Writing Samples - Dillon Hall

8/19/2019 Writing Samples - Dillon Hall

1/45

Sample 1:Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Suppose your website is perfect. You’ve finally got all of the right content and images up,and everyone in your office agrees it’s looking really good. But there’s a problem. Your traffic’s not going up. You’re not getting new customers. Why? o one sees your sitewhen it’s buried at the bottom of search results. You probably need some help.

!ay"!er"#lick $!!#% &dvertising gets your website listed ne't to the top of search resultsrelevant for your business. You’ll get noticed and you’ll (ust pay for the traffic that yougain ) only if they click on your link or ad. With !!#, your website is going to get a tonof new visitors and convert some of those new visitors into new customers. !!# is like a performance"enhancing drug for your website* e'cept it’s perfectly legitimate. +hink of S- 'pert as the doctor that stimulates your website.

What is PPC Advertising?

undamentally, with !!# &dvertising you pay a pre"arranged amount of money for eachvisitor that finds your website through your advertisement. /nlike running ads on theradio, +0 or newspaper, with !!# you only pay for potential customers who make theeffort to 1click2 open the link in your ad. With S- 'pert, !!# is much less risky thantraditional advertising because we let you set the budget, the price you’ll pay per click,and measure e'actly how much traffic you gain from each of your advertisements.

3n today’s digital economy, !!# &dvertising has transitioned from a lu'ury to a necessity.4uckily, the costs of running a !!# &dvertising campaign have come down significantlyover the last decade, making them affordable for most growing businesses.

While there are a couple other types of !!# &dvertising, the most common type is called paid search. &nd any campaign using paid search must also feature a mobile strategy toattract people using tablets and phones, in addition to online visitors. +his is easily themost cost effective strategy and perfect for beginning your !!# advertising campaign.&nd our staff of e'perienced nerds is here to walk you through paid search, making it aseasy as possible for your website to e'plode with new clients.

Paid Search

& 5uality !!# plan will leverage a variety of search engines. +he big daddy of them all is6oogle’s paid search program called 1&dwords.2 With 6oogle &dwords, you and your agency will choose 1keywords2 ) certain words and phrases ) relevant to your business.When a user does a search on 6oogle using those keywords, your paid search ad isserved up alongside the 1organic2 results of the search. &ma7ing, right?


2/45

Suppose you own a pet food store. When someone searches for 1dog food,2 without a!!# campaign your website is not going to show up on the first page of 6oogle’s organicresults. +hose slots are taken by the big dogs like !urina. But with paid search, your adcan show up above or alongside the organic results, and you only pay if someone clickson you. #an you imagine that happening with +0 advertising? !urina airs a +0

commercial and your ad runs near it? What’s impossible with traditional advertising iscompletely do"able with !!#8

3t’s important to mention that other search engines also offer paid search. While 6ooglegenerates the most traffic, websites including Bing and Yahoo 6emini often cost muchless, making them a potential target for you to begin your !!# campaign. 3f you’re reallydown to business, however, you should take advantage of a mi' of search engines.

acebook, +witter, You+ube and other massively popular sites also offer paid search. 3nmany cases you’ll want to use them in con(unction with the other forms of !!#advertising shown below.

Some paid search ads utili7e a 1remarketing2 or 1retargeting2 strategy. You’ve probablynoticed certain ads following you online after you searched for something. Say yourecently booked a ticket for a vacation. &fterwards you notice ads over the ne't few daysfor rental cars or new luggage. +hose are e'amples of remarketing campaigns at work.9emarketing ads take advantage of cookies left in a user’s browser and serve up new ads based on what the user was previously searching for. 3t’s incredible.

:ere at S- 'pert, our genius $yet socially underwhelming% staff will help you decidehow much you should invest in each search engine based on your website’s targetaudience.

Pricing Methods

+here are two methods of determining the price of !!# &dvertising8 bids and flat rates.+he bidding process allows the host to receive bids from a variety of advertisers for acertain advertisement spot or keyword. +he flat rate method differs by allowing the hostto directly determine the price for a certain advertisement spot or keyword. Working withS- e'pert as your agency can get you the optimum mi' at the lowest cost.


3/45

PPC Best Practices

3f you’ve read this far, you’re probably serious about beginning or improving your !!#&dvertising. 6ood. :ere are si' practices that our team can’t emphasi7e enough to helpyou get the most out of your !!# &dvertising.

1. ey!ords

+he most important component of !!# &dvertising is selecting the right keywords and phrases or 1strings2 of keywords. &fter all, you need to figure out where people aresearching so that you can direct all of that traffic toward your website. /nfortunately,finding the right keywords isn’t an easy 1one"step2 process. 3n fact, determining the rightkeywords to use re5uires thorough research and e'perience to master.

+o successfully pick your keywords, you should look at more than (ust what people aresearching. +he most effective keywords are those that use a combination of words thatare commonly searched together to make sure that the results you are providing are asspecific as possible to the searcher’s re5uest.

or e'ample, say you are selling (eans for men. 3nstead of using the keyword 1pants,2which is pretty broad, includes women and kids, and may be e'pensive. 3nstead, youshould test the keyword phrase, 1men slim (eans black.2 +his way, you get a much moretargeted and efficient result. 9emember to take into consideration that the order of thewords is important too.

+he other side of this, however, is that you don’t want to be too specific. You should keepin mind that if only two people are going to search for your product, you are probably notgoing to gain much from the advertising.

inding a balance between specificity and broadness is the big challenge. But don’tworry, our team at S- 'pert will happily figure this out for you.

". B#dget

-ne of the best things about S- 'pert’s !!# &dvertising services is that you cancontrol e'actly how much you want to spend. We help you to set a daily budget whereyou can choose the most amount of money that you want to spend on !!# ads per day*or even per hour; stablishing an effective budget is integral to a successful !!#&dvertising campaign. & budget that’s too small won’t make a ma(or difference in thetraffic that you receive, but a massive budget may cause you to actually lose money. &ndwe definitely don’t want that.

$. %#ality &ver %#antity


4/45

Web traffic is great, but does it mean anything? +he answer relies upon who’s visitingyour website and what their intention is. /ltimately, you want people to buy, sign up, hireyou* whatever it is you are looking to accomplish. You don’t want to pay for someoneto visit your website if they’re (ust going to immediately close the tab and return to

repeatedly scrolling through their newsfeed. So how do you make sure that you get thehighest 5uality web traffic?

ssentially, this returns to an issue of keyword selection and how you market your website digitally. Your goal is to reach your specific audience ) customers who will visitand revisit your website, share it with their colleagues, hire you, purchase somethingfrom your website, etc. You have to take into account the demographics of your target population $i.e. age, gender, location% and then lure your target audience by being e'plicitabout the purpose of your website and as specific with your keywords as possible.

'. Staying on (op o) PPC Advertising

-ne common shortfall of !## &dvertisers is they set up their advertisements and thenthey forget about them.


