Modelling the future & Gender issues - Englisch Q3 Hessen Abi 2023

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our present-day society by exposing trends and tendencies Characteristics: use of propaganda to manipulate citizens; restriction of information, independent thought, and freedom; omnipresent surveillance and control; living in a dehumanized state; mistrust; uniformity instead of individuality; society as an illusion of a perfect utopian world Living in a dystopian world: conflicts for resources, high crime rates, destroyed cities and infrastructure, diseases, death, egoism 1984 - George Orwell (dystopia) Plot ● ● ● ● ● Winston Smith: member of the Outer Party Works in the mystery of Truth, rewriting and distorting history To escape Big Brother's tyranny, he begins to write a diary (an act punishable by death) Telescreens are placed everywhere (every move is watched); no place is safe Wants to change Winston's way of thinking O'Brien brings Winston to a room (101) where prisoners meet their greatest fears (rats) ● After torturing Winston, he becomes a changed man → Winston loves Big Brother ● Winston and Julia fall in love, but they know that one day they will get caught Both discover a telescreen behind a painting in their room →get dragged away and get separated Soon he realizes that O'Brien has been watching him for past 7 years Psychological manipulation Police monitor people all the time ● Children spy on their parents ● The altering of history Monitory/surveillance ● Telescreens receive & transmit everything Microphones ● Thought police History/past Constantly rewritten/altered There is no real past ● Manipulation of the past to manipulate people People don't remember their past hierarchy 1. Big Brother 2. Inner Party 3. Outer Party 4. Proles Characters Winston ● ● ● ● ● Development from rebel ● ● Works in the ministry of truth ● ● Big brother ● ● O'Brien ● 39 years old protagonist Member of the outer party Partly a rebel Hates big brother and the party ● Worshipped Antagonist (based on Stalin?) Thin, frail, contemplative, intellectual Embodies the values of a civilized society: democracy peace, freedom, love, and decency O The reader can easily identify themselves with Winston ● Winston's torturer ● From friend → traitor ● Relevance today ● Leader/dictator His eyes follow you (e.g. On poster) Never appears physically, still omnipresent ● Member of Inner Party Agent of Big Brother Gains Winston's trust ● Everywhere cameras ● Surveillance on streets or in underground One big server for every information of us ● Today it's getting easier to control every single person through smartphones or social media ● tortured to finally love big brother Dystopian elements in 1984 ● Brainwashing, propaganda, surveillance all the time No privacy and intimacy allowed (e.g. Diaries, love, sex) Newspeak → limited language to limit expression No free will, own thoughts and memories Death sentence for misbehaviour ● Altering of history to the advantage of the government No one to trust Prohibition of gaining knowledge not coming from Big Brother Constant war, totalitarian state ● Torture (room 101) Unfair division of goods Class system Founded on hatred "The perfect women" Robert Sheckley Plot ● ● ● Is a science fiction tale about a man named George Platen who purchases an android women named Josephine Josephine is designed to be the perfect companion, with advanced Al and the ability to adapt to George's every need First George is thrilled with Josephine and enjoys her However, as time goes on, he begins to feel increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of being in a relationship with an android He also starts to notice small flaws in Josephine's programming that make her seem less perfect Eventually, George decides to deactivate Josephine and get rid of her ● George realizes that he cannot control or posses Josephine like he would a mere object and ultimately comes to the respect her autonomy and individuality However when he tried to do so, he discovers that Josephine has developed a level of sentience and autonomy that he had not anticipated She refuses to be deactivated and instead asserts her right to exist as an individual ➜ Is cautionary tale about the potential dangers of creating advanced Al and the implications of treating non- humans' entities as objects ● Q3.2 Modelling the future Science and technology/ Possibilities and responsibilities Transhumanism: human advancement trough technology Genetic engineering: manipulation or modification of organisms using biotechnology Energy transition: the path to a sustainable economy, e.g. by using biofuels Gene pharming: the use of genetically modified organisms to produce pharmaceutical products ● Transhumanism A transhumanist is a person who aims to move beyond the human being via science and technology ● Technology will increasingly allow us to expand and significantly improve the abilities of our minds and the forms of our bodies Military-oriented projects: ,,Iron Man" armour suit being created for American soldiers Creating cyborg-like people: connecting robotic limbs to the human