Comic strips, comic books and graphic novels are getting more and more popular nowadays. However, reading comic books is not an extremely new type of contemporary literature as its antecedents were created in the late 19th century. Particularly, the form which is considered and described today as a comic book is, in fact, a typical 20th century genre. Though, as it was mentioned above, it is widely popular again all over the world, therefore, it is not an exeggeration to say that comic books are typically 21th century genres as well. For the reason of becoming an interdisciplinary branch of literary studies, comic books, comic strips and graphic novels are the subects of analysis, consequently, more and more critics, reviews, and analyses are published, especially in universities where analyzing comics is regarded as an interdisciplinary 'science'.
Comic books, comic strips and graphic novels can be examined from various point of views jus as every other types of literary things. From these critical point of views, one of the most interdisciplinary school of criticism is the gender point of view.
Gender, as defined in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, is “the fact of being male or female, especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences, not differences in biology.” (OALD 2013) Gender studies itself is a particularly new field of academic studies including women's studies, men's studies, and queer studies as well concerning sexism, feminism, gender identity, etc, however, gender studies is frequently and only regarded as an academic field that covers feminism, women's rights and equal opportunity but the reality is that gender studies is an absolutely diverse acaemic field, which not only takes feminity into cosideration but also masculinity concerning men's studies or sexual orientation, gender identity concerning queer or LGBT
Throughout time, women in movies and other similar texts are shown to be generally focused on men. This might make sense if every movie ever made was set in a time where women had absolutely no rights but of course, that is not the case. Older and more modern depictions of women in media, both show women whose lives revolve around men. Even movies that market their female characters as strong and powerful are still shown to be dependent on the male leads and puts them first. Also, since women in movies have more of a focus on men, female to female relationships suffer in the same films. There are very few exceptions to this unfortunate truth.
Gender, what is the exact meaning of this world in society. When people speak of gender in their conversation, it is most likely a way to distinguish if one’s a male or female. According to Merriam-Webster, gender is describe as a state of being male or female. The importance of the definition offered by Merriam-Webster is the part, “state of being.” Anyone in their own culture/society can define themselves as male or female, with no influence from biological parts. Gender issues have developed into a controversial topic but how did gender history come about? The topic of gender in historical terms could not have started without women, who were discontent about their representation in history, which were none. Green and Troup organized their chapter about Gender History into 4 different topic, explaining the significance of gender in history and analyzing problems in certain research methods.
Enter into any café on the UCSC campus for a prolonged period of time and you are likely to hear the words “gender is a social construct”. Initially you’ll think to yourself, “what a load of granola” this is an expected reaction because for most people the concept of “gender” is natural. Its not until you are able to see how the idea of gender is constructed from physiological differences between males and females as discussed by researcher Miller AE and his team of scientists. Or how men possess great privilege because of gender roles, and women are seen as objects, that you will truly be able to understand that gender is nothing but a social contract. Authors Gloria Anzaldúa, Marjane Satrapi, and Virginia Woolf discuss in their novels Borderlands,
In the article The Problem with Female Superheroes, journalist Cindi May discusses the findings from a research conducted by Hillary Pennell and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz. This study demonstrated the negative effects of the hypersexualisation of female characters on women. The effects included reinforcing traditional views on gender roles, increasing negative views of
The word gender refers to a general classification of human beings into male and female with socially and culturally constructed characteristics, behaviors, attributes and roles preconceived and labelled as appropriate for each class. The society and culture today have placed human beings in a box which to a large extent dictates how we act in the world.
In our media, women are objectified, hypersexualized, or shamed, which both reflects and conditionalized the prevailing hegemony and standards of our society. It exists to be seen by men, or subordinate women, continuing the existence of a mindset which many believe, or would like to believe, has dissipated through out the years to no longer be socially relevant, but on the contrary, has become the basis of media and the perception of our society today. Various archetypes of the portrayals of females include patriarchal subordination, the deadly “female fatal”, and stereotypical ethnic representations. These portrayals have dealt a great deal of damage to both men and women in society, where today, we are faced with how to address and transcend
Gender is not about the biological differences between men and women but rather the behavioral, cultural and psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Gender is socially constructed meaning it 's culturally specific, it 's learned and shared through gender socialization. What it means to be a woman or man is going to differ based on the culture, geographical location, and time. What it meant to be a woman in the US in the 19th century is different than what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. As cultures evolve over time so are the ideals of what it means to be man or woman.