5/45

-ur S- 'pert team will provide you with a diverse variety of types of data analysisinvolved in !!# &dvertising, allowing you to get the most out of your data reports.

/#t#re o) PPC Advertising

-f course !!# &dvertising becomes more and more useful everyday. &s the fieldcontinues to innovate, !!# &dvertising will only become more essential for your business to grow.

3n the past few years, !!# &dvertising has begun to use personal information shared onthe 3nternet, such as email accounts, acebook interests, and phone numbers to moreaccurately advertise to potential customers. 3n other words, your !!# &dvertisement willappear on the screens of people who are the most likely to convert into customers.

+his also means your advertisements are less likely to be seen as pesky because they willgenuinely relate to the viewer. &nd who doesn’t want to easily advertise to your target population?

S- 'pert stands out from our competition by embracing the constantly evolving natureof !!# &dvertising, taking the newest practices into account and consistently updatingour strategies to be as effective as possible.

Why S+& +,pert?

3f you’re ready to make your website as successful as possible, you’ll want to look intohiring a !!# &dvertising agency. 4ook no further ) S- 'pert is here to help.

We bring e'pertise, e'perience, passion, cost efficiency, and, most importantly, 5uickresults to the table. S- 'perts is one of the few agencies that let’s you decide howmuch you want to spend. We offer a wide range of management services to suit your budget, beginning at (ust => a month. -ur company offers up to >@ different services to promote your !!# campaign in the best way possible.

3f subscribed to our !remium !!# Aanagement service, you will receive a daily targetingreport to make sure that your traffic goals are being achieved $if they are not, we willmake all of the necessary corrections%, a daily keyword analysis that provides a 5ualityscore, and up to C daily, simultaneous ad campaigns on acebook, Yelp, andDor 6oogle.3f you’re not happy with what we’re doing, we’ll change our processes to make youhappy.

/nlike other agencies, S- 'pert tailors a !!# &dvertising strategy customi7edspecifically for your company. &nd we won’t stop working until you get results.


6/45

So what are you waiting for? #lick here to sign up.

Sample ":on0t et St#ck (without) Traffic

S- 'perts can manage your !!# #ampaign and accelerate your business.

What0s PPC?

!ay"!er"#lick $!!#% &dvertising is a critical tool for any website trying to e'pand itsuser"base in a cost"effective manner. -ur team of highly trained nerds have dedicatedcountless hours to mastering the !!# &dvertising process in order to deliver the bestresults as 5uickly as possible for our customers.

With !!# &dvertising, your website will be listed near the top of search results that aremost relevant for your business, bringing you tons of new visitors who are interested inwhat you offer and likely to return or buy.

Why S+& +,pert?

We handle it all. You set a budget and let us do the work.

• #hoose from up to >@ different !!# &dvertising services to suit your needs.

• You’ll receive daily targeting reports to ensure your goals are achieved. 3f at any

time goals aren’t being met, we handle the fine"tuning ad(ustments ) saving youtime and money.

•

+rue to our name, we’re e'perts in mastering the perfect balance in keywordspecificity8 the right mi' of terms that are not too broad yet not too narrow. +hink 6oldilocks here.

• -ur professionals are certified by 6oogle &dwords, providing you confidence that

an e'perienced team is managing your !!# program.

• -n average, our clients e'perienced a ECF increase in visitors in the first @ weeks

of our typical !!# campaign. 3magine what those results will do for your business.

+vidence that PPC Works

• 6oogle reports that businesses using !!# campaigns e'perience a =>.GG average

revenue gain for every =.GG spent on keywords.• !!# &ds are clicked over three percent of the time; +hat’s actually a huge percentage

considering the sheer volume of 3nternet traffic. So the more you spend, the moretraffic you’ll win;

• 3t’s working for others $maybe even for your competitors%. 6oogle &dvertising alone

generated over =CG billion last year.


7/45

• early GF of traffic generated by !!# ads is incremental and cannot be duplicated

simply by organic activity. You need a !!# campaign, managed by S- 'pert, toramp your traffic up to the ne't level.

What do !e do?

3t’s simple. We get you new visitors, so you get more customers. & lot of more.

:ow? By8

• per month.

#ontact us today8http8DDS-.'pertinfoHseo.e'pertIJJ"W&+ S-@G>.JIE.@E>

Sample $:

An 5ntersectional Criti6#e o) 7ipsit80s Conception o) 9Whiteness

Since its origin, the /nited States has consistently established itself as a nation

plagued by racism. 6eorge 4ipsit7’s 1+he !ossessive 3nvestment in Whiteness8

9aciali7ed Social


8/45

comprehend whiteness. +he successful dismantling of whiteness is only possible with a

holistic understanding of whiteness.

White supremacy aligns itself within both historical and modern societal

structures. &ccording to 4ipsit7, the very foundation of the /nited States set a framework

for a society that revolves around an everlasting yet invisibili7ed issue of racial ine5uality

through the genocide of the ative &mericans. /pon the /nited States’ coloni7ation,

uropeans were classified as 1whites2 to contrast with the darker skinned ative

&mericans. +his process evolved throughout &merican history into the present, largely

due to liberal misconceptions of racial progress, which promote the continued rhetorical

silence surrounding racial ine5uality. 4iberals commonly believe that the state can

successfully reform to enable racial e5uality, however, this belief fails to recogni7e that

the very foundations of the /nited States uphold white supremacy. #apitalism, electoral

discrimination, slavery, coloni7ation, and much more serve as pervasive forces that reify

white supremacy at a macro"political level, nullifying the abilities of the government to

successfully reform. +hese pervasive forces allow whiteness to be 1everywhere in

&merican culture, but * very hard to see2 $4ipsit7 E@%. +he difficulty that many white

&mericans face in identifying racism allows it to continue unabated, reinforcing racial

ine5uality throughout the nation. 4ipsit7 provides a beginning framework for

comprehending white supremacy, however, he fails to identify white supremacy entirely,

which merely strengthens its power.

/nfortunately, 4ipsit7 ignores the totalistic social invasion of whiteness, failing to

recogni7e its inherently intersectional nature and restricting whiteness to an issue of race.

While the author initially vaguely defines whiteness as 1not simply a matter of black and


9/45

whiteL all raciali7ed minority groups have suffered from it,2 his e'amples of raciali7ed

minority groups are restrictively based upon skin color $4ipsit7 EM>%. 4ipsit7’s raciali7ed

minority e'amples include 1ative &mericans, &sian &mericans, Ae'ican &mericans,

and other groups designated by whites as Nracially other’2 $4ipsit7 EM>%. Such a definition

is too narrow in scope, failing to acknowledge the many ways that whiteness

discriminates against people not due to their race, but due to their se'uality, gender,

religion, and a multitude of other characteristics that place an individual on the

pre(udicial side of whiteness $+hangara( >G>%. 4ipsit7 deserves credit for his reasoning

that whiteness is the dominant organi7ing factor between minorities and supremacistsL

however, his focus on whiteness as being purely a matter of race, for e'ample, places

heterose'ual, male"centered racial violence at the same degree of violence as anti"5ueer,

patriarchal racial violence. +his is wholly problematic because heterose'ual black males

face only one mode of violence in comparison to 5ueer, black females who face three

modes of violence $:utchinson %. +his failure of recognition allows whiteness to

continue to oppress minorities for non"racial characteristics, ultimately strengthening

whiteness by preventing a true understanding of it. 4uckily, 4ipsit7’s argument is not

entirely devoid and may be reformed simply to effectively combat whiteness.

