Free Essays on Myths, Legends, and Other Amazing Adventures

we use, that we think in a scientific way.†(H. W. Fowler 1858-1933) If we think in a scientifically appropriate way, we know that urban myths should have no relevance. The reasons why people think these ideas are appropriate are mind boggling. Superstition’s are one thing because they are not conclusive in being correct or incorrect. Being superstitious is so common, it is considered normal to have those beliefs. Unlike superstitions, urban myths can be sound in their validity. Often they are invalid, but at least they can be tested. Maybe superstitions are for the best. They give us constant hope and can lighten our spirits if our superstitious wishes come true. The common urban myth that almost everyone knows about is the pop-rock and soda myth. The myth is that if you eat pop-rocks and drink soda, your stomach will explode. People have tried, and that idea is now considered ludicrous. Thinking that two FDA approved food items together will cause you to explode is idiotic. Non-food items that make you explode are another story. Eating fire while drinking gasoline, probably not a good idea. Wanat 2 Speaking of fire, spontaneous human combustion. What’s the deal with that? Some say that it is possible to just burst into flames out of nowhere and burn to ashes. Scientists say, if you actually catch on fire your clothes will act like a candle wick and the fat in your body like the wax from that candle. You can actually burn down to ash. Southampton University professor Dr. Mike Green calls this the â€Å"wick effect.† The spontaneous part is the fallible aspect. Every known case where spontaneous human combustion was thought to play a role has been thrown out due to the fact that there was either a carelessly placed candle, match, or cigarette that was the original ignition of the fire.(Milton) Want another fire myth? Well, you’re ... Free Essays on Myths, Legends, and Other Amazing Adventures Free Essays on Myths, Legends, and Other Amazing Adventures â€Å".† â€Å"We live in a scientific age, and like to show, by the words we use, that we think in a scientific way.†(H. W. Fowler 1858-1933) If we think in a scientifically appropriate way, we know that urban myths should have no relevance. The reasons why people think these ideas are appropriate are mind boggling. Superstition’s are one thing because they are not conclusive in being correct or incorrect. Being superstitious is so common, it is considered normal to have those beliefs. Unlike superstitions, urban myths can be sound in their validity. Often they are invalid, but at least they can be tested. Maybe superstitions are for the best. They give us constant hope and can lighten our spirits if our superstitious wishes come true. The common urban myth that almost everyone knows about is the pop-rock and soda myth. The myth is that if you eat pop-rocks and drink soda, your stomach will explode. People have tried, and that idea is now considered ludicrous. Thinking that two FDA approved food items together will cause you to explode is idiotic. Non-food items that make you explode are another story. Eating fire while drinking gasoline, probably not a good idea. Wanat 2 Speaking of fire, spontaneous human combustion. What’s the deal with that? Some say that it is possible to just burst into flames out of nowhere and burn to ashes. Scientists say, if you actually catch on fire your clothes will act like a candle wick and the fat in your body like the wax from that candle. You can actually burn down to ash. Southampton University professor Dr. Mike Green calls this the â€Å"wick effect.† The spontaneous part is the fallible aspect. Every known case where spontaneous human combustion was thought to play a role has been thrown out due to the fact that there was either a carelessly placed candle, match, or cigarette that was the original ignition of the fire.(Milton) Want another fire myth? Well, you’re ...

