Is Feminisms View On Dual Consciousness A Double Standard? Essay

The biological sex of a person, in most cases, today can still be considered one of the main identifying characteristics of an individual. In the past the sex of a person was more than an identifying characteristic, it was who they were. They were either men or women, there was no in between or changing it. Society today has come a long way in terms of gender identity and gender roles, but the concept of patriarchy still has the upper hand when it all boils down. Allan G. Johnson’s, The Gender Knot, provides for a more diverse outlook on the women’s expected roles in life, how they are expected to handle difficult situations in marriage, and how they demonstrate courage, in Mona Lisa Smile.

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).

In “True Women and Real Men: Myth of Gender” by Colombo he goes over the “culture myths of gender and the influence they wield over human development and personal identity”(467). Cultural myths do shape the roles of men and women play in our public and private relationships. Colombo then goes over how these roles are taught and enforced as well as the effects it has on men 's and women 's health. Gender roles are cultural

Through my experiences with people of many backgrounds, as well as my education, I have learned to separate the idea of sex and gender. I still maintain certain traditional views regarding gender, however I’ve come to the realization that the social constructs of men and women are not, and should not, be as rigid. In my opinion, I have acknowledged that there are differences between ‘men’ and ‘women’, however these differences should be used to uplift one another, rather than to tear the other gender apart. For example, a family unit in which the man decides to take on the responsibilities of the

In both essays, two common themes revealed are the dominance of man and to find the perfect female spouse to satisfy their male spouses need. Ideas that are being presented are girls need to stay girly and attractive and males cannot sustain friendship with females. Each author elaborates on what the ideal male or female is. The author Paul Theroux talks more about how society sees as a man in his essay “Being a Man” and uses metaphors and hyperboles to get through readers. While the author Judy Brady explains what the ideal female is viewed as in her essay “I Want a Wife” and uses satire and domestic ideology.

Gender roles are the portrayal or demeanor learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms. Currently many women and men are trying to escape the traps of society that force them into a precise “women” or “man.” Why are women who want to better the way they are, seen as wrong because they want to one-up men. To what extreme will culture go in order to manipulate women into believing they need to live by certain rules created by the thought that men are and will always be better than women. The goal of our research paper is to show the gender norms in each culture, and to inspire the readers regardless the gender to diminish the boundaries that gender roles, and society form and try to demand from an individual. We will first address communication between the genders, the gender norms in the Mexican culture followed by the Russian culture and the African culture. Then we will address the genders at work and home as well as the eyes of society. In many different cultures, the stereotypical aspect of how women should be, result in women being inadequate to express their true feeling and thoughts because of the fear of being dishonored, thought of as less and the fear of being less of a women than those that remain in the women stereotypes.

There are traditional gender roles for both men and women that where designed to define the difference between genders. Males are expected to separate themselves from anything deemed feminine such as dolls. They should also have a successful occupation, one that provides not just for them but also a family. Finally men should display a demeanor of confidence, toughness and self-reliance while not expressing emotions or being sensitive unless the male desires being humiliated. Females should be attentive, physically attractive listeners who shower their male counterparts with affection after every accomplishment. She also should put her families, to include children, need before her own. It is also important to note that the traditional woman is not competitive as that is a trait reserved for males. Stressors accompany individuals trying to fulfill what are conceived traditional genders by place restrictions on expanding outside what is preconceived. Depression, confusion, and hopelessness can result as persons try to adhere to what is deemed acceptable by

Up until recently, the definition of what a man or a woman should be has been defined, with boundaries, by society; males should be strong, dominant figures and in the workplace providing for their families while females should be weak and submissive, dealing with cleaning, cooking and children. Any veering away from these definitions would have disrupted the balance of culture completely. A man playing housewife was absurd, and a woman being the sole provider for the family bizarre. In Alice Munro’s short story “Boys and Girls” and Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh”, conflict arises when expectations based on gender are not fulfilled by the characters.

Throughout In Search of Authority, Bonnycastle illustrates the differences faced by men and women based on their gender. In the beginning, he discusses the various ways men and women appear different, even if it is unnoticeable, by explaining masculine and feminine qualities. He describes a masculine quality as being “assertive” whereas a feminine quality is “passive” (187). Furthermore, he states how there may be biological and cultural differences between the two sexes. From a biological standpoint, there are physical differences, but no studies show any correlation with male and female characteristics. From a cultural standpoint, boys and girls go through dissimilar processes. He describes how as an infant, a boy will change from his mom

Increasingly more frequently, people are considering how important gender roles truly are, and if they have a beneficial impact on people’s lives. As Margaret Mead, a famous female anthropologist from the 1920’s recognizes in “Sex and Temperament,” countless individuals may suffer from strict standardization of gender roles and temperaments. These standardizations in America equate women to being “feminine;” beautiful, caring, soft, sweet, emotional, and dainty—the fairytale princess, while men are constantly expected to be strong, stoic, and aggressive much like a knight in shining armor. Although when women realize that they are not locked in towers guarded by dragons and they do not need to wait around for a prince to come and save their lives and bring them home to a kingdom to be queen, they have potential to do so much more and take whatever path they choose. Men also do not need to train their whole lives in order to save this damsel in distress’s life. Beyond that fantasy, in order to sustain lives in reality, there has obviously always been a need for certain roles in a family—one person to raise and take care of children, and one to go out and bring back provisions so life can continue here on Earth.

I have always been in favour of strong, independent, uncompromising women. Women who go through life with a head held high, women who embrace their positive and negative sides, women who do not measure themselves against men, but are instead a unit of measure in themselves. Women who walk proud through life, face difficulties with courage and determination, don't walk away or give up even when there knees are trembling with fear.

While common components of masculinity include responsible, accountable, innate leadership capacity, assertive, self-reliant, and willingness

According to the book, Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society (2018), by Mary Ann Lamanna, Agnes Riedmann, and Susan D. Stewart., Gender differentiation is defined as cultural expectations about how men and women should behave. Furthermore, “masculine traits” are associated with instrumental character traits, in other words traits that enable someone to complete tasks. While “feminine traits” are associated

Given that the structure of gender qualities has been a large part of our views, in regards to a variety of issues, a number of people take exception to variances from within these rules. Keeping this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why many individuals are discouraged from crossing traditional gender traits, and closely examine parts of the article assigned for this paper.

In the course of this semester I’ve shaped my understandings of sex and gender through readings of diverse articles as well as discussions presented in class. Moreover, the cross cultural aspect of sex and gender allowed me to make changes to my previous beliefs about gender. The single life not only appeals to men, but to women. Historically, women do not enjoy access to the same opportunities as men, which limited them to marry just to make a better life for themselves. Today, I have more options than ever, and among those options is the right to stay single, which comes with a variety of perks worthy of consideration.