Battle Of The Sexes In Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”

It is fascinating that a dramatic narrative can create such a strong representation of a person through words alone, determining their social class, their gender, their relationships and even their intelligence. â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  by the respected dramatist William Shakespeare explores the shallowness, the naivety and the innocence of human beings through the characters of Hero and Claudio, the two protagonists who dominate our generation today. However through the seemingly minor characters of Don John and Don Pedro, a contrasting analysis may be made of how someone’s actions can affect others and through comparing the relationship of Claudio and Hero with that of Beatrice and Benedick we understand how differences in experience, maturity and conformity can seriously affect a relationship. Count Claudio, the leading male in â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  is an impulsive, handsome, young man, who initially gives us the impression that he will make the ideal husband. However we soon learn that in that traditional, militaristic ideology of feudal aristocracy, male comradeship is much more important than really loving a female. Claudio is insecure and wanting as a lover, forcing us to question whether underneath his flawless brilliance there really is the heroic soldier that we hear about in the opening scene. Leonato describes him as an honourable soldier: â€Å"I find here that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honour on a young Florentine called Claudio† and we understand that this boy is some sort of patriotic symbol to the Messinian community, but we as an audience never see him fight or even show the bravery for which he is renown and for this reason we are compelled to believe that he really is just another naive adolescent in love with an idealistic idea of militarism. Shakespeare deliberately emphasises Claudio’s badge of youth, particularly when his brotherhood are brought to tears by Claudio fighting the war â€Å"in the figure of the lamb, the feats of a lion† and he is referred to as a â€Å"boy† six times and as â€Å"young† on four occasions by his seniors. However despite his youth, Claudio succeeds on Messinian terms and thus secures for himself glorification based on reports of his bravery and heroism. So it is no surprise that included in Claudio’s noble vision for himself is a trophy wife worthy enough to enhance his image and it is through this vision that we are introduced to the beautiful and romantic Hero who suits all of Claudio’s love ideals. In the first scene Claudio admits that â€Å"she is the sweetest lady that e’er I looked on†, which immediately makes us question whether his love is merely based upon an adolescent idea of attraction, as this young man has spotted a woman of beauty and suddenly is announcing his deep love for her and his willingness to cement this ‘love’ in marriage. Elizabethan audiences would see nothing strange in his enquiring after Hero’s inheritance before he takes the blushing Hero’s hand in marriage, but from a modern perspective we find this gauche, although comparison with the high profile relationships of celebrities today who profit economically from advantageous marriages are proof that money based relationships still very much drive notions of love. Claudio is the typical Elizabethan romantic, beguiled into notions of chivalry by society’s stereotypical view of males as creatures honourable and confident and easily enticed into romantic love through the perceived honour of being loved by a beautiful woman, so we can conclude that it is nothing less than the converse of courtly idealisation which characterises Claudio’s attachment to Hero. However it is not just notions of courtly honour which undermine this relationship. Our precious Claudio also fails because his personality is underpinned by a shyness which ultimately leaves him unable to express his feelings, clearly evident when Don John slyly dupes Claudio into believing that Don Pedro is in love with Hero and the reticent Claudio says nothing but chooses to suffer in silence. This shyness makes him appear to be an innocent, sweet lover but the truth is very different. When we witness Claudio’s mistrust after he has believed the rumour spread by Don John, â€Å"I come hither to tell you, as circumstances shortened, the lady is disloyal†, we see Claudio as the inadequate, adolescent he really is. His mistrust in the faithfulness of Hero and his behaviour the following day when he embarrassingly and cruelly rejects her in front of the entire community on their wedding day, because he thinks she is not pure and has betrayed him, in turn degrades his perfect social image making him callous and shallow. It is completely unacceptable for Claudio to humiliate Hero in this way and if Claudio had sincerely loved her he would have at least spoken to her privately or treated her in a more respectful manner which again highlights the flaws in this relationship built as it is upon youthful innocence rather than intellect and conversation. Although in the early 1600’s the idea of being â€Å"pure† was interpreted as having your virginity until your wedding night and an unchaste bride was considered a worthless thing, it was still far more natural for the aristocratic warrior to defend his own honour than to invest any real trust and commitment into the keeping of a woman’s. Interestingly, when Claudio finds out Hero is supposedly ‘dead’ from false accusations, he desires her even more and quickly accepts marriage with her ‘cousin. Claudio’s willingness to acquiesce to Leonato’s demand to marry this cousin seems crass and shallow and negates the undying love he once stated he had for Hero. When Claudio discovers that Hero is not actually â€Å"dead† they reunite and Hero herself certainly seems to have no compunction in reuniting herself with the man who publicly humiliated and abandoned her on the basis of malicious gossip and a contrived conception, which fo rces us to examine her motives. So who is Hero, this woman who has so completely captivated Claudio? Hero is the daughter of Leonato, the Governor of Messina and his push for her marriage to Claudio is a calculated attempt to improve his social profile. Hero is a woman who barely speaks in public but amongst her female company she displays a keen and flexible wit. When faced with men her reserved and restrained nature signifies both her innocence and the superior market value she holds. Her youth, her wealth and her social position all contribute to her aloofness. In typical Elizabethan society women were marginalised and tightly circumscribed into the categories of wife and breeder (to be protected) or the whore (to be discarded). Initially Hero seems to possess the qualities required for the successful advancement of a soldier’s career, being self possessed and silent. However as with Claudio, Hero’s youth and innocence is her downfall. She is shy, differential and rendered totally defenceless against Claudio’s public humiliation and false accusations of her fidelity at the altar on her wedding day and it is here that we see Hero’s shyness as a real weakness, as she stands there speechless, unable and unwilling to prove her innocence and we feel frustration at her passivity and wish she had more of the spunky Beatrice’s poise and confidence. Claudio’s accusation of disloyalty is made more heartfelt because of Hero’s prior prophetic comments on love â€Å"some Cupid kills with arrows, others with traps. † We know how important chastity is to Hero when on the night before her wedding she confesses to Margaret â€Å"my heart is exceedingly heavy† as the prospect of losing her virginity confronts her. The idea of impurity before marriage was inconceivable for any respectable woman in the Elizabethan era and Hero’s innocence is poignantly captured as we see her view her wedding night with both fear and trepidation. Hero embodies the enormous pressure placed on the women of Messina to conform to the male ideal. In Elizabethan times, a woman like Hero submitted herself to her man and rarely retained a voice for herself, but Hero’s willingness to marry Claudio after he has disgraced her is problematic. Her fidelity to an unworthy man who vindicates himself in terms of the male code of honour is disappointing as she condemns herself to a life shared with an untrusting lover. She herself says â€Å"And as surely as I live, I am a maid,† and true to her role as a conventional, romantic heroine, she is exemplary in her patience and forgiveness. The relationship that Hero has with Claudio is your typical ‘Twilight’ romance and markedly different to the one Beatrice shares with Benedick and it is through comparing these two young couples that we gain a deeper understanding of the battle that individuals have within the bounds of society to be themselves. Claudio and Hero’s relationship provides the spine of the play and presents the ideal of beauty, love, reconciliation and sexual attraction prevalent during Elizabethan times, a relationship that is no different to the typical high school relationships of today. Hero and Claudio seem to be at ease with indirect ways of communicating through their friends, just as today’s relationships communicate through means of cyberspace. Facebook, email and text messaging are all chosen over face to face confrontation. However Beatrice and Benedick’s relationship is founded on very different terms. From their first appearance the audience is aware of an excess of feeling between these two that testifies to anything but indifference. These lovers, who have previously fallen out of love, are now determined to confront each other at every possible opportunity as they publicly deny their love for one another and we realise that the distrust that defaces this relationship must somehow be cancelled out if they are to ever accept their love for one another. Both vow they will never marry, but once deceived into admitting the truth about their love for each other, they quickly come together in a truce, determined to love each other for who they are, as individuals, proving that if the magnetic fields of attraction and repulsion are somehow reversed love will surely be the eventual result. A popular misconception about language is the idea that words have innate qualities, but when Beatrice and Benedick eventually declare their love for one another they find themselves stumbling round to find the right words, whilst their words came trippingly when they were hurling insults back and forth between each other as a way of covering up their true feelings of affection. The merry war which exists between Beatrice and Benedick is a rivalry which is not exactly hostile because it is filled with wit and romance. In contrast with the ‘bashful sincerity and comely love† which exists between Claudio and Hero, based on first impressions, wealth and ignorance, Beatrice and Benedick’s love is affectionate and colourful, yet difficult to interpret amongst their playful poetry, covered as it is with a seemingly strong distaste for each other. However when their commitment towards each other is tested through Beatrice’s two seemingly simple words, ‘Kill Claudio’, we see Benedick reluctantly agree to throw away his antagonistic values of war and male camaraderie for love and chivalric respect for a female. By comparison, Hero and Claudio’s love is distant and removed and although playful lacks the humour and suspense that Beatrice and Benedick share. However as Beatrice and Benedick discover, no relationship can be defined through words, suggesting that true love has its own uniqueness in the context of lovers. Shakespeare shows us through these contrasting relationships that ‘love’ can be expressed in many differing ways and that the consequences of love can even mean death. Furthermore, the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick is contrasted with Claudio and Hero’s to illustrate the themes of deception versus reality. Beatrice and Benedick claim that they have no feelings for one another whatsoever, while Hero and Claudio blatantly declare their love for one another without exchanging a single word. Benedick makes the claim that he â€Å"is loves of all ladies.. ut truly [he] loves none,† whereas Beatrice claims that she