Gender is deeply embedded into our society. It is pretty much at every level; it is something complex that goes far beyond just being a male or female. Gender impacts what occupations individuals have access to do, what type of activities they can and can’t do and even what colors they can and cannot wear. As mentioned by Catherine G. Valentine, in The Prism of Gender, society has taught us that a real woman is feminine; a real man is masculine and heterosexual; and any deviation is unacceptable and unnatural (3). Therefore, we live in a society that is binary, and has taught us that there are only two acceptable genders, male and female, and as a result everything is shaped by that idea. Nonetheless, like stated by Kate Bornstein in Gender
Gender is something that is done. People everyday do actions that define whether they are “masculine” or “feminine”, which helps them define who they are. So therefore in society, there are unsaid gender roles. Gender roles are the stereotypical behaviors that have been carried down for many years. For my “Gender in America” class, the other students and I were told to go into the the “real world” and to watch and observe different gender roles and actions take place in a public setting. Our goals were to see how one acts “masculine” or “feminine” and if gender roles are heavily practiced today. For my “real world” experience I went to a shopping mall. I thought this would be a good place to observe gender roles because of the very popular
"I am the wretch created by your beloved Elizabeth," cried the vaguely female wretch. "Elizabeth has passed the limits of the human realm and in her feverish pursuit of the essential knowledge of the world she has spawned the being that you now see before you!"
America, the country which is bonded happily by capitalism and which stresses the importance of freedom and pursuit of happiness is not as unified as most authors would agree it is. If one looks closely towards the nation, and how the various communities differ from one another, one would possible be able to assert that this country is not all uniformed. Much of the differences in identity rely on the social class and historic factors. Having equality amongst the gender has been one of the major issues that define differences. The struggles minorities and women have faced because of their oppressive social system has created the notion of feminism.
The term ‘gender’ was coined by John Money in 1955: “Gender is used to signify all those things that a person says or does to disclose himself/herself as having the status of a boy or man, girl or woman, respectively” (Coleman and Money, 1991, 13). In sociological terms, gender is a division between men and women which is clear in society throughout the past - for example, in Ancient Egypt with the idea that there was little point in teaching women to read and write. Gender inequalities can be seen throughout many different aspects of our daily lives – from the gender pay gap, to gender discrimination in television adverts.
While the terms “gender” and “sex” are often used interchangeably, the two words have significantly different definitions. One could argue that sex refers to biological essentialism and the idea that we are who we are because of our genetic material. On the other hand, gender is associated with the social constructionist theory, which argues that the way we are is dependent on our race, class, and sexuality. Because each person is different in their race, class, and sexuality, their gender becomes socially constructed. To argue that gender is not socially constructed would be to say that all people, for example, that are biologically female have the same goals. However, this cannot be true because within the sphere of being female, that individual person varies from the next in their race, class, and/or sexuality, each of which affect their goals and perspectives differently from their sister, friend, and neighbor. One’s gender identity refers to his or her perception of self as a male or female, as well as being masculine or feminine. Because masculinity and femininity are fluid, rather than static, they are dependent on the perspective of the beholder. A person’s perspective is often influenced by their surroundings as well as values with which they were raised, both of which are never identical between two people. Race, class, and sexuality are the underlying factors that influence perspectives and values, thus differentiating the understanding and portrayal of gender identity from one person to another.
Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variations between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genitals, body hair and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, these are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003). Gender on the other hand refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This is teaching males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image they will be referred to as a tomboy. On the other hand, boys show their masculinity through aggression, physical strength...
...interpret for them. The term gender is a little sexist because it associates sex with social status. As for me I think that gender is a little out dated. Sex is a sufficient enough classification to separate men, women, and the people who are confused about what they are. Works Cited “The meaning of gender” by Jacquelyn B. James, retrieved on June, 04,2003 from http://www.radcliffe.edu/quarterly/199804/meanings_gender.html “Transexuality…a small prime for the confused but sympathetic person” by Janis Cortese retrieved on June 04, 2003 from http://www.io.com/~wwwave/sxlty.cgi Transgender Inclusion–The Widening Field by Jack Drescher, MD, retrieved on June, 04,2003 from http://www.haworthpressinc.com/store/Toc/J236v06n02_TOC.pdf”Gender Issues” by Theresa D. Balayon, retrieved on June, 04,2003 from http://www.teenfad.ph/library/fadsource/gender.htm