Women Less Privileged in the Society
Antigone, the main character in the film Antigone, has been caged due to her gender inferiority
in the Greek society, and no one defends her. The way Antigone was mistreated in Greece shows that
women were not well treated, yet nowadays women are still mistreated but in a different way.
Nowadays women are not only underestimated but also undervalued. Because of the different
mistreatment that are inflicted on women, the society is impacted . There are some factors such as
predominance of men over women, women’s ignorance of their own rights, and cultural influences that
favor men are the different causes of women’s discrimination in the society. Sadly, this mistreatment
definitely has a drastic influence on
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the society. Male dominance is the major cause of the discrimination that the female gender endures. Since creation, women have been considered inferior to men in many ways. Men have been the ones to obtain absolute freedom in the society. Due to the fact that men hold political and powerful positions, they tend to assert themselves as the commanders of societies; similarly, in the Greek society, where Antigone was victim of discrimination because men were the ones controlling the society. Antigone was marginalized and was not heard under the pretext that she is genetically inferior to the male gender. Even though women have accomplished some prowess in different aspects such as engineering, law enforcement, computer science, they remain underestimated in most societies. In the American culture, men and women can do the same types of jobs, have the same positions, perform the same duties, yet there is still inequality in their salaries. It is so unfair for women not to be paid equally to men because they make a lot of sacrifices by leaving their families. The fact that they are leaving their children at home means that women are making a huge sacrifice for their diverse careers. Having low wages shows that women are oppressed, discouraged, and alienated. In the article Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?, Lawrence H. Leith points out that “ In 1979, women’s weekly earnings were just 62.3 percent of men.” per The Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women are victims of pay inequality despite several degrees obtained after years of struggling with studies. This has an impact on the society. Because of all this discrimination , women may be victims of a trauma. With all those obstacles, women feel exploited, unimportant, and neglected. Once women adopt a rebellious attitude toward the society, violence may take place. Because women make huge sacrifices, they deserve a compensation at the height of their sacrifices with good salaries. Women’s ignorance is another major reason for their own discrimination in the society. . Because women are naturally docile, they tend to assimilate themselves at that lower level. Women find it difficult to disassociate themselves from the old rules imposed on them as home makers.In Cameroon, women are seen as home makers or consumers.Women are limited to these two roles in the Cameroonian culture, so they are not aware of their rights. As a Cameroonian, I am in the right position to say that most women in my country are illiterate because their husbands use them as home makers. In Cameroon, a woman’s ultimate position is a housekeeper; in contrast, in the American household, men and women share bills equally. In America, men have more flexibility and can choose to cook or to do house chores to please their spouses. The fact that women reduce themselves to only being home makers can affect the society. If women continue to be ignorant of their rights, the discrimination will significantly increase, and the women’s alienation will not halt. Life is all about obstacles and challenges. By giving away their privileges, women are increasing gender inequality. Women should rise and transcend the tough odds by organizing campaigns to sensitize the world about their crucial situation. Getting educated is also important so that women can be informed and aware of their rights. Cultural influences are the final factors that play a big role in making women one of the underdogs of the society. People tend to think culturally when it comes to applying rules against women. Culture plays a big role in the discrimination of women in the society . The Middle East is a poignant example of women being culturally oppressed. The Afghan culture is also known for its rude, inhumane, and heartless attitude towards women. In Afghanistan, the burqa is an important veil that covers women’s faces. Women are supposed to have the burqa over their faces, and they must not remove it publicly except in intimacy. In that country, women are animalized and mistreated. Seeing how heartlessly women are treated in Afghanistan, justifies the fact that Afghan norms do not grant any credit to women. According to the culture, women should not have freedom to be educated, to appear publicly without a burqa, or to work. In case a woman disobeys the rules, she will be severely punished by the law. Kathleen Parker, the author of Women aren’t Pets Rocks, emphasizes that “ Men feel free to throw acid in the faces of little girls trying to attend school.” Whatever action a human being does, she does not deserve such a horrible act. Throwing acid at these innocent girls is an extreme wickedness. That act is no longer an act of discrimination but terrorism. Everyone should have total freedom to be educated or not, to wear a burqa or not, and to get married or not. Well known as a candidate for the presidential election, Hillary Clinton firmly declares in New Hope For Afghanistan’s Women that “ The mistreatment of women in Afghanistan was like an early warning signal of the kind of terrorism that culminated in the attacks of September 11.” If the culture continues to have a negative impact on women, the nation itself will perish.