Species and Its Descendants

Species and Its Descendants Species and Its Descendants Species and Its Descendants By Mark Nichol An assortment of diverse words stem from the Latin word species, which had two distinct meanings, one of which is â€Å"a particular kind, sort, or type†- the pertinent sense for the following terms. special: This word, coming into English from Old French, originally meant â€Å"better than ordinary† but later acquired the additional senses of â€Å"marked by a distinguishing quality† and â€Å"limited in function, operation, or purpose†; the noun specialist carries the latter connotation in describing someone with a narrow set of skills. The variant especial, taken from an Old French term meaning â€Å"important† or â€Å"preeminent†- treated in Modern French as spà ©cial- originally had the same meaning as special but later acquired the additional senses of â€Å"particular† and â€Å"peculiar,† as well as â€Å"intimate.† The adverbial form, especially, is now much more common than the adjectival form. specie: This technical term for coins, as opposed to paper currency, stems from the phrase â€Å"in specie,† meaning â€Å"in the actual or real form,† which in turn derives from an identical-looking phrase in Latin that means â€Å"in kind.† (The notion is that coins actually have monetary value, whereas paper currency merely represents such value.) species: Species denotes a distinct type of life-form, but this biological sense was preceded by multiple now-rare connotations such as â€Å"appearance,† â€Å"notion,† and â€Å"resemblance.† Originally, it was associated with a classification in logic. specific: This word, meaning â€Å"particular,† â€Å"precise,† or â€Å"special,† is an antonym of generic, just as, in biology, a species is more, well, specific than a genus. (Like species and specific, genus and generic are related.) specious: This term has undergone the most deviation from its original sense, which is â€Å"fair† or â€Å"pleasing.† (It stems indirectly from the Latin word species by way of speciosus, which means â€Å"good-looking† or â€Å"beautiful.†) Now, it pertains to superficial attractiveness or false validity or value. spice: This unexpected descendant of special, which denotes plant products used to season foods, derived from a later sense of species in Latin of â€Å"goods or wares,† pertaining to spices as a commodity. The additional, centuries-old, figurative sense of â€Å"something that provides relish or zest† survives, but the meanings â€Å"sample† and â€Å"trace† do not. The second sense of the Latin term species, derived from the verb specere, is discussed in this post. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsOne "L" or Two?

What Is the Meaning of Business Organization Assignment

What Is the Meaning of Business Organization - Assignment Example In this type of organization, it is not easy to manipulate directly and decision are made through political processes, the development of an informal organization is based on the day to day interactions and they change when people find new easier and time-saving ways of doing things. (Dickson 1939) The informal organization has an advantage over the formal sector in that it is flexible and will respond quickly to changing circumstances, this type of organization encourage cooperation through the existing norms and obligations. (Dore 1983). We can, therefore, differentiate the formal and informal organization by the way rules are set, the existence of a written document containing the rules, their flexibility to change and the execution of the rules. In the informal organization, there are high levels of human interactions and communication is based on informal relationships within the organization, this is in contrast with the formal organization where communication is formal. Another difference between the two is that hierarchy in the informal organization is not observed whereas in the formal the hierarchy of offices has to be observed. The formal sector has the advantage that the rules are set by those with authority and these rules are executed with minimum opposition, they also have the responsibility of making decisions in the organization. In the informal sector, rules are made from the day to day interactions and this influences their flexibility, this organizations will change quickly in case of any chants organization tons and if they find new ways of doing things. Decisions are made through a political process and therefore this organization has a very low risk of making wrong decisions that would lead to great losses.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Assignment - Essay Example The report by Celal and Parent is timely since it focuses on an area that did not have adequate research prior to their study. SMEs deal with the people directly as they have their management and offices in the communities they offer goods and services as opposed to multinationals that might only have offices for supply reasons and maintain decision-making functions far off in their headquarters. As such, a report that offers insights into how SMEs can survive when faced with such a recession and downturn in future is highly welcomed. The study is a revelation to those in need of a strategic plan to help their businesses stay afloat whenever they are faced with a financial crisis. Application of Celal and Parent’s report cannot be limited to a time global financial recession. The business practices that owners exercised can have wider application to business that needs to reduce their expenses for other internal financial reasons. For example, according to the study business o wners had to use methods like working longer hours, taking a salary cut, acquiring more debt, and cancellation of personal vacations (1). Such methods employed by SMEs owners during recession can still operate in rescuing businesses that need to stay afloat due to their own financial crisis. The study by Celal and Parent is important in minimizing effects of recession in future as it provides a range of changes in their review of the policy measures that business enterprises can use in face of financial crisis. One of the strengths the report has is that the researchers break down policy measures employed by SMEs into finer details. The researchers go further to analyze every aspect of the business strategy on their own before moving on to analyze the strategy as part of the whole effort of saving the SMEs from going under. The report covers all areas in which there were changes effected