& successful movement against whiteness is possible by combining the basic

ideas of 4ipsit7’s te't with the comple' details of intersectional politics. & primitive

understanding of 4ipsit7’s te't contains the ideas that whiteness is an evolving,

organi7ing force of society, historically and presently, and that racial movements

commonly receive backlash from those who benefit from whiteness. +he most important

detail of 4ipsit7’s te't is his re(ection of faulty liberalism because whiteness is structural


10/45

and not contingent upon legislative reformation $4ipsit7 EIE%. 3nstead of calling for

legislative change to dismantle whiteness, 4ipsit7 identifies Walter Ben(amin’s 1presence

of mind2 as the most effective movement against whiteness $4ipsit7 EIJ%. +he 1presence

of mind2 refers to 1an abstract of the future, and precise awareness of the present moment

more decisive than foreknowledge of the most distant events,2 or, in other words, an

understanding that the most important time to focus upon is the present $4ipsit7 EMG%. +he

adoption of 1the presence of mind2 is vital to promote a successful social revolution

against whiteness in the /nited States, as 4ipsit7 argues, however, this 1presence of

mind2 must contain a recognition of the multi"dimensional violence that whiteness

entails. 3f this does not happen, the 1presence of mind2 will solely entrench society’s

ignorance of whiteness.

While the basis of 4ipsit7’s argument against whiteness is applicable to a

successful movement, his failure to challenge the intersectional nature of whiteness

prevents any movements based upon his work from succeeding. 4ipsit7 is correct in a

variety of ways throughout his work, however, by limiting whiteness solely to a matter of

race, he allows whiteness to perpetuate other forms of social ine5uality. +he 1presence of

mind2 may present a successful alternative to whiteness as long as it acknowledges the

multi"modality of oppression. &lthough it may sound utopian, racial and social e5uality

can be achieved as long as the enemy $whiteness% is correctly identified.

Sample ':

;omelessness in Poland: (he


11/45

+he homeless population in !oland face uni5ue challenges, not the least of which

is the e'tremely harsh winter that the country e'periences annually, with Oanuary

temperatures averaging "J degrees #elsius.


12/45

3n fact, there have been no attempts of researching homelessness nationally that have

used a representative sample of the homeless population. +his is largely because of a

shortage of funding, lack of attention toward homelessness, and an understanding that

homeless shelters and 6- facilities are bearing most of the responsibility for dealing

with homelessness in !oland, rather than local or federal governments. &s a conse5uence

the data sets used to estimate national figures vary significantly. or e'ample, the

ational Welfare Statistics >GGM survey reported that there were ,JC homeless people

in !oland, while in contrast the ational !rogramme 19eturn to Society2 survey of >GGM

estimated that there were IE,IGJ homeless people.

>E

+he si7eable difference in population

estimates here illuminates the challenge that surveys face when pro(ecting regional data

in order to estimate the national homeless population. +his paper will present the national

demographics established in a >G survey by a professor at the /niversity of 6daPsk

while acknowledging that its results should not be taken as directional evidenceL while

not statistically accurate, the evidence is based on the best available data.

+he professor’s demographic results use a methodology that consists of averaging a

variety of surveys from many regions around !oland to come up with the mean number

of homeless people. $+he report acknowledges its statistical limitation due to this

methodology%. +he study’s demographic analysis shows that men consist of more than

IGF of !oland’s homeless populationL mostly aged between JG and @G yearsL less than

EF have received higher educationL more than CGF of homeless people are divorcedL the

most common environments for homeless people are urban areasL MF of homeless

people are !olish nationalsL the ma(ority are alcoholicsL there are very few drug users.J

2 See Dębski 2011.34 See Dębski 2011.


13/45

While some of these points are e'pected, the dramatic gender ine5uality, high amount of

nationals, and lack of drug addicts sets the homeless population of !oland apart from

many other countries. /nderstanding the demographics of the homeless in !oland is

crucial to developing effective strategies to curb homelessness nationally.

+he !olish homeless support system is primarily one that treats homelessness in a similar

manner to treating a population during an emergency. +he goal, during an emergency, is

to manage and prevent the catastrophic effects from developing any further. Similarly, the

!olish homeless support system refuses to attempt to end the homeless people’s lives as

homeless, through housing support programs and employment opportunities. 3nstead, the

!olish homeless support system solely attempts to manage the suffering that homeless

people e'perience on a daily basis by feeding the homeless and providing them

temporary shelter, neglecting the why they need these things in the first place. -f the few

homeless prevention programs that e'ist, there’s a drastic lack of coordination,

monitoring, and long"term evaluation, causing the programs to be largely unsuccessful. 3n

addition, there’s no national strategy for solving the social issueL this is an anomaly in

urope, where most countries do, in fact, have national policies for addressing

homelessness. +he lack of a national approach prevents successful solution due to

regional fragmentation and coordination deficiencies.C Aany believe that since !oland

(oined the / in >GGC, issues of homelessness have been addressed. :owever, as

indicated earlier, this funding goes toward managing the populations instead of directly

ending homelessness.

+here are two primary factors of homelessness in !oland8 a detached understanding of

unemployment, homelessness, and povertyL and the modern effects of !oland’s former

5 See Jakulski 2014.


14/45

communist regime. 3n terms of social e'clusion, most people, including government

officials, commonly understand poverty and unemployment as, respectively, more severe

and less severe than homelessness. :owever, the problem with this understanding is it

fails to acknowledge that homelessness is a result of unemployment and is, indeed, a

form of poverty. &n analysis of over @G commune strategies for addressing social issues

concluded that homelessness is thought of as a relatively insignificant issue in

comparison to other social problems, ensuring continued political and national neglect.

