Utopian Societies Impact - 911 Words

Utopian communities have had an incredible impact on both American society and various recognized religious sects throughout the United States as a whole. Many people saw, and still see, democratic government as unfair, leaving the poor behind to become poorer while the rich continued to get richer; they felt a change in work and fairness was officially in order. Utopian societies were created with commendable intentions, and their idea of the perfect cooperative society is an attractive conference, but they were all considered experiments because they all declined swiftly and hopelessly. The western concept of utopias stem in the age-old world, where fables of a carnal arcadia lost to history, linked to the human ambition to build an ideal community, abetted in forming the utopian notion (â€Å"Utopias in America†). Ideal communities have varied considerably in philosophy and design, and maybe not all have been persistently utopian in the draconian understanding of hoping t o achieve a system for a perfect community. Utopian communitarianism seems to have deeper roots set in the United States than in Western Europe, more specifically in actually putting philosophy into practice. This composite mental image may appear misplaced in a nation with an intense admiration towards individuality, but the perseverance amongst these societies brings to light quite a bit about the incredibly diverse American culture, notably how the sexes have thought of cultural advancement and howShow MoreRelatedEngels Inspired Utopian Society Essay1000 Words   |  4 Pagescontains a society with minimal government involvement and a technological driven life. It outlines a life where the imperfections of capitalism is absent thus leading to a happy, ideal life. Capitalism is an economic system where private ownership is permitted to allow exchange of goods and services in a monetary system surrounded by competition (Dictionary 1). Technology would solve world issues in this id eal society such as having clean energy. With little opposition, people in this society would beRead MoreA Utopian Society By John Locke1257 Words   |  6 Pagesbecome a part of societies, and most commonly these societies also have governments which maintain order and protect the people under said government. However, there are many forms of government, all of which have flaws and none can be considered a perfect government. One government which is commonly found in beginning of many societies is a monarchy. The flaws and unjust division of power within a monarchy leads John Locke to create a utopian society, which is a perfect or ideal society. John Locke attemptsRead MoreThe Utopian Society : A Utopian State1296 Words   |  6 Pages A utopian world is one that is different from person to person and given the ideology that one attains, the utopian state doesn’t fit all individuals. In my socially just utopian society, women have the same rights as every man that walks this earth. Differences and individuality would be embraced and not imposed; they would be respected and not ridiculed. There is no political correctness in my utopia; rather, it differs depending on a woman’s personal choices. In the past, women had few lifeRead More Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail820 Words   |  4 Pagesenduring contemplation of life and its purpose, insightfully analyzes the conflicting relationship between the government and the people it governs. He considerately evokes the notion that the majority of people are restrained by the government and society from making decisions with consideration of their conscience and that people need to overcome the reig n of the government to realize their own ethics and morals. King, in accordance, eloquently and passionately contends the injustice presented inRead MoreComparative Essay on Henry David Thoreau in Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King in Letter from Birmingham Jail820 Words   |  4 Pagesenduring contemplation of life and its purpose, insightfully analyzes the conflicting relationship between the government and the people it governs. He considerately evokes the notion that the majority of people are restrained by the government and society from making decisions with consideration of their conscience and that people need to overcome the reign of the government to realize their own ethics and morals. King, in accordance, eloquently and passionately contends the injustice presented inRead MoreSecond Great Awakening954 Words   |  4 PagesWHAT WAYS DID THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING INFLUENCE AMERICAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE?† In the thirty year span between 1830 and 1860, the Second Great Awakening did much to change the modern American mind by sparking the abolitionist movement, empowering women (in their domestic sphere) and forming the cult of domesticity, partially fixing the corrupt government through the temperance movement, and in the creation of many utopian societies by radical religious populations. Puritanism was kicked toRead MoreDoes The Promise Of Paradise Produce Hell?1134 Words   |  5 Pagesgone wrong, or a utopia that functions only for a particular segment of society. Based on Karl Popper’s theory of ‘‘those who promise us paradise on Earth never produce anything but hell’’, in the following text, problems that originate from the attempt to physically create utopia will be discussed as well as their impacts on fulfilling this attempt. Architecture is fully interwoven with society. Most of the theorists of utopian ideas and social reforms of the 19th and 20th century attributed biggerRead MoreAldous Huxley s Brave New World Freedom1236 Words   |  5 Pagesworld freedom is an option none of his characters possess. Due to the global depression in the 1920s and 1930s, Aldous Huxley warns of individuality and self-perseverance in Brave New World. World war 1 and the great depression had a large impact on BNW. Figures of WWI provided material to BNW like†[Benito Mussolini who] led an authoritarian government that fought against birth control in order to produce enough manpower for the next war, [which] provided materials for huxley’s dystopia†(SomawebRead MoreThe Modern Reality Of The Cities750 Words   |  3 Pagesgone wrong, or a utopia that functions only for a particular segment of society. Based on Karl Popper’s theory of ‘‘those who promise us paradise on Earth never produce anything but hell’’, in the following text, problems that originate from the attempt to physically create utopia will be discussed as well as their impacts on fulfilling this attempt. Architecture is fully interwoven with society. Most of the theorists of utopian ideas and social reforms of the 19th and 20th century attributed biggerRead MoreThe Most Serious Problems Facing Humankind1280 Words   |  6 Pagesworld. Utopian followers believe that humans are intrinsically good people who only become evil due to their circumstances. Evil is only a natural reaction to an unfair life and a lack of necessary resources. For example, utopian supporters would believe that gang members only sin because they were uneducated and born in the poorest communities. This secular idea claims that supplying resources to every single person would eliminate evil permanently. Thus, one must create a perfect society to distribute

The Separation Of The Christians Of Western Europe

Sir Thomas More composed this story exactly at the time when Europe was religiously being torn apart by conflicts and revolutions such as the reformation, that caused â€Å"the separation of the Christians of western Europe into Catholics and Protestant† (khanacademy). Religion for this reason, was as a consequence, an important and hot topic to argue at the time considering all that is occurring. It could be a reason why Hythloday spent so much time and effort discussing that matter with the narrator. It was rather life threatening to talk too controversially about religion during that stage. The Author, by expressing himself through a fictional monotheist but laic polity in which the entire citizens fully believe in a single Power, God and†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, inhabitants are not allowed to aggressively approach or imposing one believe system onto another. One that disturb the peace in any ways noted by the law â€Å"every man might be of what re ligion he pleased and might endeavor to draw others to it by the force of argument and by amicable and modest ways, but without bitterness against those of those of others opinions, but that he ought to use no force but that of persuasion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (More Thomas 79). The King Octopus thought it would have been an efficient way to keep peace by providing a religious freedom and also by being morally connected and produce a unifying sensation. Enacting this law was doubly beneficial for the king because like many individuals in Utopia, the king Octopus is nonetheless a philosopher himself. He personally believes in having this much variety of religions and sects in his kingdom is the result of the Omnipotent, the Supreme God inspiring different souls in different ways so one who threaten someone to believe in something he does not find to be true is indeed a transgressor. We can see here More’s attitude about how religion is also tied with politics and social laws as the rule r speaks freely about his spirituality and his ideas of Divine being with the inhabitants of the town. The society have a pretty sharp tongue against those people who don’t believe in a Supreme Being, so much that Hythloday mention them as â€Å"mad minds

Goodman Fielder and Marketing Strategy-Case Study

