Essay about Clothing and Gender in Virginia Woolfs Orlando

Clothing and Gender in Virginia Woolfs Orlando In her novel Orlando, Virginia Woolf tells the story of a man who one night mysteriously becomes a woman. By shrouding Orlandos actual gender change in a mysterious religious rite, we readers are pressured to not question the actual mechanics of the change but rather to focus on its consequences. In doing this, we are invited to answer one of the fundamental questions of our lives, a question that we so often ignore because it seems so very basic - what is a man? What is a woman? And how do we distinguish between the two? It seems that in ordinary life, we are most likely to distinguish between a man and a woman by clothing. This is more difficult to do in the present day, in which†¦show more content†¦Perhaps the Turkish trousers, which she had hitherto worn had done something to distract her thoughts; and the gypsy women, except in one or two important particulars, differ very little from the gipsy men. (153) Clearly, it is much easier for a sex change to take place in an androgynous culture such as the one Orlando is leaving - by an androgynous culture, I mean a culture in which there is little difference between the roles of women and men - than in a culture like the English one to which she is returning, in which a much stricter set of rules govern social interaction. This is why the attempts of Orlando to pass (to borrow the term used by the transgender community) as a woman are so amusing. Socialized as a man, Orlando at first has no idea how to be a woman. The symbolic value of clothing, however, extends well beyond its use to differentiate the genders. Clothing in itself - pants, shirts, dresses, and the like - has in this novel little symbolic value other than to tell male from female. But jewelry also plays a significant role here - and it is in the jewelry that Orlando wears that she is truly able to pass for a member of the nobility. We must recall that she undergoes two transformations during the novel. The first, from male to female, is quite obvious. The second is a bit more subtle - it is the transformation from a member of the nobility to something resembling a commoner. (Of course, it seems that Orlando never officially leaves theShow MoreRelatedGender Inequality By Virginia Woolf s Orlando Essay1179 Words   |  5 Pages Virginia Woolf’s Orlando offers a pointed critique of gender inequality through its usage and portrayal of androgyny and fashion. The common perception of gender is threefold; people define gender t hrough physical difference, behavior, and a visual perception of sex. Gender is inherently unstable because it is dependent more upon an onlookers’ reality than scientific difference. Woolf uses androgyny and fashion in order to illustrate the insignificance of physical body: If a woman acts like a manRead MoreVirginia Woolf s Orlando Is A Work That Bends The Rules Of Multiple Ways1859 Words   |  8 PagesVirginia Woolf’s Orlando is a work that bends the rules in multiple ways. It plays with the idea of biographies, it questions the nature of fiction writing, it incorporates humor in bizarre ways. And on top of all that it brings into view certain controversial topics, and certain prejudices of Woolf’s time. The two prejudices this paper will be focusing on are homophobia and sexism. By looking at the character of Orlando and examining his/her relationships, romantic feelings, and place in societyRead MoreOrlando by Virgina Woolf2043 Words   |  8 PagesIn V irginia Woolf’s novel, Orlando, she flawlessly interlaces the realism of biography with elements of science fiction. In a time where every work of fiction was subject to the discerning eye of obscenity law, the discussion of sensitive topics, which went against the grain of public acceptance were susceptible to censure. The insertion of fantastical elements allow Woolf to fly under the radar of obscenity law, and experiment with the deconstruction of gender and the uprising of androgyny, as wellRead More Womens Roles During Times of War and Virginia Woolfs Three Guineas2915 Words   |  12 PagesWomens Roles During Times of War and Virginia Woolfs Three Guineas With the prevalence of war goddesses in most traditions from China to Greece to Ireland, women have been separated from the front lines of war for centuries. The goddesses, the divine representations of women in the ideal, are torn between dual roles: that of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and just war, and that of Vesta, goddess of hearth and home. These two roles, warrior and mother, are not necessarily as very differentRead MoreJudith Butler in Media Studies3516 Words   |  15 Pagesbiography of Judith Butler, a person would typically see a discussion of a highly intelligent philosopher of feminism, political theory, ethical and moral responsibility or gender studies. Her bibliographies are commonly describes as have a career focused on â€Å"research ranging from literary theory, modern philosophical fiction, feminist, gender and sexuality studies, to 19th- and 20th-century European literature and philosophy, Kafka and loss, mourning and war. Her most recent endeavors include an exploration

Brief History of the Low-Carbohydrate Diet Free Essay Example, 2500 words

Anthropologists believe that early humans were hunter-gatherers thereby consuming diets that are high in both protein and fat but were mostly low in nutritive carbohydrates. In fact, until now, there are certain isolated societies which continue to consume these types of diet. However, the advent of agriculture brought about the rise of civilization and the gradual increase in the inclusion of carbohydrate in all human diets. More specifically, the modern age has seen a particularly steep rise in refined carbohydrate levels amongst societies in the Western Hemisphere (Wexler, 2006 and Zahensky, 2007). It was in 1863 when William Banting, an obese English undertaker and coffin maker published his Letter on Corpulence Addressed to the Public wherein he described a diet for weight control (Allen and Lutz, 2000). According to him, it is only through the giving up of bread, butter, milk, sugar, beer and potatoes that a person would be able to successfully control his or her weight. In 1 967, the so-called Stillman Diet became popular which eventually highlighted the need to shift to a high-protein, low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet in order to guarantee one s weight loss. We will write a custom essay sample on Brief History of the Low-Carbohydrate Diet or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Dr Atkins was basically one of the most popular advocates of the low-carbohydrate diet because he believes that obesity was caused by the consumption of refined carbohydrates such as sugar, flour, and high-fructose corn syrups.