would rather â€Å"hear a dog bark at a crow than hear a man swear he loves her. † Although Benedick purports to be uninterested in the opposite sex, through Don Pedro’s clever plan of deception, careful conversations are cleverly staged so that Benedick hears Don Pedro and Claudio talking about the â€Å"undying love† that Beatrice has for him. Similarly, when Beatrice overhears her kinswomen reading a sonnet which Benedick has written for her, she too quickly acquiesces. This gossip, fictitious as it is, is helpful in solving the tension their friends have sensed exists between them and when both Benedick and Beatrice hear these fabricated â€Å"facts† that â€Å"t’were true†, their bottled up affection for each other is unleashed, and by the end of the play they are committed to the idea of marriage. Beatrice and Benedick are unconventional for their time. Beatrice is overpowering and slightly masculine in her ways, an unusual trait at a time when women were meant to be passive and submit to their husband’s will. However the asexual Beatrice’s seemingly unfavourable social position gives her a freedom the other characters cannot enjoy. Likewise, Benedick, too, is free to shed his suit of honour in order to fulfil his preposterous mission to prove his love and it is precisely because Benedick is unconcerned about dismantling his social standing that he is free to love unconditionally. But what is the relevance of the brothers and how do they affect both the relationships of Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero. These brothers, Don John and Don Pedro, are pivotal to the climax of the play where we witness Hero’s humiliation and rejection. Don John and Don Pedro’s relationship is based on jealousy and shows us the depths that rejection can lead us into and how the actions of one person, can significantly change the outcome of a relationship, particularly when that relationship is based on superficial qualities. Don Pedro is the most elusive and seemingly noble character in the social hierarchy of the play and his friends, Claudio in particular, must defer to him as their positions depend on his favour. Don Pedro has power, an attribute he is well aware of and whether or not he abuses this power is a matter of opinion. For instance, he insists on wooing Hero for Claudio, while masked, rather than allowing Claudio to profess his love to Hero himself, and although everything turns out for the best, Don Pedro’s motives are purely in the interest of his friend, we are left wondering why Don Pedro feels the need for such an elaborate way of informing Hero of Claudio’s romantic interest. Although it is Don Pedro’s royal prerogative to do exactly as he wishes and no one can question him, despite his cloudy motives he does work to bring about happiness for everyone and it is his idea to convince Beatrice and Benedick to admit their love for each other. It is Don Pedro who brings the two competitors together as he orchestrates the deception and plays the role of director in this comedy of wit and manners. Contrastingly, his brother, the bastard villain Don John, also orchestrates a deception, Hero’s denunciation, but here he is using power for nefarious purposes. Through the concept of static villainy, Don John is conveniently portrayed as the ‘author of all’ and thus becomes the scapegoat for a society looking to free themselves of the guilt and drama that â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  personifies. By only blaming Don John, Claudio, the Prince, and Don Pedro are exonerated and Hero’s humiliation, which destroyed her reputation without hard proof of her infidelity, is blamed on Don John’s villainous deception. So in reality the whole purpose of Don John’s character is to have somebody to blame for everyone else’s mistakes, because nearly all the characters in â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  play some role in the climatic rejection of Hero at the altar. In â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬ , whether it be Claudio the misunderstood returned war romantic, Hero the innocent and wrongly accused wife-to-be, Beatrice and Benedick, the witty yet confused couple or Don Pedro and Don John, the conflicting brothers, Shakespeare has cleverly crafted these characters in such a way that we can relate them to our own lives and it is our identifying with these characters that allows us to fully understand their motives and reasoning. When this play is analysed it is obvious that in â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬ , it is difficult to think beyond the aristocratic code of honour, complicated as it is by conflicting ideas of love and that if the battle between the sexes is ever to be resolved the key lies within each of us if only we are brave enough to love as individuals.

Our Nightlife: Difference Between Europe and Hong Kong Essay

Introduction Student life is considered as one of the major steps in life. It is the time when young people start enjoying their autonomy and experience a lot a various activities. In Europe, going out at night is seen as a must do, an actual part of the whole student life and a sign of being a grown-up also. When I came to Hong Kong, a very dynamic, western-rooted city, I would have thought I would find the same spirit and same drinking culture. I was wrong. In the streets surrounding the â€Å"party areas† I almost only got to meet some exchange students or young expats staying here for a short period of time and basically taking the most of Hong Kong nightlife. What about the local crowd? Is it just invisible? Not interested in going to these areas? What about bars and cafà ©s? In Europe, in every corner of a street you can find a cafà © or bar where you can chill easily with your friends until 1 am and more. Here I could not find such places and I don’t see much group of friends hanging out together at night. Furthermore, some historians think that cafà ©s and â€Å"public sphere† were places where men could escape their role as the Church’s or a sovereign’s subjects, and exercise and exchange their own opinions and ideas. They say that nocturnal sociability and volubility accelerated Enlightenment thinking. So even though it might have a bad image sometimes, nightlife is still an important moment of social interaction and can also contribute to major evolutions in our societies. Thus, when the time came to define our topic for Contemporary Europe and Asia, I was really curious to talk about this particularity with the members of our group. During our discussion we found out that Europeans and Locals really did not have the same way of spending time with their friends and that the rules of social interactions were completely different. That is why we decided to focus on how the nightlife is organized among the youth in Europe and in Hong Kong and what are the implications behind these two different ways of life. [By Claire Couturier] What we do at night Partying as a majority in Europe In Europe, most of the students and youngsters go out at night in order to spend some time with their friends. We can list three different places where the European youth likes to go during the night time. Alcoholic Activities A. Bars In Europe bars and cafà ©s are very common places Craig Koslofsky, author of Evenings Empire: a History of the night in early Modern Europe, says, the elite shifted their bed time between 1500 to 1700, starting to go to bed at early hours in the morning. Cafà ©s and bars changed their opening hours till late at that time. Thus, going out to a cafà © or a bar is something very traditional in Europe. The main purpose of this kind of gathering is to share a nice moment with some people in a neural but casual atmosphere. Usually students would get a beer at the end of their day of class or later. It is a time for the participant to share their thoughts and lives around a drink. These kinds of talks are usually facilitated by subdued lighting and comfortable seats. Bars are also a gathering point for sport teams who are usually really eager to share beers in a pub for the â€Å"third half† after a match or simply after training. Sitting in a cafà © or a bar should be then seen as the extension of the daily social interactions: people would go to a bar with their acquaintances and usually stick with them. It is not really a time to meet a lot of different people. The accent is set on the sharing of a moment of joy between a somewhat close small group of people that is why bars and cafà © usually close down before 2 in the morning. Thus, consumers in bars are not seeking drunkenness in the first place. However this tend to change a bit with the appearance of themed bars, to be found mostly in big cities: the whole place is decorated with a common theme and the names of the cocktails served would also be related a specific universe. In these places, people will be more attracted by the ludic side of the bars rather than just the idea of spending time with the people they cherish. With the ludic background such as drinking in baby’s bottle, for example, consumers will be more disposed to get drunk. These themed bars would usually close down later, by 3 or sometimes 4 in the morning. B. Clubs Clubbing is an important side of the European nightlife. Dancing has always been, throughout the centuries a way to express oneself and to carry social conventions and values into one’s move. Clubs in Europe have a very wide range of music styles, reflect of a wide range of lifestyles. The main purpose of going clubbing is obviously to go dancing but it provides also one of the best opportunities to meet some new people. Clubbing is also the main field of seduction, while girls would rather go to clubs to dance, most boys go there intending to meet some girls. Alcohol is everywhere in clubs, it is the main drive to des-inhibition and clubs do not hesitate to make profit with it. Indeed, several hundreds of people confined in one room dancing leads to a need of hydration. The prices are usually extremely high and that’s the reason why most of people do not go clubbing so often, in order to save some money. Another the solution which tends to become common is the practice of pre drinks. People gather in other places like houses or bars before going to a club. They drink for cheap and reach the clubs at an advanced state of inebriation so they will not have to drink once inside to enjoy the effects of alcohol. Going to a club is one of the most tiring kind of nightlife since, in Europe, most of the clubs remain empty until half past midnight or one in the morning. Then, we would spend at least 2 or 3 hours dancing, (some also stay till the closing, usually around 5 in the morning) which requires a long time for the body to recover the day after. C. House parties One of the cheapest ways to go out in Europe is to set a party in a house. In the early stages of childhood, starting from primary schools, parents use to celebrate their children birthday while organizing small parties with music, drinks and candies in the late afternoon. These parties would not last for more than two of three hours but it can definitely be seen as the entry in social nightlife. This tradition of house parties would then continue throughout the years and then start and finish later. In high school, parents will sometimes spend one night at some friends’ houses and give their children carte blanche to set the party. It can somehow be seen as the heritage of the receptions held by the high society some centuries ago as they are entertaining and social events. Guests at parties are different from the people you go to bars or clubs with because they are many risks of material damages caused to belongings. The closest friends would be invited in the first place and will be allowed to bring some other guests, it is some kind of transmitted trust towards the respect of the host of the event. The average number of guest depends of the available space but would usually be around 20 to 30 people. The purpose of the house parties is to create a mix between going to a bar and going to club. Indeed, in the house, it is possible to divide the space. Thus, some people might be more interested in dancing while some other would rather go to more friendly rooms where they can chat all together. There is also no closing hour, the party will die by itself when people get