Analysis Of If I Were A Man By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

One place in time we can take a look at to highlight the struggle of the female in a man’s world is best when females were just starting to get their voices heard. The period of time that I am talking about is in the early 1900’s, just before women were granted the right to vote. At this point in time there was an incredible buildup of feminist voice taking place which would eventually be recognized by the Federal government. One of the voices in particular that accurately depicts what it was like to be a woman in this time period was an author named Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Her story “If I Were a Man” picks out all of the elements in life that would have imposed on a female’s life. By taking hold of her husband’s brain and walking in a ‘males’

One of the most important skills that a women has to learn, “to fit in with society,” is how to dress and put make-up on. If a woman is looked at and thought of as too boring in appearance she will have a much harder time making friends and finding a sexual partner. Even going as far as finding a job, women have to be conscientious of the way they look and present themselves. A recent study, “designed and executed by researchers at Harvard University, Boston University, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute found that women wearing more make-up were judged to be more competent than those wearing less or no make-up (career intelligence).” In addition to the latter, elements that affect how women are perceived by others, those same elements deeply effect how women, especially younger women, view themselves. The way women are “supposed to look” are “presentenced in almost all forms of popular media.” Most of the images portrayed in the media are setting unrealistic standards of what the “ideal body” looks like (Westminster). Having unrealistic standards, like what might be printed on a magazine cover, or viewed on television, can have serious psychological impacts on its targeted consumers. Nonetheless, contrasting the above to what Charolettes character Mollie in “If I Were a Man,” shows the same female concern for body image and dress. The first instance we see in the story of fashion influencing women’s lives

Even though woman technically have the same legal right as men, the quality of their life is still dependent upon the way they look. Dress is certainly a means women are still effected by, but, on the other hand, a females financial standing is another component affecting their quality of life.

The second issue that is highlighted in “If I Were a Man” is the object of money. Shortly after Mollie makes the transition into her husband’s body one of the first things made most apparent is the inclusion of pockets with the male dress. Women at this time commonly wore dresses which did not have pockets. Furthermore, in those pockets were many things, which were “instantly get-at-able, ready to meet for emergencies.” The reader can easily not that out of the interest she had for the assortment of things – “keys, pencils, letters, and documents.” money, was the greatest joy to possess. Even though women were being granted suffrage at this point in time their numbers were still no that high in the U.S. labor force. Statistics show that in 1890 there were about five times as many male workers in the labor force as compared to women (rand). This story was written 24 years after those statistics but numbers still did not change significantly from 1890 to