Feminism and Gibson's Neuromancer

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Recommended: Representation of women in literature

Today many women are stereotyped in their jobs and social roles as defined by society as a whole. William Gibson's Neuromancer where one woman is used for specific reasons. The female character, Molly, is used for sex and her body is used for other sexual performances. In this book we find numerous examples of how she is being used sexually and how she must act in her job to survive. The author uses horrific examples that are related to how some women are treated today. The feminist approach is used throughout this book because of how the character Molly is being treated.

In the second chapter of the book Molly is known as a "Working Girl", which means prostitute. Here in this chapter we find the first example of how Molly is being used for sex. "His head throbbed, but the brittleness in his neck seemed to retreat. He raised himself on one elbow, rolled sank back against the foam, pulling her down, licking her breasts, small hard nipples sliding wet across his cheek. He found the zip on the leather jeans and tugged it down"(Gibson32-33). This scene occurs right after Case's surgery. You might ask, the question, Is being used for sex really part of her job? Or was she attracted to work with Case? That could be a major confusion when reading this book. Something very similar to the scene just described also occurs in Chapter 11. The character Riveria performs a piece that he calls "The Doll." He imagines Molly's body as he wants it to be. A line from the book states "Then the torso formed as Riviera caressed it into being, white, headless, and perfect, sheened with the faintest gloss of sweat"(140). This ungodly performance can make any woman sick to her stomach. It is hard to believe one man's behavior could be that stereotypical as he regards a woman. Unfortunately, in today's society that is something that is not unusual.

Women are represented as developing different qualities to be successful in their jobs. In this book Molly is known as highly dominant and very knowledgeable in what she does. Not only in just this book, but in real life situations women have to demonstrate these strong characteristics to be recognized for their hard work. Other women have to have these qualities just to be noticed. In this book Molly has to be this way so she can protect herself from men, and she also has to have these qualities so she will be recognized for her hard work.

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