However, it was not just the collapse of the Twin Towers and the partial destruction of the Pentagon that made the attack globally monumental. It was what followed post 9/11 Attack – primarily in terms of the US’s counter-response to the attack and secondary in terms of the attack’s impression upon the larger eastern and western ideological realms.

“U.S. Under Attack” was inked as headlines after three commercial airliners were used as bombs to destroy the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan followed by twin towers as well as part of the Pentagon which serves as the headquarters of defence. Another hijacked U.S. airliner Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania, supposedly intending to crash into the White House in Washington, DC.

INTRODUCTION

The United States suffered an unprecedented loss of life on September 11, 2001, from what was labelled a “terrorist attack.” Mainly on the basis of data from professional association surveys and government agencies, it was found that the United States and many other countries of the world have been significantly affected by the events and aftermath of that morning’s events.

As an unprecedented attack on a country not usually affected by external terrorism, often cited as an example of leading powers it allows a unique study of how the notion of terrorism changed after the traumatic series of events. As a result of the “9/11 attack”, a number of changes were triggered as the economy, society and civilians recovered, the Arab world and Western allies diverged on the spectrum. Many of the initial logistical changes appear to have diminished over time as things restored normalcy but severed relationships between countries, prejudiced views and discriminatory practices linger on as memoirs of the incident.

WHAT IS TERRORISM?

Coined during the French Revolution to describe “the reign of terror” the term originates from the Latin word “terrere,” which reflects frighten or tremble and had positive connotations. Today, terrorism has transformed into a more menacing spectre where throughout the years, various scholars have attempted to define what constitutes ‘terrorism’.

Yet, the term is so loaded with conceptual problems that a totally accepted universal definition of it ceases to exist and the irony is that the recurrent theme of violence has become the daily part of the political drama of modern times. Where the U.S. Department of Defence defines it as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”.

On the other hand, the Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism quotes it as, “any act or threat of violence, whatever its motives or purposes, that occurs in the advancement of an individual or collective criminal agenda and seeking to sow panic among people, causing fear by harming them, or placing their lives, liberty or security in danger, or seeking to cause damage to the environment or to public or private installations or property or to occupying or seizing them, or seeking to jeopardise national resources is – terrorism”.

Terrorists have a myriad of potential targets in the world; they strategically aim to disrupt high-profile landmarks, crowded public places with low security, targets that would hurt their enemy’s economy, and anywhere that could cause maximum harm to their enemy’s citizens. Perhaps it is in this regard that the attacks on the WTC affected the health of US civilians in uncountable ways: it created psychological distress for millions, exacerbated mental disorders among the younger segment of groups and jeopardised social cohesion which functions as the founding pillar for mental health.

THE EVENTS OF 9/11 ATTACK

Described by the U.S. Department of State as the deadliest international terrorist attack in human history it involved four separate but coordinated commercial aeroplane hijackings by 19 hijackers belonging to the Al Qaeda terrorist branch resulting in over 25, 000 injuries with $ 10 billion worth of property damage.

As all the aeroplanes had just taken off and were filled with jet fuel for their transcontinental flights, their intentional crashes into buildings had the effects of a bomb exploding as the fuel ignited upon impact and hundreds suffered the cost.

The 19 hijackers on 9/11 were described as ‘terrorists’ who came from various Middle Eastern countries. NBC Nightly News (2002) said the 19 hijackers all entered the United States illegally as with over 6,000 mi of land borders, 95,000 mi of seacoast, guarding all possible entrance points into the United States and keeping out any foreign entities that can accelerate chaos is almost impossible.

GLOBAL EFFECTS & GOVERNMENTAL MEASURES

The United Nations passed a resolution condemning the 9/11 attack while Interpol focused its attention on bringing justice by organising an 11 September Task Force in response to the attacks.

The attacks on 9/11 in the United States have directly and indirectly drawn many other countries into the fray against terrorists by tightening their security guidelines to even racial profiling measures.

The 9/11 attack triggered a number of responses within the global hegemony where the initial tenor of the populace in the United States was shock, sorrow, and outrage. Views were highly foreshadowed as reports of hate crimes and acts of discrimination against Muslims and Arabs became a regular phenomenon. While on the other end of the spectrum people opened up their hearts and pockets in an initial outpouring of donating blood and money to help the victims who bore the brunt of the tragedy. Employees became more oriented towards spending time with loved ones and balancing work and home time as well extending a hand of help to those in need. The testing times brought out the best spirit in people as the citizens of the United States were drawn much closer together; there was a significant increase in cohesion of the populace.

