Effects of Olfaction and Pheromones | Literature Review

Effects of Olfaction and Pheromones | Literature Review Abstract: A favorable scent goes a long way. An odor or fragrance (commonly referred to as a smell) is caused by one or more volatilized  chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the  sense  of  olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors. Scent plays a very important role in our lives. A pheromone is a secreted or excreted  chemical  factor that triggers a social response in members of the same  species. A survey of sample size 30 college students was conducted to find out if scent did attract attention or not. Keywords: Olfaction, human pheromones, MHC genes Introduction: Want to boost your mood or stir up old memories? Just use your nose. And, most important, scent can even drive one to romantic distraction. Think of your partners pajamas. Indeed, the nose can suss out something as complex as sexual compatibility. The terms fragrance and aroma are used primarily by the food and cosmetic industry to describe a pleasant odor, and are sometimes used to refer to  perfumes. In contrast, malodor, stench, reek, and stink are used specifically to describe unpleasant odor. In the  United Kingdom, odour refers to scents in general. In the United States, odor has a more negative connotation, such as smell, stench or stink, while scent or aromas are used for pleasant smells. Research has shown that certain human body odors are connected to human sexual attraction. Both fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) are connected to scent. Review of literature: OLFACTION Olfaction or olfactory perception is the  sense  of smell. Many vertebrates, including most mammals and reptiles, have two distinct olfactory systems—the main olfactory system, and the accessory olfactory system which is mainly used to detect pheromones. In female humans, the sense of olfaction is strongest around the time of ovulation, significantly stronger than during other phases of the menstrual cycle and also stronger than the sense in males. The MHC genes (known as HLA in humans) are a group of genes present in many animals and important for the immune system; in general, offspring from parents with differing MHC genes have a stronger immune system. Fish, mice and female humans are able to smell some aspect of the MHC genes of potential sex partners and prefer partners with MHC genes different from their own. Humans can detect individuals that are blood-related kin (mothers/fathers and children but not husbands and wives) from olfaction. The ability to identify odors varies among people and decreases with age. Studies show there are sex differences in odor discrimination; women usually outperform males. Pregnant women also have increased smell sensitivity, sometimes resulting in abnormal taste and smell perceptions, leading to food cravings or aversions. Olfactory Reference Syndrome (ORS) is a condition in which those affected have an excessive preoccupation with the concern that body odor may be foul or, on a good day, unpleasant. HUMAN PHEROMONES A pheromone is a secreted or excreted  chemical  factor that triggers a social response in members of the same  species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual. While humans are highly dependent upon visual cues, when in close proximity smells also play a big role in sociosexual behaviors. There is an inherent difficulty in studying human pheromones because of the need for cleanliness and odorlessness in human participants. The focus of the experiments on human pheromones has been on three classes of putative pheromones: axillary steroids, vaginal aliphatic acids, and stimulators of the  vomeronasal organ. Pheromones have been demonstrated clearly in other species, but their existence and ability to affect humans is still under debate. Several studies have been conducted that have reached different conclusions, but some pheromone effects seen in other mammals are definitely present in humans. Most studies have found that human sweat or putative pheromones increase physiological arousal, one way or another. This idea that something we cant even consciously smell is affecting our behavior is horrifying to some people, but in reality we are controlled by the combination of all our senses! Gustav Jà ¤ger (1832-1917), a German doctor and hygienist is thought to be the first scientist to put forward the idea of human pheromones. He called the manthropines. He said they were lipophilic compounds associated with skin and follicles that mark the individual signature of human odors. Lipophilic compounds are those that tend to combine with, or are capable of dissolving in lipids. Researchers in the University of Chicago claimed that they managed to link the synchronization of womens menstrual cycles to unconscious odor cues. The head researcher was called Martha McClintock, hence the coined termthe McClintock effect. When exposing a group of women to a whiff of sweat from other women, their menstrual cycles either accelerated or slowed down; depending on when during the menstrual cycle the sweat was collected before, during or after ovulation. The scientists