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Gender Issues In Literature
Gender Issues In Literature
Gender Issues In Literature
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This research study is based on the close textual analysis of the novel “The Shadow of The Crescent Moon” by Fatima Bhutto. Deep analysis will be carried out in order to analyze the linguistic features and the gender based debates. The analysis will lead us to know the complex relationship between gender and language. The novel “The Shadow of the Crescent Moon”, locates in a town called Mir Ali close to the Afghan outskirt, in Pakistan's tribal belt of Waziristan. The whole story revolves around three siblings Aman Erum, Sikandar, Hayat and two young ladies Mina and Sammara who are bound by Pakhtun conventions and pitilessly prejudiced by revolution, leading them to think about their past and make troublesome decisions. Mir Ali and its harsh surrounding area and a spot where it is "hard not to bite the dust" and where "individuals watched you even as you rested, as you …show more content…
This paper shows how different theorists have talked about language in terms of male and female talk. Previous researches and findings in this area of language and gender have shown that male class usually tries to dominate female talk by exploiting them psychologically, economically and physically. This paper argues that the prevailing image of women in Pakistani society and literature is passive, negative, distorted, submissive, and dependent. This research aims to explore whether female authors have succeeded in abolishing the unenthusiastic negative and passive image of women in Pakistani society or their writings are also socially influenced because it is commonly believed that it is always a male author
Gender Matters is a collection of various essays on feminist linguistic texts analysis, by Sara Mills. Mills develops methods of analyzing literary and non-literary texts, in addition to conversational analysis based on a feminist approach. The author draws on data from her collection of essays gathered over the last two decades on feminism during the 1990s. The essays focus on gender issues, the representation of gender in reading, writing, and in public speaking. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of feminists’ analysis of sexism in literature and the relation between gender and politeness. The article is informative for my research paper, as my topic is going to cover language analysis of the text and who women reading and writing differs according to the discourse analysis within linguistic, psychology, case studies audiences and surveys. The book would be helpful, particularly the last three essays that discusses gender, public speaking, the question of politeness and impoliteness in public speaking. Mills’ analysis is not complete without including the idea of global notions of both women and men, to see whether women and men write and read in the same way globally. Therefore, an update would enrich the book’s discussion section. Although, Mills addresses the class and race theme in language and public speaking, I will only look into the role of language that plays a part in doing or reducing gender in literary, non-literary texts and in conversation.
context out of which a work of literature emerges molds the interpretation of gender in that work.
There is no doubt that the literary written by men and women is different. One source of difference is the sex. A woman is born a woman in the same sense as a man is born a man. Certainly one source of difference is biological, by virtue of which we are male and female. “A woman´s writing is always femenine” says Virginia Woolf
Both el Saadawi and Al-Shaykh both show how perception and expression are both affected within the confines of politics, social opportunities, and male privilege depicted in their stories. Whether the reader is a follower of the feminist movement or not, it is very clear and easy to see that these women are not being treated with the respect that any human being deserves. The misogynistic stranglehold on society, especially in this part of the world, is excessive and avoidable in today’s world but it is very likely that the traditional, conservative ways of the past will continue to control and inhibit women from being able to be fully treated as equals for many years to come, perhaps even after this generation has
The Sand Child is a novel written about a man born a girl discovering through their sex and gender the differences held within the social norms of men and women. Ahmed, the main character and conflict, in the novel guide the reader through a story of self-discovery on the social status spectrum. In Tahar Jelloun’s novel women play an active role in accepting and portraying themselves as lower in social standards, through this the idea that gender is an individual’s compliance with typical social norms takes form.
Language and Masculinity The art of communication was always dominated by the innovations happened in the art of language. The human race has always been communicating among itself and formed various societies, developed relationships, brought new ideas etc. Language was utilized to define the sexuality, the culture, the social aspect and it all happened in terms of gender. The dominance of the masculine gender through the utilization of the language was always known to the mankind. The male population receives power by dictating certain social norms. The masculinity is a part of the male gender and in terms of linguistics it conveys masculinity with great power and force. According to some philosophers the males unjustly and deliberately construct such a society which is male-centered and it caters to the supremacy of the masculinity described above. It will be interesting to find the relation among language, masculinity and gender. If we discuss it any further we will find out that throughout the history it was the human race which has brought innovation to the language. Language was used to gain power with the use of male power. As a result the language was also used to dictate social norms. They also became successful in gaining the women’s cooperation by using the power of masculine language. Some of the scholars assume that language is visible and it exists in this form without any doubt. They also further assume that language can be compared with other forms of visual phenomenon. In this regard the linguistic analysis is in fact a kind of perception of visual way. In other way one can see the language and in particular in its treatment of grammar. “In "Language and Masculinity," Victor Seidler writes, "Oppressed peopl...