to ensure the SMEs survive including such area of business operation as business owner’s behavior, markets for the business, sales and marketing strategy employed, measures concerning employment, financial strategies, reactions and most requested policies, growth strategies and fiscal policies. Celal and Parent’s wide coverage of policy changes for SMEs makes it valuable due to the completeness of the analysis. Although Celal and Parent covered most of the areas that SMEs can use to fight recession in future, the analysis is not without some drawbacks, the study limits its scope to SMEs operating in Canada to arrive at its conclusions. Maximum application of the study is possible only when a business enterprise consuming this research finding operates in a business environment that is similar to the one that the SMEs that were sampled in Canada face. The study should have included business organizations in other market environments in their sample to increase the scope of application. Sampling of SMEs in other countries and market environment would also help SMEs in Canada. This would have provided insight into policy measures SMEs outside of Canada put into practice to survive the recession. The entry noted in the study by Celal and Parent as ‘other’ on the graph is not specified to indicate what they might include. There are instances when the entry goes up to 11 per cent in the analysis of changes in employment (3). Such changes

Rich man Essay Example for Free

Rich man Essay Slavery is alive and well in the 21st Century. Ever wondered, as you slipped on your trainers or pulled on a pair of jogging bottoms what life would be like for the person who made them? Nike promotes sport and healthy living but the lives of workers who make Nike shoes and clothes in Asia are anything but healthy. Independent research indicates that they live in extreme poverty and suffer stress and exhaustion from over work. Around the world there are millions of people whose lives depend on global trade. Many are small children between an age of nine and seventeen, working in factories trying to earn just a little money for their families. But working in these factories isnt living. Its sweating. Its exhaustion. Its two meals of rice and vegetables a day. Its two twenty-four hour shifts a week. Its food or medicine, not both. Its a mat to sleep on in a nine by nine cell. In short ninety pence, the daily rate at Nike factories and the mandated Indonesian minimum is more a dying wage than a living wage. We are the reason that the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Demand here effects lives there. Poor people are being kept poor, thanks to companies like Nike. People have to work overtime, and if they dont, they either get the sack or they get abused both physically and mentally. Workers are so poor that they cannot take the risk and say no, because they need the money so much. Even children have had to work in order to earn money because of their poverty. Child labour is one of the most serious human rights abuses in the work place. They are being denied something all children should have an entitlement to, a childhood. A right to play, a right to grow up without the worries and responsibilities of survival. A right to an education without which they can never aspire to a better quality of life. Should such huge responsibilities be placed on such little shoulders? In the U. S. A. and Europe a Nike shirt costs thirty pounds, yet the workers may only get about a quarter of that price per week in wages. The third world kids are victims of poverty. We the consumers are victims of high prices and ignorance. Every time we wear an item of clothing produced by named brand manufacturers we advertise their products. We have been given false hopes, the way that Nike gives false hopes to the workers in their factories. The clothes we buy from Nike are made in factories from China to El Salvador. These factories can only be called sweatshops. The conditions people are expected to work in are nothing short of appalling. Wages are abysmal; hours are long and welfare non-existent. Workers who remained anonymous for fear of loosing their jobs were interviewed by Sarah Strickland in Phonom Penh and are quoted as saying, Some only earn i 20 a month. They have to get their card stamped when they go to the toilet and sometimes they faint from exhaustion and the heat. One particular worker who said he had worked for two years without a holiday told her, When I asked for two days off, they cut my salary. The manufacturers were also approached for their comments on the state of the garment industry in Cambodia. Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association told Ms Strickland Some of the workers have unrealistic demands, like asking for forty hour, five day weeks. I wonder how many hours per week he works and for how much pay? I would be very surprised if he wasnt entitled to holiday pay, sick pay and a substantial pension. I think the workers in these factories should be paid more because they are being kept poor and its unfair. The children working in these factories should not have been there, they should have been in school, playing and having fun not receiving pain in a factory. However this is a complex issue, consider this, if you buy Nike products, those factory workers will be kept poor. If you dont buy them they will still be poor, maybe more so. So what can we do about it? Well, we could try protesting to companies like Nike. A letter of disapproval might be a start, but will these multi-million pound companies listen to us? I think we should protest to the world trading organisations and persuade them to set standards for all companies around the world. Standards that are fair to everyone; the factory workers, the companies and you the consumer. A world trade mark could then be a sign of quality without cruelty, a guideline for the unsuspecting buyers around the world that the product didnt cost someone more than a fair days work for a fair days pay, and doesnt cost us our peace of mind. Rich man The executives of the large companies who make their money from us all   Poor man The consumer who is being conned by these companies and kept in the dark about the way in which their products are produced.   Beggar man The people in third world countries who have little or no rights in the workplace, slaves to their rich masters.   Thief The Multi-million pound companies, the fat cats of society, making their money from exploiting others.