said that the pheromone collected before ovulation shortened the ovarian cycle, while the pheromone collected during ovulation lengthened it. Even so, recent analyses of McClintocks study and methodology have questioned its validity. There are four principal kinds of pheromones: Releaser pheromones they elicit an immediate response, the response is rapid and reliable. They are usually linked to sexual attraction. Primer pheromones these take longer to get a response. They can, for example, influence the development or reproduction  physiology, including menstrual cycles in females,  puberty, and the success or failure of pregnancy. Signaler pheromones these provide information. They may help the mother to recognize her newborn by scent (fathers cannot usually do this). Modulator pheromones they can either alter or synchronize bodily functions. Usually found in sweat. There are differences between men and women in the types of glands, secretions and even microbial flora present in the axillary environment, suggesting a sex-specific role. Most of these glands do not become active until after puberty, suggesting a role in sexual communication. (Hays, 2003) Pheromone-like compounds are also found in salivary, seminal and urine secretions, but studies tend to focus on the most accessible: axillary sweat. Jacob (2000, 2001) found increased physiological effects, only noticed a positive increase in mood and increased arousal in women when the test administrator present was male. Men were unaffected by the sex of the tester, but had slightly less effects than females overall. They concluded that pheromones are incredibly context dependent. Humans must integrate many different brain functions to affect arousal and mood. Psychologists Rachel Herz and Estelle Campenni were just getting to know each other, swapping stories about their lives over coffee, when Campenni confided something unexpected: She was living proof, she said, of love at first smell. I knew I would marry my husband the minute I smelled him, she told Herz. Ive always been into smell, but this was different; he really smelled good to me. His scent made me feel safe and at the same time turned on—and Im talking about his real body smell, not cologne or soap. Id never felt like that from a mans smell before. Weve been married for eight years now and have three kids, and his smell is always very sexy to me. RESEARCH In the now famous T-shirt experiments it was shown that specific women chose as most sexy and pleasant smelling T-shirts belonging to men who had immune systems that were different from their own. Because we all possess different MHC genes (and body-odor), for every woman a different set of men will be delicious smelling and others wont be. Theres no Brad Pitt of body odor! A womans nose not only responds to a mans body-odor in terms of his biological suitability, women actually find how a man smells to be the most important factor in their sexual attraction. In two large studies were conducted to examine how important various physical and social status factors were for men and women when choosing a sexual partner, we discovered that above all other physical characteristics, women ranked a mans scent as the most important feature for determining whether she would be sexually interested in him. How a man smelled was also more much important than any social status factor. And of all physical characteristics women preferred a man to be better than average in his body-odor than anything else. Women also found men who smelled great due to the fragrance they wore irresistible. In the words of one respondent: If Im with a guy who smells really good, nothing else about him seems to matter. Among heterosexual couples, similar MHC profiles spell relational difficulty, Christine Garver-Apgar, a psychologist at the University of New Mexico, has found. As the proportion of MHC alleles increased, womens sexual responsiveness to their partners decreased, and their number of sex partners outside the relationship increased, Garver-Apgar reports. The number of MHC genes couples shared corresponded directly with the likelihood that they would cheat on one another; if a man and woman had 50 percent of their MHC alleles in common, the woman had a 50 percent chance of sleeping with another man behind her partners back. You encounter a particular smell, and it immediately transports you back to an earlier time and to a pleasant memory. A recent feature in the Association of Psychological Sciences’ Observer discusses the connection. Researchers have discovered that there is a strong connection between smells, emotions and early life experiences. In fact, there is a strong relationship between certain smells experienced very early in life, typically before age 5, that will trigger pleasant feelings and memories. This is particularly true for odors that we don’t smell every day. The reason for these associations is that the brain’s olfactory bulb is connected to both the amygdala (an emotion center) and to the hippocampus, which is involved in memory. And, because smells serve a survival function (odors can keep us from eating spoiled or poisonous foods), some of these associations