Misogyny is not the result of the physical state of womanhood; it is the product of the conventions that a society has established for how a woman should compose herself (Rey). These societal rules were created with the intent of perpetuating a patriarchal system in which women cannot express themselves freely. Misogyny is an attempt at enforcing these rules, and misogynistic behaviors can be performed by anyone. While The Gender Knot discusses how the limitation of female sexual expression and the enforcement of gender roles are forms of misogyny, “Girl” and “Mona Lisa Smile” indicate how these practices affect women.
Young, Iris Marion. Throwing Like a Girl-Breasted Experience: The Look and the Feeling. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1990.
There is no such thing as a less superior race or the other because even though we are created differently as man and woman, we are still created equally, of which we deserve to be given equal opportunities in order to attain our full competence as human beings. In time, with the growing feminist movements striving for gender equality, women will no longer be seen and treated as the weaker gender and being a man will no longer be the norm anymore. Society will learn to accept how women are created with their own set of capabilities and their contributions as both men and women are needed in society because characteristics that are lacking in men are said to be present in women and vice a versa. We need one another as we are created for a purpose to complement one another and to continue on improving society for the better.
Historically, power has been manifested hierarchically within the social training of genders. Simone De Beauvoir’s concept of ‘otherness’ has theorized how individuals’ personal manifestations of self are influenced deeply by their social position and the available power to them within these circumstances (2000:145). She remains one of the first to develop a feminist philosophy of women. In her book The Second Sex (1950), Beauvoir provides “a philosophical account of the development of patriarchal society and the condition of women within it” (Oliver, 1997:160). Beauvoir’s fundamental initial analysis begins by asking, “what is woman” and concludes woman is “other” and always defined in relation to man (Beauvoir, 2000:145). “He is the Subject,
In terms of Crawley’s argument of illegitimacy when it comes to the construction and idealizing of gendered norms, which she personally counteracts with butchness, Simone De Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” (1949) supports the idea that we create what men and women value. Beauvoir looks at gender not as a natural occurrence, but rather the normalization and expectations related to female bodies; women should be feminine and adapt to physical responsibility different from men.
Beauty, how do we define it? Why is beauty so important among us? These are some of the questions that will be discussed in this paper, leaving a clear understanding of what “beauty” is and the many qualities which define “beauty”. We are regularly challenged with “beauty”, trying to define what it is and what it’s supposed to be, who is and who is not, and what is and what is not?
Throughout history, woman’s self has been Other in discourse, literature, and doctrine. She has been designated this position in the world by those who hold social power. This dichotomy is maintained under a hierarchy that serves to benefit men. I will be attempting to support Beauvoir’s idea of the self as Other under a patriarchal society by looking at statements from philosophers and myths, as well as identifying shortcomings she may have.
Sarwer, D. B., Grossbart, T. A., & Didie, E. R. (2003). Beauty and society. Seminars in
know beauty in any form”(86). We are so conditioned to see female beauty as what men
Iris Marion Young’s essay “Throwing Like a Girl” examines the unique causes and characteristics of feminine bodily comportment. This examination requires Young to create her own applicable definition of femininity using the elements of Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of feminism and Merleau-Ponty’s theory of phenomenology that she agrees with. However, she must also alter and discard the elements of their theories that she disagrees with. The resulting definition of femininity includes both the societal constructions that define a woman’s situation as well as how women typically react to and interact with that situation.
Her chief arguing points and evidence relate to the constriction of female sexuality in comparison to male sexuality; women’s economic and political roles; women’s access to power, agency, and land; the cultural roles of women in shaping their society; and, finally, contemporary ideology about women. For her, the change in privacy and public life in the Renaissance escalated the modern division of the sexes, thus firmly making the woman into a beautiful
I identify as human because another human said I was one. That human was told she was human by another human who was told she was a human by the human who gave birth to her. With that in mind, it seems arbitrary for a human to define what a human is, mainly because the umbrella of humanity is diverse phenotypically, genetically, and culturally. Alas, the wide ambiguous definition of “human” is perplexing for the species that decided it was their duty to define everything on the planet. Out of desperation and ignorance, people resort to distorting the definition to what individuals know best-their own reflection. Historically, those in power decide which interpretation are given more weight than others. Some examples of this duality are seen
For predominantly Catholic languages, French and Italian, they call men “beautiful without it having a feminine connotation. However, Protestant shaped countries retain evidence of “a pagan admiration for beauty” (314). The English language defines a man as being handsome, giving him room for imperfection and flaws. Men grasp the word “beauty” and use it to pit women against each other with certain remarks and comments. Turning a word that used to mean excellence into an obligation of constant worry and struggle, makes women fear what will become of their reputation as a woman if this is standard is not held to its highest.
In this essay, I will give an overview of Iris Marion Young’s Throwing Like a Girl and by using the examples provided by Young, set out the main argument of her essay. Then I will explain the application of Young’s ideas with Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of embodiment followed by explaining the difference between her ideas and Simone de Beauvoir’s rejection of a “feminine essence.” Lastly, I will give reasons in favor of Young’s position. Young argues that that “throwing like a girl” has no relation to a “feminine essence” but is rather due to women’s situation of being conditioned by their actions in a patriarchal and sexist society.
Why is a woman “the other” of a man? The term “the other” describes the female’s secondary position, to a man, in her own mind and in society’s standards. In The Second Sex, by Simone de Beauvoir, the understanding of reality is made up of interaction between opposing forces. For an individual to define oneself and have a true understanding, s/he must also define something in opposition. “[A]t the moment when man asserts himself as subject and free being, the idea of the Other arises,” says de Beauvoir. Throughout history, men claim themselves to be the subject or the superior to women. A man sees a woman as the object to his success. She is essential in sexual pleasure and in producing children, but as an independent she has no substantial value. A woman completes her partner when she, herself, isn’t complete. This idea leads women to hesitate in following their own dreams and asserting their freedom. Even though this imbalance is closer in modern times, the situation is still present. Society accepts “roles” a man and a woman should play, when in reality everyone should ...