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Articles on objectification of women
Articles on objectification of women
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Objectification leads to procrastination
Fairytales have been around as long as man can remember. Fairytales are told not just for entertainment but try to instill morals and build character. The cultural norms represented in fairytales play a large part in the socialization processes of the child who reads them. Contained within these cultural norms are the beliefs about gender roles that are held by society. The characters in the stories help children to determine what behaviors, traits, or roles are acceptable for children of certain genders. In Angela Carter’s book, The Bloody Chambers, one sees major themes being used to influence people. One of these themes is objectification of women. In every one of Carter’s stories women are objectified. These stories portray women as weak, submissive, dependent, and self-sacrificing while men are powerful, active and dominant. As long as women are primarily bought and sold and are willing to be bought and sold, women will always be looked at as only objects. When looking at the stories, The Bloody chambers, The Courtship of Mr.Lyon, and The Tigers Bride, women are seen being objectified by men. Carter doesn’t give men all the blame, she also shows man as being objectifies in Lady in the house of Love.
The heroine in "The Bloody Chamber" is one of the most obviously objectified. The Marquis makes her into a showpiece by undressing her while remaining dressed. “I could not meet his eye and turned my head…husband approached me in a dozen mirrors and slowly, methodically, teasingly, unfastened the buttons of my jacket and slip it from my shoulder.” He also commanded her to wear a ruby collar around her neck as if she was a dog. “He made me put on my choker… and he kissed those blazing rubie...
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...any male that comes around her. The Countess's story lets us see the other side of objectification. The Countess can never really be happy because she can see men only as objects.
Objectification of women has existed for as long as women have been used for men’s sexual pleasure. One might like to think that feminism has come a long way since the 60s and 70s. Yet if one has look at a newspaper, a woman's magazine, a Hollywood movie, etc, one would realize that the objectification of women is still around. When looking at the stories, The Bloody chambers, Fairytales are clear representation of objectification. These stories portray women as weak, submissive, dependent, and self-sacrificing while men are powerful, active and dominant. As long as women are primarily bought and sold and are willing to be bought and sold, women will always be looked at as only objects.
When analyzing a classic fairytale such as, Snow White, by the Brothers Grimm through a feminist lens, it is clear that it is a phallocentric fairytale that includes stereotypes, gender roles, the male gaze, and paternalism.
Eliza's assaults against True Womanhood are violations of the virtues submissiveness and purity. When Eliza refuses to ignore the gallantry of Major Sanford in favor of the proposals of Reverend Boyer despite the warnings of her friends and mother, she disregards submissiveness in favor of her own fanc...
This passage from the story insinuates that men need women to see it they way they do, and men don’t appreciate it when women are free-thinking. Women in fiction, not just in books but in movies and television as well, are often represented in certain molds or ideas. The story of Cinderella and the story by Hurston both reinforce the idea that fictional portrayals of women are
This female inferiority idea has been imbedded in the world for many years. Fairy tales are a very good example of how this notion has been present in the United States. The themes that exist in these stories normally deal with masculine heroes who come to the aid of young women who are seemingly helpless. After they are saved by these male heroes they become obedient docile beings. These old fairy tales are part of the beginning of this inferiority idea.
In her transformation of the well-known fable "Little Red Riding Hood," Angela Carter plays upon the reader's familiarity. By echoing elements of the allegory intended to scare and thus caution young girls, she evokes preconceptions and stereotypes about gender roles. In the traditional tale, Red sticks to "the path," but needs to be rescued from the threatening wolf by a hunter or "woodsman." Carter retells the story with a modern perspective on women. By using fantasy metaphorically and hyperbolically, she can poignantly convey her unorthodox and underlying messages.
