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Different gender roles in different cultures
Social construction of gender roles in other cultures
Different gender roles in different cultures
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In Gary Soto’s short story “The Talk” he reveals how society values appearance way too much. The main characters discuss about how their appearance affects their self-esteem, mindset, and their future jobs. The characters start out discussing their appearance and call themselves ugly, “We were twelve, with lean bodies that were beginning to grow in weird ways. First, our heads got large, but our necks wavered, frail as crisp tulips” (par.2). The boys talk about their appearance as if they were really awkward when in reality they probably don’t look like the way their describing themselves.
“I was never a beautiful women, and for that reason I’ve spent most of my life suffering from the shame of falling short of an unattainable standard” (87). Mairs starts off by telling us she was never a beautiful woman. By describing herself as this, it acts as an attention getter so the readers can become more interested in the reading. By putting emphasis on the topic of society 's standards for woman allows Mairs to go into greater depth with the topic, allowing readers to gain more knowledge and understanding of what the standards are like for a woman. A sullen tone is maintained throughout this chapter as Mairs describes the society 's standards for women leaving the readers a choice on how they feel about these standards.
Conformity Conformity is the behavior in accordance with socially accepted standards, rules, or laws. Conformity is expressed in the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, in the two characters of Cyrano and Christian. Cyrano is insecure about his outside appearance and Christian’s insecurity is on the inside. Conformity creates justice and equality, but if rejected that leads to an individual having self esteem issues, and a society where there is no individuality. Conformity creates justice and equality in a society because of the laws and standards set to keep people safe and secure.
Despite the pressure to fit the societal mold of a perfect woman, some women fought stereotype by expanding the reach of their nurturing
In the following essay "Throwing Like a Girl", author James Fallows adresses the issue of stereotypes between men and women. Many people feel as if doing anything "like a girl", is a bad thing. Fallows included photos of the 42nd President of the United Sates, and his wife, Hillary Clinton, throwing a baseball at two different baseball games. The pictures showed Hillary, as he descibed, "Throwing Like a Girl", and her husband Bill, in a perfect position throwing the ball. It was said, by a well-educated woman, that men and women had structural differences in the rotary cuffs of the arms and shoulders.
Taylor views men as a burden to her, giving her a flamboyant and rebellious attitude, especially towards men. One can observe this anywhere from her wardrobe (bright “memorable” colored clothes and a DAMN, I’M GOOD t-shirt) to her “no man can satisfy all of me” attitude. For worse or for better, men influence how women act, whether it be giving them an inflated sense of self-confidence, or giving them a sense of fear or caution. The Bean Trees explains how men can shape the personalities, attitudes, and characters of women, sometimes boosting their confidence, sometimes depriving women of their confidence.
According to society, women must be submissive to men in order to keep a relationship. Women and wives were expected to play the role of a “good wife” while looking the part. According to Module 6 a good wife was required to touch up her makeup, put a ribbon on her head, and act happy (p.6). Not only are women to be submissive, but we also have to take on the role of looking beautiful and innocent to be likable and accepted by men and other women. I’ve met a considerable amount of people in my life and not a single one of them upholds to this image of beauty.
Imagine being told as a female in today’s world you must look or act a ¬¬certain way in order to be accepted. Being what you want to be is not allowed and changes have to be made in order to be included. They say “pain is beauty, and beauty is pain” as they way a woman looks today are completely different from ten or even fifty years ago. In this paper, the reader will understand the mind of a woman in today’s society and the difficulties to be not only accepted but being her own person as well. Not only has the appearance of a woman changed but also role titles and job descriptions as well.
Molding Expectations At one point or another, everyone has felt insecure about the way they look or apprehensive about how people see them. Throughout every stage of life we’re expected to act a certain way, to dress appropriately, and to respond properly in social environments. What happens when someone doesn’t fit the norm? In the article “Masks” Lucy Grealy shares an emotional story of depression, isolation, self-worth, and loneliness because of how she looks.
What is the most pressing issue facing society today? In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison argues that it is beauty standards, even calling physical beauty “the most destructive idea[] in the history of human thought” (122). While this may seem outrageous in a world of terrorism, global warming, homelessness, and hunger, beauty standards and the feelings of inferiority that stem from them affect everybody. In severe cases, these feelings can even manifest themselves deeply inside of a person and lead to eating disorders, depression, anxiety, self-hatred, and even suicide. In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison uses the insecurities of the female characters to demonstrate that beauty standards are a danger to society, as they perpetuate racism and self-hatred.
One of the categories in being the ideal woman is being conventionally beautiful because, according to the media, a significant portion of a woman’s self-worth rests in appearance. This can be seen through women’s magazines in particular, which promote altering one’s appearance leads to the significant improvement of one’s “love life and relationships, and ultimately, life in general” (Bazzini 199). Therefore, the media presents a direct relationship with beauty and success: the more attractive a woman is, the better her life will be. Thus, a woman must the take initiative to look beautiful in order to be successful. Through the repetitive exposure of the same type of image in the media, what society considers beautiful often resembles a definitive checklist.
Men and women seem to share a common trait on faking things. Michael Chabon writes an article “Faking It” and this article is about how men tend to act like they know what they are doing at all times even if they really don’t know. On the other hand Amy Cunningham writes an article “Why Women Smile”. This article is about women being expected to smile no matter what the situation is. Both of these articles are similar in the fact that both men and women fake something that is not necessary to fake.
Figure 2 and 3 exemplify women presented in a submissive and docile image. In figure 2, there is a direct eye contact to the camera which conveys a personal address to the reader. It allows the audience to be captivated in the seductive qualities of her body. However, the use of black around her eye helps to accentuate salacious look upon her face. Furthermore, white fur and jewelry in her costuming portrays this ideal of wealth and affluence that women should be aspiring for to attract the ‘right man’.
The media portrays these unrealistic standards to men and women of how women should look, which suggests that their natural face is not good enough. Unrealistic standards for beauty created by the media is detrimental to girls’ self-esteem because it makes women feel constant external pressure to achieve the “ideal look”, which indicates that their natural appearance is inadequate. There has been an increasing number of women that are dissatisfied with themselves due to constant external pressure to look perfect. YWCA’s “Beauty at Any Cost” discusses this in their article saying that, “The pressure to achieve unrealistic physical beauty is an undercurrent in the lives of virtually all women in the United States, and its steady drumbeat is wreaking havoc on women in ways that far exceed the bounds of their physical selves” (YWCA).
The double standard of aging describes the inconsistent view our culture has placed on age between males and females. Society and media push for women to remain young as it is believed beauty is lost as they age, whereas males do not have as much pressure to consider age with their appearance. The standard for women to look young as a measure of beauty impacts their sense of beauty and self-worth to a higher degree than men (Hillier, 2015). This double standard persists today due to the constant reminder of appearance seen in all forms of media and casual conversations amongst peers. Marketing agencies have recognized this to be a huge venue for sales as they produce products attempting to preserve the look of being young.
