Victim-Blaming: A New Term for an Old Trend

Victim-blaming is a phenomenon that has been happening since at least the beginning of recorded history but has only recently been identified as a dynamic used to empower the criminal and maintain the status quo. Victim-blaming is perpetuated by sexism, the Just World Theory, cognitive biases, and the theories of self-blame. Victim-blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or abuse is held partly or entirely responsible for the actions committed against them. In other words, the victims are held accountable for the maltreatment they have been subjected to. Perpetrators of crimes for which they blame the victim commonly enjoy a privileged social status opposite the victim, and their blame typically involves use of stereotypical negative words

The Sexual Orientation and Gender Non-Discrimination Act

The United States is still not a safe place for members of the LGBT community, demonstrated by the lack of federal laws protecting them and frequent discrimination. Because discrimination against LGBT people is still legal in the work place, they are mistreated and put out of work. To ensure their safety and economic security, LGBT people need the protection that is granted to women, people of color, veterans, the disabled, and many other hard-working Americans. The Sexuality and Gender Non-Discrimination Act must be passed and enforced to give this protection to LGBT members by prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identities and expressions

Gender: An Infinite and Evolving Theory

Many perceive sex and gender to be the same concept or at least related to each other, but this is not the case. If they do perceive it as different concepts, it is usually understood simply as biological sex. For many people gender is part of daily routine and questioning it is absurd. In virtually all societies gender is defined by characteristics associated with one’s sex. This definition stems from the social construction of gender, meaning that gender is not based solely on physiological qualities. This paper explores the social construct of sex and gender

Gender Identity Disorder: An Unethical Diagnosis of Normal Human Diversity

Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is very unique among the other disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) because the treatment is used to confirm the alleged disordered belief (Ross 2009). All other disorders in the DSM-IV-TR are defined as the treatment altering the disordered belief and removing the symptoms, not reinforcing them as GID does (Ross 2009). This contradictory nature of the diagnosis has received lots of criticism from professionals over the years and many have offered alternatives