We see gender inequality everywhere, even in well developed nations and countries, and it influences the way we live today. It affects families, women’s opportunities for jobs, and their perceived attitude in society. In three pieces of literature, including the play A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and a documentary called American Denial there is emphasis on all of these outcomes of gender inequality in the world.
The typical American family consists of a mom, dad, and children; however, this can be altered with the influence of gender roles. The father is usually the head of the house and does things the way that he wants, despite the fact that it can affect the mother negatively.
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Girls aren’t expected to take the same jobs as men, sometimes their families might discourage or be surprised by their occupational dream. For example, in times like after World War II, women being doctors were neglected of their dream to help others, while men were more acknowledged for being doctors. We can see this situation occurring in the play A Raisin in the Sun, where the family of both men and women find out that Beneatha wants to become a doctor. Walter, Beneatha’s brother, is talking when Beneatha finishes his sentence, implying that she knows what isn’t expected for a women to be. Walter says, “I’m interested in you. Something wrong with that? Ain’t many girls who decide--” and they together finish by saying, “-- to be a doctor.”(Hansberry 36) Another example where gender affects jobs occurs in the play is when Ruth, Walter’s wife, returns from a doctor’s appointment and tells Lena, the head of the house and mother of Walter and Beneatha, that she met with a female doctor. Lena says, “ ‘She’ -- What doctor you went to?”(Hansberry 59) Seconds after Ruth mentions that she went to a doctor who wasn’t male, Lena was immediately suspicious and alarmed by this information. In the past, gender set many standards including what job the society expects you to take, not only the men judge but other women too. It’s just the world they grew up in; however, some of that negative …show more content…
During the Great Depression and times before that, women were supposed to act elegantly and carefully about everything, rarely were they suppose to go outside and run in the dirt. At an early age, young girls were granted some space to breathe up until the woman of the family decided it was time to grow up, like so in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The young girl, Scout, was living her life of fun with her brother, Jem, running outside and rolling in tires around the area, up until their Aunt Alexandra came to live with them and her brother started to grow up. One time, Jem got annoyed at Scout and yelled, “It’s time you start bein’ a girl and acting right.”(Lee 153) Later, when Aunt Alexandra came to live with them for a while, some of the first things she said were, “We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years before, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys--”(Lee 170). We can all see now that both sexes, male and female, at all ages know the basic ways of how women are ‘suppose’ to act, even though they might not want to. Scout, and other young girls, most likely, don’t want to grow up; young people deserve to have fun while they still have their young minds and bodies. The problem for how women are expected to act, and how they are
The Southern women were told and obligated, by some code of southern conduct, to mature into fair-smelling, perfect "ladies." By "ladies" they meant women who were well mannered, good at embroidery, and wore frilly, lacy dresses. One example of this southern tradition occurs when Aunt Alexandra comes to the Finch residence to help Atticus raise his children during the trial. When first arriving she says to Scout, "We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won't be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys." This comment implies that the only subjects girls are expected to understand are boys and clothes. Aunt Alexandra makes no mention of Jean Louise's intelligence, education, or personality. Her diction suggests that the only thing Jean Louise is capable of pursuing is her attire and a man. Scout discovers what a "southern lady" is as she notices how Aunt Alexandra "chose protective garments that drew up her bosom to giddy heights, pinched in her waist, flared out her rear, and managed to suggest that Aunt Alexandra's was once an hour-glass figure." Scout was considered to be very improper, wearing overalls and pants, but Aunt Alexandra would still try and introduce her to other ladies. I assume that she did this to try and influence Scout. She hoped Scout would form lady-like habits by watching others. Another example takes place after the trial, when Jem is appalled at the decision the court makes in response to Tom Robinson's case.
Throughout the book, readers are able to see Scout as being a tomboyish, little girl. For example, Aunt Alexandra does not approve of the way that Scout has been dressing. “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subjects of my attire… She said I wasn’t suppose to be doing things that required pants” (108). Aunt Alexandra seems to feel that a girl Scout’s age should not be wearing pants and overalls, but she should be wearing a dress. Aunt Alexandra also thinks that Scout should be staying inside doing woman like activities instead of playing outside with her brother and Dill. Someone else who thinks that Scout is tomboyish is Mrs. Dubose. “And you… what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole young lady” (135). Even though Mrs. Dubose grew up in a different time period, she still thinks that Scou...
