Theoretical Definition of Dirt - Essay Example

?Topic: Consider Mary Douglas’s famous discussion of dirt and pollution (1966: 36) as “matter out of place”. In one sense, this refers to the purity of an order which is violated by matter out of place and as such concerns the proper order of a place. To keep such order then, boundaries are drawn to protect one enclave from the incursion of another, of the contamination of the other, a fear that order might be threatened by unruly bodies. Carefully analyse the implications of this statement for what happened at the Tailhook convention in 1991. Name Course Name of Professor Date of Submission Mary Douglas (1966) once posited that dirt is expressed in symbolic systems and the difference between pollution behaviour in one part of the world and the other differ only in details (p. 36). The ideation of dirt should therefore be re-examined. The primitive culture may opt for dirt avoidance as a matter of hygiene of aesthetic reasons. The other notion of dirt is that sourced from pathogenic organisms; the bacterial transmission of disease which transformationally strengthened the medical research on bacteriology. The explication of dirt therefore was fundamentally based on dirt as ‘a matter out of place” (Douglas, 1966, p. 36). The definition textually means that dirt is suggestive and is a set of ordered relations and contravention of the present order (Douglas, 1966, p. 36). Dirt henceforth is neither an isolated nor a distinct order but is a product of a systematic ordering and classification of matter; where ordering includes the rejection of inappropriate elements (Douglas, 1966, p. 36). This ideation of dirt straightforwardly takes us into the field of inappropriate elements. This researcher attempts to correlate this theoretical definition of dirt into the 1991 Tailhook incident. The US Navy and Marine Aviators were extremely drunk and their place smelt of stale beer, vomits and urine. They were headed to tragedy at 9 p.m., at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, when they raped and molested women who incidentally pass through the venue where they had their 1991 Tailhook Association Convention (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). There were 117 officers that were implicated in incidents of indecent assaults and/or exposure that were tolerated and 51 officers were found to have made false statements during the investigations. The Tailhook investigation was the thorough exploration of the dimensions of sexual harassment within the US military. In an inquiry done by Defense Department inspector general bared that victimized women narrated how they were grabbed, pinched, touched on their private parts e.g. breasts, buttocks, and legs. Some had their clothes ripped (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). The first comprehensive report mentioned that in those three nights, the military cult of warrior, in fraternity hi-jinks violated the rights of these women, committed public indecency, and assaults in that three-day debauchery against 83 women (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). The report further mentioned that the incident was the worst incident that has ever happened since the first convention in 1956 (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). Investigation further pointed that this similar behaviour happened in the previous convention and such pattern has become a violent and illegal gantlet tradition albeit there were those who claimed that the Tailhook '91 was bit tame in comparison to earlier conventions of young officers (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). The investigation further reported that such acts of indecency covered streaking through hotel suites and in hotel patio; often done in group at 10. There were also 14 officers found to have engaged in ballwalking or exposing their private parts to the public (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). Other aviators, male and female alike, were doing ‘mooning’ or exposing of buttocks to others (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). There was one instance when officers in a crowd mooned in a patio at the 8th floor of Hilton Hotel which apparently broke large plate-glass window to break and crash down and hurt two guests at the hotel; prompting immediate medical response (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). The report further bared that officers were engaged in publicly shaving legs or pubic areas of women; navel shots or opposite sexes drinking liquor from their respective navels; and biting the butts of attendees (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). A Marine official reported that this butt biting is common among males and females of his squadron for almost 20 years (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). Though deemed consensual, but there were other members of the officers who professed that they were forcibly bitten on their buttocks (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). The worst act of public indecency happened in 22 hospitality suites at the third floor of the hotel where prostitutes and strippers, with flowing beer and liquors, exhibited their trade there backgrounded