Roles Of Women In The West, Central Asia, And China

Women’s lives in China have changed dramatically throughout reforms in the Qing Dynasty, the Nationalist period, the Chinese Civil War, etc. In the historically male-dominated society, there still is not the gender equality that women have been hoping for. “Millions upon millions of women are missing. They are not lost, but dead: victims of violence, discrimination, and neglect” (Baute). Why should one gender be valued more over the other? Why should one gender be viewed as more important? Females in countries like China are discriminated against, mistreated, and are valued less since many women and girls are not allowed to get an education, the violence/abuse that they have to go through, and because the one-child policy rule that is placed in countries like China.

For centuries now, women have been bombarded with an infinite amount of conflicting and overwhelming messages about what it means to be a woman and which behaviors are considered appropriate, especially regarding sexual behavior. Traditionally, women have always been defined in relation to men. Men are seen as strong, while woman are seen as weak. Men are superior and women are their subordinates. This is exemplified by the fact that “masculine” traits such as strong, non-emotional, and competitive are considered socially desirable traits, while “feminine” traits such as docile, emotional, and passive are not. We evidently live in a society that is not only sexist, but also undoubtedly racist. The white woman typically appears as virtuous and pure, while the woman of color typically appears as unclean and tainted. If the woman of color also happens to be poor, she appears as being even more worthless. Therefore, in the United States, femininity as a concept is inextricably linked with concepts of race and class. In the present paper, I discuss the effect that this is having on women and their sexuality, the events that have paved the traveled path towards gender equality, and current issues plaguing women today, such as the attack on our reproductive rights and our value as women.

The role of women is China has changed a lot over the years. When we consider the position Chinese women held in ancient society, we find that they have come a long way to be where they are today.

The social role and stature of women has been an eternal topic. In an age when the images of women were expected to be associated with marriage, motherhood, and domestic matters, few Americans could have thought of a young woman from an upper-middle class family would pursue professional study of art in Europe in the late nineteenth century. Yet, praises and critics both fall on the young artist, Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926). In this paper, I will show how two historians contrast about the their views of this feminine artist, as well as their methodological approaches.

Mrs. President. There would be many of those if women were treated as equals to men. But, without the Equal Rights Amendment being added to the Constitution, women are still looked at as lesser to their male counterparts. Though women have gained more power and responsibilities from the earlier decades when they were housewives, I believe that women in America have a ways to go in becoming equals to men.

“I think we 're struggling with trying to redefine various positions at this point in history. To allow freedom for women, freedom for men, freedom from those sharply defined gender roles “ (Fred Ward). I agree with this quote because in today’s society gender defines the roles of what a male and a female can do. What is gender? Gender, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, is the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones). The term gender is only used when we describe how men and women are different in a society but the actual term that really defines a man and a woman is sex. Sex, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, is either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and many other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions. The differences of gender roles are something that is seen in many cultures. It can be seen in families, society, in occupations, and in politics. This can be related in the field of psychology because these can create a general notion of a person and what they are supposed to do and how they should behave, or in other words what a person can create in his or her mind is stereotypes. Some stereotypes on gender are according to www.healthguide.org some of the gender stereotypes are that women should have clean jobs. That means that women should not have a job like a being a sewage worker or a miner. Another

“As soon as a woman gets to an age where she has opinions and she is vital and strong. She is systematically shamed into hiding under a rock”. (Brain Quotes). Speaking of genders, men are considered more advantageous than women. Dating back to ancient times, men traditionally were determined more valuable over women based on the physical strengths and the capacity of resistance of outside pressure. However, not reconciled to the situation, women were making great efforts to enhance their positions and fortify their status in the society, which were beneficial for their own developments. For instance, the first female monarch of ancient China, empress Wu, ascended the throne in AD 630. Being admired and debated sharply, her ruling of the empire for over fifty years has laid the foundation of feminism. Meanwhile, her appearance encouraged more women to challenge the public prejudices instead of being the sweet sacrifices of the patriarchal society. Not only in ancient China, also in other various cultures, women were fighting for their rights but buried throughout human history. Defined as complex and sophisticated, women now are performing indispensable roles in the family and society. Under the enormous effects of several outstanding women, the opinion of that “the greatest responsibility for women is to give birth and center the housework” vanished and gradually alternated to a brand new modern point of

After reading the chapter, the author of the textbook mentions that inequality towards women is one of the main reasons why several occupations are dominated by females because of “occupational sex segregation”, which is basically employing men and women in occupations according to their gender, in addition to separating women from manual labor and high-paid positions. This type of segregation mostly puts limits upon women on what they can and can’t do because of expectations/stereotypes being augmented towards children as they grow up, also known as gender roles. Society contributes to this by socializing children of what is expected of them according to their sex, “what is appropriate behavior for girls and boys. This includes defining appropriate occupations for women versus men” (Leon-Guerrero, 106).

