Sociology

Feminism has passed through many phases with the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the most crucial eras for the growth of the feminist movements. Last five centuries was the period of modernity, generating the rise of capitalism as well as socialism, the development of the states and also emergence of the regional divisions. Within this context, gender issue and the conceptualization of femininity emerged as women began to realize their equal importance and rights. The second phase of the feminist movement from the 1980 and 1990s also made it possible to bring the issue of inequality in the world politics. In the academic world too, feminism was adopted by many women who realized they should be given their due share. The concept of feminism since then has become the most crucial and a new disciplinary framework for the studies of the gender issues, especially women.

Though the feminist movement was started centuries back, yet the impetus of it was felt during the Second World War when the whole economy was transforming from labor intensive towards the technological development. The change gave momentum to the women in the labor force to such an extreme extent that many women began to think this whole trend in terms of the feminization of the labor force, (Bradley 1997 81), however decrease in the manufacturing industries made many men unemployed. On the social front, divorce rates and the number of single headed families increased and along with this, new and advanced technologies in reproduction and child birth made it convenient for men and women to plan their children and moreover the gay and lesbians also began to assert their rights. The advancements of the women during this period led to assertion in mid 1980s that the stage had finally arrived for post feminist movement with young women involved fully into it. Madonna was taken as an emblem of the new generation of women. (Bradley 1997 81) While this was going on, feminists in the academic circles continued to share their own grievances as they had to face many obstacles in the path of their growth. They were concerned about the equal pay as well as equivalent opportunities to grow further in their career. (Morrison, Bourke  Kelley 2005 150)

In the United Kingdom, where the particular study Stop Making it Such a Big Issue Perceptions and Experience of Gender Inequality by Undergraduates at a British University was conducted, many women tended to ignore and deny the existence of the gender inequality, causing hurdles in the path of the feminist movement. There was even denial of the inequality of gender as the greatest impediment to positive social change. But it is quite true that the denigration of the equal opportunity, and cut back in the support system are evidences of the fact that gender inequality in the academic field has never been removed and besides there never has been adequate research on the culture of students and their experience. (Morrison, Bourke  Kelley 2005 151)

To start with, womens movement originated from the social reform organizations which were raising their voices against abolition of slavery and other social issues. Women too began to realize the importance for organizing and transforming their society and initializing campaigns. The waves of feminism went through three phases. The first phase started from eighteenth century and passed through twentieth century professing the suffrage movement. Their main ideological stand was to oppose mens sociological and psychological domination over them. Writers like Virginia Woolf were the propagators of these ideas, as she argued in her book, A Room of Ones Own, that women are themselves victims as well as strong pillars of society and act as mirror to men. She admitted that social factors restrict women in society and felt the need to conceptualize the problems of women in her literature contributing towards the growth of the feminist movements. (Humm 1992 22)

The second wave started in the mid twentieth century against inequality in the law and cultural arena. Simone de Beauvior was the most prominent person to initiate this movement whose idea inspired Virginia Woolf to struggle for the rights of women in the household as well as work place. Beauviors ideas set the pace for the development of the feminist theory later (Humm 1992 44) but the key person to mark beginning of this feminist movement was Betty Friedans 1963 book The Feminine Mystique. The book became best seller which showed dissatisfied women in the confines of their domesticity. It was about the women who though appeared to be satisfied in the household work, children and their family yet there was frustration on their faces in their ambiguous life.  (Meyerowitz 1993 1455) This led women to fight against social, cultural, economic and political inequalities exerting themselves against polarized society. (Davis, 1991 50) The Carol Hanisch slogan, The Personal is Political became a new phenomenon in the history, sphere of politics, and the personal life in general. Her essay debates between the personal life and the politics, questioning whether womens consciousness could become a useful part in their political movement. According to Hanisch, groups are never interested to solve the personal problems of women, instead political action involves raising awareness among the women to develop their importance in the roles they play in their married life, in relation with others and what they feel about motherhood. (Echols 1989 416)

During early 1990, another movement known as third wave arose as a response to anticipated failure of the second phase calling upon to adopt new ideological stand. In this phase, Black feminists also sought the race related issues to be given significant space within thoughts of feminism. Along with their thoughts on interconnecting race and gender, the focus was also on to adopt young feminists. (Henry 2004 163) The feminist movement was not only reflective of the Cultural Revolution but also motivated women to make use of the different social ideological moves to their advantage. (Henry 2004 166)
In social sciences, the major theme was to lay more emphasis on the social aspects of the gender roles thus demystifying the previous explanation of sex difference on biological lines. (Anderson 2005 439) However, gender was later conceptualized as a complete act within the domain of the frame of doing gender, as an institution and as an axis to stratify themselves. These different ways of conceptualizing the issue of feminism passed through development phases with some being more sophisticated as compared to others. All the above ideas originated from the thoughtful interpretation of the social and cultural issues as a consequence, scholars dealing with the feminist issues laid more focus on the difference in the sex and gender as if both were clearly distinct from each other. Within this context, according to many, even the biological difference could be construed as social construction. (Anderson 2005 440)

The second theme that prevailed among the genre of the early literature was amplification of challenging the fixed institutional forms. In sociological terms, these themes are especially apparent during the process of the early interpretation of the families. Feminist scholars challenged against the imperativeness of the most important roles being played in the family on the gender lines. While explaining this concept, feminist scholars contradicted the idea that some of the family structures had been more natural as compared to the others, again asserting on the social character of many institutions. Thirdly, many feminine scholars were embedded by the idea that the lives of the women should be taken serious and womens life should be celebrated in all its vicinity. (Anderson 2005 440) For e.g. Jessie Bernards The Female World celebrates variedness and richness of the world of women inhabited to be overseen or yet unperceived. Her basic premises lie in the fact that the domains of both the men and women are different with the women sometimes may enter into the world of men but they do not belong to that world. In fact, their world is in the Gemeinschaft of Blut-und-Blot (Blood and Soil). (Davis 1985 879) Duties of women are bounded in the confines of the kinship, tradition and locale with their culture as love and duty and function to adjust life with the family. This world is quite in contradiction to the world of Gesellschaft of men exhibiting self interest, cash nexus, stiff competition, and any kind of contract. The question that Bernard raises in the 1980 was, Will women discard the female ethos as they increasingly enter the labor market or will they modify the male world of economy and polity in line with the traditional female values In short, will agape or profit prevail (Davis 1985 879)

 Feminists entered into the movement advocating their own share of woes, for e.g. for some it was the fight for their reproductive rights - the right of abortion and birth control, while others were concerned with the equal pay for equal work and for gaining equal access into professional groups and settings. Jessie Bernard proved by sitting alone in the hotel bar, a place where single women was seldom allowed and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader also spoke of denying access to the Law Library at Harvard. Perhaps for the generation of today, these talks seem quite out of place but it is also quite true that many of the documentation were focused on the consequence and result caused by sexism. (Anderson 2005 440)
       
Many feminist groups were dissecting the issues related to the women on their own light for e.g. early feminists were focusing on class system and their theory was formulated around relationship between gender and systems of production. Radical feminists were also taking into consideration dynamic traits of patriarchy as a social force to understand the issues of women and feminine. Overall, there was conceptualization of the gender in the social sphere, forming documentation and undertaking analytical study of women issues in various social institutions. (Anderson 2005 441)

Since 1980s, feminism has generally been the greatest movement and has been customarily being referred in the plural sense. As said by Peter Braham and Linda Janes, It is both a political movement, cutting across other collectivities of class, race and religion for example, and a diverse body of theoretical perspectives which cuts across many academic disciplinary boundaries. (Janes 2002 102) These writers conceptualized the gender issues as related to the differences and inequalities between men and women as social categories. If we go by the discussion of Pamella Abbot, we would find that there is another aspect to it i.e. how the gender interrelates with other social divisions. (Janes 2002 102)  If we try to identify ourselves in the social sphere, we will find we are not merely men or women but a complex and changing amalgam of interacted social identities of class, culture, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality and age-to name just some key aspects  it is really impossible to separate gender from all the other dimensions. (Janes 2002 103) While making the analytical assumptions of the gender divisions, the theoretical conceptualization of feminism has been construed in the context of the social difference and division. In other words, each one of us is part of one or the other group but as a woman she is still in this relationship and in this connection inferior, deviant or just simply wrong.

However, advocators of liberal feminism since its inception have always asserted for the equal rights to both men and women and they argued these gender differences could be reduced through the educational and legal reforms. They wanted for the women to also gain rights in the public spheres including right to vote, equal opportunities at work place, and all the legal rights which men enjoyed. But the very concept of the liberal feminism is criticized because it is acclaimed that it is insufficiently radical in its approach. They adopted the assumption that capitalism would inevitably bring with it the advantages of own freedom and democracy becoming part of the best of all possible worlds. (Bradley1997 86).