with pornographic videos (Kempster, 1993, p. 1). Then Navy assistant secretary Barbara S. Pope refused to accept initial findings of the investigations simply pointing at low-ranked officials as responsible for sexual assaults; demanded accountability of heads of navy. In-depth investigation led to the resignation of Rear Admiral Duvall M. Williams Jr., Rear Adm. John E. Gordon and the Judge Advocate General of the Navy (Office of the Inspector General, 1992, p. 1). Political correctness of behaviour was demanded from the ranks of naval officers which resulted to the termination of 300 naval aviators and 14 admirals were cashiered (Office of the Inspector General, 1992, p. 1). Naval workers are officers of the state and the state require that their behaviour is a representation of culture of violence, women victimization, and sexual objectification of women. A testimony of Anita Hill during the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, narrated how sexual harassment happened almost overnight—a significant issue of women's victimization in the 19th century. The incident inspired other researchers to conduct a study and determined about 42% of its women workers-respondents also experienced sexual harassment from 1990 to 1991. Victims include women from high school and college institutions (Office of the Inspector General, 1992, p. 1). What troubled more is the fact that under U.S. military, two out of every three women surveyed in a 1990 on the study pertaining to sexual harassment in the military professed that they have been sexually harassed (Office of the Inspector General, 1992, p. 1). Researcher opined that if racism, homophobia and sexual harassment are tolerated in the military institution then it’s likely that measurable spill can happen in other region. Such virulence of phenomenon in the military department is worrisome and sobering cause to be extremely concerned on military power in contemporary America (Office of the Inspector General, 1992, p. 1). The incident called for extensive study to ascertain the figures on domestic violence, date rape, and sexual harassment as illustrative of women's victimization. The Tailhook Report unclouded the conference’s nature, where soldiers, indiscriminately and fearless of censure or retribution, display that bizarre and hostile sexual compulsion of drunkenness against their victims (Office of the Inspector General, 1992, p. 1). Previously, the gauntlet was simply about boisterous and drunken who shoved, threw drinks, hooted and rated women passerby, but the 1991 Tailhook convention, showed a more sinister one (Office of the Inspector General, 1992, p. 1). Although record showed that some women went through the gauntlet willingly but a number fought against the attack done to them. The squadron hospitality suites encouraged use of "strippers, public nudity and consensual sexual acts;" trivializing women as sexual objects and victimizing its targets. Was Pope right in her position to reassert accountability in the rank? This researcher believes that she was in the right tract to compel accountability from heads of the aviation and navy to correct extreme misbehaviour that violates rights and reduced women to objectification. Cleansing the system from practices that contravene the oath and responsibilities of navy and aviation officers is a must. Otherwise, tolerating these give credence to illegal practices and human rights violations. The navy and the aviation offices are supposed to operate in accordance to their mandates and to uphold the In the struggle to attain parity of rights and equality of men, Hopfl and Matilal, (2006), who believed that, women are threats to patriarchal organization, downplayed woman leadership by requiring it to immerse on ‘therapeutic rational imperative as the price of membership in a male-dominated naval organization and to demonstrate male characteristics in order to “succeed (p. 1).’ Hence, women are compelled to set aside the feminine divine grace and homologation with the symbolic order (Kristeva, 1983; Moi, 1986: 173)— by possessing the appropriate male accoutrements, e.g. ‘the balls’, to figuratively assume the job (Hopfl & Matilal, 2006, p.2). On the other hand, contemporary leadership require virtues of sensitivity, good communication, emotional management, and sense of community by practicing the virtues required of military officials, that are fortunately evident only among women (Covey, 1999, p. 45). This connects to the fact that organizations is in an endless process of totalizing discourse for quality management and in the integration of values that are both male and feminine to completely translate a community-centered and non-authoritarian leadership that inspires transformation in the community (Hopfl & Matilal, 2006, p.3; McFarland, Senn, and Childress, 1998, p. 2). This purview is consistent to the need of having military leaders who perform with propriety to make their actions and decisions fitted to standard of performance and values. Women, in leadership, must therefore meet the competing demands and must necessary play variegated roles in the actual social construct of gendered realities and of social responsibilities. On the contrary, it does not need to exercise