Sex and Gender Essay

Views on Sexuality and Gender Throughout History When speaking of gender roles in history, many historians view only the feminine side. I have learned this semester that this is not true. By analyzing only one side of an issue, one cannot fully understand it. In analyzing both sides of gender and sexuality throughout early history, the knowledge obtained is more accurate. So, in order to more fully understand this issue and its role in history, we will observe gender and sexuality in many different cultures in history, and attempt to better understand why each civilization held the views it did and how they compared to other cultures. To examine this issue, we will first review the Japanese primary source The Tale of Genji and the Christian source The Book of the City of Ladies, both of which were written by women. In The Tale of Genji, Genji is made to be a commoner and sent into exile so he would not become heir to the throne. This may not seem strange in itself, but this was done by request of the Emperor's wife. This actions shows that women, at least high ranking women, had some power in Japanese society. In The Book of the City of Ladies, the author asks the Christian God why she was not made a man, so she can be perfect as men claim to be. Later, she describes a vision of sorts that explain to her men are wrong. An example of this is when one of the women in the apparition states, “What husband ever gave his wife the power over him to utter the kind of insults and obscenities which these authors claim that women do?” (City of Ladies). This shows the author Christine de Pizan’s view of literature that shows women in a negative light, as being lies which do not progress society in a positive manner. What could these two pieces of history possibly have in common? In these two early books, we can see the shared similarities in the power of gender in these author’s time and society. The Emperor’s wife did not ask for Genji to be exiled so that her daughter