Why Do We Culturally Resist Trans People?

 

Krista K

CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

ANT 210

Professor Sarah Rivera

04/16/2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During these extremely stressful and scary times under a Trump administration that is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler in 1930s Germany and seeing that trans human beings are currently under attack, I felt there is no better time than now to explore this topic. There are trans people reporting that they are now being denied from opening bank accounts, unable to get approved for car loans and even denied credit lines. Some are being told directly that it’s because they are trans while others won’t provide any legal or definitive reason. The question for me is where does all this hatred towards the trans community originate from and what are the motives behind pushing such dehumanizing ideology? As we know the core reasons behind racism and sexism are capitalism and the exploitation of labor and resources. So, what is the motivating factor driving the “anti-trans” cult? Let’s take a dive into the history of trans rights and how European dominated cultures have treated trans human beings over the years.

The Nazi regime was obsessed with trans erasure more than any other state governed under biopolitical, epistemological and ontological systems of the past so they found anything outside of the binary “abnormal” and these beliefs were rooted in extremist religious values. (Nunn, Zavier, 2023.) Trans history is erroneously viewed as a post 1945 modern phenomenon; however, transness has been in European existence for over a hundred years if we look at it from a medicalized and social-constructionist lens. Trans human beings are always seen as “outsiders’ because they defy what is commonly seen as “logical” or “normative”, in other words against rigid binary gender roles that stem from fascist governments that use religion to indoctrinate these widespread beliefs. The Weimar Republic, which was Germany’s first democratic

 

 

 

government from 1919 to 1933, before the Third Reich seized control of the German government, they saw how through medical, legal and cultural mediums that this anti trans ideology and Nazi government was beginning to form. (Nunn, Zavier. 2023) In the 1920s Berlin had created the world’s first trans magazine in addition to widely circulated queer content and media that supported diversity and the LGBTQ community. This time in Germany was considered the “Golden Years” due to its progressive culture and even the recognition of trans identity and state-legitimized trans rights such as legal name and pro noun changes, gender affirming care amongst other sexual health services and even some of the world’s first transitions.

So how does such a liberal and open-minded country that performed some of the world’s very first transitions for trans human beings and even birthed the world’s first trans magazine fall victim to the Nazi’s in 1933? Well, when the Nazi’s took over the very first thing they did was destroy every institute, University, medical facility and any place that either upheld trans existence and agency or any literature pertaining to trans human beings. Most staff and doctors of these institutes, universities and facilities were forced to flee or offer their services in other ways to be useful to the Third Reich to save their own life, which could be several nefarious activities but would make them equally complicit and Nazi collaborators. Prior to the Third Reich, Weimar Berlin, like New York City and Los Angeles, were historically known for creating a tolerant and accepting safe haven for queerness. Although the Nazis killed most trans human beings, they also measured the level of social worth a human had based on their ability to

 

 

 

perform work so for the sake of being a body that can be exploited for labor by the state, some trans human beings were allowed to keep their life in exchange for grueling work until they died.

But even after the fall of the Nazis and their inevitable persecution, European culture still hyper focuses on binary “gender norms” as central to their culture. The work of continuing to decenter patriarchal heteronormative belief systems and transphobic binary gender values has been ongoing and nonstop. According to a recent qualitative study regarding gender equality in European academia and Universities, gender stereotypes and cultural norms unfortunately shape academic and professional outcomes primarily influencing the academic careers of women and of course those who don’t fit into those binary “norms” (Navarra, M., Carpinelli, L., Bifulco, S., 2025). A culture so deeply ingrained in Christianity demonizes anything outside of what “God” intended which results in rampant homophobia and transphobia. A few things we can so far conclude regarding why our culture resists trans human beings is the laws that our government enforce shape our views, the indoctrination of our education system also plays an important role in cultivating these ideologies, the media of course and religion plays a major role in influencing the perspective many people have about those who cannot be categorized by the binary; including medical professionals who may be Nazis or Christian extremists who cannot separate their ideologies from medicine or worse- have malicious intent to use their power in the medical field to further push these harmful ideologies unto the public. So far, we can identify many powerful forces which are systematic, organized and institutional who push these belief systems into our culture but why is a human being who doesn’t fit into the binary such a threat?

