Born a Crime is a memoir written by Trevor Noah, a south African comedian and host of The Daily Show. In this book, Noah focuses on the living conditions in South Africa during the Apartheid government. Trevor explains that the government separated people into three groups based on their color: white, black, and colored. Since Noah’s mom (Patricia) is a black Xhosa woman and his father (Robert) is a white male, causing Trevor’s birth a violation of apartheid laws preventing interracial sex. Noah was brought up by his mother, under harsh conditions due to widespread poverty among the non-white community. Noah explains that the apartheid government was abusing the differences between the ethnic groups in order to provoke fights between the groups to give the government more control over the country. He also mentions about the living conditions in the ghetto where the government forced native Africans to live. Since he was of mixed race, Noah states that he was able to see instances of injustices and inequalities against people of color. Soon after the release and election of South African President Nelson Mandela, democracy was existent in the society. However, Noah states that even though there was democracy, the government’s corruption was deeply ingrained. He highlights that even though the apartheid government has fallen, he saw many effects of its existence as colored people were restricted from basic rights such as education and healthcare, colored people were still living in poverty. Without education, colored people were not able to run their businesses and soon white businesses were still dominating the economy and had health insurances. Whereas Noah’s family were in debt and had no health insurance to cover the medical costs when his mother was shot in her head. The main point Noah tries to make is that even though a democratic government took over South Africa, the oppressed people were still facing the effects for many years. Throughout this book, we can observe many instances of systemic injustices against people of color. An instance of the theory mentioned in “Can the Subaltern Speak” can be observed, the apartheid government was abusing the cultural differences among people to control them and suppress the voices of ethnic groups. We can also observe the idea of Othering. In this case, the apartheid government is “The One” and the people of ethnic groups would be considered as “The Other”. The government was oppressing, and controlling the people of ethnic groups by segregating them, suppressing their voices and using deadly force against them.
Team Members : Santosh Gajje, Manar Alrjub, Olivya Colyer
Transcript:
Manar: Hello, I’m Manar. I’m a first year student studying Education and Public Affairs at the Ohio State University.
Olivia: And I’m Olivia. I am a third year student studying International Business and Fashion also at the Ohio State University
Santosh: And I’m Santosh.I am a second year student in college of engineering at The Ohio state University, majoring in Computer Science and Engineering program.
Manar: And welcome back to today’s segment of “Yo, is this sexist?” I’m glad to have you all here.
For today’s segment, we will focus on three different issues that have one similarity: the gender imbalance between men and women in society. We’ll explore two national issues and one international issue that all pertain to the inequality between men and women.
Olivia: We’ll start nationally. Have any of you heard of a widely-known corporation that does not offer maternity leave?
Manar: Nope, how about you Santosh?
Santosh: Well, I don’t think any rational corporation would fail to offer maternity leave.
Olivia: Well, right here in Ohio, Rumpke–a widely-known trash pickup service–doesn’t offer maternity leave for their female workers.
Manar, Santosh: *act shocked, offended*
Manar: No way!
Olivia: Yeah, the United States is one of 3 countries that do not require paid maternity leave. The white male dominated company is actually not required by law to offer paid maternity leave and only grants their workers FMLA. For those who don’t know, FMLA (AKA the Family Medical Leave Act) solely entails unpaid leave which means that if a woman were to give birth, fall ill, and/or have complications, she would have a job when she returns but will not be paid during her time off.
What’s surprising is that on their website, they slap you with the words, and I quote, “We treat you like family.” right on their benefits page.
Santosh: I don’t think a “family” would treat their female members in such a way.
Manar: I don’t think so either. And you know what? This is reminding me of de Beauvoir’s concept of “the One” and “the Other.”
Olivia: Yes, I totally see that.
Manar: Yes, it’s as if the head male members of the corporation are positioning the female workers as the Other and are placing themselves as the superior One. The male led corporation is disadvantaging the women in a way that belittles them and strips them of their worth.
Santosh: I agree. The One in this scenario are making it more challenging than it needs to be for women to start families. The Others are being treated less than for wanting to take time to be with their newborn.
Olivia: I know, and it’s unfortunate that women are being treated as poorly as this in 2021. You would think the U.S. would have made this a law by now. It’s even more upsetting that this male over female trend occurs in other sectors of society, one including sports.
Santosh: Yeah actually, do you know which country is most successful in terms of women’s soccer in the world cup?
Olivia: Well I usually don’t watch soccer, but my guess would be Spain.
Santosh: Actually, it’s the United States. The women’s teams are the current world champions, received 25.4 million viewers for the 2015 Women’s World Cup final, have won 4 world cups to date, and generated $50.8 million in revenue between the years 2016 and 2018. On the other hand, the men’s stats are almost as impressive but not quite. The men’s soccer team in the United States have only been able to reach the round of 16, received only 24.7 million viewers in the 2014 Men’s World Cup, and generated over $49.9 million in revenue between 2016 and 2018. However, the skeleton in the closet is the fact that women are paid about 38% of what their male counterparts make.
