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Girl by jamaica kincaid literary analysis
Roles of women in our society
Girl by jamaica kincaid literary analysis
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In today’s society we have many people who are victims of gender and social discrimination, and Jamaica Kincaid has depicted a vivid example of inequality and imbalance in terms of gender in her short story named Girl. In addition, the author displays how females have to be equipped for household tasks, if they are not it will damage her social appearance. The author is showing the position of women, specifically that women are still carrying inferior titles in society and to get a good title they have to earn it. While, for men this does not exist, the author is displaying the double standard between men and women. Specifically, if a man has sex with the opposite gender it is not considered a big deal, however if a women does they become slut
Sexism is a highly talked about issue read about online, seen in the news, and experienced in the day to day lives of many. The importance of this issue can be found in many writings. Authors such as Sandra Cisneros, Linda Hasselstrom, and Judy Brady have all discussed the topic of sexism in writings and how they affected their lives. Although each writer addresses the issue of sexism, each author confronts a different type of sexism; the kind we are born into, the kind we learn growing up, and the kind that is accepted by society at the end of the day.
Did you know that according to a recent study, approximately one in ten girls have been victims of rape or forced sexual acts? In other words, women and girls are seen and reduced to their bodies, rather than human beings. Even girls are forced to be treated as objects, and are oppressed at a young age. This is an ongoing issue, as women across the globe are being objectified. This is also true in family life. Men treat women as if they were something that they have a right to own and use, which is toxic for both sides of the relationship. Linda Pastan, in her poem Marks, finds that instrumentality, denial of subjectivity, and ownership cause the narrator to rethink and reject her
The biggest irony of this book is not that the women described here fail, or remain at the bottom--sex discrimination within societal structure has already been doing that since the beginning of time. The most
They were able to open their viewer’s eyes to a world where women no longer have to be hesitant when stepping out of the shadow of a man. Unfortunately, the Pantene advertisement was entirely exclusive seeing that it ineffectively contributes the male’s perspective. Consumers were given scenes that fed into the victimized role of women in society, yet were not given the authentic standing point of a man, solely associating the negative stereotypes that were formed against them. Throughout Nancy Dowd’s article, “Towards a New Theory of Feminist Jurisprudence”, she argues that “men pay a price for privilege” (Dowd 58). In other words, they are held to standards in society to constitute the label of a “masculine” man. In society, masculinity is defined as a social construction of the male, a construction that is not simply attained biologically. Accordingly, the socialization of manhood must only be achieved through making heavy sacrifices, possessing masculine attributes and creating emotional, self-sufficient barriers. Dowd illustrates the two important pieces of masculinity which were “not [becoming] like a women and not [being] gay,” therefore forcing all men to be similarly situated with each other (62). In her article, Dowd made it evident that “certainly, it is indefensible to ignore the disadvantages and
Ariana Grande was interviewed over the summer after her break up with rapper, Big Sean. During the interview Grande talks about her past relationship with Big Sean and also talked about the double standard for women’s sexuality that is in place. She talked about the ideal double standard on how a man is glorified if he sleeps around and is encouraged to do so. However she found it frustrating that women who engage in sexual activity is seen as “loose” or even how women feel ashamed and/or embarrassed if and when they talk about sex. Her main argument in the interview was centered at that women should be able to make mindful choices when they decide to be intimate and sexual with their partner (Greer, 2015). Women should not focus
Sex and gender inequality is one of the many issues handled in this book. This has always been a social problem in America and other nations. Sex and gender are different terms, where sex refers to the biological difference between men and women while gender refers to the differences between females and males that the society constructs between the two. These inequalities therefore, are society-created where men and women are treated differently not because of what they can do but who they are. The author dedication to portrayal of America as a society that disregarded their rights is therefore, in an attempt to create a society with gender equity and equality where a woman and man will be treated equally in work stations and other public places. The physical characteristics of women and their position as child bearers gave the men a convenience to use, exploit people who were their sex mates, companions and guardians of their children.