 

 

 

 

From an intersectional view we can incorporate race and understand how Black transwomen face the most violence and discrimination than any other group, particularly in the U.S. The dehumanizing discourse revolving around both Black Americans due to an extensive history of Jim Crow and slavery, (which these practices in the United States are what inspired Hitler to execute human beings on the basis of eugenics), but also the dehumanization of trans human beings in America under a predominantly European culture that sends the message that the people who fit in these identifying categories are hateable, maimable and killable (Dobson-Smith, DDS; Kraemer, Marguax. 2025). Neo-Imperialism and exploitive capitalist practices of the Global North, (which is understood as the developed countries in the northern hemisphere characterized by high levels of income, infrastructure and technological advancement), create a much different cultural experience for trans human beings than it does for those living in the non-global North. The taxonomy of transpeople in the Global North is upheld for the same reason any “othering” or classification system is upheld, to be able to exploit for labor, slavery and indentured servitude and to kill the “other” to maintain power and destroy potential political opposition to patriarchal heteronormative government. These binary norms are quite literally how capitalism is even able to function or exist. Even our political system is a binary two party system contrary to other developed sister democracies who have more than two parties participate in their political system in a meaningful way. There is a lack of diversity and representation in our political candidates, some consider it the illusion of choice others call it picking “the lesser of two evils”.

 

 

No matter how you dice it its clear that this system of dehumanization and othering can similarly, like sexism and racism or any other ‘ism”, be linked back to capitalism. The ability to oppress others to maintain a level of power and control in society while crushing any opposition is a strategy often used by European empires, governments, fascist regimes and overall common place throughout history to now in the Global North. By weaponizing religion, the education system and the medical field to classify and dehumanize entire populations of human beings as a justification to pass laws that allow slavery and genocide, European cultures and governments cause a ripple effect that leaves biased, intolerant and ignorant generational mental maps of reality that cannot be easily reversed. Due to the immense impact that these ideologies and belief systems have had on the collective consciousness throughout history, it is very hard for many people in society to decenter their patriarchal homogenous hetero norms, undo their black and white thinking and the monolithic schemas that have been deeply programmed into the human psyches of the Global North.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annotated Bibliography

 

 

Nunn, Z. (2023). Trans Liminality and the Nazi State. Past & Present, 260(1), 123–157. https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtac018

 

Nunn’s work presents the biopolitical, epistemological and ontological systems in which most European states govern over societies historically but also focuses on how the Nazi regime changed life for trans human beings in our world as we know it almost permanently.  This piece of literature shows us how the trans community was once embraced, accepted and even advocated for fiercely before the Third Reich destroyed anything relating to trans existence and trans rights. This text paints us a picture of how Germany pre-Hitler was very similar to the culture we recently had in the United States which was once very supportive of the trans community. It shows us how even the most liberal societies that we see as “safe” can reverse all that progress with the rise of a fascist government.

Navarra, M., Carpinelli, L., Bifulco, S. et al. The European GEPARD Project: Qualitative Analysis of Gender Equality Plans in European Universities and the UGEP Toolkit. Hu Arenas (2025). https://doi-org.ez.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/10.1007/s42087-025-00495-w

Navarra, Carpinelli and Bifulco’s work shows us a qualitative study regarding the gender equality plans in European universities and how the culture of binary gender norms affects students academically and professionally. Their findings reveal that females and those who do not fall under binary gender roles face more discrimination and lack of opportunities than their cis-male counterparts.

 

 

 

 

This study specifically did not focus so much on transgender human beings, but it did explore the culture of heterosexual norms and how anything against the binary can hinder a student or professionals’ success and career. We can understand how on a social and environmental level how these binary norms can affect both women and transgender people and create obstacles in education and employment.

Dobson-Smith, D., & Kraemer, M. (2025). Troubling Taxonomy: A Comparative Analysis that Demonstrates Why the Concept of Transgender Does not Travel Outside of the Global North: DDS Dobson-Smith. Human Arenas: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Psychology, Culture, and Meaning. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-025-00481-2

Dobson and Kraemer go into an in-depth analysis of gender, sex, transgenders and travestis. They critically analyze the impact of colonialism and its effects on gender, culture and identity in the Global North in comparison to the non-global North and the difference in those human experiences. The goal of this text is to center the voices from non-global Northern backgrounds to avoid erasure and distortion to help recognize the value of human diversity in all forms. It also explains how globalization and the fundamental dynamic of society in the Global north inevitably leads to homogenized and monolithic beliefs regarding “dominant identities” (white cis-males and females) and the “others”.

