Essays on Femaleness

Gloria E. Anzaldua, in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” uses language and the way it is used to forge and assert identity as a way to discuss the racial tensions that come from the strict binaries expected by society. While this extends chiefly to issues of white/non-white, particularly through the regulation hegemonic American society places on the languages spoken within it, there are issues of rich/poor, male/female, and others that are defined and asserted through language. In this respect, Anzaldua argues that ‘linguistic terrorism’ is often used by those in power to limit the speech and power of ...

Gender Difference and Complementarity according to Cloutier

Cloutier identifies the belief that men are superior to women because of cultural stereotypes. The cultural assumptions according to Cloutier could be drawn from the Bible where a woman was created as a helper. This implies that according to some beliefs, men and women are naturally different. Others according to Cloutier have the belief that the only reason why man needs woman’s help is for bearing children. However, as Cloutier argues, that the Western culture should no longer make people view women as inferior and created only for procreation. Since everyone is committed to the need for personal ...

Real men don’t want to be seen watching figure skating. While figure skating seems to have a dominantly female fan base, it is possible that many men may be watching the sport in the privacy of their homes (Moore). The typical audience at a figure skating event comprises of two-thirds female and only one-third male, a majority of who seem to have reluctantly accompanied their wives to the event. Men feign disinterest in this sport primarily because of the controversies associated with male figure skating fans. These controversies question the masculinity and sexuality of the men who participate ...

This paper attempts to answer the question “should queer theory be considered a theory for psychotherapy?” This paper takes the stand that queer theory must be considered a theory for psychotherapy.

Queer theory stemmed from the fields of women’s and queer studies in the early 1990s. This theory concentrates on mismatches between desire, gender and sex (Pinar, 1998). To a larger extent, this theory is associated with gay, lesbian and bisexual subjects. In the recent past, this theory has incorporated other areas such as gender corrective surgery, gender ambiguity, intersexuality and cross dressing (Pinar, 1998). As such, queer theory evaluates ...

This essay critically explores the claim that school is a significant site in which sex/gender is produced. The claim derives from a broadly social constructionist position, namely one that views sex/gender as being the product of social meanings and practices rather than something biologically given. The essay begins by outlining the social constructionist critique of the biological account of sex/gender. It then reviews recent research on gender and schooling to explore the extent to which the social meanings and practices that make up life in school may be seen as producing relational forms of masculinity and femininity. In exploring these issues, ...

In Kimberly Pierce’s 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, the true-life story of Brandon Teena (played by Oscar winner Hilary Swank), a transgendered man who attempts to pass for a biological man in rural Nebraska, is told. Over the course of the film, Brandon (born Teena Brandon) tries to fit in with a group of male friends he encounters, and continues to pose as a man in order to woo her friend Lana (played by Chloe Sevigny). However, by the end of the film, his friends find out about his anatomical femaleness and is raped and murdered by them. The film is commonly ...

The 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, directed by Kimberly Peirce, tells the story of transgendered man Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank, in an Oscar-winning performance), who was born Teena Brandon, a woman. In his attempts to ingratiate himself with his male friends and pursue a relationship with a girl named Lana (Chloe Sevigny), his anatomical differences are discovered, and he is raped and murdered by those same male friends. The film examines the concepts of homosexuality, transgender issues, and identity in a way that few major studio films typically do. However, Boys Don't Cry presents a remarkably gender-binary worldview for its subject matter, as Brandon ( ...

The 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, directed by Kimberly Peirce, tells the story of transgendered man Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank, in an Oscar-winning performance), who was born Teena Brandon, a woman. In his attempts to ingratiate himself with his male friends and pursue a relationship with a girl named Lana (Chloe Sevigny), his anatomical differences are discovered, and he is raped and murdered by those same male friends. The film examines the concepts of homosexuality, transgender issues, and identity in a way that few major studio films typically do. However, Boys Don't Cry presents a remarkably gender-binary worldview for its subject matter, as Brandon ( ...

Analysis of Orbach’s Statement

According to Susie Orbach, femaleness is an aspect that has been widely blown out of context by women (1). Women develop certain unrealistic approaches to the issues surrounding femaleness with aims of belonging into the feminine world. The social and psychological pressures have been on the increase amongst humanity. The desire to feel appreciated and noticed by the rest of the society has pushed many individuals to ignore the reality and instead pursue fantasies and self motivated objectives. While women are considered as the ones majorly affected by the complicit femaleness, men are also equally affected by the pressures ...