Womens and Genders Studies Essay

Submitted By Sarahdurrer
Words: 836
Pages: 4
Open Document
Essay topic 1B

Sarah Durrer
100889288
Women’s and Gender Studies-1808 B
Dr. Debra Graham
Yamikani
Women’s and Gender Studies- B02
December 3rd, 2012

Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is critical of the gender injustices of the 19th century. The story revolves around Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five unmarried daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia. The main interest of Mrs. Bennet’s life is to see that all five of her daughters marry, preferably to wealthy men. Throughout the novel it is evident that women are disempowered and live in the shadow of men. Even though both men and women have gender expectations, women are restricted, dependent and controlled due to their expectations, where as men have more control and freedom. Through the courtships of the five daughters, it becomes evident to the reader what the role of an ideal woman is. A woman who can sing, dance, play a musical instrument, sew and have other artistic abilities along with being very modest and agreeable is the perfect lady. A woman was expected to be passive, marry early, bear children and support her husband whenever needed. Women only received education for preparation of their social life and, were only to marry for financial security. A woman must act a certain way to be respected. These expectations made woman conform. “ A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner or walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved (Austen 35).” Miss Bingley said this, the fact that she is a woman and said this statement proves that not only do women not have free will but also they support the conformity. Austen juxtaposes the ideal women and Miss Bingley to show whom the ideal women really is. This makes the reader realize the sexism that takes place in the novel, and favor characters such as Elizabeth who is a leader for feminist notions. Likewise to woman, men had certain expectations they had to live up to. Unlike women, the role of men in society provided them with freedom and authority. The Bennet family consists of daughters and no sons. This is a problem, because if Mr. Bennet were to die, all of his money and possessions would be passed along to a male cousin in the family. This is why Miss Bennet focuses on marrying off her daughters to wealthy men. When interacting with men the daughters learn that they are expected to bow their heads, a sign of submission, and at balls they learn that they are to keep a certain distance from their partners during dances. Men are the dominant and independent. When Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth he is rejected. Mr. Collins believes that Elizabeth is just playing hard to get, men are not used to hearing the word no from women, as they are inferior to men and not equal. This is why a man has options of whom he wants to marry but a woman must accept her first suitor. Throughout class discussion I found that, the purpose of Elizabeth turning down the proposal was to show that
Show More

Related Documents: Womens and Genders Studies Essay

Women And Gender Studies

Kaelyn Stiving WGS 280 12/9/2014 Autobiographical Final Essay Throughout this Women and Gender Studies course I have learned, in depth, about various topics that have affected my life in one way or another. Our society has created this image where we women are seen more as walking objects than as equal human beings. This idea is portrayed in many articles and books that we have read throughout this class, some of which have really hit home for me. Growing up as a white girl I have encountered…

Words 1549 - Pages 7

Gender Differences In Lung Cancer

the high awareness of breast cancer risks, women appear to be unconscious of their high lung cancer threats. The poor prognosis for lung cancer prompts comparative patterns to breast cancer occurrence and mortalities worldwide. Previously, Lung cancer was considered as a threat influencing just men, however recent epidemiological data have demonstrated a sensational increment of the frequency of this malignant disease among women decreasing the gender gap incidents since the 1980s, predominantly…

Words 1461 - Pages 6

Essay on Men are from Mars

Men and women are genetically made different. With those differences, men and women have their own mating instincts that are gender-specific that have essentially evolved causing both men and woman to be successful when it comes to reproduction. Men and women may both view love differently. The researchers of the relationship study were testing the hypothesis that “women and men would differ in what they wanted and/or received from their romantic partners.” The researchers had the following five…

Words 783 - Pages 4

Attractiveness In Childhood: A Formal Analysis

Given all of the information above, one might wonder if there are aspects of emotional expressiveness in childhood that might differ between the genders. A meta-analytic review by Chaplin and Aldao analyzed 555 effect sizes from 166 studies with a total of 21,709 participants. (14). In this review it was found that girls tended to show more positive emotions and internalizing emotions such as sadness, anxiety, and sympathy, while boys showed more externalizing emotions such as anger (14). These differences…

Words 1410 - Pages 6

Gender Stereotypes Paper

The sex segregation of the U.S. labor force is a perplexing and tenacious problem in our society and is caused by gender role expectations of what men should do and what women should do in a professional context. When women enter a career field that is normally viewed as a man’s job she has to behave in a manner that conforms to existing male behavioral norms in that position. Such as female police officers (often called policewomen), who must emphasize being professional, dedicated, aggressive,…

Words 1300 - Pages 6

Gender Differences In Biological Research

Men and women have differences in their human biology, these differences can cause the genders to experience events differently. Pain is experienced by both genders and the differences in biology have cause people to question whether there is a difference in how genders experience pain. This is mainly surrounding the idea of which is worse, childbirth or a kick in the balls. Research in this topic is vast and have concluded that genders do suffer pain differently. The biological difference however…

Words 978 - Pages 4

Women's Roles In Colonial America

history relied on women’s history to examine the lives of women and the roles and influence they had on society as individuals and as groups. During the 1960s, it was critical for historians to understand the ways in which women were included as well as excluded from political changes and social transformations. At this time, on the campuses of colleges and universities across the nation, there was a rallying cry to incorporate Women’s Studies courses in the curriculum as well as establishing departments…

Words 1414 - Pages 6

Displaying Gender Essay

Is gender determined by nature or nurture? While there have been strong arguments for both sides, I tend to lean towards the idea that it is a combination of both. Gender stereotyping begins before a baby is even born. Male babies are thought to behave one way and female babies another. With this already ingrained stereotyping it is seems nearly impossible to say which behavior is actually biological and which are nurtured through beliefs about gender. When looking closely at most aspects of sex…

Words 1252 - Pages 6

Emotion Focused Coping

The socialization hypothesis suggests that the impact of gender on the stress process could be conditioned by traditional socialization patterns. The traditional female gender role prescribes dependence, affiliation with others, emotional expressiveness, little assertiveness, and the subordination of one’s own needs to those of others. On the other hand, the traditional male gender role prescribes attributes such as autonomy, self-confidence, assertiveness, rationality…

Words 1758 - Pages 8

Gender Roles Of Aggression Essay

Gender differences on aggressiveness are often misunderstood. People often develop stereotypes of gender roles in aggression. Aggression can be defined in numerous ways. There are also various types of aggression, such as physical and psychological aggression. Psychologists define aggression as a behavior intended to inflict harm or injury upon someone or something (Kassin, 2011, p. 438). Many people often attribute greater aggressiveness to men than to women. People commonly perceive greater aggression…

Words 1384 - Pages 6