Stringent government changes were put in order as greater coordination of the intelligence and law enforcement communities like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and FBI was emphasised. Forty government agencies and units were assigned to collect intel on terrorism by employing multiple mechanisms.

A cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security was formed in the national government to overlook the supervision while congress laid the stone for the formulation of the Transportation Security Administration to hire and employ over 40,000 federal baggage screeners for checked baggage at the 429 U. S. airports.

President Bush declared “War on Terrorism” and received tremendous public support where his approval rating as President soared to 70% and solidified his image as a ‘strong’ leader.

There was an incursion into Afghanistan by the United States and its allies to find and destroy those guilty for 9/11 where the U.S. after the infamous invasion of Iraq; officially listed it under the U.S. Department of State as a sponsor of terrorism.

Even though the U.S. retaliated after the great shock but its economy was adversely affected by business spending dropping significantly. Analysts noted how terrorist strikes were the single greatest loss for the insurance industry in 2001 while the travel industry also decimated. Employers were mentally affected by the 9/11 attack in numerous ways and thus the importance of crisis management teams and plans took centre stage, where disaster plans were revised and meetings away were drastically curtailed. Increased security procedures led to the slower and more costly movement of services, and over-cutting costs often not viable for small business to withstand. Bernasek (2002) estimated that it would cost the United States an extra $151 billion a year because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks including an extra $6 billion for people costs such as extra absenteeism. Employers took leaves of absences and time off to recover from the troubling events of the 9/11 attack. With the passage of time, however, the initial effects of 9/11 declined and life in the United States generally reverted to pre-9/11 behaviours where national surveys have shown little lasting change on the U.S. population and economic market since the 9/11 attack.

POLARISATION OF VIEWS POST 9/11 ATTACK

Ideological and political conflict between the Western and Arab and Muslim world is one of the most dominant phenomena that override the relations across global issues of the present era where struggle and strive is mediated, reproduced, and circulated mostly by headlines and media. While U.S. and Western media have previously dominated the global mediascape, the emergence of the new Arab public sphere opens the way for productive dialogues, better mutual understanding and to curb hostility that has seeped in over years of projecting one-sided narratives.

One still needs to understand the need where Western mechanisms need to break with stereotypes of Arabs and Islam, incorporate more Muslim voices into its programming and provide a safe platform for real dialogue and debate rather than ideological posturing and polarisation.

Likewise, the emergent Arab public sphere should be open to Western dialogue as well as the diversity of views in its region as these opposites need to take into account how it will be one of the challenges in the coming years and calls for critical communication, interaction and deliberation between the Middle East and the West which has been so fraught with danger and will no doubt continue to be a site of immense importance and conflict.

THE DIVIDE

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Islam and Muslims started to come to the forefront of the Western media, albeit not for very positive reasons; it flared the already existing one-sided view westerners kept of the eastern world. Because Osama Bin Laden cited religious motives for his criminal attacks, a debate started brewing in the Western media over the real essence of Islam and whether it encouraged violence and promoted hatred, particularly against non- Muslims.

Many media outlets referred to the 9/11 terrorists simply as ‘‘Muslims,’’ which fuelled stereotyping further and did nothing to help stop the verbal and physical attacks taking place against Muslims in the U.S. at this critical time; it was noted how after the events of 9/11, ‘‘the U.S. media immediately fell back on the prevailing —and stereotyped—narrative about Arabs and Muslims and reverted to its historic tendency to present the world, as Henry Kissinger’s quotes, ‘a morality play between good and evil’’.

Despite the fact that all Arab countries condemned the attacks and took a solid stance against ‘ terrorism’ in all forms, for the most part, voices communicated through the mass media still failed to differentiate between Arabs and Muslims, on one hand, and terrorists, on the other.

Political scholars in Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR, 2001) noted that ‘‘many media pundits focused on one theme: retaliation; while not paying heed to what follows in the aftermath.
For example, on September 12, 2001, Steve Dunleavy wrote in the New York Post: ‘‘The response to this unimaginable 21st- century Pearl Harbor should be as simple as it is swift—kill the bastards. A gunshot between the eyes, blow them to smithereens, poison them if you have to. As for cities or countries that host these worms, bomb them into basketball courts.’’

