Asian American women study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Asian American women study - Essay Example These racial and gender complexities served to define what became of Asian American women who moved to the united states in the pre-1965 period. It is worth noting that it was not easy for Asian women to move into the United States even when they wanted to. The exclusion and restriction principles saw many women barred from gaining entry into the United States despite their husbands working in America. The application of the restriction law only contributed to the formulation of multiple barriers that served to prohibit Asian women from joining their husbands in the United States (Espiritu 45). For example, the proportion of Chinese women in comparison to men was very low, placing emphasis on the level on the gender constraint placed on women who expressed interest of immigration into the United States (Chan 117) Evidently, Asian women faced the detrimental effects of the American immigration policy compelling some of them to file lawsuits. In many of these litigation cases, they los t and had to give up the prospect of being able to unite with their husbands and sometimes their children who accessed immigration permits easily. The restrictive immigration policy had detrimental effects on Asian women who have a primary responsibility in ensuring that the family unit remained closely knit (Chan 119). In Asian culture, the family unit is the fundamental unit defining a society, and women had a major responsibility in making it successful. Moreover, Asian women who successfully immigrated into the United States only managed because of the profiles of their husbands, and not solely on the women as individuals (Scott 1056). The wives of laborers were not preferred immigration candidates and their immigration requests were usually rejected. Asian American women who fled to the United States during the Vietnamese war faced multiple challenges. Most of them resided in refugee camps and proper resettlement only depended on sheer luck to acquire willing sponsors who would help them resettle into the news culture and environment. Accounts from many of these women reveal that the new cultural set up and language barriers were some of the hardships they faced. Culture is an important aspect of identity in Asia, and many of the immigrants exhibited the willingness to foster their culture despite the overwhelming mainstream culture. Most of the women faced the challenge of fending for their families in America (Chan 125). The surging compulsion of securing a job in a foreign country was not easy, but most of the women who found themselves the heads of their families stood up for the challenge. Moreover, bring up children with Asian values was not easy since most of the children schooled in highly integrated institutions. The need for the Asian families to experience a cultural wellbeing and familiarity saw many of the families cluster in California, where the weather was favorable, and many Asian immigrants had settled. Although many Asian American women resettled and focused on rebuilding their lives in the United States, the stereotypes attached to people of Asian descent served as glass and bamboo ceilings, forming a complexity of barriers that served to prevent most of the Asian Americans from complete integration into the American society. English, as a second language proved difficult for many Asians to learn, and prevented many of the

Karla Homolka English Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Karla Homolka English - Research Paper Example With both of them participating in the murders, the role of Karla Homolka in the crimes was figured out vaguely, as there were differences of opinion regarding her contribution to those murders. This paper will chronicle her life starting from her early years, her marriage to Paul Benardo, rape and murder of the girls, finishing with the investigation, conviction and her eventual release. Early life Karla Homolka was born to Dorothy and Karel Homolka in 1970 as the eldest of three daughters in the Canadian town of Port Credit, Ontario. She went to Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and even while going to the school, Karla worked as a part-time employee at a local pet shop. She graduated in the year 1988, and got employment as a veterinary assistant in Thorold Veterinary Clinic in Ontario. She did a similar job at the Mardinale Animal Clinic as well. â€Å"Karla developed a passion for animals and after high school she went to work at a veterinary clinic† (Montaldo). Thus, when one focuses on Karla’s early life, it appears that she lived a normal life, without exhibiting any negative or even psychotic tendencies. However, it all started to change when he married Paul Bernado. Marriage to Paul Bernado Karla as part of her job attended a pet convention in Toronto in the spring of 1987. During that visit, Karla, just 17 at that time, met 23-year-old Paul Bernardo in a â€Å"suburban hotel restaurant outside of Toronto and she fell for Paul, immediately.† (biography.com). They had sex on their first meeting and as their relationship started to develop, they â€Å"discovered that they shared the same sado-masochistic desires,† (Montaldo). Because of this ‘extremity’ in their relationship, Paul assumed the role of a ‘master’, with Karla willingly assuming the role of a ‘slave’, who has no problems in fulfilling her husband’s extreme fantasies. One of these extreme ‘fantasies’ o nly leads to their first murder - the murder of Karla’s own younger sister, Tammy Homolka. Rape and the murders Three years into their relationship, Paul starts to become obsessed with Tammy and to abuse her, he gets Karla’s help. One of Paul's constant complaints with Karla was that she was not a ‘virgin’ when they met and so she becomes ‘devoted’ to pleasing Paul in every way possible. (Montaldo). Using this weakness of Karla, Paul openly expressed his feelings for Tammy, and also convinces Karla to aid him in raping her. â€Å"It was, therefore, from his point of view, her responsibility to make it possible for Paul to take the virginity of†¦Tammy without her knowledge or consent.† (Bardsley). Karla wrongly accepts this flawed logic, and decides to make or force Tammy into being a sort of ‘surrogate virgin’ for her. In their first attempt in July 1990, Karla serves Tammy, a spaghetti dinner mixed with heavy doses of Valium, which was stolen from her workplace. â€Å"Bernardo rapes Tammy for about a minute before she starts to wake up† and so they temporarily abandon their plan then, waiting for another opportunity. ("Key events in the Bernardo/Homolka case"). Then, six months before their marriage, at a Christmas party at Karla parent’s house, Karla first mixes sedative Halcyon in the alcoholic drinks of Tammy. After the party was over and family members retired, the husband and wife duo took Tammy to the basement, with Karla holding a cloth soaked with Halothane over Tammy's mouth. (Becker, 2005). There, Paul with Karla