The world is divided between “us” and “them” when referring to men and women. When it comes to citizenship rights and duties of women it differs from different cultural backgrounds, religion, and race which make sense because certain backgrounds correlate between different believes but that raises the question of what if one doesn’t agree with the beliefs that their race or culture? Can they exclude themselves and be their own person, or will they always be placed into a category based on the way someone is. Setting the backgrounds aside gender will naturally always be divided into men and women no matter where they come from. I believe women were excluded from citizenship rights to make men seem more superior, that question is who created these rights because we can say for sure it wasn’t a group a females. Women are always separated more intricately then men, the idea that citizenship rights are part of a dualistic nature and separated them into two parts comes to no surprise. However, this dualistic nature has a lot to do with the rights, or lack thereof, for women. If women have a separate body of legislation claiming they have less rights then men they are clearly going to be looked at as inferior because they can’t contribute to political or social issues to the same extent. A man’s voice is louder than a woman’s because they are given the right to say more.
Collectivity and so called “appropriate behavior” makes me wonder who are the people forming and generating these ideas that people obey. I personally am Italian and Irish and am by no means am I religious, so what “community” am I in, I am probably classified as a Caucasian women but I’ve never been given appropriate sexual behaviors or certain gender duties. Sure I am expected to go to college and wait till marriage for sex but if I do not wish to follow these “appropriate behaviors” what community am I left with? For instance in the reading intermarriage is not of appropriate behavior, that takes away from the purity of the cultural. But once again if someone doesn’t agree with what they were taught their whole life they have the freedom to do as these please although they may be looked upon as inferior. Once you are among a community you are given roles. “Nationalism is a commitment to fostering those beliefs and promoting policies which permit the nation to control its own destiny.” After reading this I had a different perspective on communities and the roles that are accepted. A nation really wants to be able to be shaped by the past and share a common future that works for the people in control. The people with power are able to dictate what is right and what is wrong in order to have an outcome they desire whether the people agree or disagree. Allowing foreigners into the nation brings upon new ideas and diversity which sparked a light as to why intermarriage and different cultural were looked at as inferior because they seemed to be a threat to controlling the fate of a nation. Although I may be wrong, after completing the reading I was left thinking that men aren’t as powerful as they seem. Immigrants, foreigners, or women are all looked upon a less able or less intelligent because they are a threat to men or the people in power. The men are so used to having the control and more rights than the rest so reaching equality is perceived more as a threat than an important advancement nationwide. I understand being in power and then not having the control to spread the knowledge and way of life is a hard thing to just let go of. I know I am generally speaking because I know there are men fighting for equal rights but this so called control fate for the future is impossible. Giving the same rights to everyone and giving people of any background the option to coming to terms with their background will open up a new world, spark new ideas, and change the world for the better. Diversity is essential and having equal rights allowed for changes to be made.