 

 

Final Paper

“How Successful Was the Second Wave of Feminism During the 1960s in Creating Agency and Financial Independence for Women?”

 

Krista K

CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

HIS 127

Professor Fred Bilenkis

05/18/2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s explore the impact of the women’s movements during the 1960s that played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement and led to passing The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which were supposed to be protections against labor and pay discrimination towards women that were written into legislature. These movements also led to The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) of 1975 which guaranteed women the right to their own bank accounts, credit lines and economic prowess without being discriminated against for their marital status and of course their sex/gender. This was considered the second wave of feminism in American women’s history which honestly is a little shocking considering the first wave of feminism is believed to have started in 1848- which was over 112 years prior to the feminist movements of the 1960s (Simply Psychology, 2024). First wave feminists of the mid to late 1800s were still forced to wait until the 1920s to be granted the right to vote, which is when the movement dwindled down and eventually lost its momentum. Most likely due to the Great Depression and economic crisis during this era, on top of a 72-year long grueling fight for the right to vote, women were most likely too exhausted and exasperated to continue the fight. Off topic here but it seems to be a pattern that during every revolutionary movement, the government creates economic crisis intentionally to defeat the people who need to rebel against the oppressive systems the most, such as marginalized communities and women, but I digress. And so, due to famine and sickness, the first wave feminist movement halted, but they passed the torch to the next generations which ended up being the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. After one giant wave crashes onto the shore leaving the ocean calm without movement, just for a little while, we know that eventually another giant wave will come.

 

 

Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”, a pop song of 1963 that became the embodiment of second wave feminism during the Civil Rights Movement, was considered a radically political song, especially since her prior hit songs such as “It’s My Party” and “Judy’s Turn to Cry” were inherently misogynistic, male centered and preoccupied with the male gaze (NPR, 2019). This drastic change in song themes was an indicator of women’s desperation for not only financial independence but just overall agency over their lives free from marriage or men. Another song we can look to as an indicator of what the women’s movements of the 1960s represented was Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”, which was initially released on Otis Redding’s third album in 1965, but Aretha switched out the gender roles of the song making it one of the most important feminist anthems for the second wave feminist movement of the 1970s. This is what ultimately led to women seeing their selves as more than wives (which in most cases just ended up being glorified sex work and indentured servitude), mothers, kindergarten teachers, prostitutes, secretaries to a handsy male boss (that they were forced to let sexually assault them in order to keep their jobs) and maids.

These feminist movements of the 1960s that fought against traditional patriarchal norms where women had to be married to own property or open a bank account, where sexual assault especially by a husband, (or sometimes even a boss/employer), wasn’t even considered a crime and more than likely resulted in more consequences for women if they spoke up, were ultimately necessary to facilitate changes in reducing not only economic but also social and political discrimination against women (The Establishment Responds, p. 22-23, 2012).

 

 

 

 

Based on the oppressive systems against women that we see in other countries across the globe, such as North Korea and Afghanistan, many studies theorize how the women’s movement of the 1960s in the United States was able to accomplish so much in comparison to women in other countries (The Establishment Responds, 2012). It’s evident that other sociopolitical factors, such as the Black Panthers movement, anti-war movements, anti-capitalist movements and the movements for gay rights/ LGBTQ communities, were all a major contributing factor to the large impact and influence that second wave feminism had on legislature in the 1970s. Without this diversity and intersectionality, it is argued that the women’s movements of the 1960s in America might not have had as much momentum and a lot of the legislature that was fought for might not even have been in existence today. This tells us that women alone most likely would not have succeeded in getting the Equal Pay Act or The Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed into legislature if this diversity, equity and inclusion of these movements did not exist.

Now before we do a deeper dive into the second wave of feminism, (pun intended), and whether or not the Equal Pay Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act actually achieved what women intended it to, since we mentioned how culturally the music was representative of these feminist movements let’s discuss the fashion trends that also told us a story of the political climate during this era. According to the short documentary, “The Ultimate Fashion History: The 1960s”, the mini skirt became one of the most radical, trending and iconic pieces of fashion ever in women’s history.

 

 

 

 

The mini skirt represented women’s liberation, death to traditional roles and values placed on women of past generations, the end of modesty and policing of women’s bodies (which is a form of agency especially during those times), radical rebellion against social norms and embodying women’s sexual prowess instead of shaming, hiding or devaluing it. This is also a pivotal point in the “Revolution of Love” during the 1960s because women felt they had more sexual freedom and weren’t obligated to subscribe to the older generations’ religious mantra that “sex before marriage would banish you to hell for eternity”. Men in the 1960s equally enjoyed the miniskirts and this newfound era of sexual exploration, even though some may have reluctantly denied it I’m sure, since today even in 2025 we still have men bashing women for their attire or sexual choices.