are made very quickly, and may even involve a one-time association. But even in adulthood, we can easily make associations between smells and memories. You might draw a connection between a certain perfume or cologne and a first encounter with a friend or lover, or the scent of a certain food may transport you back to the first time you ate it. Among heterosexual couples, similar MHC profiles spell relational difficulty, Christine Garver-Apgar, a psychologist at the University of New Mexico, has found. As the proportion of MHC alleles increased, womens sexual responsiveness to their partners decreased, and their number of sex partners outside the relationship increased, Garver-Apgar reports. The number of MHC genes couples shared corresponded directly with the likelihood that they would cheat on one another; if a man and woman had 50 percent of their MHC alleles in common, the woman had a 50 percent chance of sleeping with another man behind her partners back. SURVEY A survey was conducted. The hypothesis was â€Å"Scent Attracts Attention†. A sample of 30 teenagers from the age 17-21 out of which 15 were females and 15 were males. Each one of them a questionnaire consisting of 17 questions. Some questions were ranged from 1- 5 and some were yes, no or may be. All the questions were given a score and accordingly the score was found out. The following were the questions given to the subjects. QUESTIONNAIRE Q1. How likely are you to initiate a conversation with a stranger on the basis of good fragrance that he/she is wearing? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q2. How likely are you to avoid having a conversation if the other person has a bad breath? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q3. Is good fragrance an important factor in framing first impression? Yes No Q4. Would you consider going for an aroma therapy? Yes No Q5. Do advertisements about perfumes or deodorants urge you to buy them? Yes No Q6. Have you ever been attracted to a person because of the way they smell? Yes No May be Q7. Do you feel that putting an external fragrance affects your self-esteem? Yes No May be Q8. What do you prefer, natural body odour or external fragrance? Natural odour or External fragrance Q9. Do you feel men and women have different body odours? Yes No May be Q10. Have you ever purchased body fragrances in order to improve your interpersonal relationship? Yes No Q11. How conscious are you about your body odour and its impact? Very unconscious Very conscious 1 2 3 4 5 Q12. Does deodorant/perfume attract people? Yes No Q13. How frequently do you use deodorants/perfume in a day? Never Once twice every few hours Q14. While travelling, can you tolerate other people’s body odour? Yes No Q15. Would you ever use external fragrances as a substitute to showering? Yes No Sometimes Q16. Do you buy soaps, body wash or talcum powder to help you enhance your body odour? Yes No May be Q17. Would you use gender specific deodorants/perfumes? Yes No QUESTIONNAIRE SCORING Q1. How likely are you to initiate a conversation with a stranger on the basis of good fragrance that he/she is wearing? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q2. How likely are you to avoid having a conversation if the other person has a bad breath? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q3. Is good fragrance an important factor in framing first impression? Yes (5) No (1) Q4. Would you consider going for an aroma therapy? Yes (5) No (1) Q5. Do advertisements about perfumes or deodorants urge you to buy them? Yes (5) No (1) Q6. Have you ever been attracted to a person because of the way they smell? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q7. Do you feel that putting an external fragrance affects your self-esteem? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q8. What do you prefer, natural body odour or external fragrance? Natural odour (1) or External fragrance (5) Q9. Do you feel men and women have different body odours? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q10. Have you ever purchased body fragrances in order to improve your interpersonal relationship? Yes (5) No (1) Q11. How conscious are you about your body odour and its impact? Very unconscious Very conscious 1 2 3 4 5 Q12. Does deodorant/perfume attract people? Yes (5) No (1) Q13. How frequently do you use deodorants/perfume in a day? Never (1) Once (2) twice (3) every few hours (5) Q14. While travelling, can you tolerate other people’s body odour? Yes (1) No (5) Q15. Would you ever use external fragrances as a substitute to showering? Yes (5) No (1) Sometimes (3) Q16. Do you buy soaps, body wash or talcum powder to help you enhance your body odour? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q17. Would you use gender specific deodorants/perfumes? Yes (5) No (1) Classification done according to the scores is the following: 17-34: Not attracted to scent at all 35-52: A little attracted towards scent 53-70: Moderate attraction towards to scent 71-85: High attraction towards scent The total score of females was 767. The total score of males was 792. The total score was 1559. The highest score one could get was 85. The lowest score one could get was 17. The highest total score could be 2550. The lowest total score could be 510. TOTAL No attraction towards scent: 0 A little attracted towards scent: 16 Moderate attraction towards to scent: 12 High attraction towards scent: 2 The conclusion of the survey was that there is little or moderate attraction towards scent. The hypothesis was proved correct, scent does attract attention. Males are attracted to scent more than females. References: www.psychology today.com www.wikipedia.com

