Examining Prejudice and Discrimination in Singapore Essay Example
Examining Prejudice and Discrimination in Singapore Essay Example

Examining Prejudice and Discrimination in Singapore Essay Example

Available Only on StudyHippo
  • Pages: 13 (3408 words)
  • Published: August 17, 2017
  • Type: Essay
View Entire Sample
Text preview

Introduction

In this essay, we will be explicating and giving the definitions of bias and favoritism. Besides, we will travel in deepness and lucubrate about the assorted sorts of favoritism in today 's society such as gender, disablement, size, looks, pecuniary, position, instruction, sexual and racial favoritism. After which, we will give solutions and ways to cut down racial favoritism in Singapore. Finally we will stop with a unit of ammunition up of decision.

Prejudice and favoritism is a lifting issue in today 's society. Harmonizing to Dictionary.com, bias is an unfavourable sentiment or feeling formed beforehand or without cognition, thought, or ground. Discrimination is the intervention or consideration of, or doing a differentiation in favour of or against, a individual or thing based on theA group, category, or class to which that individual or thing belongs instead than on single virtue

...

: racial and spiritual intolerance and favoritism.

To be prejudiced is to hold a cultural mentality and that is relied on negative or unpleasant stereotypes about persons or groups because of their cultural, spiritual, racial or cultural background. To know apart is to hold an active denial of coveted end from a certain group of people. The group can be based on sex, ethnicity, nationality, faith, linguistic communication, or even category. More late, disadvantaged groups now besides include those based on gender, age, and physical disablements.

Prejudice and favoritism are really common at both the person and social degrees. Any effort to eliminate or work out the job of bias and favoritism must therefore cover with predominating beliefs or political orientations, and societal construction.

Gender

There are many types of favoritism. Gender favoritism, besides known as sexism is really common

View entire sample
Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

In most societies, adult females have been viewed as the 'weaker sex ' who is in changeless demand of protection from the unsmooth universe. Womans are more delicate by nature compared to work forces, and are frequently victims of physical, emotional and psychological maltreatment. Gender favoritism does non merely use in communities and sometimes households but besides a batch of times in workplaces.

In Chinese Culture, male childs are more wanted than misss as they can go through down the household name. Harmonizing to BBC intelligence, around a million miss foetuss are aborted and 10s of 1000s of miss babes are abandoned in China, every twelvemonth. A male child will convey position and he will besides go on the household line. Families besides throw large jubilations for babe male childs while pretermiting the less-wanted misss.

The penchant for male childs is tied up in the Confucian belief that male inheritors are necessary to transport on the household name and take attention of the household liquors. A Chinese household concerns that if there is no boy no 1 will look after them and maintain them company in the hereafter. Confucius one time said, " There are three ways of being unpatriotic to your ascendants. Not transporting on the household name is the worse. ''

In early Japan, there is big gender favoritism. They have a stating that goes "work forces as breadwinners and adult females as housewifes '' . Even after Japan introduced the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in 1985, which prohibited favoritism against adult females in employment and urged employers to handle adult females every bit in footings of enlisting, occupation assignment and publicity. But, they are still

the last to be rehired in a full-time occupation. Nipponese adult females are besides expected to discontinue their occupation if they have kids.

Even if companies are confronting a deficit of workers, they had no program to seek to engage more adult females. Womans have to work twice every bit difficult as adult male to progress their callings because of the biass within Nipponese companies. Their university instruction is approximately the same as those without an upper secondary instruction. In 1997, statistics show that Nipponese adult females hold merely 9.3 % of professional places, compared to 44.3 % in the United States. Women 's income is merely 45 % of work forces 's even though they make up 64 % of Japan industry.

Females appear to be less strongly oriented toward personal terminus values than work forces, but more strongly oriented toward moral agencies. Besides in athleticss, particularly association football, where female officials/referees are easy introduced to the male side of the game are being discriminated. One such illustration was Andy Gray, a former football player, popular football initiate and observer. He was British telecasting channel Sky Sports chief initiate since 1992. However, he was fired after he was found to made male chauvinist remarks and made violative gestures to a female co-presenter. He had commented, "Can you believe that? A female linesman.