Even though many social forces impact Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, gender impacts Scout the greatest. It affects her in how other people treat her. Unexpectedly, Aunt Alexandra shows up at the Finch household, and Scout asks why she had just shown up. Aunt Alexandra replies, “We decided that it would be good for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys” (127). After Alexandra says this, Scout becomes puzzled because she does not think she needs a “feminine influence”. But, as she becomes older she is expected to act more lady like. Since she is a girl, she is expected to act prim and proper. Her being raised around men is acting against these stereotypes. Certainly, it is obvious that boys are more daring than girls. So while Jem and Dill want to get a sneak peak inside of Boo Radley’s house, Scout gets a little apprehensive. Jem shouts out, “Scout I’m telling you for the last time shut your trap or go home. I declare to the lord you’re getting more like a girl every day,” (51-52). After Jem said this, she decides she has no option but to join them. She does...
Few have very strict and narrow definitions of what it means to be a lady, however; those who do appear extremely attached to the ideals and strive to maintain their image.There are many examples of this, although the most notable and influential to Scout has been Aunt Alexandra. Aunt Alexandra completely adheres to and advertises the highly ideal standard of a woman in the 1930’s. In the 1930’s the ‘ideal’ woman or the standard for it was extremely close minded as demonstrated by Aunt Alexandra’s very presence, Scout views her in a strict manner and says, “ Aunt Alexandra fitted into the world of Maycomb like a hand into a glove, but never into the world of Jem and me”(Lee 150). In the early stages of their living together, Scout resist the idea of giving up her masculine activities for a life like her Aunts. While Scout aims to reject her Aunt’s ideals Aunt Alexandra is the type of woman who understands that a woman’s image is always fragile because it is always in the hands of a man. Another woman in the novel that Scout resists for most of her early years is Calpurnia. Following Scout going to Calpurnia’s church, Scout begins to respect Calpurnia’s ways. Scout states “That Calpurnia had led a modest double life never dawned on me. The idea that she had a separate existence outside our household was a novel one”
The role of females in mainstream culture has grown significantly from the conservative and restricted characters of women in early nineteenth century media. Coupled with the influx of women into once male dominated fields such as medicine, the image of female success has continued to develop and become more prominent to this day. In modern day society however, several stereotypes surrounding both males and females within the medical field are still present in popular culture. In media concerned with the medical field such as television and cinematic works, the conventional image of a white, male surgeon along with his cast of female nurses and male physicians is seen often. Grey’s Anatomy
Beneatha wants women to have the same rights and the same expectations that men have. In the setting of A Raisin in the Sun, women are not expected to go to medical school and to become a doctor. If anything, they are “supposed to” become a nurse, or be a stay-at-home mom. Beneatha’s dreams to be a doctor often contradict what other people expect her to do with her life, but she doesn’t care what they say. She identifies as an anti-assimilationist, showed in A Raisin in the Sun when she says, “(Wheeling, passionately, sharply) I am not an assimilationist!”. She is accused of being an assimilationist by Asagai and passionately denies it. She thinks that being an African-American assimilationist would be an insult to her culture and thinks that African Americans should embrace their native culture. Her position on this matter often get in the way of her relationships with other people. This is shown in A Raisin in the Sun when George says “Oh dear, dear, dear! Here we go! A lecture on the African past! On our Great West African Heritage! In one second we will hear all about the great Ashanti sculpture of Bénin - and then some poetry in the Bantu - and the whole monologue will end with the word heritage! Let’s face it, baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch of raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts!”. George wants Beneatha to leave behind her heritage and embrace what Americans are doing. He wants her to abandon her family history and be an assimilationist. Beneatha is willing to fight against this mindset and this shows that she is willing to fight for what is right. Beneatha would much rather prefer to embrace her heritage and be proud that she is African rather than submit herself to American culture and leave behind her
The setting affects the character development of Scout as she faces the troubles of acting like a “girl” (4.41) because she dislikes acting in the ladylike manner that is expected of women in the 1950s. Furthermore, Scout fears that acting like a “girl” would lead Dill and Jem to stop interacting with her due to the feeling of the subtle
Prior to the feminist movement of the 1960s, women had to follow strict gender roles. Scout is a prime example of a female child struggling to fit these roles placed upon her by not only males in society, but women too. The moment Aunt Alexandra enters Maycomb, she places it upon herself to mould young Scout and Jem into their societal roles. Scout especially suffers a great deal of criticism and pressure from her Aunt to be the stereotypical girl;
Scout's narration and the character's dialog prove that Alexandra is characterized by her traditional values while Miss Maudie is characterized as a modern woman. The issues of gender roles are still a large part of society today and it affects a majority of adolescents because they feel the need to conform and ignore their individualism and that is why this novel is still relevant to society today.. The lessoned to be learned here is to be comfortable in one's own skin and don't listen to negative feedback if it is not constructive.
