ipl-logo

George Carlin's 'Men Are From Earth, Women Are From Earth'

1062 Words5 Pages

The American comedian and social critic George Carlin once said, “Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it”. This quote is used for the purposes of criticizing and commenting upon the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (1993), which was written by the American author and relationship counsellor John Grey. The book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (1993) emphasises on the idea that the constant struggles between men and women are due to the fact that they come from “different planets” and are a result of fundamentally psychological differences between genders. The book has sold more than fifty millions of copies. However, despite of the gaining popularity of the book, many critics and feminists like George Carlin, …show more content…

As George Carlin stated in his quote, he argues that men and women are all from Earth rather than two distinct planets. They are all human beings and live in a shared space. Also, “Earth” is a metaphor he uses to imply that people should be realistic and accept the reality that men and women do not have distinct differences and should be treated equally. This quote not only promotes complete equality among all genders, but also denounces the act of stereotyping women, in which women are forced to fulfill certain expectations and have limited freedom of expressing themselves, which would result in the lack of individuality. As a result, the statement by George Carlin reflects the feminist ideology that promotes equality for both men and women. This argument can be demonstrated by examining how the ideology of this statement is reflected in the Second Feminist Wave and presents itself within Margaret Atwood’s feminist dystopian novel titled The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), how I agree with the statement through one personal experience from my life and finally, how one societal and cultural issue reflects the

Show More
Related
1356 Words | 6 Pages

During the late eighteenth century, the world experiences the chaos of the French Revolution. The Enlightenment proclaims that men have natural rights; therefore, people grew angry with oppressive monarchs ultimately leading to revolution. Enlightenment thinkers apply rational thinking to the rights of men, and during the Romantic period people advocate for more rights for all people. In 1789, French revolutionaries proclaim the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which gives equality and civil rights to men in France. In 1792, a woman by the name of Mary Wollstonecraft extends these ideas of natural rights to women in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

Read More
1456 Words | 6 Pages

In contrast to the twentieth century we still see some of this in our current day and ages. Contrasting portrayals of men and women in films leave us with the fact that we haven’t changed. Men and women are sought to have different gender roles within

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

INTRO - "An Act of Vengeance" by Isabel Allende is a latin-american piece of literature. - According to feminists critics, literature adapted to this patriarchal society we have, and the feminist author, Isabel Allende, has exposed how men and women are in the society through her characters Dulce Rosa Orellano and Tadeo Cespedes. - The feminism theory is the outgrowth of the general movement to empower women worldwide. It recognizes and critiques male supremacy combined with the efforts to change this patriarchic view.

Read More
1647 Words | 7 Pages

Both texts ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ were written during the second wave of feminism which centralised the issue of ownership over women’s sexuality and reproductive rights and as a result, the oral contraceptive was created. As powerfully stated by Ariel Levy, ‘If we are really going to be sexually liberated, we need to make room for a range of options as wide as the variety of human desire.’ Margaret Atwood and Angela Carter both celebrate female sexuality as empowering to challenge the constraints of social pressure on attitudes of women. Both writers aim to expose the impact of patriarchy as it represses female sexual desire and aim to control it thus challenge contemporary perspectives of women by revealing the oppression

Read More
2035 Words | 9 Pages

Works of literature often portray ideas relating to Marxist theory, this is why in a dystopian society, class distinctions dominate the social climate, using Marxist ideologies as a tool to define the lives of the narrator and those around her. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, ideologies from Marxist theory dominate the society in which Offred, the narrator, lives in, evidenced by the strict class systems and limited interaction between them. In writing the novel, Atwood makes a point to create a world that could exist using technology and ideas already accessible in today’s society, meaning the events that take place in The Handmaid’s Tale could happen in present day. Offred lives in a reality where class distinctions dominate society, and women, especially fertile women. These women are displaced downwards, although there are those women who attempt to resist the grip of society.

