In Early modern literature, there are many pieces of literature that are written by men who talk about women in ways that objectify and try to control them because back then women were not given much agency in society. The women that are being portrayed in this type of literature about unrequited love are seen as extremely flat characters who are just the objects of affections for the narrator. This is problematic as it just portrays women as someone for the narrator of the poem to pin over although women are so much more than that. However, there are some authors trying to empower women and acknowledge the issues within their patriarchal society which are still prevalent to this day. These issues still apply today because there is still blatant sexism when positions of power are still dominated by men. There are some feminist writers on our syllabus even though a lot of them could not care less about how they represent women because they are only suppose to be an accessory to the story. They are always trying to describe what their perfect woman is like but she does not exist in real life. It causes unrealistic standards for women. For example, John Donne’s poem “The Flea” is empowering as he is questioning society’s views about sex before marriage. Donne is giving his beloved more agency throughout the story by criticizing the unreasonable expectations put on by institutions that govern society, like the church. An author in this time period
1. Why did Cato object to repealing the Oppian law? What was the basis of his objections?
Throughout the history of society, women and men both have faced the constricting roles forced upon them, from a young age; each gender is given specific social and cultural roles to play out throughout their lives. Little girls are given dolls and kitchen toys, little boys are given dinosaurs and power tool toys, if one was to step out of this specified role, social conflict would ensue. Contrast to popular belief, sex is a biological construct, and gender is a social construct specifying the roles men and women are to follow to be accepted into society as “normal”. The effects of gender roles have had on women have proved harmful over the decades. Although the woman’s involvement in society has improved throughout the decades,
Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s.
The sexualisation of women in advertising has become a very prominent and controversial issue in today’s society. Many brands, products and campaigns we are presented with portray women as being available and willing sexual objects, who exist to cater to the male gender. Gucci is one such brand that does this, focusing on emphasizing the sexual appeal of the female gender in order to sell their products, because as advertisers know: ‘sex sells.’ This new cultural shift can however, be seen as politically regressive for women, as the ideology it brings negatively impacts how women are viewed by society and how they view themselves.
Women and men are nestled into predetermined cultural molds when it comes to gender in American society. Women play the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and children, and men act as providers, protectors, and heads of the household. These gender roles stem from the many culture myths that exist pertaining to America, including those of the model family, education, liberty, and of gender. The majority of these myths are misconceptions, but linger because we, as Americans, do not analyze or question them. The misconception of gender suggests that biological truths no longer dictate our gender roles as men and women; they derive from cultural myths. We, as a nation, need
Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.
In today’s society, doctors view women as being overdramatic, see them as exaggerators, and do not take them seriously when they explain their symptoms. The unconscious bias that male doctors have, and occasionally female doctors too, will lead to countless misdiagnoses and infinitely more complications in the future. Women are always tested more frequently than men, nonetheless are less likely to receive major diagnoses or therapeutic interventions than men. Studies have shown that the implicit bias doctors have towards women can lead to life-altering complications and is a concept that is not taken seriously consequently leading to women’s distrust towards doctors. Throughout history, scientists have been researching diseases and its symptoms on men, not women.
