Gender Roles In Ancient Greece

Anti-porn feminist like Catherine MacKinnon believe that pornography ruins the image of women’ society. Pro-sex feminist Wendy McElroy believes in the principle” a woman’s body, a woman’s right.” Pornography is the printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual excitement. MacKinnon thinks that this is violence against women while McElroy believes is of importance to women

With the help of Anne Carson, we are able to analyze the stereotypes that women portray during ancient Greek which are simple adjectives that one would not think to describe someone. Throughout ancient Greek times, women were seen as wet and ripe. They were born wet and stayed wet for the rest of their lives. This does take a sexual stance but it first helps imply that men are dry. Men do not want to be looked at as wet because to be wet, is to be soft.

Catharine MacKinnon, in her article "Not A Moral Issue", calls the need for feminist critique of pornography pertinent, as it is "central to the institutionalization of male dominance" (407). The power dynamics presented in pornography, MacKinnon believes, uphold ideologies of gender inequality. "Men treat women as who they see women being. Pornography constructs who that is," she writes (MacKinnon 408).

In Plato’s Kallipolis, women are presented with the same opportunities as men pertaining to the workforce and education system. In Plato’s words, there is not much difference other than the fact that “the female bears the offspring while the male mounts the female” (Reeve 143). It is due to this, that the two can share the same pursuits and education. More than often, Greek women were expected to “stay indoors and look after the house, on the grounds that they [were] incapable of [guarding, hunting, and handling other responsibilities that the men held]” (139), as one can infer from

Good sex is considered to be legal and healthy, whereas bad sex is criminalized and dangerous. In contrast to MacKinnon’s view on pornography, Rubin argues that pornography is a means of sexual exploration and can be liberating. Sexual activities are a means through which sexuality can be explored. Rubin argues that anti-pornography movements exaggerate the dangers of pornography as destructive and negative. Anti-pornography movements depict pornography as harmful and degrading to women, but this in itself is harmful for it does not account for consensual and desired sexual activities. Through classifying sexual activities, such as BDSM and sex work, as good and bad, the state effectively limits sexual exploration to certain acceptable societal norms. This is further illustrated through R v. Price, in which the judge ruled that there was no evidence that BDSM videos cause harm (Lecture Slides: February 9). Conforming to cultural norms subsequently ensures that the patriarchal system of sexual value, in which MacKinnon argued is male dominated, is adhered to. Even though pornography can perpetuate sexual objectification, the oppression of sexual desire by the state limits any form of positive sexual exploration. The state and law should not penalize possibilities for positive sexual experiences because of social stigmas. The disapproval of society and the state of particular sexual

As massive as Chicago is, opportunity is frequent. But as massive as Chicago is, nothing can be perfect. Carl Sandburg’s “Chicago” helps one reading the poem understand what living in a big city like Chicago is like, equally exciting as frightening. “Chicago” is a poem that captures what the legendary city stands for, a polarizing residence that embodies what makes society both incredible and disappointing. Take the line “They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.”

In ancient Greek society, middle and upper-class boys were encouraged to have homosexual relationships with older men. These relationships, also known as pederasty, were intellectual, were a form of platonic love, and were most certainly erotic (Holmen). In fact, many considered homosexual relationships to be more rewarding than heterosexual relationships (Massey 5). Despite this acceptance, these erotic homosexual affairs were private matters. Another form in which sexuality was expressed in ancient Greece was prostitution.

Greek Woman was considered to be submissive which means once you are married to a woman, then she is in your full control. The woman in ancient was not allowed to own the property, in one way we can also relate that the woman had fewer rights than the man because they could hardly express their feeling. The woman was not considered as the citizens.

To say that Greek mythology subscribes to traditional gender roles would be an understatement. With Greek mythology shaping so much of western literature and society, it is easy to connect the dots between todays perception of femininity and masculinity and that of the Greeks. In Greek society, men and women played separate, but important, roles in the community. Men would go from youth, to warrior, to an old man. In their earliest two stages, they would give their labor and fury to their people, allowing civilizations to thrive. With the life of an adult male being so dangerous, many men never make it to the stage of an old man. For those men who do, they offered little to the society at large.

MacKinnon believes that pornography maintains male-dominated views of sex and is an extension of the patriarchy and thus, from a feminist standpoint, it should be eliminated. First, it should be established that MacKinnon believes that “male dominance is sexual” (315). From that, it can be established that practices such as rape, sexual assault, prostitution, and pornography “express and actualize the

Catharine MacKinnon, in her book Feminism Unmodified, takes a unique approach to the problem of gender inequality in America. She claims that pornography defines the way in which America’s patriarchal society perpetuates male dominance, and attacks traditional liberal methods that defend pornography on the basis of the first amendment’s right to free speech. According to MacKinnon, pornography is not an example of speech but rather an act. She proposes that this act discriminates against women as a class, and therefore violates their civil rights and should be outlawed. MacKinnon’s critics may think her argument is excessively radical, and contemporary society may not embrace the

In the world of Ancient Greece, a large array of deities were worshipped. Each god had their own forms of identification in which they used to express themselves. This includes things such as personality, style, sexuality, and many other things. One of these forms of expression was gender. The Greeks seemed to focus more on the two typical genders, which are male and female. Some Greek gods seemed to play into certain gender roles, but others portrayed traits of the opposite sex. In this paper, I will be analysing the possibility that the Greeks believed the female and male genders were closely connected and that is why many of the gods are described with blended aspects of gender.

During Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle brings forth an argument on what every person should aim to achieve in life. Aristotle argues that in every action that people do should aim to achieve happiness and a flourishing in life. (Nicomachean Ethics, 1097a-b). Through life’s activities, one should aim to always look at the highest good of flourishing and keeping that in mind while carrying out their life activities and choosing the activities in life will benefit them the most. In his writing, Aristotle specifically gives one definitions of happiness, “Happiness is a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue” (1102a)

The Greek and Roman societies were a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the many pieces of literature involving Greeks and Romans we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different from women’s roles in today’s society. Although there are a few similarities to women’s roles in today’s society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the qualities of Greek and Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths.

MacKinnon(1981),claims that if pornography is part of a person 's sexuality, then that person has no right to their sexuality. Women who enjoy pornography claim that they are offended by these kinds of attitudes, and want it recognized that they get more out of pornography than oppression. As writer Sallie Tisdale writes, "pornography tells me the opposite [of what Dworkin and MacKinnon tell me]: that none of my thoughts are bad, that anything goes. The message of pornography is that our sexual selves are real." (Strossen, 1995). (Albee, 2002)