Gender Influences on Hurricanes
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Despite the massive advances in education and technology surrounding hurricane predictability and safety, one aspect has remained the same: the naming process. Since the first documented hurricane in 1494, hurricanes have always been identified by human names. In 2012, The National Academy of Sciences conducted a series of experiments and studies to test the correlation between the perceived gender of a hurricane, based on its given name, and the damage associated with the hurricane. Their findings concluded that feminine-named hurricanes were deadlier and more destructive than masculine-named hurricanes due to the preconceived notion that feminine-names are associated with delicacy and frailness. I will be citing research conducted by the National Academy of Sciences and the University of Notre Dame to show a problem with the current naming process used with hurricanes. This problem, despite the many years of failed change, can be easily fixed with a new identification system. It is vital that rhetors, psychologists, and meteorologists come together to develop a system that will provide unbiased hurricane warning and save innocent lives. The world is in desperate need of a new, non-biased identification system. I argue that experts in the above listed fields of study must collaborate to create an identification system that will create little to no internal bias, and allow individuals to identify a hurricane, evacuate their homes, and make informed safety decisions. Throughout this analysis, I will be identifying the problems surrounding the current naming system, using research conducted by the University of Notre Dame to justify a new system, and suggest a proper identification process that can be implemented throughout the world.