The liberalization movement continued to be very popular in America and Australia, whereas in Britain, where feminists were more suspicious of the state, the most popular voice had been of Marxist feminism. (Bradley 1996 87) Many second wave feminists in Britain in the academic arena were associated with the radical student movements and were influenced by Marxists. The feminists tried to adopt the most crucial Marxism concepts, along with the techniques of analyzing materialistic method and applying the same to formulate the relationship between the two sexes. The Marxists decided to solve the issue of feminism by taking into consideration exploitation of women at the work place and the housewives who directly or indirectly contribute towards the profits in the capitalist economy. (Bradley 1996 87)

Feminism has continuously made its presence felt in the American culture, and though some women might not have directly affiliated themselves with the movement, yet they have tremendous affect of the same. And, even though they might not call themselves feminist, yet they have their own share in making the movement a success. If we look into the role of the women of colour, we would find that in the initial years these women of colour were highly critical of the white womens movement and they had all the reasons to show their apprehension about their movement. Victoria Romero ardently believed that the Feminist Movement wasnt made for us. It was made for middle-class White women, (Lessane 2007 5) and Alpert too shows the same apprehension.  The same is true with the American scholar Bell Hooks who reflects the same sentiments making many of the women to remain themselves aloof from the White feminists during the second wave of feminist movement. Hooks says in her book As many black womenwomen of colour saw white women from privileged classes benefiting economically more than other groups from reformist gains, from gender being tacked on to racial affirmative action, it simply reaffirmed their fear that feminism was really about increasing white power. (Hooks 2000 42) Hooks points out the fact that though within the feministic theoretical framework the issue of race has been given due importance but still there is a need to give more importance to feminist agenda that could include women of colour. By, the only problem is to translate theory into practice. Though white women have raised the issue of racism and incorporated into their agenda yet the effect of it has not been seen in the day-to-day relations between white women and women of colour. Racism and sexism in conjunction with each other create division between the women, and the strategies being adopted by many feminists to remove these barriers have not led to much success. (Hooks 2000 58-59)

There have been many theories that present the women at the center of the discussion and many of these feminist scholars gave women many of the theoretical frameworks within the context of which they experience themselves as women but no body ever has provided with the tools to really enjoy liberation and true freedom. Paradoxically, their journey begins within themselves, especially with the women of colour who have to assert their femininity in solitude forcing them to rethink about their families, culture, and communities as well as traditions and the places that they have actually attained. As a Latina woman, Estel Lopez feels, Nobody gives you power. Sometimes you struggle for it or fight for it. You get up everyday and fight for power in the work place, family, and social situationsWe have to be honest about whats wrong in our culture and families. As hard and as lonely as it is sometimes, you have to say thats not right. (Lessane 2007 6)

Each woman directly associated with the feminist movement or not can feel impact of the same in their day-to-day lives. Whether they are struggling in attaining education, raising their family, or finding a job, they are all much part of the feminist movement, but for many women like historian and writer Janis Kearney, feminism meant more on cultivating feminism instead of being called feminist. Kearney revealed the radical ways African American mothers adopted to encourage their daughters to lead independent lives and attain self sufficiency in the rural Arkansas. She never used the term feminism in her Cotton Fields of Dreams yet the way she conceptualized the ideology of feminism is imbibed throughout, as it covers all the issues affected by women in general. (Lessane 2007 6)

On the other hand, there is Chris Smith - an African American lesbian who tried to connect herself to the familys legacies of nationalism and race with her own self identity, before she could virtually come out. Finally, Smith declined the term Womanism for self explanation as she said, it feels like a paired down word for African-American women because feminism has been associated with lesbianism (Lessane 2007 7) Here, Smith mentions about some of the heterosexual African American women who detest themselves with the feminist movement thinking they would be treated as lesbians. She ardently believed that feminism should involve for the women free choice, liberty and self regulatory behavior. Explaining further, she said that making decision to remain at home is an act of feminism but when this kind of role is endorsed upon her culturally then we cannot term it as feminism. Here Lopez asserts that an act of determining something and that of defiance is the principle on which the concept of feminism lays and is at the root of the womens power. The concept of feminism lies in not by liberating the women but by changing oneself and the way others would see them. (Lessane 2007 8)

The social climate in Britain and the USA has evolved itself all through these years with the terms feminism and feminist theory, and this has increased to multiple dimensions bringing in its wake several aspects of what makes their culture. As Bell said, to bring in the change, there is a need to identify the situation wherein the women in power always make less powerful women helpless. This should be changed to really make movement of feminism a success. Overall, changes in the economy during Second World War, and awareness among the women to organize themselves in the social, political and economic structure to garner their rights gave boost to the feminist movement. Above all contributions of female writers and scholars, the subject of feminism, as the added discipline in the academy, gave thrust to the movement Feminism. Besides, the way thoughts originated in different phases of the feminist movement from the women suffrage towards the incorporation of the issue of racism, and finally towards the equal pay for equal work are the different ways that transformed the conceptualization of femininity during the twentieth century.

Whether or not books have a future is a subject that could be argued from different point of views and perspectives which are closely interrelated to the roles of technology in the changing reading habits. Books play a very unique role in ensuring that the social, cultural, economic and religious views and needs of people are championed. Different sorts of books such as novels, history books, among others have considerably different future. In education for instance, books have played a crucial role of ensuring that information is relayed through diverse platforms. This ensures that there is easy passage of knowledge and skills from one generation to the other. The future of books has for a great extent been dependent on the emergence of new technologies that have constantly transformed the way of life.

Emergence of New Technologies
The introduction and continued emergence of technologies continues to shape education systems and the reading habits. Electronic means of communication are the major causes of change in trends that have continued to shape the future of technology. People have continued to change with time and adapt to new needs that arise in our society. As the internet continues to be integrated into peoples lives so does reading patterns and habits of people change (Anderson 2006). The media used in the writing determine to a large extend the manner in which transfer of material could be done. Writing skills and the medium of transfer of information have been determined by the emergence of internet. While most internet users have continued to become more proficient at writing, the use of online books has greatly replaced the hard forms of writing (Boczkowski 2004). This paper analyzes the different form that books have taken and the actual future of books in the modern world.

Digital Revolution and Books Usage
The digital revolution revolves around the usage of various technologies in an effort to change the manner in which a number of processes are carried out in the modern world. The digital revolution has the potential to change a number of existing industries in several ways in which different technological developments have been unable to. Indeed the digital revolution has altered the reading culture through the transformation of the media through which books are relayed to the intended readers.

With the coming of several new technologies, there has been an anticipation that books may come to an end. Just like the music industry which has undergone a number of transformations, it is anticipated that books will also change in order to suit the ever changing lifestyle (Robert 2001). Publication of books could also be altered in order to ensure that the published books are now relayed through digital means rather than the use of paper for printing. The development of Sony eBook reader and the Amazaons Kindle, though likely to bring some change in the books arena, may never lead to total eradication of the use of books in the future.

Technology and Its Role in Books Future
Technologies normally use a number of tools in order to ensure that certain goals are achieved. The manner in which technology transforms the way of life greatly affects the way of life. Various forms of implementation of technology normally influence the values which are associated with a given technology (Boczkowski 2004).  Efficiency and effectiveness of new technologies lead to the use of books in different formats through which books are currently being used in the modern world.

Books
A book is traditionally considered to be a collection or set of written, illustrated, blank sheet or printed material that could either be made of parchments or paper or other forms of materials that are normally fastened together to hinge on one side. A single sheet in the traditional definition of books is normally referred to as a leaf while each side of a leaf is always referred to as a page. However, technology has resulted in the production of books in electronic formats which can easily be transformed to different formats. Books transformed in different formats are normally referred to as electronic books (eBooks).

On the other hand, any form of written material that has been put on paper can be referred to as a book. This is because it is the printed material, when bound together, that form a book. The major division of written literature is also normally referred to books. There is normally little consideration of the actual content of the written material when defining what constitute a book in the modern world.

It is therefore very evident that books come in different formats. It is not necessary for whatever is considered to a book to be in paper form. For instance, some books could in the soft copy format while others could in hard copy formats. It is however not possible to have a book that is not yet written (Anderson 2006). Until a concept is put down on paper, then it could not be possible to consider it as being a book or not. This is mainly because conceptual ideas could be easily altered and the meanings derived from them constantly changed in order to ensure that it fits the needs of the intended users and the perceived writers.

