Reading Chapter 11, “Genders and Sexualities,” written by Carrie Hintz was to construct and enact alternatives for these two traditional categories. Data is clearly indicated that sexual material is some of the most controversial content in literature. Children’s literature that is involved with adolescent’s childhood are key battlegrounds for attitudes about gender and sexuality. The significance of gender and sexuality in children’s literature is the persistent investment in what is perceived to be the innocence of children. Innocence is defined in part by children’s enforced ignorance of sexual matters. According to James Kincaid, “Youth and innocence are two of the most eroticized constructions of the past two centuries. Innocence was that …show more content…
Women pageant queens think they are supposed to represent the ideal of female beauty. The tomboy is especially associated with childhood and is defined by the girlhood performance of masculinity. As Michele Abate noted, “The traits most Americans are likely to name as constitutive of this code of tomboy conduct include proclivity for outdoor play (especially athletics), a feisty independent spirit, and a tendency to don masculine clothing and adopt a boyish nickname” (Abate). What does it mean to be a boy in children’s literature and the kind of varieties of boys that are represented? J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series typically features a social, educational, and physical dangers of school life that provide opportunities for adventure, mischief, and exploration. This collection of experiences allows boys to enact traditional forms of boyhood while practicing many of adult men’s culture and the ability to plan out schemes. Not all boys in children’s literature fit these conventional models of the physically robust athlete, hearty survivalist, or mischievous bad boy. Children’s literature also includes boys such as Laure in Little Women, who are described as sensitive, saintly, sickly, or effeminate. The literary and popular texts help understand expectations of boyhood and the insight into contemporary constructions of
It is well known that books read by adolescents are somewhat inappropriate in certain ways such as language and the types of actions done by the characters. Some books consist of drugs, sex, and violence which obviously isn’t very appropriate nor does it consist of positive values. It is easy to see why some books ar...
When the authors begin to discuss these children as being sexual individuals it make its somewhat difficult to read as in society we often view children as innocent, vulnerable and in need of protection from adults. However the authors make it clear that children are not asexual, they do experience arousal and engage in sexual practices. This from of adult understanding still remains taboo in s...
In this course, literature is read closely with the purpose of comprehending the scope and nature of gender and how various characters deal with the effects of gendering. Many of the characters in our readings experience emotional, social, psychological, and intellectual effects of gendering. Race, class, culture, and sexuality also play a role in molding the ramifications of gendering. In Helen Hunt Jackson's "Prince's Little Sweetheart" and Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers", both short stories depicted clear examples of gendering. The theme of marriage that pervades in both stories helps advance our understanding of gendering by revealing that a woman did not always, or possibly even often, live happily ever after.
‘Some idea of a child or childhood motivates writers and determines both the form and content of what they write.’ -- Hunt The above statement is incomplete, as Hunt not only states that the writer has an idea of a child but in the concluding part, he states that the reader also has their own assumptions and perceptions of a child and childhood. Therefore, in order to consider Hunt’s statement, this essay will look at the different ideologies surrounding the concept of a child and childhood, the form and content in which writers inform the reader about their ideas of childhood concluding with what the selected set books state about childhood in particular gender. The set books used are Voices In The Park by Browne, Mortal Engines by Reeve and Little Women by Alcott to illustrate different formats, authorial craft and concepts about childhood. For clarity, the page numbers used in Voices In The Park are ordinal (1-30) starting at Voice 1.
Throughout many fairytales, Cinderella more evidently, there is the stigma of male roles and female roles. The man is the prince, the knight in shining armor, the strong protector and able provider, and the woman is the princess. Dainty and innocent, weak and capable only of looking pretty, fostering children and maintaining appearances of house and home. These roles of placement have been around long before fairy tales, and they’ll be around long after fairy tales, but the inclusion of these roles through characters in fairy tales does nothing but enforce the idea that this is the way things are meant to be, and women who do not assume these roles are wrong and unworthy. In her article, Orenstein refers to Cinderella as “the patriarchal oppression of all women”, and she is exactly right (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). The impression left of these gender stereotypes travels off the pages of the fairy tale and into the real world when studies show that there is a “23% decline in girls’ participation in sports and other rigorous activity … has been linked to their sense that athletics is unfeminine” (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). The blatant disregard for equality in these stories can be summed up with a term Orenstein coined, “relentless resegregation of childhood”, which ultimately defines what it means to be a boy or a girl in the terms of set behaviors and life duties (Orenstein “What’s wrong with Cinderella?”). Whether it be Cinderella or any other princess, the fairy tale business makes it a point to create a place for women with their stories, and unfortunately that “place” is demeaning and still practiced
A study conducted by Lenore Weitzman in the late 1960’s found that many children’s stories had very few female characters and when female characters were present they abided by typical gender roles. However, when books featuring female characters that stepped out of these traditional roles started being published, children were able to develop new ideas of what roles were acceptable for women to fulfill (Feely). Similarly, Carson McCullers uses Miss Amelia, Cousin Lymon, and Marvin Macy to display how those who abide by gender roles are seen by their communities as well as how those who do not are typically viewed. For example, Cousin Lymon exhibited more feminine characteristics and was generally seen as a gossip and a nuisance by the townspeople. Marvin Macy, on the other hand, was a very handsome, masculine man who was described as an “evil character” (McCullers 27) that had a horrible reputation, yet he was still adored by many women in the town.