Manar: A lot of people will make the argument that women don’t receive as many viewers or generate as much revenue for their games, and that is the sole reason why they aren’t paid as much. But obviously, from what you just explained, women are earning more but are simply not being given what they earn.
Santosh: Yup, and basically, in 2015, when America’s women’s national team won the world cup, they only received $2 million for the entire team. But in 2014, when the men’s team for the United States exited the world cup in the round of 16, they were granted $9 million for their whole team.
Olivia: So this means that men made more money for exiting the competition in the early stages than women earned for winning it.
Santosh: Exactly, the women’s team has to put in equal effort into the game but are not paid for their services fairly. According to Becky Sauerbrunn, in her interview with Hasan Minaj, if the women’s team wins a match, they are paid around $1,300 dollars whereas the men earn around $17,000. If the men’s team loses they make $5000 but the women’s team doesn’t get paid anything for losing a match. Such high wage differences would deter women from being part of United States soccer teams.
The idea of this issue is resonated in Gayatri Spivak’s, “Can The Subaltern Speak?”, in which she outlines that societal groups in power usually suppress the voices of the weak. This prevents them from sharing their stories and forces all of their stories to become a single story.
Manar: I totally can see how the root of the gender wage gap is based on her theory of the subaltern.
Santosh: Yeah, many people are exposed to the sole story that female sports are not very competitive or that they have very less viewership and therefore are prevented from enjoying the rewards they receive, i.e fair wages and a healthy winning bonus. However, as mentioned earlier, they are earning as much and more but aren’t being given access to their earnings. And this is why they have been silenced as the subalterns.
Olivia: It’s mind blowing that these disparities are still happening in 2021 behind closed doors.
Manar: I think so too, and actually, speaking of the suabltern, I did a little research on international cases that relate to Spivak’s concept and came across interesting findings in Saudi Arabia.
Santosh: Saudi Arabia? How could they possibly relate to the subaltern? I have heard some great things about Saudi Arabia. Don’t they have the most-profitable company in the world?
Olivia: Yeah, and isn’t the education in their country free?
Manar: Yes, these are all correct statements. But have you heard of the male guardianship system that runs the entire Saudi government?
Olivia: Nope, I haven’t.
Santosh: And neither have I.
Manar: Well, in simple terms, every Saudi woman must be legally assigned a MALE guardian. Even when the woman turns 18 or leaves the house, she must have a legal guardian. This male figure is her father until she marries a man at which point her husband becomes her guardian.
Olivia: Does this mean that they take care of her or what?
Manar: Not entirely. While Saudi women do look to their guardians for care because of cultural customs and preferences, the guardian system basically acts as a way to limit Saudi women’s freedoms. Saudi women can’t be recorded as the legal guardians for their children (while their husbands are), they can’t apply for passports on their own, can’t travel without a guardian, and cannot earn a paying job without the approval of their guardian. I just think, imagine if a woman wanted to work because she has a passion or simply wants to earn money, but her father or her husband don’t approve, then the woman cannot work. It’s the man’s way or no way.
Santosh: Wow.
Manar: Yeah, it’s truly shocking. And you know, in 2019, because of pressure from women’s rights activists around the world, the leaders of the Saudi government passed a few reforms designed to expand Saudi women’s freedoms. These reforms stated that Saudi women can travel without being accompanied by their guardian, they are protected them from work discrimination, and are allowed to make their own decisions about their bodies as they relate to pregnancy and birth.
Olivia: These reforms all sound progressive to me. Where does the role of the subalterns come in?
Manar: In order to understand how these women are being positioned as the subalterns, one can simply look at the newly passed reforms. Yes, on the surface, it looks as though the male guardian is being taken out of the picture. However, they all literally state that Saudi women are in need of a guardian. The only difference with the reforms is the fact that there are some tasks that women are now allowed to do on their own without the company or approval of their male guardian. But they still must have one legally. It’s as if women are incompetent on their own and must be accompanied by a male figure to perform even the simplest tasks.
Olivia: Oh, I understand.
Manar: These reforms are proof of positioning a group as the subalterns because it is obvious that the Saudi women were not involved in the conversation regarding the reforms. Like why, in 2021, does a woman need to be limited by a male figure or cared after by anyone but herself? And not only were the women excluded from the conversation, but they were silenced so as not to provide their input or show any disobedience to Saudi laws.
Santosh: I totally agree. We’re all exposed to the positive aspects of Saudi Arabia and are never taught about the systemic injustices that are happening as we speak.
Manar: Totally, and I think it’s our duty to become aware of these injustices now to help us counter them in the future.
Olivia: And on that positive note, it looks like we’re out of time. I’m Olivia.
Santosh: And I’m Santosh.
Manar: And I’m Manar.
Olivia: Thank you for tuning in, and we hope to have you next time on “Yo, is this sexist?”
