“A gender-equal society would be one where the word “gender” does not exist: where everyone can be themselves. “said by Goria Steinem. I disagree with Steinem’s statement in relation to gender equality in contemporary Australia. In this essay, three arguments would be addressed, which directly referred to Melina Marchetta’s 1992 novel, Looking for Alibrandi that enacted a story of a teenage girl who had to face difficulties in the society and fight with the original Australians as she was an illegitimate girl. Therefore, from my perspective, I will discuss this topic in order of gender discrimination, the fairness of gender controbility and gender limitation.
Firstly, it is not without the word "gender" that we can be equal, but is our
…show more content…
The results showed that 98% of respondents thought they were unfairly treated in schools and families. Keira Wright, 17, said that when she was a little girl, Wright began to worry about her own safety. She said “she cannot go out at some point or walk somewhere where some male friends can go. She cannot wear special clothes, because people will judge her." Wright said, "It 's normal for people to comment on the girls ' dress in the car, but nobody 's going to evaluate the boy 's clothes. When related to Melina Marchetta 's 1992 novels, Looking for Alibrandi, there are a great number of details that shows the inequality of men and women. Katia do not want to follow Francesco to live in Australia, but she had to come over. Visible, women comply with men 's needs; there is no right to choose. And on the way, she was not allowed to speak to men, and was not allowed to share a meal with men at a table (P 201).
Thirdly, gender equity only means that there is no discrimination in the society in case of power, achievement and mistreatment will not be accepted in the society. However, in my perspective, women limitation is certainly not in line with social order, especially in contemporary Australia. For example, divorced women cannot marry again. Unmarried women cannot go out with men, or have sex with men. The book even says, Italy
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta is about a 17 year old young girl called Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi who is in her final year of school at a wealthy Catholic school. Josie is Italian and Illegitimate, throughout the novel she finds faces some challenges such as finding out most of her family secrets and her father coming back into her life. Looking for Alibrandi deals with many themes such as family and relationships, secret and lies and emancipation. These themes are expressed through the use of literary techniques such as first person narration, dialogue and characterisation.
Western women have traditionally been perceived as the inferior sex, or the domestic partner, subjected wholly to the private sphere, and stripped of legal rights and standing. Meanwhile, men are depicted as the breadwinner, the strong, masculine and dominant partner, who belongs primarily to the public sphere. These historic gender norms have been deeply imbedded within Australia’s social foundation, and although society has gradually shifted away from these roles, evidence suggests that this gender inequality still riddles the modern day workplace. Liberal feminist groups have embraced this issue, and have classified it as being a true barrier to achieving the ultimate gender equality goal. Consequently, these liberal feminists along
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Machetta is about a seventeen year old girl named Josephine “Josie” Alibrandi who was raised without a father. Josie believed that her mother was the only person she needed in her life, until she came face to face with her father Michael Andretti and fell in love with Jacob Coote. Melina Marchetta uses the literary techniques of first person narration, dialogue and characterisation to explore the idea of Josie struggling to find her identity.
Another example of equity of genders in society can be seen in the Australian workforce. According to a government website 50% or more jobs are occupied by women, Comparing to the other time periods we see that hegemonic females made up less than 20% of the workforce, similar with the protest period. As we can see female’s roles have been changed for the better, and equity in society has been established during the alternative males reign, however the balance is still needed, if we were to have all alternative males everyone would be too bus talking about their feelings to do
In this paper I will be reflecting on my own learning and experience in WC2001 Australian Women’s Studies. For the purpose of this essay I have selected three of the weekly units, Unit 7: Culture and the Female Body, Unit 8: Women and Violence, and Unit 9: Women and Health to reflect upon. Each unit I have selected to reflect upon has had a positive impact on my understanding of the structural factors that create Australian society, for example, cultural norms in regards to sterotypical gender roles create a power and resource imabalance wherein gender inequality and inequity are reinforced.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"(US Declaration of Independence). Equality is a fundamental principle that has helped form our law system to what it is today. Since the Declaration of Independence we have been able to expand who should be included when our law system addresses equality. Today law, regarding gender equality has progressed significantly. Examining American history, it is evident to notice oppression women's faced from the time prior to the Declaration of Sentiments in 1848 to the Civil Rights act of 1964 and even today in some instances; the strive for equality amongst genders is a conflict that has come a long way, but still needs to be addressed accordingly.
“True equality means holding everyone accountable in the same way, regardless of race, gender, faith, ethnicity or political ideology.” (Monica Crowley) Two ideas that have been discussed in this gender unit were, one, we talked about how everyone has a different gender according to how they are. The second idea was that people shouldn’t be defined by their sex at birth, you should be defined by your personality and how you express it.
Today, there are still many different views on the impact of the ‘Woman’s Liberation Movement’ in Australia, but because of it there is more recognition about violence against woman (although violence has not necessarily decreased), woman now have more choice over reproduction than they did until the 1960s, and their also able to reach high positions in politics, professions, and businesses. However, it is still far more difficult for a woman to attain these positions than for a man and laws in which attempt to create equal pay and opportunities for woman do not automatically ensure these things.
Describe at least one character or individual in the written text who was an important example to young readers.
Before providing any example with unequal treatment based on the gender role, the definition of words “Gender” will define by using Oxford English Dictionary (OXD). The term “Gender” refers to the state of being male or female as expressed by social or cultural distinctions and differences, rather than biological ones; the collective attributes or traits
It is not the same as sex and it is not the same as women. Gender is determined by the origination of tasks, functions and roles attributed to women and men in society and in public and private life.
The historical experiences of Australian women have had a profound impact on the generation and maintenance of both social exclusion and inclusion. This is particularly true of the women’s liberation movement, which followed the essence of Marx’s conflict theory and was recognised as the collective struggle for equality. Occurring during the late 1960s and 1970s, the movement sought to free women from oppression and male supremacy. Hence, with a clear focus on the issues surrounding women’s education, health and employment, the women’s liberation movement was able to redefine society’s understanding of women, therefore having a tremendous impact on the generation of social inclusion. Nevertheless, traditional androcentric norms and mores continue to permeate all major
Women’s rights have been a question greatly discussed for quite some time, and the debate is still continuing despite the possibilities offered to women today. Feminism nowadays has evolved into a movement in a number of directions, starting with women equality and ending with homosexuality. However, feminism originally is an ideology that is based on equal political, economic and social rights for women. Feminism theory deals with analysing women’s social roles and experiences in relation to gender inequality. Traces of this ideology are vastly represented and can be found in a number of literary works, as notable examples are novels written by female authors (the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and others) during the Age
First of all, the term gender equity must be defined. Gender not only includes the concept of sex, but all the social and cultural meanings that go along with being either male or female. Every interaction that takes place is in relation to the sex of those involved in it, therefore
Today we live in a world that continually stresses to us that, "All men are created equal." While this sounds great at face value, further inspection tells us that this is far from realistic and sadly may never be. One can examine any aspect of society whether it be race, religion, language, level of education, sexual orientation or economic status and notice that there are numerous characteristics and factors of identity that enable others to treat others differently. This truth may not be pleasant or make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside, however it is our society’s reality, however dismal it may be. Even if the statement above as to the equality of all men were true, how about women? Clearly women have made tremendous strides towards