Question: Discuss about the Goodman Fielder and Marketing Strategy. Answer: Introduction The assignment has taken Goodman Fielder limited for describing the marketing plan. It deals in food products in New Zealand, Australia. The assignment gives an overview of situational analysis and market analysis of the company (Goodman fielder, 2016). Situation Analysis Internal environment Vision of the Goodman fielder limited is to be one of the most leading and innovative company in local food. The mission statement of the company is to create the food which people love. The main objective of the company is to create a long term value for its stakeholders. The organizational structure of the company consists of chief executive officer; deputy chief executive officer. The organization culture of company gives an equal opportunity to all its employees so to make them realize their career potential (Goodman fielder, 2016). The company has major competition with National Food Ltd, George Weston Food Ltd, and Nestle Australia Ltd. The company has competitive advantage in its distribution network. Goodman Fiedler has an extensive and well established distribution network. The company has core competency in Bakery, Dressing, Dairy, and related products. One of the major core competency laid by the company is that it is very difficult for the competitors to imitate the companys strategy (The Australia business review, 2016). External environment The company impacted by political and legal factors in relation to tax policies. Taxation policies affect company by changes in income tax and Goods Services Tax. Besides this, company has to follow rules and regulations in regard to marketing and agriculture. In case of economic factors, company may face recession in respect to behavior of consumer and market conditions. Goodman fielder also faces social and cultural factors in respect of attitudes of the consumer in relation to health, well being and nutrition. Due to uncertain changes in the consumer buying pattern, it may seem very difficult to gauge the amount to be invested by the consumer on purchases. The company has technical advancement in having advanced equipment which are more innovative and would lead to decrease in cost. The new equipments with the company are able to provide more nutritious and healthier foods. However the company also faces environmental factors in which it got affected by the issues like global war ming and changes in temperature (Goodman fielder, 2016). The company had an issue of providing misleading information in relation to packed food items. The court has declared the company as providing information as misleading and deceptive. However the court had decided that if in case there is any future contract made by the company in a deceptive manner, the company will be found liable to the court (Allens, 2010). Competitive environment The company has a direct competition from Green manufacturers that is because of homogeneous packing and distribution strategy. As in 2011, the market share of the company got negatively affected because of aggressive competition from its competitors in terms of pricing and promotions strategy. However the company deals with its competitors by providing product differentiation. The company provides some value added services and focuses on differentiation strategy which makes it different from that of competitors. For example in case of chocolates the company focuses on providing more quality and increase in nutritional value of chocolates (Australian food News, 2015). The company has major competition in case of product mix with George Weston foods. As it makes some branded breads like golden, tip-top. In New Zealand the company has major competition with Fonterra brands which owns Anchor brand producing dairy products. In case of price mix the Goodman fielder has increased the prices of its dairy products. This has made the company increase in its revenue by 3%. The company has increase in the prices because it could not able to recover the input cost form the wholesale prices it used to charge (Goodman Fielder, 2014). In place mix the company has an advantage in distribution channel. As the company has a network with wesfarmers and Woolworths limited. Hence this has made easy for the company to reach at large market with less impact on pricing (Goodman fielder). In respect of promotion mix the company has a direct competition with green manufacturing enterprise. The green manufacturing enterprise is used to target the customers by offering online. By providing all the relevant information online, the company used to increase in its customer base. Goodman fielders market share got reduced because of aggressive pricing and promotional strategy in 2011. The Goodman fielder has earning per share of $-.21, revenue per share of $1.12 in 2014. In case of Goodman fielder profitability analysis it has negative operating profit margin of $-16.08% and gross profit margin of $35.11%. Besides this the company has total asset per share of $1.13 and book value per share of $0.58 times. While in comparison to George Weston, the company has operating profit margin of 4.22%, gross profit margin of 0.86%. The company has book value per share of 52.42 times (Goodman Fielder, 2014). Swot analysis Strength (S): the Goodman fielder levies at 1st or 2nd position in relation to all of its product categories. Weakness (W): the weakness with the Goodman fielder is that it has few market areas in emerging markets like Asia. The market share of the company is also not so effective. This is because of intense competition between the company and its major competitors (C Convenience and impulse retailing, 2015). Opportunity (O): the company has an opportunity to enter into frozen foods. The company can acquire certain product lines so to make strengthen its strategy (Goodman fielder, 2012). Threats (T): Goodman fielder has a threat in