When a woman sleeps with twenty guys she is a slut, when a guy sleeps with twenty girls, he is a hero. You cannot deny this sad but true fact. Men who sleep with many women are basically worshiped by their friends while women who are doing the same are regarded as sluts, whores, skanks, etc. You would think the ridicule would stop there but alas, women are also scrutinized by men for being virgins. They get called prude just because they do not let guys “get in their pants”. According to Marks and Fraley (2006) in The Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent Peer Acceptance, “the double standard is a cultural fiction reified by individuals who selectively attend to confirming evidence presented to them in the media or in conversations, but not personally endorsed by them.” (2009:146) Since the double standard has become more of a public concept woman have gone out of their way to prove that they are better than men, and can sleep with the same number of partners as they choose and not be a bad person; basically woman have used the double standard as a way to sleep with a multitude of people and feel little regret.
As the realization of women as an exploited group increases, the similarity of their position to that of racial and ethnic groups becomes more apparent. Women are born into their sexual identity and are easily distinguished by physical and cultural characteristics. In addition, women now identify that they are all sufferers of an ideology (sexism) that tries to justify their inferior treatment.
In the short story, “Girl,” the narrator describes certain tasks a woman should be responsible for based on the narrator’s culture, time period, and social standing. This story also reflects the coming of age of this girl, her transition into a lady, and shows the age gap between the mother and the daughter. The mother has certain beliefs that she is trying to pass to her daughter for her well-being, but the daughter is confused by this regimented life style. The author, Jamaica Kincaid, uses various tones to show a second person point of view and repetition to demonstrate what these responsibilities felt like, how she had to behave based on her social standing, and how to follow traditional customs.
...her girl’s reputations. When diminishing other girl’s reputations, girls also diminish the other girls self worth. The slut label is the most powerful tool used to shame another girl. It is said, “two out of five girls nationwide-42 percent- have had sexual rumors spread about them.” (Pg. xiv) This shows the dominant groups use of power through their knowledge of girls having to have a specific attitude and behavior. Men use slut-bashing to keep sexuality under control while women to undermine other women. Either or, the power of doing so governs many actions done by people.
In our society most men are likely to obtain higher paying jobs and are able to continue working even after becoming parents, whereas, majority of women obtain lower paying jobs and having to choose between being a parent and having a career. After reading the plays of Top Girls by Caryl Churchill and Hosanna by Michael Tremblay, I discovered that gender played a major role in how men and women are treated in society. The characters in these two plays challenges the gender norms, and therefore, I will argue that women are not treated equally in the workplace; that people who are of the queer community are considered to be inferior and less worthy of being accepted within the public sphere.
For this “Fight for Justice Assignment”, I decided to fight for the elimination of double standards in the society. As a society, we tend to overlook those issues that are so apparent in our everyday lives such as stereotyping of men and women. At an early age, children are taught to behave, and act in a certain way according to their genders. For example, males are expected to show aggression, toughness, competitiveness, and dominance in interpersonal relationships, whereas the females attribute to behaviours such as passivity, emotionality and subordination in interpersonal relationships. (Dunn) (What Society Does to Girls pg 10-11) Often we see that double standards come into play to bring those who have stepped outside their typical roles back inside their gender roles. Double standard is defined by the Oxford University Press as, “a rule or principle which is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups.” (Double Standard) With this being said, equality cannot be at its full potential with the existence of double standards hindering its growth. Double standards can be seen everywhere in relationships, businesses and even in advertisements.
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.
Women are still being abused, objectified, oppressed and discriminated against. Women still face discrimination in the workplace, earning a fraction of every dollar a man receives. They find themselves forced to choose between a professional life and a family, and judged for their choice regardless. Women also face discrimination based upon some perceptions of what they can and cannot do. Our exposure to gender roles by the media influence us in our daily lives, sometimes negatively. The third issue will include those individuals who deviate from the gender norms as we discuss the infamous “Bathroom
Waking up in the morning, looking in the mirror, I realize how much I care about what other people think of me even if I try not to. Judgement itself isn’t a bad thing because it helps us choose between right or wrong; good or evil; fair or unjust, but there is a branch of judgment that we could do without, discrimination. Discrimination is a poison killing whatever it touches; giving us false power over those around us. We all deal with discrimination, whether we are on the receiving end, or the cause. Nothing good ever comes from it, so why do we continue to be participants?