sense of belonging or a sense of isolation. Without relationships, we would be completely different, our identities would be missing something, as Daisy Whitney said, “we [would be] empty.”

According the Oxford Dictionary, a relationship is “how people get on with each other”. Identity is “who or what a person or thing is”, and to belong means “to have a proper place”. Three words with such different meanings and yet, they are all so closely related and have a significant effect on each other.

If I take a second to consider the people and relationships in my life, both past and present, I am quite surprised by just how much of an influence they have had on me. My parents have impacted me and my identity in a big way. They have given me many of my traits such as to be caring, nice and have taught me to aim high and do my best. My mum gave me a love of sport, she encouraged me to play netball and tennis as she did, while my father gave me a love of music, he encouraged me to sing, dance and, as he did, learn and instrument. My sister influences me because she is older, she is someone for me to look up to. My friends have an impact on my actions and attitudes. The relationships in my life have shaped me as a person, they have influenced my behaviour, beliefs and my values, but I also think about the ways in which I have chosen to reject some of these. As a teenager, I don’t always listen to my parents and often choose to follow my friends’ opinions and attitudes instead. Personally I think that although relationships impact our identities, I think that we pick and choose which relationships have a larger influence on us.

Relationships can give us a sense of belonging, or they can make us feel isolated. Having good, supportive friends can make a person feel welcome, accepted, appreciated and even respected, but if a person had a ‘bad’ relationship, for example they are bullied or abused, it can make them feel depressed and desolate. I am fortunate enough to have a loving family who make me feel loved, cared for, supported and as though I belong. My friends give me a sense of welcome, caring, love and support as well.

As a teenager, I know how hard it is to fit in. some youths are so desperate to fit in they sacrifice their own identity just to have relationships. They feel as though they need to be someone else, someone they are not just to feel as though they belong. This is when relationships can impact negatively on a person’s identity. Many of the characters in the text Growing Up Asian in Australia  felt as though they needed to be ‘white’ and actually ‘look Aussie’ to be accepted by their classmates and fit in. On the other hand, many felt this way until a friend came along and helped them out. For example, in the story Wei-Li and Me Aditi was bullied for being Asian and felt as though she didn’t belong until one day Wei-Li arrived at school. While other students levelled cruel taunts at Wei-Li because his name was pronounced ‘wee’, Aditi made friend with Wei-Li. Together they were able to help each other, beat the school bullies and become best friends. They felt a sense of belonging with each other and this allowed for them to grow as people and develop their identities.

A person’s identity defines who they are and relationships have a large impact on it. “People” can “[shape] who we become”, they can distort one’s identity, or further develop it, they can damage or enhance one’s sense of belonging.