from increment in consumer in awareness regarding health issues. Besides this the company also faces threats from small customized bakeries and patisseries. As increase in consumer awareness regarding the health issues, the company must focus on increasing the nutritional value and healthy ingredients, as the company cannot restrain new entrants to enter in the market. But company can do so indirectly. If the company will focus on customized services and increase in the brand loyalty, as the company is very old to the market hence by producing at large scale, the company can achieve competitive advantage. This would help the company in becoming leader of the food industry and would be able to restrain the new entrants. Besides this Goodman fielder can position its products (bakery, dairy and processed foods) as high quality and healthy content (Stoppres, 2014). Marketing objectives The marketing objective of the company is to focus on its strength and opportunities to overcome its weakness and minimize the impact of threats over it. Besides this the company will focus on increasing the nutritional value in its products so to increase the brand image in the minds of consumers and increase in the percentage of loyal consumers. Marketing tactics The marketing tactic to be adopted by the company to target more consumers can be said as sales promotion. By influencing the potential customers, the sales of the company would be increased. The marketing strategies to be adopted by the company are that the company should divert its focus from price to product, brand equity and marketing of its products (Goodman fielder, 2016). Target market segments profile The company is segmented on the basis of demographic, psychographic, geographic and behavioral segmentation. The company has les market share in emerging regions like Asia. While in case of demographic segmentation, the company focuses on all consumers those are family, children, and youth. Hence it can be said that the company has targeted the mass market. In case of psychographic segmentation, the consumers perceive the company products as quality conscious and high in nutrition value, as the company is segmented into Australia and New Zealand markets majorly. However it can be said that the company is geographically segmented in Australia and New Zealand market. While in case of behavioral segmentation, the company is focusing in targeting the consumers by attaching the product with the behaviors of the consumer. Like in case of chocolates the company focuses on the color, nutritious ingredients. The companys targeted consumers are family, youth and children. The company has market majorly in New Zealand and Australia as it leads to maximum profits and generation of revenue to the company. Besides this, due to lack of domestic competition, company is able to generate better sales. Strategic Direction and Planning Marketing objectives It has been observed by the company financial data that the revenue has been increased by 27.9% in 2016. The profit after tax also got increase by 5.5% due to rise in sales; however the operating profit got increase by 9.3% in 2016. This shows a positive sign for the company. However the company has an objective to increase its sales and profits by increase in quality of the products. The marketing objectives of the company can be said as increase in product quality and increase in advertising. Product quality can be increase by nutritional value, and healthy ingredients. The company has an objective to increase its sales and for such, it needs to do advertising (Paley, 2006). Marketing strategies Porter five forces model Threat from new entrants: the company faces threats from entry of new entrants to the market. Threat from bargaining power of customers: the company should price its product and services as compare to its competitors, as the customer will purchase the product which is high in nutritional value and less in price (Ferell, Hartline, 2013). Threat from bargaining power of suppliers: however the company has good control over its logistics that is outbound and inbound logistics. The company must focus in restraining the suppliers with the company by incentives and allowances. Threat from substitute: the company faces threats from its substitutes due to increase in consumer awareness. Due to increase in preservatives and sweetness, the consumers are substituting the companys products from home made products. Threat from competitive rivalry: as the company has a cut throat competition with its rivalry firms in relation to prices. Hence the company should make strategies to increase the quality of its products by not affecting the price. Ansoff matrix Aggressive strategy The third strategy which can be adopted by Goodman fielder is aggressive marketing strategy. This is done to position the company in the market and to improve the image of the company in the minds of its customers. This can be done by massive advertising, conducting promotional campaign. The company is leader in domestic market; hence it can compete with the international competitors on the basis of providing quality in its products. Marketing Mix The 4Ps of Goodman fielder consists of product, price, place