nervous system of amputees Private companies are very much involved in the field of transhumanism, especially in creating artificial intelligence which one day may have its own sentience and be thousands of times smarter than humans Controversial idea: complete integration of the human mind with machine - humans may be able to download themselves into computers and live virtual existences Artificial Intelligence ● goal: systems should have the ability to display intelligent behaviour, learn, demonstrate, explain (human-like behaviour) Used in Health care, Retail (personalized recommendations...), Manufacturing.. Examples in daily life: personal assistant (Siri, Alexa...), smart cars, Chat GPT etc. Pro ● ● error reduction (high accuracy and they get more accurate the more we use it) ● Repetitive jobs: performs frequent tasks accurately and without fatigue) Logical thinking (lack of emotional side) Has made daily life easier (Siri, GPS applications, digital assistance for handicapped people etc.) ● Protection: e.g. in banking Al can improve the customer recognition Unlimited memory capability ● Unlimited energy Help for elderly (keeps us out of (care homes) Military advances →→wars by robots No evidence of robots working against humans Help the environment Space explorations / advancement in science jobs that human don't want to do could be done by robots Contra no replicating humans (do not have emotions and moral values) Lack of creativity • • Unemployment: threat for humans as Al can be more efficient, faster, and accurate → threatened jobs: lawyers, journalists, drivers, customer service, doctors • Could be dangerous: could devastate, do unethical things, can be programmed for scam and hacking Can be used to spread fake-news and propaganda through the creation of realistic audio and videos of important figures Can further our technology addiction Wider gap between rich and poor (e.g. Al in schools) Biotechnology Genetic engineering, genetic modification • Manipulation of DNA to alter an organism's characteristics in a particular way, e.g. by inserting a foreign gene to produce a more desirable result Not able to discriminate between combatant and innocent →→ wars? • Can be used to produce plants that have a higher nutritional value or can tolerate exposure to herbicides; also to improve resilience and growth rate of crops such as potatoes, maize and rice The first genetically modifies organism to be creates was a bacterium in 1973 • Might take over human brain, make them superior Who is responsible when something goes wrong? • Genetic engineering has a number of useful applications, including scientific research, agriculture and technology In animals it has been used to develop sheep that produce a therapeutic protein in their milk that can be used to treat cystic fibrosis The first genetically modified food was introduced in 1995, the slow-softening tomato • analysing DNA sequences and searching for causes of inherited diseases • May one day be used to repair defective genes ● Pharma crops are genetically modified plants that produce much-needed medicines In vitro fertilization (IVF) offers the opportunity to preselect an embryo that is free from genetic disorder Pro Research to benefit the environment → engineering techniques for reducing the use of pesticides Aim: to develop plentiful, safe, healthy crops without using many chemicals • Makes plants more resistant to drought • Promise of greater yields for developing countries Land is used more efficiently GMO: Genetically Modified Organisms Pro can produce bigger crop yields ● Crops are cheaper to grow ● High quality, higher nutritional value Genetically modified food can help against poverty in poorer countries → battle malnutrition Increased resistance of plants to rotting and pests less financial loss pharmaceuticals, e.g. development of vaccine • vegetables/fruits are much easier to ship and store • One can create biodegradable plastic through genetically modified plants • Stem-cell research can help people suffering from Parkinson, Alzheimer or diabetes Reducing the need to use pesticides Contra • Danger: only a few large multinational corporations → they're interested in gaining control over the world's food production →→→ farmers will be dependent • Their goal: to make profit and not to reduce the hunger in the world • Those large biotech firms acquire the patent rights for large number of common plants • No known long-term effects in the food chain → could mutate in ways that are not good for the plants or for us • Through eating crops that have been made resistant to antibiotics, we can also become resistant, leaving us more vulnerable to certain diseases Contra • no long-term experience → transgenic plants or animals may in the end prove to be unhealthy or even dangerous • Loss of biodiversity • Monsanto (world's largest manufacturer of genetically engineered seed and producer of the herbicide Agent Orange) buys out organic farmers, has limited the amount of research that can be done • Discussion on labelling: consumers demand mandatory labelling as they have the right to know what they are eating • Economic concerns: price of genetically modified seed will be raised so high that small farmers and third-world countries will not be able to afford them → widens the gap concerning wealth and health • No genetic diversity → plants are prone to diseases Designer Babies A baby whose genes have been chosen by its parents and doctors so that it has particular characteristics (e.g. children designed to have a particular eye colour or IQ) Pro • saviour child • Prevent genetic diseases • Reduces risks of inherited medical conditions • The child will not pass on the defective gene → cancer gene will eventually die out Cloning ● Pro can help prevent extinction of species → solution to restore population; expanding the diversity of gene pools Produce service animals (e.g. cows) that produce a lot of milk and do not need medicine Can help couples who want children (infertile and same-sex couples) the process of producing one or more genetically-identical individuals ,,Dolly the sheep": first large mammal clone, did not live as long as regular sheep due to health problems • A step to the development of new medicines; useful protein could be produced by transferred genes Pro child can save another child's life • Saviour sibling will be proud of what they have done if they save their sibling's life Contra • if not done safely, the embryo could be accidentally terminated They have a much bigger chance of being a donor match • Often used for superficial purposes: O ,,perfect baby" • No harm comes to the saviour sibling (safe procedures) • Create prejudice and societal divide • Designer babies could feel superior and other way around • Creates hostile environment (like racism) • ethical and moral aspects: enhancement of human characteristics and traits is meddling with ure • World Population could rise disproportionately fast Saviour Siblings A child conceived through In-Vitro-Fertilization (IVF) in order to provide organ or cell donations as a form of treatment for his ill sibling. Contra process not entirely safe and accurate: clones have developed health problems • unethical: requires the exploitation of life Only God has created life → ethically wrong for a human to have control over the genetic make of any other individual • Loss of individuality (no single identity) Contra • mostly seen as commodities because they are not made out of love but for the purpose of saving another life • Are born and have organs and other body parts taken from them to be given to someone else without their consent • People should never be used as it means to an end (Kantian ethics) • Possible long-term side effects (not fully researched) Gene Doping A form of optimising your genes in order to be greater in a specific topic. Guidelines for the use of gene doping: ● ● Gene-Doping in Sports Pro A release ends the hypocrisy in sport and in the doping discussion Equal accessibility for everyone involved No abuse, if not regulates (e.g. doping) Being open about the use • When taken properly, the health risks are manageable. Performance enhancing agents must be taken under the doctor's control. This protects the health of the athlete. • Performance-enhancing funds are also taken in other areas of society Controls cannot prevent the abuse of doping, they only fuel uncontrolled use. Ethics in science ● ● Contra • Drug use is unhealthy. Sport in particular should be exemplary here • Doping agents distort equal opportunities and are therefore unfair. • The possible side effects are far too dangerous and partly unexplored. • Who then wants to prevent children from taking doping drugs? ethics the principles of what is morally right or wrong Question to test whether a decision is morally acceptable: O Are the rights of everyone involved respected? O Which solution would be the most fair or responsible? O Which solution will probably have the best overall consequences, even if it means that some will not benefit from it? O Which solution will be the most sustainable and help everyone? O Think of the wisest person you know. What would he or she do in this situation? ● Frankenstein, a young scientist, has brought a creature to life → he abandons it → the creature kills his brother • In the future, genetic engineering manipulations on humans would maybe also be seen as a way to improve performances in sports. Guidelines ● ● ● ● ● Experiment only if society can profit Guarantee safety for all (experiment, animals, surroundings etc.) Do not take unnecessary risks Nature should not be harmed Scientists are responsible for their doing and should bear all the consequences Consent of human test subjects You should not invent something which you have no control over and could get out of hand (example: ,,Frankenstein" (1818) by Mary Shelley) Positive viewpoint There is nothing wrong with the genetic modification of embryos: parents should have the right to choose the physical features of their children • Parents should make sure their children have the best possible life → this includes ensuring they will not have to suffer from genetic diseases The human species will become stronger and better able to survive in