The Winning Essay - Oxford and Cambridge Writing Competition 2010

We'd like to feature the winning article of our recent Essay Competition to recognise the thought and effort put into it. Bravo Ishen Perumal  from SMK Methodist (ACS) Ipoh!




Discuss how race, gender and/or social class help determine the circumstances of a person's life. 

I recently watched a football match between the Italian clubs Inter Milan and Juventus. It was not an entertaining game by any means, and that was not what made me upset. It was the fact that Inter Milan player Mario Balotelli, who is an African - Italian, was booed each time he came into contact with the ball by the opposing team’s supporters. Why? Because he was black. A highly-rated teenage prodigy who came up through the ranks was finally playing football at the highest level, only to be booed by the fans because of his skin colour. Was it his fault that he was black? Obviously not. There was absolutely nothing he could do about it. But the fact is, race determined the circumstances of Mario Balotelli’s life.

A person’s race, gender and social class is something he or she can do nothing about. But without a doubt, these influence the circumstances of a person’s life. They affect how a person lives, his comfort level. They affect how he’s treated by others and the respect he is shown. They affect the privileges and opportunities a person gets, such as education and medical treatment. To sum it all up, race, gender and social class affect a person’s life.

A person’s race influences many aspects of a person’s life. For example, Africans used to be enslaved by some Europeans. They were regarded as property and were sold and auctioned openly, all because of their race. They were not given any education or rights. Of course, this was a long time ago. Conditions now are somewhat better. People of all races are given equal rights and privileges. Racism is a problem that is slowly diminishing, up to the extent that the United States recently elected their first Black President. This in itself has inspired the world to wipe out racism and racial tension. For example, our Malaysian Prime Minister launched the 1 Malaysia campaign. Although the idea isn’t bad, one does wonder if it is merely a political stunt, as more has to been done to make the politician’s words a vibrant reality. In football, players like Mario Ballotelli are one of a handful of victims of racist attacks, and FIFA has taken steps to eradicate racism, with other sports councils following suit. Although steps are being taken to stop racism and promote unity, one can’t deny there is still along way to go. For example, in Malaysia, the ‘Bumiputras’ are given special privileges and rights showing clearly that a person’s race still helps to determine the circumstances of one’s life, albeit not as much as it used to. However, the fight against racism is far from over.

As well as race, a person’s gender influences a person’s life. Generally women are given less importance than men. It has to be said that gender is getting less relevant in determining the circumstance of a person’s life. Education and other aspects of a person’s life do not depend on gender as much as in the past. Of course, certain things like when joining the army one finds that the military prefer men more than women, yet in other vocations women are preferred more than men. Women used to be seen as the gender that would stay at home, provide care, clean up the house and look after the children. Previously the thought of women going to work was unconceivable. Things have changed, and in some cases, the roles have been reversed. Women used to be deprived of education, now they are the majority in some fields of study. Women are more powerful than ever. So it is fair to conclude that a person’s gender is not as big factor as in the past in determining the circumstances of one’s life.

As an Indian, I can safely say that the social class of a person in the Indian community is a very big factor in determining the circumstances of a person’s life. The social class of an Indian can determine who he or she gets married to and or whether he or she marries the person he or she loves. One might argue that it is not fair, that a person does not choose which social class he or she gets born into. But that’s just the way it is. Arranged marriages are common, and a person almost always gets married to another person of the same social class. A person’s social class also determines the way a person is treated and the level of respect the person is shown. This however, is getting less relevant in today’s society. Most people find it completely irrelevant and ignore it completely. A handful of the society is still conscious about the social class, but it is safe to conclude that social class is the least dominate of three factors in determining the circumstances of a person’s life.

The three factors, race, gender and social class are walls dividing us, blocking us from achieving unity and peace. We can slowly see these walls being taken down, and in time if all of us do our part, we can live in a society where everyone gets treated equally, regardless of a person’s race, gender or social class. A saying comes to mind : ‘the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”.