All these aspects of the women’s movements during the 1960s and the second wave of feminism in American women’s history were quite profound. First wave feminists crawled so second wave feminists could walk- and let’s just say that second wave feminists walked so third and fourth wave feminists could run. Of course, nothing is perfect and there are some discrepancies and loopholes surrounding The Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and gender wage gap issues that persist and exist in present times. However, although we can scrutinize the flaws of this piece of legislature, we also must pay homage to how necessary and important second wave feminism was to American women’s agency.

 

 

 

 

 

The issues that still arise despite this legislature being passed officially in the 1970s doesn’t negate the massive cultural, economic and political impact that this movement had on American women for generations to come. Second wave feminism might have been arguably one of the most influential waves of feminism that we have ever had in recent American history.

Unfortunately, few historians believe that The Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act succeeded in accomplishing what it was intended to, which was to decrease the wage gap and wealth disparity amongst the two sexes (Bailey, Martha J.; Helgerman, Thomas; Stuart, Bryan Andrew, 2023). Based on estimates and data collected from the Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Labor, among full-time workers women’s median income and wages remained at only 60% of what men earned- even 15 years after this legislation was passed. The Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1963 Civil Rights Act has been a weak doctrine in counteracting occupational segregation, (such as pay discrepancies amongst nurses and teachers that tend to be female dominated fields vs construction workers and trades that tend to be male dominated fields), pay inequalities that arise from different job titles or jobs not within a typical woman’s capability, (again male dominated fields that require more strength than is physically possible for the average woman which in itself is discriminatory- and a bit unfair), pay inequalities that also arise from nepotism and promotions- or lack thereof,

 

 

 

 

 

(also proving that your employer is not promoting you due to your sex/gender can become a subjective civil litigation of semantics where it’s your employer’s word against yours- and they can simply argue you were a lousy employee in their defense), and the “comparable worth” of women to men in the workforce which inherently concludes that men’s labor is more valuable and so their compensation should be reflective of such. Although The Equal Credit Opportunity Act gave women the ability to open bank accounts and own property or make credit required purchases, (such as cars, businesses, etc.), without being married and was probably the most important piece of legislature regarding women’s agency, to this day many adult film entertainers/porn stars or women involved in sex work (stripping, escorting, etc) cannot open bank accounts due to discrimination against their line of work. Again, this goes back to what was mentioned above on how patriarchy creates occupational segregation amongst women and men leading to other forms of employment discrimination, socioeconomic ostracization and wage gap issues that persist amongst the sexes.

It is evident that we still have a long way to go as a society in pushing back against patriarchy, misogyny and women being seen as equals instead of property, commodities or inferiors in both cultural and political spheres. Nonetheless, the women’s movements of the 1960s were nothing short of amazing and deserve incredible honor and credence for their sacrifices and hard work. There were women getting arrested and killed by police to protest my right to even be studying in the field of forensic psychology at a college today and so their efforts were not committed in vain. We can acknowledge the work that still needs to be done while also acknowledging how much work has been done so far.

 

 

 

Second wave feminism was a major step towards agency for women and created many of the freedoms we take for granted today. In North Korea women are not allowed to wear denim jeans, only dresses. In Afghanistan women and girls aren’t even allowed to go outside without being accompanied by a man nor are they allowed to speak in public. They aren’t even allowed to listen to music, which is devasting considering the major sociopolitical impacts music has on the collective consciousness and how powerful it has been in many Civil Rights movements- especially the women’s rights movement of the 1960’s in America. Considering how many women across the globe are still just fighting for the same agency we have in America due to second wave feminism; it is vital to keep the fight going and take on the torch that has been passed to us. We owe it to those who stood up in the face of adversity even when it put their lives in danger.  Thank you to all who risked their lives for me to even be able to write this paper today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Bailey, Martha J.; Helgerman, Thomas; Stuart, Bryan Andrew (2023) : How the 1963 Equal Pay Act and 1964 Civil Rights Act Shaped the Gender Gap in Pay, IZA Discussion Papers, No. 16700, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn

 

Giugni, M., Bosi, L., Scharloth, J., Fahlenbrach, K., Wong, L., & Klimke, M. (2012). The Impact of Protest Movements on the Establishment: Dimensions, Models, and Approaches. In The Establishment Responds (pp. 17–28). Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119833_2

 

Guy-Evans, Olivia, MSc, McLeod, Saul (2024). Four Waves Of Feminism Explained. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/four-waves-feminism.html

 

Nelson, M. (1977). Your credit equality : the Equal Credit Opportunity Act / Margaret Nelson and Laurie Johnson. University of Wisconsin–Extension.