Womans do n't cognize the offside regulation. '' in which his chap presenter, Richard Keys replied, "Course they do n't. Somebody better acquire down at that place and explicate. '' during a post-match show when they thought they were away air. In another show, he was caught on camera ( in which it was edited

out subsequently on ) tugging his bloomerss and inquiring his female co-presenter Charlotte Jackson to insert the mike into his bloomerss.  In Singapore today, Gender favoritism while still existing, is less obvious.

Disability 

Besides the assorted types of favoritisms stated supra, there is besides a favoritism against the handicapped people. Having a 'disability ' agencies that a individual has a physical or mental damage. This in bend has a significant and long-run negative consequence on one 's ability to transport out normal mundane activities. Disability favoritism occurs when one is treated less favourably because of their disablement as compared to person without a disablement. This is known as direct favoritism. There are instances in which people with some signifier of disablement are treated otherwise, or are victimized.

Peoples who are non handicapped laugh at the handicapped because of the manner they walk or speak. These people gang up and do merriment of the handicapped. They belittle them, and experience satisfied with themselves. The handicapped are non able to make anything about it because there are excessively many people handling them that manner. There is besides indirect favoritism where everyone is treated every bit, but by handling everyone every bit, the handicapped is put to a disadvantage. This is more elusive and may besides be unwilled. An illustration would be when there are stepss to come in a edifice but a individual with a disablement might non be able to utilize the stepss and may necessitate a incline.

Size/looks 

Being of a different size or looking different may besides be a signifier of bias and favoritism. Often during first meetings, people are judged on first feelings, and first feelings are all

about the visuals. Many a clip people are discriminated against merely because they are `` excessively fat '' , "excessively scraggy '' or "non good looking adequate '' . Society has set a criterion where everyone wants an ideal organic structure and face. This is known as the aureate ratio. The ratio of " ( pes to umbilicus ) : ( navel to caput ) '' is the aureate ratio of the human organic structure.

A individual 's face has to be symmetrical and have " nice proportions '' to be considered good looking. There is a ground why plastic surgeries are in demand. While using for occupations, people are required to attach exposures of themselves. More frequently than non, the people who are better looking tend to acquire the occupation as compared to those who are less good looking. Then there is the instance of organic structure size. Peoples tend to do comments about fat people and fat gags. An illustration would be `` Yo Mama So Fat '' gags, which is really common. Even though different civilizations have a penchant for people of different sizes, everyone in general prefer slim to flesh out.

Monetary/financially

Fiscal favoritism is when people look down on others that they are poorer than them. This will impact them if they want to happen a occupation, acquire a rent or purchase an flat. Peoples tend to look at the visual aspect to analyse whether you are rich or you are hapless. For illustration, salesman will usually look for people that are trendier from those who wear apparels that seem old and tear. Service staff of well-known trade name in some parts might

non function or even come up to you if they think that you have no money to pay if they let you seek. So, what is the point to pass so much clip to function you?

In United States, there is a instance that they are know aparting against the unsighted people by declining to do money readable for them as they think at that place do non hold the demand. They do n't travel out a batch, there does non hold many opportunity for them to utilize the notes. Even for the device that is specially made for them to distinguish the money is expensive. At the terminal, blind people have to turn up their measures in different places to state them apart.

Fiscal favoritism besides involved the low-waged workers. In a manner that big figure were paid lesser than the minimal pay that they should acquire and they had worked overtime without wage. When they get injured in the work topographic point, they had to pay the measures themselves alternatively of holding compensation from their company.

Status/Education 

For position favoritism, most of this happens in the work topographic point. We can see batch of who butter up position that up high and despise those who have low position than them. Everybody wants to acquire to a higher topographic point. For these people that have position favoritism in head, they usually think that this is a short cut and clip salvaging manner. For lower position in the society, they are ever afraid of piquing the people of the higher position. This is because they ca n't afford to pass the money to contend instances with them.

We can besides

see employer decline to engage people that have foreign name, speaks with speech pattern, from another state or even locals who does non hold a high degree certification. Competition is acquiring higher and higher in the work topographic point.

