When we think about the word “other”, we may think of something or someone other than ourselves. However, the term “other” may have a much deeper meaning for many people. To one person it may not hold much weight, but to another, it may hold the weight of all history for a particular race, gender, religion, and more. The idea of the “other” manifests itself in many forms, some of them being homophobia, racism, and sexism. Throughout history, there has been evidence of an “us vs. them” mentality, evident in many historical events. For example, the Nazis vs the Jews in World War II, or the Union vs the Confederacy in the Civil War. By examining works by Hans Massaquoi, Bridget Anderson, and Simone de Beauvoir, we can analyze why this happens …show more content…
Anderson’s work examines immigrants seeking asylum, focusing on contemporary issues. De Beauvoir focuses on women and the construction of gender roles within a society. They also have very different core themes and arguments. Massaquoi deals with the issue of race and identity when faced with being different from your peers. Anderson focuses on immigration and how social and political constructs can be used to dehumanize immigrants. De Beauvoir tackles the issue of gender inequality while advocating for women’s empowerment. Lastly, they all have different narrative styles, Massaquoi’s narrative is a personal story, he tells it through how it happened in his eyes, recounting his experience. Anderson’s work is primarily research-based, as she uses heavy in-text citations to strengthen her claim. De Beauvoir’s work is philosophical in essence, presenting the more complex issues of gender inequality. The narrative by Massaquoi outlines the impact that culture can have on the construction of the other. This is widely done by the narrative style of the work, showing how cultural norms of a society can shape one’s perception of self, belonging, as well as …show more content…
She explores how ingrained societal norms play a role in the marginalization of women, saying “They gained only what men have been willing to grant.” (1286). This alludes to the fact that historically women have had a subordinate social status, which hence gave them the title of the “other”. These social norms dictate gender roles, which creates stereotypes, which leads to a reinforced power imbalance between men and women. The works by Hans Massaquoi, Bridget Anderson, and Simone de Beauvoir shed light on the complex phenomenon that is the construction of the “other”. Through these works, we see diverse perspectives while exploring how cultural, political, and social factors can play a role in marginalizing individuals or groups. Massaquoi’s narrative style portrays how cultural norms can affect identity, while Anderson’s work exposes how political rhetoric can be used to dehumanize immigrants. Beauvoir’s analysis of gender roles and women as “others” shows the systemic inequalities between genders. Overall, these works express the need for empathy, reflection, and the need to foster a more inclusive
Differences present between immigrant and non-immigrant families in terms of opportunity, social inclusion and cultural acceptance is a prominent issue in the world today. In the novel, Brother, David Chariandy shows how these inconsistencies affect the opportunities present for second-generation migrants. Francis, Michael and Aisha are all children of migrants residing in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough or “Scar-Bro” as Michael refers to it (Chariandy). This suburb is home to immigrants of colour struggling to raise families on minimum wage jobs and the institutional racism present. This essay will first examine how the opportunity of second generation migrants is affected due to the preconceived idea of what opportunity is from the first
As much as men are working, so are women, but ultimately they do not face the same obstacles. For example, “Even if one subscribes to a solely economic theory of oppression, how can one ignore that over half of the world's workers are female who suffer discrimination not only in the workplace, but also at home and in all the areas sex-related abuse” (Moraga 98). This gives readers a point of view in which women are marginalized in the work place, at home, and other areas alike. Here Moraga gives historical accounts of Chicana feminists and how they used their experiences to give speeches and create theories that would be of relevance. More so, Moraga states how the U.S. passes new bills that secretly oppress the poor and people of color, which their community falls under, and more specifically, women. For instance, “The form their misogyny takes is the dissolution of government-assisted abortions for the poor, bills to limit teenage girls’ right to birth control ... These backward political moves hurt all women, but most especially the poor and "colored." (Moraga 101). This creates women to feel powerless when it comes to control one’s body and leads them to be oppressed politically. This places the government to act as a protagonist, and the style of writing Moraga places them in, shines more light to the bad they can do, especially to women of color. Moraga uses the words, “backward moves”
In Amin Ahmad’s I belong here, the reader is faced with a sense of sympathy that makes the reader’s view of the world, not only questionable, but alterable. This personal experience, written in the year 2010 shames the fact that this world has and shows how little progress the world has made in the judgment and discrimination of immigrants. These people look differently, speak differently, and live differently; but on the inside they are the same. Nonetheless, they are looked down upon by people from different cultures. The author uses his personal ethos and pathos to support the claim of value that immigrants are not treated fairly.
