What is privilege? How does it relate to feminism?
Privilege is a belief or right given to some individual(s) and not to other people. In the conversations pertaining to feminism, certain beliefs and rights are normally given in the form of power to individuals on the basis of their features such as race, gender, sexuality, religion, and wealth (Barak, Leighton, & Flavin, 2010). Such an understanding of privilege as a concept is a demonstrable fact as to why the concept still remains so much confusing to dozens of people. Basically, some individuals wonder what can cause a social system to be such biased. The modern feminism has gone the extra mile to make a comparison between the concept privilege and subjugation/oppression (Barak, Leighton, & Flavin, 2010). According to the background reading, it is clear that subjugation takes its course when a society is structured in such a way that it places selected individuals at an advantage just by considering the traits/characteristics mentioned above.
Question #2
Compare and contrast the life histories of incarcerated women to incarcerated men. In what ways does gender matter in the lives of women who find themselves under the control of the criminal justice system?
The incarcerated people have high rates of both adult and childhood victimizations. There is little information that has come to light concerning the relationship between types of victimizations that the incarcerated people go through, particularly in the US prisons. Both genders think and function differently in the outside world, and this is an affirmation that the situation o inmates is not different, so long as they are human beings (Chesney-Lind, & Pasko, 2012). The differences between men and women are well outlined as popular culture in the millennia, however, while remembering John Gray’s book “Men are From Mars, Women From Venus” published in 1992, the author asserted that the two genders differ in so many things to the extent that they could have come from different planets. With these realities in mind, the lives of the female matter when under the criminal justice system in the sense that they can internalize stress. Perhaps, this is the reason why they easily engage in self-harming activities such as burning, carving, and cutting. For this reason, they must be continuously monitored. It is also important to note that women form surrogate families while in prison. Even though those families are more of social contact, sexual attributions may as well be a cause (Chesney-Lind, & Pasko, 2012).
Question #3
Response to the assigned chapter (2): Stress Psychophysiology
The most critical part of stress management is the individual’s initial judgment. Due to this, it can be a psychological component that prompts stress management and response. According to Jerrold’s book “Stress Management,” if some perception comes into an individual’s mind that he is in a dangerous situation or something bad is about to happen to him, the message about the danger is carried in the neurons from the cerebral context (where the thinking process starts) and the limb system towards the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus then produces “sympathetic arousal of the Autonomic Nervous System. The Autonomic Nervous System contains two other systems; “the parasympathetic nervous system which conserves the energy levels and the sympathetic nervous system.” The parasympathetic nervous system is therefore responsible for increasing the secretions of the body such as mucus, tears, gastric acids, and saliva. These secretions not only defend the body but also helps in food digestion. Since the body needs to relax in a stressful situation, the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for preparing the body for action.