Social work is a practice-based profession as well as an academic discipline that advocates social change, development, and the empowerment and liberation of society for individuals and communities in need. Professionals in the field of social work help people overcome some of life’s most difficult challenges such as poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, divorce, loss, unemployment, educational problems, disabilities and mental illnesses. They help prevent crises by counseling individuals, families, and communities to cope more effectively with the stresses of everyday life. Social work is based upon the principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities. My ambition to be…
In addition to this, this essay will discuss the importance for social workers to have a clear understanding that “discrimination is the process (or a set of processes) that leads to oppression” and that in order “To challenge oppression, it is therefore necessary to challenge discrimination.” (Thompson 2001) This essay will draw attention to the importance of this understanding as within social work practice there is a danger that social workers could reinforce the oppression and discrimination against their service user, “ There is no middle ground: intervention either adds to oppression (or at least condones it) or goes some small way towards easing or breaking such oppression.” (Thompson 1992)…
Within the parameters of this essay, I will explore the extent of the patriarchal society’s ability to apply hegemony in advertisements, shaping women’s subjectivities in order to reassert male dominance and female subordination. Radical feminist theory defines patriarchy as “a system of structures, institutions and ideology created by men in order to sustain and recreate male power and female subordination, ” located within a system of knowledge and language which constructs both masculinity and femininity in support of the establish power imbalance (Rowland & Klein, 1996, p.15-16). Through the application of the radical feminist theory, I argue that the hyper sexualized, unattainable and sexist beauty standards imposed on women by the patriarchy…
We as Americans reminisce on history to see and understand the advancements we have accomplished and the same can be said of not only the advancement of women but also the image of how women are portrayed. Although in today’s day and age, their figures and beauty are scrutinized but also exploited. For instance in both Tennessee Williams motion picture, “A Street Car Named Desire” and Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun you are able to see the evolution of the not only the portal of women but also the advancements they accomplish.…
Use the other door. Don’t touch the white folk, they think we have diseases. Don’t make eye contact for too long. Never hand them their coffee. Don't tell them how to treat their babies. Don’t react when they hit ‘em, even if that baby feels like your own. Don’t miscount the silver. Use the bathroom outside. Don’t fight back. Don’t fight back. Don’t fight back. In the 1960’s, racism, sexism, classes, and many other evils hung low in the air like a heavy fog. People of color in the South especially, were oppressed in so many forms. They were oppressed due to their race, their financial status, job opportunities, and gender. The list could go on and on. In The Help, all of the main characters experienced all of these, until a white woman…
Two possible theories explaining child maltreatment are the feminist theory and the choice theory of crime. First, a brief review provides each theory an avenue to explaining how it relates to the crime. Next, a discussion of both theories includes forming potential criminal justice responses. Finally, actual criminal justice system responses are examined providing insight into how the implantations relate to the theories given.…
The articles that are presented in this paper assist in explaining and analysis the perspectives that should be applied to help guide social work practices in society for the service user. These prescriptive help inform and improve practitioners in Canada. Perspectives like anti racism, anti oppression, and the several aboriginal perspectives, these will support the positive change that can be implemented to current structural social work. Baskin and Yee both touched on the whiteness and its impact on social work as a whole.…
As future social workers, we will advocate on behalf of individuals who are oppressed in society. In the future, our clients may be individuals who suffer from a mental illness and these individuals may be denied certain rights because of their mental illness. When advocating on behalf of these individuals it is important for the social worker to respect their self-determination. The social worker can do this by “beginning where the client is”. In order to begin where the client is, the social worker must understand the challenges that exist in the client's environment. These oppressed individuals may also be barred form certain societal advantages because of social policy. For example, currently in our legislation our state officials are…
The field of Social work is broad in terms of service delivery. Social workers can work in several institutions like Hospitals, Schools, Communities, Day care centers, with families, in government established re-habilitation centers etc. My focus in this write-up is to highlight the theoretical perspectives of social work practice in the hospital. A social worker who specializes in this aspect of social work can work in other health care settings.…
The hashtag I chose for the assignment is #feminism. It is found on multiple social mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The hashtag manifests the notions of women empowerment and condemns patriarchal, gender stereotypes. It makes the reader reflect on this important issue and communicates the idea that even in the 21st century, women do struggle to access the same rights as men. Recently, I came across this hashtag on Instagram, mentioned in two different pictures. The first picture was of Qandeel Baloch who was an active Pakistani feminist and the second picture was of a woman, wearing a shirt that said, “Nasty Woman”.…
The practice of Industrial Social Work specializes in which programs and interventions specific to the workplace ISW’s Focus on work, workers, and work organizations. Industrial Social Work, it is crucial for the social worker to understand the philosophy and organizational structure of the particular setting. Employers found that proactive, preventive help employees identify and resolve personal issues before they have medical, family, and/or workplace consequences. Many employers today are using services to support employee physical and mental health and expanding services to include disease management and preventive health. Services related to industrial social work are usually free to the employee and their household members. However,…
Whilst a deep theoretical analysis of race, gender, class, sexuality and ability is needed to understand the roots and origins of societal issues today, equally important is taking that theory out of the classroom and into action based praxis. As an undergraduate student at Columbia in the fall of 2013, I co-founded the campaign for Columbia to divest from fossil fuels and engaged with youth across the country to build a movement for climate justice. Having no experience in community organizing or campaigns prior to college, I had a steep learning curve when I organized a summer conference with trainings for hundreds of students focusing on how to build an anti-oppressive and inclusive climate justice movement. I have kept the core values of…
A newer social work perspective that I would like to discuss in this paper is the empowerment approach. The empowerment theory gained legitimacy as a paradigm back in 1981 by Julian Rappaport who discussed this paradigm in his Presidential Address at the American Psychological Association. He stated, "Empowerment is the mechanism by which people, organizations, and communities gain mastery over their lives" (Cummings pg.141). This statement provided the foundation for the empowerment approach that we as social workers use. Since Rappaport's introduction, the empowerment concept has taken shape and acquired meaning primarily through the work of social theorists, rather than practitioners. To clarify empowerment further, a great definition by social worker and professor Lawrence Shulman states in his book The Skills of Helping, "the empowerment process involves engaging the client, family, group, or community in developing strengths to personally and politically cope more effectively with those systems that are important to them"(Shulman pg.18).…
Set in the 1870s, A Dollhouse was among the first to present a three-act play with quite a different tone and theme, addressing feminist issues that have been never before seen acted out on stage. With the intriguing dialogue and the mystery of the plot, rest assured this play-turned-book could be very much considered, a great read. With even just the title hinting on the message of the play, readers would be surprised at how unpredictable and in-depth the characters and events would turn out to be.…
Stereotypes: a simplified standardized conception or image of a person or group held in common by members of a group.…