Brief History and Likely Future of Books
In order to properly understand what the future of books is and understand whether or not they actually have a future, it is in order to ensure that the history of books is brought into focus. The history of books and their future greatly relies on the continued innovations being made in the various technological innovations. The writing system was a major innovation that started in the ancient civilizations. Greeks for instance made a huge contribution to the use of writing in their attempt to preserve their culture for the future generations.

Stones, trees, walls, clay, animals skins, metal sheets and the human bodies are some of the surfaced which were utilized as writing materials in the ancient days. In the 1800 BC, there was the emergence of the alphabetic writing in the Egyptian republic. Papyrus, a plant that was commonly found along the Nile River, was mainly used for writing on during the early stages of the emergence of writing (Birkerts 1994). Initially, writing did not exhibit any form of punctuation since words were never separated from each other.

According to the available historic materials, the Phoenicians brought writing and the use of papyrus to Greece around ninth or tenth century BC. Later on, codes were introduced into the writing culture in order to easily identify the written material and ensure that consistency and easy identification of the written material was easily done.

Long before printing came into existence, books used to be written and their copying done through rewriting by hand. This consumed a lot of time, energy and other related resources. The pace at which the reproduction of the books was done was very slow leading to the urgent need for other new technologies to be employed in order to adequately fulfill the then ever increasing need for written materials. Books were also very costly to produce and expensive to purchase (Boczkowski 2004 Thompson 2005). In Greece for instance, artificial light was manly forbidden due to the fear that it could to a greater extend damage the manuscripts that were considered to be very costly at the time.

Later on, the production of books became a very significant practice in Rome. The writing culture was used in the preservation of culture, communication and transfer of power. Books were early censored from the political and religious perspective. Through the utilization of books, political powers and religious views were communicated to the target people with the intention of ensuring communication to the target audience is made with a perceived long lasting impact. One such evidence of how books were utilized included the Library of Alexandria which was created by the Ptolemy Sorter and later set up by the Demetrius Phalereus.

Conservation of books is crucial since it helps in ensuring that books exist in the future in order for them to serve the intended meaningful purpose. For the Monk community for instance, reading was a very vital culture which ensured conservation of culture (Darnton 1999). Prayers by the monks, intellectual work and enhancement of manual labor were done and the vital practices conserved through manuscripts which were produced at the time.  However, preservation of books was not purely based on the need to preserve the ancient culture. For most religious practices, the culture of writing was utilized in ensuring that certain specific religious practices were past to the next generations without alteration of the context and meaning of the actual message being done. This was aimed at sustaining the cultural beliefs and social practices of the cultures of the ancient people.

Despite the many efforts put into place to conserve books and other related religious materials, Edwards, Armstrong, and Lonsdale (2002, pp.200-230) argues that books in some regions were normally destroyed in the order of Diocletian. It was the Monasteries that actually conserved the various religious texts that existed at the time. The many books that existed were based on the political battles which were being fought and the ideologies of the governments.

Traditionally, copyright issues and patent rights never existed and in situation where such a perception did exist, no emphasis was laid to the actual implementation. The emergence of the copyright issues, though having ensured that the authors of the books benefit from their materials, resulted into a slow pace of books development. Never the less, the emergence of internet and technology results into a change of platform through which written materials are exchanged.

Conservation of Books
For anything to have any long term impact to the lives of people there is need to make proper consideration to its expected and the actual lifespan. Books have been conserved in different formats and forms. Libraries and government archives have been the greatest reservoirs that have been utilized in the conservation of books. Conservation of books plays an important role in ensuring that long after the authors of the books have pass on, the ideas they put into writing can still be accessed and then utilized in a number of forms. At times codes are assigned to the books in order to ensure that the reserved materials can be easily accessible for use. Sometimes are books totally destroyed in the world due to them being obsolete (Thompson 2005).  There are a few instances in which books have been burned and all the evidence of the ideas and views of the author destroyed. This commonly happen in very controversial circumstances in which the ideas conveyed in the books causes a number of disagreements. Such circumstances are normally based on the political, racial perspectives, religious beliefs and practices, and cultural practices that tend to convey bias views of a given community or the entire society.

Conservation of books is however crucial in ensuring that the books are fully or at least partially available for future use. Conservation of books also ensures that the writing style and culture of the author are reserved and the specific uniqueness clearly identified. Indeed different works done by authors from diverse sections of the globe always lead to perfection of the work done and enhancement of the quality of materials to be done.

Upgrading of the books is sometimes in order to ensure that the materials being conserved is made to fully reflect the changing times. As period in which the materials were written changes, so does the actual materials that are being written in reference to the environment and people in which the written materials were intended for use. Upgrading of books ensures that relevance of the message is maintained. Different styles of writing are altered in order to fully reflect the manner in which the current lifestyle actually is (Edwards, Armstrong, and Lonsdale 2002, pp. 200-230). Whenever upgrading of books is done, the referencing styles normally changes while other facts are modified. This ensures that the written material truly reflects the current trends, living styles and the reader needs that mainly change with the changing times.

The continued desire for more flexible and portable books has also resulted in the need to change the writing styles, fonts being used and the actual medium through which certain materials are written. Portable continues to be a very strategic factor that enhances the need for change in the modern writing techniques. The need to produce more portable materials always lead to writing of material in simpler yet less detailed language. This help to drastically reduce the number of works and hence a much smaller version of the book is produced.

Upgrading of the content therefore enhance the relevance of the materials and ensure that the changes in culture, political practices and technological changes are put into consideration in ensuring that the written materials fully reflect the current life style and the needs of the majority. Additionally, production of new editions of books helps in ensuring that the new editions contain new contents that may have been omitted in the previous technologies. Such conservation strategies help in ensuring that new theories and relevant concepts are also integrated in the new editions.

At times there is need to customize the previously written material in order to reflect the needs of a specific group of people. In order to elongate the lifespan of the books, change in the languages is always done. The alteration of the languages helps the audience to easily understand the written materials. Since communication is a very fundamental tool in ensuring that the lifespan of books is made longer, customizing the books, its language and certain details ensures that the materials become friendlier to the target audience. Interpretations of the languages also help the books to fully fit into the needs of the people (Jeff 2008). For a very long period, the problem of alteration of the intended message has been reported. Some interpreters of the books always change the actual meaning and ideas of the authors leading to lose of the message of the author. At times such misinterpretation leads to total loose of ideas and the message may end up not having any meaning or value. Interpretation of books is normally done with an in-depth consideration of the culture, religion and social perspectives of the people in a given community or region being targeted by the new editions of books.

Furthermore, the media and format of the books is also altered with an intention of ensuring that the future of the book is protected. Mediums such as the CD-ROM (Compact Dist Read Only Memory), DVD-ROM (Digital Video Disk Read Only Memory), tapes, and memory cards, among other mediums help in ensuring that portability and flexibility of books is enhanced in order to suit the ever changing needs of a given a people.

Future of Books in Accordance to their Contents
Fiction and the nonfiction books could have a very different future. With continued change in cultures and peoples continued attempts to seek for the truth, the nonfiction books continues to take a centre stage in the areas of ensure that more reliable and realistic materials are accessed. At times books are categorized as either fictitious or non fictitious books based on their contents. Even though they are very appealing, fictitious books tend to rely mainly on peoples perceived truth about life(Jenkins 2006). Novels are the most common category of fictitious books. On the other hand, most scientific books are not fictitious. They contain static contents that do not change over time unless specific theories are formulated in order to prove the scientific truths as being wrong. The future of non fictitious contents is normally ensured through the continued advancement of the material. Such materials are important as they determine the future happenings and developments based on their contents. They provide reliable information rather than providing of stories which may or may not be true.

Artistic books also do not last for long due to the continued changes that occur in the modern world. Technologies sometimes render certain artistic work to only reflect certain truths based on a specific content. To ensure that books stay for a much longer duration, it is crucial that the current technological changes are fully embraced. From the past studies carried out on the future of books, it is very evident that the future of books, to a greater extent, depends on various stakeholders embracing new technologies in ensure to have backup of the hard copy materials.

New technologies have resulted into a very sudden revolution of the unique ways through which books are transformed from the paper books to digital formats that are more reliable, effective, efficient, durable and more portable. This generally reduces the cost of production of books (Joseph  Clayton 2005, pp.23-53). Embracing new technologies revolutionize the books and demand that people who intend to enjoys the benefits accrued from books understand the importance and significance of books based on very unique formats that does exist in the world.

