It states that many women’s focus is on her wardrobe so they can impress the opposite sex as they feel useless if they fail to impress, they also argue that fashion is a more female dominated area, they show that most of the top fashion designers are male ruled and that Radical Feminists such as Germaine Greer believe that all key societies (including fashion) have been found on patriarchy (ruled by men). They believe that men are the enemy and that they bring out clothes that result in the oppression of women and cause them to be exploited for sexual purposes only. They argue that the fashion industry segregate sexes with many popular singers exposing their body for money, this can be the case for Miley Cyrus; where she obtains money by exposing her body. Feminists view this as them doing this to please men and that women are exploited in this sexual way in order for men to find pleasure. They argue that the fashion industry promotes the women’s expressive role of doing the housework, looking after the children and not going out to work while they are used as a sex tool by the fashion industry making clothing which shows many body parts of women’s bodies such as their legs which males will like to look at.
We as a society may change things, such as laws and how we view women in the workforce, but sexism will always be a part of our society because of stereotyping and men will downplay women in any way we see fit to hold them at a lower lever, because they need power. Men want to feel superior. To give a historical example, jobs that were once held by men, but became dominated by women, wages declined as women became more numerous. This devalued the work that women do both in dollar terms and in more subjective perceptions (pg 276). This issue leads to discrimination against men in the workforce, but this type of discrimination is "positive discrimination" as far as modern feminism is concerned.
Such myths, Beauvoir explains, are derived trough literature and Social beliefs. The construct of the “essence of women” have been grossly misconstrued by a male dominated world. In her essay, she strongly argues about the two-sided opposition of the “self” and “other” through an existentialist perspective, which is through the experience of the human condition. She boldly announces that the male has appointed himself as “self” and the female as “other” in order to gain dominion and authority to call the female inferior, passive, or weak. I will take an in depth look at the contradictions and myths that men have created of women as outlined by Beauvoir.
The only thing she regrets in her life is her old age which is consuming her beauty. The Wife of Bath seems to believe in the power of marriage but some of her actions during her five marriages can be me viewed as contradictory to this fact. Throughout the prologue she brings up a lot of issues which were believed to be anti-marriage stereotypes during her time period. She describes herself as being sexually veracious and using sex as a tool to get money. She also describes herself as dominating over her husbands.
and this is shown on the essay when she writes this ”If, by chance , I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one” Really, is sad but is the truth, men do think women’s are objects they can’t take and leave when they want and demand things and expect to received without giving. As I read the essay it was stupid to see that they didn’t realize that all the wife’s duties could also be done by men, like cleaning, working, taking care of the kids, and of course pleasing their wife’s when she
It is thought that in a patriarchal society domestic violence against a woman by a man is inevitable as men like to prove their control. Radical feminists believe that for patriarchy to be abolished, which it should, then women must separate themselves from men, for example, they suggest ‘political lesbianism’ as to have heterosexual relationships it involves ‘sleeping with the enemy’, this male dominance over woman may be the reason there is an increase of same- sex and matriarchal families as men are no longer apart of the family structure. There is proof that this theory is based on truth as men and women are not equal, for example, men get higher wages in several jobs however, there is also issues other feminists and theorists have which is that females can also be abusive to the people surrounding them and it ignores the other factors for violence such as financial stress or mental health problems therefore domestic violence is not necessarily a way of gaining control. Marxists Feminists argue that men are not the main cause of women’s suppression but rather that capitalism is as it uses women to perform the jobs and services they need. This is because women as said to a ‘reserve army’ of cheap labour as they are taken on when extra workers or needed and then
By depicting a man like Henchard, who goes from being an obsessive power seeker to one who is, in a sense, "unmanned," Hardy shows readers the male identity which he tends to favor. The state of the economy and the political events of the 1880s and 1890s were unstable, and in their public roles, men began to feel gradually overwhelmed. Their personal lives were even more chaotic, as women began to challenge "old ideas" with their new, feminist ones. The "Woman Question" was ubiquitous, and women were gradually given rights that they never before had; the Married Women's Property Act, two Matrimonial Causes Acts, and the Maintenance of Wives Act, were three laws which allowed for more equality in marriage. The introduction of birth control literature also significantly changed women's attitudes toward their sexuality and matrimonial duties.
A streetcar named desire presents a sharp critique of the attitudes towards woman and their roles within society at post-war America. Blanche’s and Stella’s dependence on male companions are strong as they depend on men for both their sustenance and their self-image. Self-appearance is Blanche’s dominant characteristic, she believes to win male attraction and acceptance; a female must act and look a certain way. Inequality in sexes is also a big issue within this play as the male figure is seen to over-power the female figures. Stan is shown as the Alpha male; he holds the position arrogantly within his relationship, which sparks tension between the sexes, typically between Blanche and Stanley.
Many people think that D.H. Lawrence’s short stories are off-puttingly masculine. They get this interpretation due to the position of male characters in Lawrence’s short stories. At the time they were written the male was generally the dominant figure within society and relationships. However, I do not agree that Lawrence’s stories are off-puttingly masculine as I believe that in many of the stories the women have an undeniable control of the men’s actions and behaviour. This would suggest that women had a great deal of power within Lawrence’s stories, and prove they are not completely male dominated.
Woman are always portrayed as sex objects, waiting to be taken advantage of by men. This is extremely harmful to a woman because it makes her seem weak. However, the issue of body image and gender roles are not only a problem for females. Males also have a certain set standard of how they should look, and the characteristics they should embody. Schooler notes that “Men‘s strength and prowess are emphasized in the [media]” (Schooler, 745).