Nowadays, it is the certification of instruction that decides the destiny of position in society. Without a certification, you will acquire no occupations. In Singapore, there are several foreign domestic worker maltreatment instances. Many do non cognize how to talk English and many does n't cognize where to seek for aid. There are besides many instances about kids bring their parents to old folks places and do non care about them any longer, or old folks being maltreatment because they are a load to the household.

Sexual favoritism ( gay/sexual orientation ) 

Peoples frequently get confused between gender favoritism and sexual favoritism. While gender favoritism is biased sentiments about the female/male gender, sexual favoritism is about their sexual orientation.

In society today, speaking about homosexualism is still an uncomfortable and huffy subject. While it has progressed from the yesteryear where homosexualism was illegal and you could be hanged for acknowledging that you were a homosexual, it has now been lawfully acceptable to articulate yourself one. However this does non halt the community around you to organize perceptual experiences and sentiments about you.

The 2 chief topographic points where Sexual favoritism is most apparent are in schools and the workplace. In the Singapore Armed Forces ( SAF ) , homophiles and effeminate work forces are managed harmonizing to the dictates of a work force directing issued. Probably its most good know categorization is Category 302, a medical codification given to military mans

who are "homophiles, cross-dressers, pedophiles, etc. '' homophiles are farther classified into those " with emasculate behavior '' and those "without effeminate behavior '' . This signifier of favoritism persists despite the fact that homosexualism was depathologised by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973, and homosexualism is non regarded as a psychiatric status by the local medical profession. More so, the classification of homosexualism with transvestitism and pedophilia by the SAF further backs up the populace 's incorrect feeling that it is unnatural.

During the hitch for Nation Service, any self-declared or discovered military mans who are homosexual are instantly referred and sent to the Psychological Medicine Branch of the Headquarters of Medical Services for a thorough psychiatric appraisal. After which, each of their parents are to come in for an interview. Once they are catagorised as a homosexual, they are immediately medically downgraded to a Public Employment Status of C ( PES C ) , irrespective of their degree of fittingness, and put through modified Basic Military Training. After Basic Military Training, they are deployed into a career which has no security hazards, posted to non-sensitive units and given a security position which restricts their entree to classified paperss.

In Singapore, while being homosexual is legal, same-sex matrimony is non, and any Acts of the Apostless of indecency between two people of the same sex, will hold you charged. Singapore being a diverse state, which encourages harmoniousness between different race, faith and background does non hold as many Sexual favoritism instances as compared to America. In fact, harmonizing to BBC News on 16 May 2009, there was an event aid by pinkdot.sg to mark love in

all signifiers and between people of every orientation. The event was for Singaporeans in general - to confirm our regard for diverseness and the freedom to love, irrespective of sexual orientation.

"We recognize that many Singaporeans are conservative... so we planned an inclusive event that would make all Singaporeans, directly and gay, '' organizer Mr Soh says.

Racial 

Racial favoritism is the discriminatory or opprobrious behaviour towards members of another race, besides known as Racism. Where most states do non excuse Racism, it is still exists and has become a stereotype in society today.

In the US, many Torahs forbid racial favoritism, and a figure of these are straight derived from Title VII in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The first of these Acts of the Apostless makes manifest that employers can non decline to engage qualified employees based on race or tegument colour, and they ca n't make other things like harass them for race, garbage publicities, or pay them at lower rates. The 1991 Civil Rights Act defines some ways that people who have experienced racial favoritism can action.

Till today, racial favoritisms still exist, particularly in workplaces where mostly foreign workers are employed ( largely Chinese subjects, Bangladeshis and Indian subjects ) . Faced with linguistic communication barriers and already lowly paid, they still have to follow orders and listen to coarsenesss being thrown at them by their local employers and higher-ups. The same can be said for domestic assistants, where there are legion studies of physical ( and sometimes sexual ) maltreatments by their employers and bureaus.

Solutions that can be used to cut down bias and favoritism in

Singapore

Education

It non right to judge person base on his or her race. They might look different from others but they are still human. In order to do people minimise favoritism, it is better to get down from the younger coevals because they are the hereafter. First measure is to take down `` the Particular Assistance Plan ( a programme that is catered to pupils who achieved the top 10 % of the Primary School Leaving Examinations ( PSLE ) ) school system '' ( Aaron, 2006 ) .