+ypically, unemployment and poverty are not only treated as separate issues from

homelessness, but are also prioriti7ed in resolving over homelessness. Such a singular

understanding of homelessness causes nation"wide neglect of the root causes of

homelessness, as well as eliminates any roles that health, housing, or (udiciary actors may

have in curbing the issue.@

+he second factor of homelessness is the echoing effects of the former communist

government. ven though !oland transitioned into a democracy more than >G years ago,

the problems of its communist regime still massively contribute toward homelessness

today. !oland’s slowly moving away from the housing schemes of communist !oland,

where temporary housing is rare, yet the only option for newly homeless people, and debt

levels remain high from the governmental transition. &s a result, evictions fre5uently

occur and result in a permanent state of homelessness. &nother result of this is that it’s

substantially harder to transition from being homeless in !oland than it is in many other

countries. +his is because the !olish Welfare system isn’t nearly as developed as most

Western uropean nations because the communist governments would consistently claim

that there were no social problems, allowing the governments to eliminate any spending

6 See Jaskulski 2014.


15/45

on institutions and strategies that were designed to remedy social problems such as

homelessness. ollowing the democratic transition, however, !olish 6-s begun to take

the first steps in setting up a new social system. +hese organi7ations begun with basic

infrastructures, such as night shelters and soup kitchens, but the economic effects of

transitioning away from communism 5uickly halted these 6-s, until >GGJ when !oland

(oined the /. :owever, these programs are still in their beginning phases, ineffectively

addressing the homeless issue.

/p until this point, the ma(ority of this paper has been a criticism of the use of

empirical data in !oland for establishing statistical trends regarding the national homeless

problem. :owever, an absolutist claim, such as refusing to acknowledge any statistics as

accurate, is impossible in gaining a full understanding of the homeless population. +he

most interesting empirical data is a study that establishes the potential benefits of

homelessness, as per the homeless populations’ opinions. CM.CF of homeless respondents

to this study believe that there are no benefits to homelessness. .MF of homeless

respondents believe that there is nothing to lose in being homeless, presenting a more

apatheticDneutral view toward their lack of residency. >F are (ust happy to be aliveL C.>F

believe that homelessness teaches them to be humble and modestL >.JF believe

homelessness gives them a uni5ue sense of freedomL and J.@F believe that they are fine

because they can stay in shelters and suitably eat $Widera, Wo(ciech%.

:omelessness is a ma(or problem in !oland that needs to be addressed at a

national level. 3n order to do so, however, more nation"wide studies of the homeless need

to occur, rather than multiplications of regional and local surveys. -ne potential solution

to homelessness at a nation"wide level is to shift the current focus of managing the


16/45

suffering that the homeless face into focusing on employment services and housing.

ational law should re5uire local authorities to reintegrate the homeless into the labor

market, rather than (ust re5uire local authorities to provide emergency relief, such as food

and water. By shifting the strategic focus and increasing the scope of knowledge about

the national homeless pandemic, !oland can dramatically decrease its homeless

population and remedy a problem that plagues a large amount of the nation.


17/45

Sample *:

(he >< Millenni#m eclaration: A Brie) ;istorical =evie!

&fter recogni7ing the importance of establishing an approach to poverty that

incorporates environmental responsibility, the /nited ations $/% adopted the /

Aillennium GC as the desired year to achieve its goals

I

. When >GC came around, more than CG leaders from across the world met at the / head5uarters in ew York

#ity and agreed upon a new framework of developmental goals. +his paper will begin

by describing the Aillennium


18/45

approach they shared toward addressing poverty. /nlike previous approaches, the

Aillennium


19/45

or failure.2G +he language of the goals and its specificity enable the / to more easily

pressure the globe to accomplish the goals, making them more uni5ue compared to other

poverty mitigation strategies.

+he ne't section of this paper will e'plore the effects that the Aillennium


20/45

+he /

pilot program to deal with the restoration and preservation of ecosystems in the :uaihe

9iver Basin. +he overall goal was to 1address national environmental management and

to conserve global biodiversity.2

E

in production this year and * more leaves that could meet the premium level

standard.2J By the end of the five"year pro(ect, Tinyang contained up to safe and

sustainable tea production sites, benefiting #hina’s economy and paving the way toward

an ecologically sustainable tea"producing world.

/7bekistan and Beekeeping

12 See !$e )*D,s 2014 ar!ile !$a! e#lains !$oroug$ly i!s

oo#era!ion i!$ !$e inyang /unii#al 8oern&en! o% !$e 9enanroine. :$is ar!ile goes in!o de!ail abou! agriul!ural oo#era!ion

be!een !$e )* and inyang o;ials and !$e dire! orrela!ion !$a!

!$ese $ad i!$ !$e )*,s sus!ainable deelo#&en! goals.


21/45

Aillennium with the /7bekistan government to launch the (oint / &ral Sea !rogramme of >G>.

+he purpose of the program was to establish a new way to revive /7bekistan’s economy

and promote sustainable development, while dramatically reducing the amount of

impoverished citi7ens living in /7bekistan. +he conclusion of the program? Bees.

+he study concluded that beekeeping would be the perfect economic replacement

for /7bekistan, stimulating its economy by creating a new industry that the poor can

easily participate in.C Beekeeping has an incredibly cheap startup price despite having a

consistently high demand, thus the /

economic replacement for /7bekistan. ntrepreneurs who want to become involved in

the beekeeping business were able to register cheaply and attend /

&mudarya district, with more than >G beehives being delivered to hopeful businessmen.

:owever , the /

start"up costs. +he /


22/45

1Rthe / &ral Sea !rogramme helps address the economic, health and food needs of

more than EG,GGG people directly affected by the environmental crisis, while other

community development plans, such as the provision of basic infrastructure, improved

social services and healthcare, benefit almost CGG,GGG people indirectly.2@

Aalawi Women and 9ecycling

&s a historically patriarchal society, the drastic lack of income for women in the

9epublic of Aalawi is one of the largest problems facing the republic in modern times.M

+he fundamental barrier to women obtaining revenue is the lack of access to the (ob

market due to the patriarchal ideologies within the society. While it certainly does not

enable e5uality for women in the 9epublic of Aalawi, the /

massive leap toward female e5uality in the republic by launching the 1Waste for Wealth2

pro(ect. 3n the republic, over IGF of urban waste is organic and recyclable, holding

massive potential to increase not only income for women, but food security for everyone

in the country.I

16 See !$e )*D,s 2013 ar!ile !$a! e#lains !$e goals' &e$anis'

and ou!o&es o% oo#era!ion be!een )?bekis!an,s goern&en! and

!$e )*D.


