Have you ever heard the famous catch phrase: “A women needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” (Gloria Steinem)? This is not the case in Conception a book written by Kalisha Buckhanon. Conception is about a fifteen year old girl who is impregnated by a married man named Leroy. In the midst of the story we also meet Leroy’s wife Renelle, Shivana’s mother Annette, and her aunt Jewel. These main female characters are socialized to believe they need men and don’t recognize their own ability to provide for themselves. Renelle works to provide for her family, yet she relies on her deadbeat husband. She declares that she “thought about getting a second job but [she’s] pregnant and trying to finish nursing school and working full-time already” (Buckhanon 60). This shows her determination to provide for her family. Everyone knows Leroy doesn’t work, at least not honest work, Renelle even states that he “had been slinging a little rock—just on the side ‘cause [they] been wanting to buy a house” (60). Renelle always made excuses to justify Leroy’s actions. She would …show more content…
She often leaves situations where she is starting to make a life of her own, when she would have to provide for herself. The author writes “She had been to college, several actually, but she had never stayed long enough to earn any degrees” (53). She flees whenever the opportunity of a man comes her way, when in front of her she chooses to go for it without thinking of the repercussions. The author states, “The day Jewel graduated high school, she had run away from her family’s overcrowded Robert Taylor Homes apartment and into the arms of a hefty truck driver who promised to show her the Grand Canyon” (53). It seems after graduating, a time when most people are ready to become adults; she runs away form the responsibility. Jewel frequently sexualizes herself to pull
Perhaps the first thing one must consider is why there are increasing numbers of poor women having children out of wedlock. One explanation of this concept that Edin and Kefalas use is that the poor women view raising their own child as a sense of accomplishment. For instance, they explain “in the social world inhabited by poor women, a baby born into such conditions represents an opportunity to prove one 's worth.” (11.3). Essentially, the women of a low social class view their children as an opportunity for success. It represents a sense of hope and fulfillment that the mother feels when she has a child. Also, interestingly enough, women of a poor class viewed “marriage as a luxury” (11.2). There are also reasons that involve a sense of fear in control. For instance, Edin and Kefalas explain that “poor women do not want to marry until they are set… a young mother often fears marriage will mean a loss of control” (13.3). Essentially, a poor women who has a child
In Wade F. Horn’s article “Promoting Marriage as a Means of Promoting Fatherhood,” Horn discusses how having a child and being married is better for children because the father is more involved in the child’s life. Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas’s “Unmarried with Children,” on the other hand, takes the reader through Jen’s story about getting pregnant at a young age and deciding not to marry the father of her son. While both sources make appeals to emotion, reason, and character, Edin and Kefalas’s article makes more successful appeals and thus is the stronger argument.
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
The novel is set in a cultural background wherein women had every reasonable freedom to talk about their marriage and children, but could not carry on what they found it to be good and reasonable because they were restraint by social constructs. Women were bound to their husbands and children and religiously they were conditioned to lots of dos and don'ts. However, a critical look reveals that women were construed to be mere objects of amusement, possessions cared for and displayed. They were expected to be subordinated to their husbands and children (Wyatt, 1995).
Society has seen the male dynamic of superiority, designation as the “bread winner”, or head of household for centuries. Women were specifically assigned to the roles of wife, mother, and nurturer through the process of the sexual or gendered division of labor. However, that has not always been the case. Over centuries of change and shifts in economic development, the roles of women have changed to adapt to their specific roles in society. The status of the individuals in society was defined by sex, age, physical trai...
Lori was the first one to leave for New York City after graduation, later, Jeanette followed her and moved into her habitat with her. Jeanette promptly found a job as a reporter, the two sisters were both living their dream life away from their miserable parents. It wasn’t difficult for them since they cultured to be independent and tough. Everything was turning out great for them and decided to tell their younger siblings to move in with them, and they did. Jeanette was finally happy for once, enjoying the freedom she had and not having to be moved every two weeks. She then found a guy whom she married and accustomed her lifestyle. Furthermore, her parents still couldn’t have the funds for a household or to stay in stable occupation, so they decided to move in with Jeanette and her siblings. Jeanette at that moment felt like she was never going to have an ordinary life because her parents were going to shadow her.