Digital revolution
Books continue to have a much stronger future compared to the trend that has been experienced in the past. Emergences of new technologies and new exchange platforms have continued to transform the platform on which books have continued to be exchange. Google for instance provide a better platform through which eBooks are exchanged and free resources accessed. Digital revolutions have made it possible for books to be translated into digital format. Electronic books (eBooks) therefore continue to necessitate the need for more information to be availed in order to ensure that better accessed of books is enhanced.

Digital formats of books also enhance easy transfer of information. Even though there are a number of challenges associated with the use of digital formats of books, the benefits always overweigh the problems and risks associated with books and other formats.

Digitization of books ensures that a more reliable and much stronger form of books does exist. Online backup, back up of books on hard disks and on other storage devices and online backup enables the information being store to be available for future use (Thompson 2005). This also ensures that back up could be done on hardcopy materials. Such forms of storage ensure that there exists proper storage of information that adequately caters for any emergency.

In cases where there is any destructions made on the digital materials, backed up information enhances better security of information. The future of books seem to depend on the fact that storage of information is much easier as much less space is required for storage of books in the digital formats (Birkerts 1994).

Online Marketing of Books
To ensure that more publishers and authors are encouraged to continue investing in the books production sector, it has been made possible to ensure that online sales of the written materials take place. Books published can now be sold online thus ensuring that the authors get their dues. Online payment methods and sales points ensure that potential clients purchase and pay for books online. Credit and wireless payment systems have also been facilitated thus ensuring those transactions between customers and the owners of the books.

The authors of the books sold online get paid whenever people purchase the books. Online sales companies market and sale the books on behalf of the authors. The authors are sometimes given free online spaces on websites for marketing of other products which they could be having. Different website Materials have integrated web links have for a very long time been used in the sales and advertisement of books through various online systems. Ad-sell points and popup menus are also used in ensuring that online books are adequately advertised in order to reach the intended clients.

Online Books
Internet accessed books that are found online are normally allow easy reading of books without pay. This gives the readers an opportunity to have an insight into the actual contents of the books being sold. This is normally used as a tool for luring the customers to purchase the books as they become assured of its quality of the contents of the books. Online books enable the sales angle to have an international perspective to the sales strategy being employed.

Generally speaking, electronic transfer of books greatly facilitates the use and future existence of books. This is because of the many benefits associated with electronic books. To begin with, availability is greatly enhanced through the use of electronic books thus enhancing their access facilitation of books. By August 2009, the number of books available through online sources was approximately two million. Mobile data connection has also facilitated the access and availability of books thus making it much easier for the books to be accessed. This has ensured that the traditional way of access of books that could have led to extinction of books is replaced with more reliable and accessible method of accessing books.

Storage and Portability of books is another great impact of the electronic books that has continued to ensure that books exist in the near future. Birkerts (1994) believes that many copies of electronic formats of books could be contained in a small size of an electronic reader. The storage capacities thus ensure that as many copies as possible are store in a smaller space thus saving on the physical space that could otherwise have been used. Indeed e-book collection of books takes up very little space due to various compression technologies that help in minimizing the storage capacities to much greater extents.

Language accessibility and flexibility in the electronic books facilitates easy understanding of the materials written regardless of the cultural practices, race, tribe or the language preferences of the readers. There is currently electronic websites which enable translation of books from one language to the other (Joseph  Clayton 2005, pp.23-53). When purchasing books through the online systems, the customers are given the rare privilege of choosing the preferred language they would wish to have the books in. This is however not a common phenomenon in the books marketing industry.

Ease of distribution of the electronic materials as opposed to the physical transfer of the printed materials. It is much easier for the authors of electronic books to publish and carry out sales and marketing of their books through online systems. Dispersion of online books for free normally stimulates the sales and marketing process of the printed books written by the same authors or which have a common theme. Availing some books for free to customers is therefore a marketing strategy meant to endear readers to some authors or certain themes or topics. Unlike the purchase of printed books which the buyer has to go to the bookshops, an electronic book can be purchased and downloaded then read within a very short time using a brief process. There is normally no time wasted waiting for the delivery of books to be done.

There is an ever increasing need to ensure that production of books does not cause any harm to the environment. To facilitate the achievement of this goal, the use of online and electronic production and sale of books ensures that the environmental concerns are fully addressed. Ink and paper is conserved when electronic books are utilized (Thompson 2005). This encourages the usage of more books that ensuring that more people are encouraged to read, purchase, write, and to download books without concern of the dangers that would be posed by the production of printed books. Electronic books are also much cheaper to produce. The usage of backup systems in the production of books ensures that more books are produced.

New forms of Book Libraries
The new dimensions of which books have continued to take have resulted into better and more flexible forms of exchanging and storage of books. New libraries used to store books and books related materials ensure that only relevant information that regards books is provided. This is crucial as it ensures that the needs of readers and other stakeholders are fully catered for. In order to ensure that books remain relevant in the information sector, new library services provide both printed and digitized books. The flexibility provided by the new libraries ensures that the users are given a wide variety of offers that suits their diverse needs.

Improvise storage systems in libraries have provided very new platform over which new information is easily accessed over the internet. Moreover, new library management systems provide platforms for accessing information via internet. User accounts are created through which eligible and authorized users can access books that are made available through the system. Such improvised electronic systems enable the users to continuously access crucial information and ensure that the information is availed in time (Birkerts 1994).

Digital rights management ensures that only legitimate books materials are published. Such measures have been used in ensuring that only authorized resources are exchanged by the users. Such management measures provide proper strategies over which the owners of the digitally available books can be paid so that they cater for their expenditures and other needs in order to boost their writing and publishing profession. Various encryption strategies, some of which uses passwords and encryption standards, which uses digital signatures have emerged in an effort to ensure that the security of the electronic books is enhanced. This help in th reduction of fraudulent cases.

The emergence of new technologies such as library management systems and accessibility of booking through various websites and platforms such as the Google Books platform ensures that scarce resources are shared among members. The new technologies which provide the ability to share resources enable the users to fully utilize the scarce and costly resources. In some cases, the users collaborate in catering for the huge costs of books after which they may decide to duplicate the books into several copies. Even though approach is considered to be illegal, many users have employed it in their attempt to access books that may be very costly yet very crucial. Easy access of information to students, lecturers and other users in schools, universities and other tertiary collages have motivated the learner to have a reading culture in the learning institutions.

New Technologies for Books Production and the Future Books
From the above analysis that regards the future of books, it can be argued that the continued emergence of new technologies have resulted in the development of better platforms over which books would continue to be produced and used. The major difference however is the fact that new technologies have changed the usage of books from the commonly used printed versions of books to the electronic formats (Joseph  Clayton 2005, pp.23-53). Electronic formats therefore closely integrate the usage of printed formats and the use of digital signatures in order to enhance security.

Despite the many changes that may occur in the books production arena, it is evident that the new technologies have been in the front line in ensuring that books continue to thrive. Various social sites have also witnessed new trends of sharing books. Rather than continuing to borrow books from the libraries and purchasing books from books shops, people have invented new methodologies of sharing information (Kremer 1993, pp.600-715). The likely future trends of books could be fully exchange of the books through electronic means.

Video and audio technologies would also, in the near future, dominate the books exchange platforms. Audio information is easily understood and could enhance the comfort of ensuring that only specific sections of books are recorded based on the needs of the client. The utilization of such technologies facilitates better understanding. Since some books use complex languages and vocabularies whose meaning may not be easy to decipher, the use of audio recording facilitates better understanding of the books.

Additionally, the future of books could result into acting of some scenes which when combined with audio sound would better convey the message intended. This trend has already started being put in action. Currently, most authors of fictitious books such as novels encourage acting of the scenes of the books through live performances on stage (Pearson 2002). Such an approach fully facilitates easy understanding of complex issue that would otherwise be difficult to understand if the material would simply be read.

Integration of mass media in the usage and marketing of books would also contribute to a greater extend into the usage of books. In future, the integration of books into various broadcasting methods could facilitate the acceptance of the fact that books can never be replaced by integration of information over the internet. Even though the reading culture of printed books tends to continuously decrease, it is evident that online resources and other electronic sources of books continue to dominate the market. People have continued to integrate new technologies into their lives thus making it necessary for the existing printed books to be transformed into electronic formats (Boczkowski 2004).  Challenges that currently face the integration of electronic means into peoples reading lives include security, confidentiality, lack of authenticity, copyright and patent issue and problems of non repudiation. Excessive investment in enhancing security reduces the economic benefit of the books to the authors. Moreover, not everybody understands how the exiting new technologies are used. Thus could be a great hindrance to the efforts to ensure that the future of books is ensured.

