Giving An Education By Adrienne Rich Essay

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

Judith Sargent Murray’s On the Equality of the Sexes reveals the struggles women had in the 17th-18th centuries when it came to equal education opportunities. Women were expected to become people of domestication while men had many opportunities to expand their minds and be ambitious, and be leaders. Women were expected to focus on taking care of their family, not to have minds of their own. They wanted change.

Gender refers to the socially constructed categories of feminine and masculine. It is one of the major factors in social difference and inequality in today’s society. Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Using a paragraph based approach I intend to individually analyse various aspects of gender differences referencing to the theory of socialisation and also making links to the works of Marx, Durkham and Goffman. My essay will cover different aspects of gender inequalities still present in today’s contemporary society.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s famous book, Vindication of the Rights of Women, is “one of the earliest expressions of a feminist consciousness.” Wollstonecraft claims that women are upset mainly due to the fact that they are not receiving the education they deserve, and goes on to explain how women are notorious for being weak, and mentally unstable. She blames the education system for this since all the books are written by men, and they claim that women are barley humans and are treated as another species. She questions the eligibility of men to claim they are better than women. A useful education, in her opinion, is one that teaches students how to be strong and independent. Her directed audience is anyone who is unsure of the true definition and meaning of feminism. Wollstonecraft believes that all humans are capable of the same intelligence, no matter the gender. Her overall idea is that every individual, both male and female, deserve equality.

Throughout this course, we have discussed how the differences in the social construction of gender, race, class, and sexuality have led to discrimination and inequality of those classified under a variety of these categories. Through understanding the significance of these social constructs on society it becomes apparent the intersectionality they have when it comes to understanding why certain groups may face discrimination or inequality. This paper examines gender inequality and how the social construction of gender makes it difficult for the pursuit of equality amongst genders.

There is social roles and then there is social issues. From a very young age, as soon as a child reaches the capacity to understand, they are taught that they are ‘male’ or ‘female’ and that one should follow the social norm (role) that society has placed out for them. A male can only be strong, profound, masculine, stern, and emotionally controlled. While a women should only be nurturing, gentle, and sensitive. This is all before we even reach puberty, which largely created a (social) issue over the course of our generation. It makes it hard for people to find their identities in society. “All the worlds a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits, and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts” (William Shakespeare, Act 2, Scene 7, P. 6).

Family: Throughout history women and men have been stigmatized into categories based on their biological sex. Parents from day one address their child based on their physical characteristics of either a male or female. Family has a great influence because they teach their children at a young age how to properly act, if the child choses to behave not accordance with their gender role they are quickly corrected because acting out of your gender role is wrong.

In her next chapter, Kerber examines the newfound need for the educating of women. Women were not allowed freedom or a political opinion, but they could not be completely pushed aside. For years women had been taught that education made them undesirable to men and educated women were scorned. Kerber argues that a new need for

“The subject of the Education of Women of the higher classes is one which has undergone singular fluctuations in public opinions” (Cobbe 79). Women have overcome tremendous obstacles throughout their lifetime, why should higher education stand in their way? In Frances Power Cobbe’s essay “The Education of Women,” she describes how poor women, single women, and childless wives, deserve to share a part of the human happiness. Women are in grave need of further improvements in their given condition. Cobbe suggests that a way to progress these improvements manifests in higher education, and that this will help further steps in advance. Cobbe goes on to say that the happiest home, most grateful husband, and the most devoted children came from a woman, Mary Sommerville, who surpassed men in science, and is still studying the wonders of God’s creations. Cobbe has many examples within her paper that shows the progression of women as a good thing, and how women still fulfill their duties despite the fact that they are educated. The acceptance of women will be allowed at the University of New England because women should be able to embrace their abilities and further their education for the benefit of their household, their lives, and their country.

The foundation of colleges for women as well as events at women’s rights conventions intellectually challenged society’s views on women’s traditional roles. As education became more of a public governmental service, the educational

Race and gender are socially constructed. In spite of being a biological factor, gender is considered as a social construct. The males are considered superior to the females in many societies. The more a gender has been treated in a certain manner, the more one succumbs to the same environment. Different people expresses that a gender is superior to another but they do not consider the biological factors associated with the same. Gender is socially constructed because of the views which have been created in theories or the culture around us (Glenn and Nakano, 1999). The social construction of gender has

Gender and the ways gender is portrayed in society varies from culture to culture. Gender roles have changed drastically, especially during the 20th century and continue to evolve to this day. For years now there have been preconceived notions about genders and the roles each one should play in society, home, workplace, etc. Most times gender roles are associated with stereotypes and previous gender roles. Gender role plays different parts in religion, culture, society, time periods, countries, etc. Women rights and power varies in time and location and it is very interesting to look at the events, cultures, and customs that were taking place in that particular time period to get a better idea of the gender role concept.

Since the beginning of time, gender has played a big role in how one acts and how one is looked upon in society. From a young age children are taught to be either feminine or masculine. Why is it that gender plays a big role in the characteristics that one beholds? For centuries in many countries it has been installed in individual’s heads that they have to live by certain stereotypes. Women have been taught to be feeble to men and depend on them for social and economical happiness. While men have been taught to be mucho characters that have take care of their homes and be the superior individual to a woman. For the individuals who dare to be different and choose to form their own identity whether man or woman, they are out casted and

Gender roles play a huge part in society. Gender plays a role in shaping an individuals identify and beliefs. It also helps identify what is masculine and what is feminine. Certain tasks, duties, and jobs are classified by gender. However, gender appropriate behavior should not be enforced in our society for numerous reasons and can be seen on an individual level and be demonstrated by social learning theory and sex segregation.

Woman’s studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning women, gender and feminism; exploring our gender existence, how we perform femininity and masculinity and how this interacts with other aspects of our identities, such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and sexuality. Women’s studies emerged in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s as a concerned women being misrepresentation and trivialization in the higher education curriculum and as well as being excluded from many positions of power authority as colleges faculty and administrators. An example from the “ Women’s Voices /Feminist Vision” book written by Susan M.Shaw Janet lee was “the entire course in English or American literature to include not one