tired or when the host kindly ask people to leave. The main advantage of this kind of party is that it is a big, safe and free space but the disadvantage is the possible nuisances for the neighborhood and, regarding the host, the need to clean the place afterwards. Thus, hosts and houses tend to change regularly. [By Claire Couturier] Local Style: Partying as a Minority In Hong Kong, there is a saying about this city – it never sleeps. The nightlife seems to be attractive, but how about to us, as the youngsters in this society, who are just qualified to be called as adults, just can yell at the parents â€Å"I am not a kid anymore†? In fact, for youngsters in Hong Kong, the night-time activities would still be non-alcoholic oriented. When choosing the kind of activities we hope to spend our night, the factors affecting our choices would be the cost of it and how much fun can we have from it, also we would be influenced by the social values, how other perceive it Non-alcoholic Activities For Hong Kong young people, drinking alcohol is not a norm. Therefore, comparing to European style of Nightlife, there are much more varieties of non-alcoholic nightlife. A. Hall Activities Young people in Hong Kong like to feel the sense of belonging. University students devote ourselves into group activities like becoming the committee of the interest clubs or academic societies. For nightlife, we would dedicate to collective activities at hall, such as small gathering in common room or evening out with â€Å"floor-mates†. The bonding with â€Å"hall-mates† or â€Å"floor-mates† is precious and built from the start of the hall life. When we first moved into hall, the hall tutor will take everyone out to have a dinner together, giving an opportunity for everyone to meet each other. Then we would have a floor meeting, deciding the name of the floor, even a name for each room. As the member of the hall, we are told that we should enjoy being a part of it by participating hall activities actively, so as to enjoy hall life to its fullest. With this environment, the bonding between hall-mates is strong, and generally many students living in the hall are willing to take part in the collective activities. This willingness can be best illustrated in their priority. There are lots of hall activities every year in HKBU, such as the floor decoration contest, where every floor will choose a theme of decoration and judges will examine the decoration with its appearance, embodiment of hall spirit and the â€Å"warmness† the decoration constructs. Usually, the students will spend whole night help decorating, even sacrifice their sleeping time and study time. The time devoted show their passion with group activities. Apart from contests, their hall life is about group activities. The boys love to gather a big group of people to play video games till morning, then they will call for take-out from McDonalds’ and have breakfast together. For girls, it would be more about late night chats and cooking late night snack together in the common room. All in all, for most of their time in hall, they will not spend time in their own room but hang out with others in the common room, unless they have to rush their homework. Some might think that living in the hall means the independency and seek of freedom of the youngsters, yet, the local hall life shows that local youngsters prefer group activities, they basically shifted their dependence from their own families to the â€Å"hall family†. B. Karaoke Another night activity would be singing karaoke. This activity in fact is not very expensive. The owl period, meaning about 12am to 5am, costs around $100 to $200 per person, is avoidable to the youngsters. Besides, it is not about singing, but more about having fun with friends. Most scenarios would be dancing and jumping on the couch singing the old-school songs, or the big hits with rhythm. With close friends in a private room, we would not mind to shake our bodies off and sing to the lame songs. After all, it is about having fun with friends. In the past, karaoke is related to alcohol, drugs and prostitutes. The older generations would regard karaoke sites as forbidden places, youngsters who go there were often treated as bad boys and girls. Nowadays karaoke sites are irrelevant to criminal activities, youngsters go there purely want to sing and have fun with friends. C. Mahjong Although Mahjong is not so common among youngsters, it is still a popular late night activities. For young people, they usually play it after examinations or just a Friday. It aims to celebrate and play until use up all their strength. As it requires four people to play Mahjong, it is more a socializing tool. Because the players have to take turns to play, they can chat while playing. Sometimes, they will play it with small-amount gambling, added it with excitement. Some will count marks upon the rounds, the one losing the most might need to pay for the breakfast. For them, playing is not just about relax, but also about bonding and having fun together. For non-alcoholic nightlife, there are still various ways of having fun with friends in Hong Kong. To young people in Hong Kong, there is no more fun than sharing fun with a large group of people. Hall activities can best illustrate the collective fun that the young people treasure. Alcohol is not a must in facilitating the discussion among friends or driving the good mood. Without alcohol, they can seek more fun by playing games like Mahjong. [By Rem Man Hou Sum] Hong Kong: Alcoholic Activities Hong Kong has a fabulous scene of nightlife, which is frequently used to depict the modern and international image of Hong Kong. However, in fact, unlike what we see in Europe, people who adopt an alcoholic lifestyle frequently are not the majority. And people who go partying is even a small minority. For those who would fancy alcoholic drinks late night, they would usually go to the following areas where the bars are usually located. They include: Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Lan Kwai Fong and Causeway Bay. A. Bars in Hong Kong There are quite a variety of bars in Hong Kong. Some are operated like the European style, and charge customers according to the drinks they order. The price is comparable to that in Europe, and people can get a drink, relax and spend time chatting with friends. Some are operated in a local style, where drinks are relatively cheaper and customers can drink relatively more. Instead of just chatting or listening to live lounge music (as in some jazz lounge bars), people can play dices and drinking games, and getting drunk is relatively easier this way. Karaoke is an activity close to the hearts of many Hong Kong people. Karaoke bars are venues for people looking for a combination of good drinks deals, some casual singing, playing dices and darts. The idea that getting at least slightly drunk is a must for one to get up and sing in a high mood is seen among Asian Karaoke culture like Taiwan and Hong Kong. Drinks in karaoke come in a big lot at a rather cheap price (compared with the same amount one orders in a bar or club) of around $120 – $150 per set, each set carrying half a dozen bottles. That’s why karaoke bars offer a good alternative for people who want to drink the night away. Recently, shisha bars are popping up here and there in Hong Kong. Shisha is a kind of water pipe to smoke flavoured tobacco. The smoke would go through the water in the basin before you inhale. It is a new trend followed by quite a number of young people because of a few reasons. First, the perception that smoking shisha is better than smoking cigarettes. Because shisha inhalation does not have the harshness as cigarettes, many think that it is â€Å"healthier† than the latter though in fact in an hour of shisha session one would actually have consumed more than 100 times the volume of cigarette smoke. Second, the fruity flavours of shisha (for example, grapes, watermelon and apple) also make it easily accepted by people. Third, like many other trendy behaviours and culture, the motivation of smoking shisha is the desire to be seen and to see, especially for young people – while it makes others perceive you as hip and cool, it also opens the young to brand-new things that they have never seen, which would broaden their horizons. There is also something interesting to note regarding these newly popular shisha bars in Hong Kong – the spending is not cheap. A shisha pipe can be consumed alone, or shared by up to three to four people, and each pipe costs from $150 (Sahara Bar in Central) to $280 (Beirut Bar in Central), depending on where the shisha bar is located. B. Clubs Similar to bars, there are different kinds of clubs in Hong Kong. They can be categorized into three types: clubs with a foreign crowd as opposed to clubs with a local crowd, and clubs with a celebrities or tycoons crowd. For the first, visitors are mostly foreigners (including expatriates and tourists) or local people with their foreign friends. They attract foreign tourists the most. Examples would be Fly in Central. For the second, visitors are, obviously, mostly local people, and they always charge entrance fee for men, and ladies also have to pay a lot during festivals or special events. Examples would be Beijing Club or Billion Club. For the third, it has a strict code of entrance and people there all dress up to impress others. Examples would be the Dragon-I. There are something similar among these types of clubs though – for example, they all play electronic dance music which has an American origin and western pop music are remixed by disc jockeys, both of them are the key elements in nightclubs. Also, they are mostly located in the heart of Hong Kong nightlife area – Lan Kwai Fong. C. Exploring the Nightlife Spot – Lan Kwai Fong Lan Kwai Fong is a small square of streets filled with expatriates who go visit there for drinking, clubbing and dining. It is also the beating centre of nightlife in Hong Kong. Food and drinks in Lan Kwai Fong are generally considered more upmarket both in their price and quality. All in all, it is a spot where you cannot distinguish the East from the West. First, westerners are seen everywhere in the area – not only the visitors, but the people who serve there. Second, many of the local people who visit there dress up and behave like western people – speaking in English in a group of local friends is a good example of such behavior; and look at the ladies who go clubbing, they do not wear a cheongsam, they wear party dresses that look very similar to those one can get in Europe. We might as well look at the history and development of Lan Kwai Fong briefly to understand how it has become the most renowned spots for nightlife. In 1980s, Allan Zeman, the current Chairman of the Hong Kong Ocean Park Corporation, contributed a lot in developing Lan Kwai Fong, and thus later has been known as the Father of Lan Kwai Fong. He bought numerous properties in that area, founded the Lan Kwai Fong Group, and aspired to develop it into a world-class entertainment destination (Lan Kwai Fong Group, 2012). These two years, massive constructions and reconstructions are seen in Lan Kwai Fong. Interestingly, the Father of Lan Kwai Fong, is a Canadian who was born in Germany. Instead of developing it to become an area which carries Hong Kong cultural elements, he strived to make it an area full of foreign bars, clubs, and restaurants. These places employ waiters, waitresses, bar tenders and bouncers who are required to speak English most of the time. [By Priscilla Yuen Pui Yu] Chapter 2 Implications and Analysis Why would the choices of two sides be so different? What background factors influence our choices? What values do we reflect upon our choices? In the following chapter, these questions will be answered under the aspects of cultural difference, income difference and soft power. Cultural Difference From the difference of nightlife mentioned before, it is clearly that sense of collectivism and individualism ruling the two places respectively. And more obvious is that the perception toward alcohol is different between Europe and Hong Kong. At the same time, stereotypes in Hong Kong did define what is good and wrong, limiting the youngsters from entering the clubs or bars. Due to the patriarchy in traditional Chinese society, the parental control is still strong