Whats Love Got to Do with It - Book Report/Review Example

Since the beginning of civilization, women have always had a hard way to go, as it concerns their rights, freedoms, and treatment. Always having to be subjected to a man, they were never able to be the person that they wanted to be. It was only in the twentieth century that they were allowed to have the equality that they deserved, accept that this only concerns affluent and developed countries because in more poorer countries, women still have to struggle to be seen as equals. Along with the gender issues that women face, there are also some misconceptions concerning the male gender. It is these misconceptions that not only cause them to be harmed health wise; it also puts the health of others in danger. Men go according to long standing practices that are not only out of date; they have not proven to be helpful in the least bit. Three books give us a great deal of information concerning the problems with gender today. The first book titled "Women Factory Workers in a Global Workplace" describes the treatment of women in China. To give us a clear picture of what the women are facing, the author gives us information on how work was in China before new laws were set in place to improve matters. People did not have the freedom of choice. They had to work where they were told, and they could not be what they wanted. Then, everything changed. New laws have changed the way that people work in China. They are no longer obligated to farm; they can work where they'd like to (Ngai 2005). They have more room to get to their fullest potential. Though people in China are able to work where they'd like and choose the careers in which they wish to pursue, many of those working in the cities are not local residents. They can only work in the cities as temporary residents, never attaining permanent citizenship because once their employment is terminated, they must return back to their home villages. People moved from village to village looking for work, and they do not stop moving until employment is found (Ngai 2005). This situation causes a great deal of chaos; this caused the government to step in and take control over the situation. Chaos is not the only problem that these nomadic workers have to face. The laws of temporary citizenship make things difficult for them. Because these workers can never attain permanent citizenship, these workers are not given a house to live in, nor are they given too much to survive on. They must live in substandard living conditions, and they are given the bare necessities of life. Sometimes, they do not even receive that much. Their lives are not complete, as their families are not allowed to go with them. Their families are to remain at home, while they work in the cities. What's more, they are not given the benefits that the citizens of the cities are entitled to, since residents of the city do not consider them to be part of them, and because these workers can only be temporary residence and no more, there is no hope for them ever becoming part of the city dwellers (Ngai, 2005). The situation is worse for women. Women in China are not seen as equals in most of the ethnic groups, and they must obey the orders of a man, such as their fathers or husbands, and do what is asked of them. They are not allowed to live outside of the mold that is prescribed to them. Women are allowed to work in factories under many more restrictions imposed upon them that than of men; however, they are not allowed to own land or businesses (Ngai, 2005). If they want to work, they can only work for a short time, the time that is allowed by the male figures in her families. And if she wants to move to another village to start her own life, she is not allowed. The women are treated poorly in the factories. Because they are viewed as disposable, as they are viewed as cheap labor to factory owners, they are treated in a terrible fashion, and they reside in poor living conditions. Women live in factory dormitories and are not allowed to have fans when the weather is hot, nor are they allowed heaters when the weather is cold (Ngai, 2005). They are treated like animals, expected to just deal with the elements. If they cannot get by in this way, then it is much too bad for them. Then, there is the book titled "what's Love Got to do with it Transnational Desires and Sex tourism in the Dominican Republic." This book talks about how women use prostitution as a means to make a living. Women have migrated to the town of Sosua, which has been coined the sex capital because they want to do anything possible to make better lives for themselves and their children. Women do not just see themselves as spending their entire lives in the sex trade. They see the sex trade as a doorway to much bigger and better things, such as marriage to a European or Canadian man, which will enable them to live life in an industrious nation, living in better conditions than in the Dominican Republic (Brennan, 2004). To lure such men to their town, they promise them fun in the sun, splendid beaches, cheap entertainment, as well as "Afro-Caribbean sex workers for white foreign sex tourists" (2004). But why must women engage in the sex trade to better the lives of themselves, their children, and their other family members The author provides us this answer by telling us that women are not treated as equals in this country. They are not given good jobs. Many of them are also single mothers, and must do everything that they can to provide for their families and fulfill the duties that society has placed upon them. Society has stated that the role of a woman is to care for her family obligations, and this means also caring for and providing for her children (Brennan, 2004). It does not matter that the woman may be a single mother, as many of them who work the sex trade usually are; they are expected to perform their duties, lest they want to suffer severe mockery and persecution. Women want a way out of this situation, and they feel that working in Sosua will provide them with such an opportunity. To them, Sosua is the place where many dreams can come true, though, many times; they end up being disappointed because they marry for money and a better life, no love. Lastly, there is the book titled "Fixing Men: Sex, Birth Control and AIDS in Mexico." This book talks about the importance of men taking care of their reproductive health, as women are not, and should not, be the only ones who do this. The Mexican culture, as well as many others, believes that it is only the women's job to care for their health, and it is this view that causes the men to be neglected. Neglected reproductive health and people migrating is a bad combination. The reason that this is the case is because this is a good way to spread AIDS. The author of this book outlines ways in which these problems can be fixed, and if followed, the spread of AIDS will be significantly lower, and men will have better reproductive health. One way that the author promotes better reproductive health among men is that it discusses the issues of birth control. While a great deal of literature is targeted to women, this one is exceptional in that it is geared toward men. Numerous techniques are discussed for men to put into practice as it pertains to their reproductive health, and information is also provided as to how the entire culture can work together to promote better reproductive health. Along with the information that is provided to these men concerning better reproductive health, a plan of action concerning how to tackle the spread of aids is outlined, and if followed, the plan can insure that reproductive health will be much better among the society as a whole (Gutmann, 2007). Another way that this book promotes good sexual health is that it works hard to clear away the superstitions surrounding reproductive practices. Before this book was published, there were many superstitions about certain sexual practices, and some things were considered to be taboo (Gutmann, 2007) However, when educated, many began to understand that there was no need to follow such superstitions, and they began to work to promote good reproductive health. When looking at these three books, we can see that there are similarities, as well as differences. One similarity that exists between these three books is that they are all about gender issues and the problems that they present in our modern world today. A second similarity is that they talk about the problems that these gender issues cause in developing countries, mainly due to lack of knowledge or substandard living conditions. Finally, they are written around the issue of sex in some way, shape or form. Then, there are the differences concerning the three books. One difference is that two of the books are written about women's issues, while the other one is written about the issues surrounding men. Another difference is that the books are all written about different issues that plague the lives of these people, and they take place in different countries. Though similar in some ways a different in others, these three books have some common goals. One goal is to educate us on the problems regarding gender issues that still exist in developing countries around the globe and how we can work to fix such issues. Another goal is to better understand how these people are living and feeling about their situation. The authors do a wonderful job in allowing us to feel their pain, as they use great detail to paint the picture for us. As far as the books relate to other material that we have read in class this semester, they give us more details on the subject matter that we have been discussing, which is sex and gender. While our materials have given us a great deal of information concerning matters. These books have enabled us to understand these issues much better than we have previously. These books have truly put things into perspective. Work Cited Brennan, D. (2004). What's Love Got to Do with It Transnational Desires and Sex tourism in the Dominican Republic. London: Duke University Press. Gutmann, M. (2007). Fixing Men: Sex, Birth Control and AIDS in Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press. Ngai, P. (2005) Made In China. North Carolina: Duke University Press. Read More