Comparison: I M Glad I Am A Boy And William's Doll

In “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls,” Pollitt writes about the differences between growing up as a boy growing up as a girl. She brings up the stereotypes that society naturally creates between genders in early ages, which leads to the lifestyle and path that boys and girls are raised in. Parents and feminist alike play a big part in establishing these sex roles. They raise their kids wanting them to be successful at what they are expected to be good at based on their gender and the trend that has been set before them.

“Oh, fairytales, where desperate, naïve girls sacrifice everything for their so-called prince charming”. The realities of these childhood classics are controversial, sexist, and dark, yet, it’s also adored by millions of young girls around the world. Cinderella, an often sugar-coated story, is a great example on how sexism and gender stereotypes prevail in literature. The Grimm Brothers touch on a variety of devices, from characterization to symbolism, all revealing the inequality in not only fictional literature but our real-life society as well. A feminist literary critic will interpret these controversial themes and apply their beliefs of equal rights into the study of the Grimm Brother’s Cinderella.

Upon reading the book “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture”, by Peggy Orenstein, I was extremely captivated to absorb the opinions that she had on raising a girl and all of the feminine influences that naturally surround her. The author herself had stated right from the first page how she initially wished for the child in her womb was a boy. My preliminary notion that joined this book to the course material was assumed before I even began reading, as several obvious details it became apparent that the book for sure had to be about gender roles and gender identity. The whole topic of princesses in the title, as well as the way the books cover flaunted pink and shimmery glitter it was just a telltale sign to have gender specific ties. That impression continued as I began reading the very first chapter boldly titled “Why I Hoped for a Boy”. There were such forthright examples making it overly apparent that she, the author, would be discussing the sexes, meaning girls vs.

Every day young children are read beautiful fairy tales that showcase the man saving the damsel in distress. These stories can warp children’s minds to believe based on their specific gender they have to act a certain way or do certain things. Girls begin to believe that they have to know their place but they are known as emotional and not ready for the outside world. Boys are taught that they have to be the savior, they can’t cry, and they have to be the one to all the working. This image perverts the minds of young men and women altering their self-confidence and causing people are different to be ostracized and castaway. Some stories that showcase the idea of gender roles are, “Snowdrop and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, and

Prime examples of characters who refuse to conform to society’s gender roles are Tita from Like Water for Chocolate, Julia in her poem “To Julia de Burgos”, and Oscar from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. These characters have to face gender roles

Throughout the course of time, roles in our society towards gender has evolved. In the story Boys and Girls by Alice Munro relatively has a direct message which is the constant battle of gender stereotypes. The audience is reading through the point of view of the main character, which is a girl, and her frustration she feels. Through the young girl’s experience, Alice Munro is able to show the readers the role of stereotypes or expectations that a female has to fulfill.

As a result of the abuse female characters have faced, it has become an objective for authors to prevent this. There have been clear strides recently, putting women as the protagonists, and not in a manner that has them dealing with persecution. The amount of strong, female characters is a large stride in the right direction to end the conflict regarding women’s roles in literature. However, this sudden influx of women in literature may lead to the reversal of the issue; the absence or abuse of men. While certainly literary equality is the end goal, to flip the issue would be just as bad and lead to sexism on the opposite spectrum. To truly mend the rift between genders, there must be no discrimination, the idea that an author is trying to use sexist undertones by not writing the lead as a female should not have to be an idea that readers think about when analyzing modern books. While even still there are issues of gender inequality in literature, there must be moderation from both ends for a resolution to be possible. The only way for equality to be achieved is with the absence of sexist ideals from all

These gender roles assigned to the male and female beings of the society found their way into the world of literature and there was the creation of books which either adhered to the stereotypical gender roles or went against it. In this paper I would like to talk about the gender roles in the coming of age novels Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Both these books were written in the time which is considered as the Victorian age in British literature.

It is important to teach children about gender roles since it is something that society holds in regards, but most of the time in literature it is done unequally. The portrayal of gender in literature is based off of the expectations of society and places bias on gender. Boys are portrayed as strong, adventurous, independent and capable and often play the roles of fighters, adventurers and rescuers. Girls are portrayed as sweet, naïve, dependent, sensitive and emotional and play roles such as caretakers, princesses and mothers. The roles of gender portrayed in literature are often a reflection of the views of society and do not offer objective insight. Even though it is important to teach children about gender roles, the fashion in which it is done in does not allow children to see beyond those expectations. If a young girl is constantly read stories about a woman’s role as a housewife, homemaker and mother, she will assume that’s what is expected of her and will not know society will allow her to be anything she wants to be.

A boy can start out loving to play with something usually meant for girls, such as a barbie. This is entirely possible but then why don’t we see this happening in society? It’s because with time, the children are exposed to negative provocation on how barbies are meant for girls. This type of exposure eventually stop him from liking barbies, and shifting to playing with something more “boyish”. One of the best examples of this happening is seen in the short story, “Boys vs Girls”, by Alice Munro.

In cartoon illustrations of children's books, such as one by Whitney Darrow, a girl is expected to act differently than a boy. Girly aspects include having to have a boy fix her toys, while boys do the fixing, enforcing the ideal that women are weak and men are made to take on dominant and powerful roles (Source E). This is clearly very demeaning and gives girls the belief that not only are they being unheard as a child, but for the entirety of their lives they must deal with oppression. In a turn from the tyrannical nature of children's books, a cartoon drawn by an artist between the ages of 18 and 28 depicts the image of a young girl drawing images of all different types of jobs that she hopes to one day be (Source C). For the theme, the artist was en-capturing the meaning of gender equality to them. The simple ability of having any job that they wish, should not be a dream for girls If from an early age one believes that they are unable to do something in their lives, it is clearly society’s fault for creating such gender barriers. By lifting that barrier, society is one step close at creating new and unique possibilities for the good of all

Renowned op-ed writer Claire Cain Miller in one of her articles, "Boys and Girls, Constrained by Toys and Costumes" brings our attention to the distinction between boys and girls for choices, this difference leads to the long-term notion of gender roles in the minds of the children. Claire's article is trying to sensitize the general public against gender difference. She tries to be sentimental by pointing out that the gender war started long before we were born, thus having the presence of a gaunt definition of what is for girls and what is for boys.

After reviewing my performance and the knowledge I gained during the making of my FOA, it has been made clear to me how important good representation of gender identification is in children's media and in all types of media in general. My group and I read and analyzed the children’s book “Jacob’s New Dress” by Sarah and Ian Hoffman. We thought that this would be a good story to share because it was written in a very simplistic way, enough to get a message through to young children about normalizing gender differences.

Stereotypes are often found in society and can encourage literature and art to agree or disagree with these ideas. In “The Boy” and “Barbie Doll” the topic of gender roles displayed through imagery, repetition, and simile, by highlighting the appearances and expectations of males and females. From the moment the sex of a child is determined, people begin associating ideas and objects to that sex. If it is a girl many will buy pink clothes and imagine her in a ballet class.

Cinderella is a well beloved folktale following the life of a kind hearted heroine trapped in an abusive household, yet despite the obstacles faced, she manages to attend a ball and eventually receives her happily ever after. The story has been reinterpreted in numerous countries where it is estimated that there are nearly seven hundred versions out there. With the continuous popularity of Cinderella, there has been much criticism concerning the representation of Cinderella and the effects it has on the female demographic. By analyzing Cinderella’s gender representation of a particular version in accordance to generated criticism related to the effects it has on the female demographic, it can be determined that as new renditions are being created over time, it can be noticed that Cinderella’s gender representation are gradually becoming more independent, and active.