One million people, each year, immigrate to the United States of America dreaming of a better life. Many come by their own free will but many are forced by unfortunate situations in their home country. Those people generally have to leave behind whatever possessions they have and deal with an ever saddening situation. In the novel Interpreters of Maladies by Lahiri, Lahiri discusses in multiple short stories the specifics of the cultural struggles of adapting to a new land with different people and different traditions. In the stories A Real Durwan, Mrs. Sen’s and When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine she talks about how a person from India has come to America against their will. The immigrant’s story
Throughout history, women have been portrayed as the passive, subdued creatures whose opinions, thoughts, and goals were never as equal as those of her male counterparts. Although women have ascended the ladder of equality to some degree, today it is evident that total equalization has not been achieved. Simone De Beauvoir, feminist and existential theorist, recognized and discussed the role of women in society today. To Beauvoir, women react and behave through the scrutiny of male opinion, not able to differentiate between their true character and that which is imposed upon them. In this dangerous cycle women continue to live up to the hackneyed images society has created, and in doing so women feel it is necessary to reshape their ideas to meet the expectations of men. Women are still compelled to please men in order to acquire a higher place in society - however, in doing this they fall further behind in the pursuit of equality.
We have all heard the saying, “it’s a man’s world”. It appears that our world is governed according to a man’s perspective and thoughts as to how the world should be run, and women gracefully bow down to this perspective and internalize those male supremacist notions of patriarchal dominance. Even with this seemingly innate belief that men have, it is still apparent at times that there is another view that is often glossed over and ignored in the pursuit of extreme power and superiority. In Edwidge Danticat’s The Farming of Bones and Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of Butterflies, we are able to dissect society through the eyes of women who have had to endure life in these societies. These women offer a fresh perspective, and they both challenge and assert the patriarchal view that is most often presented in discussion about civil unrest.
This proposal will identify the social construction of gender roles for women as the “other” in the primary source writings of Simone De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and Arrogant Beggar by Anzia Yezierska. Beauvoir’s Second Sex provides a primary source evaluation of the historical distortion of women’s role in society as the “other” through patriarchal traditions that have no basis in genetics or science. Yezierska’s experiences as a Jewish woman in New York “workhouses” define the subjective gender roles assigned to women as being submissive and “invisible” in patriarchal American culture. These two primary sources define the subjective and non-scientific distortion of women‘s roles as the “other” in patriarchal European culture as a historical
Cultures throughout the world encompass a diverse array of lifestyles by which societies are led by. These cultures, in a typical sense, are created by the subset of a population that follows a particular set of morals and ideals. An individual’s own identity, as a result, is dependent on many varying factors of their lifestyle in these culturally regulated regions. In the stories, “Selections from Reading Lolita in Tehran,” by Azar Nafisi, and “The Naked Citadel,” by Susan Faludi, the authors depict the impact made on an individual’s identity by male-dominated communities prejudiced against women. The discriminations described in these stories contribute to the creation of cultures that oppose the idea of seeing women as equals to men. Hence,
This sense of difference provides a motive or rationale for using our power advantage to threaten the ethnoracial Other in ways that we would regard as cruel or unjust if applied to members of our own group. The possible consequences of this nexus of attitude. and action range from unofficial but pervasive social discrimination at one end. of the spectrum to genocide at the other. . .
Monique Wittig, a radical feminist, illuminates, “For what makes a woman is a specific social relation to a man, a relation that we call servitude”. The concept of justifying the female inferior image based on biology and the ‘w...
...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
Women are presented in the novel as one that should be seen and not heard. They are expected to complete their household duties, raise the children, and be ready to meet the demands given by their husband without questions or complaints. They are beaten by their husband’s without recourse. They are the core of the rural workforce. Yet, women are considered inconsequential.
Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.
...er Theory complicated by post-colonial scholars and scholars of race who consider the ways gender intersects with nationalism, class, and race. As feminist critic Theresa de Lauretis suggests, “a new conception of the subject is, in fact, emerging from feminist analyses of women’s heterogeneous subjectivity and multiple identities . . . the differences among women may be better understood as differences within women.” It is important to realize that not only does feminism as a movement exist in the face of these contradictions and complications—within feminist criticism, within gender studies, within individual literary texts and within our understanding of the individual woman as a subject—but that it cannot exist without them. Perhaps, like Wonder Woman, feminist criticism remains vital because it is astonishingly diverse, open, and rigorously self-problematizing.