Wikipedia :: Persuasive, Valid or Unreliable Source

A Wikipedia is an information source for many students (Coughlan, 2011), used for research on almost every subject. Some people call it â€Å"frequently unreliable† while others name it to be the epitome of the information age (Andrews 2007) yet the truth is that, whether students and teachers, like to admit it or not, Wikipedia is a vast source of knowledge, with readability second to none (Coughlan, 2011). However because of its wide usage and the fact that it is a wiki, it can be edited by anyone, schools are often reluctant to accept it as a valid source of information for essays or school work and some take it to the extreme; â€Å"14% of schools block Wikipedia† (Fleming 2011). The biggest problems with validating said source is the fact that its reliability is questioned, as there is no one single entity responsible for and accountable for the information, as opposed to a peer-reviewed journal. This â€Å"lack of authority†, according to a group of academi cs, and â€Å"different agendas† allow the general public to alter information (Waldman2004) that validates itself through the information loop. This information loop consist of the following â€Å"A Wikipedia article contains information A. A journalist then uses this unverified information in an article. A critical reader then adds a "{{Citation needed}}" on the original information after which someone adds the article as a source. (Wikipedia, date unknown) Another problem that Wikipedia faces is the fact that if mistakes are not caught on the day they were made, they are likely to go unnoticed. On the other hand, Wikipedia differentiates itself from other encyclopaedias in that most articles are longer and contain more information both technically and historically speaking. (Wetzel 2008) Furthermore, most articles contain links or citation that link to articles or proof of almost every statement made. The problem that arises is then, that blocking Wikipedia denies students from valid, thorough information yet shields them from its inherent unreliability (Fleming, 2011) B Fig1. Standard Wikipedia article As fig.1 shows, pages in Wikipedia include a search bar, links to some useful links (such as random articles, current events and donate). To the right, depending on the article, it will show links to other information relating to the current article, this appears if the article is part of a bigger series such as the I.B or Nazism. Articles will also include the â€Å"edit this page† button and many footnotes that provide evidence or citation for phrases or quotes.

