Zadie Smith's Portrayal Of Women Essay

Beauty is determined by society and their standards. Women are expected to be skinny, pretty and a size two which puts a lot of pressure on women. The pressures of society persuade women to go through extreme measures to fit in with society standards. This is evident in the short story “The Falling girl” and “They’re Not Your Husband” as the main characters are impacted by social expectations, insecurity and peer pressure.

Women are primarily objects of sexual pleasure for the male protagonists. Their characters are always filtered through the men's perspective, with the exception of the maid Bertha, Charlie’s maid, who at times makes fun at either of the brothers. (Perspectives on How Women Internalize the Ideal Beauty Standard, Year Unknown).

The main character’s self-esteem flags at every turn. She’ll never be the debutant nor will she ever ride English. She’ll always have the proverbial ringlets in her hair, and the disgusting cattle will forever mark her psyche (Meloy 175). She gauges her self-worth by the response to and comparison with others. Such as the sparkle in her cowboy’s eyes when she twirls her rainbow fingers, or her joy at his desire, and the quiet insecurity at her rival, Lacey’s more impulsive ways. So she tells herself, Andy won’t keep a girl like Lacey. Yet her reasoning seems as shallow as the man she wants so desperately, as she offers no real reason for her assertion (Meloy 174).

As you begin Beauty (Re) discovers the Male Body your read of author Susan Bordo spilling her morning coffee over a shockingly sexual advisement of a nude man. Initially, I rolled my eyes and settled in assuming, I was going to read about the tragedy of how men are now being objectified and exposed in adverting like women. As I flip through the pages looking at the scantily clad images I’m not really shocked; this essay was written fifteen years ago; I see these kinds of images going to the mall. What was shocking, however, was how Bordo a published, woman philosopher born in 1947 wrote about these images. I felt myself blush as I read “it seems slightly erect, or perhaps that’s his nonerect size, either way, there’s a substantial presence

But, for the first time, her daughter stares into her eyes, and her response is astounding as well as startling, considering her age. She says, “Mommy, there's a world in your eye. Mommy, where did you get that world in your eye?", and for the first time since the beginning of the piece, we experience Alice’s confidence once again (6). She realizes her self-worth, and that it is not determined by her appearance, she says, “Yes indeed, I realized, looking into the mirror. There was a world in my eye” and although she went through a good portion of her life believing that she wasn’t beautiful, or sufficient, it was all worth it because it taught her to love herself even more now (6). To end the piece, she illustrates a dream she had: it’s her old self-doubting self and another her, confident and radiating, coming together. She is once again able to speak of herself in a positive way, she states that the latter self is “beautiful, whole, and free. And she is also [her]”, which, in a way, exhibits that same attitude she had as a two-year-old (6). Twenty-seven-year-old Alice completely contradicts twelve-year-old Alice, who would “abuse [her] eye” and who did “not pray for sight” but “for beauty” (4); she now speaks of herself

“The Beauty Myth” written by Naomi Wolf is an essay written to present how the advancements of women in social power lead to a societal backlash that lead to a woman’s value being equated to her appearance by both sexes. This devaluation of women has led to a harmful relationship with food and women subjecting themselves to mental and physical torture to be thin. Wolf describes in the 1920s was the first time that women became “preoccupied with dieting and thinness” after receiving the right to vote. In the 1950s, women’s curves were celebrated again because “their minds were occupied in domestic seclusion.” According to Wolf, when women were in male spheres, “that pleasure had to be overridden by an urgent social

Through choice of detail and diction, Edith Wharton justifies Frome’s adultery by juxtaposing the warm, charismatic nature of Mattie to the cold, barren one of Zeena. While his wife speaks in a “monotonous” (129) “flat whine” (32) her cousin’s “suffuse[s] him with joy” (44). Despite the fact that both women are frail and sickly, Zeena’s “puckered throat” and “protruding wrists” (47) disgusts Ethan, while Mattie is so “small and weak-looking that…it wr[i]ng[s] his heart” (106). Throughout the novel, Wharton’s choice of detail drastically contrasts the two women, one a vivacious, vigorous beauty, the other a walking, whining corpse. From their physical looks alone, Zeena is hard to love—sterile and dark—while Mattie—fertile and warm—is easy to. The author intentionally feeds this bias, allowing the readers to feel the same temptation that Frome has in the novel. However, he

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, men and women hold very different roles. Not only are women the weaker sex, but their worth is dependant on how powerful and high up their husband is. Because of this, women are forced to be silent and are not allowed an opinion. If a woman shows traits that are considered manly, such as intelligence, determination, or control, she is considered masculine, and therefore unattractive. From a very young age, the main character, Janie, is taught that in order to find a suitable husband, she needs to suppress her independent personality. As a result of this belief being engraved into her, Janie does not realize her worth, therefore she is involved three abusive relationships. For years, girls were taught to make themselves smaller so they do not threaten the male’s reputation. The reader sees that Janie is an example the mistreatment of females through Janie’s three marriages.