and promotion. Product: the company products consist of a large variety. As in case of biscuits the company deals provides variety in the form of flavors, colors, ingredients such as apricot chocolate, double chocolate, shortbread, peanut brownie and many more (CTI reviews). Price: the company strategy is to focus on increasing quality. But due to production at large scale and expertise in bakery products the company is able to price its products less like price of the biscuits is $3.29. While in comparison to its competitor Farm bake whose price is $4.29. Place: the company products are majorly offered in New Zealand market. Promotion: the company does not spend a large sum of money in promoting its products. Hence the impact is that the company lacks its presence over social media and less advertisement. Process: the process of company is designed in such a way that it leads to achievement of common goal, and it creates a positive environment so to make the employees understand about the systems and process. People: the company runs a program to educate and train its employees. In this program the rotations of employees are being done from their level of interest to other business function area. Physical evidence: the company provides a service of providing bakery products to its customers, which are high in nutritional value and quality. Tactics which company can adopt to achieve these marketing objectives are that, the company must engage in a sales promotion campaign, advertising through social media networking. The second tactic is that company must focus to increase its sales to increase the market share. Third tactic can be said as the company must plan for its pricing strategies so to better able to compete with its competitors. The forth tactic can be said that company must increase its distribution channel so that the consumers must be able to get the product from different channels. The fifth tactic is company should focus on nutritional value and qualitative aspect. The sixth tactic for company is increase in the service of the products that is company should focus on increase in sales after services, and innovation in packaging, process and storing facilities (Nargundkar, 2008). Implementation Control Internal communication plan The communication plan needs to be formed by the leader to provide the information in a clear, accurate manner. In case of Goodman fielder, the manager or leader should form an effective communication plan by conducting annual meetings, written communications, discussion over strategies related to production, quality, customer services and human resource. Activity: Goodman fielder must engage into promotional activities such as advertisement in TV, social media networking, Newspapers, free samples, billboards, and trade fair. This is required to be done by the company to make effective its marketing plan that is increasing its sales. The company can advertise its products on television, or advertising on pay per click on websites such as Google, Facebook, etc. The company would be requiring conducting massive advertising for at least 1 year. Responsibility: it is the responsibility of the company towards its consumers that is company should commit to its statement made in the activities. For such, the company would be requiring to recruit more employees. These employees would be responsible for majorly three responsibilities those are innovation, production, research and development, control activities. Inter department support: for making effective marketing plan, there should be correlation between the various departments of the company. All the departments in the company are related to each other. Timelines: after recruiting employees, the company would be requiring to provide them training. Hence in relation to Goodman fielder it would be requiring a two months training program in which the employees would be trained for the working of the company and the how it works would be described (Rogers, 2001). Indicative budgets: the budget for the company in activity, advertising and providing training and development courses is estimated at 2, 20, 000$ in total. The TV advertising is very costly hence the company would be requiring incurring 40000$. Social media advertising would cost about 20000$. While newspaper, free samples, fair show would cost about remaining money which is 10000$. The free samples to be provided in other markets would cost 20000$. The charges of billboards are 15000$. The company has also made promotional strategies by indulging into trade fair, which will cost 45000$. Indicative Budgets ($) Training development TV advertising Social media advertising Newspaper Free samples Billboards Trade fair 70000 40000 20000 10000 20000 15000 45000 Barrier to implementation: the first barrier to implementation can be said as intense competition, as the company faces a competition from its competitors as well as new entrants. The second barrier of the company can be said as target market. As the company has a less targeted market and it is focusing on New Zealand customers only. The third barrier of the company can be said as budget constraints (Goodman fielder, 2013). Control Goodman Fiedlers key performance