Size 6 Western Women's Harem Summary

177 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fatema mernissi, “size 6: the western woman’s harem”

According to her article, "Size 6: Western Women's Harem" Fatema Mernissi, a Moroccan sociologist, and an Islamic scholar, claims that male oppression in the fashion business in the West is a predicament affecting the gender roles of women. The occurrence takes place in a department store in America when Mernissi endeavours to purchase a skirt, after which she ends up being told that she cannot buy anything from the store since she is not a size 4 or 6, which are the norms that are acknowledged in the West. In the East, where the author comes from, it is well-known that men consider themselves superior to women. However, this preponderance restrains women mostly in the public arena whereas, in the West, the male supremacy reprobates the external

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Fashion Industry: Free To Be An Individual

    1411 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.

    Read More

  • Flapper The Fllapper Sparknotes

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another issue that the writer seemed to have swept below the carpet is the morality of women. First, women seemed to have been despised until they started excelling in mass advertising. Also, the author seems to peg the success of the modern woman to clothing and design. This means that women and cloths are but the same thing. In fact, it seems that a woman’s sex appeal determine her future endeavours, according to the author. It is through this that I believe that the author would have used other good virtues of women to explain

    Read More

  • The Utilitarian Theory: Nussbaum's Consequentialist Theory

    2317 Words  | 5 Pages

    Often times, women are treated poorly or unequally. She brings up the issue of interfering with other cultures when we disagree with how they are being treated; it is difficult to interfere because we don’t want to “impose our will”.

    Read More

  • What Do Women Want By Kim Addonizio

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stereotypes. Something that many women are subjected to in society and are forced to accept it like it is something that should happen. “What do women want”(Addonizio) examines the stereotypes most women face when wearing certain clothing, and the objectification of women, that is frowned upon but all women secretly want. It points out the objectification and stereotypes that women are subjected to, challenges them, and connects them to everyday life.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    As a woman in the world, I am a prisoner, trapped in an idea of how women should be and how I should force myself to be. In the allegory one prisoner had escaped, until we can put aside the standards and expectations that were forced upon us, we cannot escape the endless cycle. The shackles bind the prisoners, to only view what the captors allow; the feeling of being held back and being weighed down by invisible forces. Women are bounded by expectations, standards and limited to their success, we are always one step behind. If we speak what we think, we are threatening others and if we act the way we want, we are condemned. Even now, as a teenager when I walk the halls of Weston; I hear derogatory words being thrown mercilessly at a woman for dressing the way she wants, what is seemingly provocative in their minds. Her clothes automatically determine what type of personality or character she is, without knowing who the person really is. One can think that a high school filled with millennials, they would be more evolved in their way of thinking but still that is not the case. Why are women degraded to some type of object? Many of us feel as though, we can’t dress the way we want or a label will be put on us, we think about how we should dress in the morning and how people

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Novel We Should All Be Feminist

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not

    Read More

  • Japanese Culture Essay

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recently the concerns of women around their equality in society has become a hotly debated topic in the public spot light. Much of the debate concerns women and the ingrained sexism that permeates most cultures. Many women's activists feel that this ingrained sexism has widened the gap between men and women in a political, social, and economic sense. And for the most part they do have strong evidence to support these claims. Women have suffered through millennia of male dominated societies where treatment of women has been, and in some cases still is, inhuman. Women are treated like subhuman creatures that have only exist to be used for procreate and to be subjugated by men for household use. It has only been very recently that women have become recognized as equals in the eyes of men. Equals in the sense that they have the same political and social rights as males. While the situation has improved, women still have to deal with a male oriented world. Often women in the workplace are thought of as inferior and as a liability. This can be due to concerns about maternity leave, or women with poor leadership skills. But also in part it is due because of the patriarchy that controls all aspects and dynamics of the culture, family, politics, and economy. Even developed countries like The United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and France, could be classified as a patriarchies. These countries may not agree with this notion because of expansive, but not complete changes, that have gradually equalized women in society. However, there are developed countries that openly express a patriarchy and have enacted little societal changes to bring equality to women. Japan is one such country, and t...

