Anna Quindlen's 'Between The Sexes, A Great Divide'

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What is otherness? Otherness is defined as “the quality or fact of being different”. We see this term thrown around, but what does it really mean? In the world we live in today, being viewed as “other” is considered a negative aspect of a person's personality. Through the society that impacts how we see ourselves, the thought of otherness has been constructed based off of a person's social identity. In the essay “Between the Sexes, a Great Divide” author Anna Quindlen states that different genders should not define the social aspect of one another. Similarly, in Paul Theroux’s essay titled, “Being a Man” he acknowledges the fact that in the society we live in, “being a man” is a standard stereotype that men should not compare themselves to in order to be considered “manly”. Both authors identify the problem of gender expectations that results from otherness; however, while theroux makes the divide worse by generalizing with a bitter tone, Quindlen invites everyone to “do the dance” despite the discomfort and awkwardness that might occur between both genders.
As society holds expectations that they believe certain people should live up …show more content…

In her essay “Between the Sexes, a Great Divide”, Quindlen introduces her argument by using a school dance as an example of the division between sexes. She explains how during school dances, there is a divide on the dance floor between both genders which creates a sense of discomfort. Quindlen continues to address how different genders think of each other as “others” but that we try to not believe that there are no others in society. This thought of being an other has accumulated a more negative outlook in the eyes of our society because over the course of human history as it is seen as being symbols of “divinity, evil, carnal degeneration, perfect love, fertility and death…” (Quindlen

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