Gender In Jeanette Winterson's Written On The Body

Over the past 200 years sexual liberation and freedom have become topics of discussions prevalent within western culture and society. With the recent exploration of sexuality a new concept of sexual and gender identity has emerged and is being analyzed in various fields of study. The ideology behind what defines gender and how society explains sex beyond biology has changed at a rapid pace. In response various attempts to create specific and catch all definitions of growing gender and sexual minorities has been on going. This has resulted in the concept of gender becoming a multi- layered shifting hypothesis to which society is adapting. Since the 19th-century, philosophers and theorists have continued to scrutinize gender beyond biological and social interpretation. Margaret Atwood 's The Handmaid 's Tale captures the limitations and social implications forced upon a set gender based on societal expectations. Gender is a social construct that limits the individual to the restrictions and traditions of a society, or if it’s an individually formed self-identification of sex and sexuality that is formed autonomously. Evidence of gender establishment can be seen within literary works and supported by various schools of gender and sexuality theory.

Gender derives its formative meaning from culture and societal values, it is not a universal entity as there are various cultures, societal values, beliefs, and preferred ways of organizing collective life across the globe and even within a single culture the meaning of gender varies over time. Chapters three and four of Gendered Lives by Julia T. Wood helps to insightfully look at those views, and rhetorical movements (women and men’s movements) that have overtime influenced, defined and given various meanings to gender (masculinity and femininity).

Every creature goes to journey on an seemingly endless rollercoaster as life can be. Dreams that lie beyond the horizon is something people continually try to achieve and Janie is no exception to this as she defines her own strength and self worth. From facing gender roles to endless criticism she has the strength to keep moving forward. As the story's main conflict is concentrated around Janie relationships through she acquires the desire to want more for her own life. Where these hardships she gains experience to live independently and especially learn to stand up for oneself no matter the adversity. Characters like: Nanny, Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods gave her experiences that help her gain her own ambitions and accomplish the quest of happiness Janie searches for. The bravery exemplified by the author, Zora Neale Hurston throughout the story is perfect to learn from as strength is exemplary to live today.

Courage is not simply about how well you deal with fear, how many noble deeds you accomplish, or how you overcome life threatening situations. Courage is the practice of determination and perseverance. Kate Bornstein transforms everyday life with tremendous courage. With skillful criticism of rigid socially defined boundaries, an intense sense of language and revealing personal experiences, Bornstein challenges cultural attitudes about gender.

Jacobs ' short sexual orientation change through cross-dressing, trailed by her long "withdraw" into aggregate physical disguise, is telling confirmation of how contrastingly a subjugated man and an oppressed woman reacted to the difficulties of their lives as slaves and additionally autobiographers.

Writer appeals to reader’s emotion when a human finds him or herself in the state of isolation, Yarhouse, Mark A states his theory in American psychological association (psycnet.apa.org) elaborates it; “Examines the influence of evaluative frameworks on sexual identity development and synthesis. This involves incorporating an understanding of attribution and volition that is often omitted in alternative models of sexual identity development”. Male youths develop sexual identity during adolescence or in isolation, that quote from the book Invented Moralities, writer appeals to audience’s emotions, as gender and sexual identity does affect humans life, they are not treated equally, Kertzner states mental health outcomes are contrasted with depressive symptoms, social status makes people think about themselves as different.

In society, gender is a real struggle by reason of people do not believe that men and women should be treated as equals. Gender, although not directly mentioned is still a part of the story. In “The Minister’s Black Veil” (Hawthorne 28), the author indirectly mentions gender with,“The black veil, though it covers only our pastor’s face throws its influence over his whole person.” Like the black veil, gender is a prospect that individuals are fully judged based upon. Gender is an effective way

Throughout time, there has been a battle present in which females try to rise above the power of men and the hold they have on women. Whether the battle be for the equal treatment of both sexes or simply establishing a level of respect and understanding from the opposite sex, the meaning stands the same in which there is an ever-present power struggle that is continuously ongoing between the sexes. No matter the intentional meaning of the work, women suppression by men are seen when one looks beyond the simple statements given and examines the female characters in great detail to better understand the struggle she endures daily due to men. One author in particular that allows an interesting viewpoint into the mind of a blossoming woman is Susan Minot. Minot demonstrates in her story “Lust” how the female narrator is influenced and altered by her male sexual partners. Through each sexual encounter, the reader is able to see the changes these encounters have on the young woman emotionally and other affects a man has on her as she grows up in a male dominated world. This can all be determined by observing closely the figurative language used in the story, the fluctuations in emotions seen in the female character, and the thoughts the woman has about men throughout the story.