All three of whom are presented as posing a collection of traits and behaviors that cause Jim a great amount of frustration. Which after being analyzed in regards to the issue’s historical context reveals several instances in which the established gender roles were to some extent largely being ignored, or in the case of Jim’s mother and father are largely reversed. A creative decision that presents a family dynamic in almost direct opposition with the ideals of the era, such as those that describe the proper livelihood for a women being one of a supportive wife and loving mother. Or as it came to be known as the notion of the “eternal female”. In regards to Judy’s position on the spectrum of conventional deviance in gender her character is portrayed as exhibiting more behaviors socially specified, all of which draw a notable amount of influence from the concept of “normal femininity”. However, in the same vein as Jim and the other students Judy does conversely demonstrate a degree of rebellious disregard in her behavior. Leading such a phenomenon of recklessness to be attributed to an entire generation by their

Ratched 's strength, and matriarchial character as a woman directly contradict the assumed characteristics associated with women; those of femininity and gentility. This contradiction is established in a way many by critics that look at the surface of the topic as a sexist description. In multiple occurrences throughout the progression of the novel, Ratched 's female characteristics are exaggeratively described by the patients such as McMurphy. McMurphy describes Ratched as having too red lipstick and the too big boobs. (43) and as a a bitch and a buzzard and a ballcutter. Therefore, Ratched directly opposes the traditional gentle view of women as a matriarch but is given over-exaggerated female characteristics. Kesey 's purpose in creating this contrast between a stereotypical woman and and an ideal woman that is independent and strong is to establish the unsuccessful attempt at triumph of the ideal strong woman.

Beauty is determined by society and their standards. Women are expected to be skinny, pretty and to be a thin size which puts pressure on women. The pressures of society persuade women to go through extreme measures to fit in with society standards. This is evident in the short stories “The Falling girl” and “They’re Not Your Husband” as the main characters are impacted by social expectations, insecurity and peer pressure.

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.

Staying with Irie, since she’s such a fascinating character, through Feminist Mimetic Criticism in the chapter entitled “The Miseducation of Irie Jones” we see Irie falling into the age-old traps of unrequited love, being overweight and low-self esteem. The concept of a perfect figure solving the problems of low-self esteem and unrequited love is flawed. Smith has labeled the chapter using the term “miseducation” to remind us that Irie’s thinking is skewed because it is based on male concepts of beauty and the female form, not on

We are constantly surrounded by images of the “perfect” woman. She is tall, thin and beautiful. She rarely looks older than 25, has a flawless body, and her hair and clothes are always perfect. She is not human. She is often shown in pieces – a stomach, a pair of legs, a beautifully made up eye or mouth. Our culture judges women, and women judge themselves, against this standard. It is forgotten that “beauty pornography”, as Wolf says, focuses on underweight models that are usually 15 to 20 years old. Flaws, wrinkles and other problems are airbrushed out of the picture.

Self reflection is something everyone does on a day to day basis. The way a person thinks about their self really alters their personality, but that is not the only thing it affects. Through self reflection a person can exacerbate insecurities. Insecurities tend to be an obstacle when it comes to love. Self reflection can have a positive or negative affect on one's love life. In the novel Bridget Jones’s Diary Helen Fielding’s main character Bridget, writes about how there are many things about her lifestyle that she would like to change. In fact, majority of her storyline involves countless references to her insecurities, which is not healthy. To many, Bridget is known as a sexist portrayal of pathetic, desperate woman, while to others she is looked at as a feminist icon. The novel demonstrates the themes self reflection and insecurities so well, because it is about an insecure girl who is just looking for love, but doesn’t quite love herself just yet. Fielding entwines these two themes to show how women perceive themselves through self reflection and how much it impacts their self esteem. Her main character, Bridget demonstrates how hard it is to be a girl in today’s society because we are so brainwashed by what we are “supposed” to be.