Topics for June 21st,2008

Hello every one
below you can find the three topics for the next class.
Have a great time.

MALE & FEMALE ROLES

1. Belinda Brooks-Gordon, a university psychologist, has done research showing
that men in a top international company categorise women into five groups:
Babes (young and attractive women with little professional credibility)
Mums (considered unattractive and ignored by male traders)
Lesbians (feminists)
Dragons (women considered old or unattractive, rudely treated)
One-of-the-boys (women who behave like men - only they progress)
In your country, do women have equal opportunities in the work-place, for example:
the same pay and promotion opportunities as men? Are they categorised?



2. Is it easy for women to continue their careers after taking time off work
to start a family? Do companies provide crèches or nurseries?

3. Do parents and teachers in your country encourage girls and boys to grow up differently?
Do they play with the same toys? Do they receive the same education at school and university?

4. Do you think women and men should perform the same or different roles?
Are men usually the bread-winners and women usually the home-makers in your country?

5. Are there any "women’s or men’s rights" groups in your country?


MARRIAGE

1. Are you for or against trial marriages i.e. living together outside marriage to test your compatibility?

2. Do you think that marriage should be for life? Should divorce be made easier or more difficult?

3. Why do you think that the divorce rate has become so high in Britain and many other countries?

4. Is it better to marry someone of the same educational, social, cultural and racial background?

5. Is it better to marry someone of approximately the same age? Should the man be older than the woman?

6. How important is the religious aspect of marriage to you? Which aspects are more important, if any?

7. Should it be legal to marry more than one partner at the same time?

8. Should it be legal to marry someone of the same sex? Should marriages between gay and lesbian partners be recognised by the church?

THE MEDIA

1. In Britain, tabloid newspapers, which contain mostly gossip and pin-ups of
good-looking women and men, sell many more copies than serious
newspapers. Do readers in your country have the same interests?

2. Do reporters and photographers respect the private lives of famous people
in your country? How much freedom should the press be allowed by law?

3. Is the media in your country mainly owned by a few large monopolies?
Should the law allow ownership of several newspapers or TV channels?

4. Is there a bias towards any particular political party or interest group in
your country’s media?

5. Which would you prefer (a) TV channels without advertising
paid for by a licence fee (b) Free TV channels paid for by advertising
or (c) Pay-as-you-view TV where you only pay for what you watch?

6. In Britain, there are restrictions on what can be screened on TV before
9 p.m. Do you think that TV programme content should be censored?

7. Should governments act to control the Internet or should it be uncensored?

8. Have you ever used the Internet? What did you use it for?