Men And Women Were Equally Constrained By Gender Expectations Of Women

The biological sex of a person, in most cases, today can still be considered one of the main identifying characteristics of an individual. In the past the sex of a person was more than an identifying characteristic, it was who they were. They were either men or women, there was no in between or changing it. Society today has come a long way in terms of gender identity and gender roles, but the concept of patriarchy still has the upper hand when it all boils down. Allan G. Johnson’s, The Gender Knot, provides for a more diverse outlook on the women’s expected roles in life, how they are expected to handle difficult situations in marriage, and how they demonstrate courage, in Mona Lisa Smile.

In this paper, I will explore various discourses that shaped the understanding of male gender in medieval England and the notion of masculinity in Canterbury Tales.

In civilization today, men and women both perform noticeably contrasting roles based on their biological gender rather than their ability. Although these roles do not hold true for each individual, the superiority of them live their lives in compliance with these inescapable roles. In the short story Groom Service by Michael Dorris, it is illustrated through the use of satire and character how men and women are raised in a way to fill predetermined positions for which society compels them to be in. As a result of this, their power, potential, and importance is limited. Despite them gaining some independence from the chains that society imposes, its perspective regarding the identity and role of both genders is still rather dogmatic. Until these chains are broken, it prohibits humankind from developing further into an impartial and diverse collection, where both men and women are not confined by societal archetypes and power structures.

If men had ever been found in society without women, or women without men, or if there had been a society of men and women in which the women were not under the control of the men, something might have been positively known about the mental and moral differences which may be inherent in the nature of each. (1160-1161)

Women were raised to fit into gender roles, but that would not translate into a “man’s society”. The only solution was to make a hybrid role. As seen with Rosie the Riveter, “she is strong and at the same time beautiful.” (Hall, Orzada, and Lopez-Gydosh) This was a major distinction of the time- there was a mental image of elegant women, but also a hard reality that required women to abandon traditional views. While the definition of women had to change, so did their outward appearances.

The beard, as Fisher argues, plays an equally important role as the genitals in “making” one a man. Quoting scholar John Valerian, Fisher shows that facial hair begins as a morphological attribute of males but later becomes a “token” of manhood and finally a sign of vigorous strength of men, in which gender is constructed. Fisher further argues that gender in the early modern period was materialized through a number of prosthetic parts, such as the beard, the genitals, daggers, and the like. The beard, according to Fisher, could materialize sexual difference in a way the genitals could not – as the former is visible in social institution and the latter is not. Fisher makes a distinction that early modern facial hair, while “making” the man in some sense, was malleable and prosthetic, suggesting that masculinity is also somewhat prosthetic.

During the period just prior to the accepted beginnings of “Early Modern” Europe (pre-1450), gender roles had been set in stone for hundreds of years. Europe was, without any argument, a fully patriarchal society. Men worked, men created art, music, and culture, and men ruled. Women had little in the way of options for social climbing, education was lacking in availability for all but the

Writing about gender during the Victorian era should prove an easy task, especially compared to the complexity of gender today, where the binaries of male and female have been replaced with a gender spectrum. Before beginning a discussion of gender, I must distinguish the difference between sex and gender. Sex is based on a combination of physical anatomy, genes, and hormones, whereas gender is based on societal roles, behaviors, activities and attributes. These societal attributes change with time as do the ideal representatives of masculine and feminine.

If “The Book of the Courtier” by Italian diplomat and humanist writer, Baldassare Castiglione was published in 2017, everyone would be enraged if they had to follow the ideals expressed in the book. These ideals derive from the specific lifestyle of the age of Rebirth—the Renaissance. During this era, people were forced to follow the norms of their gender. However, in today’s society, everyone is free to express themselves in the way that they desire. Compared to today’s standards, there was a distinct and disparate ideology of how a gentleman and lady should behave during the Renaissance in order to achieve the label as well-rounded.

Gender roles have constrained so many people, and have also freed many people as well. As a college student the biggest gender role that has constrained males is that they are unable to get free drinks at bars and have to pay for their girlfriends. I have noticed that at many bars that females are allowed to get in for free, and do have to buy a ticket unlike the males. Furthermore, usually when guys take girls on the date they have to pay for the girl as well. I understand that you have to pay for the female because you asked her and all that, but sometimes your date spends way too much money, and it makes you broke. Gender roles have freed people as well. An example where gender roles have freed people is for instance in the males condition,

Patriarchy in simple terms can be defined as a system or government in which men hold the power and status, in comparison to women who are largely excluded. Throughout this assignment, particular attention will be placed upon issues surrounding patriarchal culture and the effects of the British colonial rule. Furthermore, the manners in which patriarchy manifests itself in regards to human relationships and behaviour will also be discussed, as well as the effect of power relations on the ability of people to self-actualise. Examples of two of the characters from within the book ‘Palace Walk’ will be used, in order to assist our understanding further on situations which relate to patriarchy. Other points which will be taken into

The Victorian era was a turning point for gender roles. Out with the old, complacent women of the century, and in with the “new woman.” Of course, this also means that the roles of men were changing. In Grant Allen’s The Type- Writer Girl, there are numerous depictions of the way Victorian masculinity is displayed. However, Allen does hold a preference for the more reserved supporters of the modern woman, over those who have held onto blatantly abrasive masculinity and gender roles. The character Romeo provides a fresh new take on what it means to be a man in the Victorian era, void of the traditional masculine elements that normally compile a man in this age. This argument will be composed of comparing these examples: Romeo against the Grand Vizier, Romeo against the “great author,” Sidney Trevelyan, and Romeo against the Anarchists.

Male-to-male relationships are an important integrant of nineteenth-century British society and literature. Throughout the nineteenth-century shifts of masculine self-identification took place (Dellamora, 2). And homosociality is the unacknowledged entity that exists between the intestacies of solid masculinity. Jean Lipman-Blumen defines homosocial as:

The topic of masculinity has been a lengthy debate and could never truly be thoroughly debated, since there is always more to debate upon. Nonetheless, there has been some great discussion about medieval masculinity and masculinity in general. Whenever one discusses or dissects the idea of masculinity, one would find their self, combing and sifting through medieval masculinity. Although, the notion of masculinity did not start with nor did it only occur during the medieval period, it is the medieval periods where masculinity became a widespread engrained normative social behavior. This research will explore and argue that the execution of the medieval man’s honor (masculinity) was not only a contradiction, but fragile and a self-imposed freedom (for him), and a self-inflicted limitation (for him and her) of and on men and women of non-peasant status.

Throughout history and civilization women seem to have been in a constant state of evolution either towards a submissive role or a strong role but nonetheless, changing. This paper will discuss women from the lower and middle ranks in history and their status in the various civilizations.