indicators are revenue, as the company has able to increase 29%. Another indicator is increase in quality. The third key performance indicator is positive feedback and response from the customer. The fourth key performance indicator is management of finance and administration. Contingency plans of the company can be increase in the quality of the products. Due to increase in the consumer awareness regarding the product, the company faces a threat as it would lead to decrease in sales and loyalty from the brand. Besides this the company faces another contingency plan from its competitors, as the company set its prices either above its competitors or below the competitors price. Hence it is suggested that the company should set its prices at par from its competitors (Mitchell, 2015). Conclusion After analyzing the company marketing plan it can be said that by focusing on the qualitative aspects the target of the company can be achieved. Besides this it has been observed that the company is good at internal environment, but in case of external environment, its performance lacks due to competition and its weakness. Hence it is recommended that the company should focus on its strength and minimizing its weakness. References Allens,(2010). Intellectual property. Retrieved by https://www.allens.com.au/pubs/ip/fofapr10.htm Australian food News, (2015). Goodman fiedlers results reflecting difficult trading consitions Retrieved byhttps://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2015/02/11/goodman-fielders-results-reflecting-difficult-trading-conditions.html C Convenience and impulse retailing, (2015) Bread prices to fall as Goodman fielder reaches agreement with supermarkets. Retrieved at https://c-store.com.au/2015/02/19/bread-prices-to-fall-as-goodman-fielder-reaches-agreement-with-supermarkets/ CTI reviews, Marketing strategies, contemporary approach, Cram 101 textbook reviews Ferell, O,C Hartline, M. (2013) Marketing Strategy, text and cases, Cengage learning Goodman fielder, (2012) Goodman fielder: shareholder meeting Auckland 28 February 2012. retrieved at https://nzx.com/files/attachments/153922.pdf Goodman fielder, (2013). Investing in the future, Goodman fielder annual review 2013. Retrieved athttps://www.rspo.org/file/acop2014/goodman-fielder-ltd/M-Policies-to-PNC-stakeholderengagement.pdf Goodman Fielder, (2014) Goodman fielder limited- preliminary final report and 2014 annual financial report. Retrieved at https://agrihq.co.nz/assets/198368.pdf Goodman fielder, (2016) The dream big graduate program. Retrieved at https://goodmanfielder.com/careers/grad-cadets-interns/the-dream-big-graduate-programme/ Goodman fielder, (2016). Benefits and rewards, accessed on 7th February, 2017. Retreived by https://goodmanfielder.com/benefits-and-rewards/ Goodman fielder, (2016). Welcome to Goodman Fielder. Accessed on 7th February, 2017, retrieved by https://goodmanfielder.com/ Goodman fielder. Goodman fielders competitors. Retrieved at https://goodmanfielder.weebly.com/competition.html Goodman firlder, (2016). Vision values. Accessed on 7th February, 2017. Retrieved by https://www.countrylife.com.au/index.php?q=node/104 Goodman, (2016) industrial evolution, Goodman annual report. Retrieved at https://www.goodman.com/-/media/Files/Sites/Global/Investor%20Centre/GMG%20Goodman%20Group/reports%20and%20newsletters/Annual%20Reports/20160928_annual_report_2016.pdf?la=en Mitchell, S. (2015).Goodman fielder CEO Chris Delaney departs as Willmar, first pacific take control. Retrieved byhttps://www.smh.com.au/business/goodman-fielder-ceo-chris-delaney-departs-as-wilmar-first-pacific-take-control-20150317-1m13mk.html Nargundkar, (2008) Marketing research 3E, Tata McGraw Hill Education, New Delhi Paley, N. (2006) the managers guide to competitive marketing strategies, Thorogood publishing, London Rogers,S,C. (2001) Marketing strategies, tactics. And techniques: a handbook for practitioners, Greenwood publishing group Stoppres, (2014). Goodman fielder wins august ad impact award, appoints ractive as digital agency. Retrieved at https://stoppress.co.nz/news/goodman-fielder-wins-august-ad-impact-award-appoints-reactive-digital-agency The Australia business review. (2016) https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/business-spectator/mission-statement-impossible/news-story/5e67be80bf5c253c6a5ba0fecdc535f9

Intersectional Analysis of Bend It Like Beckham free essay sample

For this assignment, to make an intersectional analysis I decided to watch a movie. After searching and thinking for a while I picked the movie Bend it Like Beckham, since a lot of elements in this movie are applicable on my own life and I really could relate to one of the characters in the movie. As the title of the movie already implies, it is about football and takes place in England. Jesminder is a Sikh, Indian girl from a very traditional Indian family. She is not interested in fashion, boys and her looks; the only thing she is interested in is football. One time when she is playing in the park with her friends, who are all boys, Jules sees Jesminder play. Jules is an English, white girl who plays football. Jules askes if Jesminder wants to join the team, but Jesminder’s parents do not agree. She