This school system dressed ore on Chinese instruction as there are so many Chinese pupils and that most of these schools has rich Chinese traditions and history ( eg, Hwa Chong Institution ) . Therefore, how can the racism be reduced in schools like this. Furthermore, authorities schools should besides include spiritual topic in their system. In add-on, universities should besides form some events that relates to intercultural exchanges. This will give an chance for pupils of any nationality to analyze different civilizations.

Workplace

The company should take " racially and culturally staff '' ( Strategies for Reducing Racism, 2001 ) . It is non merely for worker and for employee but besides use for direction or manager. Talk to different people from different cultural and seek to calculate out what is job that they have meet. By making this, the organisation will cognize what they need to make to better better working environment for their employees. Furthermore, seek to set different images of multicultural so none will experience isolate. Furthermore, there should be a particular squad to work out any racial job in the workplace. This group can besides

come up with some activities for employees so everybody can acquire closer to each other.

Race

In Singapore entirely, the authorities has implemented racial harmoniousness. It was in 1964, that Singapore went through 2 five-day periods of racial public violences. First in 21st July and second was in 2nd September. The minority of Malays in Singapore had thought that they would profit from the particular rights for Malayans that was portion of the 1957 Federation of Malaya Constitution when Singapore merged with Malaya. However, it was non portion of the understanding of the amalgamation that the particular rights were applicable for the Malays in Singapore every bit good, doing unrest among the Singapore Malays. Reason being that then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had wanted equal rights for all Singapore citizens, irrespective of race.

The public violences that broke out in the 2 day of the months resulted in lives lost and many injured.  And so, on 21st July, which was besides the day of the month that the first racial public violence broke out in 1964, is celebrated as Racial Harmony Day, in which inter-racial harmoniousness is emphasized and celebrated in schools which pupils are allowed and besides encouraged to dress up in traditional costumes of races other than their ain.

As most Singaporeans corsets in HDB flats, the authorities have besides implemented certain racial quotas for certain flats so that there is a balance between races in a vicinity. For case, certain flats are merely allowed to be bought by a certain race. If so happens that the proprietor of the level wants to sell the level, the purchaser would hold to be of the same race as

the old proprietor so that there is ever a balance in the races within the country.

Because of this regulation, there are many instances whereby neighbors of different races have inter-cultural exchanges during gay periods. Like how an Indian neighbour portion their homemade daintinesss with their Chinese neighbors and frailty versa.

Vicinity

Welcome new people no affair where they come from, give them some flower or little gift with nice stating such as `` It is nice to run into you ; I hope you will bask life here '' . In this manner, everybody will move every bit with each other and there will be no bias or racism. Another manner is that some household can even set the mark with the composing "All race are welcome here '' . By making this, the new people will experience merely like at place.

Individual

Peoples do non hold to do a group in order to cut down racism. Peoples can minimise favoritism by themselves. Merely be nice and be polite to everybody. Be brave to stand up once more racial favoritism, read book or research about racism on the cyberspace. Talk to those who still a victim of favoritism so people will understand more about this issue.

Media

As Racial Harmony Day is merely emphasized in schools, it can besides be spread through the media like wireless, telecasting, films, etc, so that both immature and old can be more educated about the importance of racial harmoniousness. Having Racial Harmony Day in school is non plenty as the younger coevalss could still be influenced by others around them particularly household members and neighbors. Even though the older coevalss might hold grown up with

different races in the older kampong yearss, there still might be possibility that they have biass against other races due to struggles that might hold happened in the yesteryear.

Decision

After looking at bias and racial favoritism in Singapore, there is still a batch to be done even though it is a multi-racial society as it is still really much a quandary in Singapore. Through our solutions such as more inter-cultural exchanges outside of schools where the authorities is merely implementing the racial harmoniousness idealism, in my sentiment, racial harmoniousness must still be educated to each and everyone regardless of age so that everyone knows the importance of racial harmoniousness.

Bibilogy

  1. hypertext transfer protocol: //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1506469.stm
  2. hypertext transfer protocol: //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8054402.stm
  3. hypertext transfer protocol: //aaron-ng.info/blog/racism-in-singapore.html
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New