Throughout history, society has shaped the lives of individuals by assigning individuals a specific way to be a part of society while deviation is most likely viewed as unacceptable and will likely be censured. Betty Friedan in chapter 1 of her novel “The Feminine Mystique” describes society’s assigned role for females and how women sacrificed their desires to fulfil the role assigned by society. E.J Graff in his essay “The M/F Boxes” describes how transgender and intersex individuals suffered humiliation and alienation because they did not meet society’s expectation of what a man or a woman is. Stephen Hinshaw in an excerpt from “What is the Triple Bind?” brings to attention the contemporary issue females are facing as they are expected to …show more content…
Hinshaw uses America’s Next Top Model as an example of females conforming to society’s image of femininity by perfecting their bodies to the standards set by society and sacrificing individual identity. Hinshaw writes “girls agonize over their decisions: they see their hair, their gap toothed smile, as aspects of who they are, their own sort of signature.” In his example, Hinshaw reveals the female contestants sacrificing their individuality to become what society determines to be feminine, in hopes of becoming a top model. In comparison to Hinshaw, Graff uses examples of people who have been harmed by society because these people were found to be transgendered or intersex individuals. When describing one particular example, Graff writes “In August 1995 Tyra Hunter’s car crashed in Washington, DC. When firefighting paramedics cut away her dress and found male genitals, they laughed and mocked her. She bled to death in the hospital.” Graff uses this example along with others to show society’s unjust treatment towards these individuals because they do not conform to society’s standards of a man and woman. In addition, Graff’s examples reveals why some transgendered and intersex individuals choose to conform to society by oppressing their mentality and hiding their true sexual identity. Hinshaw and Graff’s example established the two choices that individuals have when going against society’s norm: sacrifice a part of life or self and conform to society or be harmed by
The relevance of this voice in defining or contributing to our culture is significant because it speaks to a fundamental aspect of American society: the value of individual freedom. America was founded on the idea of individualism, and the voice in “Harrison Bergeron” speaks to a fear that could be threatened by a government that seeks to control every aspect of citizens’ lives. Not only does this story speak about the government controlling individual freedoms, but it also portrays the aspect of trying to make everyone equal, a common narrative in today's society. While everyone should be granted equal rights and opportunities, there is a line that must be drawn under certain circumstances. For example, in women's sports, many transgender females are being granted the ability to participate in women's sports, but biologically speaking this may give them an unfair advantage over the other competitors as they could possibly have more muscle mass or other contributing factors.
Essentially, industries decrease people self-esteem in order to make money and sell their advertised products. Companies advertise the “perfect” body that even the models do not have because of edited images, all the while contradicting themselves saying “be yourself”, then promoting unrealistic standards. Roberts inductive thesis fell at the end of the film, stating that the promise of being beautiful leading to a better life, is propaganda and that women’s health is not as important as corporate profit. The primary appeal in this documentary is the appeal to authority.
In their respective pieces about the transgender community, Mari Birghe’s piece falls short due to its lack of detailed examples and its heavy reliance on eliciting sympathy from the reader to persuade as well as its failure to see the other side of the argument while Elinor Burkett’s piece proves far superior due to its multitude of extensive examples in addition to its surplus of concessions. Burkett’s piece is stronger in part due to the surplus of concrete examples provided in contrast to Birghe’s meager examples. In Elinor Burketts’s piece, which states transgender women are not entirely female because of their previous male privilege, she intertwines many specific examples that help to prove her overall message. This is that transgender
In this twenty-first century, individuals have to think about everything they think, feel, and do because in some way or another, it affects their daily lives. Society today comes with expectations, hard decisions, stress, and fitting in. Because of the many hardships in life, women come up with mechanisms to help them cope with their struggles. While society today affects men and women, women face more hardships and get judged differently and harshly than men. In “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” Leslie Bell argues that splitting is often young women’s preferred method to make sense of the dizzying array of freedoms before them” (29).
