In this novel, Julia Alvarez manages to capture and express the true feelings of women which deconstructs the stereotypes through Yo. Feminism is defined as “a political movement that works to achieve equal rights for women and men” (Hirsch 113). For the past ages, women were seen in the society as inferior to men and were greatly excluded from education and the right to property ownership. A British feminist named Mary Wollstonecraft argues, “educational restrictions keep women in a state of ignorance and slavish dependence” (Blake 117). The shattering of classifications and stereotypes, and the subversion of traditional gender roles, and the concept of sisterhood or unity among women are among the main tenets of feminist criticism.
Elizabeth Lloyd sought the topic of female orgasm as an area of strong interest and delved into the topic to essentially source its origin. In doing so, Lloyd collectively analysed and criticised several theories that as a majority, represented the idea that female orgasm is an evolutionary adaptation. In particular, Lloyd placed emphasis on those that say it stems from evolutionary pressure and critiques each theory. In return, Lloyd proposes her very own idea; that female orgasm is not directly associated to sexual reproduction. In fact, that is another theory she criticises alongside with hormonal determination of sexual behaviour and pair bonding.
Hope Edelman looks at the realities of marriage and imbalanced parenting roles in her article "The Myth of Co-Parenting." She writes about the common belief that couples have when going into a marriage: things will be perfect. Edelman uses her own marriage to reveal the unexpected difficulties that married couples experience when trying to share responsibilities of working and raising a family. She explains that even though many females feel liberated and inspired to be independent from their husbands, often times these women still end up doing most of the domestic work. Edelman shows how embedded gendered work is in our society, even among feminists.
In this paper, I will argue for Butler’s view on how certain gender performance is restricted in these numerous fields, and how Ms. Butler would object to these various situations. In the opening statement of Gender Trouble, Butler states, “feminist theory has assumed that there is some existing identity, understood through the category of women, who initiates feminist interests and goals.” (CITE GENDER TROUBLE PAGE 1 HERE) By this quote, she explains that feminist theory created the problem that it represents, while at the same time preventing its own progression. She supports this claim with her primary example of gender restriction in the field of representation in politics. Although this problem has no surefire resolution, it is suggested that in order for women to have true political visibility, the development of an identity that truly represents one as an individual is key. Butler suggests the following theory as a solution to these multifaceted complications.
She wrote in “Thinking About Shakespeare’s Sister”, about the acceptable actions that were performed on women specifically to oppress them. Actions life domestic abuse, arranged marriages, and being the property of the males in their lives. This was hundreds of years ago, but somewhere along the way we gradually gained independence and respect. I see this not as a need for an end to feminism. Society claims that we have reached a point where sexism is not existence and feminist are just grasping onto thin air to keep their agenda alive.
In today’s society families consist of civil unions, single parents, and families that try to utilize and keep the same values that were present in the 1950’s. These families are faced with restrictions from society, living up to the expectations to provide the same love and support as the traditional families do. Everyday these families prove that they are capable of breaking the molds. In life we are affected by the decisions that politicians make everyday based on marriage. We are facing a big problem in society about marriages and their stances on civil unions.
Motherhood and marriage is seen to be a key factor in the society of which The Bell Jar is set ,and is portrayed as one of the things that supresses female identity when Esther is asked to be “Mrs Buddy Willard” as if she is owned by Buddy and not her own person. Even though Top Girls is set in 1980’s England while Margret Thatcher is Prime Minister, it shows direct correlations to the ideas shown in The Bell Jar. Just as the bell jar itself portrays motherhood and marriage to be a hindrance to Careers In the form of Dodo Conway, Top Girls protagonist Marlene symbolises the other option women have in the choice between a career and a family. Marlene, unlike her sister Joyce, is shown to have given up her child for the chance to pursue a career as if having both is impossible; a lot like Jaycee is in The Bell Jar. This essay will argue that In both texts motherhood and marriage is shown to be a hindrance to both women’s careers and their female identity.
While Wollstonecraft talks about co-education, one can infer that women are at least educated on a basic level. Pizan lives in a society where royalty is still prevalent and societies’ thinking is very narrow. The era that Pizan lives in is very uneducated and women are looked as not having a life unless it benefits the man. Although Wollstonecraft parallels to that in a way, one can tell that women have a greater importance in her time period. Many debates have happened whether or not these women approach feminism for their time period.
As such, Weldon through her didactic essay disguised in epistolary form places emphasis on the difficulties of marriage for women in Austen’s context, especially legal powerlessness and dangers of childbirth through her cumulative listing of facts: ‘…you could not sue… he could beat you, if he saw fit’ and ‘the mother was the one to go’. She also suggests that women in the Georgian context were marginalised to the point that marriage was considered a great prize since there was no other choice: ‘women were born poor and stayed poor’, further highlighted through Weldon’s sympathetic reshaping of Mrs Bennet who originally a figure of ridicule, is emphasized to be in fact a reflection of the desperation of women for economic security, therefore Weldon highlights ‘it was the stuff of their life, their very existence. No wonder Mrs Bennet, driven half mad with anxiety… made a fool of herself in public’, a New Historicist approach that redefines Austen’s characters through the historical context. In doing this, Weldon essentially fills in the gaps and silences within Pride and Prejudice, highlighting for the modern audience how Elizabeth was in fact a radical hero because women of this time were so
Marriage is just an outdated institution that no longer regulates relationships. The reasons many marry now are only good reasons to say that two people joined together are now marriage. Most people marry to show off and are not really in love and dedicated in a relationship. In a marriage couples can share a life time of pleasure and fun with one another. Couples can share a life of dreams, excitement and happiness.