Literature throughout history has displayed to us the evolution of the male and female gender roles in society. Women have been described as ‘the angel in the house,’ whilst men are typified as dominant and prevailing in comparison to women. The gothic genre in literature is used to personify and exaggerate these stereotypes, by using gothic motifs such as dream sequences and themes such as horror and terror. Not only does the gothic exaggerate the stereotypes, but it also allows them to be contravened, due to the transgressive nature of the genre. The psychoanalytical aspect of this genre, allows for repressed desires to be made eminent and therefore characters can transgress and in the process, cross their contemporary gender boundaries. Keats uses the gothic device of Negative capability in order to conceal the transgression of the females in his poetry, Carter revised gothic fairytales in order to display them from a feminist approach and Stoker uses gothic themes, set against the backdrop of the fluidity of Fin de siècle period, to allow characters to stray from their gender stereotypes.

The role of women in history has changed dramatically over time, especially in the past century. Most of the time, she is presented as a victim of society, helpless and hopeless. Blamed and accused of being the root of all the problems. She is often sidelined because of being a confused being, not knowing what she wants and at the same time, she is the center of attention and the subject of man’s fantasy (the male gaze). History is full of evidence and stories of violence against women, who are subject to the cruel tortures in the male dominate society. It was not until the 20th century when women got the right to vote after several years of protests and movements. It is of great interest to me to notice, observe and analyze what the role

Sexism; quite the broad topic to discuss upon, but a prominent one regarding femininity and the role of women within the pre-21st century. At the time, women were collectively seen as inferior, and no more than the breeding gender; a sullied-fallible philosophy that oddly propagated itself from primate nature (regarding the evolutionary scheme of things). Conversely, this misogyny would not last with a repertory of political reformations from a hierarchical standpoint to one of far more liberty, equality and fraternity. Throughout this history, myriads of blunt statements, views that degrade the image of a woman, have been made repeatedly by the less intelligent of society. These views have always been contrasted by the women who remained uncaged by their social normalities, brave souls of which have led a reformatory spark in society. Examples span from the pre-common era to modern day, exemplified by women from Medea, to Joan of Arc, to Marie Curie, and the many other examples still continue to endow women with praise. Within Tim O’Brien’s highly acclaimed series of intertwined stories; The Things They Carried, the author truly emphasizes this. More specifically within “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”-the American novelist illustrates his opinion through an integral character by the name of Mary Anne Bell. Although fitted with a stereotypical image of a woman, through a series of transformations, she acts as a juxtaposition to this with an endowment of traits which

Throughout history, gender roles were portrayed based on their physical appearance and the ability to do things. Men were always considered the caretakers and protectors of their homes and never had to worry about what kind of outfit they had to wear the next day. Men were free to roam around in whatever clothing that appealed to them and no one seemed to care. However, in the case of women, they were the ones who did the house work all day and if she wanted to get an education that was something obscured. Also, woman had to dress in a certain way because their rights were dug down in the dirt and men treated them like objects. The gender norms depicted back then and now are still being attributed to men and women in today’s society. For

The traditional role of women was to stay home, clean, cook, and take care of the children. This has been the tradition that has been taught since 4000 BCE. The men were raised to do the “warriors” work, hunt, protect, lead, and earn honor amongst their tribe. Women were raised to bear children, take care of the house and family, gather food, and stay home while the men are away. This is how the world lived for many years and in some places, still, do. Although major improvements have been made, due to stereotypes and misconceptions about women, they still do not have the same rights as men. This is evident at home, work, religious views, and how children are raised.

In the 1950’s, women truly believed they were living the life. Every day, they would do chores like making beds and clean up after her children. All their “desires are to glory in their own feminity” (Friedan). They believed that to be the best wife is to please their husband and should only be “concerned only about her husband and children” (Friedan). Even though women assumed they were being an ideal wife and mother, their role should not define who they are as women because they should not feel restricted, women should be able to empower other women, and women are made for much greater purposes.

The social role which I feel that I occupy and that I am going to focus on in this essay is the one of a women in this society. I believe I have been socialized into this role for numerous reasons. Throughout this paper I will explain how I think I have been socialized into this role.