Men have dictated how society perceives the female body for centuries. Women’s bodies are often put down by the patriarchy in order to maintain male dominance. Menstruation is one of the aspects of the female body that is considered defective. Although menstruation is a natural part of the reproductive system and should be considered sacred and divine, men have determined that periods are taboo and dirty. Due to this, women have been taught to keep their periods secret. Because menstruation is rarely talked about, young adolescent girls are often terrified of getting their first period. Women are also criticized for experiencing PMS and are told that they are inadequate to perform well in society all to ensure patriarchal rule. The way that …show more content…
In the documentary, Red Moon, Diana Fabianova interviews different men on the street about their thoughts on menstruation. When asked what menstruation is many men either laughed, walked away, or responded who crude remarks like, “it’s a terrible disease” and “it’s a bloody thing.” The way men perceive menstruation ultimately dictates how women feel about their bodies and their periods. The technocratic model of the female body, adopted by society, tells women that their bodies are defective machines. It tells women that the way their bodies work is wrong and that menstruation is wrong. In Red Moon, Dr. Eisimar Coutinho states that menstruation is unnatural and useless because it can lead to diseases and because women don’t need to menstruate to attract men. He argues that the belief that menstruation is sacred and a part of femininity is a fault that needs to be reconsidered because menstruation is not beneficial to women or men. The notion that periods are unnatural and unfeminine because they do nothing to please the male gaze is ridiculous and reaffirms to women that they are subordinate to men. Women are taught that their periods are …show more content…
There are over 150 symptoms attributed to PMS and over 80% of women suffer either physically or psychologically from these symptoms. However, despite how many women suffer from PMS, it is rarely talked about and there is little research as to why these symptoms occur. Because women are taught to hide their periods, they are also taught to hide the pain that they are going through. If a woman does not hide her symptoms, she is often criticized and told she is inefficient in the work force. This notion of women being unfit in the workforce due to their periods has been around since women became more prominent in education. With increasing female access to education and jobs, studies were produced showing that periods negatively effected women and that because of them they would not be able to handle the rigor of higher education or work. The studies ultimately advocated that a women’s place was at the home away from any sort of power because she was too unfit to handle it. A study done by Alice Dan however, disproved this notion. She measured mood every single day in men and women. Her results showed that over two months, the women’s and men’s moods were just as equally variable but women were better at predicting when their moods were going to be more negative. The false studies on PMS were ultimately a way for the patriarchy to keep their power over females and had absolutely no
Even Though women have revolutionized themselves in relation to the world many other aspects of society have not. This phenomenon, originally coined by Arielle Hochschild in her book The Second Shift, is known as the stalled revolution. In essence while female culture has shifted male culture has not. This has created an unequal, unfair and oppressive atmosphere for women across the nation. The title of Hochschild's book tells it all. The second shift refers to the second shift of work women are and have been burdened with at home. Although they have made enormous leaps within the economy and workforce their gender roles at home and within society remain the same. Male culture and their ideas of female gender roles have not progressed. As a result needs of females have not been met. Working mothers today work more than any other demographic, a rough estimate of this comes out to be a whole extra month of work consisting of twenty four hour work days.
...ver been written to show why so many woman go crazy, especially farmers' wives, who live lonely, monotonous lives. A husband of the kind described that he could not account for his wife's having gone insane – 'for,' said he, "to my certain knowledge she has hardly left her kitchen and bedroom in 30 years" (60). Critic Sharon Felton says, "Even if we should remove every legal and political discrimination against women; even if we should accept their true dignity and power as a sex; so long as their universal business is private housework they remain, industrially, at the level of private domestic land labor and economically a non productive, dependent class . The wonder is not that so many women break down, but so few" (273). Critic Sharon Felton "Even if we should remove every legal and political discrimination against women; even if we should accept their true dignity and power as a sex; so long as their universal business is private housework they remain, industrially, at the level of private domestic hand labor and economically a non productive, dependent class ….The wonder is not that so many women break down, but so few."(273)
Throughout history, women have always aimed for a recognized place in society. Centuries ago, people looked at the role of women in society as being sociologically inferior. Seeing the revival of the Feminist movement, which boldly opposes the stereotypical characteristics of women in society, on one hand, and promotes the elevation of women's status in society, on the other, one would not find it hard to believe the drastic differences in opinion of people on this issue. What is amazing is how these differences reflect upon scholarly works in science.
Mensch, B.S., Ibrahim, B.L., Lee, S.M. and El-Gibaly. O. (2003) “Gender-role attitudes among Egyptian adolescents.” Studies in Family Planning 34(1): 8-18.