in Hong Kong. Asides from these, the motto of Europeans and Hong Kong people would be distinct from each other. A. Collectivism versus Individualism European societies are based upon the model of individualism. The History has always set the example of powerful men and European people struggled for their own liberations. In the European minds, still nowadays highly influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment and then confirmed in their beliefs by the attachment to the so-called â€Å"Free-world†, it is always a good thing to escape from pre-constructed ideologies and mentalities, to step out from the social background pre-established before our birth. European peoples tend to live in constant revolutionary process. One of the latest revolutions could be the sexual revolution during the late 60s when women gained more autonomy and the youth claimed the right to enjoy themselves away from the diktats of the society. These values still have a powerful influence among the youngsters nowadays who have been raised by the children of the sexual revolution generation. Thus, individualism and claimed differences are the symbols of a healthy youth, the driving forces of a constant questioning of society that can then be transformed but not perish. European teenagers are consequently completely fed by this spirit and act in consequence. And going out is all about taking care of one self in an environment that can be sometime hostile, to fight against their fears : The darkness has always evoked danger to mankind, evolving into it is then a sign of bravery and independence. Thus, individualism is one of the reasons that explain why European youngsters like to go out at night. It matches the vales incorporated in their early education. If it is individualism behind European societies, then Hong Kong society is based upon the model of collectivism. Local young people are more group oriented. They would love to do things together. From the example of hall activities, it is obvious that they love the sense of belonging and they are willing to sacrifice their time and strength just to have fun with others. They know better with the concept of â€Å"the more the merrier†, especially with their private time where Europeans would rather hang out with friends, while local students prefer to hang out with hall-mates. The truth behind the passion toward group activities is that the importance of family is deeply rooted in Hong Kong people’s mind. With the influence of traditional Chinese thinking, they are taught that they should keep a good relationship with family members and family interest is always the top priority, even higher than your own. Also, independency is not a criterion when raising a child. Hong Kong families build trust between parents and kids by dependency, while European families would build trust upon mutual respect. Consequently, Hong Kong youngsters are relatively more dependent, and this can be reflected upon their passion toward hall life. When they leave home for hall life, they swift their dependency from the families to the hall-mates. If they praise the hall life, their comments are often associated with resemblance of â€Å"living at home†. Hong Kong youngsters feel more secure in the groups, they are afraid of being special. They act with herb behavior that they will follow what the majority of the group wants. The contradiction here is that they would want to be a bit different from the others, but all in all they are following the same trend. This can be seen in the field of fashion. They would want to be the first group of people who wear a different style of clothes, however, not the very first one as it would seem awkward. This kind of mentality shows that they lack of individualism in their spirit and they are sensitive to others’ perception and judgment. As a result, they follow the trend and feel secure. Two different kinds of mentalities shape different choices. Individualism leads the Europeans to act on their own, while Collectivism leads Hong Kong people to rely on their group. B. Image of Alcohol As we have said in earlier parts of our work, the European nightlife is mainly organized around alcohol. Alcohol in western societies is a long lasting tradition in society. From the Kings to the peasants, since the early ages of the civilization and throughout history, every single human being had access to alcohol. It is a social legacy and the drinking culture is deeply rooted in our contemporary societies. This means that alcohol actually punctuates every step of life. Young children will be accustomed to alcohol in the early stages of their life, in every social event they will attend. Alcohol is a symbol of celebration, it is then related to joy and happiness and reminds of pleasant moments. This is usually embodied by champagne which is always taken out in case of a big celebration such as birthdays, new year or weddings. Alcohol then carries a lot of positive values does not set off aversion. For example, as young children, teenagers will often be offered a sip in the glass of their parents so they can actually be part of the celebration. That is why, youngsters start drinking pretty early, by the age of 17, 80% of the French teenagers have already drunk alcohol and 49.3% admit they have been drunk in the past year. Moreover, alcohol is known for its dis-inhibition effect, students seek alcohol in order to get rid of their reserve and be able to act differently from how they would have acted while being sober. This â€Å"enhanced† behavior can be valued by the peers and could also explain why alcohol is so important in European nightlife. It is also important to note that in most European countries, alcohol is really easy to reach, we can find it easily and for quite cheap in supermarkets and even though there are some restrictive laws, sellers are usually compliant and do not hesitate to let the underage buy alcohol. There is a general irresponsibility about alcohol. For Hong Kong, the image of alcohol is not related to joy and happiness, but rather dangerous and negative. While Europeans focus on the joy they have during drinking, we think about the consequences of being drunk. This mindset in fact is constituted by the society, where government propaganda may stress on its problem and the social perception on alcohol is always bad on youngsters. There is a survey which is done by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups in 2009, asking the students aged 13 to 18 whether they regard drinking alcohol under festive atmosphere as acceptable. The results show that more than half of the respondents disagree that behavior is acceptable. This shows the value of the society – alcohol is bad. Drinking alcohol is a right to men, excluding youngsters and women. Girls who are good drinkers may be treated as bad girls in the past. As the society has promoted equality between male and female, we would not regard good female drinkers as bad, but we would still refer their behavior as manly. As the attitude towards alcohol is so different in Hong Kong and Europe, no wonder why Europeans have various night time activities with alcohol, while Hong Kong people have those without alcohol. C. Image on party girls/ boys Being a party boy or a party girl is usually assimilated with being cool. Party people usually carry the image of being nonchalant and careless. They seem to be set free. Party people also go out with many other party people that they meet in different places. That is why they appear to be always surrounded by fancy people and never left behind. The image they reflect is that of social accomplishment and carefreeness. As mentioned before, alcohol and going out are also symbols of celebration: they convey all these positive values of joy and shared happiness. However, in Hong Kong, where traditional value still matters, the older generations would regard partying as a bad thing. As in line with the image of karaoke sites, clubs and bars are associated with sex, drugs and criminal activities in the conservative thinking. This concept influences youngsters, especially with the girls. They would call the partying girls as â€Å"wet-mui† in the past, imposing a negative label on them. Due to such a negative impression on partying, young people seldom go to bars or clubs. D. Parental Control As mentioned before, parent’s control over their children tend to loosen years after years. Teenagers can enjoy a more and more early emancipation. Parents also have to face the pressure of their children. Indeed, as mentioned before, teenagers in Europe are raised to constantly experience by themselves because they can enjoy a wide freedom. But in school, they always need to compare to their peers and the latter will not hesitate to chime in. Parents would then be tempted to loosen the strings that attach them to their children in order to promote and realize the self-expression of their offspring. The hurdle is definitely passed when young Europeans enter University. This usually comes along with the majority and thus the official right to drink any kind of alcohol. Parents then think that their children reached a stage of maturity. For example, a French proverb says â€Å"maintenant tu es majeur et vaccinà ©Ã¢â‚¬ , it would be literally translated as â€Å"now you reached majority and you are also vaccinated†. This means that they completed their duty as parents: to bring up a healthy kid to give him or her all options for the future. It is now up to the teenager to decide for him or herself. Moreover, large parts of student also leave their parent’s house to live in private housing or in student residences. There, they can experience their own autonomy and decide for themselves what they want to do at night. This comes together with the idea that we should learn from our mistakes. For young people in Hong Kong, it is not usual for them to decide for themselves. As mentioned in the part of collectivism, â€Å"family interest is always the top priority†, our own pleasure is neglected in such sense. Our decisions are always made by our parents, what we feel is just not important, as they will decide for our own good. We have to fulfill parents’ expectation in life, therefore, they will decide a path for us to fulfill. Apart from fulfilling family expectation, the parents would think that they are wise enough to help you decide on things. There is a saying that is frequently spoke by parents, â€Å"What do you know, you child!† It reveals the hierarchic style of parent-child relationship. In the family, father has the utmost power to decide on everything, and they are unquestionable. While we might think that this kind of concept should be dropped with the influence of gender equality, the traditional thinking is still affecting the older generations. Parental control in Hong Kong may be severe from European point of view, but it may be lighter from traditional Chinese point of view. Parental control involves no alcohol, and for girls, there would be a curfew before 18. Girls are vulnerable and therefore they should be restrained, which is from parents’ perspective. Although the public security in Hong Kong is satisfying, the citizens normally are well protected by Hong Kong police, parents would still worry about girls’ going out. And when girls want to hang out with friends at one’s home, parents will drop down the address, phone number, what people will appear in that house, etc. Also, they usually have to return home before 12. That is the situation for girls under 18. After 18, the limit would be much reduced, depending on the family. Under strict parent control, there is almost no nightlife before 18 among Hong Kong young people. It is largely different from Europe, where parents’ attitude toward youngsters is to let go, let them try and experience. This also results in different choices we made for night time activities, as Hong Kong youngsters would go for non-alcoholic ones, and Europeans would go for alcoholic ones because they have no restriction on alcohol in their families. E. Motto According to the Swiss Bank UBS’ 2012 Global Prices and Earnings Survey, people in Europe tend to have less annual working hours, with an average of 1829 or 1757 hours, which is less than people in Asia, with an average of 2154 hours. Asian countries are leading in the field. Moreover, the survey also recommends people move their workplace to Europe, â€Å"if you like going on holiday, you should perhaps move your workplace to Europe, where workers enjoy around five weeks of paid relaxation.