One of the most influential writers Adrienne Rich once said, “She is afraid that her own truths are not good enough.” Adrienne Rich talks about women’s role and issues in her essay called “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying”. She describes how women during the 1977 lied about everything. They lied about their appearance, their job, their happiness, and even about their relationship. Adrienne Rich is one of the most powerful writers, who identifies herself as lesbian feminists. Her work has been acknowledged and appreciated mainly in her poems. Throughout her decades of work as a writer-activist, Rich uses essays, speeches, and conference papers, magazine, articles book reviews, and personal reflection to articulate with
In today’s society, there is often a misconception among women and men and the roles they are expected to follow through with. Although there has been advances in the way women are treated, it is unfortunately still an unbalanced dynamic in our society. From an early age, women are often persuaded, even if subconsciously, to follow a certain pathway in life. They are most often associated with staying home, keeping the house clean, cooking, baking, and raising children. Certain mediums that girls are exposed to tend to sway them towards these specific wants and aspirations. The way in which certain products are presented to little girls create an image they feel like they need to master. Men, on the other hand, are taught something completely different. They are regularly habituated with more masculine and self-reliant tasks. From an early age, they are automatically seen as people that deserve to be educated and use their smart, resourceful assets to contribute to society. They are without a doubt going to get a job and become a father and husband that provides for his family. In most situations, even if the woman has a job, men are the main “bread-winner.” Going along with this belief, the products boys are often marketed portray the idea of strength and independence. Whether it is a toy or a book, men are more often than not characterized as the heroic, more capable gender. There are many cases in which different mediums exhibit the ideas of men being the superior
Annette Bair and Marilyn Friedman have opposing views on whether women have distinct moral perspectives. Like Friedman, I believe that women have no different moral perspectives than men. Some people, like Bair, think that women base their moral perspectives on merely trust and love and men base theirs on justice. Friedman points out that care and justice coincide . People use justice to decide what is appropriate in caring relationships and care is brought into account when determining what is just. Since these two moral perspectives correspond, gender does not distinguish different moral perspectives.
"For most of history, anonymous was a woman", quotes Virginia Woolf. (1) Throughout history, women’s lives were restricted to domesticity and family, and they were left oppressed and without political voice. Over the decades the roles of women have dramatically changed from chattels belonging to their husbands to gaining independence. Women became famous activists, thinkers, writers, and artists, like Frida Kahlo who was an important figure for women’s independence. The price women paid in their fight for equality was to die or be imprisoned along with men, and they were largely forgotten in written history. However, the roles they took on were wide-ranging which included working in factories, tending the troops, taking care of children
Throughout history and today, we women are constant victims of stereotyping from our society. Certain “rules” have to be followed and certain “ideal” women images have to be kept. We are raised in a way to fill certain position where the society wants us to be and as a result, the opportunities are always limited for us and ideas of our importance in the society are diminishing. Even though women gained some independence, where women can work and take various position in society, the society’s idea of typical role of women never seem to change.
The textbook identifies four approaches to gender development: biological, interpersonal, cultural, and critical. Define each theory. Then answer the following question: which of the theoretical approaches to gender do you find the most valid? Be sure to include at least two examples from your own experience as well as two scholarly sources to back up your claim.
In the words of pop singer and ardent feminist P!nk, “Women have fought so long and hard for our rights and equality, and now all our attention is put on being a size 0.” P!nk’s hit song “Stupid Girls”, released with her 2006 album I’m Not Dead, provides a commentary on society’s perception of a woman’s role and how women respond to that perception. She rejects the foundations of the stereotype that women exist as subordinate to men, while challenging the behavior of women who conform to these societal expectations in order to please men. Although she composed the piece to encourage women to take pride in intelligence, the song has come under critique for “slut-shaming” by stereotyping women who focus on external appearance, labeling them as “stupid”. The piece simultaneously demeans and empowers women, demonstrating just one of the many flaws in the feminist movement that exist today.
In politics, power is a crucial component, and having authority over others is critical in legitimizing that power. Women consistently lack agency and power, especially in political spheres. Fantastical worlds, like HBO’s television series Game of Thrones (GoT), portray women in roles of empowerment, but their power is contingent on men and on their own sexuality. Despite gaining positions in political power, women only attain that power or can only use that power in the realm of men and masculinity. This essay argues that women in Game of Thrones, as political and non-political actors, are only powerful to the extent to which it roots from archetypical masculine characteristics and to which it advances their storylines from a man’s standpoint. To do so, I will first contrast political power and apolitical power, namely in terms of female participation and involvement. Next, I will examine HBO’s Game of Thrones in relation to its portrayal of female empowerment and of stereotypical gender roles. This paper will then distinguish notable Game of Thrones female characters as political powerful and apolitically powerful actors. This paper will conclude with an analysis of how Game of Thrones magnifies women’s roles in political power while also generalizing women as powerful only in regards to their sexuality.