In 1960s and 1970s, another approach appeared. It was called sociohistorical approach to literature, and was mainly concerned with how characters’ behaviours resembled to those of the real people’s, and whether their portrayal is truthful to the general script, or to its gender role. In close connection to this, another term appeared, called gender performance, which implies both, men and women, behaving according to the norms and expectations put by the society. For example, while men were allowed to be active, assertive and dominant, women should have been submissive, dependant and passive. Exceptions, both for men and women, were not gleefully accepted in the society. This is the main reason for appearance of another term, which is closely connected to the terms gender roles and gender performance, called gender stereotypes. Examples for gender stereotypes can even be found in the book Little Women, mainly through the characters of ...
Thais E. Morgan ed, Men Writing the Feminine. State University of New York Press 1994
Many people have considered gender to be a natural part of our lives, having its own roles and norms that are followed by the people within the categories of gender, male and female. However, these norms receive different views once put in action. In this report, I aimed to answer the question: in a male dominated society, how do female gender norms influence the way one perceives them self as well as they way others perceive them? The patterns, answering my question, which will guide my paper, resulting from the Hindi movie Kahaani, were that whenever a female was displaying feminine norms, she was given negative views by those of the male gender however those feminine roles show her positivity, allowing her to see that strength lies within those roles as well. Kahaani, based in a male dominated country India, is about a pregnant woman, who is actually a spy, in search of her “missing” husband but later finds out he resembles a terrorist. Due to the fact that she is pregnant, she was not viewed as harmful and thus was used and discriminated by the male police officers in order to lead them to the terrorist however she used her gender to her own benefit. In the following research report, I will outline the relations between the norms for a female and how they are perceived by others as well as the one characterizes by the gender, which is the pregnant woman. This will focus on the operationalization of the variables of gender roles, perceptions relating to actions, words and treatments the character receives. From these, I will explain the methods I used in order to obtain the patterns which answered my question after analyzing the movie.
Yieke, F. (2001). Gender as a Sociocultural Construct: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Journal of Cultural Studies, 3(2), 333-347.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
O'Barr, William M., and Bowman K. Atkins. ""Women's Language" or "Powerless Language"?" Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication. Comp. Susan D. Blum. New York, NY [etc.: Oxford UP, 2013. 401-06.
The relationship of gender and linguistic behavior is a compelling topic which is getting more and more attention since it is closely related to gender studies. It is widely agreed that men and women use language differently in most speech communities, though to various extents (Holmes, 2001). Many works on the topic indicate that gender-specific linguistic behavior is a social practice which is based on gender identities and power relations (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet, 1992; Bruckmüller, Hegarty & Abele, 2012).
Today the issue of the difference between men’s and women’s use of language raises hot debates among sociolinguists, psychologists and other scholars. They create various theories that complicate the issue because of the fact that they observe gender differences from various perspectives. One theory is known as “genderlect”, which according to The Free Dictionary is a variety of speech, writing, or conversational style used by a particular gender. An analysis of the writings of both genders reveals one main difference between them: men focus more on status in their writings while women focus more on a connection with the reader (Lyons).
Gender inequality refers to different analysis or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially complete gender roles. Gender systems are generally angled and hierarchical; gender binary systems may reflect the inequalities that apparent in abundant ambit of circadian life. Gender inequality stems from distinctions, whether empirically ashore or socially constructed. Shashi Despande’s A Matter of Time revolves about four women Manorama, Kalyani, Sumi and Aru who are victims of animosity adapted by patriarchal society where the measure of woman’s successful her married life, without which her all other accomplishments are considered worthless warm association area the admeasurement of woman’s acknowledged her affiliated life, after which her all added accomplishments are advised worthless. The accomplished atypical portrays the silent, absorption women, black yet accomplished adhering to tradition, admitting alive in the present. Admitting men do not play an active role they are the basis could cause of a lot of the adversity of women.