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More handpicked essays just for you.
Social media's effects on self esteem and image
Gender equality in modern life
Female and male roles in today society
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Recommended: Social media's effects on self esteem and image
Gender differences have always existed, since the birth of humans. Through the ages, females are usually weak in comparison to males. As Tanne said,” There Is no Unmarked Women.” It means each of the women have to make decisions about hair. clothing, make up, and accessories, and each decision carries meaning. Why are there no unmarked women? Because most females are affected by a male’s judgment even if the males do not know who she is. Therefore, I strongly agree with Tannen’s idea that there are no unmarked women, but women should have their own right to choose to be marked or not.
Tannen was born in Brooklyn, New York, and received her PhD in linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley and teaches at Georgetown university.
More and more attention from people are forcing women to care about their appearance. On the other hand, males are adopting that they are unmarked. Regularly, males do not care about their style of dressing. Some of them just do not tidy their unruly hair. In addition, I will form an opinion based on female’s dresses. For example, when I was walking around the street and shopping mall, I will unconsciously observe women who were passing by me. I had not realized this before I read this paragraph by Tannen. Even, females will pay more attention on women’s dresses. By the way, I went to the writing center before. There is a tutor told me her own experience. She thinks she is lucky that her mother did not teach her how to make up when she was young. Because of that, she does not need to wake up early in order to have enough time to do the makeup things. She feels happy and comfortable to show her real face. Therefore, there is the gender inequality about women on instinct that makes women are not able to choose to be marked or not even though women are more willing not to make up.
Tannen further states the title of women’s jobs. Especially, people will add “ess” and “ette” to mark words as “female.” “Alfre Woodard, who was an Oscar nominee for best supporting “actress” worry about eye-lashes and cellulite, and women who are actors worry about the characters we are playing” (142). It is kind of shows the situation that females are facing in their work place. People has less trust in women’s ability which hurts female’s feeling and confidence. On the other hand, Tannen further points out the
Women are told that in order to get anywhere in life they must constantly worry about their outer appearance. In Jennifer Weiner’s article, “When Can Women Stop Trying to Look Perfect?” she delves deeply into how today’s society women’s worth is based on how they look. Weiner believes that women who do not meet the standards of beauty do not have as many opportunities.
The media was all over the change in society and came out saying how the style was more comfortable compared to the cumbersome and restrictive style before (8). An anonymous person states this about the change in the past, “revealing clothing and visible cosmetics worn by young women were the cause, or at least a consequence, of this new conception of female sexuality” (qtd. in Cleve 2). Another anonymous person states, “They feel that beauty is not incompatible with modesty.” (qtd.
In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.
In “Marked Woman, Unmarked Men”, Deborah Tannen argues many points about how women are targeted based on their style choices, such as makeup, clothing and hair, as well as their last names, and titles they choose to take on. Tannen argues her stance when she says, “Each of the women at the conference had to make decisions about hair, clothing, makeup and accessories…. Men can choose styles that are marked, but they don 't have to… . Unlike the women, they had the option of being unmarked.” here you can clearly see that Tannen is illustrating her point by showing the difference in how men are looked at compared to women. She clearly believes that men don’t have to take their style, and lack of makeup, into consideration. In other words, this is a perfect representation of her argument in “Marked Women, Unmarked Men”
The exterior influences of society affect a woman’s autonomy, forcing her to conform to other’s expectations; however, once confident she creates her own
Even today, despite much debate, we live in a patriarchal society—we live in a world ruled by men and their thoughts, feelings and ideals. Women are a large part of a man’s life, and there are standards and inferences made about them. Berger explains man’s view of its counterpart through art. The earliest depiction of nudity is in art surrounds the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In the tale, Eve is pictured as a temptress and because of her rebellion against God; she is a lesser being. This is what kicked off the prejudice against the female race. The discrimination reflected in society by the roles women are given in the world. They are objects owned by men. Women are expected to clean, bake, cook and please their men in anyway possible. They do not hold jobs; their job is to obey and dote on their husbands. Women are passive members in art, so they become ...
Women in today’s society seem to be having a very difficult time expressing themselves without dealing with lots of criticism. Common values are standing in the way of women’s drive toward molding themselves into whatever they desire. Our culture has made standards about how should women look, act, and conduct themselves that greatly limits what they can do, and still gain respect. Martin S. Fiebert and Mark W. Meyer state that, “[there are] more negative [gender] stereotypes for men than for women.” This idea doesn’t seem to have a great amount of validity in our present society. Society set certain standards that men are supposed to live up to such as strength and confidence, which are more behavioral characteristics. Women seem to be more trapped than men by societies standards because they are supposed to live up to standards dealing with beauty and size, which are more physical characteristics These specific guidelines have been set by society that are sometimes unattainable for a majority of women. The women that follow the specific criteria are greatly respected, and the ones that try and be innovative usually are criticized if not disliked.