23/45

3n >GG, the 1Waste for Wealth2 pro(ect begun with the training of (ust EM

women, starting with the simplistic (ob of converting compost into fertili7er . +he

conversion enables the women of Aalawi to not only gain a large amount of revenue

directly, but also use the manure"based fertili7er to grow crops for their own uses. +he/

the garbage in the regionL organi7ing it into distinct categories based off of the different

materials that the trash is made of L saniti7ing the materials to get rid of germsL

decomposing the materials to turn them into a fertili7er L and finally, bagging the manure

fertili7er and selling it to corporations. +he pro(ect has allowed the formerly

unemployed women of Aalawi to be able to earn a living wage while simultaneously

cleaning the region and promoting the agricultural industry throughout the region . 3n

addition, water"vectored diseases have dramatically diminished in the region due to the

enhanced cleanliness of the region.>G

ot only did the /

training the women, but it also provided thousands of dollars toward constructing storage

places for the fertili7er .> &s a result, every waste dump in the pro(ect areas has been

removed. -ver CI new fertili7er entrepreneurs have been trained by the /

epitomi7es the importance of combining economic growth with socially progressive and

environmentally friendly initiatives. ot only does the pro(ect provide massive amounts

of wealth to the Aalawi economy, but also it furthers e5uality for women in the country

1 See oo!no!e 12.

20 See $arles /kula,s 2014 ar!ile !o read a !$oroug$ analysis o% !$e

#ros and ons o% !$e )*D #rogra& in /alai. :$e ar!ile de!ails a#ersonal narra!ie' in addi!ion' $i$ &ay $el# on!e!uali?e !$e#rogra&,s broader ee! on !$e o&en in /alai.21 See oo!no!e 12.


24/45

while simultaneously dramatically benefiting the pollution and agricultural industry of

the country.

0ene7uelan Youth and Ausic

With more than seven percent of its inhabitants living in e'treme poverty, the /

targeted 0ene7uela as a key country to employ dramatic sustainable anti"poverty

measures within.>> :owever , 0ene7uela has been known as a nation that is historically

against Western imposition. 3n order to accommodate 0ene7uela’s anti"imperialist

desires while simultaneously accomplishing the ob(ectives of relieving poverty

throughout the nation, the /

effort, wealth, and time into a pro(ect known as the System of Youth and #hildren’s

-rchestras of 0ene7uela. +he program began in >GG>, however , is still functioning even

today. !oor 0ene7uelans between the ages of three and > are the main demographic

targeted by the program, which teaches them the art of music and how to play certain

instruments. While at first this may seem to be insignificant toward eradicating poverty,

the /

discipline and healthy past"times, thereby setting children on a path to create better lives

for themselves and their families.2>E +hrough the orchestral methodology of the /

students are able to not only work harder toward improving their own lives, but they are

able to work harder toward improving their family’s lives.

+he funding for the 0ene7uelan program re5uired a partnership with the 3nternational


25/45

professional musicians, and even inspires the students with famous musicians. 3n total,

over ECG,GGG of the 0ene7uelan youth population have gone through the program and

begun living happier and more sustainable lives. While this program doesn’t deal with

the /’s ideal approach toward 1sustainability,2 which is usually in relation to deterring

environmental degradation, this program still meets its goal of sustainability by not

contributing in any way, shape, or form toward ongoing environmental devastation. +he

program begins at the preschool age, giving children the attention that they need but are

not able to achieve due to the systemically impoverished structures of the nation .

&dditionally, the children are placed in a safe yet challenging environment, teaching

them endurance, resilience, a deep sense of value, trust, and confidence.>J

4ebanon and Water Scarcities

& large focus of this paper has been on the /

attempting to mitigate environmental damage, whether through the 9epublic of Aalawi’s

composting efforts or #hina’s environmentally friendly tea farming efforts. :owever ,

this ne't section will focus on how 4ebanese farmers are fighting the effects of climate

change in order to effectively adapt to its damages and successfully maintain their

agricultural efforts despite the drastic environmental modifications that are to come in the

near future. 3n the last few decades, the most common months in 4ebanon for rain

$C +he significance of that number means that there is a

substantially smaller amount of well water needed to continue hydrating the crops of

farmers, causing an inevitable food crisis.

24 See @l Sis!e&a,s ar!ile abou! !$eir #rogra& in ene?uela !o %ur!$erlearn abou! !$eir obCe!ies and !$e indiidual !raining and s!ra!egi

a##roa$es !$a! !$e #rogra& !akes.25 See -ssaad Ra??ouk,s ar!ile !$a! !$oroug$ly de!ails !$e #roble&s

being rea!ed by li&a!e $ange in >ebanon.


26/45

:owever , in response to this increasing water shortage, the /

4ebanese Ainistry of nvironment to provide climate resilient infrastructure to the

farmers. +he pro(ect has implemented rainwater"harvesting systems on top of

greenhouses used for growing crops, storing the water in underground storage tanks.

While this seems like a modest solution that is incredibly simple, it more than doubles the

amount of water that is harvested by the farmers, increasing the potential for crop growth

and fully mitigating the water scarcity effect caused by ongoing environmental changes,

such as climate change.>@ +his pro(ect not only dramatically increases crop yields, but it

also saves money farmers would have spent on purchasing water , protects the water from

pollution and salini7ation, and preserves the water 5uantity overtime. 3n addition, the

pro(ect reduces the #-> emissions that are generated from water pumping, serving as a

climate"friendly pro(ect in the long run. +he /

providing the infrastructure. 3n fact, the /

guidebook for any farmers that are interested in preserving rain water in such an effective

manner , making it available for the broader 4ebanese population.

>GEG Sustainable GC as the 1target year ,2

or year that the goals were desired to be achieved by. +hus, in >GC, a new plan was

needed to e'tend the initial framework and continue promoting sustainable development

in impoverished areas throughout the world. G>, a / meeting occurred

named 9ioU>G, which determined and created a planning commission that would come

up with the new sustainable development goals to propose and eventually adopt in the

>GC /nited ations meeting.>M +he commission then spent over a year negotiating the

26 See )*D 2015 ar!ile !$a! desribes !$oroug$ly !$eir #rogra& %or#roiding in%ras!ru!ure and !raining !o >ebanese (g$!ers in order !o

resole !$e #roble&s being rea!ed by li&a!e $ange.27 See !$e ar!ile #ublis$ed by !$e )ni!ed *a!ions in 2015. :$is ar!ile

desribes !$e RioE20 &ee!ing and i!s een!ual eolu!ion in!o !$e


27/45

plan and eventually proposing M new goals for the /nited ations to adopt. +hese goals

were adopted in &ugust of >GC, with all E"member states of the / agreeing that the

goals would be ideal for promoting sustainable development between >GC and >GEG.

+he new framework established M distinct goals for countries to achieveL these goals

were foundationally the same as the Aillennium 8 nd hunger , achieve food security and improved nutrition, and

promote sustainable agriculture.

6oal E8 nsure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages .

6oal J8 nsure inclusive and e5uitable 5uality education and promote

lifelong learning opportunities for all.

6oal C8 &chieve gender e5uality and empower all women and girls.

6oal @8 nsure availability and sustainable management of water and

sanitation for all.

6oal M8 nsure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy

for all.

6oal I8 !romote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full

ado#!ion o% !$e ne sus!ainable deelo#&en! goals globally.

2+ See >i? ord,s 2015 ar!ile !$a! desribes !$e rea!ion' ile&en!a!ion' ideals' ri!iis&s' and %unda&en!al #roble&s be$ind!$e 2015"2030 sus!ainable deelo#&en! goals. .


28/45

and productive employment, and decent work for all.

