August 7, 2011 JUS 110- Crime and Criminology Critical Feminist Theory VS Grauwiler and Mills A critical feminist views gender inequality as stemming from unequal power of men and women in a capitalist society, which leads to the exploitation of women by fathers and husbands. Under this system women are considered a commodity worth possessing like land or money. (Siegel 2010) In knowing this view we know that men feel that they have power over women since they are generally stronger they take advantage of this and try to control the women in their lives. Many times the control that they have over women is abusive. It is a known cultural difference that men usually dominate the world.
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. career women), as well as towards women who are alleged as using their sexual appeal to gain power over men. However, sexual reproduction and the dependency and intimacy that man have on women and the domestic fulfillment of women. These roles create a dependency and intimacy between the two counterbalances the sexist hostility with a subjectively benevolent view of women. As per the 22-item ambivalent sexism Inventory (ASI; Glick & Fiske, 1996) initiated and validated in six
"The Yellow Wallpaper" motivated the female mind of creativity and mental strength through a patriarchal order of created gender roles and male power during the nineteenth century and into the 20th century. While John represented characteristics of a typical male of his time, the yellow wallpaper represented a controlling patriarchal society; a sin of inequality that a righteous traitor needed to challenge and win. As the wallpaper deteriorates, so does the suppressing affect that male hierarchy imposed on women. Male belief in their own hierarchy was not deteriorating. Females began to think out of line, be aware of their suppression, and fight patriarchal rule.
Compare and contrast the ways in which Atwood in HT and Churchill in TG present the pressures on woman in male dominated societies in the light of the opinion that Atwood focuses on woman as victims whilst Churchill explores the price woman pay for success. The male dominated environment is a force that every woman has to find a way to deal with so it is common for female writers to use it as a key theme when exploring the forces that shape us. There are many similarities in the way Margaret Atwood and Caryl Churchill Portray Male dominance and the way it affects females. In spite of Atwood’s ‘The Handmaids Tale’ being set in a fictional future dystopia the hostile patriarchal environment she describes has many features in common with today’s society. Maya Angelou’s book ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’ also deals with the problems of being female.
) Feminists have a macro, modernist and a conflict based theory (as suggested in item 2B) which focuses on the relationship between men and women, as they claim that men are the enemy, and a source of oppression and exploitation (Radical feminist Firestone 79). Feminists see family roles as unequal, and that women are exploited in the home as they provide free labour as suggested in item 2B. This was studied by the feminist Ann Oakley (74) who done studies about family roles to contribute to our understanding of the difference between women and men. She found that the views of ‘march of progress’ thinkers were exaggerated and their claims about symmetry in the roles within the home are not correct. Her findings showed that men could help at home, but this could mean making breakfast on one occasion or taking children on Sundays, but this only gave the woman more time for her role of housekeeping.
Throughout the text, Gilman attempts to uncover the often disturbing truths that lurk beneath the surface of something seemingly innocent with reference to her own socio-economic philosophy; that is the economics of marriage and the nature of the mentally destructive sub-ordination of women within it. The room in which the narrator is confined proposes problems for her immediately. She instantly recognises that there is ‘something queer’(pg 1) about it and the presence of the bars, rings and it’s nailed down bed besides making it reminiscent of an asylum, give it also a constricting atmosphere which illustrates the physical oppression of women in a broader sense, how married women in the nineteenth century would be part of a domestic, private sphere and the man would be part of a more public sphere, like John who is frequently absent during his wife’s ‘treatment’. By taking into account Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own , we can fully appreciate, as Woolf insists, the importance of a physical and metaphorical space in which to engage with one’s creativity and personality. It is this freedom or ‘room of (her) own’ the narrator is denied as she is prevented from having any say in her physical environment or even how best to channel her anxieties and imaginative urges which ultimately lead to the deterioration of her mental state.
Since the dawn of man, societal roles and behavior have differed between the sexes. Even in today's modern and progressive society, women continue to be judged more harshly than men for their behavior, particularly when it comes to sexual impropriety. Not only are a woman's actions judged more critically, but within the American society, we often see other women acting as a woman's harshest critics. This societal characteristic is all too pronounced in two literary works: "Daisy Miller: A Study", and "Roman Fever". In both stories, women are painted as the ultimate judge of morality; but the women, not men, seem to be the only ones judged and held accountable to society for their actions.
Tessie Hutchinson, one of the main characters represents women who are being tyrannized by society because of their gender. Devices such as symbolism and plot illustrate the condemned roles of women in the gender hierarchy. Also, the use of ideas such as betrayal within the strong marriage bond due to the traditional sacrifice, the senior figure of society, and the following of tradition passed down from generation demonstrate the power of females in this generation are brought up to the podium to be arguably conversed. The plot of “The Lottery” is that men had the most dominance over political decisions. This left no room for woman’s input or acknowledgment.
In this essay, I will define and discuss gender-role socialization. I will also explain how the various dimensions of the masculine role and the feminine role can lead to role conflict. I will also discuss the relationship between traditional gender-role socialization and the violence against women, specifically wife abuse. Gender-role socialization is the life-long process by which women and men learn behaviors expected of them in a given society. For example, in the U.S. society males are traditionally expected to demonstrate aggressiveness and toughness, whereas females are expected to be passive and nurturing.
Is class identity gendered? During the late 20th century there has been a heated debate about relationship between class and gender, one of the major criticisms of class analysis were that women have been marginalized. Joan Acker claims that the marginalization of women in class analysis is due to ‘’intellectual sexism’’ (Acker, 1973 cited in Morgan, 166). As a result of mainly focusing on the invisibility of women in traditional class analysis the position of men within class analysis was unspoken of, however ‘’a moment’s thought would seem to suggest that men and masculinity were heavily implicated in class analysis’’ (Morgan 166) there is an assumption that class is male which is why women were neglected previously in class analysis. Morgan argues that men are ‘’holders of class power’’ (Morgan 168) this is because men can be found at the top of the social hierarchy whether it is in political, economic, educational or cultural organizations; due to this men are largely involved in class practices as ‘’individual or collective class actors’’ (Morgan 168) along with this, men may also be seen dominating the discourses of class.