 

Ulaby, Neda. (2019). ‘You Don’t Own Me,’ A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/06/26/735819094/lesley-gore-you-dont-own-me-american-anthem

 

 

 

 

Final Paper

 

Krista K

CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

PSY 101

Dr. Zomorah Kennedy

12/19/2024

 

How Has a Lack of Diversity Effected How We View the Field of Psychology?

 

Psychology is a broad topic with many sub-fields but overall, it is the study of the mind and behavior. However, much of psychology has been problematic due to most of it being viewed through a Eurocentric lens. A lot of our mainstream psychology has come from white educated industrialized rich democracies, also known as the acronym ‘WEIRD”. Many studies

were also highly unethical especially when participants were unambiguous black people and other people of color. Under the scope of mainstream Westernized psychology, neurodivergence and other disorders have been stigmatized and treated as a deficit or as a sign of ‘inferiority, partly due to the racist propagandist pseudo-science of eugenics. Its origins are also problematic when women, black people, indigenous people and other people of color or marginalized communities were prohibited from even studying psychology. A lot of the original talking heads of psychology, such as German psychologist “The Father of Psychology” Sigmund Freud, believed in eugenics and Social Darwinism and implemented it in their “research and findings”.

The concepts of eugenics, race purification, race hygiene or race betterment entered the field of psychiatry and became an academic discipline at many colleges and universities. The field of eugenics was organized and funded through the International Federation of Eugenics Organizations supported by extensive financing by large corporations such as the Carnegie Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation. (Ordo Ab Chao, Volume 3, Eugenics and Sexology) (Edwin Black, Dialog Press, 2012) [1]. Both Carnegie Hall and Rockefeller Center are not too far from John Jay ironically. These people in the field of psychology and psychiatry were “respected scientists” who came from prestigious Universities such as Stanford, Yale, Harvard and Princeton. In 1901, Standford’s president David Starr Jordan created the notion of “race and blood”, in a thesis statement called “The Blood of the Nation: A Study in the Decay of Races by the Survival of the Unfit”, published in Popular Science Monthly. We know race is not biological, but a social construct and our phenotype has very little to do with our actual DNA. The racial category you are placed into by society cannot predetermine whether a person will have “mental deficits” or be what an elitist society perceives to be “inferior’. Racial categorization is not a legitimate identifier of mental or intellectual capacity, yet in these white supremacist hetero-patriarchal Ivy League colleges they taught these concepts as if they were scientific facts.

Theodore Roosevelt with no surprise created a national Heredity Commission in 1906 to investigate the genetic heritage of Americans and encourage “good blood”, nothing to do with the “bad blood” they lied and told black men for 40 years they were infected with during the highly racist unethical Tuskegee Syphilis Study, but “good blood” was a white supremacist euphemism for reproducing “pure white offspring”. (Harry Bruinius, 2006) [2]. Our society was and is fundamentally racist, so it was written into law by the government but also practiced in medicine, science and of course psychology. The Father of Psychology who we have to thank for much of our mainstream psychology, Sigmund Freud, had very unorthodox approaches to the way he collected information about the field such as practicing hypnosis with particularly lonely, depressed housewives which was suspicious and predatory in itself. Controversially, many of these women were diagnosed with “hysteria” which was a fake diagnosis to suppress women experiencing depression or possibly abuse in their marriages (Makari, George, J. 1997) [3]. It was blatant gaslighting women into blaming them for their mental hardships as opposed to the toxic environment/ marriage that was more than likely causing their symptoms. Psychology was used as a systematic weapon to gaslight victims experiencing negative psychological symptoms due to living in a white supremacist hetero-patriarchal society.