Even leaders of importance who uphold the ideals of rationality and diplomacy took sides like the former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger commented on CNN, ‘‘There is only one way to begin to deal with people like this, and that is you have to kill some of them even if they are not immediately directly involved in this thing’’. Statements like this coincided with and may have contributed to an increasing anti-Muslim sentiment which slowly seeped into other western nations who believed they were ‘‘doing the U.S. a favour.’’

The Arab Dilemma

It is difficult to draw a conclusion with one side as dual variables have functioned simultaneously where the Western media have produced dominant negative stereotypes and demonised Islamic fundamentalism, and in turn how Arab media have promoted negative images of the West and offers a rigorous narrow crevice to hold dialogue.

Chomsky (2001) asserted that the mainstream media in the U.S. constitutes a well- run propaganda systems that hold the immense capacity ‘‘to drive people to irrational, murderous, and suicidal behaviour’’ where citizens need to resist the notion of responding to terrorist crimes and must hold the wisdom to see both sides of the story.

During the post-9/11 era tensions and hostilities have been intensified due to the Bush Administration “war on terror” and Osama bin Laden and other radical Islamic groups promoting “Jihad” where Bush and bin Laden’s rhetoric and worldview and how their binary discourses and extremist rhetoric have shaped the representations of each side in their respective media.

This bias was further aggravated by what could be called ‘‘jihad journalism’’ a concept narrowly created to meet the partisan need where such slanted coverage was ‘‘the hallmark of the post-9/11 era’’ and a ‘‘a result of racist jingoism”.

CONCLUSION

A decade has passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Most of us remember where we were when we learned of the attacks, although our memories of the event and of our feelings that day may not be as accurate as we suspect as it is a known fact how the 9/11 attack did far more than destroy buildings and kill thousands of innocent people, it divided beyond boundaries and devastated perceptions beyond mending. They interrupted routine patterns and tugged at our social fabric, not simply in New York City, but across the global platform. They shattered a sense of security and perceptions of vulnerability among residents of the Western world even those who did not know anyone who died that day have been touched by the tragedy in one way or another. It now falls on to us to usher in peace, leave what’s all left behind and look beyond what is projected.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbas, T. (ed) (2007). “Islamic Political Radicalism in European Perspective”. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Andrew Silke. ( 2003) . “Beyond Horror: Terrorist Atrocity and the Search for Understanding” . Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 26(1) ,pp. 37–60.

Bergen, P. (2006). ‘What were the causes of 9/11?’

Bobbitt, P. (2008). “Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty First Century”. London: Penguin Books.

Maxwell Taylor and Ethel Quayle ( 1994 ) . “Terrorist Lives” . London: Brassey’s, Publication

Richard A. Clarke. ( 2004 ) . “Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror” .New York: Free Press, pp. 227–238.

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The notion that gender is binary, that is when gender is recognised in only two terms – male and female is highly refuted. Social research has shown there are as many as 52 genders. Some definitions of gender overlap and some change over time, as a cultural change. One would commonly encounter individuals who would identify themselves as cis-gendered – a label whose personal gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned to at birth.

Cisnormativity is the notion that a cis-gender identity is a socially accepted norm. This leads to discrimination and creates stronger social setbacks for those who do not fit in this norm. It has thus become important to understand gender closely and use appropriate language and gender. This not only promotes inclusivity but also lets people know one is supporting and affirming to the other person’s gender. For example, a genderfluid person moves between different gender presentations. The individual may identify as masculine one day and on another day, the individual may identify as a femme or woman. Hence, the use of gender-neutral pronouns such as “they/them” is encouraged for genderfluid people

Gender becomes the most conspicuous difference between humans and animals and it manifests itself psychologically. Traditional western viewpoints designate males and females as binary opposite and argue that gender is inescapable. But this is not the case anymore. In our social surroundings, gender plays an important role. Through this article, we learn about the meaning of gender and its distinction from sex along with some cases and examples. We identify the common gender-related discrimination and understand the true sense of the word.

A Tryst with High Heels

The famous red-soled Louboutin with their breathtakingly high or rather painful stilettos are reserved for the women’s section and viewed as a commodity for the feminine gender only.

A commodity restricted to gender, strikes as a strange idea to me.

The retailer asked, in a rather monotonous tone to my friend, “Which size ma’am?” and then when we told him it is for me, a he! At once the retailer was taken aback and for a fraction of second, we could see the gears in his brain process the information. Well, we tried the shoe, it wasn’t a perfect fit, end of the story.

A Brief History of Gendered Commodities

Historically, high heeled shoes were initially designed for upper class men to use when hunting on horseback, an activity considered fairly masculine.

