Analysis Of Femininity And Sexuality Of Women Within The Patriarchy

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Femininity and Sexuality of Women within the Patriarchy When examining femininity, one notes that it is constantly being altered and shaped by the beliefs of those who participate within the patriarchy. There seems to be a set standard on how women should display their femininity, and boundaries that should not be crossed. Although many people believe that women are reclaiming both their sexuality and femininity, I feel as though that hasn’t been totally possible. I believe that the surveillance of women’s bodies can prevent them from reclaiming their sexuality and femininity or encourages them to regain it. Seeing femininity as a social construct is important in understanding how it is controlled and shaped by society. This concept is …show more content…

In the text, Bartky states that “women’s space is not a field in which her bodily intentionality can be freely realized but an enclosure in which she feels herself positioned and by which she is confined” (Bartky 97). Women are not allowed to comport themselves in comfortable manners; instead they are forced to watch their body language and how they may present themselves to other people. The example that she uses is the Marianne Wex project, where she documented the differences in men and women’s bodily posture. Women made “themselves small, narrow and harmless; they seem tense, they take up little space” (ibid). I agree with this idea, because I exhibit this behavior every day when I ride the train to school. I force myself to become as small as possible so that I am not bothering other people, or present myself as an open target. However, I find that this behavior essentially limits my presence in an open space, because I am becoming a part of the background, rather than standing out. I also find that my mother and friends also advise me to be well mannered and demure, which further encourages the notion that a woman has to minimize her presence and maximize her “ladylikeness”. I am discouraged from reclaiming my sexuality because it will alienate me from other women in my society, which can lead to a lack of acceptance and assimilation. Society is not comfortable with the idea

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