ipl-logo

Betty Cunningham Why Women Smile

131 Words1 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Feminism as a special topic in literature

Throughout decades the roles of women in society constantly evolves. However, society continues to limit the natural progression of women, who want more for themselves. In “Why Women Smile” by Amy Cunningham and in “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan, both discuss how the majority of time, women are always expected to act on the role given to them by society. Due to these notions that are set by society, the social roles of women have not progressed to their full potential. In the article, “Why Women Smile” Cunningham argues the significance behind a fake smile put on by women around the world, in order to mask their true feelings. She reflects back on former times in history and their take on it as well as her personal experiences
Show More
Related

Laura's Ashes Perseverance Quotes

611 Words | 3 Pages

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Trensniowski is a memoir about Laura's reaction to her close friend Maurice’s toast at her 50th birthday. Laura and Maurice both played a significant role in each other's life as they both influenced and taught each other many things. Laura had helped Maurice as he grew up and Maurice had taught Laura about love and friendship. Throughout Maurice's Toast, he talked about how much Laura had impacted and changed his life.

Read More

Jinn Riggs A Teenage Perspective Summary

260 Words | 2 Pages

Jillan Wine’s short story “Jillian Giggs, a Teenage Perspective” portrays the positive effects that adversity has on the human spirit. The protagonist, Jillian Giggs, encounters several problems throughout her first year in grade 7, including her parents divorce, failing an important math test and her best friend moving to New York. When Jillian first learns of her parents’ divorce, she becomes depressed. This obstacle seems too difficult for her to overcome. She does, however, after speaking to her high school guidance counsellor eventually come to terms with her father and mother’s severed relationship

Read More

Margaret Sanger Feminism Analysis

1638 Words | 7 Pages

Similarly to the likes of Margaret Sanger, Friedan fails to mention any reference to black women and those of different ethnicities, consequently raising concerns over the solutions that Friedan is suggesting; if these middle class women go back out and work on their careers then who will come in to their homes and look after their children and clean their house? Aren’t these women who have already been combining the reality of working and domestic duties? After all, when Friedan wrote ‘The Feminine Mystique’ more than one-third of women were already in the workforce. A notable comparison between the works of Sanger and Friedan is that the liberation of women is not only dependent on their gender but also on their social class, introducing an alternative that bodily autonomy is not forefront in the overlap of first and second wave feminism. The women of the feminine mystique had the choice to become a housewife or obtain a career, although they were pressured by society to adopt the latter, the element of choice was still there for them.

Read More

The Declaration Of Sentiments And Resolutions: Fredrick Douglas And William Garrison

1235 Words | 5 Pages

The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Women’s place in society has been studied for several years, even today in 2018 it is still relevant. The history of the 19th century is when the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions has proven that women are just as equal as men. This Declaration has managed to make changes and thoughts about the roles women play in society. Women- regarded as particularly susceptible to religious and moral influences- were increasingly confined to the domestic circle, but they became more important within it (Pearson).

Read More

Women In Twin Peaks And Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

99 Words | 1 Pages

Society has had this concept of what women’s role in life should be since the beginning of time. For as long as anyone can remember, humanity expected women to stay at home, attend the men’s needs, and take care of household duties. Since society has evolved, women have more freedom, rights, and respect from others. However, there is still a small percentage who think women have a distinct place in life and shouldn’t drift from their “path”. In Twin Peaks and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, women were treated as if they were irrelevant and melodramatic.

Read More

Analysis Of Daniel Akst's Essay What Meets The Eye

620 Words | 3 Pages

In the essay What Meets the Eye, Daniel Akst argues that look or beauty does matter in the daily life, that is, people’s life can be largely influenced or even controlled by look. Through reading Akst’s essay, I completely understand how people have different perspectives of others, as many people pay attention to and worry about how they look in the daily life. And people tend to judge others by their beauty or looks to a large extent. Akst’s ideas quite conform to and reinforce Paglia’s points that pursuing and maximizing one’s attractiveness and beauty is a justifiable aim in any society, and that good surgery discovers reveals personality. Both of them hold the idea that beauty plays an important role in people’s life and it is significant to enhance one’s beauty and attractiveness.

