In order to discuss the mechanisms through which involuntary minorities are socially, economically and politically excluded primarily I am going to define the meaning of the term ‘involuntary minority’. Following this, a brief identification of the main direct and indirect mechanisms clarifies the direction of the discussion. To examine the mechanisms used I have selected three examples of involuntary minorities to focus on; Palestinians in Israel, black Americans in the U.S. and refugees/asylum seekers in Britain.
In order to decipher whether or not the effects of war are gendered it is of foremost importance to consider what is meant by the term ‘gender’. Therefore, primarily, I will briefly define this term followed by a consideration of what one means by ‘war’. Here I discuss feminist theories regarding war with particular reference to the work of Kelly. Furthermore, I will then move on to look at the effects of war with an analysis of the effects during war, the effects during the peace-making process and, finally, the post-war impacts. Each of the aforementioned will be discussed in turn, drawing on specific examples to highlight my arguments further. Ultimately, I conclude with the argument that the effects of war are often gendered, especially when one considers war from a feminist perspective.
The main body of the essay focuses on Palestinians in Israel since 1948 as a key example of an indigenous involuntary minority. I take a historical approach here so as to render the utilization of exclusionary mechanisms over a long time period. Black Americans who were brought to the U.S. as slaves (Ogbu, 1998:166) and refugees/asylum seekers in Britain are then drawn upon in turn as examples to depict the mechanisms through which migrant involuntary minorities are socially, politically and economically excluded. The focal point of the latter part of the essay will be based on the media as a key modern mechanism of exclusion, particularly for migrant involuntary minorities, concluding with the argument that the growth and force of the media will only strengthen the exclusion of involuntary minorities, meanwhile enforcing the effects of the other mechanisms discussed.
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