† In Europe, the motto seems to be â€Å"work hard, play hard†, however, the motto of Europeans may be half right in Hong Kong, the work hard part. According to the Global Prices and Earnings Survey, Hong Kong has average 2296 working hours per year, while vacation days per year are 12 only, meaning one paid day off each month. The intense, fast-paced lifestyle in Hong Kong makes everyone stressful about it. And youngsters could not escape from it. The tension begins once we are born. When we are small, the concept of â€Å"only hard-working people can succeed† is implanted in our mind. The social value regarding success is only defied by one factor, money. More money you possess, more successful you are. In order to become â€Å"successful†, we should stud hard to get good results in public examination, then get into the top universities in Hong Kong, and find a good job. This one-way road constructs a competitive and stressful atmosphere in Hong Kong. For young people, there is a saying among university students about five must-dos in university life, which one of them is doing part-time jobs. In fact, the main purpose of doing part-time jobs is to make their resumes look good. It is all about the future, all about getting a good job, about success. This atmosphere undoubtedly builds up the motto of Hong Kong people, â€Å"work hard to succeed†. In Europe and in France in particular, the notion of success covers a larger definition. Success is not all about money but also about self-fulfillment and overall happiness. Just like states the famous proverb, â€Å"money cannot buy happiness†, we tend to think that material happiness cannot be considered as a true success. Instead of working more, we would give priority to improve our standards of living. Indeed, overt the past decades trade unions struggled to reduce the legal working hours and extend the duration of paid leaves. In compensation, European workers are among the most competitive in the world which legitimate their wages and gives an explanation and a justification to the need of relaxing after work or study. And this attitude in fact contributes to high productivity per head rate as the graph below: Furthermore, our society values youth and freedom and the study years seem to be the only time slot when we can really experience both. It is important not to miss out on this precious moment. In addition, with the generalization of studies, student’s curriculums are converging to an identical level and subject of study. Recruiting consultant and society then attach more importance to life experiences than to degrees in order to distinguish the profiles of their future employees. The motto of life guides us to different choices and attitudes. â€Å"Work hard, play hard† sets a balanced life between work, study and entertainment among Europeans. â€Å"Work hard to succeed† drives Hong Kong people to an extreme that we have no life other than work. These values are reflected by the choices of nightlife, many Hong Kong young people stick to the norms, afraid of judgment from the others, while Europeans enjoy themselves with dancing and drinking. [Claire Couturier on descriptions and Rem Man Hou Sum on cross-cultural analysis] Income difference The cost of nightlife in Europe is almost the same as in Hong Kong. However, European students are more likely to spend their money in leisure and alcohol. The main difference between Hong Kong and Europe is that usually, the admission fee to clubs is cheaper and even sometimes it can be free. Social life is one of the most important components of life among young people and thus, as a result of a cultural practice, students and youngsters in Europe save a part of their budget which is then directly devoted to nights out and leisure. This share can be more or less significant depending on every individual. For example, in average, a French Student lives with about 6000 HKD per month without aids like scholarships and government subsidies and an average student would devote about 1000 to 1500 HKD per month for his nights out. This represents then 16% to 25% percent of his monthly income. The most costly budget item is definitely the drinks and alcohol while the share of admission fees is less significant. Indeed, bars do not require any entrance fee and clubs do not have a policy of high prices, the shortfall should be compensated by margin realized while selling drinks. We also need to point out the importance of house partying which is actually one of the cheapest way to party. No entrance fee is needed and everyone brings his own alcohol. While usually drinks and snacks are all gathered and everyone picks in the table(s) of food, in some European countries, it is a custom that everyone provides for his own needs. This means that no one gets to drink or eat what someone else brings unless it is offered by the owner. This tradition allows then every single person to control exactly the amount of money that he or she wants to put in one night out.[By Claire Couturier] Although cultural differences are of paramount importance in explaining the reasons why the locals adopt a different nightlife style than Europeans, the income differences are worth noting as well. On one hand, even if the cost of alcohol is comparable, the local income level is lower than that in Europe; and on the other, partying is generally more expensive in Hong Kong because of two reasons. First, partying in Hong Kong is costly because of the high entrance fee, especially for men. It can cost up to around $500, of which drinks are excluded. It explains why not many young men are attracted to this nightlife activity. Second, we do not have house parties as Europeans do, and it has to do with the housing of Hong Kong – we have a land mass of 1,104 km2 and a population of more than seven million people, according to Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, making us one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Consequently only very few people are privileged to live in a house. Many people just live in a flat, and given the small size and restrictions on noise which would affect one’s close neighbors next-door, a house party is unlikely. We suggest that future studies can look more deeply into the correlation between income levels and patterns of nightlife for Hong Kong young people, or Hong Kong people in general. Since the income discrepancies are large among different social classes, it might also explain the larger variety of nightlife in Hong Kong than in Europe. Moreover, the minority of people who go partying and fancy a more vibrant nightlife may also suggest the uneven distribution of income in Hong Kong.[By Priscilla Yuen Pui Yu] The Manifestation of Soft Power A. Soft Power of the West and its influence of Local Nightlife According to Joseph Nye, soft power in political sense is all about the ability to shape the preferences of others so that they want what you want. To make others want to follow you not by means of command or force, it is understandable that the behavior or action have to attract others in the first place. And once others are attracted, their values will gradually change. Nightlife is primarily a western idea. Other than Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Macau, late nights in the streets remain quiet. And in particular, local people do not have a fond heart of partying as Europeans do. Think of how exchange students in HKBU head out to Lan Kwai Fong in groups while many of the local ones have never been to a club before. On the other hand, this situation is gradually changing because more people are willing to try and there is a younger clubbing crowd than before. The slowly growing popularity of partying is a manifestation of soft power. We might find it natural that western culture can be seen and mixed with local culture in these world-class international cities, but are we aware of the fact that our nation is under the influence of other’s soft power? Below are some more examples that exemplify the influence of European or Western soft power on local nightlife culture. Previously in this paper, we have talked about local people speaking in English even though they are just hanging out with their local friends, and also how we dress like foreigners. This is almost the norms of clubbing or partying in Hong Kong. During the research for this topic, we have done a real-life experiment in six clubs. Three are those we categorize as local clubs, and the other three are those more foreign. In two of three for both, we try to speak in English to local men and western men; and in one among three for both types, we speak in our mother tongue, Cantonese and act like we have a rather low command of spoken English to both local and western men, and we wanted to see how would they respond differently. Results are not surprisingly – the most significant result is that when we spoke in English, both local and western men asked either where we came from or were we studying abroad in all the cases. However, when we spoke in Cantonese or rather bad English, western men were less interested and tended to walk away sooner than the other way and local men were less impressed. This simple experiment shows the superiority of the English language in social context in Hong Kong. What is striking in the findings and our observations is that, even in the less restricted social context, local people tend to act like westerners to impress others, and this way of impressing others is actually effective. We suggest that future studies might conduct a more detailed experiment, employing both men and women as experimenters to see if it is similar for men.[By Priscilla Yuen] B. The Help of Popular Culture and Mass Media Western soft power on local nightlife is also facilitated by the spread of western popular culture and mass media. With globalization and greater free flow of information nowadays, young people in Hong Kong are largely exposed to western popular culture. Even though not many young ones spend their nightlife in clubs, many would have heard of the club music (before being remixed) on YouTube, radio, television, and in many different places that would play such music. [By Priscilla Yuen] One of the most powerful vectors of soft power is the cinema. Like in every other developed country, American cinema is the most influential cinema over the world and in Hong Kong also. According to a survey commissioned by MasterCard, â€Å"watching movies at the cinema is the most popular leisure activity in Hong Kong with three quarters (74%) of respondents having been to a movie in the past six months. These respondents had on average gone to a cinema 3 times a month.