A Perfectly Imperfect Decision Gender socialization, the process by which one is taught the expected behavior assigned to them because of their sex, despite being critiqued as ‘natural’, are influenced through many different agents. Parents, the first and most prominent agents in this process, began this socialization from birth. Everything from the color choices of clothes, toys, and even level of intimacy displayed for girls over boys, all attest to these notions. Emma Jean Peace, rebels against these ‘normality’s’ after the birth of her seventh child Perfect, who Emma Jean decides to secretly raise as a girl despite being born a boy. If parents have the right to instill, teach and raise their child based on their own personal convictions …show more content…
A wife and church member are two quintessential factors that share “the blame” in Emma Jean’s decision to raise her baby boy as a girl. The time period that the novel is set in is the early 1900’s, when patriarchy and gender roles were more heavily indoctrinated into society. Gus, Emma Jean’s husband, encompasses a traditional father. Despite Gus being hardworking, and instilling a highly commendable work ethic in all six of his sons, Gus neglects ‘motherly duties’ like changing diapers and being intimate and affectionate with his children. Does fatherhood extend only to physical labor and …show more content…
Because Emma Jean is willing to do anything for Mae Hellen’s approval she rejects a personal invitation from her biological father Claude Lovejoy, to go with him and get to know him and his family. Love-Joy, the last name she inherits from her father, is also the very same thing she would’ve got had she accepted his invitation. Instead she has her mother’s last name “Hurt", which logically explains why Emma Jean ultimately decides to dictate her child’s gender herself, regardless of his sex. How can readers not understand Emma Jean, when the intent of her idea never stemmed from a malicious place but to simply seek fulfillment and give the life she always wanted, to someone else? The blame can not also be indicative to Emma Jean alone. Had Gus been a holistically involved parent, he would have KNOWN that his “Perfect” was a son too, and maybe had the church been fulfilling their assignment, Emma Jean’s healing and deliverance would’ve come a little sooner. By not being healed from her own childhood abuse, Emma Jean’s internal and unresolved hurt prove that she cannot be held responsible for her current psychological well
A single moment, a single movement, a single protest against the system is the first step to finding change. For every parent that says “leave my child intact”, it would be one day closer to a time when it will be socially appalling to cosmetically alter an infant child who is incapable of consent or comprehension. The fluidity, complexity, and ambiguity of human sexuality extends far beyond sexual preference and onward into gender and sex. Accepting that some things will never fit within a textbook definition, and celebrating difference rather than condemning it, would fulfil the dream of many minds such as Fausto-Sterling and Butler as well as the author. Only time and individuals that dare to reject the flawed system can ease the binds of ignorance that tie society so tightly to an outdated Victorian mindset of sex and gender.
Emma's arrogance shines through when she brags that she is exceptionally skillful at matching couples. She believes that she is in control of fate and must play matchmaker in order for couples to discover their true love. Austen confirms, "The real evils indeed of Emma's situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself" (Austen 1). Although Emma is so spoiled and overbearing, she truly doesn't realize this fact.
Aaron Devor digs into society’s opinions on sex and gender. He sets up a basic description of what it means to identify oneself in today’s world by gender and mentions how it plays a part in how someone’s future might unfold. A female must learn to care for children, do laundry, and cook a meal before her husband returns home from a hard day’s work. Those gender roles meant nothing as Devor explained how a child determines their own gender as they grow older.
Gender socialization between boys and girls have been a topic of controversy for years. With views varying from supportive to disproving, one general consensus can be drawn from either side: gender socialization is the foundation of how children are brought up and is the primary reason for how boys and girls view the world in different ways. In Michael Lewis’s “Buy That Little Girl an Ice Cream Cone”, the reader is given personal anecdotes about Lewis’s family vacation trip to Bermuda, followed by an event that shaped the way he viewed both his two young daughters and the socialization of parents towards their children. Society’s differentiation between how boys and girls should act and behave is the main indication that children are socialized
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Emma's personality is largely shaped by the nature of her upbringing. Emma had no motherly figure guiding her as she grew up, due to the fact that her mother passed away at a young age, and her governess, Miss Taylor, became her best friend instead of an authority over her. At the start of the novel Miss Taylor gets married to Mr. Weston, leaving Emma with her despondent and hypochondriac father, Mr. Woodhouse. Although Mr. Woodhouse often confines Emma to the house because of his paranoia of her being harmed, he gives her little guidance. Emma becomes accustomed to being the "princess" of her house, and she applies this role to all of her social interactions, as she develops the ability to manipulate people and control them to advance her own goals. Emma views herself with the highest regard, and feels competition and annoyance with those who threaten her position. Emma has much resentment toward Mrs. Elton, as Mrs. Elton becomes a parody for Emma's mistakes and interactions. Mrs. Elton's attachment to Jane Fairfax is much like Emma's attachment to Harriet Smith; both Mrs. Elton and Emma attach themselves to young women and try to raise their...
It has long been debated whether there is a difference between sex and gender, and if so, what that difference is. In recent years it has been suggested that sex is a purely biological term, and gender is socially constructed, or defined and enforced by society. Sex is assigned at birth based on the genitalia, and usually, gender is determined by the sex. If parents are told their baby is a girl, they will reinforce traditional female stereotypes for her whole life. Society and peers will also help to reinforce her gender as she begins to spend more time outside of her immediate family. In this way, gender is a process, whereas sex is simply a static characteristic based on one’s physical appearance. The more dynamic process of gendering, however, defines “man” and “woman,” teaches one to see and internalize what is expected from one’s gender, and to act according to those expectations (Lorber 2006).