Conclusion
The above arguments provide adequate evidence that even though technology continues to transform the manner in which books are used it is not practical to imagine that books will ever get out of existence. Instead of books being wiped out of existence, new technologies would basically provide a new platform over which books would exist. One such platform and dimension which would be taken take on the future of books is the integration of technology into the writing system. Electronic books (eBooks) would in the future ensure that books are mainly accessed over the internet. This would make is more flexible and pleasant to read than when reading the printed versions of books. New library management systems would also ensure that books are managed and accessed in more flexible and reasonable manner. Sharing of books through electronic means and library management systems that enhances sharing of books would also dominate the manner in which books are used in future. It is therefore clear that regardless of the formats in which books would exist, they still have a very strong future.

Introduction
Medical marijuana, smoking the leaf as an alleged type of treatment for a variety of medical ailments, has generated a substantial amount of controversy.  Despite the fact that federal law prohibits the general use of marijuana medically, and despite the fact that the scientific evidence finds no persuasive basis for believing that smoking marijuana is an effective medical treatment, an increasing number of states have created ballot initiatives in order to legalize marijuana for medical purposes at the state level.
This is the danger that was referred to in the class text regarding states passing different laws in violation of federal law and without considering the broader effects.  This essay will argue that these state ballot initiatives are ill-advised by showing that these initiatives are not designed to truly serve medical goals, that federal law strictly prohibits the use of medical marijuana, and that there is no persuasive scientific evidence to justify the assertion that marijuana when smoked has medical benefits.

State Ballot Initiatives  Broader Drug Legalization Objectives
As a preliminary matter, it is well-established that many states have created ballot initiatives designed to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.  One leading commentator has pointed out, for example, that in the past fifteen years nine states have legalized marijuana for medical use, a figure which is likely to increase in the coming years given the overwhelming support for medical marijuana among voters and drug policy reform leaders continuing focus on state ballot initiatives  HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5001986408(Kreit, 2003, p. 1788).  The problem is that many advocates of these state ballot initiatives have relied on medical marijuana terminology when they are simultaneously encouraging drug legalization as part of a larger drug policy reform agenda.    These state ballot initiatives are therefore, to a certaint extant, dishonest because many supporters are simply using the medical marijuana issue as a method for reforming drug policies more broadly.  This is an abuse of the state ballot process and an abuse of those people being misled into believing that marijuana is to be legalized solely for medicinal purposes.

The confrontations between those advocating the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes and the federal government have become increasingly violent.  Deadly force has even been used by the federal government in an effort to intimidate medical marijuana proponents. Indeed, as a leading legal scholar has noted

When thirty federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents armed with M-16s burst into a medical marijuana hospice in Santa Cruz, California, on September 5, 2002, arresting the two owners and a wheelchair-bound patient disabled by polio, they propelled an already contentious debate between the federal government and state leaders to new heights.  HYPERLINK httpwww.questia.comPM.qstaod5001986408(Kreit, 2003,  p 1787).

The medical marijuana movement is ironically rooted in the recreational use of marijuana.  More specifically, a number of recreational users in the 1960s claimed that they experienced a variety of medical benefits from smoking marijuana.  This historical connection is significant for two reasons.  First, by connecting the medical marijuana movement to recreational users in the 1960s, it can be seen that this movement is rooted in a broader drug legalization agenda.  Second, the fact that recreational users claimed certain medical benefits falls far short of convincing scientific evidence.

It emerges, from even a cursory examination of the history and the literature related to medical marijuana, that these state ballot initiatives are simply using the medical marijuana issue as a pretext for more sweeping drug legalization efforts.  The medical marijuana movement is rooted in the recreational use of drugs.  This movement was not, to be sure, a result of new scientific discoveries or medical advances.  The state ballot initiatives, in sum, are a ruse and a distraction.

Federal Law Governs Growth and Distribution
Congress, elected by the American people, has already created legislation through the Controlled Substances Act that defines marijuana as a controlled substance that may not be grown or distributed.  The United States Supreme Court has rejected constitutional challenges to the federal regulation of marijuana, noting in a landmark decision that there was no current accepted medical use or medical benefit of marijuana to warrant an exception granted to other drugs under the Act HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5001976445(Herman, 2002, p. 121).   Federal law, both statutory and constitutional, preempts and supersedes any state laws that attempt to regulate the growth and the distribution of marijuana.  The state ballot initiatives therefore are doomed to failure because federal law prevails when there is a conflict between a state law and federal law.  Congress is the only elected body with the power to change the legal treatment of marijuana and the state ballot initiatives are a waste of financial resources.

This is true even when state laws incorporate a medical need provision into the legislative framework.  In California, for example, a medical marijuana initiative was supported by fifty-six percent of the population in a statewide election.  The initiative legalized both the possession and the cultivation of marijuana for seriously ill patients and their caregivers for use by the patient if the patients physician recommends such treatment HYPERLINK httpwww.questia.comPM.qstaod5001976445(Herman, 2002, p. 125).  Thus, even when a physician recommends the marijuana for medical use, federal law still preempts and supersedes state law because Congress if the sole governing power with respect to marijuana.  The medical need provisions are therefore legally and constitutionally irrelevant.

There have been many suggestions to the effect that Congress is treating marijuana too seriously.  In the Controlled Substances Act, for example, Congress placed marijuana, along with LSD and heroin, in Schedule I upon passage of the Act and it has remained in Schedule I to the present day. HYPERLINK httpwww.questia.comPM.qstaod5001976445(Herman, 2002, p. 128)  It is quite reasonable to argue, as the medical marijuana advocates have done, that marijuana is not nearly as dangerous a controlled substance as heroin or LSD.  Such an argument is irrelevant because in the same way that there is no medical necessity exception, neither is there an exception based upon the comparative dangers of a prohibited or regulated drug.  These types of arguments have no legal significance.

The problem is that too many people believe that the United States Supreme Court is the proper venue for resolving these contentious debates.  The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that Congress is responsible.  This is because members of Congress are elected for fixed terms whereas the nine members of the United States Supreme Court are appointed for life through a non-electoral process.  Congress has the power to amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow for the use of marijuana in medical situations.  Therefore, medical marijuana advocates should pressure Congress rather than filing endless lawsuits that are destined to fail.

No Scientific Support
Finally, there exists no persuasive scientific evidence for the proposition that the smoking of marijuana constitutes a verifiable drug-delivery device.  Quite the contrary, Experts who have dealt with all available data do not recommend that the goal of research should be smoked marijuana for medical conditions. Rather, they support development of a smoke-free, rapid-onset delivery system for compounds found in the plant HYPERLINK httpwww.questiaschool.comPM.qstaod5001799226(Mcdonough, 2000, p. 51).  The experts agree that some compounds found in marijuana may have certain medical benefits, however, they further agree that these compounds cannot be effectively delivered by simply smoking the marijuana leaf.  State ballot initiatives which seek the legalization of smoking marijuana for medical purposes, as the majority of the initiatives do in fact propose, are contradicted by the overwhelming majority of scientific opinion.

A more meaningful approach, with respect to the use of marijuana to treat people with certain chronic ailments, would focus on how to deliver the potentially beneficial compounds rather than always demanding a right to smoke the marijuana leaf.  One must wonder why medical marijuana proponents are so adamant about creating a right to smoke marijuana when chronic pain might be alleviated through other delivery systems.  If the proponents main concern is the alleviation of medical suffering, rather than smoking marijuana, then why can they not harmonize their specific goals with the available scientific evidence. In this respect, one scholar has observed that

Two recent studies of the potential medical utility of marijuana advocate development of a non-smoked, rapid onset delivery system of the cannabis compounds. But state ballot initiatives that seek legalization of smoking marijuana as medicine threaten to circumvent credible research. HYPERLINK httpwww.questia.comPM.qstaod5001799226(Mcdonough, 2000,  p. 51)

It would appear, in short, that suffering is not the primary concern of certain medical marijuana advocates.  If it were a primary concern, then both sides to the debate would ignore the smoking marijuana and pursue other delivery mechanisms.  The scientific community is willing to carry out research in these types of alternative delivery systems.  The medical marijuana community, on the other hand, seems unwilling to relinquish the right to smoke marijuana even it endangers their cause.

Conclusion
In the final analysis, state ballot initiatives that propose the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes are flawed for several reasons.  They are flawed because advocates of drug legalization are manipulating the medical marijuana issue for broader forms of drug legalization reforms, because federal law controls all issues pertaining to the growth and the distribution of marijuana, and because the scientific evidence clearly establishes the fact that smoking marijuana is an ineffective means of delivering potentially beneficial compounds to the body

Most social phenomena pose complex problems which impact the society in which people live in. particularly in the global environment which has a mixture of individuals from different races, colors and classes, these problems are inevitable. The most pressing concept is that of white privilege which tends to provide advantages to the white people while suppressing the non whites in the white dominated states. It has been a supremacist culture that all the white people have some privileges which are automatically accorded to them.