Selling the Fantasy :: Shopping Retail Essays

Selling the Fantasy I slow my step to a stroll as I approach the doors to the Staten Island Mall. I am finally back in New York, and, of course, the first thing I am going to do is shop. I am going to make the most of this little excursion. Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap, Express, here I come. Accompanying me on this venture are my trusty friends, Andrea and Jennifer, both also back home for a weekend break from college. As we walk past the sliding doors, we enter what we've been conditioned to think is every woman's paradise. Huge elevators to the left and right, eye-catching signs, beautifully ornate displays. Perhaps more an advertiser's paradise, now that I think about it. Walking along the first floor we come across an Abercrombie and Fitch store. Nothing like images of half-dressed beautiful people to start off my day. Why do we always come here? Every time, the same thing happens. I slow my step and look over at my friends. "Andi, not Abercrombie again," I whine. "Do you remember what happened last time we came here? You bought a tank top for $20 and only wore it once!" Andrea shoots me a bemused look and continues walking into the store. In a few minutes, I reluctantly follow her in. Yay, I think to myself, my voice dripping with sarcasm, prepare to be sold some overpriced beautiful people. Walking into the store, I am immediately confronted by attractive salespeople trying to sell us trendy clothes and huge images on the walls of a gorgeous woman (dressed in Abercrombie and Fitch, of course) in the arms of a handsome man. This is why I hate coming here. That image on the wall. I mean, who doesn't want to be that woman? Every woman does, no o ne can deny it; the countless advertising campaigns have managed to convince us that by dressing like her we could become her. Highly unlikely I know, but that is exactly what advertisers are so good at selling. That particular image. That identity. The "who you are" defined by the "what you wear." The beautiful woman who wears Abercrombie and Fitch. And by the time I realize that I'm not the beautiful woman who wears Abercrombie, but rather the poor college student who can't afford Abercrombie, I've already been convinced to buy just one more shirt.

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton :: Ethan Frome Essays

Ethan Frome Ethan Frome, a novel by Edith Wharton, is set in the bleak Massachusetts town of Starkfield. Ethan Frome struggles to make a living as a farmer while his wife, Zeena, complains about her imaginary ailments. When Zeena’s cousin, Mattie, comes to live with the couple, Ethan and Mattie develop a growing friendship. This â€Å"friendship† arouses Zeena’s jealousy and so she evicts Mattie from the house. Ethan becomes furious as he realizes he has fallen in love with Mattie. As they are about to part, in despair, they attempt to end heir lives. Instead they are both left crippled and their original roles have changed for life. Caring for both, Ethan & Mattie and presiding over their wrecked lives, is Zeena. Edith Wharton emphasis her work with her individual style and technique. Wharton is very precise in her choice of words and uses situation irony to wrap the reader. Wharton structures the novel in a very easy to follow manner: by using chapters, cause & effect, relationships, and a great turning point. He setting & geography stay basic throughout the novel as it is winter is Starkfield. Individual happiness is a key element in the novel, while Ethan traps himself in the love he has achieved towards Mattie. Edith Wharton takes her novel beyond. Her extensive choice of words and variety of vocabulary make the novel more interesting. â€Å"...her Pierce relations to foist on him the cost of a servant; and for the moment wrath predominated.† (Wharton III). Wharton’s extensive vocabulary gives the reader a sense of intelligence from the narrator as well as a sense of a close to accurate imagination of Ethan Frome’s life. Wharton develops detailed emotions and detailed descriptions of Ethan which gives a strong impact to the reader. â€Å"He was the most striking figure in Starkfield, it was not so much his great height that marked him, it was the careless powerful look he had, in spite of a lameness checking each step like the jerk of a chain, there was som ething bleak and unapproachable in his face, and he was so stiffened and grizzled...† (Wharton IIII) Wharton is very precise and to the point. Technique is a key element in the novel, as Wharton started off in first person describing her interests in Ethan Frome. While in first person Wharton shows curiosity along with interest.

