The Paradoxes Of Gender, By Judith Lorber

The biological sex of a person, in most cases, today can still be considered one of the main identifying characteristics of an individual. In the past the sex of a person was more than an identifying characteristic, it was who they were. They were either men or women, there was no in between or changing it. Society today has come a long way in terms of gender identity and gender roles, but the concept of patriarchy still has the upper hand when it all boils down. Allan G. Johnson’s, The Gender Knot, provides for a more diverse outlook on the women’s expected roles in life, how they are expected to handle difficult situations in marriage, and how they demonstrate courage, in Mona Lisa Smile.

Judith Sargent Murray’s On the Equality of the Sexes reveals the struggles women had in the 17th-18th centuries when it came to equal education opportunities. Women were expected to become people of domestication while men had many opportunities to expand their minds and be ambitious, and be leaders. Women were expected to focus on taking care of their family, not to have minds of their own. They wanted change.

In our society today, there are many ways identity plays a role in how people live their lives, as well as how people are viewed or treated by others. A big part of a person’s identity comes from their gender. Men and women are raised differently, whether it be their beliefs and ways of thinking, how they view their future, or the actions they choose to take throughout their lifetime. In both Katha Pollitt and Silko’s essays, they discuss the differences in the lives of men and women and how these differences result from society’s expectations by using metaphors and life examples to explain their message to the reader, as well as allow the reader to connect to this message.

As Lorber explores in her essay “Night to His Day”: The Social Construction of Gender, “most people find it hard to believe that gender is constantly created and re-created out of human interaction, out of social life, and is the texture and order of that social life” (Lorber 1). This article was very intriguing because I thought of my gender as my sex but they are not the same. Lorber has tried to prove that gender has a different meaning that what is usually perceived of through ordinary connotation. Gender is the “role” we are given, or the role we give to ourselves. Throughout the article it is obvious that we are to act appropriately according to the norms and society has power over us to make us conform. As a member of a gender

Woman along with the children were affected while working during the industrial revolution. During 1834 and 1836 Harriet Martineau, a British feminist and abolitionist, visited America and enthusiastically embraced the social implications of the Industrial Revolution, (DTA, 223). Martineau compared the lifestyle of women to slaves and said the United States contradicted the principles of the Declaration of Independence. She did believe though with some progress that it could become New England’s new industrial order. One of the Mill factories Martineau visited, Waltham Mill, was a prime example of the scheduled lifestyle of women mill workers. Women Mill workers of all ages worked at Waltham Mill, which I compared to a boarding school because of their strict schedules. The ladies had a time to wake up, to be at work, to eat, and to go to school. A lot of women did not mind the harsh conditions they lived and worked in because they fought for their equality of rights for a long time now.

The article, The Cult of Womanhood: 1820 - 1860 written by Barbara Welter discusses the philosophy towards women in America during the mid 19th century. A set of demands and expectations based upon four principles: piety, purity, submission and domesticity were placed on women as well as certain behavioral expectations left 19th century women feeling guilty. It also left women feeling this way during the industrialization period as well as having a huge presence of incompatibility with society. Welter shares her viewpoint that the Cult of Womanhood was an attempt to preserve pre modern values in the industrial age. Men held a dominant place in society and continued to prevent new opportunities for women to explore. Narrow minded

In her essay “ Dispelling The Myth Of Gender Bias In The Family Court System,” Cathy Meyer, a certified marriage educator and divorce coach, tries to prove that courts have no bias and are not the cause of mothers obtaining custody in the majority of divorces. To support her conclusion, Meyer includes quantitative information and her own experience. Although she includes facts, Meyer fails to explain each fact and focuses on mentioning more of her own opinion.

Concerning women at the end of the nineteenth century, “95% … remained ‘at home’” and “Their lives … were tied to house and children, endlessly unacknowledged work, little opportunity for outside contact or variety of experience, and little relief from everyday triviality” (Hartman 2018). Even though it seems the narrator’s social standing exempts her from working, this proves boredom and confinement to the house was not the exception but the rule. Men, however, ought to work and be the breadwinners. Indeed, the narrator says about John that he “is away all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious” (Gilman 1892). Consequently, they are both, in their own way, constricted by traditional gender roles that put them in an unequal relationship.

Women were expected to be housewives. However, during this time the traditional roles of women contradicted the new age woman of the 1920’s. More women were employed in the workforce but stopped working when they had children. Despite increasing opportunities in employment and education for women, they only worked until marriage as this still remained the goal of most young women.

Teenagers in 1920s’ have different views as to what feminine qualities for each woman should behold. People can be from the same social class, and still have differences in personality and opinions. For instance, Bernice, Marjorie and Mrs. Harvey are all from the same social class, yet are very different. Mrs. Harvey has an obvious difference because she is not a teenager and comes from a different generation, so she was exposed to different teachings. Bernice and Marjorie however, are from the same generation, yet have completely different views on what are feminine qualities.

Throughout the novel, notions of gender roles are persistently instructed into the younger characters’ cultural system repeatedly. This issue first arises

The Second Shift After the 1960s, the Cultural Revolution and Women’s Movement launched. During this rapidly changing decade, women’s roles were no longer strictly confined to homemaking. They were employed by factories, corporations, and businesses alike. As women began to share the breadwinner role in the family, was this change reflected in the home as well? Were spouses also splitting the work at home?

On April 8, 2014 Barack Obama issued two Executive Orders into legislation that were designed to help eliminate the wage differences between men and women. Although this is a good first step there is still a lot that must be accomplished in order for their to be equality on wages between males and females. Michael Kimmel’s book The Gendered Society discusses this issue within Chapter 9: Separate and Unequal. Coming at the issue from a very sociological perspective Kimmel argues that the wage gap is a “[…] major consequence of the combination of sex segregation and the persistence of archaic gender ideologies” (Kimmel 261). From my perspective, I agree with all of the points Kimmel is making and believe that this chapter provides an educational background on the inequality between men and women in the workplace. However, my qualm with Kimmel’s chapter is that he does not really discuss the patriarchal structure of capitalism as a whole. In this paper I will discuss the solid arguments The Gendered Society makes in Chapter 9 while also trying to relate them to my position that capitalism is sexist by nature.

Lynn Notagge in Intimate Apparel describes the life of Esther, a gifted but lonely black seamstress, who does a wonderful job creating intimate apparel for women, both wealthy socialites, and poor prostitutes. While she is very successful sewing exquisite lingerie for women and being able to stuff a goodly sum of money into her quilt over the years, she yearns a different life. Esther has two dreams: finding a husband (a man’s touch), and owning a beauty salon where both African American women and wealthy white women would be treated equally. By writing this play, Notagge acknowledges that everyone needs some kind of physical contact in order to function properly. The play revolves around people with different gender, race, religion, and

In the film, “Without Fathers or Husbands” they lived in a society where the women do all the work, including physical labor and are the bread-winners in their families. There are no fathers, husbands or marriages