Bioethics of Euthanasia Free Essays

string(198) " with the terminally ill, and particular moralities strongly advocate for the right to die under certain circumstances, as illustrated by Kevorkian’s rash threats of a hunger strike if convicted\." As biological organisms, humans design patterns of how to live by way of autonomous lifestyle choices, only after being born into a subjective realm of existence with social opportunities and limitations suggested by how one is nurtured and raised. A sense of a connection to objectivity is gained depending on how closely one associates themselves with an organized institution such as religion, or other form of moral code. The idea that knowledge learned from a moral superior at a young age can suggest, or sometimes in early adulthood, coerce decision-making is indicative of a set of parameters or expectations that one must achieve so to honor the objective family belief. We will write a custom essay sample on Bioethics of Euthanasia or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, the family is also an institution which generates the same attachment to objectivity that encourages a certain set of goals. Ultimately though, it is one’s subjective experience that has it’s own social, physical, mental, and spiritual habits and attachments that cause the mind and body to perform and exist in a particular way. The overarching illegality of euthanasia across North America is supported by religious institutions which act as the sole moral platform for questioning the professional conduct of medical practitioners. The hegemonic belief that is fostered views euthanasia as a breach of non-maleficence, though doctors have and will likely continue to comply with life-ending aid in North America, regardless of recent deliberation regarding legislation. A legalization of euthanasia could ease tensions for physicians and patients dealing with chronic fatal health conditions, but would require specific criteria for legality. The debilitating suffering from a terminal illness should be the first criteria, as well as an autonomous request made by the sufficiently competent patient. Those who advocate for the legalization of euthanasia are part of a particular morality that sees beyond the mystical value of medical non-maleficence and opposes overarching institutional moralities that forbid life-ending decisions. Also of concern is the slippery slope argument, whereby any level of legal euthanasia would likely incite requests for more flexible criteria, publicly bringing into question the intangible value of human life. A central notion of biomedical ethics that stands as a major contender against the legalization of euthanasia is non-maleficence. To generally adhere to the principles of non-maleficence, physicians should not provide ineffective treatments to patients as these offer risk with no possibility of benefit and thus have a chance of harming patients. In addition, physicians must not do anything that would purposely harm patients without the action being balanced by proportional benefit (Beauchamp, 155). This benefit is not necessarily beneficial to the terminally ill individual who has requested euthanasia. The benefit referred to in the medical field is generally an extension of life and a restoration of health, which is not a reality for the terminally ill, rather a benefit might be an end to incurable suffering. Because many medications, procedures, and interventions cause harm in addition to benefit, the principle of non-maleficence provides little concrete guidance in the care of patients, and acts as a fairly weak argument against euthanasia. A helpful distinction when debating the validity of physician assisted suicide is that of ‘killing’ and ‘allowing to die’. If a patient is too frail to undergo restorative treatment, it can be said that the withholding of that treatment is allowing the patient to die. On the other hand, ‘killing’ entails taking action that would hasten the onset of death. There is considerable overlap between these two concepts, to the point that a clear distinction is not readily discernible (Beauchamp, 172). The prima facie nature of allowing a patient to die, as expressed by Beauchamp is acceptable under certain conditions whereby a medical technology is considered futile, or ineffectual, or a patient and/or surrogate decision maker has validly denied a medical technology (173). In the case that a patient is suffering unnecessarily, and has denied or been denied the opportunity for treatment due to severity of illness, should euthanasia not be an acceptable option? This action would undoubtedly fall under the category of ‘killing’, but if the nearest solution is the imminent death of a terminally ill patient, the concept of non-maleficence should not apply to a deliberate hastening of the patients’ biological shutdown. It can also be argued that fading to death in palliative care with little to no cognition is of little value, and coming from a strictly utilitarian perspective, in some cases, may be unnecessary. If an elderly patient has no immediate family, and is in the final stages of a degenerative disease, the option of the patient to deny extended care and hasten the imminence of death should ot be considered immoral. The approval of certain cases such as the example above would definitely introduce a ‘slippery slope’ argument whereby the notions and parameters of conducting euthanasia would be challenged, inflated, and publicly scorned. The infamous example of Dr. Kevorkian is indicative of the demand for physican-assisted suicide, and the flexible moralities of perhaps many physicians who are faced with the challenge of allowing a patient to pursue a hastened death. Michigan doctor Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for delivering a lethal injection to a 52-year-old