Within her collection of essays, Roxane Gay uses personal anecdotes that appeal to reader’s pathos, constructing her argument that women are misrepresented and generalized in popular culture by providing an emotional tether upon which readers can latch on. For example, Gay writes of her experiences as a struggling adolescent

Deborah Tannen focuses on this concept of the markedness of women in her essay “There Is No Unmarked Woman” and her interview in She Said He Said. Here, she explores the idea of how linguistics, appearances, and actions can indicate one as a certain type of woman. Her claims are validated not only by examples present in our everyday lives and literature, but also through film. The infamous Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove or:

There are only two genders exist in our society. Countless people in the story would have the same assumption. This typical social influential belief on gender was shown in the result of xperiment participation test. It is said in the text that “Almost everybody failed because it turned out almost everybody wanted a boy or a girl and not a Baby X at all.” This quotation is a proof that the idea of binary gender has already grown its leaf branches in those

In I. W. Gregorio’s novel, None of the Above, Krissy is diagnosed with AIS; androgen insensitivity syndrome. Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, more commonly called AIS, is a genetic condition. It is not a disease, or an infection, although for years those who demonstrate characteristics relating to this condition have been degraded in public. She feels pressured through the gender rules that others have placed on her, and is conflicted with her own gender identity. I argue that this text opposes the gender binary, and challenges

Gender subjectivity is another important aspect of the debate around gender because it focuses on a move away from the idea of innate sexual identity characteristics that divide human beings into male and female (Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology, 2014). This type of view challenges the essentialism of sexual difference into something more then a binary between male vs. female, heterosexual vs. homosexual, etc., as it recognizes that these dichotomies are problematic because the term of gender encompasses a whole range of identities across a spectrum. In particular ideas like what does it mean to be equal? (Butler) and seeing division of gender into binary conceptions of identity can be seen as a process of ‘othering’ (de Beauvoir) are some of the areas that this topic examines.

Alice Walker’s historical novel Meridian proposes a complex story of intersectionality describing the unequal social power dynamics between Black women, White women, and Black men throughout the Civil Rights Movement caused by the overlapping combination of race, gender rather than standalone factors (Collins 2). The novel deals explicitly with the Women’s Liberation movement: a journey through which women of all races break free from internal domestic struggles, exemplified by Lynne and Meridian’s characters. At the same time, these women struggle to define themselves and the causes of their actions. I argue that by presenting and constructing three main characters-Lynne, Meridian and Truman who are struggling to define themselves against expected social roles, Alice Walker is demonstrating that women who participate in political movements for rights of oppressed groups experience greater struggles, sacrifices and social criticisms than men who have done so. Their struggles create a rebellious social dynamic in which women break free from their expected role. In this paper, I will prove her aims by analysis of characterization, the characters’ actions and their connotations in reference to their relationships with men.

According to Judith Butler’s theory, gender is a social concept and not a natural part of being, therefore making it unstable and fluid. Gender identities are produced through what Butler calls “performativity,” the repetitive acts of expression that form and define the notions of masculinity and femininity. These repeated performances are engrained within the heteronormative society and impose these gendered expectations on individuals. In this respect, gender is something inherent in a person, however Butler writes “gender is always a doing, though not a doing by a subject who might be said to pre-exist the deed.” In Olga Tokarczuk’s House of Day, House of Night identity is undoubtedly central to the characters’ stories, specifically the strict social constructs of gender that is snarled with one’s identity. Tokarczuk’s novel presents a mosaic of stories that put into question heteronormative gender roles, while offering an alternative way of existence. Analyzing House of Day, House of Night with Judith Butler’s gender theory demonstrates the characters struggles within the rigid constructions of gender and how some ultimately deal with moving past such restricting expectations.