Sexism is not as common a topic in comparison to racism, but does play a role in the development of the novel. This type of discrimination is expressed towards women from men and women alike. Men feel compelled to protect women from unsightly things, (Lee 221), and the women in Maycomb have the mind set that, to be a lady, they must conform to society's expectations of them. They believe they must dress, act, and speak a certain way to appease the community. Aunt Alexandra is a big believer in acting the way society expects her to and attempts to impose these values on her niece, Scout, who becomes mortified, as she has always been a tomboy and prefers spending time in the dirt. “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my [Scout's] attire. She said I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed ...
When the ladies are at Atticus’s house for the missionary circle, Aunt Alexandra says, “Stay with us Jean Louise” (229). She is trying as hard as she can to make Scout more lady-like. Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to have an experience of what it is like to be a woman and to act like one. Scout mainly takes part in gossip, serving others, and does other perceived feminine activities in the society. These are some of the activities expected to be in a woman’s life during the novel’s time
Women are still expected to follow rules that society has set for them. Advertisements with unrealistic beauty standards are shown millions of times everyday. Women are still expected to stay at home and cook and clean while men go to work. Scout is a very brave girl who is not afraid to break the rules society has set for her. In every chapter, Scout shows the reader that she is not afraid to be herself.
The issue of gender inequality will never truly be solved in the United States. This arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically through hormonal differences, chromosomes, and brain structures. Gender inequality is defined as unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on gender. One of the reasons for gender inequality is income disparities. Another reason is because of the positions in the workplace. Thirdly, the reason is because of beliefs that one another has. For these reasons is why these situations should be examined to get to the root of the problem.
Here is an example from the play that shows a social issue of gender identity "WALTER: Somebody tell me – tell me, who decides which women is suppose to wear pearls in this world. I tell you I am a man – and I think my wife should wear some pearls in this world!" (Hansberry Act 3). In this play Walter is a man who is trying to provide for his family and at the same time be a husband to his wife Ruth. Walter works as a limousine driver and gets paid low salary. He struggles on a daily basis to buy the necessities of life, and Walter was not alone. He was followed by other African American men who had a family that they were trying to provide for. According to University of Texas press “Although research suggests that ownership affects both gender-based wage inequality and men's and women's relative employment opportunities (Taylor, 1979; Smith, 1976a, 1976b; Asher and Popkin,
According to “Boys and Girls”, there are certain things women should not be doing as defined by their genders. The narrator, a young girl, feels more inclined to spend her time outside alongside her father, “I worked willingly under his eyes, and with a feeling of pride.” She finds her place in a man’s world, outdoors in her father’s domain. While she is a female, she does not relate herself to the things of feminine nature. When her mother goes to speak with her father in the barn the narrator “felt my mother had no business down here,” admitting that it was a man’s world, and also her place, but not her mother’s. Her mother could not stand the idea of her daughter doing a man’s work, reminding her husband, “Wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you’ll have real help and then I can use her more in the house. It’s not like I had a girl in the family at all.” According to her mother’s definition of girls, a daughter, who spends all her time outside doing a son’s work, is not a daughter at all.