joins the team anyways and this causes a lot of friction in her own family. We will write a custom essay sample on Intersectional Analysis of Bend It Like Beckham or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Parminder Nagra, who is in her real life also a member of the Sikh religion, plays Jesminder. She grew up in England and from an early age on she wanted to become an actress. Her parents wanted her to finish her education first before she was allowed to start acting. Bend it Like Beckham was her breakthrough film and got her a role in the popular TV-show ER. Keira Knightley is the actress who plays Jules in the movie. She is a white woman, born and raised in England. She started acting at a very young age. Bend it Like Beckham was also her breakthrough movie and she has played in countless of popular movies since, for example Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually, Pride and Prejudice. The director of the movie, Gurinder Chadha, is a woman from Indian decent, who is also a member of the Sikh religion, was born in Kenya but grew up in London. She studied journalism and ended up working as a reporter for the BBC and quickly realized she wanted to direct movies and documentaries. Most of her films focus on the differences between Indian and English families and the inequality between them, mostly in a negative way for the Indians. Bend it Like Beckham is one of her most famous works. After describing the movie contents, the main actors and the director, I am going to apply intersectional analysis to this movie. Before starting the intersectional analysis the term intersectionality needs to be explained. Kimberle Crenshaw was the first person that mentioned the theory of intersectionality. This theory is a study that focuses on the different biological, social and cultural categories that define someone’s identity and place in society. All these categories are in relation with each other, for instance gender, class, race and sexual orientation combined define your place in society and sadly also the way people treat you. These so called axes all influence each other, there is not just one aspect that defines our place in society. Combinations of all the axes, the starting point of intersectionality, contribute to social inequality, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, but also religion-based discrimination. According to this theory the person who would be the most accepted is a white, straight male from a higher class. A black, gay woman from a lower class would take the lowest position in society, while a white, gay woman from lower class would stand above her, and a white, straight woman from lower class would even take a higher position in society. Now that I explained the theory of intersectionality I can apply it to the movie, but before I do that, I would like to make a point about football-movies in general, and also a point about the lead actresses of the movie. After watching this movie I decided to search for other movies about football. There are over hundreds of movies that focus on men’s football in one way or another, a team, the fans, a coach, but only a few movies, a total of seven, focus on girls that play football, and Bend it Like Beckham is the only one with the focus on a girl who is not white. This shows that football is a sport that is still very gender-based, despite the fact that in the Netherlands alone already 120. 000 girls play football. Also race plays an important part, because all the other movies about girl’s football focus on white girls, while I know from my own experience there are a lot of girls from different races who play football. I myself played football for seven years, and I played in a team where half of the girls were non-whites. I will focus on this later on. The second point I would like to make is that despite this movie is the breakthrough for both main characters, Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra, Keira is way more successful than Parminder. I researched both their filmographies, and Keira got a lot of movie offers after this movie, while Parminder’s only offer was a role, not even a leading role, in the TV-show ER. Parminder played in a few small movies, and in every single one of them the focus was on her racial background, while Keira Knightley got very divers movie offers, from playing a pirate to an historical person. The fact hat the role offers for both women depend on their race shows that in this case Parminder has a lower position in the society. She has very limited choices to pick from, while Keira has, because of her white skin-color, more choices. With that being said I can focus myself on the movie itself. This movie really focuses on gender and ethnicity, but sexual orientation is also a big part of it. Footb all is still seen as a men’s sport, and these girls in the movies are automatically a minority because they play football. I myself have encountered the same problems as these girls. I am a white, straight girl living in a western country, but when I told people, that I played football, their reaction was always: ‘a girl who plays football? That is so weird! ’ And without their knowledge of my sexuality, quite often