Michèle Roberts’s The Looking Glass Essay -- Michele Roberts Looking G

Michà ¨le Roberts’s The Looking Glass The understanding of history as a linear and unproblematic narrative, dominated by kings and queens, warriors and heroes, has long been denied by women writers. As Linda Anderson argues, these events ‘take on a different meaning, a different configuration when we begin to see through them – in both senses – to women’s concealed existence in the private sphere of family and home’ (Anderson, p.130). Women have little place in traditional linear history and have come to deny its authority and question its dominance. Frieda Johles Forman, in her introduction to a 1989 collection of essays on women’s temporality, argues that women suffer from a lack of history, an unrecorded past, and that this ‘absence strikes at odd, unsuspecting moments’ (Forman, p.8). But this absence of history is changing, as women begin to write their own stories and their own conceptions of the past. Women’s time and the political implications for femini sm of feminist historiography have spawned a wealth of writing in recent years. Even in the academic world of history, reliance upon major events as the narrative of history has been undermined by the possibility of a narrative of everyday lives, of everyday events and occurrences.1 However, this re-recording and re-making of history is fraught with danger, as Anderson warns: The ‘reclaiming of history’, the discovery of how our foremothers preceded and even anticipated us, can help to assure us that, despite the evidence, we do in fact exist in the world; yet if we ignore how that existence is textually mediated we end up simply reconstituting ‘reality’ as it is. (p.134) Anderson argues that, despite the development of a critique of history’s claim to objectivity a... ... and Sowton, Caoran, eds., Taking Our Time: Feminist Perspectives on Temporality (Oxford: Pergamon, 1989) Heath, Stephen, Flaubert: Madame Bovary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992) Irigaray, Luce, Sexes and Genealogies, trans. Gill, Gillian C. (New York: Cornell University Press, 1993) Michaud, Guy, Mallarmà ©, trans. Collins, Marie and Humez, Bertha (London: Peter Owen, 1966) Millan, Gordon, Mallarmà ©: A Throw of the Dice (London: Secker and Warburg, 1994) Oliver, Hermia, Flaubert and an English Governess (Oxford: Clarendon, 1980) Pearson, Roger, Unfolding Mallarmà ©: The Development of a Poetic Art (Oxford: Clarendon, 1996) Roberts, Michà ¨le, The Looking Glass (London: Little Brown, 2000) Spencer, Philip, Flaubert: A Biography (London: Faber and Faber, 1951) Steegmuller, Francis, Flaubert and Madame Bovary (London: Constable, 1993.