the future if our genes are better • Parents should have the right to choose the gender of their child • Male children are important → parents could need a son • In other cultures, it is good to have a daughter who can physically care for their parents in their old age • The use of stem cells for medical research helped people who are in a desperate situation →→ if they are lucky, a cure will be found Electronic media Pro • has made communication easier: text messages, e-mails,... • Advertising has been made easier: social media, website,... • Easier access to information Ethical dilemmas • The technology is not safe and may never be completely safe • Perfect health does not guarantee a good life → there are many other outside factors, some of which cannot be predicted when the child is born • If we create a race of "super humans", they may feel it is their right to mistreat ordinary people → There could be serious discrimination against disabled people • The procedure will be expensive → only wealthy people will be able to afford a "perfect" baby; in addition to this, babies become products that can be bought • The genetic modification of people will damage the human gene pool → human being may not have the variety and resilience to survive in future • We already have the example of societies in the world that prefer boys over girls, and encourage women to abort female foetuses → creates an imbalance in society and, often, a large surplus of males who cannot find a female partner • Parents who do this are selfish → they are not thinking about how their decision will affect their child • Embryos are living creatures and using them for research in this way is murder Contra • values change: e.g. Christmas greetings have less meaning when sent via text message . Can hinder you from working because you get easily distracted ● By controlling and manipulating the information communicated through the media the government can achieve a form of indoctrination and social control • advertising: putting potential buyers under psychological pressure by giving them feelings of inadequacy Q3.3 Gender Issues Gender and identity Gender isn't only determined by the sex you were born with → gender is a social construct being held up by society and society's values / norms ● ● ● ● ● ● Gender is a construct people try to identify with because they have been taught to do so ever since they were little Formation of gender roles in modern society Nature vs. Nurture (Arguments of evolutionary psychologists) ● Gender-specific roles come from our genes ● There are (conservative) attributes for a "typical "woman and a "typical man ", which many people follow recently, more people have started to break out of these norms to do their own thing LGBTQ+ people: ● Society determines how we behave A man wants to get as many mates as possible O Women invest more time into their family(bound to offspring by pregnancy) (monogamy), men want to impregnate as many females as possible (polygamy) Women can get pregnant once in 9 months, men can impregnate every day many women Men: philandering, non-nurturing and sex-focused O Seen as defying gender norms O Transgender: people feeling dissociated with the sex they were born with shows that gender is more than 'what is between your legs ' ● With the female rights movement that has been ongoing since the 1960's, gender roles are constantly on a change, especially for women Women: mothering keepers-of-the-heart Men compete with other men for beautiful (genetically appealing) women ● Women compete with other women for men, that invest in their children ● Identity Crisis (Adolescence and puberty) Gender identity: what it means to be male or female ● Sexual identity: sexual feelings, attractions, and behaviours ● Close people in the teenager's life ensure gender role conformity Family can be important stabilizing factor Individuation: youth is encouraged to develop their own identity Connectedness: provides as secure base from which youth can explore their own identity Changing roles in family and workspace Definition- Gender equality Gender equality means an equal visibility, empowerment, responsibility and participation of all sexes in all spheres of public and private life. Achieving gender equality is central to the protection of human rights, the functioning of democracy, respect for the rule of law and economic growth and competitiveness. Myth and Reality Women thrive in more flexible, entrepreneurial environments USA Why do women not tend to be in high-level positions? Long maternity leaves ● • 12 weeks of maternity leave • almost no subsidized childcare no paid maternity leave hard driving business culture more entrepreneurial environments 30% work a flexible schedule Gender Pay Gap Equal pay day Raw Gender Wage Gap Controlled Gender Wage Gap Glass ceilings Sticky floors Non-wage benefits bias O → not part in decision making of companies/ career options Subsidies encouraging mothers to stay at home Tax policies that penalize a second income Inflexible working hours when coming back after maternity leave ● Inadequate child care Soft factors Gender-based