The Harsh Inequality Of Women

In the imaginary society recounted by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in her novel, Herland, the harmonious all-women community flourishes in what may be arguably characterized as a feminist utopia. The author focused on transforming the traditional notions behind masculine and feminine divisions, that stifled women’s development by robbing them of reaching their full potential. Instead, she combines the two roles into one in her inhabitants which happen to be a society of females to place women as equals to men. The absence of violence, poverty, war, social classes, disease, pollution and most notably of male figures, working in harmony with nature allows for a higher quality of life. To obtain these optimal conditions, Gilman prescribes the world to focalize on cultivating education, prioritizing sustainability, and most important of all, strengthening the bond of community.

Gender inequality has been the main focus for many centuries through the use of discrimination and oppression women were exploited. Where women had very little rights of their own or a voice in society but made many sacrifices to achieve equal rights whether it be in employment or other areas of inequality. As men were seen as masculine breadwinners and women as more feminine by looking after the family and raring of children.

Herland is a feminism utopia where women lead lives completely without men and are self-sufficient without them. When men are finally introduced into this society, the gender roles differ, as men become the lesser in the social hierarchy. To the astonishment of the men, Herland is a developed civilization, and through the “miracle” of parthenogenesis, or virgin births, the women have been able to sustain their society for hundreds of years (Evans, Lynn). Charlotte Perkins Gilman was always "longing to create a compensatory feminist utopia as a mean to solve the perceived problems of degenerate modernity" (Davis, Cynthia). Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote Herland to illustrate a world where gender constraints are nonexistent. Throughout Novel Gilman utilizes the characters Vandyck Jennings, Terry Nicholson, and Jeff Margrave in the book to give readers a deeper sense of her personal life experiences.

The novel Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is about three men that discover a faraway land inhabited only by females. The novel itself is extremely progressive, and is a staple of the women's suffrage movement that occurred in the early 1900s. Although this work touches upon many controversies regarding gender inequality during that period, the primary issue touched upon is the idea that the idea "gender" in and of itself is a social construct, and sexes should not have to feel pressured to conform to the stereotypes associated with a particular gender.

Should Herland be considered a true feminist utopia, as popularly claimed? Some critics say yes, since the female citizens of Herland are depicted as strong independent women who educate the three male visitors to Herland about their peaceful history, unstructured government, and unconventional ideas to the point where the men begin to evaluate the conditions of women in America. Other critics say no, since these strong independent women are composed of only one group of women- the demographic of white, educated, upper class women. To these critics, the biases and exclusion of all other women from the novel does not make it a feminist utopia. Considering the prejudices of the time period in which Gilman’s Herland was written, the novella would be considered a feminist utopia back then. However, by today’s standards the novella would not, as the present feminist movement is more accepting and tolerant of different attitudes and women of other races, classes and sexual orientations than its historical predecessor.

Throughout the story we see the protagonist struggle with the gender roles placed upon her by her society; specifically the role she is supposed to play as

Girls/women are held at higher standards than men. It is harder being a girl because they are often discriminated against and put through so much physically and mentally.

They view economic reliance as the main cause of women’s subjection to men. In addition, socialist feminists see women’s emancipation as a necessary part of a larger goal for social, economic and political rectification. Marxist feminists feel that economic inequality, dependence, political and domestic struggle between the sexes is the root of women's oppression in the current social context (“A Short Introduction…”10 Apr. 2017).

Throughout history, women been influenced to change themselves in order to be the person society expects them to be. This pressure that is exerted on women to change themselves is the result of expectations placed on them revolving around the idea that men are superior to women in almost every aspect of life. The concept of oppression on women has been so prominent in society that it has become commonly demonstrated in forms of literature, pop culture, and in the media. Overtime, these judgements of women have evolved to be less of an issue due to increasing advocation of women’s rights, but still hold to be relevant in today's society. Women are just as capable as men of being independent and valuable, but because the female gender is subjected

In conceiving Herland, written in 1915, Charlotte Perkins Gilman created her flawless utopian society: Herland was a paradise of only women were they thrived This utopian society was infinitely better than that of the American culture at the time – perhaps due to the absence of men. The many contrasts between Herland and the early twentieth century, the time in which the book was written, shows how the American culture, along with the entire westernized system, failed to recognize the full humanity and worth of women. At the time that Gilman wrote Herland, the writing of women on serious topics such as sociology was not respected. By concealing sociological theory in speculative fiction, Gilman was able to avoid the immediate dismissal

Currently, 63 percent of female college students identify as feminist (Zimmerman). Despite the growing popularity of this term, society is oblivious to what feminism truly is. Many people have a negative connotation of feminists, and would never consider themselves to be one because they don’t know that feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights.  Additionally, society has become brainwashed to the sexism both men and women face on a day to day basis. Therefore, feminist beliefs should be integrated into each man and woman’s life because gender inequality negatively affects all members of society.

Our American Society has a pattern of gender stratification. There is an unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women. Gender has been a means of categorization for constructing a hierarchy throughout American history. Gender affects the opportunities and constraints we face throughout our lives. An important pattern of inequality that exists on the basis of gender is profession.

It is one thing to describe the many different aspects of women’s oppression in different societies, but quite another to be able to answer questions like: Why are women oppressed? What is the basis of women’s oppression? And what are the forms of oppression. Since the down of history women had been oppressed and controlled by the opposite sex. The men practice the complex of superiority over women, in reality it is an invasion feeling of inferiority. Basically, the men used all kind and all forms of oppressions on women; socially, physically, and morally. This paper argues the use of sexuality to practice the oppression and the control of men over women.

Inequality is the lack of equality to certain people based on numerous things (Sternheimer 136). In this paper, I intend to discuss inequality and how it affects gender, race, disabilities, and social classes. Many people in the United States struggle with inequality on a daily basis, whether it be not being able to find a job due to skin color or socioeconomic status or not given the same opportunity as others due to a disability. A perfect example of inequality is portrayed in the medical drama “The Good Doctor” in the drama we see a surgeon with autism who struggles to get a residence as a surgeon in a hospital because of his mental disability. They label his disability as a liability and all except one of the hospital board members do not want to give him a job.

Women that’s called a slut or whore is considered as having numerous sex partners. The names are placed upon a women that gest around and sleep with many men. The term slut or whore degrades a female and makes her feel less of women. Woman are judged more harsh then men. Men that sleep around are considered studs and women are called sluts. When it comes to gender double standards are alive and well. Gender inequality will be explained further based on the media, stories and a speech.