    Read More

  • Female Chauvinist Pigs: Film Analysis

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the film Miss Representation directors, Kimberlee Aquaro and Jennifer Sibel Newsom shed light on a problem in today’s society which entails how females are picked apart and judged by how they dress and look instead of their intellectual properties. The director specifies that these women are being judged by the male population and that they have no say in what’s happening. Personally, I believe that women hate and judge other women more than how men are perceived to. Men receive just as much judgment as women in today's society about being physically fit or having good looks, however, men don’t seem to care as much and continue their daily lives. In the excerpt “Female Chauvinist Pigs”, the author, Ariel Levy, puts a perspective on “FCP” which revolves around females who take charge of their

    Read More

  • Girls Of Slender Means

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Joanna’s and Jane’s lifestyles. The Girls of Slender Means by Murial Spark is a novel about the girls who lived in the May of Teck Club during the year of 1945. There are many characters involved, but the one’s who caught my attention the most are Jane Wright and Joanna Childe. They represent different aspects of ideas, lifestyles and, also, have different perspectives on the “World of Books.' ; Joanna Childe was the daughter of a country rector.

    Read More

  • South Asian Women

    2220 Words  | 5 Pages

    South Asian women engage in patriarchal values and normative structure established more than two thousands years ago, continue to be oppressed by a dominant group of men. These women suffer further oppression through the strict adherence to cultural garb. Still today, media and educational system portray South Asian women as self-sacrificing, faithful to the family, and submissive to men.

    Read More

  • Sexual Dimorphism and Human Evolution

    2397 Words  | 5 Pages

    Introduction The topic of gender differences must understandably be approached with caution in our modern world. Emotionally charged and fraught with ideas about political correctness, gender can be a difficult subject to address, particularly when discussed in correlation to behavior and social behavior. Throughout history, many people have strove to understand what makes men and women different. Until the modern era, this topic was generally left up to religious leaders and philosophers to discuss. However, with the acquisition of more specialized medical knowledge of human physiology and the advent of anthropology, we now know a great deal more about gender differences than at any other point in history.

    Read More

  • Women in the Middle East

    2311 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.

    Read More

  • Fashion and Women?s Movements in the Past Century

    1669 Words  | 4 Pages

    Today’s American women are following centuries old traditions of rebelling against society’s outlook on women around. Earlier in America’s history, it was unheard of for a woman to be in both the public and domestic sphere. Women were forced to spend most of their life in the domestic sphere, and wear ridiculous clothes everyday. For a long time, women have been degraded and pushed around, causing women to initial movements to change the way society treats women. In America, “the land of the free”, women have to fight for their equal rights. Reformers, such as Fanny Wright, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer and many more have done so through their actions, and speeches. Nevertheless, in recent times fashion has become an available source of expression. It is a powerful tool to be able to be seen and not heard--but still get the message across. Since its humble beginnings, fashion has oftentimes just existed, but in the past century, it has existed as a form of expression, art, and liberation Now, women are still being influenced and challenged by the media and their peer, but slowly, more and more women are standing up for themselves.

    Read More

  • Gender Equality: The History Of Gender Inequality

    1745 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout many eras, women have been discriminated in various aspects from all around the world. Some of the aspects include dressing requirements, access to education,

    Read More

  • The Third Sex in Eastern Civilization

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    Western and Eastern civilizations have always been be incompatible with their thinking and teachings; especially when looking at certain topic such as Gender, sex and religion. Gender is defined as the cultural, behavioral, or psychological characteristics, typically belonging to one sex. Sex is the behavioral, functional and Structural characteristics that distinguish males from females; it is also the act of people (or animals) attempting to sexually reproduce. Western civilizations and religions have always been strict and less accepting when it comes to the conversation of gender and sex. It is usually something that is not discussed at all. They’re topics that are considered to be taboo. As time has progressed Western cultures are becoming more open to the conversations. In my Sociology & Psychology class, I was introduced to the concept of a third sex, meaning that the person is classified as neither male nor female. This subject was brought up in a film called “The Codes of Gender” that was created by a sociologist named Erving Goffman. Goffman stated that the third sex has its own set of gender traits and that it’s most popular on the Indian subcontinent. Western cultures only operate with a two sex/ two gender notion. Eastern cultures are more open to other possibilities. In Eastern cultures there is a form of acceptance of a third sex and in Western cultures there is little to no acceptance of a third sex.

    Read More

More about Size 6 Western Women's Harem Summary

Open Document