Sexism in the Media

What comprises sexism and feminism? Do sexist images in the media have an impact on women and girls? And, what are the broader political issues here? I am hoping that we can reframe the debate around sexism and nudity in the media in a way that makes sense for socialists. We’re all probably aware of sexist representations in the media from newspapers and magazines to the movies, TV and radio. For example, Rolling Stone magazine didn’t used to be a soft porn magazine, but it is so common now for female musicians to be in soft-porn poses on its cover.Howard Stern, the radio DJ, is always asking his female guests and callers what they are wearing. Stern focuses heavily on women’s physical attributes for the titillation of his male listeners. We also see many movies each year where the female characters are there solely to support and gratify the male characters. Magazines often show only pieces of a woman, such as her legs, or torso so that women are seen as pieces of a human being, reduced to only body parts, which are usually hyper sexualized for male stimulation.The currently popular TV show Desperate Housewives has a predominantly female audience, but tends to appeal to male viewers with story lines involving the women in their underwear or locked out of their houses nude. Soft-core pornography is the staple of many mainstream men’s magazines such as Maxim. In the past decade the decline of the mass movement, and the capitalist’s promotion of escapism, has been at the cost of increased degradation of women in the media. Women’s MovementWebster’s Dictionary defines sexism as â€Å"attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles† or â€Å"discrimination or devaluation based on a person’s sex. † According to Webster’s, this word came into usage in the period of 1965-1970 and was modeled after the word racism, which itself came into use in the 1865-1870 period, duri ng the revolutionary days of Reconstruction in the South. The timeline of the creation of the word sexism gives us an idea of the dramatic change in the consciousness of women in the 1960s and 70’s, which was directly influenced by the civil rights movement.However for a word with such a short history, a mere 40 years later, capitalism is trying to make women believe that sexism no longer exists. In my research for this introduction, I came across discussion of something termed â€Å"post-feminism† which argues that the old ideas about what is sexism and who is a feminist no longer apply. That it is not sexist, but merely ironic, that naked women are used in advertising such as the TV ad where Nicolette Sheridan from Desperate Housewives dropped her towel in front of a football player to get more men to watch the NFL.The idea is that women are now in control of their bodies and that to object to the use of a nude woman in an advertisement is actually an attempt to repr ess that individual woman’s sexuality, or an expression of prudishness, and not a comment on the exploitation of women for financial gain. The Repackaging of Sexism & Feminism Feminism is being repackaged and portrayed as a repressive police force telling women what not to wear, how to have sex and not allowing women â€Å"to live their personal lives without the constraints of a rigid ideology,† as one post-feminist writer put it.On the positive side women, and especially young women, are more confident about their sexuality, but for some women this liberation is expressed through the assumption of some of the roles, attitudes and sexual behavior previously more common among men. This is what one so-called feminist writer described as a shift from the old ‘victim feminism’ to the new ‘power feminism. ’ In fact the shift is away from challenging the old male-dominated status quo and toward finding a place within it.Christine Thomas in her arti cle The New Sexism writes about this shift in feminist thinking. She writes about the recent trend of the increased acceptance of strip clubs and lap dancing club; â€Å"Lap dancing, it is argued, is empowering not exploitative because, when ‘dancers’ can earn as much as $800 a night, they’re often earn better money than the men they’re stripping for. As one student told the BBC’s Inside Out program: â€Å"I work when I want to. I make the amount of money I want to, and if I don’t feel like it I can quit.No-one is pushing me to do it. † â€Å"But contrast this with the comment of a regular frequenter of lap dancing clubs: â€Å"It makes me feel like a king to be sitting there with all these women surrounding me, giving me loads of attention. Nothing beats the thrill of calling a woman over, sitting her down and talking to her, knowing that if you give her money she is going to take all her clothes off. It’s great to have that kind of control, that power, and it’s an ego boost to have all girls competing with each other to dance for you. â€Å"However empowered individual dancers might feel (and of course not all dancers are well paid) lap dancing itself promotes the idea that women are not thinking ‘whole’ beings but body parts – objects available for men to control and enjoy. † 1 This new ‘feminism’ also represents a shift from a collective to an individualistic approach to women’s equality. If a given woman feels oppressed, feels exploited, or feels demeaned, it is because something is wrong with her. Perhaps she is not aggressive enough or not motivated enough.She has not figured out how to advance within the current system. When women buy into the basic concepts of capitalist culture, the new â€Å"feminists† imply, as many doors will open for women as for men and they will no longer be victims. The new ‘post-feminism’ also ar gues that the male dominated empire is crumbling and that more women than ever are now in positions of power. However, we know who these powerful women are: Margaret Thatcher, Hilary Clinton, and Condoleeza Rice. They actually represent a step backwards for women’s equality.Condoleeza’s promotion to Secretary of State reinforces the illusion that racial and gender discrimination no longer exists and that failure to succeed is only the failure of individuals to take advantage of their opportunities. Her work for the Bush administration is helping to increase the attacks on all workers, women and men, which in turn especially increases the burden economically on women. Her promotion represents no change whatsoever for the status quo and for the reality of working class women across the United States. How Equal are We? Women today still consistently make less than men for fulltime work in the same jobs.In statistics from 2002, nationally women average 78% of men’s pay for all jobs. Among the highest paid professionals (doctors and lawyers) women only make from 58-76% of men’s average pay and they make up about a third of the workers in these jobs. On the other hand, those jobs that are predominantly occupied by women such as cashiers or child care workers; women make about 95% of men’s wages. But the average weekly wage for men and women is very low at $250-$300 per week. Also, traditionally unionized jobs like nursing and construction have higher average weekly wages and women make about 91% of men’s pay. 2However, the startling fact is that in the Bureau of Labor Statistics information from 2002, out of hundreds of job categories, there is not a single job where women make more money than men do. There are also a radically higher proportion of women than men living in poverty in the U. S. For many American women, violence is also a nasty reminder of the inequality in this society. Estimates of non-fatal domestic violenc e against women range from 1 million to 4 million a year with nearly 1 in 3 women experiencing a physical assault from a partner in adulthood. Women have a 10 times greater likelihood of being victimized by an intimate than men.Also, 33% of all women murdered are murdered by an intimate partner. In fact the leading cause of death among pregnant women is not complications from pregnancy, but murder. 4 The sexist representations of women in the media are a direct reflection of this economic and social inequality. But these images also serve to reinforce the lower status of women not only through showing us as a commodity to be packaged for men’s enjoyment, something to be controlled, but also by directly undermining women’s self-esteem and emphasizing the unattainable ideal of a ‘perfect’ woman. Up to 80% of American women are issatisfied with their appearance. Much of the marketing of the ideal woman is targeted at women directly. Women’s magazines, both in articles and advertisements (and it is often difficult to distinguish the two) carry a lot of ideas about the ideal woman. In addition 1 out of every 3. 8 television commercials carries some sort of â€Å"attractiveness message. †5 Media Images and Girls The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that 82% of all cosmetic surgical procedures are performed on women. The most common procedures are liposuction, breast augmentation, nose reshaping and eyelid surgery.In the years from 1992 to 2003 total cosmetic surgical procedures increased by 192% with breast augmentation increasing by 657% and liposuction by 412%. 6 Not only are women reshaping their bodies in record numbers to try and fit some type of female ideal, but girls are influenced by this pressure as well. Some 81% of ten year-old girls are afraid of being fat and 51% of 9 and 10 year-olds feel better about themselves if they are on a diet. Of normal dieters, about 5-6% will progress to partial or full sy ndrome eating disorders. 7Eating disorders often start for women in their teen and pre-teen years, and represent an extreme attempt to control one’s body. It may not seem such a distorted priority to young girls to achieve the perfect body through self-punishing starvation or vomiting when record numbers of adult women are voluntarily subjecting themselves to invasive surgeries. Now this process is being accelerated and normalized through TV shows such as Extreme Makeovers and The Swan. Here, mostly women are shown going through a series of major cosmetic surgeries.In The Swan a prize goes to the best makeover. Capitalism sends mixed messages to women that only create anxiety. Their perfect woman is young, thin, and never has acne. However, the unhealthy food big business pushes at us makes this perfect woman even more unattainable. Not only do they profit from selling us this bad food, but the food itself almost guarantees that we will need to spend more money on cosmetics, dieting, surgery, or antidepressants if we buy into this ideal woman concept. We can’t talk about sexism’s effect on women without also iscussing its effect on men who are also damaged by it. From boyhood, men are sent the message that women are here for their pleasure and that they are primarily commodities for their consumption. If this idea is completely internalized, it makes men unable to connect with women in any but the most superficial way, and cuts them off from a deeper understanding of both themselves and women. Just as the oppression of women has forced women in general to develop a more skillful understanding of human relations, so too male privilege tends to stunt men’s relationship skills.Also, for men that have themselves experienced abusive upbringings, it