Exploitation Of Gender And Sexuality

Influences from Frankenstein are evident in I,Robot, in the ways that humans respond when the power of the created becomes greater than that of the creator.

“Frankenstein” is a gothic/science fiction novel that keeps the reader at the edge of their seat. It is filled with scenes of love, power, tragedy, and much more. This novel, is packed to the rims with themes and lessons, most of them dealing with creation; however, I wanted to discuss a theme that is lying beneath the surface and is buried in the text. This paper explores how Frankenstein mistakes friendship for possession. This theme will be analyzed using gender, class, a tone of disgust, possession, and disappointment, imagery of beauty, and lastly, metaphor.

Shelley’s Romantic novel Frankenstein (1818) compares and reflects values of humanity and the consequences of our Promethean ambition against the futuristic, industrialized world of Blade Runner (1992) by Ridley Scott. The notions of unbridled scientific advancement and technological progress resonate with our desire to elevate humanity’s state of being, mirrored amongst the destructive ambition to overtake and disrupt nature and its processes. The disastrous implications of overreaching the boundary between progressive and destructive power and knowledge are heeded through the ultimate and inevitable loss of self and identity, transforming humanity into a form of monstrosity.

Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner reflects some of the key themes seen in Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein. For one, both the sources touch on the necessity of creators taking responsibility for their creations. Another key theme established in both works is the idea that emotional complexity and knowledge, over memory and appearance, allow people to be defined as human beings.

Despite different contexts, both Shelley’s Frankenstein and Scott’s Blade Runner enthrall the audience in a journey to explore the inner psyche through the various perspectives that are drawn.

What differentiates Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein from the majority of horror novels are the very real and timeless themes it explores.  The overriding theme of the novel - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility is still an important topic in today’s world.  “Perhaps the reality of cloning and genetic engineering makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published”(Patterson). This theme, along with the more subtle themes of revenge, the inability to accept those who are different, and the inability to control one's destiny are all themes which separate Frankenstein from other novels in the genre.

In Mary Shelley´s Gothic novel, Frankenstein, the Monster once claimed, “The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.” Frankenstein, since the 1910 film adaptation, has known a series of several adaptations that changed drastically, not only the plot but one of the main characters, the Monster, from stealing its creator´s name to being portrayed as a cold villain. Though, in the original storyline, the biggest threat to society is the creator itself, the one pretending to play as God, Victor Frankenstein. This essay will discuss the nature of the main characters of the novel and conclude who is the “real monster” in the end.

A multitude of signs illustrates similarities between the Frankenstein’s creature and Mary Shelley. These indications show that the novel may be an autobiography. However, the novel shows a lot of the characteristics of science fiction. The novel can be a real description or fiction narrative, but not both. An informed opinion about this controversy requires the evaluation of relevant critics. Sherry Ginn uses “Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein: Science, Science Fiction, or Autobiography?” to adequately argue that the novel Frankenstein is based on Shelley’s experiences and fears, that it is not an autobiography, and that it has all the characteristics of a science fiction narrative.

Throughout history, people have made works of art both praising and criticizing the development of science and technology. The novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, shows an older form of this type of work, while the film, Ex Machina, shows the modern version of this. In both of the stories a new being is created, and while in the film the consequences of creating life are somewhat more thought out, both result in the deaths of the creators and others. This paper is going to analyze how different aspects of these two pieces compare including: their characters, their stories, and the themes or morals of the works. Both Frankenstein and Ex Machina involve realizing the complexities of life. They highlight the strengths and weaknesses of man, and warn of the advancements of the sciences. While neither are outright saying that science and advancement is a bad thing, they warn of the consequences of new technologies as well as the lack of understanding and planning. In the end, both of these stories warn and teach the reader or viewer about the shortcomings of mankind.

Discuss what you think the sources tell us about beauty’s place in the history of gender and sexuality. Consider as well the historical evidence you have about efforts to enhance beauty through adornment or other alterations of appearance.

