Locker Room Talk By Daniel Brady Essay

The fight against sexism is not a new fight. Women have been fighting for equal rights, as well as fighting for their lives, culture, and values to be just as important as men's. On August 18, 1920, women were granted the right to vote; but this was only the beginning. From then to now, the role of women in society has significantly changed due to women standing up for their rights at protests and rallies, as well as on social media. While “The Good Wife’s Guide” focused on the promotion of the traditional gender role of women and defined appropriate emotions for women, “The Revolt of ‘Mother,’” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, represents the start of the resistance of the traditional gender role of women that we see in society today.

I have never felt more nervous than in the locker room before my region game in Pierre to advance to the state tournament. My teammates and I were gathered in the locker room before the game like we usually are, but this was different. The feeling of knowing that this was our last chance of going to the state tournament and playing for a championship was on the line. I remember it was so quite. I had headphones on, and so many thoughts were traveling my mind. The music blasting in my ears was a blur and all I could hear was my own heart beating. Coach Gardner entered the room and had the coaching staff with him preparing to give his pregame speech. After he relieved some of our stress and nerves, we were ready. We broke down the huddle and jogged down the dark hall to the court. I will never forget walking onto the court hearing the screeching cheers and seeing the sea of purple on one side of the court and red on the other.

In Judy Brady’s essay, “I Want a Wife,” she examines why she would like to have a wife. Brady believes that a wife performs all house chores and the husband does nothing, but to expect the wife to do everything for him. Brady tries to persuade the reader to look at a husband viewpoint of what a wife should be. The essay was written during the early 1960’s, during the second wave of the feminist movement in America. Brady is pushed by certain reasons to write, “I Want a Wife” to show the humanist humor.

Everyone has a gender. It is something we are born into, and has an impact on every aspect of our lives. It affects how we walk, talk, and act on a daily basis. What truly is gender though? Gender is what defines many facets of our culture, and differentiates the roles people take on as men or women. Today, most countries define gender as the genetic and biological traits we are born with. However, what if someone felt they were supposed to be the opposite gender of the one they were born into? That is precisely the feeling that transgenders have from a young age. The feeling of not belonging in their own body and wanting to be someone else. To make things even harder, what if they were also an athlete? Not only would they feel like they don 't belong in their own body, but the sports they want to play or already play would be affected. With that, this paper will look at and discuss eligibility in sports, equality in the locker room, and self worth both on and off the field for transgender athletes.

This book review is on the book, Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, which was published in 2014. Rebecca Solnit writes a book of essays that interprets the silence that women hold towards men in their everyday life. Young women must know the reality that we do not live a fairy tale life where women are treated as royalty by their husband or boyfriend. Women are treated as objects in where men could play with them as if they are dolls, whom they pay attention to whenever they would like to or need something from them. Despite what a woman says to men, all men are always going to have the reason, even if they are not right. The silences that a woman holds towards men are creating an even broader issue towards women in the present and in the future. The author mainly argues that women should not silence themselves and their issues such as abuse, harassment, rape, violence, stalking or any other crimes that are hurting them emotionally and physically. “Violence doesn’t have a race, a class, a religion, or a nationality, but it does have a gender” (Solnit, Men Explain Things to Me, page 21). If women continue not to speak up and take action, men are going to continue to take abuse and control over their power.

For many years all around the world men dominate woman controlling every aspect of their life, even in today’s society, unfortunately this dominance in a way still present, Men are seen as providers and head of households while woman are simply viewed as nurturers. In the short stories “Virgins” by Danielle Evens and “Man and Wife” by Katie Chase demonstrates a culture of male dominance and the depreciation of woman.

In his essay, “Sexism in Practice: Feminist Ethics Evaluating the Hookup Culture,” Conor Kelly argues that the hook up culture prevalent in today’s society is sexist towards females. He argues that this culture gives off the illusion of freedom, but it instead disempowers women. Kelly begins by giving the definition of hook up culture. He defines it as, “the practice of pursuing sexual activity without any expectation of a relationship.” He then states what he believes are the four main factors that contribute to the disempowerment brought on by this culture: a lack of commitment, use of ambiguous language, alcohol use, and a social pressure to conform. Kelly then gives his argument as to why hookup culture should be concerning.

