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The Great Gatsby No Name Woman Essay

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Society has created an image that women should be delicate and dainty, that all women should aspire to be mothers and homemakers. As a result, society has held women to different standards than men. Women are held to different expectations than men in terms of beauty, loyalty, and traditional obligations especially as subservient housewives. There is an urgent need to change the mindset of society. The central issue facing young women in today’s society is the standards that hold them to higher expectations than men in the areas of beauty, romantic relationships, and household duties. Society has created the stereotype that women are petite and dainty. “No Name Woman” emphasizes this expectation by elaborating on the extremes that women go to look beautiful. The author comments on the techniques used to pluck eyebrows saying “It especially hurt at the temples, but my mother said that we were lucky we didn’t have to have our feet bound” (Kingston 196). The expectations that society has for women to look beautiful are unfair because men put little effort into their appearance. In general, a woman with flawless appearance is favored over a woman that shows her natural …show more content…

The Great Gatsby illustrates a situation where society creates a different expectations for men and women. When Tom and Gatsby are arguing over Daisy’s affection, Tom says “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife” (Fitzgerald 137). The irony of the situation is that Tom was having an open affair at the same time that Daisy was seeing Gatsby. The double standard that applies only to men is not fair for women. How are women expected to be loyal to their husbands, when it is acceptable for their husbands to be unfaithful? The stereotypes that women should be loyal and pure, while expectations for men are the complete opposite, create unjust expectations for

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