The Second Sex: Mythologies and Contradictions, “What is a Woman”? Racel Robles Phiolosophy 327 Professor Conway Woman, Wife, Mother, Lover, Slut, Bitch…is this what a women is, what she is defined to? In andocentric society, women have been place in many lights, from the “good mother” to the “treacherous whore”. In The Second Sex, Beauvoir breaks down the construction of myths created by men in society to establish patriarchal “supremacy” over women. Such myths, Beauvoir explains, are derived trough literature and Social beliefs.
By comparing and contrasting the way the authors use their writing style to achieve their intentions in "The Necklace" and "The Story of an Hour" they focuses on values that connect them in literary styles and in the fight for women’s self-determination. In both of these short stories, all of these elements are present. “The Necklace” and The Story of an Hour´ portray males to be better equipped for real life, while women are represented as lacking such integrity to attain their goals. To cope with their tragic fate of being born female, the heroines in both stories venture inward to escape the reality of life which was not of her own making. The female characters in these stories offer a universal representation of women as being the weaker sex through marriage, and are characterized by having evil intentions for which she is justly´ punished for in the end.
Carol Nguyen English Literature Q: Explore Carol Ann Duffy's reversal of traditional gender roles in her collection of 'The World's Wife' with a particular focus on the poems 'Little Red Cap', 'Mrs Beast' and 'The Kray Sisters'. Carol Ann Duffy challenges traditional gender roles through the satirical subversion of classical myths in her collection 'The World's Wife.' Duffy employs a critical feminist tone in order to place emphasis upon the female perspective and undermine societal perceptions of women within literature as 'cute but essentially hopeless.' She aims to invert the stereotypical gender roles by reinterpreting the archetypal 'female' through empowering the voices of the female character whom would usually be overshadowed by males. Although, it has been disputed that Duffy's poetry is misandrist due to her dismissive persona towards men.
Marylin Farwell offers a detailed response to the complicated genre of lesbian literature. Farwell recognizes the need to “’read against the grain’” in order to establish the encoded meanings and forms in lesbian writing that are not clearly placed across a fictional tale. It is with this type of reading perhaps that a lesbian narrative space is created by Cather in My Ántonia. Cather illustrates a story of Jim Burden and his relationship with Ántonia within a backdrop of events that can be appropriated as forming a lesbian narrative space. Cather’s characterisation, with effective use of binary oppositions, a male narrative voice and critique of conventional gender/norms and roles allows this lesbian narrative space to be drawn out from the main text.
This poem is in its truest sense a feminist poem, one that laments the historical and mythological scorn of women, and provides a new light in which to view the fairer sex. There are countless juxtapositions throughout Clampitt’s lines, and aided by the reflexive nature of her poem, she presents a work matching the complexity of the mythological Medusa herself. To appreciate Clampitt’s message, one must delve deep into her almost purposeful convolutions, as one must do to understand the true nature of Medusa. Clampitt wrote “Medusa” to provide a commentary on the disparate and often negative light in which women have historically been viewed. To do this, she uses the famous story of Medusa, a figure that has consistently been vilified and relegated to the dark annals of mythology.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s literature is based on women’s issues. She wrote fiction mainly depicting her social ideas. In her works, she portrays women struggling to achieve personal autonomy, adapting to independence, and challenging accepted images of women. In her novel Women and Economics, Gilman argues that women need to change their identities in society in order to be equal to men and become part of the world’s evolution. In addition, her novel Herland depicts women at their true, full potential in roles equal to men.
All of the monologues shared a common theme of addressing women's issues and celebrating them in all its glory. Eve Ensler created the show based on a series of interviews she had with several types of women. The show's objective is to get rid of the embarrassment that is associated with the vagina as well as to make women feel comfortable talking about issues including rape, sexuality, childbirth, body image and many more. My favorite monologues were Hair, The "Wear and Say" Lists, My Angry Vagina and The Vagina Workshop. Particularly, Hair and My Angry Vagina discussed how society thinks the vagina should be hairless and smell like flowers and should not be left in its natural state.
EMPOWERMENT V.S. OPPRESSION There are many different types of marriages that men and women can take part in which may have according gender roles which can lead to women having either agency or oppression. In Marji Satrapi’s graphic novel Embroideries, she contrasts the traditional and modern view of marriage via a conversation of women from different ages-each seeing marriage as a way to gain agency or a way to contribute to the oppression of Iranian women. In Juliet Williams’ Unholy Matrimony? She depicts a very analytical view of an Iranian custom of temporary marriage, sigheh and the ways in which it can empower women or oppress women, depending on the type of marriage and the time it takes place.
Though Woolf and surrealism both represented gender and sexuality, there dominated a crucial difference between the two: Woolf advocated women’s cultural and social liberties, while surrealism radically envisioned the women’s body through the erotic feminine. Surrealism arose as a romanticized rebellion against the reconstructive measures implanted after World War II – against the suppression of the human mind and body through rationalism. Surrealists believed this bourgeois idea (rationalism) to be the source of the destruction created by the war. They responded by creating an unorthodox form of art based on the Freudian view of using psychoanalysis to express the unconscious – memories, feelings and dreams – and dictate thought in the absence of reason and aesthetics. Due to societal disruptions – “women’s demands
Women over time have been the subject of judgment, critic, and ridicule, having women’s bodies parts portrayed as objects and being objectified through advertisements creates the fight for equality for women that Jean Kilbourne has devoted most of her life trying to achieve. Kilbourne a feminist herself preaches the issue of objectification of women through her writings of Killing Us Softly. Killing us softly reflects the issue at hand by raising the awareness of objectification of women through certain advertisements. Advertisements Kilbourne refers to in her essay are the ones that don’t portray women in the correct way or show the proper equality women have in present day. Women being inferior to males, having their mouths covered, or being mistreated within an add is something that should be stopped or at least being acknowledged that it is a negative message toward women.