In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan discusses the “problem that has no name.” For years, there was a “strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States” (Friedan, 11). This feeling felt by so many was the result of an idealized image of the suburban housewife. An image presented to women, especially in the middle class, as their only real option. Friedan examines this “problem that has no name” through the first-person narratives of several women who experienced it.
In Libba Bray’s novel, Beauty Queens, the reader follows a group of beauty pageant contestants who find themselves stranded on what appears to be a desolate island in the middle of nowhere. Overcoming all odds, the beauty contestants survive, find their true identities through their near-death experiences, and take down the pageant industry. Throughout the novel, the girls learn to stop caring about societal standards and accept themselves for who they are. Libba Bray uses beauty pageant contestants to illustrate the pressures of social norms that women face. Society’s status quo imposes unrealistic standards and expectations in a society where women are shamed into hiding their sexuality, creating false personas, and adhering to eurocentric beauty
Introduction The 1960s was a time of regression: the age at which many women married and few attended college. Post-war culture solidified that women belonged in the home, taking care of their children and husband, and many believed the same. Betty Friedan graduated Smith college with a bachelor’s degree in 1942. After birthing her second child, Friedan was fired from her current job and turned to domesticity to take care of her children instead of looking for another place to work.
People can be easily influenced by others to be something that they are not. They tend to adhere to societal norms to fit in rather than being true to their own identity. Leslie Bell, author of “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty- Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” speaks about how women are perplexed about the role they should play in a relationship because society and loved ones give two contradicting ideas on how they should behave. Similarly, Susan Faludi presents how society’s perception of cadets are different from reality in “The Naked Citadel,” as men at the Citadel attempt to validate their masculinity by degrading the underclassmen through physical abuse and gender swapping practices.
Betty Friedan was born in 1921. She graduated from Smith College in 1942. She wanted to study psychology graduate degree from UC Berkeley. Instead, she becomes a housewife and mother in New York, writing articles for women’s magazines. Friedan then stayed to care for her family.
Women have found themselves at the bottom of society’s hierarchal pyramid for eons. Even though females make contributions that prove vital to the world’s function, they are still regarded as the weaker link. The female plight of constantly facing debasement is a pawn used to ensure compliance. It is a common notion that if one is demeaned enough, he or she will conform to the suggested persona. Society tests this notion through its treatment of women.
The Impact of Culture and Gender Roles Heather Richardson-Barker Drexel University Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender, as well as the influence of family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role. The term Gender, as defined by the United Nations, includes the psychological, social, cultural, and behavioral characteristics associated with being female or male. It further defines acceptable
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.
“Doing Gender” by West and Zimmerman is similar to Butler’s “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution.” However, West and Zimmerman build upon the ideas that Butler puts forth. Butler focuses on gender as performance and how gender is made up by specific actions. While West and Zimmerman take the concept of performance and constitution and applies it to a new concept, the sex category and how sex categories and gender are intertwined in society. Sex categories and gender, according to West and Zimmerman, are different and interconnected.
Whether it be in the workplace or walking down the street there is always going to be more pressure and judgment being focused on women than men. Why is this? Gender plays a big role on the reflection of our identities to society. We have been brought to believe that there are certain ways men and women should and should not act, dress and talk. These social norms do not just apply to what is acceptable in regards to public safety but rather, it is used as a way to control and evaluate behavior.
Comparing Boys and Girls and Emma Watson’s speech for her HeForShe campaign Gender is not referred “to sex, but to this set of prescribed behavior,” as said by Marlene Goldman’s “Penning in the Bodies” (Goldman). There are many rules set upon an individual as to what is acceptable and what is not. The short story Boys and Girls by Alice Munro focuses on the implications the narrator had to endure on her journey to womanhood by reason of gender stereotypes. Emma Watson’s speech for the HeForShe campaign targets on abolishing gender inequality. Despite inequity, there is a myriad of comparable traits that are shared by humans which portrays our personality.