Definitions

Public and Private:

The more private the space, the more the rules that are made by the owners, and the space is private to the owners. Private space is important because humans need private spaces for their own mental health. We also need spaces with some protection.

Public space only exists to the extent that it is controlled as a common place by agreement. The rules that govern public space must be democratic, or else they are not truly public spaces. Public space is great to have because this allows society a place to get together and congregate. Public spaces are also great for those life forms that are at risk.

Power:

Power is the ability to direct or influence the behaviors of others. This could be political or national control, or even control over a small group.

Gender roles and the lack of power that women have in many traditional societies adversely affect the health of women in many ways. For example, many women lack power over their bodies and are seen merely for reproduction. Women are subject to dis-empowerment because of their societal standing and are restricted to making decisions.

Sexuality:

Sexuality is the habits and desires that a person may have. Gender plays a big role in sexuality. For example, men can see women as sexual objects. In many countries, women are still enslaved and get pressured into prostitution by sex-traffickers. This is a huge human right violation and the victim may suffer from severe physical and psychological consequences.

Although anyone can be at risk for sex trafficking, it predominately affects women and children.

Identity:

Identity is an individual’s sense of self. The many aspects of identity may include: Social Class, Race, and Gender.

Gender Identity is a person’s private sense of his or her own gender.

Discrimination:

Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.

In some countries, women are discriminated against because they are not allowed to be in public spaces without a veil covering their heads and faces, which is a sign of oppression.

Family:

Family is a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children that they are caretakers for.

In families, there is a social hierarchy because in most cases the parents have control over the children.

Work:

Work is the exertion or effort directed to produce something and is a form of labor. This is usually an activity that is considered productive and is usually one’s place of employment.

In work places, there is still a difference in the range of salaries made by women and men. A man and a woman could be doing the same job, but the man will ultimately make more than the woman because of how our society is constructed.

Power:

Power is the ability or right to control people or things, which can be based on both larger scales and smaller scales.

On the larger scale, power can be seen as political control over a country and on a smaller scale, power can be any person that has control or influence over other people or over an organization of some kind.

Work Cited

Geography 423 Lecture

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.