As a white baby is born, it goes without mention that the baby will enjoy the privileges of being born in a white country by a white mother and father. The kid will grow up swimming in the pool of white privileges until the time when he or she starts to realize some problems with the system (Mclntosh, 1989). It is therefore not a blessing to be born in a white privilege kind of system-it leaves one with a mind of guiltiness although other individuals have opposed that the system does not affect them.

This is how the white privilege will affect any white individual in a white supremacist culture. Being born in all-white state surrounded by a malady of racism in both personal life and in the institutions, one is likely to develop the same culture of racism. Some white families have even tried to alienate themselves far from the non whites and the children born in such white families will find it hard to mix and socialize with the non whites. Making it even worse, racism has extended to greater extents to exclude the American Indians as people different from the white communities. There are a clear-cut differences made between the whites and the American Indians during the growth of a child (Mclntosh, 1989).

Not any single shares attributes with another person everyone will have distinct values and characteristics after he or she is full formed into an individual. This then implies that some individuals will grow up trying to avoid the racism aspect and racist training of their cultures. It does not just come as easily that racism will be avoided among young whites the problem is already internalized and all the paths the young whites follow is all painted white privileges. It feels hurting when white privileges are mounted to an individual who does not exactly need them because he or she has truly worked for the success which comes his or her way. In university admission, the white privileges are all over. The skin color will be an important point to make an individual qualify for an admission into some universities and colleges. It does not matter if someone is admitted because of honest individual academic performance. White privileges will continue even to employment sector. The interviewers will be biased to favor the whites for the mere reason that the whites appear like them. Promotions are also done according to skin color and the non whites feel so much suppressed working with the whites (Mclntosh, 1989). Some universities may have predominantly white deans, professors and heads of departments being white with one or two senior lecturers being non whites.

All the privileges presented to a white man do not exactly mean happiness or comfort. Genuine white men and women have worked individually very hard to attain high academic prowess and status quo which is easily contaminated by a virus by the name white privileges. Not every white man or woman has survived because of the so called privileges and if the culture wont stop, it is bound to kill the hardworking spirit in the people who ultimately determine the development of a society.

Audre Geraldine Lorde was a Caribbean-American poet, writer, feminist and activist. She was born on February 18, 1934 in New York to Linda Gertrude Belmar and Frederick Byron Lorde. Her talent in poetry was evident at a very early age and she managed to publish many books on poetry. During the 1960s, Audre was actively involved in speaking out against the social injustice and gave her full support to the feminist movements. Her work was focused on the issues of sexuality, class, gender, ethnicity and race (Byrd, Cole and Sheftall, 2009). Lorde is highly recognized for her work in poetry, which encouraged the oppressed to speak out against injustice. This paper will present a discussion of Audre Lorde in relation to race, ethnicity and gender inequality.

Discussion
Lorde considered the issues of sexuality, gender and race to be very important hence her work in poetry was focused on these issues. The term race refers to a group of people who share similar heritable characteristics and culture. When she was growing up, Lorde had to face the challenge of racial discrimination and segregation that was being experienced by African-Americans in the society (De Veaux, 2004). The New York City was known for the African-Americans movements to put an end to racial segregation and discrimination. Many civil rights movement activists, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Du Bois and Marcus Garvey were able to coordinate their activities from New York where a high number of African Americans had settled. Therefore, Lordes presence in New York meant that she was conversant with the issue of discrimination based on the race principle. She worked as the Head Librarian at Town School Library, but later left to teach poetry at Mississippis Tougaloo College. The Tougaloo College was a historically black institution. Mississippi was one of the states that experienced high levels of racial discrimination, a situation that led to very deep racial tensions in the South. Through her poetry, Lorde was able to fight political battles and social injustices.

She held the opinion that because the society comprises of people from different races, discrimination against a particular race should not be tolerated. For instance, the racial oppression in America led to the denial of black people civil rights. In some states like Mississippi, great resistance for the black voters to participate in elections was evident. According to Lorde, racial differences should not be used to separate people but should be looked at positively so that they bring the people together. Despite the efforts that were made by the civil rights movement and activists to demand for the respect of civil rights of the African-Americans, the integration of black people into the American society was very difficult.Lorde criticized the opinion that African Americans were inferior to the white people due to their racial background.

Lordes work evoked images of the African culture and brought out the issue of racial intolerance (Hall, 2004).She opposed the victimization of the African American women. Racial oppression leads to conflicts and cultural separation of people who live in the same society. For example, through her poem From a Land Where Other People Live, Lorde talks about racial oppression, her identity as an African-American woman a well as worldwide injustice. Her published verse Coal allowed Lorde to celebrate her racial background when she indicated that she was proud of her identity as a black woman.Furthermore, she advocated for a feminist movement which addressed the problems that are faced by both the white and African American women. She considered the experiences of the African-American women to be as important as those of the white women and therefore criticized the marginalization of the African American women experiences by the feminist movements leaders.Lorde asserted that racism should be fought, because it promotes the belief that one race is superior to the other. This leads to dominance and oppression of the members of a race that is considered to be inferior. On the other hand, Lorde recognized that the differences in race are real, but argued that they should not be allowed to separate people of various races. She therefore encouraged the people to learn about their differences and then focus on making the differences their strengths.
     
The term ethnicity refers to the classification of people into the groups based on the common heritage and culture. Lorde considered herself to be of African-American due to her African ethnic background. Ethnic identity is appreciated by Lorde in her poem From a Land Where Other People Live. Because she recognized the plight of the black people in the society that was dominated by the white people, she adopted a positive perception towards her ethnicity. For example, Lordes poems bring out the themes of courage, black pride, spiritual rejuvenation and motherhood (Keating, 1996).Her pride about her ethnic background is evident in her work The Black Unicorn. She discusses about the African goddess and tries to put emphasis on the racial background that the African Americans were supposed to be proud of. The rhythmic forms that Lorde employs in her work were associated with the African Blues music and the African Oral traditions. Her focus on problems experienced in the American society aimed at liberating the black people from oppression and suffering. She even described herself as black lesbian, mother, feminist, lover, poet. This showed how proud Lorde was of her ethnicity or racial background. The black people who lived in America, those in the Third World countries, older people and the working class are often seen to be an inferior group whose members experience systematic oppression. This can be attributed the leaders top priority on what makes profit rather than the human needs. Sometimes Lorde considered the black woman as a colored woman who lacked a voice to speak out about the problems and challenges they face in the society. She believed that poetry allowed those who lacked a voice in the society to talk about the issues affecting them. The supremacy of one ethnic group over the other violates the rights of the underprivileged. Although Lorde   acknowledged that ethnicity brings out human differences in her speech Age, Race, Class.Sex Women Redefining Difference, she pointed out that human differences should promote the human liberation of different subordinated communities. Through her published work, Lorde opened up the myths of Africa to the American readers. To her, writing was a vocation and a responsibility to help others survive hence she mixes anger, rage, destruction with love, hope and renewal. She spoke about the children being the victims of the American urban life because of suffering caused by violence and neglect. She contributed to the black arts movement and inspired African Americans to shape their black identities (Thompson, 1987).
       
Lorde was a feminist hence she criticized the gender inequality that led to the discrimination of women in the society (Christian, 1985). Both men and women are different, but one gender should not discriminate the other based on the principle of superiority. The gender inequality has for a long time denied women equal rights with the men. The patriarchal system in the society considers men to be more superior to women hence men take over leadership positions. In all societies, men are seen to be more superior to women hence they take over top leadership positions. This denies women an opportunity to compete with men .Lorde advices women to appreciate their womanhood. For example, her records, Our Dead behind Us speculates on the history of womankind. Because Lorde was concerned about world wide injustice, gender inequality was a critical issue for her. Just like the differences that exist in race and ethnicity, Lorde points out that there are differences in gender. These differences need to be appreciated. Gender inequality can be attributed to the fact that in patriarchal societies, women have been taught and brought up to accept male superiority .This means that women are denied    equal opportunities with men. By being involved in feminist movements and gaylesbian liberation efforts, Lorde was able to demand for gender equality. She was a radical feminist who challenged women to demand for equality and to embrace opportunities that can empower them. Gender equality is a very important issue and Lorde pointed out that differences in gender, class and race need to be appreciated rather than used to divide the society. In addition, she challenged   the people to fight sexual and racial stereotyping which promote gender inequality.