† Many works have revealed how Hollywood influenced and managed to impose a cultural standardization over societies all around the world. Hong Kong did not escape from that spell either. Depicting the life of young Americans enjoying crazy student life, movies like Project X or Television shows such as Gossip Girl or 90210 provoked a phenomenon of imitation among the Hong Kong youth, a desire to live these fancy lives and enjoy the feeling of carefreeness showed through the stories of the characters. Hong Kong cinema industry seems also to start dealing with the night life. As an example,in September 2011, a movie called Lan Kwai Fong (Ã¥â€"Å"çˆ ±Ã¥ ¤Å"è’ ²)was released. It relates the life a group of young Hong Kong people who spend their nights partying hard in Lan Kwai Fong. The weekend after its release, the movie was ranked number one in the local box office. Even though it did not receive many good reviews, it at least shed light on the phenomenon and on this fringe of local youth who goes clubbing. Besides, the producers decided to release a sequel in 2012, focusing on another group of Lan Kwai Fong night birds. As a former British colony, Hong Kong has been deeply influenced and driven by western culture over the past century. Even after the retrocession to China, Hong Kong kept maintaining privileged relationships with the United Kingdom and the rest of Western world as the city is seen as a western enclave in China. This heritage of western tradition has made of Hong Kong one of the favorite destination for the expats as has shown a recent study realized for HSBC. The local Government issued last year 30,557 visas under the General Employment Scheme. This constant closeness to western culture and cultural exchanges can be seen as the main reason of the spread of the nightlife in Hong Kong. Regarding the students, many exchange programs are set between local Universities and Universities abroad which contribute to the implementation of the nightlife as a norm. Indeed, as we have said before, students in local universities are constantly brought face to face with Western students and even though they might not always talk and share with them, seeing them going out at night might arouse their curiosity. For those who are friends with exchange students, it can be a mentorship to get into nightlife. Finally, local student who go to study abroad experience overseas the student life and, as long as they have adopted it, might just want to reproduce the same when they are back. [By Claire Couterier] C. The Influence of the Membership to International Organizations Hong Kong has been a member of the World trade Organization since 1995, right after its creation. About ten years after and after the retrocession of Hong Kong, in turn China entered the Organization. This membership creates an improvement in trade with the rest of the world but also somehow create a cultural transfer from western countries to developing countries. Some works have shown that international organizations, even though they pretend to serve the whole world and be an open tribune which provide a chance for every country to speak up, are actually driven by Western principles and serve western interests. Regarding the WTO, negotiation rounds over trade go along with a tendency to reach a standardization of the social conditions: The European Union and the US implement some new restrictive norms regarding the working conditions in which are produced manufactured goods. These countries also spread their conceptions of work as they seem to set the example of powerful Nations. These elements are the main explanation of the standardization and improvement of working conditions. Hence, we can observe a decrease of overall working hours and the recognition of several rights for workers such as paid leaves. This modifies the place of work in daily life and can then make more room for leisure in local society. Nightly outings fit then more easily in people’s schedules but this new amount of time can also be used in many different ways such as going to the movies, listening to some music or having gatherings with friends in public places; many of these activities that are at the same time hugely influenced and by Western society and transmitter of its culture as we have seen above.[By Claire Couterier] D. The Repercussions and Overarching Effects of Colonialism Colonialism, in particular European colonialism, has profound influence in both trade and culture in Asia. It is interesting how although European colonialism ended after Second World War, its impact still exists up till now. Looking at Hong Kong, the share of British influence on trade has diminished; but its influences on our culture and the social system are very deep-rooted and evident. The aspect of changes that can be related to our topic here would be on the English language and the education system which stresses importance on bilingualism. Nowadays, there are still a large number of parents who would send their children to the United Kingdom to study, if they can afford the large amount of tuition, boarding and living expenses. The Chinese Societies of different top British universities are famous for co-organizing numerous parties in nightclubs when students are back to Hong Kong for vacation. Like what we have suggested, even though they are a whole bunch of local young people, it is not uncommon that they hold conversations mixed with English and Cantonese, if they are not entirely in English. We have to note that, while trade and economic influences were intended and deliberately brought about, cultural and social influences are not. They are unintended. However, their impacts are not necessarily smaller – because they are deeply embedded in our daily life, we might not be aware of it. There seems to be nothing bad about such a mixture of local and European cultures, but as soft power gets stronger, our local culture may diminish and may eventually be annihilated. Look again at the local nightlife scene, it is not only a mixture of West and the East – it is in fact a separation of our society: Although the expatriate crowd in the hottest nightlife spot, Lan Kwai Fong, are diversified in both their nationalities and walks of life, but in a general post-colonial context, expatriates might think that they are more superior over the locals. And this might be disliked by many local people. E. Increasing Hong Kong’s Soft Power, and Decreasing the West’s As previous studies have suggested, the core of a city’s soft power is the soft power, hence ability to attract, of its city culture (Lin, Li & Hong, 2012). It interacts with its economic and technological advancement to create the competitiveness of the city. More importantly, city culture should be coherent, appealing, innovative, as well as having integration. Looking at Hong Kong, our local culture as manifested by nightlife is not especially charming and focused. When talking about nightlife, the immediate examples we give in Hong Kong’s context are bars and clubs like what Europe or the West have – but strangely, neither is it the norms of the society, nor is it â€Å"Hong Kong† in itself, while other options like karaoke bars are actually evident and more popular among young people in Hong Kong. The problem is, feelings toward these are not largely positive nor are Hong Kong people proud of them – and it also cannot attract people from other cities to feel our city’s special appeal. Is Hong Kong’s world-famous nightlife culture innovative? Certainly it is not. The fact that Lan Kwai Fong, which is not much different from nightlife spots in Europe, pops up as the most popular nightlife spot in Hong Kong, might appear strange to exchange students or tourists. To enhance Hong Kong’s soft power through its city culture, it should increase its capacity to draw different cultural factors and to broaden the market. In the case of nightlife, the government might try to think of sponsoring the start-up and operation of bars playing local music, to start with, or for example, to promote karaoke lounges for foreigners. At the moment, karaoke lounges only target at local customers, this can be seen at the fact that the promotion leaflets, publication materials, and the like, are mostly in Chinese only and do not have an English translation. Also, the repertoire in karaoke lounges is narrow and has only a few foreign songs. [By Priscilla Yuen Pui Yu] Conclusion We would have expected nightlife to be different in such poles apart cultures, but by talking and investigating into the subject we realized that they were many cultural, historical and values implications behind this topic that could have been considered as frivolous in the first place. And even though Hong Kong is always seen from, a Western point of view, as a modern, dynamic and westernized city, the local culture is still deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition. One century of English protectorate did not modify much the structure of beliefs and traditions and way of thinking. The profound gap that separates both our nightlife culture appears to be the drinking tradition and the relationships and moral values towards alcohol. Whereas alcohol is a daily beverage on the western side, in the east it is frowned up to drink for the possible repercussions and bad behavior caused by alcohol. It is then a completely adverse thinking pattern between two sides of the world. The same goes for the notion of success. While in Hong Kong success is only related to money, in Europe, success embraces a wider definition. We live in a leisure society that considers, to a certain extent, work as an alienation of freedom. Thus, there is no point in working so hard if we cannot enjoy some time to spend the hard-won money. It seems like the difference in nightlife can then be explained by this completely opposed system of values. However, Hong Kong is at the core of the process of westernization and going out late at night becomes more and more common for the local youth. We can think that the process started under the British domination and keeps on going even after the retrocession thanks to a large range of cultural conveyers like cultural goods such as cinema, film, music, social medias but also the development of economic and social exchanges between Hong Kong and the Western world. At the end of the day, we might observe a convergence in the nightlife activities. After all, as mentioned earlier, nightlife appeared and developed in Europe between 1500 and 1700. The social nightlife nowadays is the result of a long lasting process. That is why, with the globalization, we can expect to see the next generation of local youth to fill up the numerous bars and clubs in Hong Kong soon. [By Claire Couterier] Bibliography Chaouachi, Kamal and Sajid, Khan Mohammad (2010) â€Å"A Critique of Recent Hypotheses on Oral (and Lung) Cancer Induced by Water Pipe (Hookah, Shisha, Narghile) Tobacco Smoking,† Medical Hypotheses 74, no. 5. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Information Services Department. (2012) â€Å"Hong Kong: The Facts.† Accessed at December 07, 2012. http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/population.pdf. Lin, Dan, Li, Wenjuan and Hong, Xiaonan (2012) â€Å"The Research on the Soft Power of City Culture,† Studies in Sociology of Science 3, no. 2. Nye, Joseph (2004) Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs). Observatoire de la jeunesse (2011) jeunesse et alcool. (Paris: Institut National de la Jeunesse et de l’Education Populaire). UBS (2012) Global Prices and Earnings Survey. http://www.static-ubs.com/global/en/wealth_management/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings/_jcr_content/par/columncontrol/col1/linklist/link_0.1393999310.file/bGluay9wYXRoPS9jb250ZW50L2RhbS91YnMvZ2xvYmFsL3dlYWx0aF9tYW5hZ2VtZW50L3dlYWx0aF9tYW5hZ2VtZW50X3Jlc2VhcmNoL1BfTF8yMDEyX2VuLnBkZg==/P_L_2012_en.pdf. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012) Charting International Labor Comparisons. http://www.bls.gov/fls/chartbook/2012/chart1.4.pdf. é ¦â„¢Ã¦ ¸ ¯Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¸Ã§ ¤ ¾Ã¦Å"Æ'ç §â€˜Ã¥ ­ ¸Ã§  â€Ã§ © ¶Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¥ ¿Æ' (2010) ä ºÅ'é› ¶Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã©â€º ¶Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã© ¦â„¢Ã¦ ¸ ¯Ã© â€™Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã§ µ ±Ã¨ ¨Ë†Ã¨ ³â€¡Ã¦â€"™æ ¦â€šÃ¨ ¦ ½Ã£â‚¬â€šhttp://www.coy.gov.hk/filemanager/template/common/images/research/youth_report_20110520_c.pdf

Planned Approach to Change Essay

