Week 3 Response: Denise Brennan, “Selling Sex for Visas: Sex Tourism as a Stepping-stone to International Migration”

This article talks about the opportunity women had to escape their country by marrying travelers from European countries.

It talks about the sex trade in the Dominican Republic helping woman to move up the ladder and have a shot at a better life. It gives them an opportunity to travel to Europe and give healthier environment to their children in case of single mothers. Marrying these men would get them visas for that country. Women benefit from men, and it could be said that they are using men for visas. All these women are selling sex, for their own advantage. It is sex trade but they are not doing it forcefully but with their own consent. The possible reason why they are doing this could be because of the men in Dominican Republic are not good. Some women are single mothers and need the extra cash. Some have been cheated on. Some just want to travel to a new country.

Week 3 Response: Patricia Hill Collins, “Prisons for Our Bodies, Closets for Our Minds: Racism, Heterosexism, and Black Sexuality”

The author brings out some really disturbing instances of our times. Although it was not a famous incident, it really makes me question my surroundings. She talks about a young black teen who was killed just because she said she was a lesbian. African American people have faced severe discrimination from everyone, and including other African Americans. African American people were not known for practicing different sexualities. And when they did, they faced serious resistance from both outsiders and insiders. A Black man who did not approve of African Americans beings gays or lesbians killed the young teen. LGBT was not meant for African Americans. Although a perfect display of sexuality was considered a white straight male. Gays faced harsh rules and were forced to stay out of it. Laws were made in a way, which wouldn’t benefit gay couples, but straight couples.

Week 2 Response: Mary C. Waters, “Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?”

Mary C. Walters has given a different prospective of racism based on ethnicities. Ethnicity gives people a chance to categorize men and women based on their skin color, language or any other prominent feature. It is basically stereotyping. The concept of "Symbolic Ethnicities" is when people take part in the traditions they believe they follow, when they feel it’s important. For an example, a person who thinks he is Irish but takes part in Irish cultures only when its convenient for him. White people generally do not take part in any ethnicity and so are not affected by its disadvantages. On the other hand, non-white people who do tend to participate in their ethnicities are bound to certain misconceptions and judgments. People following these ethnicities are somehow disgraced as they are bound to marry in their ethnicity, live in that area, and work where they all work. This creates a social hierarchy between whites and non-whites. Giving whites an undue advantage and restraining non-whites from succeeding in their lives. 

It is not necessarily true that people tend to mix only with people of their own ethnicity, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that they bond easily as they can understand each others prospectives, being brought up in the same culture. In a country with so many ethnicities residing together, some are bound to fight and some bond really well. It is just a matter of opinion. If one has an open way of life, he/she can really help create a better society. Help create equality and spread prosperity. 

Week 2 Response: Herbert J. Gans, “Race as Class”

The author points out some shocking facts about race and class. It is highly random, inconsistent and inaccurate. He gives a commendable justification for this process. He begins to explain the history behind this tradition and gives exact facts about how it started. The scientific explanation behind it is that race and class is a result of evolution. Scholars believe that the climatic differences have also played a huge role in the different color skins of people all around the world. They have come to the conclusion that, these climatic and social differences are some how transferred into DNA and they keep on passing on to the coming generations. The sole minority that is most likely to be affected are the African Americans. They are easy targets and have are easily perceived as threats. The main reason is that majority of Black people are poor and uneducated. This puts them right at the bottom of the social sphere, which is still true. They were given menial jobs, low wages, treated like beggars and what not. This injustice has been hindering our countries growth for decades now. It is time we do something about it and end this degradation of human life today. 

Week 1 Response: Alex Reid, 'Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the Web'

This article was full of information on how to write an effective Research Paper. It gave many guidelines on how to improve your paper and how to connect to your audience. He presents us with so many ideas and uses of blogs. The main advantage of a blog according to me is that we can use it for sharing our own personal experiences and views with the whole wide world, just like I am doing right now. The fact that we can use any style, to be precise our own style makes blog writing much more fun and interesting. The author talks about how the first blog site was created back in 1997, and it was called initially called “WEBLOG” which was later on shortened to just “BLOG”. We all know how important these blogging sites have become today. There would be hardly anyone who wouldn’t be using blogging websites in today’s world. The author mentions many blogging sites that have gained much attention in the past few years, which was a good way to attract people to use blogs. It not only gives us information about the world but also a way to connect to millions of people and share our thoughts as well as read theirs.

Week 1 Response: "Chappals and Gym Shorts: An Indian Muslim Woman in the Land Of Oz"

The author portrays an age-old belief set in the Indian-Muslim culture. It would be easy to say, that questioning such a tradition would get one into trouble easily. The author believes that she needs to mix with her friends in the community who are not aware of all these problems. For her to successfully inter-mix in this culture she needs to adapt to their beliefs. The young woman is trying to make a name for her self by doing something out of the box, but she is constantly obliged to follow what she has been taught all the years being brought up. We can easily relate to the fact that it is never easy to adapt a new culture and still follow your own traditions. But a successful person would always try to find a balance between the two concepts. The young woman is constantly judged on her actions. It is not allowed for her to practice most of the Oz traditions. Her father is repeatedly trying to get the young woman to wear a traditional scarf, i.e. “hijab”. But she questions it, as she knows it would make her look odd from all her friends and become a hindering factor in her progress.