people assumed I was a lesbian because I played football. Without knowing any axes of my life, I was automatically put in a lower position, just because I am a girl who played football. This also is seen in the movie. Jules has short hair, wears baggy clothes and plays football, and her mother overhears a conversation between Jules and Jess about love, but she misinterprets it and thinks Jules is gay. The mother is very upset about her daughter being gay and when Jules tells she is not gay, the mother is very relieved and then says there is nothing wrong with being gay. Even though she says that, she is still happy her own daughter is in fact not a lesbian. This shows certain stereotypes towards girls that play football, have short hair and wear baggy clothes. Football is such a gendered sport that it automatically leads to sexism, thinking girls who play football must be lesbian because they play a men’s sport. Lesbianism is also seen as something less good than being straight, seeing the mother is relieved her daughter is not a lesbian. The coach of the team, a young, straight white man is ashamed to be the coach of a girl’s team. He had to stop playing football due to an injury, and he wanted to do something with football. He ended up coaching the girls team, but he has never told this to his father because he is afraid his father will get angry because ‘they’re just girls’. This also shows the gender-based thinking towards girls, but intersectionality becomes even clearer when race gets involved. When Jesminder first joins the team, the eaction of the coach is that he has never seen an Indian girl play football, and he is angry with Jules for bringing her to the team because he expects her to not be able to play football, because she is an Indian girl. He says this without even seeing her play. She turns out to be the best of the team. Without knowing anything about her he places her in a lower social position than white girls, just because of her race, and he already places himself above girls. During a match a girl from the opponent calls Jesminder names, a specific word being used is ‘Paki’, which is a swearword used towards people from Indian decent. Even though it’s a girl who calls Jesminder this and probably has experienced the same gender and sexism problems as the other girls in this movie, she still places herself above Jesminder in the social hierarchy, only because Jesminder is from a different race. A different scene that shows the lower position of Jesminder is when her parents want her to focus on school instead of football. They literally say she needs the highest grades possible for a good future because her chances for a good job are smaller than the chances of an average white girl, whose chances are again smaller than those of a white boy. This sentence alone shows her chances of a good future are gender and racial based. The class she will belong to when she’s an adult depends on how good her job is, which again depends on her gender and race. This thus shows that women who are not white almost automatically end up in the lower classes of the society. A white woman has more chances to end up in a higher class, but still has fewer chances than a white man. Jesminder would make more chances for a good job if she were an Indian boy, because then only race would be a problem, while in her case it’s race and gender. As I said, in my own football team were a lot of non-white girls, and all of them, at least they parents did, belonged to the lower class, while the white girls in my team, including myself, were from a higher class than they are. There is one point in the movie where the lower position of the male is seen. Her best friend, a boy named Tony, confesses to her he is gay, but she must promise him she will not tell anyone about this. In the Indian religion it is not acceptable to be gay, that is his reason not to tell anyone. But if he would be openly gay, his position on the social ladder would get lower, because he would be gay, Indian man. If Jesminder would be from a different ethnicity I do not think it would have made any changes for the movie. The main point is that a white skin colour in the western world means a higher place in society than any other skin colour. If Jesminder had been a lesbian it would have placed her even lower on the social ladder. This also applies for Jules , she is a white, straight female, so she is quite privileged in general, but I think if the director had made her a lesbian, the stereotypes towards girls that play football would be even clearer and also show more struggles of women in a society. Sexuality does play a part in the movie, since Jules’ mother thinks she is a lesbian, but yet she turns out to be straight. I think this movie really shows the importance of using intersectuality when it comes to determining someone’s position in the society. The struggles of girls that play football to be accepted playing a men’s sport and overcoming typical stereotypes are shown, just as well the struggles of an Indian football-playing girl being accepted in the western society. This movie shows that football is still a very gendered sport and that a girl’s choice to play football influences her position.