Women are prone to face injustices in our society. Women had to fight for everything since the beginning of this country. Women fought for their basic rights such as voting rights; they face discrimination in almost every field such as access to education, wage structure in the workforce, representation in congress. A widespread issue is the rising wage gap between men and women. Women are discriminated in the workforce based on their gender and are paid less for their work than men for the same amount of work and effort. A prominent example of such incident was the lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation by the USWNT members who sought a fair wage structure for women and men athletes. Their lawsuit argues that women athletes are being paid much less than the male athletes for the same game they play. The lawsuit states that “the USSF has never offered female WNT players pay at least equal to the pay afforded to male MNT players”(Kaplan 2019). According to ESPN, the issue of women being underpaid due to their gender has also spilled into Hockey which spurred a controversy in 2017, when the US women’s hockey team threatened a boycott as a protest to support fair wages. Not only in sports, but such discrimination exists in other occupations as well. According to Business Insider, “As of 2018, a woman on average earned 81.6 cents for every dollar a man earns, and women’s median annual earnings are $9,766 less than men’s”(Wolfe 2019). The article claims that on combination of identities such as African American women, Latino women make less than white women and almost half of what white males earn for the same job. The widening wage gap is a huge issue to tackle as it will have serious implications in the growing society. For example, “In Louisiana, for instance, the gender pay gap is 31%, the largest wage gap in the nation”(Wolfe 2019). Widening wage gap and discrimination against women in the workforce is a symbolic expression that portrays a negative image that men are more important and valuable than women. Such negative and unethical ideology has the tendency to pass through children since they observe these vivid differences between men and women in our society. Not only the wage gap in the workforce, but women are vulnerable to harassment from colleagues in the place of employment. According to the United States EEOC’s report, “Of these charges, women filed 19,605, or 74.4 percent. The issues most frequently alleged in these charges were discharge, harassment, and sexual harassment”( Women in the American Workforce). Such incidents damage the psychological well-being of women and strike fear of being part of the workforce. To help women who are part of the workforce, congress should take steps to provide a safe working environment for women which treats everyone equally, pays wages fairly with no discrimination based on race or gender.
Kaplan, Emily. “U.S. Women’s Soccer Equal Pay Fight: What’s the Latest, and What’s next?” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 9 Nov. 2019, www.espn.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/27175927/us-women-soccer-equal-pay-fight-latest-next.
Wolfe, Lahle. Unequal Pay Is a Form Of Gender Discrimination. 27 Jan. 2019, www.thebalancecareers.com/gender-discrimination-in-the-workplace-3515145.
“Women in the American Workforce.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, www.eeoc.gov/special-report/women-american-workforce.
Child Separation came into the spotlight during former president Trump’s no tolerance policy to control the border migration crisis. Families crossing the southern border of the United States, were separated from their children. The children who are held back in the United States are subject to harmful psychological effects, which will stunt their physical & mental development. Parents are huge part of a child’s life; they provide care and love kids needs for their healthy development. Removing parents from the lives of children makes them vulnerable to psychological diseases such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, etc. Author Miller and her team state that, “separation form a family member was significantly related to children’s depression/anxiety symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms” (Miller et al.).
Not only the mental health effects, but children will be exposed to extreme emotional stress, where they will blame themselves as the reason that their parents left them as it was stated in The Leavers, where Deming was thinking that he was a good child, and that was the reason why his mother abandoned him. On the other hand, children may blame their parents for leaving them behind as reaffirmed by Sue Coyle who lectures that, “the child has been uncertain about what was happening—uncertain even of the mom—and has said things such as, ‘Why did you leave me?’ That is concerning because they are not sure why this happened and may be blaming the mom or the dad” (Coyle, 8). Such effects can cause children to become more insecure of their relationships with others, which will make it harder to function in society. As insecure children are more prone to bullying and other types of harassment.
Children who are very young that their brain is still not fully developed are also being separated at the border. Such young children need their parent’s constant care and support to ensure a healthy well-being. Separating parents from them will lead to dramatic effects as “children’s stress levels remain high during separation, which may lead to inflammation, genetic changes, and abnormal physiological functioning. Alterations in the brain caused by trauma may be irreparable, placing children at an increased risk for anxiety, depression, and substance abuse during adulthood ” (Riley). The psychological effects established by the mentioned studies coincides with Deming’s life as he also showed a lot of symptoms that define effects of trauma on his psychological development and the cause of his gambling addiction.
Works Cited
Coyle, Sue. “Children and Families Forum: The Impact of Immigrant Family Separation.” Social Work Today, 2019, www.socialworktoday.com/archive/SO18p8.shtml.
Ko, Lisa. The Leavers. Little, Brown, 2018.
Miller, Alexander, et al. “Understanding the Mental Health Consequences of Family Separation for Refugees: Implications for Policy and Practice.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, vol. 88, no. 1, 2018, pp. 26–37., doi:10.1037/ort0000272.
Riley, Hurley. “The Impact of Parent-Child Separation at the Border: The Pursuit: University of Michigan School of Public Health.” The Pursuit | University of Michigan School of Public Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 7 Sept. 2018, sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2018posts/family-separation-US-border.html.