Eastern psychology and psychology practiced in indigenous and black cultures is much more holistic than Western psychology. It focuses more on the collective and environment rather than just the individual. Meaning in contrast to our mainstream white educated industrialized rich democracy (WEIRD) understanding of psychology, which is to blame and fault the individual as “damaged/broken” for their symptoms, other cultures try to also focus on external factors that could potentially be causing the harm while reducing the stigma of the symptoms. For example, as a person who went through a “psychosis” twice and felt it was more than just “word salad” or absurd hallucinations and delusions, I discovered other cultures refer to this as a psychological or spiritual emergency. They do not stigmatize people with symptoms of Bipolar and/or Schizophrenia, but they see them as heightened gifts that can cause a lot of psychological distress if not managed with proper coping skills and social support (De Vaus, June ; Hornsey, Matthew J. ; Kuppens, Peter ; Bastian, Brock, 2018-08) [4]. They are much more communal in their medicinal practices due to their beliefs that a strong social support system and a person’s environment can be the game changer in their mental well-being.

I always found it interesting that a lot of indigenous and eastern cultures see a lot of what we view as “mental illness” and “psychological disorders” in the west as spiritual gifts and see it as the opposite of inferiority or a “deficit”. (Laungani, Pittu, 2007) [5]. I believe integrating some of the international belief systems of psychology can help improve our current understanding of it, which may have been very limited and based in biases. For example, if people could solve their symptoms of anxiety and/or depression holistically that could be a healthier alternative to antidepressants for many people. Western medicine implies that if you have a diagnosis, disorder or are neurodivergent that you are less than compared to a “neuro-typical” presenting person. Which is inherently anti-black, anti-women, anti LGBTQ2+ and anti-poverty considering these vulnerable groups are most susceptible to mental illness.

I think if we can reshape and reframe how we view psychological symptoms that cause us distress through a lens that doesn’t stigmatize, cast blame or shame and perhaps not see it as a fault/illness but more of something that just makes us a little different, then maybe there can be revolutionary improvements to the field of psychology including mainstream psychology. The more we understand about the people who created the framework of what we know as “psychology” under Western culture today can show us that ableism and racism went hand in hand and was strongly rooted in eugenics and capitalism. Eugenics was a system that considered humans living under a system of “survival of the fittest” as inferior vs superior, which put the responsibility of life quality on the individual and not the collective. Basically, if you can’t make it in this system and you aren’t happy- it’s your fault. If you are depressed or anxious there is something wrong with you, not the system. You are the one with the deficits, not the nihilism and individualistic every man for himself distress inducing society we live under. It seemed to be a political excuse to abandon vulnerable populations and blame them for their own misfortunes and sufferings. Hopefully we can integrate psychology from other cultures into our western medicinal practices to evolve and transform social progress in America. As the saying goes, “what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander”, and analyzing the fundamental Eurocentric roots in our current mainstream psychology is a prime example of how what was good for a white supremacist hetero-patriarchal agenda that solely included upper class European males, while excluding every other community, was in fact not good for the gander.

 

 

 

References

[1] Black, Edmund (2012). War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race, Dialog Press

[2] Bruinius, Harry (2006) Better For All the World. The Secret History of Forced Sterilization and America’s Quest for Racial Purity. New York: A.A Knopf

[4] De Vaus, June ; Hornsey, Matthew J. ; Kuppens, Peter ; Bastian, Brock (2018-08) Exploring the East-West Divide in Prevalence of Affective Disorder: Case for Cultural Differences in Coping With Negative Emotion, (Volume 22)  https://doi-org.ez.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/10.1177/1088868317736222

[5] Laungani, Pittu (2007) Understanding Cross-Cultural Psychology: Eastern and Western Perspectives, (Part II: Applied Perspectives) Sage Publications Ltd, (June 19, 2012)     https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446220887

Livingstone, David (year unknown) Ordo Ab Chao Synarchy, volume (3), Eugenics and

Sexology 4. Eugenics & Sexology — Ordo ab Chao https://ordoabchao.ca/volume-three/eugenics-sexology

[3] Makari, George. J (1997) Dora’s Hysteria and the Maturation of Sigmund Freud’s Transference Theory: A New Historical Interpretation, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic (Volume 45) https://doi-org.ez.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/10.1177/00030651970450041501

 

Final Paper

 

Krista K

CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

POL 101

Professor Christina Katsanos

DUE 12/20/2024

 

Is America in Decline?