The concept of gender oppression relays the idea that particular groups, centrally women, are disadvantaged and hindered simply due to their gender identity. The advancement of women’s rights has progressed greatly over time, however, there are still many barriers that women face today. A great barrier is the notion of what a woman actually is and the gender biases applied to it. As Beauvoir states in her piece, “[women] are urged, ‘Be women, stay women, become women’” (Beauvoir, 1949, p. 23). The concept of woman is often condensed into the abstraction of femininity, which is often met with a negative connotation (Beauvoir, 1949, p. 23). This connotation revolves around poor representations of the personification of woman, which include traits such as submission, fragility and sensitivity. Man asserts himself as the essential being, leaving woman as the other, or “Second Sex”, in which she is seen as subservient to men due to the construction of misogynistic social structures. These social structures assist in the creation of these negative traits as man is able to define himself with more affirmative attributes leaving negative attributes, such as the aforementioned ones, for woman to define herself with. As a result, man profits off the alterity of woman, which prevents woman from fully achieving an authentic life. Beauvoir further elaborates on this point stating that woman is confined as the Other due to man and is doomed to immanence, as man will always transcend the

Throughout history, sex and sexuality have been the spotlight of discrimination, violence, and inequality. In recent years, Uganda has been a main focus of such issues. Within Uganda, problems of disease and poverty have overshadowed the significant issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights in the past. With political and social institutions that are anti-LGBTI, many actions including the most recent anti-homosexuality law, have worked to rid the country of these individuals. This law, among others, criminalizes homosexuality and any sexuality outside of heterosexuality (“Parliament Outlaws Homosexuality”) To combat this unnatural law and to achieve greater equality and liberation of LGBTI individuals, a non-governmental organization, called Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) was founded (“Who We Are”). With a mission of monitoring, coordinating, and supporting member organizations to achieve the liberation of LGBTI people, SMUG as well as many national and international organizations are taking a stand and responding to the threats of LGBTI inequality and violence in Uganda.

In the conversations about civil rights in America’s past, there is one minority that is often overlooked when considering the great achievements made in history. Women have become a powerful figure in society recently. In the past, women fought for their equal rights against all odds, starting the revolution with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1848 at a women’s conference in Seneca Falls, New York. Women realized they could fight for the rights they were entitled to, this notion sparked the concept of feminism. Simone De Beauvoir references women as the ‘second sex’, saying that “one is not born, but rather becomes a woman” (2382). By this statement, De Beauvoir argues that women are not born a women, but are taught from infancy to accept society’s role of ‘woman’. The idea that women are taught to accept their role by society is the concept that feminism fights.

Brazil has a long tradition of tolerating slavery that dates back to the 1800s which resulted that Brazil was the last country in the nation to abolish slavery. Brazil has long history with slavery from then until now, which they still battle with today with human trafficking which resulted in sex exploitation and forced labor. But, mainly this paper will focused topic of sex exploitation with poverty stricken young girls being subjected to selling themselves for dollars just to help put food on the table for their families. Even though prostitution is legal within the whole country if they are 18 years and older, but most of these prostitutes are not even the legal age. Sex Trafficking in Brazil has included not only fully grown women but also children as young as 10 years old. Also, Brazil has the worst sex tourism problem worldwide that has been existed for more than 25 years. There have been recent responses towards the United States and Brazilian governments to address this issue with full force after recent events. This problem persists only on the obligation that this country believes that other people not living by the norms of society, and visitors entering the country illegally and also being impoverished.

Sexual discrimination, sex based discrimination, gender discrimination or sexism is a type of prejudice or discrimination based on a person 's sex or gender usually by the opposite gender. Thus, it generally refers to discrimination against a male by a female or a female by a male. Feminism can therefore be considered a form of sexism. More often than not however, sexism is commonly applied to the unfair treatment of women, the denial of opportunity to women or an injustice towards women, which is how this paper will discuss the concept. This sexism or sex based discrimination stems from male chauvinism or the belief that the male gender is more superior than the female gender; androcentrism or the conscious or unconscious penchant to put things in the male perspective; machismo or the sense of masculine pride or patriarchy, a social system in which males are the primary authority figures. (Goode & Ben-Yehuda, 2010, p220-221)