Portrayal of Women in La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Lady of Shalott, My last Duchess, and Porphyria's Lover
In my analysis of ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter, I have decided to analyze hw role-reversal plays a large part in this story. The POV is set in first person, with the Heroine as the narrator. The story is told through her eyes and she is believed to be a reliable source because she clearly outlines unfortunate events that happen to her, such as the mark of shame on her forehead of the blood-stained key. I believe for many that Carter may have wanted her story to defy the cultural norm of fairytales where the female character always needs to be saved from a situation- this typically places female characters in roles that make them seem fragile, weak, and helpless. Carter uses her writing to give a voice to the female character as well
Fairy tales have been known to identify different aspects of life such as modern issues and concerns without having to directly point them out. In Anne Sexton’s poem, her version of “Cinderella”, modern issues and concerns are discussed through the lens of the fairytale. She touches on aspects of marriage such as wealth and possessiveness of money by discussing how most of the women in fairytales want to marry into wealthy families. Sexton also discusses how fitting into society’s complex standards is another modern issue by showing that in order for Cinderella to go out in public, she feels as if she needs to dress according to the way society dresses. Furthermore, many women in society today admire models and actresses because they
Fairy Tales have been around for generations and generations. Our parents have told us these stories and we will eventually pass them down to ours. In this time of age the most common fairytales are Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and The Beast and many more. Children idolize their favorite character and pretend to be them by mimicking everything they do in the stories. The character’s behavior is what is viewed as appropriate in society. These fairy tales show a girl and a boy fall in love and live “happily ever after”. The tales in many people’s eyes resemble a dream life that they would want to have of their own. However, have you ever really looked at what makes up a fairy tale? Many things are unrealistic but the most unflattering aspect of these tales is how women are depicted in them. Fairy tales give an unrealistic view to how women should look and behave in real life.
Thinking back to our childhood, we all remember hearing many kinds of fairy tales. Some of them inspired us others confused us, and most of them taught us valuable lessons. Through out centuries tales and stories have been used as a valuable tool to pass on our culture to new generations. There is a strong belief that these fairy tales mirror and influence society. All cultures interpret tales in their own unique way. They add and subtract various aspects of the tale to fit the needs of their particular society. The same tale in the United States is different from the tale told in Asia. A good example of tale evolution can be seen in one of the most famous tales ever told which is “Cinderella”. As a professor of women’s history Karol Kelley points out in her essay Pretty Woman: A Modern Cinderella “There are some 700 versions of Cinderella”.This fairy tale as many others has been changing for many years, and in recent years Cinderella has come under some criticism for its depiction of women’s roles in society.
Gender is a concept that has been socially constructed to identify people as male or female, masculine or feminine. The concept is used as to regulate the way people live and is something that influences the representation of female bodies in novels. Gayle Rubin’s article, “The Traffic in Women” uses several theorists, such as Freud, Marx, Levi-Strauss and Engels to understand the role of the women and show how they are oppressed and weak in comparison to men. Angela Carter reinforces Rubin’s beliefs by sharing similar ideas of male dominance in her novel, The Bloody Chamber. She demonstrates how gender is a reflection of the body in stories such as, “The Snow Child,” “The Erl-King” and “The Tiger’s
Carter believes that women are strong individuals who should protect their virginity from male predators (wolves) seeking to tempt their purity. The gender claim that Carter is trying to make in in the story is accurately described in the following quote from an article: “...the stories in The Bloody Chamber rework the imagery of classic fairy tales in such a way as to reverse the traditional message that female fulfilment can only be found in submission to the authority of males.” (Stableford). This quote describes the way that Carter uses the plot and sequence of events in her stories to indirectly display her views and claims on the gender inequality issue. Carter claims here that females are only capable of being servant-like towards males. This was a very prevalent issue during her time (1940-1992), and it should be even more closely examined in today's
For centuries, fairytales have been used for instruction; to teach children what is expected of them as they age and what terrors behold them if they do not comply with the guidelines laid out for them by their culture/society. Many of the tales were purposely frightful in order to scare children away from strangers, dark corners, and traveling off the beaten path into the dark thicket. Charles Perrault first began writing fairy tales in the late 17th century to educate his children. The morals of those tales often center on what is expected of young women; that they should remain ‘pure’ and ‘docile’. He wrote the tales in a time period when fairytales or ‘jack’ tales were looked at as instructional lessons. They were also widely told around the fire, as entertainment, for adults. Angela Carter adapted Perrault’s classic tales in the 1970’s; changing the victim...
Evaluate and respond to the presentations of women in the Romantic period. Feel free to discuss presentations of women, by women (such as Austen’s Persuasion) as well as presentations of women by men (such as the “she” in Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty”). Consider the following questions: are these presentations problematic? What do they tell us about the values and briefs of the Romantic Period? Do any of these presentations subvert (complicate, or call into questions) the time’s notions of femininity?
Throughout literature, authors employ a variety of strategies to highlight the central message being conveyed to the audience. Analyzing pieces of literature through the gender critics lens accentuates what the author believes to be masculine or feminine and that society and culture determines the gender responsibility of an individual. In the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, the gender strategies appear through the typical fragile women of the mother and the grandmother, the heartless and clever male wolf, and the naïve and vulnerable girl as little red riding hood.