Audre Lorde was always concerned with the suffering of the black women in the American society hence she spoke on behalf of the black woman (Jennings, 2009). The discrimination of women denies them equal employment and leadership opportunities with the men. The culture plays the major role in promoting gender inequality because women are expected to take over traditional roles which undermine their ability to take up roles that have for many years been played by men. Therefore, providing women with an opportunity to acquire education as well as to compete with men provides them with an opportunity to become empowered. Lorde supported the feminist groups efforts to demand the respect to womens rights and legal protection from abuse. An example of the feminist movement in  America in the 1970s was the National Organization for Women. Lorde encouraged such organizations to take into consideration the needs and the values of both the black and white women in their quest for the gender equality. She appreciated gender differences and indicated that there was a need for women to work together despite their class or race (Tate, 1984). Because the experiences of women are valid, they should not be ignored. Feminist movements which demand for gender equality therefore should be effective in representing the interests of all women. Violence against women, sexual abuse or discrimination should not be tolerated in the society. Lorde, just like other black feminists, criticized the Western feminism which they considered to be discriminatory and ethnocentric. For women to have their rights respected, the ideology that women are weak needs to be put aside. Gender equality can transform the social fabric of the society (Olson, 1998). Furthermore, the belief that women need to find meaning and identity in their children and husbands should not hinder women from improving their lives. Lordes involvement in the gender issues had her play a major role in the foundation of the Kitchen Table Women of Color Press. She also gave her full support to the movements whose activities aimed at celebrating and preserving the African American culture. The poem Coal brings out the issue of an unjust society which tolerates unfair and brutal treatment of women. She pleads for sisterhood and cooperation among women. The suffering of women in other parts of the world became a concern for Lorde. For example, in South Africa many women were suffering due to the apartheid. As a result, she helped in the establishment of the Sisterhood in Support of Sisters in South Africa, an association that offered help to the women.Lorde has been associated with separatist feminism, a form of feminism that focuses on directing allegiances and energies towards other women. It criticizes patriarchal system, promotes the rights of women and supports women to achieve women and political goals.

Conclusion
Audre Geraldine Lorde was an African-American poet and feminist who made a great contribution to the American society. She spoke out against racism, gender inequality and discrimination based on ethnicity. She advocated for respect for human rights and equality regardless of ones ethnicity, gender or race. She supported the feminist movements and efforts that empowered women and minority groups in the society. Her work in poetry had a considerable impact in arts and is appreciated up to date.

(Course code) In Los Angeles, gang violence is nothing new, but a recent gang scuffle in Sta. Ana has brought the issue to the fore once again. On February 4, the Los Angeles Times reported another set of life sentences to Florencia 13 gang members who were rounded up just last year for crimes committed for no other reason than racial motives.

The gang members recently convicted to federal prison without parole were Francisco Flores, Jose Gonzales and Arturo Cruz, joining ninety-four other defendants who have already been convicted. The criminal charges against them included racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, attempted murder, and violent crime in aid of racketeering. Asst. U.S. Atty. Peter A. Hernandez commented that the crimes perpetuated by the Florencia 13 gang were targeted at African Americans in their extreme racial hatred for them. Usual activities of the gang, not only included the charges that were stated earlier, but also included robbing blacks just because of their race, according to a couple who were recently victimized by the gang.

The fight is far from over as there are still three who have pending trials and five others who are fugitives from the law.

Although the cultural norms in communities vary, there are still social norms that are quite universal in nature and are applicable in this case. One of the cultural norms being violated, in the context of American liberal views, is the acceptance and integration of cultural differences, no matter from which background people come from. Florencia 13s attacks on the black community violate their right to live peacefully with others in the area of Sta. Ana. They also violate the norm of race non-discrimination in the larger sphere of Los Angeles, where the diversity of races and culture are so many that they are a conglomerate of races that just have to live with one another as a rule of thumb.

Another universal cultural norm being violated is the use of drugs. It is generally accepted in any American community that substance abuse is not to be done by its citizens as embodied in the laws all over the county. The use of drugs and pushing others to do the same is a violation of this norm and is counterproductive to the progress of the communities in the US.

In this case, there are many who have the voice to label the Florencia 13 gangs behavior as deviant. The first is the people or the community. The members of the community can say that these behaviors are deviant because they have been living in the community with different races for so long and a racial targeting upsets them, especially when they, themselves, have set the norm of living with each other as fellow immigrants from other countries (or their descendants) who are trying to make their lives in America.

Another group who can brand their behavior as deviant is the government whose main objective is to employ their social contract of protecting the people. With the government having a set of rules to live by and enforcing them to the public who (generally), readily accept the rules that enable them to live peacefully, they have set the norms of the particular society they are over through the force of law. Those who do not follow these explicit rules, which are echoed implicitly by each and every member of the community, can be branded by the government as deviants.

Gender issues and biases on a given culture has developed continuously because men and women need to conform within societys social structure or pattern and within their roles and functions in society.

Sociological Perspective
Society is an imaginary structure of people organized into family, community, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and gender. With family as its basic unit, society has contributed a lot to the growth of an individual or its degeneration.

Sociologists have perceived society to be interacted by certain and various reasons that affects and changes the cycle within it. One major sociological perspective is the functionalist perspective, which described the society, particularly individuals as being interdependent and coexistent with one another. The author of the article, Three Major Perspective in Sociology (2010), stated the following and claimed from Emile Durkheims ideas

Mechanical solidarity is a form of social cohesion that arises when people in society maintain similar values and beliefs and engages in similar types of work. In contrast, organic solidarity is a form of social cohesion that arises when the people in a society are interdependent, but hold to varying values and beliefs and engage in varying types of work.

The movie entitled Now and Then, shown and released in 1995 would be the reference for this paper. The story is about four girls who bonded one summer and certain events changed their lives and had stronger friendship. It was a summer of learning and discovery of themselves and the friendship offered with one another. Like the sociological perspective discussed earlier, the movie depicts the relationship of the girls as interdependent, not just with their friends but also from other people living in the community.

One scenario from the film and is a good example was about Dear Johnnys story. They were trying to summon spirits one night, and decided to call upon Dear Johnnys. They wanted to know what had happened to him, dying at such a young age. Since they are from a small town they were oblivious with their surroundings. This was a summer, which is also a learning experience for Samantha that there are more pressing matters in life than what she thought was a major problem. In addition, Crazy Pete was Dear Johnnys father, while talking to Crazy Pete Samantha got a life lesson from an old man that he once thought weird. On different scene, he rescued her from a drain when she went down to retrieve a bracelet given to her by Teeny. An old adage, no man is an island, is true because we have to live in a world with people not really stranger to us. One person coexists with one another, and because of another person. It is for this reason that you would not be born into this world without a biological father and mother. Thus, your existence into this world lies to your conception within your mothers womb, through another person.

Gender Issues and Society
In relation to the gender issues, how and to what extent does it affect women in society
There are many issues society is facing, although we live in the new millennium, it could not be equated that people are more open now to new ideas and opportunities presented at them. Liberated, this is what most people would think about the year 2000 and beyond but, are we really liberated According to Gender and Society (2010), unlike sex, which is a biological concept, gender is a social constructs specifying the socially and culturally prescribed roles that men and women are to follow. The discourse of V. Peterson  A. Runyan (1999), gender is the unknown factor that shapes the roles and functions of each sex in society therefore, stereotyping is inevitable that leads to inequalities between genders. So being liberated would be dependent on societys acceptance.

Tracing back in history, there are specific roles played by male and female. Males have been given roles that could be regarded with honor. Men mostly have high positions in society, be it in government, school, religious groups, even in families to most cultures. As the article Educators Guide to Gender suggests, all these factors would result to gender biases. Men are generally superior, and almost always on top of their game. Few cultures accept a matriarchal family mothers are the head of their family.
A specific example of this issue from the film was when the girls played softball in the field with the boys from the community. It was Robertas turn to swing the bat. She had difficulty hitting the ball, and then Jimmy commented to Roberta, girls cant play softball. This highly offended Roberta and Jimmy continued saying, why dont you go home and play with your dolls This comment is a challenge to Robertas capability on playing softball. The sport is considered as a boymans game or sport, and his comment indicates that girls have no right to play the game alongside the boys. As suggested by his remark, women are incompetent for the sport.

There are instances where the capabilities of women are being questioned due to so called incapacity to perform alongside men. But what do men have in common with women How are they different from each other There are many questions one could ask about gender issues, but one prevalent reason for a gender specification role is the supremacy. However, things have changed since women fought a good fight for their rights, and getting an equal treatment from their men counterparts

Several factors affect these women, but overall it was because of two predominant factors that led to this gender issues in society, which is culture and religion (Magar, P., 2009). Culture plays a big role in shaping the roles of women within a society. It determines the future they ought to have and how it would be achieved. It also stimulates and encourages a woman to work as society pleases. Their womanhood is being challenged if they conform to the pattern of society it is as if there is a checklist needed. It shapes and molds the woman to what she is now and then.