Women are considered the light of a
nation; therefore, they should not be mistreated. In the article Women Aren’t Pets Rocks, Kathleen
Parker insists that “ Without exception, every nation that oppresses women is a failed and, therefore,
dangerous nation.” To eradicate the cultural barriers, it will be crucial to conceive a new view of the
cultural rules by focusing the cultural rules on the universal rights of a human being.
Women endure mistreatment because of the predominance of men over women, women’s
ignorance of their rights, and the cultural influences that favor men. I strongly believe women deserve a
better treatment than the one men have inflicted on them. We as a society need to stop being ignorant
about the problem and come up with a solution. An effective way to alleviate this situation is for women
to gather together as one and abolish gender inequality in our
society.
... do, for all your crown and your trappings, and your guards—all that you can do is to have me killed”( Sophocles190 ).This kind of bravery ultimately proves that Antigone is courageous and willing to stand up to man and do so openly in pride. This kind of courageousness was rare for women of that time. Antigone dies bravely and in loyalty of her brother and because of this she is a model of a strong female protagonist as she clearly did not abide do gender expectations.
Antigone also had the gods on her side. It was an unwritten rule of ancient Greek society that the dead must be buried, otherwise bad things may happen. This rule, because it was unwritten and therefore innate, was protected by the gods, specifically Hades, the god of the underworld and family.
This situation goes for not only women but men as well. From an early age, both boys and girls should be taught humanity, in terms of how both men and women should be treated. Unfortunately, this rarely occurs and generations of boys and girls grow up thinking that this is the way of the world. Therefore, the vicious cycle of unfair practices is still going on to this day with little to no advancements.
Antigone was a tough girl for sticking up for herself, but unfortunately it was not enough to stop Creon in his evil and unjust ways. Justice is something extremely sacred to the human race and has always been a huge factor in people’s lives throughout history. Not to mention how important it was in Antigone’s life. If people think about it she pretty much lived for justice. What has full authority divine law or man’s law and how significant is it that Antigone is a woman defying a man in this time era? This is the real question; divine law always takes triumph over man’s law because it is morally and honestly accepted between the human races.
Glorified overeating. Two words that together create the ultimate oxymoron, in a society obsessed with body image. Adam Richman, the host of the popular television program Man v. Food, is showing his viewers the sport in eating. Each episode this attractive and far from obese man eats a humanly impossible quantity of food. The feat quickly escalates into a spectacle, with chanting fans and opponents salted and deep-fried. The spectacle of overeating has been transformed into a sport and one celebrated by the media.
One of the conflicts in Antigone, is the struggle between men and women. Ismene tells Antigone that since birth, women “were not born to contend with men,” (75) displaying women’s obedience and passivity. In the same passage, Ismene says: “we’re underlings, ruled by stronger hands,” (76) a representation of men’s aggressive and “stronger hands” that dominate women and treats them as second-class citizens. The only woman in Thebes who desires to break free from these chains is Antigone, who stands up against Ismene’s passivity urging her to “submit to this,” (77) and defy Creon by burying Polynices. By breaking Creon’s edict, Antigone challenges the traditional gender roles women and men play. In what ways does the theme of gender in Antigone, demonstrate the passion and choices behind Antigone and Ismene’s decisions?
Antigone was a selfless person with pride as a strong characteristic of her personality. She possibly had feelings of loneliness and anger from the way society has looked upon her family from their past. It took a strong willed person who has no fear of the repercussions to stand up to a king as she did. To make everything all the worst she stood up to a king who was her Uncle and she being a female back in those time, standing up and speaking out for herself was not heard of.