A father ultimate role is to maintain structure in his household. However, in the One Hundred Years of Solitude the role of patriarchy has reverse int...
The feminine society functions to a great extent around the child rearing process. As a women's rightist writer, Gilman furnishes an another expectation about women and their functions during her time. She exhibits her admiration towards women because of their independency of men. Gilman creates a means of equality to the men and at times conveys a theme of being superior to the men. In contrast to the world where the men came from, they feel weak compared to the women of Herland. The women are conveyed as kinder and smarter than the men, as determined by the narrator. The women are smart by means of surviving when they are cut off from the rest of the world (Johnston 55-59).Her utopian thoughts requires readers to place it within the context of her life’s work in order to achieve maximal understanding. For instance, “The Yellow Wallpaper” delineates a dystopian underside of “Herland”. “The Yellow Wallpaper “ is essential reading for anyone wishing to comprehend the historical realities in which “Herland” was written (Kessler
Gender is not a biological fact but a social construct. However, so many assumptions have been made in the attempt to define the terms gender and sex that society often defines gender as being solely male and female. The female sex has traditionally been oppressed due to inferences on physical and mental constraints that male-dominated society has imposed. As with culture, gender socialization begins with birth and the family structure, though many believe that specific events also have a great influence on the boundaries of gender. It has been suggested, for example, that schooling and education systems have a large responsibility in the formation of gender divisions. Gender differences have confronted society since the first peoples, and though progress has been made to level the playing field, men still receive more opportunities in education, the workforce, politics and other wide-scale arenas than do women. In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Jane is an example of a woman oppressed, yet she finds ways to break free of that which confines her. The family structure and our school systems are two of the first places children learn about themselves. If they do not grant equal opportunity for men and women, it will be impossible to create a just and gender-equal society.
The quote "A single woman with a very narrow income must be a ridiculous, disagreeable old maid! the proper sport of boys and girls; but a single woman of good fortune is always respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as any body else!" embodies a central theme of wealth and its effect on marriage and status, especially in regards to women, throughout Emma. In the novel, a person's financial status greatly determines their social standing in a hierarchical society. Wealth and ancestry determine the way people are viewed and who they can marry. Emma illustrates the huge significance placed on social status in nineteenth century England. Even further, it demonstrates this sexist idea that women are inferior and dependent. Women could
I chose the gender socialization theory because of things that were mentioned in the video by a couple of the individuals. With the theory of gender socialization, you have such behaviors and attitudes that contribute to an individual’s role in the family. The family will function like any other family regardless of gender. You usually have parents and children when talking about families. Some families you have single mother households, two father and/or two mother households and the “tradition” father and mother households. Some households have the mother as the head of household, which means she is the one that has a high paying job and because of the job it brings in most of their income. Traditionally it has always been the man who is
As soon as a child is born a sort of social conditioning begins. The child whether a boy or a girl will end up being taught many different sets of behaviours and how they should act. A boy is taught things such as sports, how to be complete and self reliant. He is also taught to be strong; such as when you get hurt to not cry, as society expects boys to not cry. Boys are also taught not to show emotions in anyway and to not show anyone how they feel or to not give the correct answer if asked how they feel. Boys are taught that this is the masculine gender role, and since this is how boys are expected to act, then this is the only way boys should act. Apparently this is how boys become men. Girls on the other hand are taught many different behaviours. They are taught house keeping and how to cooperate with and please others. Girls are also taught to be soft; if someone falls down they are expected to comfort them and make them feel better. Girls are also expected to be emotional because it is part of their nature. Girls are taught that these are expected from a girl and that this is the only way to act. If there is sort of a mismatch between what somebody wants and what society expects them to do then there may be difficulties. If there is only a minor or small mismatch, society may accept that particular person, and may be able to cope with this reasonably well. If there is a major or large mismatch between what the person wants to do or act and what society expects, then society may not accept this person and there may be severe emotional trauma.
In the novel, Emma, Austen introduced her audience to a new idea of patriarchy. While she is known to satirize society for the “faulty education of female children, limited expectations for girls and women, and the perils of the marriage market” (“Austen, Jane”). Austen expresses the irony of the men of her patriarchal society and proposes the ideal gentleman in Mr. Knightley. In Emma, Austen moves away from “a traditional idea of 'natural' male supremacy towards a 'modern' notion of gender equity” (Marsh). Jane Austen is a revolutionary in the way she transforms the idea of Nineteenth Century patriarchy by not “reinforcing the traditional gender stereotypes” (Rosenbury) but instead challenging the status quo. While her characters still hold some ties to traditional ideals, Austen proves to be ahead of her time, influencing the way gender is regarded today.
Toys are a key factor when it comes to gender socialization. Children are given toys based on their gender for most of their childhood. For this assignment, I went into an average Wal-Mart to analyze the differences between various toys and their respective aisles. One large factor in any toy section layout is the infamous “pink aisle,” taking its name from the bright shades of pink on most of the packaging. This is where a large majority of the “girl” toys are shelved. These toys, hardly deviating from perhaps a handful of brands and characters, typically fall under some category that teaches caregiving. The caregiving ranges from caring for a Barbie, to caring for a pink pony. Occasionally, one may find a plastic oven to break up the uniformity. Upon leaving this aisle, one will