The work of Kurt Lewin dominated the theory and practice of change management for over 40 years. However, in the past 20 years, Lewin’s approach to change, particularly the 3-Step model, has attracted major criticisms. The key ones are that his work: assumed organizations operate in a stable state; was only suitable for small-scale change projects; ignored organizational power and politics; and was top-down and management-driven. This article seeks to re-appraise Lewin’s work and challenge the validity of these views. It begins by describing Lewin’s background and beliefs, especially his commitment to resolving social conï ¬â€šict. The article then moves on to examine the main elements of his Planned approach to change: Field Theory; Group Dynamics; Action Research; and the 3-Step model. This is followed by a brief summary of the major developments in the ï ¬ eld of organizational change since Lewin’s death which, in turn, leads to an examination of the main criticisms levelled at Lewin’s work. The article concludes by arguing that rather than being outdated or redundant, Lewin’s approach is still relevant to the modern world. INTRODUCTION Freud the clinician and Lewin the experimentalist – these are the two men whose names will stand out before all others in the history of our psychological era.  The above quotation is taken from Edward C Tolman’s memorial address for Kurt Lewin delivered at the 1947 Convention of the American Psychological Association (quoted in Marrow, 1969, p. ix). To many people today it will seem strange that Lewin should have been given equal status with Freud. Some 50 years after his death, Lewin is now mainly remembered as the originator of the 3-Step model of change USA. Address for reprints: Bernard Burnes, Manchester School of Management, UMIST, Manchester M60 1QD, UK (Bernard.Burnes@umist.ac.uk).dismissed as outdated (Burnes, 2000; Dawson, 1994; Dent and Goldberg, 1999; Hatch, 1997; Kanter et al., 1992; Marshak, 1993). Yet, as this article will argue, his contribution to our understanding of individual and group behaviour and the role these play in organizations and society was enormous and is still relevant. In today’s turbulent and changing world, one might expect Lewin’s pioneering work on change to be seized upon with gratitude, especially given the high failure rate of many change programmes (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001; Kearney, 1989; Kotter, 1996; Stickland, 1998; Waclawski, 2002; Wastell et al., 1994; Watcher, 1993; Whyte and Watcher, 1992; Zairi et al., 1994). Unfortunately, his commitment to extending democratic values in society and his work on Field Theory, Group Dynamics and Action Research which, together with his 3-Step model, formed an inter-linked, elaborate and robust approach to Planned change, have received less and less attention (Ash, 1992; Bargal et al., 1992; Cooke, 1999). Indeed, from the 1980s, even Lewin’s work on change was increasingly criticized as relevant only to small-scale changes in stable conditions, and for ignoring issues such as organizational politics and conï ¬â€šict. In its place, writers sought to promote a view of change as being constant, and as a political process within organizations (Dawson, 1994; Pettigrew et al., 1992; Wilson, 1992). The purpose of this article is to re-appraise Lewin and his work.. The article begins by describing Lewin’s background, especially the origins of his commitment to resolving social conï ¬â€šict. It then moves on to examine the main elements of his Planned approach to change. This is followed by a description of developments in the ï ¬ eld of organizational change since Lewin’s death, and an evaluation of the criticisms levelled against his work. The article concludes by arguing that rather than being outdated, Lewin’s Planned approach is still very relevant to the needs of the modern world. LEWIN’S BACKGROUND Few social scientists can have received the level of praise and admiration  that has been heaped upon Kurt Lewin (Ash, 1992; Bargal et al., 1992; Dent and Goldberg, 1999; Dickens and Watkins, 1999; Tobach, 1994). As Edgar Schein (1988, p. 239) enthusiastically commented: There is little question that the intellectual father of contemporary theories of applied behavioural science, action research and planned change is Kurt Lewin. His seminal work on leadership style and the experiments on planned change which took place in World War II in an effort to change consumer behaviour launched a whole generation of research in group dynamics and the implementation of change programs. 978 B. Burnes  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004For most of his life, Lewin’s main preoccupation was the resolution of social con- ï ¬â€šict and, in particular, the problems of minority or disadvantaged groups. Underpinning this preoccupation was a strong belief that only the permeation of democratic values into all facets of society could prevent the worst extremes of social conï ¬â€šict. As his wife wrote in the Preface to a volume of his collected work published after his death: Kurt Lewin was so constantly and predominantly preoccupied with the task of advancing the conceptual representation of the social-psychological world, and at the same time he was so ï ¬ lled with the urgent desire to use his theoretical insight for the building of a better world, that it is difï ¬ cult to decide which of these two sources of motivation ï ¬â€šowed with greater energy or vigour. (Lewin, 1948b) To a large extent, his interests and beliefs stemmed from his background as a German Jew. Lewin was born in 1890 and, for a Jew growing up in Germany, at this time, ofï ¬ cially-approved anti-Semitism was a fact of life. Few Jews could expect to achieve a responsible post in the civil service or universities. Despite this, Lewin was awarded a doctorate at the University of Berlin in 1916 and went on to teach there. Though he was never awarded tenured status, Lewin achieved a growing international reputation in the 1920s as a leader in his ï ¬ eld (Lewin, 1992). However, with the rise of the Nazi Party, Lewin recognized that the position of Jews in Germany was  increasingly threatened. The election of Hitler as Chancellor in 1933 was the ï ¬ nal straw for him; he resigned from the University and moved to America (Marrow, 1969). In America, Lewin found a job ï ¬ rst as a ‘refugee scholar’ at Cornell University and then, from 1935 to 1945, at the University of Iowa. Here he was to embark on an ambitious programme of research which covered topics such as child-parent relations, conï ¬â€šict in marriage, styles of leadership, worker motivation and performance, conï ¬â€šict in industry, group problem-solving, communication and attitude change, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-racism, discrimination and prejudice, integration-segregation, peace, war and poverty (Bargal et al., 1992; Cartwright, 1952; Lewin, 1948a). As Cooke (1999) notes, given the prevalence of racism and antiSemitism in America at the time, much of this work, especially his increasingly public advocacy in support of disadvantaged groups, put Lewin on the political left. During the years of the Second World War, Lewin did much work for the American war effort. This included studies of the morale of front-line troops and psychological warfare, and his famous study aimed at persuading American housewives to buy cheaper cuts of meat (Lewin, 1943a; Marrow, 1969). He was also much in demand as a speaker on minority and inter-group relations Kurt Lewin 979  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004(Smith, 2001). These activities chimed with one of his central preoccupations, which was how Germany’s authoritarian and racist culture could be replaced with one imbued with democratic values. He saw democracy, and the spread of democratic values throughout society, as the central bastion against authoritarianism and despotism. That he viewed the establishment of democracy as a major task, and avoided simplistic and structural recipes, can be gleaned from the following extracts from his article on ‘The special case of Germany’ (Lewin, 1943b): Nazi culture . . . is deeply rooted, particularly in the youth on whom the . . . future depends. It is a culture which is centred around power as the supreme value and which denounces justice and equality . . . (p. 43) To be  stable, a cultural change has to penetrate all aspects of a nation’s life. The change must, in short, be a change in the ‘cultural atmosphere,’ not merely a change of a single item. (p. 46) Change in culture requires the change of leadership forms in every walk of life. At the start, particularly important is leadership in those social areas which are fundamental from the point of view of power. (p. 55) With the end of the War, Lewin established the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The aim of the Center was to investigate all aspects of group behaviour, especially how it could be changed. At the same time, he was also chief architect of the Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI). Founded and funded by the American Jewish Congress, its aim was the eradication of discrimination against all minority groups. As Lewin wrote at the time, ‘We Jews will have to ï ¬ ght for ourselves and we will do so strongly and with good conscience. We also know that the ï ¬ ght of the Jews is part of the ï ¬ ght of all minorities for democratic equality of rights and opportunities . . .’ (quoted in Marrow, 1969, p. 175). In pursuing this objective, Lewin believed that his work on Group Dynamics and Action Research would provide the key tools for the CCI. Lewin was also inï ¬â€šuential in establishing the Tavistock Institute in the UK and its Journal, Human Relations ( Jaques, 1998; Marrow, 1969). In addition, in 1946, the Connecticut State Inter-Racial Commission asked Lewin to help train leaders and conduct research on the most effective means of combating racial and religious prejudice in communities. This led to the development of sensitivity training and the creation, in 1947, of the now famous National Training Laboratories. However, his huge workload took its toll on his health, and on 11 February 1947 he died of a heart attack (Lewin, 1992). 980 B. Burnes  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004LEWIN’S WORK Lewin was a humanitarian who believed that only by resolving social conï ¬â€šict, whether it be religious, racial, marital or industrial, could the human condition be improved. Lewin believed that the key to resolving social  conï ¬â€šict was to facilitate learning and so enable individuals to understand and restructure their perceptions of the world around them. In this he was much inï ¬â€šuenced by the Gestalt psychologists he had worked with in Berlin (Smith, 2001). A unifying theme of much of his work is the view that ‘. . . the group to which an individual belongs is the ground for his perceptions, his feelings and his actions’ (Allport, 1948, p. vii). Though Field Theory, Group Dynamics, Action Research and the 3-Step model of change are often treated as separate themes of his work, Lewin saw them as a uniï ¬ ed whole with each element supporting and reinforcing the others and all of them necessary to understand and bring about Planned change, whether it be at the level of the individual, group, organization or even society (Bargal and Bar, 1992; Kippenberger, 1998a, 1998b; Smith, 2001). As Allport (1948, p. ix) states: ‘All of his concepts, whatever root-metaphor they employ, comprise a single wellintegrated system’. This can be seen from examining these four aspects of his work in turn. Field Theory This is an approach to understanding group behaviour by trying to map out the totality and complexity of the ï ¬ eld in which the behaviour takes place (Back, 1992). Lewin maintained that to understand any situation it was necessary that: ‘One should view the present situation – the status quo – as being maintained by certain conditions or forces’ (Lewin, 1943a, p. 172). Lewin (1947b) postulated that group behaviour is an intricate set of symbolic interactions and forces that not only affect group structures, but also modify individual behaviour. Therefore, individual behaviour is a function of the group environment or ‘ï ¬ eld’, as he termed it. Consequently, any changes in behaviour stem from changes, be they small or large, in the forces within the ï ¬ eld (Lewin, 1947a). Lewin deï ¬ ned a ï ¬ eld as ‘a totality of coexisting facts which are conceived of as mutually interdependent . . .’ (Lewin, 1946, p. 240). Lewin believed that a ï ¬ eld was in a continuous state of adaptation and that ‘Change and constancy are relative concepts; group life is never without change, merely differences in the amount and type of change exist’ (Lewin, 1947a, p. 199). This is why Lewin used the term ‘quasi-stationary equilibrium’ to indicate that whilst there might be a rhythm and pattern to the behaviour and processes of a group, these tended  to ï ¬â€šuctuate constantly owing to changes in the forces or circumstances that impinge on the group. Lewin’s view was that if one could identify, plot and establish the potency of these forces, then it would be possible not only to understand why individuals, Kurt Lewin 981  Ã‚ © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004groups and organizations act as they do, but also what forces would need to be diminished or strengthened in order to bring about change. In the main, Lewin saw behavioural change as a slow process; however, he did recognize that under certain circumstances, such as a personal, organizational or societal crisis, the various forces in the ï ¬ eld can shift quickly and radically. In such situations, established routines and behaviours break down and the status quo is no longer viable; new patterns of activity can rapidly emerge and a new equilibrium (or quasistationary equilibrium) is formed (Kippenberger, 1998a; Lewin, 1947a). Despite its obvious value as a vehicle for understanding and changing group behaviour, with Lewin’s death, the general interest in Field Theory waned (Back, 1992; Gold, 1992; Hendry, 1996). However, in recent years, with the work of Argyris (1990) and Hirschhorn (1988) on understanding and overcoming resistance to change, Lewin’s work on Field Theory has once again begun to attract interest. According to Hendry (1996), even critics of Lewin’s work have drawn on Field Theory to develop their own models of change (see Pettigrew et al., 1989, 1992). Indeed, parallels have even been drawn between Lewin’s work and the work of complexity theorists (Kippenberger, 1998a). Back (1992), for example, argued that the formulation and behaviour of complex systems as described by Chaos and Catastrophe theorists bear striking similarities to Lewin’s conceptualization of Field Theory. Nevertheless, Field Theory is now probably the least understood element of Lewin’s work, yet, because of its potential to map the forces impinging on an individual, group or organization, it underpinned the other elements of his work. Group Dynamics the word ‘dynamics’ . . . comes from a Greek word meaning force . . . ‘group . . . dynamics’ refers to the forces operating in groups . . . it is a  study of these forces: what gives rise to them, what conditions modify them, what consequences they have, etc. (Cartwright, 1951, p. 382) Lewin was the ï ¬ rst psychologist to write about ‘group dynamics’ and the importance of the group in shaping the behaviour of its members (Allport, 1948; Bargal et al., 1992). Indeed, Lewin’s (1939, p. 165) deï ¬ nition of a ‘group’ is still generally accepted: ‘. . . it is not the similarity or dissimilarity of individuals that constitutes a group, but interdependence of fate’. As Kippenberger (1998a) notes, Lewin was addressing two questions: What is it about the nature and characteristics of a particular group which causes it to respond (behave) as it does to the forces which impinge on it, and how can these forces be changed in order to elicit a more desirable form of behaviour? It was to address these questions that Lewin began to develop the concept of Group Dynamics. Group Dynamics stresses that group behaviour, rather than that of individuals, should be the main focus of change (Bernstein, 1968; Dent and Goldberg, 1999). Lewin (1947b) maintained that it is fruitless to concentrate on changing the behaviour of individuals because the individual in isolation is constrained by group pressures to conform. Consequently, the focus of change must be at the group level and should concentrate on factors such as group norms, roles, interactions and socialization processes to create ‘disequilibrium’ and change (Schein, 1988). Lewin’s pioneering work on Group Dynamics not only laid the foundations for our understanding of groups (Cooke, 1999; Dent and Goldberg, 1999; French and Bell, 1984; Marrow, 1969; Schein, 1988) but has also been linked to complexity theories by researchers examining self-organizing theory and non-linear systems (Tschacher and Brunner, 1995). However, understanding the internal dynamics of a group is not sufï ¬ cient by itself to bring about change. Lewin also recognized the need to provide a process whereby the members could be engaged in and committed to changing their behaviour. This led Lewin to develop Action Research and the 3-Step model of change. Action Research This term was coined by Lewin (1946) in an article entitled ‘Action research and minority problems’. Lewin stated in the article: In the last year and a half I have had occasion to have contact with a great variety of organizations, institutions, and individuals who came for help in the ï ¬ eld of group relations. (Lewin, 1946, p. 201) However, though these people exhibited . . .  a great amount of good-will, of readiness to face the problem squarely and . . . really do something about it . . . These eager people feel themselves to be in a fog. They feel in a fog on three counts: 1. What is the present situation? 2. What are the dangers? 3. And most importantly of all, what shall we do? (Lewin, 1946, p. 201) Lewin conceived of Action Research as a two-pronged process which would allow groups to address these three questions. Firstly, it emphasizes that change requires action, and is directed at achieving this. Secondly, it recognizes that successful action is based on analysing the situation correctly, identifying all the possible alternative solutions and choosing the one most appropriate to the situation at hand (Bennett, 1983). To be successful, though, there has also to be a ‘felt-need’. FeltKurt Lewin 983  © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004need is an individual’s inner realization that change is necessary. If felt-need is low in the group or organization, introducing change becomes problematic. The theoretical foundations of Action Research lie in Gestalt psychology, which stresses that change can only successfully be achieved by helping individuals to reï ¬â€šect on and gain new insights into the totality of their situation. Lewin (1946, p. 206) stated that Action Research ‘. . . proceeds in a spiral of steps each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-ï ¬ nding about the results of the action.’ It is an iterative process whereby research leads to action and action leads to evaluation and further research. As Schein (1996, p. 64) comments, it was Lewin’s view that ‘. . . one cannot understand an organization without trying to change it . . .’ Indeed, Lewin’s view was very much that the understanding and learning which this process produces for the individuals and groups concerned, which then feeds into changed  behaviour, is more important than any resulting change as such (Lewin, 1946). To this end, Action Research draws on Lewin’s work on Field Theory to identify the forces that focus on the group to which the individual belongs. It also draws on Group Dynamics to understand why group members behave in the way they do when subjected to these forces. Lewin stressed that the routines and patterns of behaviour in a group are more than just the outcome of opposing forces in a forceï ¬ eld. They have a value in themselves and have a positive role to play in enforcing group norms (Lewin, 1947a). Action Research stresses that for change to be effective, it must take place at the group level, and must be a participative and collaborative process which involves all of those concerned (Allport, 1948; Bargal et al., 1992; French and Bell, 1984; Lewin, 1947b).

Hermeneutics in Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hermeneutics in Leadership - Essay Example The approach will make the leaders resemble expressive acts. They will emphasize on manifestations of meanings. According to various studies, the leaders will become conceptually driven. In the long run, there will be a close relationship between the leaders and the employees. Additionally, the approach would make the leaders become context influenced. They will understand their roles and responsibilities (OGorman, 2011). The approach will make the leaders experience deeply their actions. They will become more responsible because they will draw their actions through reflective thoughts. Experts have identified the importance of hermeneutical approach in improving self-understanding. It will help in building the understanding of the personal meaning and personal expressions. The approach is the best means of improving a leader’s inter-subjective dialogic discourse. They will not operate in a top-down less active expository exchange (Woodward J., 2011). The approach will add more logic to the leaders’ theoretical foundations. A leader is a person that has to have interest in communication. Communication is a tool that connects individuals in an organization. It will ensure there are efficiency and transparency within an organization. A hermeneutical approach would encourage leaders to reflect on their human interest in communication. The approach emphasizes on communications through conversations. It lays down the conceptual framework for developing the leaders’ communication means. For example, a media consultant in any country would use this approach to deal well with the clients (Yong, 2013). The approach pays more attention to experience. The experience will be a tool for analyzing external events, business ideas, and internal ideas. Additionally, with good experience, a person may be able to trigger questioning and any reflective perspective that may not happen at any moment.  Ã‚  

Own question about the book Attitudes toward Sex in Antebellum America Essay

Own question about the book Attitudes toward Sex in Antebellum America - Essay Example Intimate issues are approached diligently and therefore many people had experienced sexuality based on racial, gender difference and cultural perspectives. All these contribute to the views that sex as an activity was rejected but ironically taking place.2 The main deterrent for premarital sex in Antebellum US was the fear of women and girls getting pregnant. However, sexual desire always existed between the men and the women. This occurs regardless of social class, position, slave or not slave. At some point, control of casual sex was basically done by the families and the superiors in the society. In away, even these facilities were also under control by the superiors. However, premarital sex was totally not allowed for anybody. This is very concerning because it is the same people who are not allowing to have sex but they are in need of the same. However, the sexual taboo majorly applied to women in practice.3 This reflects gender bias in this issue of discussion. Men had many opt ions as far as sex was concerned. They were enforcing the rules effectively. Unfair treatment and discrimination made Margaret Sanger who was born in 1883 fumed in search of reasonable means of birth control. Women were pressed and needed ways of having freedom by looking for birth control measures. The fear of getting pregnant was very high. The Comstock laws had put her under several arrest warrant. The pioneer woman nurse had to fly to Europe having built a strong backing from several friends and other associates to spearhead the need for birth control measures.4 Through persistence of this particular nurse, the court offered opportunity through other activists and birth control measures were ensured in Antebellum. Sexuality as away of exploitation was the only way that the women could fight for liberty. The men on the other hand were enjoying freedom on sexual matters. Birth control mechanisms for women were also ironically geared towards freedom in having sex just as men were d oing. The limitation on right for women movement could be ended through this birth control move. This reflects much study on gender equality from endurance on sexual exploitation and deterring movement of women. In addition, it is claimed that the purpose of sexual intercourse and general meaning of marriage shapes most of the families in Antebellum. 5 It would be the right explanation why women were on the argumentative end when their rights were ignored. They had to champion it by themselves to achieve the hard found freedom. The question is that why were they championing on this freedom? More explanations from the book show that there was commercialization of sex. Women wanted to be like men and move around once they succeeded in birth control option they were geared towards. The author states, â€Å"Women could now enjoy sex outside the marriage† It is very ironical because through sex, they were exploited. Sexual repression stereotype in 1800’s impacted diverse pu blic argument. All the professionals, including the doctors and religious leaders all had to contribute in the debate about sexual exploitation and experience in Antebellum. Sexual exploitation however called for reforms and internalization of values of middle class. These reforms included chastity, hard work and thrift. Many honest citizens were able to indulge in crimes, sinful activities and implicit sexual behaviors.