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
Over the past three decades these ideals, although they are still recognizable, have been drastically modified across all social classes. Women have joined the paid labor force in great numbers stimulated both by economic need and a new belief in their capabilities and right to pursue opportunities. Americans in 1992 are far more likely than in earlier times to postpone marriage. Single parent families--typically consisting of a mother with no adult male and very often no other adult person present-have become common. Today at least half of all marriages end in divorce (Gembrowski 3). Most adults no longer believe that couples should stay married because divorce might harm their children. Of course, these contemporary realities have great consequential impact on mother-ch...
Just as girls are pushed into societal standards, a newly invented standard has been introduced for males in society, known as the “child-man” ethic. “Child Man in the Promised Land”, written by Kay S. Hymowitz, is an argument in which the author states that the “child-man” ethic is prevalent and harmful to society. Hymowitz explains this ethic using a variety of supporting evidences, and explains both the implications of the “child-man” ethic, as well as its effects on the next generation. The “child-man” ethic has many social and cultural implications, since this ethic has changed social implications from just 20-30 years ago. Back then, in a man’s late 20s, he was “married… met your wife in high school…you’ve already got one kid, with another
Often young women have these problems even though they have good values. The problem is they are not well informed.Parents don’t talk about this because “the girl is too young to learn about this themes”. This is a really sad mentality because unfortunately young girls are more in danger of a sexual abuse or have unprotected sex because they don’t realize the consequences of this action. So now we have to think. For example, If a poor person can’t support his or her family of 4 people. what would do the family if one of the girls has a baby?. The operation that the mother needs for giving birth and the medical assistance is too expensive. According to the author ,“many people received public assistance at some point, Those who worked usually in low-wage jobs made less than $10,000 in the years prior to the birth of the first child’’ . By focusing on what the author said we can assume that with some income you can support a little the birth of a child because the government is also helping you with medical assistance .But poor families that don’t work , and don’t qualify for this
The author indicates that along with positive feelings and thoughts about parenthood, there is a degree of anxiety about the changes this life experience will bring about. Chodorow (2003) also supports this concept of ambivalence. The author describes how a constellation of fantasies and defenses that are unconscious, can delay childbearing. Women, who use feminism or career-based reasons for delaying motherhood, do so based upon their psychic realities and the behaviors these realities have generated. Anxiety around uncertainty of roles, career delays, and how the quality of significant relationships in their lives will be affected by the arrival of a child, can unconsciously lead to a delay in preparing for motherhood (Wischmann, 2003). Women feel that the struggles they are experiencing with becoming a mother and those who may be hurt in the process (spouse and/or other family members) is their
As centuries pass by, generations also pass their traditional values to the next generation. some people still think the way their ancestors thought and believe in what they believed in. During the beginning of 1890 people couldn’t have premarital sex, women had to be the caretaker while men were the breadwinner. During this century, those perspectives have changed, argued Stephanie Coontz, the author of “The American Family”. Coontz believes women should have more freedom and there should be gender equality.
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.
Throughout history when a girl is born, it wasn’t received as a blessing. Many cultures see this as a curse. A girl’s anatomy seemed to be her destiny as Freud once said. A girl is born with the burden of being simply a woman. Betty Friedan experienced being a woman in the middle class suburbs of America. And although it did not discuss the struggles of all women, it did give us a glimpse of a particular group of women and their struggles as housewives and mothers. In the book, Friedan describes the injustices women faced when they were forced to go back home after the war. The short lived freedom of being able to achieve a college education and put it to good use was swept away from them. Forcing them back to their homes and hypnotizing them
Outline and assess the view that patriarchy is the main cause of gender inequality (40 marks)