man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was the first time in five trials that Kevorkian was found guilty of a crime after participating in, by his count, at least 130 assisted suicides. Likened to â€Å"a medical hit man† by the prosecution, Kevorkian compared himself to Martin Luther King and told the court he was no more culpable than an executioner. The 70-year-old doctor had dared prosecutors to charge him and threatened a hunger strike if convicted. â€Å"Suicide†). The case of Kevorkian’s assisted suicides shows that public hegemonic belief places all burden on the physician involved, for it is technically legal to carry out or attempt suicide, but not with the aid of any other person, especially a clinician. These laws tend to make sense in every realm except the medical world, where euthanasia is an issue that arises with the terminally ill, and particular moralities strongly advocate for the right to die under certain circumstances, as illustrated by Kevorkian’s rash threats of a hunger strike if convicted. You read "Bioethics of Euthanasia" in category "Essay examples" Obviously viewing himself as a liberator, Kevorkian’s particular morality quickly earned him a reputation, and having participated in over one hundred assisted suicides, he stands not as a reputable opposition to hegemony, but rather a moral pariah. Kevorkian’s comparison of his ‘moral fallacy’ with the conduct of an executioner is an interesting philosophical idea, and also illustrates the exclusivity of moral professionalism within the medical world. This is mostly apparent in the United States where there is a domination of privatized health care, and plenty of capital punishment. The application of morality is varied when it comes to death and dying, in a society where a 20 year old can be put to death for committing murder, and in the same society, a terminally ill, suffering patient cannot decidedly seek a peaceful death without moral intervention. In both cases, strong moral impositions are made, and guide the fate of both individuals. The convict has a chance at rehabilitation, and renewing his moral adherence and contribution to society, but is not rewarded the chance because his actions stripped him of his dignity. On the other hand, the dying patient is not permitted to seek assistance in death because common morality forbids it, much like the same common morality denies the convict a second chance. The patient is denied euthanasia because the hegemonic function of the medical field is to avoid non-maleficence, so according to the same morality, the criminal is denied rehabilitation and put to death because the function of the law is to appropriately punish offenders. This paradox shows how two distinct versions of the same common morality are stamped like a ‘cookie cutter’, yielding the anticipated results of the societal function: the patient can’t die because medicine is designed to keep him alive, and the criminal can’t live because capital punishment is designed to eliminate him. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the application of euthanasia in the medical field should be acceptable in certain circumstances, and that exclusive clinical moralities should allow deliberation on the subject, and not continue to function in a ‘cookie cutter’ fashion. In Canada and the United States, laws distinguishing ‘active’ and ‘passive’ categories of euthanasia are divided into four sections: â€Å"deliberately killing persons who wish to die or assisting them in suicide (active voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide), deliberately killing persons whose wishes are unknown or opposed to such treatment (active involuntary euthanasia), withholding or withdrawing life-preserving means from those who do not want them used (forgoing treatment of competent individuals), and letting persons die by withholding or withdrawing life-preserving means when their wishes are unknown or when they want, or would tolerate, such means to be applied or maintained (forgoing treatment of incompetent individuals)† (Dickens, 136). According to these legal parameters, it would seem that active and passive euthanasia should only occur when indicated by the patient, living will, or a surrogate, such as active voluntary euthanasia, an d the forgoing of treatment to competent individuals. These two forms provide the patient with the moral decision to adopt the institutional values of their choice and affect their course of longevity and suffering. In the cases of active involuntary euthanasia, and the withholding of treatment from incompetent patients it can be said that, morally, the physician has no right to change the course of the patient’s treatment without clearance from a living will or surrogate. To conduct active involuntary euthanasia, or withhold treatment for no apparent reason indicated by the patient or surrogate, negligence would necessarily apply and represent the justified fault of the attending physician. Dealing with death is a subjective experience that generates fear, and causes humans to seek comfort in institutional beliefs, whether that be family, religion, other forms of spirituality, or modern medicine itself. Death reminds humans of their biological capacities and fleeting opportunities for experience in life, and generates a desire to medicalize suicide. â€Å"We want physicians to provide the means to end life in an antiseptically acceptable fashion. Knives, guns, ropes, and bridges tend to be messy. We seek a more aesthetically pleasing way of terminating life, one that leaves the patient looking dead, but not disgusting. For this, as in so much else in the 20th-century quest for happiness, we turn to the physician† (Paris, 33). Much like we seek aesthetic modifications from plastic surgeons, and mental stability from psychologists, we turn again to professional