6oal 8 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable

industrialisation, and foster innovation.

6oal G8 9educe ine5uality within and among countries.

6oal 8 Aake cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and

sustainable.

6oal >8 nsure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

6oal E8 +ake urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts $taking

note of agreements made by the /### forum%.

6oal J8 #onserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources

for sustainable development.

6oal C8 !rotect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial

ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt

and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.

6oal @8 !romote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable

development, provide access to (ustice for all and build effective,

accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

6oal M8 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global

partnership for sustainable development.

+he M goals were chosen following the conclusion of the open working group’s

draft agenda and resulting negotiations at the /nited ations throughout >GJ .

&ccording to the /

and !rogramme Support, the 1>GEG Sustainable


29/45

is destined to succeed.2> +his indicates that the new goals are consistent with the former

goals, only that they recogni7e the previous short"comings of the >GC goals and are able

to adapt well in order to better stimulate economic growth while promoting social e5uity ,

diminishing poverty, and being environmentally responsible.

:owever , despite the plan having a previous C"years of effort to improve upon ,

challenges certainly remain. &ccording to the 6erman Ainister of the nvironment, the

primary challenge 1is to achieve, as 5uickly as possible, the paradigm shift to an

economic development that finally respects the ecological boundaries of our planet and at

the same time eliminates poverty and hunger .2EG

%ur!$er de!ails desribing !$e es!ablis$&en! and uni=ue $o#es o% !$e

2030 Sus!ainable Deelo#&en! -genda based o o% being be!!er !$an

!$e /illenniu& Deelo#&en! 8oals.

30


30/45

fre5uently ignore environmental regulations, undermining environmental responsibilities

in order to widely increase profits. 3n addition, the /nited Vingdom and Oapan disagree

with the implementation of the goals. +he two countries agreed that the goals are too

complicated and costly to implement, very difficult to convince the public that they are

worthwhile goals that are realistic, and would prefer a substantially narrower plan,

similar to the >GGG goals. E> 3n fact, G@. ven if there is a shortage of financing, the / will still be able to

successfully diminish poverty globallyQ(ust not necessarily eliminate it.

31


31/45

3n conclusion, the /nited ations has led a very successful campaign to promoting

sustainable poverty eradication globally between >GGG and >GC. Specifically, in the

period between >GGE and >GC, the /nited ations Aillennium


32/45

Bibliography

#larembau', !atricia. 13n 0ene7uela, music provides hope for impoverished youth.2

Oune >J, >G. &ccessed ovember >G, >GC. /nited ations GJ. &ccessed ovember I, >GC.

https8DDwww.danchurchaid.orgDwhere"we"workDlist"of"pro(ectsDpro(ects"in"

africaDeconomic"empowerment"of"women"in"malawi.

l Sistema /S&. 1l Sistema in 0ene7uela.2 +he &lliance of l Sistema 3nspired

!rograms. o G, >GC.

https8DDwww.elsistemausa.orgDel"sistema"in"vene7uela.htm.

ord, 4i7. 1Sustainable development goals8 all you need to know.2 Oanuary , >GC. &ccessed ovember , >GC. http8DDwww.theguardian.comDglobal"

developmentD>GCD(anDDsustainable"development"goals"united"nations.

:endricks, :.. Barbara. K6lobal nvironmental 4eaders 'plore !olicies to !ut

World on 3nclusive Sustainable 6rowth !ath.K /!3. September >M, >GC.

&ccessed ovember M, >GC. http8DDwww.unpei.orgDlatest"newsDglobal"

environmental"leaders"e'plore"policies"to"put"world"on"inclusive"sustainable"

growth"pathXsthash.i9T0b7An.dpuf .

4i, Aingshui. 1Biodiversity conservation yields organic tea in #hina.2 /nited


33/45

ations GJ. &ccessed ovember I, >GC.

http8DDwww.undp.orgDcontentDundpDenDhomeDourworkDourstoriesDbiodiversity"

conservation"yields"organic"tea"in"china.html.

Aartne7"SolimZn, Aagdy. K6lobal nvironmental 4eaders 'plore !olicies to !ut

World on 3nclusive Sustainable 6rowth !ath.K /!3. September >@, >GC.

&ccessed ovember M, >GC. http8DDwww.unpei.orgDlatest"newsDglobal"

environmental"leaders"e'plore"policies"to"put"world"on"inclusive"sustainable"

growth"pathXsthash.i9T0b7An.dpuf .

Akula, #harles. 1:ow women in Aalawi are turning waste into wealth.2 #itiscope.

September I, >GJ. &ccessed ovember , >GC.

http8DDcitiscope.orgDstoryD>GJDhow"women"malawi"are"turning"waste"wealth.

!arker , GGJ. 3ss. EC, pages >MC">IE.

9a77ouk , &ssaad. 1#limate change8 the elephant in the room.2 +he GC. &ccessed ovember >G, >GC.

http8DDwww.dailystar .com.lbDewsD4ebanon"ewsD>GJD&ug"CD>@M>E"climate"

change"the"elephant"in"the"room.ash'.

Sartor , 0alerie. 1&ll the tea in #hina8 the political impact of tea.2 #hina.org.

ovember G, >GGM. &ccessed ovember I, >GC.

http8DDwww.china.org.cnDenglishDcultureD>ECGC.htm.

Suyakulov, Sherali. 1+he role of honeybees in the intensive farming.2 +he 6 Small


34/45

6rants !rogramme. >GE. &ccessed ovember I, >GC.

http8DDsgp.u7DenDnewsDII.

/. 1+ransforming our world8 the >GEG &genda for Sustainable GC. &ccessed

ovember I, >GC.

https8DDsustainabledevelopment.un.orgDpost>GCDtransformingourworld.

/. 1-pen Working 6roup proposal for Sustainable GC. &ccessed

ovember I, >GC. https8DDsustainabledevelopment.un.orgDfocussdgs.html.

/

GJ. &ccessed ovember I, >GC.

http8DDwww.undp.orgDcontentDundpDenDhomeDourworkDourstoriesDbiodiversity"

conservation"yields"organic"tea"in"china.html.

/GC.

&ccessed ovember >G, >GC. /nited ations


35/45

Sample :

=evie!: Mary Shelley0s eh#mani8ation o) the isa3led

Aary Shelley’s II novel, Frankenstein, revolves around 0ictor rankenstein’s

re(ection of his creation due to its une'pected appearance. +oward the end of 0olume 33,

#hapter 33, the monster confronts rankenstein at the summit of the Aontanvert

Aountain. +he identity of the monster plays an integral role in garnering a holistic

understanding of certain themes of the creature and its creator’s conversation. :owever, a

complete comprehension of these themes is impossible absent a discussion regarding

+obin Siebers’s 1unstable identities82 a theory that e'plains the role disability plays in the

formation of identity. +he dehumani7ation of the monster in Shelley’s Frankenstein can

be directly correlated to +obin Siebers’s theory of the instability of identity.

