Good Example Of Essay On Gender And Discriminations

In the modern world, several activists have called upon different stakeholders to ensure equality is maintained between the two genders. A lot of caution is taken in most sectors to ensure that both genders are presented with equal opportunities in any endeavor. This is very different from what the practice was some years back. Traditionally, men were considered to be superior to women. Such discrimination saw women reduced to objects whose purpose was to ensure men lived happily. To overcome these traditional myths, women have struggled hard to air their views. One of the ways they have aired their views is through writing feminism stories that motivate other women to fight harder.
The female man is a science fiction story in which the author addresses the issue of feminism in the society. The author’s essence was to disclose how women have been mistreated by men who use women as objects in order to fulfill their desires. Throughout the ancient times, man has been considered as the superior gender among the two. Russ, a feminist during her time, openly challenged the sexist views where women were underrated. She did this through writing short stories, novels and other non-fiction works to effectively empower the women in the society. In The Female Man, Russ writes about four different women who had different lives. These women lived in different places and time. However, due to fate, the women manage to cross to each other’s world. This unites them as they share their views on womanhood in the society. Important to note is the fact that the women have different opinions on the gender roles women should engage. The women have different notions and versions of how a woman should behave in the society. After such an interaction when they were together, the women manage to evaluate how they lived. The experiences they shared together, as a result of the interactions, played a crucial role in shaping their ideas on what to be a woman meant. The story is purely feministic as it aims to empower women to discover that they are equal to men. It also gives them the necessary motivation for them to fight for their rights in the society, rather than living under the shadows of men.
On a similar note, the Handmaid’s Tale is a personal narrative from Offred, who was being mistreated in the Republic of Gilead. The story addresses several issues such as freedom and gender discrimination in the society. Similar to the contemporary society, the women in the story were so much discriminated upon as they were seen as objects of sex. In the story, women have limited freedom as they are controlled by men in everything they do: “Offred was not allowed tomove out of the compound freely without being accompanied by the queen.” (Atwood, 16) Their role is reduced to being child bearing and working in the kitchen in order to satisfy the men. In the Republic of Gilead, Handmaids take the role of satisfying the needs of men. Offred is used as a sex tool by the commander after the commander fails to get a child with his wife. This is publicly supported by the commander’s wife, further explaining the extent to which the women are mistreated in the society. When as a result of their affair they fail to get a child, Serena, the commander’s wife suggests to Offred to have sex with Nick secretly in order to give the commander a child. This further illustrates how women are perceived as humans without morals and their rights are abused. The story, however, offers insight into the Mayday affair, where the women are determined to break the history of the mistreatments and salvage themselves. The story is a perfect example of how the women in the society are mishandled and mistreated in the name of promoting male supremacy. The two stories are a reflection of what happens in the society, whereby women are considered to be inferior to men. As such, they are always not respected and in most cases they end up becoming victims of abuses from the men in the societies.
The female man was written during the 1970s. This was a period when the feminist movements were rising in order to save the face of the women in the society and advocate for gender equality. The women in the story are depicted as doing everything within their reach in order to retain their identity and demonstrate that they are equal to men. The analysis of the four women provides that they consider themselves as being special and against the society’s perception towards women. The women have different ideas and opinions on what being a woman takes to be. The sole reason is because they are raised in different environments, where gender roles are construed differently. A good example of this is by taking into consideration Jeannine’s assertions. When the four women enter each other’s worlds and start discussing on issues that affect women generally, Jeannine is of the opinion that the marriage is the only institution that can validate the existence of a woman: “In order to be relevant in the modern world, it is important to find a man” (Russ, 32). Her argument is that without being married, women cannot be respected in the society. Finding a good husband and bearing children for him is perhaps the only means through which a woman can gain respect in the society.
This belief was held by people in the ancient times. Some communities in the modern world still think that marriage is the only institution that can justify a woman’s living in this world. This is a wrong perception since the marriage institution, in most cases, gives more power and control to the men, hence promoting the discrimination directed towards women. In the modern day, gender equality has been preached in order to attain some form of respect to both genders. Though this is the case, some communities still exhibit high levels of gender discriminations.