phallocentric rationality but by merely adoption of performance standard of the national defence and by the use of unfettered mental functioning with the free circulation of psychic energy. On the other hand, Swartz (1997) has a different view of women that were permissive of their sexual promiscuity (p. 138). Swartz (1997) contended that woman’s sexuality is identified to the omnipotent, primordial mother, and who has sex with herself. She can only have meaningful sex with the other provided that she can completely identify herself with him (p. 138). Other women can have sex with whom she may have sex with men but not make sense of it (Swartz, 1997, p. 38). Or, she may have sex as an act of abuse by a person whom she resents and despises, but whom she could reflect her personality and assume no responsibility (Swartz, 1997, p. 38). The psychodynamic fact remains because the central figure in her psyche is herself (Swartz, 1997, p. 38). As sex is perceived to be the act of connection, the woman may choose not to enjoy this act; have no sex at all. She may choose not to be sexual, but she can be erotic or autoerotic (Swartz, 1997, p. 38). Conversely, the male can make use of his sexual desire to commit criminal act, devilish it may seem (Swartz, 1997, p. 38). This suggests therefore that devilish act can take its form in a male-dominated institution of the military institution (Swartz, 1997, p. 38). Women in combat roles apparently acquire the masculine culture within their ranks but research proved that many women military officers expressed resentment in opening combat roles to women. The 1991 Tailhook, where Naval lieutenant Paula Coughlin mount legal action for being sexually assaulted by a group of Naval aviators, in a "gauntlet" was extremely frustrated of her male superiors’ inaction. Dialectically, this motivated the conduct of full blown investigation and introduced reform in the institution. Both marine and naval institution should step its foot forward for radical change that will eradicate illegal practices and eliminate the culture of sexual violence within the organization. The organization need to rectify its error and reconstruct the breakdown of discipline within the ranks and within the culture of national of defence (Smircich & Morgan, 1982, p. 257). The dirt are spread within the system; it’s time to clean the organization before it rot. Could this relate to opening up of feminist culture to replace the macho military culture? Feminism may have its positive traits and values. The application thereof must be based on total quality standards of performance and organizational behaviours. Officers ought to realize that culture could either positively or negatively contribute to the institution’s growth or peril (Sampson, 1989, p. 24). The navy and the aviation, being an institution, ultimately led by the executive branch of the government, should behave properly and in accord to the standards required of them as officers of the state and as personnel mandated by the national Constitution to safeguard and protect the rights of the citizens (Reichers, 1985, pp. 465; Silverman, 1989, p. 2). References Covey, S (1992). Principle-Centered Leadership, New York: Simon and Schuster, p. 45. Douglas, M. (1936 ), Purity and Danger: An analysis of the concepts of pollution and taboo, New York: Routledge, p. 36. Hopfl, H. & Matilal, S. (2006).The Lady Vanishes’: some thoughts on women and leadership, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol 20 (2), pp. 1-12. Kempster, N.  (1993). What really happened at Tailhook convention : scandal: the pentagon report graphically describes how fraternity-style hi-jinks turned into hall of horrors, Los Angeles Times, Retrieved: http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-24/news/mn-26672_1_tailhook-convention McFarland, L.J., Senn, L. E., & Childress, J. R. (1994). 21st century leadership: Dialogues with 100 top leaders, New York: The Leadership Press, p 2 Office of the Inspector General (1992). The Tailhook Report: Official Inquiry into the Events of Tailhook, St. Martin's Press and Social Anarchism Magazine. Retrieved: http://www.socialanarchism.org/mod/magazine/display/34/index.php Reichers, AE (1985). A review and reconceptualization of organizational commitment, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 10, pp. 465-576. Sampson, EE (1989). The Deconstruction of the Self, in Shotter, J and Gergen, K (Eds) 1989 Texts of Identity, London: Sage. Schwartz, H. S. (1997). Psychodynamics of Political Correctness. Journal of Applied Behavioural Science. vol. 33 (2): 132-148. Schwartz, Howard S. (1997) The Power of the Virgin: Psychodynamics of Sexual Politics and the Issue of Women in Combat, (1997a) Part One: Dimensions of Sexual Scandal, (1997b) Part Two: The Psychodynamics and Power of Feminism, a paper presented at the SCOC Colloquium in Organizational Psychodynamics, University of Missouri-Columbia, September 1997 at http://www.sba.oakland.edu/faculty/schwartz/POVdr2p1.htm Silverman, HJ. (1989). Derrida and Deconstruction, Continental Philosophy II, London: Routledge. Smircich, L. & Morgan, G. (1982). Leadership: The management of meaning, Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 257-273. Read More