doctors for a method of dealing with the harsh reality of death. Though euthanasia may be an acceptable option for some people in certain sets of dire circumstances, it is the fear of death generated by the triumphs of medicine that provide the illusion that death and suffering are something a physician can cure. Medicinal miracles and the rise of technological medicine give people the impression that old losses are new triumphs, at least insofar as one can be kept alive for longer with chronic diseases. This notion sparks the fear of suffering before death, and that morbidity will be extended instead of compressed. Essentially then, it is the physician who bears all weight of the laws pertaining to euthanasia, which seems unjust when there is little more that medicine can do for a terminally ill patient than aid in their peaceful departure from life. The argument that legalized euthanasia would initiate the slippery slope, and â€Å"hospitals would become cruel and dehumanized places† are refuted by the suggestion and observation of the exact opposite (Schafer). As Schafer suggests, â€Å"experience has shown that what happened was exactly the opposite of what was predicted by the naysayers: Doctors and hospitals have become kinder and gentler, patients’ wishes are better respected than previously and society has come to accept the importance of individual autonomy at the end of life† (3). Clearly, the legalization of euthanasia would not entirely disrupt the nature of medical care in Canada, and with current debates indicating the possibility of change, society may undergo a change of ideas in the near future. The idea that euthanasia may provide a patient with more dignity at death than what is often referred to as ‘sedation to unconsciousness’ is becoming more common, and should not be deemed unacceptable next to palliative care. With the right safeguards in place, euthanasia should be one of many life-ending options available to Canadians near the end of their life, with palliative care being a morally adjacent decision. The subjective experience of death is one’s own, and even familial institution can only do so much to comfort the process of being terminally ill. Therefore it should be a decision of the patient to seek medical help, either in the form of sedation and longevity, or immediate peace. How to cite Bioethics of Euthanasia, Essay examples

Persuasive Business Communication Letter for Group -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about thePersuasive Business Communication Letterfor Target Group. Answer: Ms. Claire Hunter, Manager of Marketing Communications, Tourism Calgary, 1290 West Trans Highway, Calgary, AB, T3 0G5 April 4, 2018 Dear Ms. Hunter Subject: Suggestions on marketing strategy for the target group This is in response to your request regarding the marketing suggestions to expand the customer base of Tourism Calgary. Firstly I would like to extend my gratitude on behalf of Creative Marketing for the Modern Tourist, for approaching the firm. I have made certain observations regarding the current marketing strategies of you company. The current marketing strategies definitely demonstrate your company towards the company and we value your sincere endeavours. However, with the changing undercurrents of the society, there needs to be an adaptive approach that would expand the customer base of the company. I observed that till now the advertising campaign of the company was targeted the rodeo and Calgary customers. Retaining a loyal customer base is definitely a good strategy but there is a need to reach out to the wider audience so that the other travellers feel equally welcomed. The wider customer base of travellers who travel with Calgary Tourism belong to the under 50 age group. This group prefers to bring their family during the travel. Apart from that, the characteristics of this group are also important to devise the adequate marketing strategy. This group demonstrates environmental consciousness, have inclination for organic food and are passionate towards health and consciousness. On the contrary you marketing material advertises on the local bars and restaurants and the conference centres in the city that might be of little or no interest to this targeted group. It is important to reformulate the content of the advertisement that takes into account the specific interests of this targeted group. The advertising campaign should include information and details about the local farms especially organic food market in different cities, elaborated outlook on the extensive outdoor trails like hiking, trekking, camping and rock climbing. There should also be information on the different historical and cultural activities in the city. Since the targeted group is environment conscious there should be information on events and workshops that are compatible with their taste. There can be a brochure suggesting the list of shopping destinations to purchase eco-friendly apparel, jewelleries and accessories. There should be a list of restaurants that serve healthy food and healthy beverage. There can be a pictorial and video campaign that may involve the loyal customers of the company as it will render a greater appeal. The company can extensively make use o f technology like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Youtubers and travel bloggers can call on-board who can reach to a wider audience and generate excitement about the new venture of the travel and tourism company. The company can also approach renowned celebrities in Canada and promote the vision of the company. We would be truly happy to extend further help in this matter. In case you have enquiries, clarifications or further discussions you can write to us. Sincerely, Sarah Betty Wilson SARAH BETTY WILSON Senior Marketing strategist, Creative Marketing for the Modern Tourist