A bold title from a promising author was what persuaded me to pick “Still Needing the F Word” by Anna Quindlen. I am familiar with her work, her commencement speech at Mount Holyoke College being my latest read. As usual, she didn’t disappoint. Throughout this essay, her use of sardonic language cannot be ignored as she touches on deeper issues within our, contrary to popular belief, “pre-feminist” world. As she mocks the world’s oversensitivity towards the use of the “F-Word,” Feminist (if you were wondering), she analyzes the status of women’s rights in modern times through the lens of a study on female undergraduates at Duke University. Now instead of stressing to be the “perfect homemaker,” women must obsess over “being the perfect professional,”

In the 2005 film The Wedding Crashers directed David Dobkin show many normal gender stereotypes and gender inequalities that are still present in today’s society. The film mainly focuses on two divorce mediators Jeremy and John who enjoy sneaking into wedding parties in order to get drunk off free booze and seduce bridesmaids. Certainly, the film exposes the bromance relationship that Jeremy and John have, which opposes the hegemonic masculinity that society renders on. Their attendance to Secretary Williams’s party exhibits the patriarchy of a white, rich, and powerful man. And lastly the way the guys view women as part of objectification and women displaying sexual agency towards these two gentlemen has been able to change overtime in society where both concepts have become a norm.

Feminism has been an explored topic since the early 19th century and has remained an important conversation in our society still today. At the time when Roxanne Gay was approaching this topic within her collection of essays, there were some major feminist triumphs occurring. 2014 was a time where Rape on college campuses was finally announced a national issue. In 2003, there were just 74 women in congress, yet 2014 was the year where we finally hit 100 women in congress. With all of the support and the successes of feminism at this time, it was crucial that Roxanne Gay discuss the way in which she fully supports the feminist movement, while staying true to herself. In "Why I am a Bad Feminist," Roxane Gay colloquially portrays how she imperfectly performs feminism in her daily life and how to deal with the constant struggle of trying to achieve "ideal" feminism while also being human. Gay touches on the fact that as a society, we place a high degree of pressure on women to be perfect. Whether the perfection lies in their looks, actions, or personality traits, women are constantly held to unrealistic standards. Gay effortlessly sheds light on this situation using rhetorical strategies to describe how she does not meet these standards. These rhetorical strategies include imagery, to create a picture of what she is saying, as well as a strong use of ethos and pathos, revealed throughout her essay. Instead of being ashamed she shares how to embrace her inconsistencies while still trying to be a feminist and role model.

This national best seller can relate to the opinions expressed by Peggy Reeves Sanday in The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape. Sandy investigates the characteristics of a rape-prone, and rape-free society. Jon Krakauer was interviewed by NPR books, where he stated, “The upshot was most rapists walked away without any punishment, any accountability” (NPR 1). The response from Krakauer correlates to Sanday’s research in The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape. Reeves Sanday writings examine, “When men discovered that they could rape, they proceeded to do it” (Reeves Sanday

While sexism is no longer as overt a practice as in the past, it is arguably just as pervasive. bell hooks’ life as an academic has been spent trying to breakdown the existent sexist barriers, which have prohibited women from achieving equality with men.

Gloria Jean Watkins, known by her pen name Bell Hooks (the name of her great grandmother), was born September 25, 1952. She grew up to be the author of more than three dozen books, the topics of which range from gender, race, and class, to spirituality, and contemporary media. Hooks attended Stanford University, The University of Wisconsin, and The University of California, Santa Cruz, eventually earning her P.h.D. In her article, “Understanding Patriarchy,” Hooks argues that patriarchy isn’t only harmful to women, it’s harmful to men as well, in different ways. Patriarchy sets rigid gender roles that say women are to be docile, obedient, and nurturing, while men should be violent, dominating, and aggressive. This ideal greatly emotionally stunts men, and makes it so that they cannot express themselves in any way other than aggression. In this article, Hooks was very effective in explaining and giving examples as to why the patriarchy negatively affects both men and women, and that it is up to both to break free from these constraints and work together to end the patriarchy.

In the article "Understanding Patriarchy” by Bell Hooks, the ideology of patriarchy is presented to her audience while she explains some of the basics of feminism and how they relate to current challenges to gender roles. Hook begins the article by establishing her relevance to the topic by giving specific examples of her childhood living in a patriarchal home. She explains in detail some of the occurrences growing up in an isolated area in a home with patriarchal views and how they affected her. Hook then transitions into her professional life as a feminist and shows her views on patriarchy, gender roles, and gives a possible solutions to the societal issues brought about by patriarchy. The relevance of patriarchy is brought to the forefront in this article addressing the cultural denial of patriarchy by society. Hook explains how children growing up even in single parent families or non-patriarchal families still get patriarchal ideologies from the world around them. Approaching the end of the article Hook begins to go into detail on the impacts of patriarchal views on both men and women. Hook references patriarchy’s impact on gender roles. She pleads for the acknowledgment of patriarchy and its harmful effects on society and focuses on its effects on males. Hook concludes by giving a solution to the ill effects of patriarchy, stating it must be taken seriously, and addressed by men and women alike.

Feminist scholarship has argued that rape ideology encourages and justifies sexual coercion, trivializes sexual violence and demeans and devalues women who have experienced sexual assault. The foundation of this argument is based on women's experiences in patriarchal societies. Due to the fact that