Karin Martin (1998) discusses how our bodies are gendered at young ages in her exploration of how bodily differences are constructed in preschool. Martin’s research (1998) shows the differences between the two genders that we make, even at such young ages. Our bodies are gendered in social institutions and these differences create a context for social relations in which differences confirm inequalities of power (Martin, 1998). As we get older our bodies continue to be gendered, with reference to body hair; women are taught to remove their body hair to be feminine. Christina Hope (1982) argues that this misogynistic idea, comes from the societies ideals about the different sexes. She says that American society depicts men and women as polar opposites, and therefore women removing their body hair keeps them feminine as it is a masculine trait to have body hair (Hope, 1982). Hope (1982) also explains that American cultural has the tendency to group women with non-adults, and men with adults. She argues that a woman naturally grows body hair during or after puberty, and the removal of it may be “feminine” but it is also “childlike” (Hope 1982). Women’s hair removal products are often advertised with terms like “baby soft”, reinforcing this idea that a feminine woman is much like a child. These idea’s are all a part of the western world’s culture,
Menstruation is the monthly passing of blood, tissue, fluid, and mucus. It is also known as a period. Your body is shedding the lining of the uterus. The flow of blood usually occurs during 3–7 consecutive days each month. Hormones control the menstrual cycle. Hormones are a chemical substance produced by endocrine glands in the body to regulate different bodily functions.
Women throughout time have been compelled to cope with the remonstrances of motherhood along with society’s anticipations
Suppression, inadequacy and plain mistreatment describe what it is like to be a woman living in a strict patriarchal society. No matter how strict this
Introduction The topic of gender differences must understandably be approached with caution in our modern world. Emotionally charged and fraught with ideas about political correctness, gender can be a difficult subject to address, particularly when discussed in correlation to behavior and social behavior. Throughout history, many people have strove to understand what makes men and women different. Until the modern era, this topic was generally left up to religious leaders and philosophers to discuss. However, with the acquisition of more specialized medical knowledge of human physiology and the advent of anthropology, we now know a great deal more about gender differences than at any other point in history.
The novel Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, written by Isabel Quintero, portrays the extreme pressure women from traditional/cultural households encounter in order to be seen as “picture perfect.” Women have to be and act accordingly to the expectations of their family and community in order to be respected and valued as a “lady.” One mistake is all it takes to become known as “a mala mujer” which is why women are anticipated to protect their body as they would their life.
‘Boys will be boys’, a phrase coined to exonerate the entire male sex of loathsome acts past, present, and potential. But what about the female sex, if females act out of turn they are deemed ‘unladylike’ or something of the sort and scolded. This double standard for men and women dates back as far as the first civilizations and exists only because it is allowed to, because it is taught. Gender roles and cues are instilled in children far prior to any knowledge of the anatomy of the sexes. This knowledge is learned socially, culturally, it is not innate. And these characteristics can vary when the environment one is raised in differs from the norm. Child rearing and cultural factors play a large role in how individuals act and see themselves.
Women are living in a patriarchal society which contributes to gender inequality. It dominates most of the institutions of society like; religion, the family politics, and the work place. The International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences describes patriarchy as a social structural phenomenon in which males have the privilege of dominance over females, both visibly and subliminally. The value of women is often reduced to the role of Trophies, housekeepers and reproductive tools. “Because the subordination of women to men is a feature in the majority of all societies, patriarchy is often argued to be due to biology, such as women’s principal role in childbearing.”(Darity) Patriarchy is the cultural norm of many societies so it is seen as natural. “Bloodchild” challenges how natural the role is by reversing the roles and showing a parasitic male pregnancy.
Depression is most common in women. The rates are twice as high as they are in men. According to the National Mental Health Association, about one in every eight women will develop depression at some point during her lifetime. Women’s symptoms are similar to major depression. Some of them include being in a depressed mood, loss of interest in activities you used to like, feelings of guilt and hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts or recurrent thought of death. Women tend to blame themselves, feel anxious and scared, and avoid conflicts at all costs. They also use food, friends, and love to self-medicate. Some causes of depression in women are premenstrual problems, pregnancy and inf...
She tells of the risks involved in marriage, the possibility of being essentially sold off to some monster, the dangers of child birth, and the shame should a woman be unable to conceive and then be returned to her family. Within this she speaks of how women’s fears and wants are seen as frivols and vain. Women’s fears and desires are often mocked and ridiculed today as well. Women complaining about catcalling are told they are ungrateful and should be glad to receive compliments, even though these “compliments” are often unwanted advances that cause women to fear sexual violence and that they are merely objects. It’s also not uncommon for people to ridicule women for complaining about pregnancy, even though it is a long, uncomfortable, painful and sometimes dangerous term that permanently change a woman’s
middle of paper ... ... women know and think that if they don’t act or behave to their expectations they will. looked down upon and possibly neglected by their family and society. To avoid losing friends and family, most male and female, construct their own role in their life.