makes them more likely to be trapped into attempting to control women through physical or emotional abuse. Sexism and Capitalism’s new Moral Divide In the 1984 movie, This is Spinal Tap – the fake documentary about an English heavy metal band, a female record company executive lets the band members know that they have concerns with the band’s album cover. They feel that the image of a naked woman wearing a leash and dog’s collar is sexist. â€Å"Sexy,† one of the band members says, â€Å"what’s wrong with being sexy? †There is enormous confusion today surrounding this difference between what is deemed sexy and what it sexist in the media. The recent media hype around the Janet Jackson breast exposure incident and the uproar over the NFL commercial I previously cited are examples of how this discussion is being spun in the media: as the relentless sex-oriented focus of popular culture verses the purity of family values. In an era where some women are losing access to services that help them control their bodies reproductively, we are now seeing the control of images of women’s bodies as an issue in the media.The new ‘feminists’ would have us believe that the ultimate control of an individual woman’s body belongs to the woman herself and so the images are not discussed in the context of sexism. The liberals argue that a woman’s naked body is no big deal and can’t we be mature and realize that it’s just a woman’s body; failing, like the guy from Spinal Tap, to distinguish between sexy and sexism. The family values coalition argues that it is damaging to children to be exposed to nudity and the subject of sex; making it appear that any outrage is due to prudishness.The argument goes that these are the opposing interests in the discussion – leaving little voice for most people. Is it possible that this divisive construct is promoted by the media itself to obscure the real issue? The real issue is the exploitation of a woman’s body and sexuality for the purpose of selling products: magazines, TV shows, movies, football games. If we unders tand it this way, then we have a way to object to the objectification of women without falling into the trap of prudishness.We can condemn CBS and the NFL not for showing us Janet Jackson’s breast, but for exploiting her desire to further her career and the captive audience of viewers to boost ratings, which in the end makes more advertisement money for them. Capitalism typically creates and exploits divisions for the purpose of undermining working class solidarity. Sexism undermines the solidarity between men and women. By failing to point out capitalism’s role in this issue, we can allow a new threat to class solidarity to take root. This non-class based division, created by the media, the so-called â€Å"moral divide. A New Mass Movement The current trends in the media represent a step backwards for women in the struggle against sexism and exploitation. This is another facet of the global phenomenon, regardless of gender, of working class people being attacked more fiercely by the capitalist class. The current onslaught of sexism, besides undermining class solidarity, also serves capitalism by expanding markets for diet and beauty products and for surgery. It also represents a huge drain on the resources of an individual woman.With her self-image and self worth constantly under attack, it is no surprise that some women have fallen into an individualistic, superficial, self-absorption, spending less time fighting to change the workplace and the community. Especially with the failure of working class and women’s organizations to fight on concrete issues that are important to women. However, just as in the 1960s, a mass movement gave birth to the women’s movement and sexism even started to be talked about, so too a new mass movement of workers that confronts capitalism will also confront sexism. Working class women will be at the fore of such a movement.In fact, women play a key role in many community struggles. LMV has been involv ed in the Campaign for Renters Rights a direct action group in which women took the leading role in fighting off Section 8 housing cuts. 8 In the 70’s we saw how differently women could be treated in the media with real stories about real women. There was a trend toward increased realism in TV and film including the portrayal of women. In the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore a working class woman who is a single parent stands up against everyday sexism. The central character is a woman who is strong, funny and insightful.The scarcity of movies like this since the 70’s with strong female characters confirms the degeneracy of not only the popular media but of capitalism itself. Socialism, on the contrary, will not only achieve material equality between men and women, but also allow both men and women to better explore their own individuality, and break free of the base superficiality that market capitalism promotes. January 2005References 1 Christine Thomas , The New Sexism, Socialism Today Issue 77 Sept 2003 2 The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 2002 annual averages. Domestic Violence Statistics, District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence at www. dccadv. org More stats from National Domestic Violence Hotline at www. ndvh. org. 4 Kim Curtis, Murder: The leading cause of death for pregnant women. Associated Press April 23, 2003 5 National Eating Disorders Association at www. nationaleatingdisorders. org 6 American Society of Plastic Surgeons at www. plasticsurgery . org 7 National Eating Disorders Association 8 For more on this struggle see www. laborsmilitantvoice. com