Book Review: Treasury of Royal Scandals is a national bestseller book written by Michael Farquhar

A Treasury of Royal Scandals is a national bestseller book written by Michael Farquhar that describes â€Å"The Shocking True Stories of History’s Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors. † This book is a random collection of different royal families and individuals who despite their many differences, have some similarities. However, they are often dark and negative similarities. No matter what person, family, or civilization someone is talking about historically, six themes seem to always come up, are discussed, and are debated. These themes include religious intolerance, disregard for the common public, dysfunctional personal lives, extreme pursuit of dynasty, a sense of superiority, and inequality towards women. These themes have influenced the outcomes of history from past to present – and may continue to in the future. It is within these themes that the similarities between the people and families mentioned within this book can be found. Religious freedom may be something that many people in the United States take for granted today, but people who lived during Pope Gregory IX’s rule were more familiar with religious intolerance. Pope Gregory IX had made his uncle’s persecution of heretics an official function of the church when he established the Inquisition in 1232. During his rule, Catholics were encouraged to â€Å"squeal† on other people’s acts of heresy, children testified against their parents, and mothers testified against their children. Anyone accused of heresy was dragged before papal inquisitors to answer charges, and once condemned, a victim was sent to be burnt at the stake. The entire town of Champagne, France was even put on trial and burnt at the stake after the local bishop was accused of allowing heresy. After Pope Gregory IX’s death, Pope Innocent IV came to rule and â€Å"improved† upon the inquisition methods. He now allowed torture to be used, but only allowed a person to be tortured once. Unfortunately for those people, however, one torture session could last several weeks. It became obvious during the time of the inquisition, that there was no religious freedom what so ever. If there was one person whose life exemplified a disregard for the common people, that person was Gregory Rasputin. Rasputin was a â€Å"greasy, drunken peasant, with the manners of a barnyard pig, and a staggering case of b. o. o boot, he was also king of creepy† (194). Of course, a man who cultivates this kind of reputation for himself clearly has no concern for the opinion of others. Rasputin’s eyes were legendary – a pale blue color with the ability to pierce and caress, while still looking naive and cunning. Rasputin used these eyes to dominate every person he was talking to – with not only the intensity they had, but also the way he continually stared at people for long periods of time. Rasputin influenced and dominated the royal family through Alexandra, the wife of the tsar, who was blind to his inner intentions. Although Alexandra refused to see this, the people saw perfectly. The people knew that Rasputin was a fraud whose influence on society was becoming more and more widespread as time went on, and eventually all of it would end in an uprising of some sort. Eventually, Rasputin was killed after many dramatic tries by Yusoupov (richest man in Russia and tsar’s nephew by marriage). It seemed that Rasputin was not ready to die, however, since he was poisoned, shot, shot twice more, beaten upon, and drowned before he was declared dead. Although many problems throughout history were between rulers and their people, some rulers also had dysfunctional personal lives. A good example of this is Napoleon, who chose to divorce his first wife in order to marry someone else who could possibly give him an heir, and who was constantly fighting with his brother (Joseph). Childless, Napoleon named his nephew heir to the throne, which outraged Joseph. Joseph had assumed that he would be heir to the throne and believed that he had the right to the throne as the eldest member of the family. This assumption outraged Napoleon in return, and the quarrel between the two brothers continued. Over time, Napoleon’s strive for power caused other arguments among his siblings, and in the end only three brothers (out of seven siblings) played active roles in his empires. It could probably be said that many of the rulers throughout history had their mind on everything, but what was best for their people. Therefore, it is only natural that Austrian Empress Maria Theresa constantly had her mind on creating a dynasty. Maria was an especially curious monarch, who created the Chastity Commission – a special department of the police charged with suppressing vice. It was said that Maria even played a part in the commission, disguising herself and roaming Vienna in search of her unfaithful husband. When she was not busy â€Å"storming the bedrooms of her people,† she concentrated on marrying off her children to the families that would help strengthen her position. One â€Å"episode† that showed Maria Theresa’s priorities was one involving her son Prince Joseph. He was heir to the throne and had fallen in love. Unfortunately, however, Princess Isabella of Parma (his chosen one) was a lesbian and had her eyes on someone else besides Prince Joseph. Maria Theresa never would have tolerated a lesbian relationship, that could jeopardize the dynasty, but that all ended when Isabella