&ccording to +obin Siebers, disability is the underlying determinant of an

individual’s identityL blindness, deafness, an inability to walk, etc. are commonly thought

of as disabilities, yet are also often used to identify individuals with such disabilities.

Within Frankenstein, the monster’s disability, a product of its visual representation, is the

foundation of its identity.


36/45

+he monster universali7es the hatred that it faces, removing any blame placed on

rankenstein for his disappointment in the monster’s appearance, by claiming that all

men hate him as a result of his identity, rather than (ust rankenstein. +he creature

continues its generali7ation, saying, 1Rif the multitude of mankind knew of my e'istence,

they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction2 $Shelley MI%. +hrough

his distancing of blame, the monster makes it clear that rankenstein’s animosity toward

him is a result of his ugliness and abnormality, rather than the personal relationship

$which includes murder% that the two share.

While Siebers’s theory of identity formation e'plains why the monster is

perceived in such a way, an analysis of Siebers’s theory of social construction is

necessary to understand ways, besides hatred, in which the monster’s physical features

affect its role in society. &ccording to Siebers, the social construction of disabilities

centers around the role that rhetoric, modern images, and descriptions play in formulating

the perception of disabilities $J%. Siebers critici7es popular portrayals of disabilities,

claiming that society replicates disabilities in a marginali7ing and blaming manner $C%.

+he social construction of disabilities forces disabled individuals to be recogni7ed as

inferior in some sort of way. !eople that are disabled are perceived as completely

different beings and are faced with suffering from constant pre(udice due to the way that

disability is depicted throughout society.

While identity formation is, in and of itself, a result of social construction, it is

only a minor subset under a large umbrella of norms that result from societal perceptions.

+hus, much of the evidence that reinforces Siebers’s theory of identity construction

overlaps with evidence supporting his theory of the social construction of disabilities.


37/45

:owever, the rhetoric that rankenstein uses to describe the monster contributes to the

social construction of disabilities. /pon seeing the monster, rankenstein describes his

own creation, declaring, 1its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human

eyes2 $Shelley M@%. +he claim that the monster’s ugliness is 1too horrible for human eyes2

relies upon a determined notion of what broader humanity deems as pleasant enough for

perception. +hrough his description of the monster, rankenstein separates the ugly from

the human based upon what he understands would be the consensus of other members of

society. 9ather than describing the monster’s personality or traits, the scientist describes

his creation solely by its physical nature, dehumani7ing the totality of the monster into

merely what it’s labeled as8 a monster. +he monster e'plicitly flags rankenstein’s

murderous desires as a double standard that results from the arbitrary yet socially

recogni7ed binary between abled and disabled. +he monster 5uestions rankenstein’s

murderous (ustifications, saying, 1Ryou accuse me of murderL and yet you would, with a

satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature2 $Shelley MI%. +his in5uiry by the

monster serves as a criticism of broader social norms that surround disability. +he

monster’s 5uestion critici7es not only its murder, but also the (ustifications behind its

socially designated inferiority and the distinction between abled humans and disabled

monsters.

+he binary that differentiates abled and disabled identities results in two divided

communities8 non"disabled and disabled. +he final relevant component of Siebers’s

theory of unstable identities is the need for these two communities to unify, re(ecting the

distinction between bodies that are abled and disabled. Siebers emphasi7es the power that

social collaboration presents in influencing political action $Siebers @%. :e calls for


38/45

different communities to work together in order to create a multitude of large movements

that cooperate with each other, rather than competing, which enables further social

progress.

3n rankenstein, the monster makes it clear that it wants to be part of a

community. rankenstein’s re(ection of the monster causes it to e'perience endless

loneliness. While later on the monster unsuccessfully seeks a mate, this passage

e'emplifies the isolation faced by the scientist’s creation. /pon describing the image of

(oy, the monster despairingly vocali7es, 13 am rather the fallen angel * verywhere 3 see

bliss, from which 3 alone am irrevocably e'cluded2 $Shelley MM%. +he monster e'plains

that the conse5uences of the isolation he is forced to live with prevent him from

e'ploring the pleasures of happiness and, instead, re5uire him to suffer. +he creation

identifies himself as the fallen angel, biblically known as Satan and his demons, which

represents the re(ection and banishment the creature faces due to his physical appearance,

similar to the demons that were cast out of heaven for their sins. 4ater in the passage, the

scientist e'plicitly denies the monster’s re5uest to escape isolation and engage within a

community. +he scientist furiously informs his creation, 1Rthere can be no community

between you and meL we are enemies. Begone2 $Shelley MM%. +he re(ection only serves to

further isolate the monster from any sense of community that it needs in order to flourish.

While Siebers identifies the benefits of engaging in communities, Shelley depicts the

conse5uences of an inability to engage in such communities, with the result being misery.

+he dehumani7ation of the monster is e'emplified through an evaluation of

Shelley’s Frankenstein from the perspective of +obin Siebers’s theory of unstable

identities.


39/45

human’s identity. +he role disability plays in the monster’s dehumani7ation is clear

through the monster’s understanding of its identity, the social construction of the monster,

and the communal seclusion that the monster faces. +he attitudes, words, and emotions

e'pressed within the brief conversation between the creature and rankenstein are

problematic according to +obin Siebers’s theory of unstable identities, reinforcing the

binary between abled and disabled. :owever, there are other scenes throughout Shelley’s

novel in which Siebers’s theory cannot potentially be applied, such as the killing of the

monster’s mate. 3n this paper’s particular scene, the seclusion that the monster faces is a

result of its different identity. :owever, the e'istence of a mate, which occurs earlier in

the novel, presents an opportunity for the monster to live in a small community. +hough

the monster’s mate ultimately is killed before it can truly live, the potential of another

monster’s e'istence disproves the seclusion that the monster is forced to live within due

to its disability.


40/45

associated with both female se'uality and child bearing, as analogous to a means of

obtaining freedom as a woman. :er celebration of her hips, or her se'uality and freedom

se'ually and reproductively as a woman, is ultimately in direct opposition to the white

dominated, hetero"normative, se'ually repressive views Baldwin’s main character Oesse

portrays. Both works of literature are premised upon the black body’s deviance from

predominant hetero"normative structures. While the black body serves as an ob(ect of

sadism and unmet homose'ual desire for the white man in Baldwin’s story, #lifton

utili7es her hips as se'ual freedom and representative of her reproductive freedoms as a

female member of the black body.

