Feminization of Poverty

Society has seen a great deal of social change in the last fifty years and sometimes we can look to our past to avoid issues in our future. Look at clips from the "Mary Tyler Moore" show; a show about a single woman finding her place in the working world. How does this relate to where society is today regarding women and poverty? In a research paper on the feminization of poverty, define feminization of poverty and working class. Be sure to address the following in your project on women and poverty:

1. Does the glass ceiling still exist for women as it once did? Why or why not
2. What is a "wage slave" and how does this apply to the working class?
3. How might conflict theory be applied to the feminization of poverty?

Remember to include at least one citation to support your conclusions.

Be sure to define feminization of poverty and the working class. From there, answer if the glass ceiling still exists and what it means to be a wage slave. Try to use conflict theory and include at least one citation.

When you expand our view to look at stratification around the world, note that a dynamic of control is in place. That is, the MDC's (more developed countries) tend to hold power over the LDC's via worked that is sent to them. This dynamic is controversial for women and poverty. One can argue on one hand that it provides jobs and a better life for these individuals. On the other hand, poor conditions, low pay and further dependency can been seen as well. For example, contemplate the problem of the female sex trade in the East. How do the following factors relate to the feminization of poverty in the East?

1. Look in your closet and around your home. Are the majority of your items US made or imported?
2. How do we contribute to global stratification?
3. After viewing the documentary Maquilaolpolis, what do you think of the conditions for women?
4. After viewing Red Light, can an increase in factories etc., help to stop issues like the female sex trade or do these not hold bearing?
5. How might conflict theory be applied to the feminization of poverty in the East?

How do women and men simultaneously experience both privilege and oppression? Drawing on published scholarly works and incorporating personal feelings and thoughts, you will want to ask yourself if women are often portrayed as overwhelmingly the victims of oppression while men often are depicted as overwhelmingly the beneficiaries of privilege, is this truly the case? Will your analysis of the feminization of poverty show that although gender is one of the most important factors in privilege and oppression, its impacts are mediated by other variables that also shape how women and men experience the world?

Analyses of gender relations in the United States and many other societies around the world have often tended to contrast the relatively privileged statuses of men with the relatively oppressed statuses of women. For instance, a large volume of literature indicates that women are the predominant victims of one of the most intimate and devastating forms of oppression: domestic violence, which the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Violence and the Family describes as "a pattern of abusive behaviors including a wide range of physical, sexual and psychological mistreatment used by one person in an intimate relationship with another to gain power unfairly or maintain that person's misuse of power, control and authority" In fact, the Surgeon General of the United States has recently declared domestic violence to be the most serious challenge to public health in, while research indicates that the foremost cause of bodily injuries in American women aged 15 to 44 years is domestic violence, and a recent randomized study of emergency room data demonstrated that about 50 percent of all bodily injuries sustained by female patients over a twelve-month period were the result of physical violence at the hands of a male partner.