Read More

Betty Friedan's The Importance Of Work By Betty Friedan

1088 Words | 5 Pages

In her essay, “The Importance of Work,” from The Feminine Mystique published in 1963, Betty Friedan confronts American women’s search for identity. Throughout the novel, Betty Friedan breaks new ground, concocting the idea that women can discover personal fulfillment by straying away from their original roles. Friedan ponders on the idea that The Feminine Mystique is the cause for a vast majority of women during that time period to feel confined by their occupations around the house; therefore, restricting them from discovering who they are as women. Friedan’s novel is well known for creating a different kind of feminism and rousing various women across the nation.

Read More

Why Do Women Smile [ Face ] The Reaper?

754 Words | 4 Pages

In “Why Women Smile,” Cunningham is trying to explain to its readers that there are various reasons behind a woman’s smile. The main point that Cunningham is trying to make is that a book must not be judged by its cover. Cunningham states in her essay that “Psychologist Paul Ekman, the head of the University of California's Human Interaction Lab in San Francisco, has identified 18 distinct types of smiles, including those that show misery, compliance, fear, and contempt” (11). There are so many other smiles that women could be showing instead of the happy smile that women are associated with. The reasoning that Cunningham uses throughout her essay is logos, and logos is found in expository essays to help validate the point the author is trying to bring across.

Read More

Doubt Analysis: Oppression Of Women

845 Words | 4 Pages

Females go through their whole lives without being noticed of what they do or did for men because they were and may still be seen as just a “keeper.” Woman stopped being known as the “Keeper” because in 1960, Betty Friedan fought back and females everywhere joined in to fight the oppression and the idea roles they were suppose to portray as housewives and

Read More

Why Are Women Expected To Smile All The Time Analysis

170 Words | 1 Pages

Today’s perfect women’s social stereotype may be a woman smiling. However, Cunningham states lots of history about society has tried to force women to hide their actually smiles. She writes “Women weren’t always expected to seem animated and responsive; in fact, immoderate laughter was once considered one of the more conspicuous vices a woman could have, and mirth was downright sinful.” (174) I think it shows the women are forced to obey because of social pressures, however, it also shows that society’s view changed about the women’s smile. As a result, women should show their emotions in certain ways to face those pressures from society.

Read More

The Birth Control Movement

1806 Words | 8 Pages

Life in the twenty-first century has its perks. There have been some amazing advances in the world, with major breakthroughs in science, medicine, technology, and more. But the part we take for granted most is our ability to be human beings. For the majority of history, women were seen as lesser than men. Men thought that they were emotional, hormone driven creatures with no greater purpose in life than to bear children.

Read More

Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique

2208 Words | 9 Pages

Friedan’s Chapter One and Two Karly Marin Sacramento State University Communication Studies Major Gender Ideology Introduction Women play a pivotal role in the growth and development of social, economic and political spheres. There are countable women in the history of the world who have made remarkable contributions to the various spheres. Their accounts are recorded in books, magazines and journals amongst others. The Feminine Mystique is one of the books that received a wide audience in the 1950s.

Read More

The Power Of Women In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

1750 Words | 7 Pages

This theme relates to the real world because gender inequality is a problem that has been faced throughout history. In many cultures in the past, women were in-charge of domestic work while men took the roles of public life. Be that as it may, both men and women took equally important roles; however, because of the longstanding gender bias in the world, the roles of men in society were glorified more than the roles of women. Today, gender inequality still exists in the world. Specifically, today’s women are faced with sexist comments and attitudes from men that put women down.

Read More

Gender Roles In The World On Turtle's Back

476 Words | 2 Pages

Women’s place and role in the society is something that has been discussed and changed over time. Should their rights be the same as men’s? Should they be superior? Inferior? The world faces a dilemma on weather they should be or not equal as men.

Read More

Scott Russell Sanders's The Men We Carry In Our Minds

837 Words | 4 Pages

In nearly all historical societies, sexism was prevalent. Power struggles between genders mostly ended in men being the dominant force in society, leaving women on a lower rung of the social ladder. However, this does not always mean that women have a harder existence in society. Scott Russell Sanders faces a moral dilemma in “The Men We Carry in Our Minds.” In the beginning, Sanders feels that women have a harder time in society today than men do.

Read More

More about Betty Cunningham Why Women Smile

Related Topics

Open Document