While Jeannie is of the opinion that the marriage is the only institution that can validate the essence of women living in the world, Janet is of a different opinion. In the world of Janet, men are absent; hence women rule themselves. Being the only gender in Janet’s world, Janet envisages a world in which all humans are equal, and all are accorded equal opportunities without any of them being discriminated: “I don’t see a reason as to why they should be treated with more dignity” (Russ, 21). Janet is of the opinion that the society should be just without any member being discriminated on the basis of their gender. This is as a result of the societal construes and the norm that she has always found herself. As a matter of fact, Janet finds it difficult to imagine of a world in which the women are treated as being inferior and the men being superior. Her take is the perfect example of the struggles that women undergo in order to attain freedom and be considered as being equal in the society.
In the modern society, women have been discriminated upon in a number of occasions and several fields. As already argued most male chauvinist societies see women as sex tools and playing a subordinate role to men. However, this practice is being overcome with time, as women have stood clear and struggled to attain their freedoms. In the employment sector, for instances, most industries have considered offering equal opportunities to both women and men, depending on their qualifications. This point to the time when discrimination based on a person’s gender will be done away with completely.
The third woman to give her perspective on the issue of gender and discrimination in the society was Joanna. Through her experiences, she is determined to become a strong individual in the society that sees women relegated to inferior positions. In order to achieve her goals, Joanna is of the opinion that she ought to develop masculine characteristics and become a strong woman in every sense. She argues that this is the only way through which she can be seen as an equal to the men in the society. Her story shows the negative methods that women in the society have adopted in order to compete with the men who are chauvinist. By adopting masculine characteristics, there is no doubt that Joanna accepts the fact that the men are superior and that in order to be equal to them, one has to be as muscular as them: “I intend to have some masculine characteristics in order to be equal to them” (Russ, 22). Equality in gender cannot be promoted by the physical appearance of a person. Accepting the fact that all genders are equal and that they should be granted equal opportunities and treatment are important in order to appreciate women in the society. Jael is of the opinion that all men should be eliminated from the society. This is for the reason that she is constantly in war with the men, to the extent that she believes that, through eliminating men, equality will be found. The experiences that the women give in the novel explain how the women are ill treated in the society. Janet, for instance, believes in life where active sex is the only route through equaling men.
As another measure to control the women in the society, the women are deprived off various basic rights, the result of which is to make them seem inferior when compared to the men (Atwood, 21). For instance, they are deprived off their right to vote. Depriving them this chance, means that the women cannot take part in electing their leaders, the only means through which they can voice their grievances. Such a violation of the basic rights of humans demeans the worth of the women, making them seem inferior to the men.
The women in The Handmaid’s Tale were not allowed to hold property. Ownership of the property in the community was exclusively done by men. Depriving them off this opportunity to own property explains the measures that the men put in place in order to mistreat the women. By not owning any property, it was inevitable that the women had to depend on the men for their food and upkeep. This action subjects the women as the inferior gender. Their independence was further curtailed by the fact that they were not allowed to read and were fully expected to be submissive to their husbands and other men in the society. It was feared that if the women were allowed to read and become independent, they would become subversive. Such independence, if granted to the women, would see them undermine the state and their husbands. This treatment of women in the society was inhumane and geared towards portraying them as the weak gender.
Donna Haraway seeks to address the issues of the discrimination that women face in the society through her book: simians, cyborgs and women. Unlike her counterparts, she uses science fiction to highlight how modern science and technology relates to gender. According to Haraaway, the society is constructed in such a way that the roles of each gender are spelled out. As a result of this, pleasure boundaries that each gender is allocated is defined. Through exploring the scientific aspects, Haraaway exposes how the male gender has been treated with higher dignity when compared to the female gender. Cyborgs have a tendency to transcend biological boundaries. Universalism is an aspect that she ignores to a large extent. In order to promote equality within the society, Haraaway proposes that patriarchy should be avoided. To a large extent, Haraaway plays a crucial role in motivating women to rise up in arms and fight for their rights in order to be considered equals to men.
Scientific Racism and the Invention f the Homosexual Body is a chapter that addresses the connection between sex and race. Somerville argues that there is a link between the two. According to him, homosexuality is as a result of abnormality in the human beings. In determining a person’s sexual orientation, the factor of race plays a very significant role. Somerville’s definition of homosexuality is controversial. According to him, homosexuality is ‘the model of a female soul in a male body.’ To a large extent, Somerville does not address gender issues and plays an insignificant role in mobilizing women to fight for their rights. His core ambition was to relate race and sexuality by giving their history.