When he wrote his story in @C, Baldwin was deeply involved in the civil rights

movement. Baldwin marched on Selma that year and witnessed the common brutal police

tactics present in the South at the time. :e e'hibits his perspective clearly of the white

oppressors’ confusion as they began to come to terms with the growing 1assault,2 or

socially progressive movements, that opposed their traditional, hidebound culture. &s one

of the only openly gay men during the civil rights movement, Baldwin was a rarity. +his

position in society enabled him to understand that there was a second level of oppression

against homose'uality in addition to race. #onse5uently, his deputy character, Oesse, a

white male, se'ually ob(ectifies the black body through violence and repressed

homose'ual desires.

arly in the story, Baldwin sets up his criticism of hetero"normativity when he

contrasts the Oesse’s feelings about his wife to his feelings about the black body. 3t is

important to note that the Oesse’s wife being named 6race is symbolic of the white"

cultured views that white maleDfemale marriage is sanctified and most prominent, or the


41/45

norm. &dditionally, the wife’s body is referred to as a 1frail sanctuary,2 furthering the

religious aspects of white"culture that perpetuate hetero"normativity. 3n bed but impotent,

the Oesse is unable to have se' with his 1sacred2 wife. :owever, when thinking about

having se' with black women, Oesse begins to use more emotionally driven, first person

language to suggest self"damnationL alluding to religious values regarding heterose'ual

marriages in white"culture. Oesse curses the pleasure he finds in the black body,

e'claiming 1Rthey were pretty good at that, all right.


42/45

1weird, uncontrollable, monstrous howling rumbling up from the depths2 $MCE%.

&dditionally, in the flashbacks to his youth, he recalls the arousal he felt as his family

attended a picnic and watched a black man get burned to death $MCC%. Baldwin also hints

at Oesse’s homose'ual repression in regards to his childhood friend -tis, who is hidden

away during the story. Oesse had wrestled with -tis in the dirt as children and he found

great (oy in itL but now they are apparently estranged, and 1the thought of -tis made him

sick.2 $MCC%. -tis may, therefore, be symbolic of Oesse’s homose'ual desires. +he illness

felt by Oesse at the very thought of -tis is likely the result of his embarrassment of the

homose'ual desires he felt towards -tis during his childhoodL and his denial of -tis in

his life may also be symbolic of his denial of his homose'ual desires.

&fter various allusions and hints, Baldwin bluntly e'poses Oesse’s desire for the

black male body at the clima' of the story with shocking, nearly unbelievable violence.

Baldwin describes a horrific method of e'ecution of a black man and Oesse’s reaction to

such to make the scene work on multiple levels.


43/45

3n Baldwin’s story, the black male body is the ob(ect of white rage, repressed

se'ual fetish and violent sadismL as seen through Oesse’s desires to torture and even

murder black men to purge himself of his sublimated homose'ual desires. +he constant

reemergence of se'ual eroticism for the black body, as e'hibited through Oesse’s constant

desire to inflict violence and pain on them, portrays the overwhelming control that his

homose'ual desires of black males have on him. +herefore, it can be said that Oesse’s life

is nearly controlled by the black body, as they are the ob(ect of Oesse’s lust and are thus

the ob(ect that controls the ma(ority of his actions and feelings about himself, or self"

esteem. +he black body is e5ually powerful in 4ucille #lifton’s poem but has the power

to free her rather than control her actions like Oesse’s in Baldwin’s story.

+he manner in which #lifton employs her hips as allegorical of female

empowerment is certainly uni5ue. #lifton’s poem was written in IM and for the

previous >G years, the reproductive rights of woman were contested across the nation. 3t

is important to understand that #lifton chooses to use the body part hips, as representative

of her black, female identity and the freedoms that she feels should accompany such. 3t is

often understood that the larger the hips, the more se'ually desirable a woman is. &s well,

the larger the hips, the more suitable the woman is for child bearing. +herefore, by using

hips, #lifton is both discussing the se'ual freedom of black woman, as she is discussing

her own hips and is herself a black womanL and she is addressing the reproductive rights

of woman and their right to choose.

#lifton finds great pride in the freedom of her hips, and her self"control of such.

She e'claims that no one can enslave her hipsL this may be understood in relation to the

constant control for struggle of their bodies’ that women faced during this time period.


44/45

urthermore, by claiming that her hips, which represent woman everywhere, do not 1fit

into little petty places,2 she is essentially claiming that all women cannot be categori7ed

as one and to do so is over simplistic and oppressive $#lifton J"C%. -ne law addressing all

women’s right to birth control or to choose abortion is not fair and does not acknowledge

the inherent freedom of a woman’s body as not to be controlled by laws or anyone else or

the diversity amongst women. 4astly, as a woman with large hips, she is capable of

childbirth, which may be part of the 1magic2 and 1mightiness2 that the poem points out

$#lifton ">%. +he necessity of childbirth provides a space where women are in powerL

men rely on women for the continuation of human e'istence, and absent a women’s

willingness to care for and nurture her baby or to even reproduce, there will be no

continuation of humanity. 3n this scenario women are given the upper hand and ultimately

control humanity and men with their se'ual, childbearing hips.

urthermore, she portrays women as being in power in regards to se'ual desires.

3n describing her hips as free to do what they want and go where they want to go, it may

be analogous to women being se'ually free. &s well, her hips are described as 1mighty*

magic*known to put a spell on a man2 $#lifton "J%. :er hips are therefore large, as

depicted earlier in the poem and se'ually desirable to men. +his se'uality is something

she takes great pride in and acknowledges her se'ual abilities to nearly control men. She

implies that men and their actions are dominated by se'ual desires and tendenciesL and

her hips being se'ually desirable allows them to control men to a certain e'tent thus

se'uality is very dominating and powerful. +he theme of se'ual desires being dominant is

also e'emplified in Baldwin’s story through Oesse. /ltimately, #lifton takes pride in her

hips as they represent her reproductive rights as a woman, se'ual freedoms and the power


45/45

that accompanies such. :er protection of her hips and their freedom is a protection of

women and their reproductive rights and se'uality. :er e'planation of the enchanting

nature of her hips se'ually represents the dominating nature se'uality has on menL and

that women, who hold the ob(ect being lusted for, are thus in control. 3n both views of

hips, reproductively and se'ually, women are in controlL therefore, hips, as representative

of se'ual lust and reproductive abilities, speak directly to powerful and free women.

+hroughout Baldwin’s story and #lifton’s poem, se'ual desires seem to take the

upper hand and give freedom, or a lack thereof, to the characters and speakers. 3n

Baldwin’s story, the character struggles with homose'ual desires and is constantly

attempting to repress such desires. Oesse appears ashamed because of his se'ual desires,

thus his se'ual desires ultimately have control over him. Similarly, #lifton’s hips seem to

control men both in their e'istence through reproductive abilities and in her hips’ se'ual

manipulative abilities. 3n both instances, a character finds power in se'uality and is

speaking out against societal, hetero"normative views. Baldwin’s character, controlled by

his homose'ual desires, subtly discusses his disposition, which is one that vastly opposes

his hetero"normative culture. Similarly, #lifton’s hips, able to control men, turn the tables

from a male"dominated society thus speaking out against hetero"normative culture and

laws.

Writing Samples - Dillon Hall

Documents