Traister, Rebecca. A. "Fathers Should Not Exploit Their Daughters' Sexuality." Is Childhood Becoming Too Sexualized? Olivia Ferguson and Hayley Mitchell Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010.
Throughout history the concept of innocence in literature has been a topic in which author’s have held an obsession with. According to Harold Bloom, the loss of innocence has played a large role in western literature since the Enlightenment when man was said to be initially good and then corrupted only by his institutions. (Bloom 6) The institution in which Bloom speaks of is nothing more then society. Society is what is believed to be the cause for the loss of innocence in children. Bloom has stated that a return to the childhood mindset would eliminate the social problems in which people suffer. This is unerringly why the cause of many physiological problems can be traced back to a problem or unsettlement in one’s childhood. (Bloom 7) The history of innocence continues further back in history as it is said that the first encounter of loss of innocence or “original sin” was from Adam and Eve when they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. (Bloom 7) These historical events and ideas are what influence the works of authors from the 19th century to modern day.
“…sex attains meaning in social relations, which implies that we can only make appropriate choices around sexuality by understanding its social, cultueral and political context.” (Quote: 9293 jeffrey weeks)
While many critics continue to complain about the dark nature/ harsh reality of current YA literature, Corbett defends YA literature and the authors, who make valid literary choices when they create narratives involving previously taboo topics. She vehemently argues that those teens struggling with suicidal thoughts, divorce, puberty and other challenges need an outlet for those emotions, or at least reassurance that they are not alone. Corbett agues there is no better way than a book to help teens navigate this rocky stage of their lives and having access to
The kinds books children and young adults read today are read because they offer either important lessons or qualities that the children and young adults should portray. Books that children read reflect on the social structure on our world. A significant social issue today is one of gender inequality where men and women are still not seen as equals at home or in the workplace. This inequality reflects the sexism that occurs against women. Sexism is discrimination and stereotyping based on sex, most commonly against women.The sexism between men and women that exists today reflect the female stereotypes often seen in literature new and old. Literature published in the Nineteenth and Twentieth century, like Little Women and Peter Pen, and even
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” shows in society how a woman should be placed and what it means to be a woman. A women doesn’t question her partner, instead she is subservient to him. A woman’s duties include staying at home taking care of the children and cooking; while the man works and brings home the money. A feministic approach to Kincaid’s “Girl” points to the idea of the stereotypes that women can only be what they do in the home, they should only be pure and virtuous, and their main focus should be satisfying their husband.
Throughout literature, authors employ a variety of strategies to highlight the central message being conveyed to the audience. Analyzing pieces of literature through the gender critics lens accentuates what the author believes to be masculine or feminine and that society and culture determines the gender responsibility of an individual. In the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, the gender strategies appear through the typical fragile women of the mother and the grandmother, the heartless and clever male wolf, and the naïve and vulnerable girl as little red riding hood.
Many people think that boys in our culture today are brought up to define their identities through heroic individualism and competition, particularly through separation from home, friends, and family in an outdoors world of work and doing. Girls, on the other hand, are brought up to define their identities through connection, cooperation, self-sacrifice, domesticity, and community in an indoor world of love and caring. This view of different male and female roles can be seen throughout children’s literature. Treasure Island and The Secret Garden are two novels that are an excellent portrayal of the narrative pattern of “boy and girl” books.
Literature has been part of society since pen met paper. It has recorded history, retold fables, and entertained adults for centuries. Literature intended for children, however, is a recent development. Though children’s literature is young, the texts can be separated into two categories by age. The exact splitting point is debatable, but as technology revolutionized in the mid-twentieth century is the dividing point between classic and contemporary. Today’s children’s literature is extraordinarily different from the classics that it evolved from, but yet as classic was transformed into modern, the literature kept many common features.