In the majority of early cultures and societies, women have always been considered subservient and inferior to men. Since the first wave of feminism in the 19th century, women began to revolt against those prejudicial social boundaries by branching out of the submissive scope, achieving monumental advances in their roles in civilization. However, gender inequality is still prevalent in developed countries. Women frequently fall victim to gender-based assault and violence, suffer from superficial expectations, and face discriminatory barriers in achieving leadership roles in employment and equal pay. Undoubtedly, women have gained tremendous recognition in their leaps towards equal opportunity, but to condone these discrepancies, especially
Many ancient laws and beliefs show that women from all around the world have always been considered inferior to men. However, as time went on, ideas of equality circulated around and women started to demand equality. Many women fought for equality and succeeded in bringing some rights. However, full equality for women has yet to be fulfilled. This issue is important because many women believe that the rights of a person should not be infringed no matter what their gender is, and by not giving them equality, their rights are being limited. During the periods 1840 to 1968, total equality for women did not become a reality due to inadequate political representation, economic discrepancy, and commercial objectification.
The sexist stereotypes presented in this tragedy address many perspectives of men at this time. Creon the arrogant and tyrant leader is, the very character that exemplifies this viewpoint. Antigone's spirit is filled with bravery, passion and fury; which allow her to symbolize the very essence of women. She is strong enough to do what her conscious tells her despite the laws of the land. Many examples in the play prove that Antigone's character is very capable of making her own decisions in the name of justice. First, Antigone opposes Creon's law and buries her slain brother; because in her mind it was immoral not to. She does this because she is compassionate and loves her brother very much. Creon, however, believes that his laws must be upheld and would do anything to prevent any type rebelling. He is even more infuriated when he learns that a woman has broken his laws. He tries to show Antigone who's in charge by sentencing her to a life of imprisonment. Secondly, Antigone shows how determined she is by accepting her consequences with pride. She does not try to hide that she is responsible for breaking Creon's laws, moreover, she takes all the credit. All the while she maintains her strength because she truly believes in her actions. These sorts of actions ultimately prove that Antigone is courageous and willing to stand up to men, which was completely against the norm at this time. Her spirit refuses to submit to the role of a helpless woman like her sister Ismene's character does.
Women have been discriminated against since the beginning of time, as early as the first people, Adam and Eve. Eve was called the evil one, who ate fruit from the tree of knowledge. Once she had the knowledge to know right from wrong, she chose to do wrong and give the fruit to Adam. Examples like these can be shown all over history books, in stories, tales and legends across the entire world. Women have been subordinate to men in virtually all societies throughout history.
”Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall of the edge”(Kramarae, Treichler). This notion is exemplified through both novels, Antigone by Sophocles, and A Doll’s House by Leo Tolstoy. Both novels provide a different look at women, with the two main characters showing qualities that weren’t common in this era such as determination, intelligence, rebellion, hubris, and stubbornness.
Women Deserve the Same Rights as Men From the beginning of time, women have played a powerful role in the shaping of this world. They have stood by idly and watched as this country moved on without them, and yet they have demanded equal rights as the nation rolls along. Through the years, the common belief has been that women could not perform as well as men in anything, but over the years that belief has been proven wrong time and time again. So as time marches on, women have clawed and fought their way up the ladder to gain much needed equal respect from the opposite sex. However, after many years of pain and suffering, the battle for equal rights has not yet been won.
Since the beginning of time, women have always been seen as things purely for the pleasure and benefit of men. Women have always been objectified. Objectification is seeing and treating a person as if they did not have thoughts and feelings, as if they had the status of an object.{1} Only in recent years have they begun to be seen as individuals of equal intelligence and ability. You may think, ”Women have had equal rights for a while. I do not see how this is a problem.” It may not seem like women were given their rights recently, but in our history, women have been treated objectively for thousands of years, even dating back to biblical times. Still, even when women have the same rights, opportunities, and responsibility as men, women can be found almost everywhere being treated as though they were incompetent and lesser human beings.{4}
Throughout history, there have been constant power struggles between men and women, placing the male population at a higher position than the female. Therefore, in this patriarchal system women have always been discriminated against simply due to the fact that they are women. Their rights to vote, to be educated and essentially being treated equally with men was taken away from them and they were viewed as weak members of society whose successes depend on men. However, this has not prevented them from fighting for what they believe in and the rights they are entitled to. On the contrary, it has motivated them to try even harder and gain these basic societal rights through determination and unity.