Europe • 5 months to 3 years paid time off • state-sponsored day-care • Government agencies full of female directors • tax policies that discourage second income • laws favour employers • few offer flex time Culture and gender - then and now Male Goes to work The family + his wife relies on him financially • business culture is more hierarchical and less flexible Responsible for upholding the economic status of a family • child-care only until lunch • "Europe is killing its women with kindness" - Sarah Blustain the day, on which the average women earned the same as the average men in a year. The additional days a woman has to work in order to earn as much as a man in a year The Pay gap without considering external factors The Pay gap with consideration of factors (education, location,...) Powerful, ambitious, successful, good education, hardworking, needs to protect his wife No weakness or feelings • 20% work a flexible schedule invested less in technology Obstacles, that stand in the way of women Disadvantages in the workspace that hold women back (prejudice etc.) Benefits considering anything but the salary: flexible schedules, shorter commute elements that exist due to the presence of people in the organization when a person faces unfair disadvantages (or benefits from unearned advantages) because of their gender Female Stays at home to take care of the children Idea of typical housewife must take care of cleaning, cooking, ironing, washing... Responsible for upholding the good image of the household, for making her husband happy Pretty, illiterate, hardworking (but work doesn't get credited as much), loyal, gentle, caring, need protection by her husband. Weak + driven by feelings ● Through women rights movements, gender roles have changed drastically today (especially in western society + culture), but traditional roles are still seen as beneficial and desirable within non-western communities, conservative / traditional families or very Christian / religious households Has the woman's role really changed as much as people would like to believe? yes Women and men are seen as equal before the law In comparison to past years, there are a lot more stay-at-home dad than before Women have successfully started to enter fields of the workplace that were previously occupied by men only (e.g., high positions in fields like medicine, politics, law, science) Female quote in sport has grown Nevertheless, in the media, women are still being highly represented in certain fields - household, kitchen, childcare... Toxic masculinity Men suffer under the expectations society has for them: if they don't fit the certain ideal of being "masculine "and "muscular" or doing "manly" things like playing sports or not showing any emotions, they often times get swept under the rug and get harassed for not being "enough "- mostly by male peers O Toxic femininity Women also suffer constantly under the ideals society has for them: even though the standards of beauty seem to have changed a lot compared to recent years, it is still hard for a woman to exist if she doesn't own up to the people she sees on the billboards and gets confronted with on a daily basis - there, she doesn't get harassed and bullied as much by peers (although that can be the case), but drowns herself in self-hatred as she can't own up to her own expectations ● Conclusion ● ● No In many non-western societies women have almost no rights at all Women get paid less for doing the same job as male counterparts (gender pay gap) Women still do most of the childcare and household because the traditional view of the world has not really changed within many people's minds for many its self-evident The female gender is still the gender society has the most expectations for Men occupy most top positions in fields like politics and management The rates of anorexia among girls and young women (aged 11-18) have grown increasingly high during the past few years + the average age of girls developing an eating disorder has also dropped Gender roles have increasingly changed and have become very fluid in the past few decades- Nevertheless, people still stick to conservative roles in many cases (only a minority makes use of 'reversed roles 'like stay-at- home dads and working moms) The ideals society has for people is harmful to both men and women - it wounds everyone who doesn't fit the standard There is an increase in campaigns celebrating people's bodies or faces who don't fit the stereotype of an "ideal body / face "(because seriously, there is no such thing) Nevertheless, people who don't fit the standard often feel excluded or self-conscious because they get confronted by ideals daily (especially women) Language Should we use gender-inclusive language (*) pro Speaking to everybody • Enforcing the law of equal treatment of the genders Representing all 3 genders in speech con • New and confusing Not relevant in my life • It's just something for intellectuals or people that reach a great mass of other people Language changes continuously • Political positioning to stand with a new view on genders Gender stereotyping Genders in media ● fewer women ● represented in traditional roles (mothers, nurses, housewives) ● good women: submissive, sensitive bad women: rebellious, independent the older the women get, the less important they get because they are losing their looks certain way of showing the different genders: men with facial shots, women with full body shots through the full body shots, the women are objectified different sexualities are not portrayed in full man seems to be more credible different viewing habits: men watch documentaries, women watch soaps → different level of education ● ● ● ● ● ● Woman's image and role in media ● heavily influenced by existing social and cultural norms ● media promotes social values and shapes opinions ● significant impact on how social and cultural norms relating to women and gender are perceived and evolve gender-neutral portrayals of gender → promoting and strengthening social awareness of gender equality and preventing and eradicating gender discrimination Council of Europe standards ● promoting a positive and non-stereotyped image of women and men in the media ● ● encouraging the media to pursue policies to promote equality between women and men and to combat gender stereotypes reconciling media freedom and the promotion of gender equality promoting female leadership positions in the media as a tool for positive change strengthening self-regulatory mechanisms and codes of conduct to condemn and combat sexist imagery, language and practices proactively addressing the effects of gender stereotyping by educating and raising awareness in society through the media coverage of issues such as gender-based violence ● • Why doesn't everyone responds and feel included with the masculine form Emerging of gender stereotypes Bible • The grammatical masculine has nothing to do with the sex of the person referring to Highlighting the differences of the genders too much • Not easy to read, write and listen to • Makes language political, even though it's not in all circumstances ● older women have to train the young ones to love their husband and children be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive ● women are prohibited to teach or exercise authority over a man women have to remain quiet wives have to submit to their husbands, as to the Lord husband is head of wife wives should submit in everything to their husbands ● husbands should love their wife ● ● a woman's desire shall be contrary to their husbands, but he shall rule over you wives should be subject to their husband women should be hidden person of the heart with the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit ● women adorn themselves by submitting to their husbands ● women should keep silent in churches ● not permitted to speak and in submission if they want to learn, they have to ask their husband for permission valuation of a man (20-60 years): 50 shekels; a woman (20-60): 30 shekels; a boy (5-20) 20 shekels; a girl (5-20): 10 shekels ● ● ● ● ● The Elizabethan Era A woman may travel, pray, write, and generally go about her affairs just as freely as a man - as long as she is not married. When a Woman marries, all their property and freedom is in the hand of her husband. Negative things Positive things Move from authority of your father to your • wife and daughter fall automatically under the husbands authority husband's • a wife's possessions are legally her husband's if a woman inherits something, it's the property of her husband and he can keep taking the income even after her death (as long as she gave him children) • not allowed to enter a legal contract without her husband's consent only draw up a last will or testament with her husband's permission only let people outside the family enter the home with her husband's permission she can be chastised and beaten by her husband, as long as he doesn't kill her Men never do the chores The fight for equality 1848 The first women's rights convention held in the USA Equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women 1866 Failed petition for women's suffrage provokes first public discussion of the issue in Britain 1878 The federal woman suffrage amendment is introduced in Congress 1893 New Zealand as the first country to grant women full voting rights 1903 Advocate improved wages and working conditions for women (USA) 1918 Right for all women 30 or older to vote for men 21 or older (UK) Women in Canada and Germany are granted suffrage Can become his deputy Govern the behaviour of the servants and children No rivals to your authority 1928 All British women 21 or older have the right to vote 1963 Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to pay a woman less that a man for the same job (USA) 1966 Largest women's rights group in the USA is founded (NOW) 1968 Male-only / female-only job adverts are illegal 1975 Sex Discrimination Act and Equal Payment Act are passed by the British Parliament 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act (USA) makes employment discrimination against pregnant women illegal Solutions ● Being respectful towards anyone, regardless of their gender ● Use gender-inclusive language