suddenly died of smallpox at the age of twenty-one. Despite the Prince being devastated by his loss, Maria Theresa wasted no time and immediately remarried him to a bride, whom he dared not even touch with his finger because of her â€Å"painfully ugly† appearance. There were few rulers, especially monarchs, who lacked a feeling of â€Å"superiority over ordinary men† (34). Louis XIV of France definitely did not lack this trait of monarchs. In fact, Louis XIV also felt himself to be superior to other monarchs. It was said that â€Å"Louis refused to be grouped with other kings under the term â€Å"Their Majesties† because, he explained, from that there might be deduced â€Å"an equality which does not exist† (34). During Louis’s seventy-two-year-reign (longest in European history), he strove to have all of the glory and prestige of France focus on himself. Louis controlled everything from tree maintenance to how visitors should enter the garden of Versailles in a specific way to honor him. Two actions of Louis’s particularly displayed his feelings of superiority. The first of these actions was when he decided to call himself the â€Å"Sun king,† because he wanted to be the sun and light up everything for all of France. However, it seemed that Louis wanted to light up things for himself, not France, as shown by his next action that practically put France into bankruptcy. The â€Å"Sun King† rebuilt and enlarged the castle at Versailles, which he had fallen in love with at a young age. Versailles became an icon that resembled the prosperity of France for the time, while it also almost drove France into bankruptcy. Perhaps it is the story of Henry VIII and his wives that seems to fit into almost every theme. However, it is Henry VIII’s inequality towards women that stands out the most, as he divorced half of his wives for their ladies in waiting who were living in the same household throughout the entire divorce process. Henry’s disregard for women’s rights was legendary, as he married and divorced frequently in his conquest to have a son, who would become the heir to the throne. For example, Henry declared himself Supreme Head of the Church in England in order to officially divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, by declaring their marriage unlawful. As a result, Catherine was never given a fair trial, and her only daughter (Mary) was declared illegitimate. Religious intolerance, disregard for the common public, dysfunctional personal lives, extreme pursuit of dynasty, a sense of superiority, and inequality towards women have all influenced history. However, although there have been many rulers involved in scandals, those rulers have also done great things. At the times of some of these scandals, the accepted â€Å"practice† was different, but civilization has progressed to an entirely different level. Even though history may repeat itself some time or another (and has in many cases), it is some of these scandals that have brought us to where we are today. For example, it was Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn who bore Queen Elizabeth (â€Å"The Virgin Queen†), all as a result of Henry VIII’s desire for a son and divorcing his first wife. So, encourage others to bring up, discuss, and debate these topics, which have helped shape history, good and bad, to the point it has reached today.

Male and Female Roles

Male and female roles have changed dramatically since the beginning of the 21st century. Men were known as the bread-winners. Their responsibility was to go to work and bring home money to take care of their family. While women stayed at home and took care of all the cooking and cleaning. The female role also consisted of bearing and taking care of all the children. Things have changed women can also get good jobs and bring home as much money as men and sometimes even more money than men. In a major step forward, women demanded and were granted the right to vote in the United States in 1920s. Women should not have to stay at home and take care of the children, cook, and clean. Taking care of children alone should be considered a full time job, before adding cooking and cleaning. In the 1960s the invention of the birth control pill came about that let women control when they had kids. Contraceptives made planning a family around a career easier for women; careers no longer had to take a backseat to family. The great depression was hard on many families. Many men suffered losses of income and unemployment. Women embraced this abrupt status change and rose to the challenge of finding work to support their family. Then the equal opportunities movement came about meaning that employers could not discriminate against women in hiring and promotion, and providing further protection for women in the workplace, even though men still make more money than women. Along with being the primary breadwinners a male’s role may consist of a few manly chores such as taking out trash, fixing cars, and cutting grass but, some males have taken on the female role. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than one percent of dads were stay-at-home fathers in 2006. Men account for only 19 percent of single parents who live with their children. However, that still means there were 159,000 stay-at-home fathers as of 2006, according to the U. S. Census Bureau. There is a thriving community of stay-at-home fathers who are quite proud of their role in the family and support their â€Å"bread-winning† wives fully. Most women, who work full time with families, still have the primary responsibility of taking care of the children and home. Women want to get out and have a life, not just stay at home and do chores. Women also want to take care of their children. Mothers want to be the one that see their baby’s first crawl or first word. Mothers want to get that child up in the morning, dress her and see her off to her first day of school. Mothers tend to be more nurturing than fathers. For example when a child fall off her bike for the first time a mother will probably run to that child and put a bandage on. Whereas a father will most likely try to brush it off and get the child to try again. I totally agree that males should be the primary bread- winners. Then if a woman wants to work part time or go back to school she can. Sometimes taking care of the children and chores can be split in half between male and female, so no one feel that one is doing more work than the other. If a woman wants to get out the house sometime and have a life maybe she could join a social club, have a few girlfriends, or volunteer with different community organizations. I do not think a woman should have to be the primary bread- winner, the primary caregiver to the children, and still do most of the cooking and cleaning. Some women have to be the primary breed winners. If a woman is left alone to take care of her children she have no choice but to become the primary bread-winner, the primary care giver, and do most of the cooking and cleaning because maybe she will not have any help. Even though a female is left alone all the work of taking care of children and a home still goes on. In 2005, nearly 4 in 10 babies in the U. S. were born outside of marriage according to the centers for disease control. References * Women's Roles Vs. Male's Roles in the 21st Century | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8630273_womens-males-roles-21st-century.html#ixzz2RIpkA17n

Provinces of the Philippines and Local Markets

Tapsilog is a popular Filipino dish commonly served for breakfast. The term is coined from combining the Filipino words tapa, sinangag, and itlog which are the main components of the dish. We chose to show how tapsilog can be geographical because we want to emphasize that anything can be geographical, and tapsilog, a common Filipino dish is usually not the kind of product that people would associate with geography. As mentioned, tapsilog is made up of tapa (dried meat), sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg), but it doesn’t stop there.Each ingredient is also made up of even more ingredients that we have traced to have originated from and traveled through different places in and out of the country before it reaches our plates. This further supports the idea that tapsilog, like every product, is geographical. Tapa, the first and main ingredient, is made from beef marinated in different spices. The beef is usually bought at the nearest local market by most cooks, but before reachi ng the local markets, it is first brought from a farmer’s market which is locally called bulungan or bagsakan.One example of this bagsakan is the Farmer’s Market Cubao from which its name was derived from. Slaughter houses and cow farms from different municipalities sell their product to the said farmer’s market. One of the biggest sources of cow meat in the Philippines is Padre Garcia, Batangas, the cattle trading capital of the Philippines, where they have the best temperature here in the country for raising cows. Cow breeders ensure that their livestock are bred well by supplying them with good feeds and steroids. Their diet usually contains well-grown grass and corn.The marinade consists of a blend of sugar, garlic, pepper, and salt, which are locally- found ingredients. The sugar comes from sugar mills like the San Carlos Bio Energy Inc. in Negros Occidental, while the sugarcanes are provided by small sugarcane farmers from Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Negro s and Panay, or by large agricultural companies like Del Monte and DOLE. Pepper is mostly from small and big exporters from Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Negros Occidental, Zamboanga and Davao. Garlic usually comes from Sinait, Ilocos Sur, the garlic center of the Philippines where they celebrate the Sinait Bawang Fest.Like the beef, the spices are brought from its respective farmer’s market before reaching the local markets. Sinangag is the term for Filipino fried rice. Rice, the main ingredient of sinangag, is also bought from local markets that got their stocks from the National Food Authority. The NFA serves as the biggest warehouse or post harvest facility here in the Philippines. Before reaching the NFA, rice is harvested from rice fields, especially in the province of Central Luzon or sometimes imported from Vietnam. Farmers exert effort in tilling the lands for their crops to grow and watching the seasons to find the best time to plant and harvest.Like tapa, sinangag is a lso composed of the spices discussed earlier. Egg, the last main ingredient in making a tapsilog, is also bought from local markets. Like the other ingredients, eggs are brought from farmer’s markets before reaching local markets, or sometimes large companies or poultry farms like Bounty Fresh Inc. , which is located in Bulacan. They directly deliver their egg products to local markets to maximize profit. Maintaining a poultry farm requires water, chicken feeds, hormones and supplements, and machines which are commonly imported from Japan.