Moreover, culture is not the only big player for this gender bias, but also religion. Most religions have a belief and tradition they follow. More often, it is being incorporated within the culture. Religion almost always dictates the gestures, dress, mannerisms, and role of women as long as it is acceptable within the traditions and boundaries of the religion. To some extent on society, the tradition and belief of a particular religion affects the daily life of the person. On some instances, when there are many religions within society, the culture in general is being conformed regarded as respect from one another. But this is at the expense of the people.

One gender socialization case depicted on the film was how girls value their physical appearance. Teeny asked Roberta how big her breasts are, but Roberta did not give any specific answer. Teeny commented that boys likes big breasted women. If beauty will be equated with the physical appearance of a girlwoman, then the society must have been pushing or suggesting this idea to the individual. What has been largely acceptable within the society has made women inferior and have less self-confidence and self-esteem. Their socialization pressures both gender to be greater than another person or the opposite sex. Meanwhile, having big breasts should not be considered as beautiful, it is just a physical aspect that could attract attention, but not regarded as measurement of beauty. This is a sad fact because women ought to look with perfect curves, ought to be thin  that led to numerous eating behavior, and good complexion of skin to be called beautiful. As a result, inferiority complex among girlswomen developed slowly therefore, it gives women more reason to look down on themselves. Furthermore, this could be suggested by culture.

Conclusion
The given roles and functions of the gender in society affects their lifestyle and well-being. It maybe 2010 already but it seems that there are still some gender issues needed to be resolved. We may not be fully been liberated  opening ourselves to new possibilities, opportunities and ideas we might face. Not all issues of women have been properly addresses and considered. Hence, the proponents of womens rights or the feminists have more to do in order to get equal rights with men.

Lawrence Kohlbergs six-stage and three-level continuum of moral development is a way of explaining the underlying reasons behind the decisions that people make as they progress from childhood to adulthood (Crain, 1985).

At stages 1 and 2 (Level 1  Preconventional morality), children, being outside the formal membership in society, base morality on what their parents or authorities tell them. At stage 1, children make decisions based on its consequences. At stage 2, judgments are based on which decision would further their self-interest. At stages 3 and 4 (Level 2  Conventional morality), young adolescents view themselves as part of conventional society who must conform to social mores, norms, and expectations.

At stage 3, emphasis is on being a good boy or a good girl while at stage 4, concerns are directed toward obeying laws for the stability of society. At stages 5 and 6 (Postconventional morality), adults focus their concern more on values and principles that make society better.

At stage 5, people emphasize on democratic rights and processes and equality while at stage 6, they are concerned with the concept of justice (Kohlberg, 1981). Kohlberg was a follower of developmental psychologist Jean Piaget and his six-stage theory expounded on Piagets two-stage theory on childrens moral development (Duska  Whelen, 1975).  Kohlbergs stage theory suggests that people cannot comprehend moral reasoning a stage ahead of their own so that a person in Stage 1 may understand Stage 2 reasoning but nothing past that (Crain, 1985). To illustrate, 9-year old Daniel wants badly to be part of his schools baseball team. However, he has been getting bad grades in math and was warned by his parents that if he does not get better grades, he will not be allowed to join the team. On the next math exam, he was tempted to cheat. He thought that if he can get the grades his parents approved of, they would let him be on the team and would be proud of him. If he would be honest, he knew he would fail the exam and be miserable in the process. So, Daniel cheated. Kohlberg and Piaget would say that this judgment is typical or appropriate for children at Daniels age. Kohlberg would place this childs moral reasoning at Stage 1 where his judgment is being dictated on the consequences of his decision. If he does well on the exam, his parents would love him and be proud of him and would let him join the baseball team. If he does not, he will be miserable. Piaget would say that Daniels actions are reflective of the moral reasoning of a child below 10 years old. Daniel is yet incapable of appreciating how serious a concern cheating is. What is right for him is what would satisfy the expectations of those from whom he derives his own morality in this case, his parents. Although Daniel may have some awareness that there is some form of punishment attached to cheating, his moral reasoning only allows him to recognize the consequence of failing the exam and letting his parents down. In this regard, Daniel sees morality as external to himself, as something which his parents say he must do.

Unused embryos have been an issue in the United States. The couples themselves are the ones who should decide on what should happen to the unused embryos. They should be given more time to think on the proper course of action that they should take. According to article from the internet, the couples must know their options. They could store it for future use discard them by allowing the natural process to end donate it to another family or donate it for research purposes (HYPERLINK httpwww.medicalnewstoday.comarticles161203.phphttpwww.medicalnewstoday.comarticles161203.php).

In situations when the couple divorces, there are many things that could happen to the embryo. In fertility clinics couples sign a contract. If ever this situation would occur, the frozen embryo could be donated to another couple who wants to have a baby. It could also be destroyed after a certain period of time. What happens to the embryo usually depends on what the couples have agreed upon. There was a couple in Tennessee who had a divorce. They were both from the army. When their relationship did not work out, the woman decided to take custody of the frozen embryo. She opted to have it implanted in her womb ( HYPERLINK httppublic.findlaw.combookshelf-mdfmdf-6-4.html httppublic.findlaw.combookshelf-mdfmdf-6-4.html).

Visitation rights with regard to the surrogate mother should not be allowed. This is to foster a better developmental growth for the child. This will prevent confusion on the childs part on who hisher parents are. Having this kind of situation, the family members would have better relationships with one another. If the couples cannot bear a child and if they opt for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), it is them who should pay the bills. It has the same principle of raising a child. The parents are responsible for providing the child a good environment.

Cassel, S. L. (2002). The Chinese in America A history from Gold Mountain to the new millennium. Walnut Creek, CA AltaMira Press.

The book shows the long history of Chinese immigration experience that outlines the value of the Chinese as workers. However, it also takes note of the fact that Chinese are often regarded as foreigners in America even though they have consistently contributed to the economy of the US. The particular book can be used as a guide for the value of immigrants in the US economy and their constant hope for belongingness and better living conditions.

Aguirre, A. (2003). Racial and ethnic diversity in America A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, California ABC-CLIO, Inc.

The book contains general information on a variety of immigrants who moved to the US. It also presents the social forces that have contributed to the diversity of the ethnic landscape in the country. The discussions in the book can be used in order to analyze how the multiple waves of immigrants have been affected as they contribute to the US. Likewise, it can be used to see how the society of America has changed with the increasing of diversity.

Schuck, P. (2003). Diversity in America Keeping government at a safe distance. USA Harvard College.

In this book, Schuck used arguments from different fields in order to argue that the government should learn to move away from the affairs related to the regulation of immigrants in the country. Instead of the government, the communities and the families should have the decision on whether to allow immigrants or not. The insights from the book can be used for alternatives on the immigration policy of the country.

Bush, J., McLarty, M., McLarty, III T.,  Alden, E. (2009). US immigration policy. New York, NY Council on Foreign Relations.

The book contains discussions related to the US immigration policy. The discussions are a result of independent observation that can contain arguments for or against the policies that they have in relation to immigration. Through the discussions, the flaws and pros of the immigration policy can be observed.

In my opinion, the world has sufficient resources to sustain her entire population comfortably. But poverty continues to affect the quality of life for so many people around the world, particularly in the developing world. The main reason behind rampant poverty in the world is therefore the unequal distribution of resources. During the advent of the modern world, the developed nations annexed underdeveloped nations to obtain raw materials for their industries. Colonialism could be viewed as the time when unequal resource allocation escalated out of control, because since then, the legacy still lives on of master and servant. Even today the developed world exerts a lot of influence and virtually controls the economies of developing nations

When some population groups are not allocated their equal share of resources, a chain of events takes place leading to even more poverty. Such people cannot get access to quality education and therefore cannot empower themselves. Due to the resultant ignorance and illiteracy, such people cannot plan their families. The world is overpopulated at a time when employment opportunities are on the decline. Furthermore, governments of developing nations where poverty is most severe do not have adequate resources to sustain such large populations.

Due to ignorance and adversity of living circumstances, people have been forced to overexploit the little resources they already have. Forests, atmosphere, terrain and water sources have degraded altering the natural balance and ecosystems. Climatic conditions have therefore become extreme and unpredictable affecting the growing of food crops in most parts of the world, and this is another cause of poverty resulting from unequal distribution of resources.