Culture and Women In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and “How to date a browngirl, blackgirl, whitegirl or halfie” by Junot Diaz, both authors elaborate on culture, and how it shapes the outlook on women. In Jamaica Kincaid's “Girl” a mother enforces her cultures strong beliefs on appropriate female behavior onto her daughter. To do so, she displays her parental authority with a series of short commands influenced by her culture. A sense of naivety can be seen in the young girl after questioning her mother's request. The culture associated with “Girl” has a definite attitude towards women, believing they should live a modest, conservative lifestyle.
The Struggle Continues Many feminists addressed the plight of African American women during the New Negro movement in the US. They shared the same problems and visions but some differ in strategy. The African American educator Elise McDougald’s essay “The Struggle of Negro Women for Race and Sex Emancipation” employs an interesting strategy to gain individuality amongst African American women. While displaying the direct issues similar to those of her allies, McDougald approaches her antagonists with an unusual method. This was an extremely audacious essay and a great subject to debate for that reason.
Curley’s wife’s obsession with herself ultimately leads to her death. She knows Lennie is supposed to stay away from her, but thrives on his attention and wants his praise for her soft hair. It is not coincidental that she ends up losing her life because she didn’t want Lennie to mess up her hair. This final event sums up Curley’s wife’s role fairly neatly. Steinbeck presents Curley as a woman with huge dreams and hopes who aspires to be famous in Hollywood and life a king size life.
The quote “… at hearing whose voice the King rejoices, the Chief Wife of the King, his beloved, the Lady of the Two Lands, Neferneferuaten – Nefertiti, May she live for Ever and Always.” From an Amarna inscription indicates that Akhenaten relationship with Nefertiti was not only through their children, equal on both sides and political but also romantic. That Akhenaten genuinely loved Nefertiti, placing her as his chief wife and displaying his affection
Women are willing to participate in practices that oppress them because they want power. This paper will compare the practices that oppress women through media and raunch culture in correlation with factual evidence Levy has taken from historic studies. Through this careful examination the evidence will reveal how the idea of empowerment is complicated through racial and gender stereotypes of the female identity. Female Chauvinist Pigs, which complicate gender stereotypes, use raunch culture in order to gain empowerment. Female Chauvinist Pigs are women who sexually only objectify other women and themselves.
In the entire story Delia’s habitual meekness is used against her. As Delia was a very pretty girl when she got married with Sykes. But during the course of time Delia turns into a thin and black woman because of her hard work to earn the livelihood and also the ceaseless cruelty of Sykes plays an important role to turn an attractive woman to a skinny woman. Sykes openly cheats to Delia for his plump mistress Bertha. The whole thing takes place just for Delia’s submissiveness.
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening took place in the late part of the 1800's during the reign of Queen Victoria. Grand Isle was a where Edna Pontellier lived in a community of Creoles. The society thrived for "mother-women," who "idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it to a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals" (9). She was not Creole and acted different than the rest. Creole’s like Adele Ratignolle “the fair lady of [everyone’s] dreams” (9), who treated her husband with respect and cared for her children unconditionally.
Beauty is naturally meant to be a blessing, not a curse, yet for the slave woman, it can lead to great troubles. Even those who are not beautiful suffer, as they lose their innocence living the life of a slave. The slave owner’s wives also suffered emotional issues. Knowing that her husband is engaging in sexual practices with a black slave girl would cause jealousy to arise in many of the wives. They would often mistreat the slave that is having an “affair” with her husband.
We see her obsession with money and the social status it brings when she cries on her wedding day after hearing her husband (George Wilson) borrowed his wedding suit; implying that he is poor. Myrtle tries to escape her mundane life at the car garage in the Valley of Ashes by having an affair with Tom Buchanan. He is a source of hope for her to have the life she has always dreamt of- one with wealth, glamour, status and comfort. We see how Myrtle shamelessly, infront of her husband, wets her lips and leans in towards Tom when he and Nick come to Mr Wilson’s garage. At her New York apartment with Tom, Myrtle lavishes herself by buying luxury and unnecessary gifts- such as her dog, a common accessory to a wealthy woman’s outfit.
In The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison shows how Pecola, a poor black girl who believes she is ugly because she and her community base their ideals of beauty on "whiteness" giving up and not trying hard for her wish of the bluest eyes. Love is as good as you make it. The quote that relates to this is “Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, and stupid people love stupidly” (Pg.47, Morrison). This quote is significant because Cholly Pocola’s abusive father, an alcoholic man who rapes his daughter at the end of the novel which is the climax of the book.