In society there are always stereotypes and unwritten rules that are followed. During the era of Norman England, gender roles were a prominent facet of life; men and women adhered to strict codes of conduct. Men are idealized as strong, dominant, and respectful, whereas women are elegant and courtly. If an individual does not meet the standards of society, they are shunned. However, not everyone agrees with the heavy stereotypes laid down by the social order such as male dominance and proper courting.
Besides the servants every character in some way has his power. Although the biggest argument in Julius Caesar is the change of power in the rulers of Rome, Shakespeare tries to show us many different kinds of power and the use of it. As we can see during the play, people with power use power just for their convenience. During the first part of the play, Shakespeare introduces the characters and the situations. He makes us notice how powerful everyone is.
Underlying the creation of particular characters in texts are broader ideas about what defines femininity and masculinity. Discuss the ways in which such assumptions inform the construction of male or female characters in the novel Cloudstreet. “Gender, like the history of many cultural attitudes as well as physiological responses, is a history of changes by which previously successful ways of engaging with the world become increasingly irrelevant to new conditions”1 Leo Braudy, Professor of English: University of South Carolina Despite being a universal topic, gender itself is culturally and historically dependent. Characteristics of masculinity and femininity are naturalised in almost every society, but differ based on diverse environments, values and changing time periods. In literature, these assumptions come to underpin the construction of key characters.
Women are under a constant pressure to adhere to roles that are specific to their gender and so are men. The woman by norm is relegated to the private domain and is allocated the affective role, while the man has full access to the public domain for he plays the role of the bread-winner. Devdutt Pattanaik, in his book, ‘The Pregnant King’, strives to show how gender plays an important part in defining roles and relationships, while at the same time also accounting for the interesting change in gender roles of men and women, which appears extremely contemporary and unthinkable at the time and context in which the story is set. Based at the time of the Mahabharata, Pattanaik’s ‘The Pregnant King’ brings forth a wide new range of ideas that are exceedingly modern in nature. These ideas question the societal norms that privilege the men and not the women, the norms that prevent both men and women from adopting occupations and indulging in activities that majorly interests them.
Additional differences between men and women are that they differentiate as they often inhabit different social roles as well as occupational. Finally, sexual reproduction is a biological constant that is ultimately related to men and women being different since a woman is defined as childbearing and child rearing (Eagly, 1987) and promotes intimacy between the men and women. Furthermore, men often employ their power over women as well as their sexual relationships, which at times women counter power through sexuality by using sexual attractiveness to control the man. Therefore, concerns about power and the differences regarding the sexuality are bound together. Modern context in where social movement and increasing gender and equality threaten the traditional male dominance may be directed on those woman who challenge the power of a man and the status (e.g.
In literature gender may often play an important role on a characters passion to express oneself. In Hands by Sherwood Anderson, and The Lady Hamlet, by Sarah Schulman, we are acquainted to characters that deal with issues with their professions, something that in both stories the main characters have a strong yearning for. However this strong craze that they have for their professions is greatly affected by questioning the security of their gender. These two works of literature greatly show how gender and desire fall hand in hand with each other. Hands, by Sherwood Anderson, is about an old man named Wing Biddlebaum who in a nutshell is known for his quick hands, and “The story of Wing Biddlebaum is a story of hands” (Anderson 1).
A patriarchy is defined as a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. Such systems currently exist in several forms and areas around the world; however, the most common place for these patriarchies is in our literature. Men are distorted by patriarchy both in being socially labeled as aggressive but, also shamed as they look into the mirror and see themselves. Shakespeare uses polarizing examples of feminism in Hamlet. He depicts women as completely sexual creatures and also devalues women in the eyes of men.
There are many theories to explain the existence of gender division in employment. Underpinning explanation of gender segregation in the labor market are issues concerning male power and gender assumptions of the division of labor (Bagilhole, 1994; Crompton, 1999). Gender segregation in employment is of concern for two measures quite aside from the facts of quality of opportunity: segregation into different areas of work remains a key issue that contributes to the gender in earnings (Forth, 2002). Later, the studies focus on the issue of masculinity which has been a re-occurrent topic in most debates. Masculinity is a subjective term, and in most cases it is influenced by one's perception and culture (Cullins, V.2012).
Shakespeare subverts gender roles like this throughout the play, such as when Lady Macbeth decides her husband is unable to commit the atrocities to sit on the throne and taunts him, insinuating things about his manhood and claiming he has "th' milk of human kindness" (Act 1, 5.15) implying that he isn't strong enough to kill King Duncan. There is also a moment during a soliloquy where she wishes she could unsex herself so she could do the job without an inkling of guilt. (Act 1.5.38-41). This goading, as Lady Macbeth is aware, became a powerful tool in emasculinating her husband and forcing his hand to prove that he is in fact up to the task. This is the first time we see where the power lies, and this dynamic proves that it resides with Lady Macbeth; she's the one that's controlling things, despite the times.
GENDER AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT The term "gender" refers to the male and female roles shaped by a society, learned indi¬vidually and re-negotiated by each new gene¬ration. Male/female roles are determined pri¬marily by the social, cultural and economic organisation of a society, and by the prevailing religious, moral and legal perceptions. Female and male roles and scope for action are not static, but are subject to constant change. They can vary enormously from one society to another, and even within any one society there can be significant differences depending on social class, family status, and ethnic or reli¬gious background. These roles are not neutral but characterised by different possibilities for making choices, and different rights and deci¬sion-making powers; generally to the disad¬vantage of women.