Stephen Crane, the author of “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,” was born and raised during the nineteenth century. He was a naturalist writer and visited the New York Bowery often. These visits inspired him to write “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” (“Stephen Crane” 1). Naturalisistic writing emphasized heredity and environment as important forces which shaped individual characters fate. These characters are often presented in special and detailed circumstances, where life was shown to be ironic even tragic. Stephen Crane used themes that were considered forbidden by others. Some of these themes are extreme poverty, terrible conditions, murder, rape, and no happy endings. “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,” is a novella about a girl Maggie, who grew up in poverty and whose fate was shaped by the sexual double standard. The sexual double standard is when men and women are evaluated differently for engaging in sexual activity (Marks 84). In Stephen Crane’s novella, “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,” the sexual double standard is evident through social norms and expectations, the emergence of the sexual revolution, and the permissiveness of sexually active men. Society plays a large role in determining perspectives towards sexually active individuals.
In society, whether a woman is empowered or not, impressions were still formed about her for not following the status quo. The norm was that women were to be holy, innocent, and submissive, while men had a different standard to live by. In the book, Give Me Liberty, author Eric Foner reports, “For both sexes, freedom meant fulfilling their respective “inborn” qualities. Men were rational, aggressive, and domineering, while women were nurturing, selfless, ruled by emotions, and thus less fitted f...
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Hall, Lesley. "Hauling Down the Double Standard: Feminism, Social Purity and Sexual Science in Late Nineteenth-Century Britain." Gender & History 16.1 (2004): 36-56. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Marks, Michael J. "Evaluations of Sexually Active Men and Women Under Divided Attention: A Social Cognitive Approach to the Sexual Double Standard." Basic & Applied Social Psychology 30.1 (2008): 84-91. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
“Stephen Crane.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Foner, E. (2010). The People Party. In E. Foner, Give me Liberty! An American History (pp. 680-682). Canada: W.W Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110.
Women were only second-class citizens. They were supposed to stay home cook, clean, achieve motherhood and please their husbands. The constitution did not allow women to vote until the 19th amendment in 1971 due to gender discrimination. Deeper in the chapter it discusses the glass ceiling. Women by law have equal opportunities, but most business owners, which are men, will not even take them serious. Women also encounter sexual harassment and some men expect them to do certain things in order for them to succeed in that particular workplace. The society did not allow women to pursue a real education or get a real job. Women have always been the submissive person by default, and men have always been the stronger one, and the protector. Since the dawn of time, the world has seen a woman as a trophy for a man’s arm and a sexual desire for a man’s
McInerney, Daniel J. "The Fortunate Heirs of Freedom: Abolition & Republic Thought". Lincoln: University of
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Fourth ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 247-316. Print.
Today, women and men have equal rights, however, not long ago men believed women were lower than them. During the late eighteenth century, men expected women to stay at home and raise children. Women were given very few opportunities to expand their education past high school because colleges and universities would not accept females. This was a loss for women everywhere because it took away positions of power for them. It was even frowned upon if a woman showed interest in medicine or law because that was a man’s place, not a woman’s, just like it was a man’s duty to vote and not a woman’s.
In Eric Foner’s book, The Story of American Freedom, he writes a historical monograph about how liberty came to be. In the book, his argument does not focus on one fixed definition of freedom like others are tempted to do. Unlike others, Foner describes liberty as an ever changing entity; its definition is fluid and does not change in a linear progress. While others portray liberty as a pre-determined concept and gradually getting better, Foner argues the very history of liberty is constantly reshaping the definition of liberty, itself. Essentially, the multiple and conflicting views on liberty has always been a “terrain of conflict” and has changed in time (Foner xv).
Women, like black slaves, were treated unequally from the male before the nineteenth century. The role of the women played the part of their description, physically and emotionally weak, which during this time period all women did was took care of their household and husband, and followed their orders. Women were classified as the “weaker sex” or below the standards of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades unfolded, women gradually surfaced to breathe the air of freedom and self determination, when they were given specific freedoms such as the opportunity for an education, their voting rights, ownership of property, and being employed.
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
Foner, E. (2008). Give me Liberty: An American History. New York, Ny: WW. Norton &
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2007.
There was a time (not so long ago) when a man's superiority and authority wasn't a question, but an accepted truth. In the two short stories, "Desiree's Baby", and "The Yellow Wallpaper", women are portrayed as weak creatures of vanity with shallow or absent personalities, who are dependent on men for their livelihood, and even their sanity. Without men, these women were absolutely helpless and useless. Their very existence hinged on absolute and unquestioning submission…alone, a woman is nothing.
Foner, E. (2013). Give me liberty! an american history. (Seagull 4th ed., Vol. 2, p. 708).
Throughout history society has been controlled by men, and because of this women were exposed to some very demanding expectations. A woman was expected to be a wife, a mother, a cook, a maid, and sexually obedient to men. As a form of patriarchal silencing, any woman who deviated from these expectations was often a victim of physical, emotional, and social beatings. Creativity and individuality are dirty, sinful and very inappropriate for a respectful woman. By taking away women’s voices, men were able to remove any power that they might have had.
As referred to in the article, “Alcohol Use, Hookng-Up, Condom Use: Is There a Sexual Double Standard?” written by Tina M. Penhollow, Michael Young, and Tonychris Nnaka, they define a sexual double standard as the conceptualization that men and women are judged differently relative to the same behavior (2017). This article explains that double standard not only is seen in sexuality, but other things like condom and alcohol usage. According to the article, there are distinctions of alcoholic drinks based on gender; women are typically known for consuming wine and champagne while men drink beer and liquor. When a woman gets drunk, they get criticized of having poor character and are considered provocative. Men who consume alcohol on the other
Women have always been essential to society. Fifty to seventy years ago, a woman was no more than a house wife, caregiver, and at their husbands beck and call. Women had no personal opinion, no voice, and no freedom. They were suppressed by the sociable beliefs of man. A woman’s respectable place was always behind the masculine frame of a man. In the past a woman’s inferiority was not voluntary but instilled by elder women, and/or force. Many, would like to know why? Why was a woman such a threat to a man? Was it just about man’s ability to control, and overpower a woman, or was there a serious threat? Well, everyone has there own opinion about the cause of the past oppression of woman, it is currently still a popular argument today.