Often in literature, there is a certain motivation to control through a female’s sexuality. These desires are used to drive a woman’s sense of power over a man to dominate, manipulate, and destroy. Others are eaten alive by the control it takes over them. Some become dependant on sex and do not know how to interact with men without giving themselves up. The novels East of Eden and The Color Purple, play A Streetcar Named Desire and the short story “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?” all
female sexuality which is suggestive of a ‘sex-negative culture;’ many women were afraid or unaware of their sex and the denial that ‘women possess sexual feelings’ was commonplace in the Victorian period. This resulted in many women never being able to express their sexual desires through fear that this was unnatural, unfeminine and disgraceful. However, the other end of the spectrum shows the reaction to women that did not contain themselves, through the diagnosis of conditions such as ‘nymphomania’
Women’s lesser sexuality arises because patriarchal culture represses female sexual desire. According to Sherfey, this behavior created social chaos. If a stable, civilized way of life was to develop, it was necessary to institute “the ruthless subjugation of female sexuality” (Sherfey, 1966, p. 119). On the contrary, men generally seem willing if not eager to meet women’s sexual demands. Men are more likely than women to say that giving pleasure to one’s sex partner is more important than pursuing
Defined identities impact female sexuality Nowadays, more people trend to care about and working on social justice, women’s rights, as one of the topics, draws people’s attention. The society and female-selves have changed their opinion of what do being women means in 21st century. Therefore, nowadays twenty-something girls starts to behave differently from early generation. One of the behaviors become ambiguous, that is female sexuality. In “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and
In “The Storm,” Kate Chopin criticizes 19th century society’s oppression of women in the institution of marriage through her protagonist, Calixta, rediscovering her sexuality. Chopin illustrates this through the symbolism of the storm itself, the nature-derived imagery surrounding the storm, and the inversion of religious symbols like whiteness. The last line of the story is, “So the storm passed and everyone was happy,” (153). Everyone is content, even Alcée’s wife Clarisse. For her, as well as
Unrestrained female sexuality in popular media is regarded as something of a taboo. As a society, we are not used to the pleasure of women being portrayed on screen, despite our supposedly ‘equal’ society. Much of this is the inflection of sexism and the patriarchy, placed upon the minds of the masses, influencing the internalized discomfort of female sexuality. This, of course, does not apply towards male sexuality. Male sexuality is unrelenting and respected, even revered. These concepts of unrestrained
attention. The society and female-selves have rethought the meaning of being women in the 21st century. Therefore, nowadays twenty-something girls start to behave differently from early generation. One of the behaviors becomes ambiguous, which is female sexuality. In “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom”, Leslie Bell argues that neither contradictory directing nor expectation from others is the main reason that causes female sexuality. She sets up this claim
Chopin’s time, women and their sexuality and sexual passion was deemed a negligible, even improper, aspect of women’s lives. Yet Chopin boldly addresses a woman’s sexual desire in her short story “The Storm”. This story puts into great detail a torrid extramarital sexual encounter between Calixta and Alcee in the midst of a raging storm. While “The Storm” could have been presented in a traditional light, perhaps as a lesson of the evils of uninhibited female sexuality, Chopin maintains a non- judgmental
in the past. His extraordinary piece places a strong emphasis on sexuality by contrasting it with the conventional and stereotypical views towards sexuality that was once embellished during his life time. By painting an elaborate picture of the conservative society Stoker once grew up in, I contend that through his main female characters, he pursues to epitomize and challenge the Victorian notion of sexuality by incorporating female characters with strong sexual desires. This essay is primarily set
The female sexuality plays the very important role in both DRACULA and MAXIMUM GAGA. They both talk about the virginity and dissoluteness in female sexuality, but have different views about it. In DRACULA, only virginity is accepted; dissoluteness is completely intolerable. Stoker thinks virginity is very precious, and he want the readers know that women will be punished for being lascivious, so each female character has different ending in terms of their virginity. In MAXIMUM GAGA, Lara didn’t give
