The Usefulness of the Sociological Imagination in...

The Usefulness of â€Å"The Sociological Imagination† in Relation to Gender, Social Inequality and Suicide Sociological imagination is the â€Å"quality of mind† (Mills, 1959: p. 4) that enables us to look outside our everyday life and see the entire society as we were an outsider with the benefit of acknowledge of human and social behaviour. It allows us to see how society shapes and influences our life experiences. Is the ability to see the general in the particular and to â€Å"defamiliarise the familiar† (Bauman 1990: p. 15). According to C. Wright Mills, it â€Å"enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals† (Mills, 1959: p. 5). These†¦show more content†¦Sociological imagination highlights how society places the two sexes in unequal positions of wealth, power and privilege. It is therefore very useful to look beyond the gender itself and see the global issues associated with it. There are differences regarding the type of gender in different countries, the levels of gender inequality and the amount of violence that are necessary to maintain both systems of difference and domination. Women were always viewed as weak, sensitive, dependent and unintelligent so the society formed a view that they have to sit home, do the housework and raise the children. They were always considered less skilled, incapable of doing a hard work and even now women are more likely to be paid less than man. Women are more likely to be abused and they are less likely to have access to formal power. According to the United Nations, â€Å"At least one in five of world’s female population has been physically or sexually abused by a man at some time in their life† (UNFPA, 2000: p. 25). â€Å"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics† (Plutarch). Only few months ago we faced difficult decisions such as whether to go to study medicine, or law, politics or business or which university to attend Trinity College or UCD. While considering the most important questions of our lives it was easy to forget that there