Offred and a friend of hers were walking outside one day, saw a group of tourists and thought about how “[she] used to dress like [the tourists]” (Atwood 28). The tourists were wearing clothing and makeup such as skirts above their knees and red lipstick. Offred and her friend were fascinated and envious of these women. They couldn’t imagine themselves wearing clothes like the tourist were wearing. Even though they couldn’t imagine themselves wearing those type of clothes and makeup, they used to wear it in their past. Offred remembered herself going to the laundromat and putting “[her] own clothes, [her] own soap, [and her] own money” into the machines and “having such control” over what she used to do (Atwood 24). She doesn’t have that control over her life anymore. Some women, such as Aunt Lydia, feels that she should be grateful that she doesn’t have to do those things anymore. They feel that Offred is complaining about something that is actually a good thing. Society brainwashes these women into thinking that not having that kind of freedom is a good thing. Society also makes women think that they are just good for having children and sex. Therefore, women lose self-esteem because of the pressure that they are faced with on a daily basis. For example, in the story, Offred has low self-esteem. She “[avoids] looking at her body, not so much because it 's shameful or immodest but because [she doesn’t]
The clusters of social definitions used to identify persons by gender are collectively known as “femininity” and “masculinity.” Masculine characteristics are used to identify persons as males, while feminine ones are used as signifiers for femaleness. People use femininity or masculinity to claim and communicate their membership in their assigned, or chosen, sex or gender. Others recognize our sex or gender more on the basis of these characteristics than on the basis of sex characteristics, which are usually largely covered by clothing in daily life.
Sexy, attractive, dependent, traditional…successful, smart, determined, independent; why must a woman choose, why can they not be a woman of all these characteristics? Dalbey and duCille explain how women are objectified starting at a young age of playing with dolls and attending pageants. This objectification continues into advertisements, Kilbourne, Bailey, and Powers all argue why women are portrayed as objects of sex which ultimately dehumanizes women. The reliance on a man is a constant issue women are faced with, along with the notion that men are to be the breadwinners. What if a single woman making half a million dollars as a doctor is out buying a new vehicle; does a dealer have the right to ask “shouldn’t you ask a man permission
She also says that “[men have] the option of being unmarked” by simply choosing to wear the expected clothing and displaying the standard hair style (88). Tannen is incorrect in this statement because women have the option of being unmarked as well. For example, by simply following standard business attire for women (typically suit/blazer, skirt/pants), they can choose to be unmarked. As for hairstyle, having a long (around shoulder length) hair length is the unmarked case for women, but this would be marked as different if a man had such a hairstyle. For example, there were two young men in my Boy Scout troop who let their hair grow out past their shoulders. If they were girls, this difference would have been overlooked, but since they were men, this sent a message, and most of the other youth marked them as unusual. A woman with long hair is seen as the standard, unmarked case, a man with long hair is not. Just as Tannen says that “Men can choose styles that are marked, but they don’t have to” women also can choose to be unmarked
In Deborah Tannen’s “Marked Woman, Unmarked Men” she illustrates how she believes the way women carry themselves are more looked upon then the way a man does. When it comes to women they had to take what they look like into consideration and each decision that the woman has made, carried a meaning. Men have to make decisions as well, however their decisions are not as notable as woman. I support Tannen’s argument about women being marked. Woman are marked by what they wear to who they marry. Nonetheless, I do believe both genders are marked in some kind of way. Men are marked, just not to the extent as woman are. And when they are marked it is not as open and discussed. When Tannen did include men into her argument she made her observation
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.
Women have a shorter head, broader face, less protruding chin, shorter legs, and longer trunk. However, women also have a larger stomach, kidneys, liver, and appendix, and smaller lungs than men. This shows the different structures between men and women. This being said shows that women are marked because their bodies go through more changes than men bodies do. One change that women go through would be carrying a baby for 9 months and during that period of time her body changes shape and form. The spine is binding due to the baby being in her stomach and the position where the baby is laying. People have marked women due to the fact of all the things women go through and well as expected to live through all the pain and struggle. During high temperatures women can
Masculinity and femininity are two terms, which have been interpreted differently throughout history. Both the males and the females have responsibilities and duties but these duties differ based on one’s gender. Gender has played a prodigious role in the economy, politics, and the society. Everyone starts making interpretations of the strengths and weaknesses based on one’s gender. These interpretations are not always based on his or her ability but is usually based on his or her gender. Males tend to be judged as extremely strong and unfashionable in terms of appearance. Whereas, females are judged as expensive and very fashionable. Males and females both differ in their abilities and their enjoyments. Fashion, entertainment, and strength are three topics, which are used to define masculinity and femininity in the 21st century.