With time, as women began wearing high heels, male heels slowly became shorter and fatter as female heels grew taller and thinner. Over time the perception of the high heels gradually became seen as feminine. There is nothing intrinsically feminine about high heeled shoes. My friend enjoyed wearing my ‘Peanuts’ themed Vans sneakers but, she wasn’t subjected to gender horrified looks or old auntie gasps. Such has happened because social norms have made it so.

Gender roles are not set in stone. It varies from society to society and time as well. It is susceptible to change.

Understanding Gender from Biological Sex

The baffled expression of the retailer tells us something which runs much deeper in the texts of Gender Psychology and its social perspective.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines gender as “the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.”

Through the social lens, gender becomes a much broader term. While sex refers to an individual’s biological status as either male or female; gender refers to the person’s sense of expression of their maleness and femaleness.

While most people are born either male or female, they are taught appropriate norms and behaviours. This includes how they should interact with others or of the same or opposite sex, within micro and macro levels of societies. Such as households, classrooms, communities, religious places, sports fields and many more.

Individuals or groups who do not fit established gender norms, often face stigma, discriminatory practices and subjected to social exclusion. This in return has an adverse effect on health- both their physical and mental wellbeing. For example, the atrocities acted upon the hijra community in South-East Asia.

Cross-cultural and historical evidence do challenge this limited ideology and many gender-based stereotypes. The early rise of 20th-century feminism emerging as a social and political force has been fighting for equal opportunities and challenging traditional sexism of patriarchy.  This viewpoint is further supplemented with an interesting case from the Philippines.

A Case from the Philippines

PETA, acronym for Philippine Educational Theatre Association, a non-stock, non-profit organisation found in 1967 by Cecile Guidote gave the women of Philippines a strong voice. Under PETA, the Women’s Theatre Program (WTP) becomes an artistic medium that eventually becomes a weapon in the face of conservative political and religious influences which had been oppressing the women of the nation, solely due to their gender.

When PETA was formed, the Philippines was suffering from the dictatorship of President Marcos, making major gender inequality gaps and oppressing women. The WTP explores issues such as violence against women, prostitution and trafficking, poverty and reproductive right for women.

From the mid-1970s to mid-1980s PETA took seriously the task of leading a national theatre movement that would fight Marco’s dictatorship. They believed the struggle for social justice, women empowerment, democracy and equality amongst gender should also be urged on the educational and cultural fronts. The importance was paramount because without shaping people’s consciousness, the change will never prove lasting.

Sartorial Sexism

We dive deeper in the social perspective of gender in current times with the life examples of author Vicki S. Helgeson in her book The Psychology of Gender.

When her daughter was born, in 1998, Helgeson was exposed to the psychology of gender far more than as an advocate of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women.

She observed that after dressing up her baby in gender neutral clothes, passer-by’s often mistook the infant for a boy.

In her book she explains, the biological default is female. At conception, the embryo is destined to become female unless exposed to male hormones.

But the social default is male. When in doubt, assume the baby is a boy unless strong social cues are present, indicating the baby is a girl such as the pink, the bow, the specific patterns on toys and clothes. Further, she observed that it is not nearly as offensive to assume a girl is a boy as it is to assume a boy is a girl. She was surprised to find out how apologetic people become when they guess a baby boy for a girl.

Sartorial sexism stands strong within infants as it stood against me in Marks & Spencer. Infant clothes and toys are divided, with strict hints of sexism present. Slogans on apparels such as ‘Daddy’s Little Princess’ are for girls, expecting them to behave in a certain manner while for boys there are ‘Daddy’s Handyman’ reinforcing the machoism at an age when they cannot spell the very word. Symbolism also strictly divides dress codes with a pair of denims with stars and glitters are considered for boys and rugged or faded jeans are kept for girls.

Something seemed funny in that last line, didn’t it? And that is the social perspective of gender we carry today.

Conclusion

The nature of gender roles varies from society to society and time as well, such as certain commodities have shifted from one gender to another through time. Sex and Gender are two distinguished terms where sex relates to the biology of the individual and gender relates to the expression of behaviour from the individual. Gender manifests itself psychologically and if individuals do not fit the societal gender norms, they often face discrimination and subjugation from the dominant gender. Cecile Guidve initiative in 1967 lead to the creation of the Women’s Theatre Program (WTP) under the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) which fought gender inequality from both educational and cultural means. Sartorial sexism exists in our society and manifests itself through symbolic slogans, colour and fashion.

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