            The entire world has been in decline because of famine, drought and natural resources being commodified due to climate change and capitalism. It is inevitable that America will ultimately follow suit and not be exempt from the volatile inhabitable conditions on earth they are primarily causing with their Neoliberal policies. At the end of the day, we cannot eat money, and money does not save the people from dying of heat stroke in India during an electricity blackout in the middle of an intense heat wave that is almost nonsurvivable. These are the current conditions of the world presently in places like Afghanistan, Congo, Haiti etc amongst many others due to civil unrest, increasing fascism to protect lax environmental policies regarding accumulating fossil fuels, all natural resources being commodified or worse becoming completely obliterated due to the planet warming (Guardian, 2023) (Nature, 2024).

Global temperatures have increased by around 1.2 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels. Meaning since industrialization and mass production the earth’s temperatures have increased substantially (David Wallace-Wells, 2017-2019). Houston has experienced 5 what would be considered as “500-year storms” within just 5 years. These are storms that prior to warming caused by industrialization were expected to only come once every 500 years and within the last 5 years Houston has had 5 of these catastrophic storms. By 2070 majority of the Southern and Western regions of the United States are expected to be inhabitable and experts predict most people to migrate back North to avoid extreme droughts, heat, floods and monstruous storms (NPR, 2019).

Many countries have already failed to meet their climate change agreement emissions goals, especially the United States. With a neoliberal billionaire like Donald Trump elected President whose interests are to accumulate more wealth by allowing lax environmental and fossil fuel policies, the earth can reach warming levels that can cause extinction. Just look at how the roll back on safety regulations for profit margins for Boeing and the Railroad Industry has created disastrous outcomes with planes falling apart midair and trains derailing causing chemical spills. There are already many countries and regions of the world experiencing collapse and political and social instability rises along with the planet’s temperature. Even with every country following their climate change treaties we are still projected to reach over 3 degrees warming in the next 25 years, which every degree counts, and this will result in catastrophic unimaginable consequences for all life as we know it on this planet.

Unfortunately, I don’t expect any billionaires to see that capitalism and our current society is not meant to be sustainable or last long term nor was it built for a warming planet. With that being said, it is inevitable that America will not only collapse due to the greed, delusion and the arrogance of its authoritarian leadership alike many other superpowers today such as China and the UK, but primarily because the natural events that will be the primary cause of all of our demise cannot be solved with money. Capitalism doesn’t solve droughts, famine/ food insecurity, category 5-6 hurricanes and earthquakes, floods, heat waves that make going outside impossible but on the contrary, it causes them. Unless the people in charge have a sudden change of heart, which I doubt is going to happen, I don’t see the trajectory for the world going in an upward direction- let alone America.

Now these things can be somewhat prevented and there are solutions. The problem is behind authoritarian and fascist governments lie an excuse to continue pillaging the planet for fossil fuels without any regulations or interference. This will ultimately be the death of all of us. Again, none of this is far-fetched or science fiction and some of this is predicted to start happening as soon as 2050, which is only 25 years away. God willing in 25 years my daughter will be 36 years old, so I fear for her future. I see people like my father who was able to live comfortably his entire life well into old age and not only will my life span be shorter than his due to health complications from poverty, abuse, traumas and pollution- but me and my child’s life quality, if any at all, has been worse and will continue to drastically reduce. The people of my father and Trump’s generation continue to exploit everyone and everything on earth for as long as they can so they could selfishly be comfortable until they die. They don’t care how they leave the planet in their eyes “they’ll be dead anyway!”. These people only prioritized their personal gain and self-benefit, not even thinking twice about leaving anything for their own children and grandchildren or the rest of the people on earth who have had to suffer at the expense of their comfort. Exactly like how Scar left the pride lands in The Lion King is how the baby boomers are leaving Earth and America.

 

 

 

 

References

Fiona, Harvey (2023, April 27). Human-driven climate crisis fuelling Horn of Africa drought-study. The Guardian,  Human-driven climate crisis fuelling Horn of Africa drought – study | Drought | The Guardian

Rebecca, Hersher (2019, April 17). Climate Change Was The Engine That Powered Hurricane Maria’s Devastating Rains. NPR, Hurricane Maria’s Devastating Rains Driven In Part By Global Warming : NPR

Cordero, R.R., Feron, S., Damiani, A. et al. Extreme fire weather in Chile driven by climate change and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Nature, Sci Rep 14, 1974 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52481-x

David, Wallace-Wells, (2017, July 9) New York Magazine, When Will Climate Change Make the Earth Too Hot For Humans?  (2019) The Uninhabitable Earth