In 1913, women couldn’t vote, have a credit card in their own name, legally have an abortion, apply to a graduate school as a married woman, or attend ivy league schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, and Colombia. Due to the past restrictions imposed on women, it seems the search to find oneself is ongoing. What first began as a fight against clear and visible restrictions such as voting, has now crossed over to the silent and subtle restrictions forced on women through gender roles. By using “‘Redneck Woman’ and the Gendered Poetics of Class Rebellion” as a lens, this paper will analyze how women are redefining the role of gender, defying the constraints of class systems, and why it is morally better to be poor, in order to show how women are bringing forth a new meaning behind the term femininity.…
3. Yes, the author is aiming women in particular. In all the examples, she directly explains how women are harassed by men. Therefore,…
Judith Sargent Stevens Murray writes on the equality of men and women in 1790. Murray wrote this for the public and explains the difference between men and women and how women were degraded in 1790. Murray writes about how women were not allowed to accompany their husbands to certain places because they were not qualified enough and it made the feel inferior. A woman’s place was said to be in the kitchen or sewing. Murray is not bias in her writing but may be looked down on for speaking out against how women were treated at the time. Men may not have seen how women were treated inferiorly and seen the writing as a woman being out of line. Murray’s reason to be honest is to document how women were treated during her time. I believe that Murray’s piece is well written and goes into…
The standard of an ideal woman has changed dramatically over the centuries. And the differences are certainly apparent when comparing the modern expectations to the Puritan’s. The most important difference being that the standards were much stricter and the idea of an ideal Puritan woman was very prevalent in society. Consequently, many readings during the 16th century emphasizes the necessary qualities of an ideal Puritan woman. One of which is Jonathan Edwards’ essay, in which he offers a male perspective by describing his perfect woman, Sarah Pierrepont. Additionally, Anne Bradstreet reflects a female view on how an ideal Puritan woman should be through her poem, “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” Lastly,…
Both Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) and Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne share some common themes. In Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne addresses the suffering that emerges from sin, especially the sin of adultery that leads to isolation of sinners. The plot revolves around two female characters Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl. Through the two women, Hawthorne reflects the women’s hardships in the 17th century. On the other hand, Invisible Man is a novel that not only critiques racism but one that makes women invisible. Ellison fails to develop the female characters in an equal manner to the male character to reinforce the idea of gender inequality. This essay seeks to evaluate the representation of gender in American literature in Invisible Man and Scarlett Letter.…
Benjamin Franklin and Fanny Fern’s writings exemplified, and even sparked gender role controversy for over many years during the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s. Franklin’s writings primarily showed up in daily newspapers and appealed more to a male audience, rather than a wider female audience that Fern had obtained in her writings as a social critic. In the readings “Tom Pax’s Conjugal Soliloquy,” Fanny Fern and “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker,” by Benjamin Franklin, they both demonstrate opposite gender roles, illustrate situations in which women are not being paid attention to, and their audiences appeal to the gender role opposite to the…
Cited: Beecher, Catharine. Essay on Slavery and Abolitionism with Reference to the duty of American Females. Salem: Ayer Company, Publishers, Inc., 1988.…
True equality means holding everyone accountable in the same way, even the workforce, regardless of race, gender, faith, ethnicity - or political ideology.In Their Eyes Were Watching G-d, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie marries three men. The first marriage is with Logan, a man her nana predetermined for her to marry. Her second marriage is with a man named Jody, or Joe Sparks, who she thinks is on his way to a “richer life,” yet, instead it becomes a union where she is deprived of her “voice.” Both of Janie’s marriages depict the dominant roles men played in society. Individuals in society constantly struggle to strike a balance in gender equalities, Janie makes this evident in the ways she responds men and men respond to her.…
During the 1900’s, women, specifically black women, were considered to be property of men in the United States, especially down south, in states such as Florida and Georgia. Legally, women had no voice. For example, if a woman was abused by her husband, the court system would not acknowledge it even if it did really happen. In the article “Sexism in the Early 1900’s”, Becca Woltemath states that “…a woman’s job is to take care of the house and to bear children. She’s no good for anything else. She’s just a simple thinker.” Women were forced into submission and there was nothing they could do about it. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shows the issue of gender roles through the story of a young woman named Janie, who struggles through an arranged marriage. Through multiple characters, as well as the plot, sexism comes to the surface.…
The authors champion for racial and gender equality in their literature despite using different approaches. The authors’ first similarities suffice on their urge to inform the people on the relevance of treating each and every person equally. Garrison, for instance, being a strong Christian, she uses her influence to force the church to champion for the rights of women in their organs. Additionally, she forces the politicians through Liberty party to allocate women slots in its governance bodies. Thomas G. Mitchell says “Garrison was also an advocate of the equality of women and wanted the abolitionist movement to promote this by giving women places on its executive body and voting rights within the organization.” Grimke on her part stresses on the need to have all genders treated equally and asked the people to abolish…
This study is submitted to University of Wales, Newport in accordance with the requirements of the ‘Issues in Contemporary Art and Culture 3’ module. It has not been submitted for any other degree or diploma of an examining body, except where specifically acknowledged; it is the work of the Author.…
It can be said that society has always been quite judgmental, and at times misguided when it comes to women. The negative perceptions that society has towards females are often times directly related toward her actions. What a female does seems to degrade her identity and capabilities in the eyes of some men. In the poems “The Lady’s Dressing Room” and The essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, we can see both authors use of tone, form and style to develop their works. These poems are mainly driven by men’s attitudes towards women. A man’s perceived opinion about women can negatively shape society’s views and perceptions of them.…
Women could have never been outstanding poets, because they were never able to acquire the skills necessary. “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”(pg.386) In order for a woman to be able to write she must have money in her family. Money was crucial to have, because it was needed to receive an education. A woman also needed a room of their own, in order to write and the only way for a woman to have a room of their own was if her parents were extremely wealthy. Having a personal room allowed the writer to relax and think by their selves without any disturbances.…
her varies marriages. She elaborates on the negative stereotypes towards women and her thoughts begin…
Society is known to treat men and women differently despite the equality that is supposed to exist between the sexes. While sexism and gender sensitivity was at its worst during the early eras, it still exists nowadays because of what is known as the double standard mentality. In the poem ‘Double Standard’ Harper presents various examples of this double standard mentality that exists in the late 1800’s. The poem focuses on sexual double standard which is more appropriately considered the battle between the sexes nowadays and it presents this sexual double standard in three main lights, these being sexual double standard in social, cultural, personal, and public perception which represent the gravity of the matter in America circa 1895. This almost comprehensive idea of sexual double standard presented in this particular poem is quite disconcerting because it seems that in the poem, the female speaker is on the losing side having only Divine judgment as her only source of comfort.…