Read More
1058 Words | 5 Pages

Fairy tales have been told for centuries and have been used to portray the conflict of sexual politics over time. Little Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast are both examples of fairy tales with this focus. Making use of this conflict in The Handmaid 's Tale, Margaret Atwood has used certain elements of fairy tale genre to have the opposite effect of the stereotypical ‘happy ever after’ as the novel plays in a dystopian world. More specifically, the author has borrowed elements of fairy tales to develop the theme of shifting power in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

“No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body”. When Margaret Sanger spoke these words, she was expressing her belief on a woman’s right to have an abortion. This quote, however, speaks to the fact that women are oppressed on more than just abortions. In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Atwood portrays the dehumanization of sexuality through both the characters and events within the novel, therefore proving that women will always be considered less than men will. Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1939.

Read More
1620 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout history, women have often been subjected to prejudice and an inferior status to men. Due to sexist ideologies of men believing that women are not capable of controlling their own lives, women have often been reduced to the status of property. This concept is prominent in many pieces of literature to demonstrate the struggles women have to go through in a predominantly, male structured world. In the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, the author illustrates a woman’s battle in an extreme society ruled by men to express the misogyny occurring in the time period when it was written, 1894. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia summarizes Atwood’s story as one that “depicts one woman’s chilling struggle to survive in a society ruled by misogynistic fascism, by which women are reduced to the condition of property.”

Read More
1364 Words | 6 Pages

Aunt Lydia’s more relevant quote in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, is the two freedoms, who gives the reader an accurate insight of the Gilead society. This quote exposes the contrast between the freedom before and after the settlement of the Republic of Gilead, and the mentality of the brainwashed nation. It is well known that the Gileadean era is a dystopia, but the reader must study deeper into both societies –Gileadean and pre-Gileadean- to understand which one is really worse. Before the appearing of the Republic of Gilead, freedom was seen as a person’s desire, however, on the Gileadean era, freedom is a collective idea. On the current community, freedom is settled by laws based on moral and social values, but ignoring the

Read More
1122 Words | 5 Pages

Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, argues that women are instruments of the patriarchy, that women know this, and that women allow the system of oppression to live on. Her fictions ask, “What stories do women tell about themselves? What happens when their stories run counter to literary conventions or society’s expectations?” (Lecker 1). The Handmaid’s Tale is told through the protagonist, Offred, and allows readers to follow through her life as a handmaid while looking back on how life used to be prior to the societal changes.

Read More
1141 Words | 5 Pages

From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth

Read More
1008 Words | 5 Pages

cultural constructs of femininity, identity, and the extent of government control. The story explores the affects social and political trends have on society. The Handmaid’s Tale evaluates gender roles and the subjugation of women. Atwood’s use of aphorisms, symbolism, and allusions urges readers to examine the juxtaposition of cruelty and vulnerability in femininity.

Read More
1172 Words | 5 Pages

To stop gender inequality we have to treat women and men equally. If we continue to make believe about the society’s expectations towards ourselves, then we will be locked in the doll's house with the ghosts of Torvald and Nora hanging

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

The inequality of women has been a long-lasting issue since its existence, with the issue still persisting today. Women have gained more rights over time in great part to efforts made by feminists, however, much progress still needs to be made. Mary Wollstonecraft, often cited as one of the founding feminist philosophers, is a notable feminist whose advocacy and ideas on femininity have acted as a strong influence for the modern conception of feminism. One of Wollstonecraft’s most prominent works in regards to feminism is A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In the piece, Wollstonecraft uses and critiques philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s work titled Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, in order to build a case in defense of a woman’s

Read More
1136 Words | 5 Pages

Introduction Hook: Since the beginning of time, the existence of women and men has been undeniably considered as one of the integral factors that forms our society as it is today. Despite their parallel existence and contribution to the growth of the society, it was considered that women were not treated equal to men both in domestic and working circumstances, leading to a wave of movements demanding equal rights for women, known as feminism. Despite its success in claiming benefits for mistreated women in the past, recent feminism actions and point of views have gone above their original purpose, and created negative impacts and false mindset as its consequences, 2. Credibility I have done some in-depth research about this matter to prepare for the speech, and I myself do not stand for contemporary feminist. 3.

Read More

More about George Carlin's 'Men Are From Earth, Women Are From Earth'

Related Topics

Open Document