Deborah E. McDowell’s essay Black Female Sexuality in Passing she writes about the sexual repression of women seen in Nella Larsen‘s writings during the Harlem Renaissance, where black women had difficulty expressing their sexuality. In her essay, she writes about topics affecting the sexuality of women such as, religion, marriage, and male dominated societies. In Toni Morrison’s short story, “Recitatif” there are examples of women who struggle to express their sexuality. The people in society judge women
Comparing Female Sexuality in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women In Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women, Esther and Del try to take control of their sexuality and their sexual lives. These two female protagonists attempt to gain sexual confidence by quietly rejecting the societal images of women. They are able to seduce men and pilot their own sexual lives. These women are also able to ignore the popular beliefs about marriage
Female Sexuality in Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd and Lawrence's The Virgin And The Gypsy 'Is Lawrence really a liberator of sex? Does he grant more independence to the women in his novels than his predecessors or just a little more freedom within confines of established expectations.'[1] The same question could be asked of Thomas Hardy, who is believed by some critics such as Rosemarie Morgan, to use female sexuality in a way that is liberating and arguably revolutionary. 'The Virgin
seen fully nude and whose vagina is superimposed against the film’s title (stylized as NYMPH()MANIAC) at the start of the teaser. Despite his intentions in line with the Puzzy Power movement, von Trier’s male gaze complicates his presentation of female sexuality in Nymphomaniac. The logic behind the metanarrative of the film suggests that Joe’s (Charlotte Gainsbourg) salvation is ultimately afforded by male characters, most explicitly through Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), Jerôme (Shia LaBeouf), and “K”
which leads her to cheat on her husband with a stranger she meat at a museum. This shows actions that the society generally frowns upon. In both cases the females are punished and in both cases female sexuality is explored. With Psycho it is shown in the beginning of the movie where Marion is half dressed while with Dressed to Kill female sexuality is pushed further through the dream sequence shower scene and Kate’s fantasies as well as the cheating. This shows the truth that lies beneath the surface
award-winning author and playwright, Eve Ensler, began collecting testimonials from women across the country regarding their experiences with sexuality, she had no idea what would eventually occur as a result of her innovative ideas. Ensler gathered 200 monologues from women, and wove them into a play that represents the strength and vitality of female sexuality. The Vagina Monologues were first performed in the basement of New York City’s Cornelia Street Café in 1996. Since that time, the play has
iconography of Ophelia in visual art, theater, movies, and even psychiatric theory. Showalter's essay revolves around three linked themes. She believes that society's iconography of Ophelia demonstrates the cultural bonds between female sexuality and female insanity, and she thinks also that this iconography shows the historical exchange between psychiatric theory and the representation of Ophelia in culture. Finally, Showalter traces the ways in which actresses have portrayed Ophelia on stage
Showalter’s Analysis of Chopin’s The Awakening In “Tradition and the Female Talent: The Awakening as a Solitary Book,” Elaine Showalter makes a compelling argument that “Edna Pontellier’s ‘unfocused yearning’ for an autonomous life is akin to Kate Chopin’s yearning to write works that go beyond female plots and feminine endings” (204). Urging her reader to read The Awakening “in the context of literary tradition,” Showalter demonstrates the ways in which Chopin’s novel both builds upon and departs
Eyre Incomplete Works Cited The prevalence of fire imagery and it's multitude of metaphoric uses in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre expresses two things that could not be expressed openly in the Victorian Period, which are mainly passion and sexuality. Brontes writing was dictated by the morals of her society, but her ideas were not. Jane Eyre was written with the Victorian reader in mind. Bronte knew that if she were to write about these two things directly she would have to face possible rejection
course there were obvious exceptions to this, since talented female artists have existed through the ages, but on the whole there were not many female artists that got a lot of airplay and certainly none were considered significantly influential in the music industry. Recently the United States has begun to experience a women’s musical renaissance. Women’s roles in pop music are steadily growing. There have been many outstanding female musicians and vocalists in the past that have aided in making