Gender Expectations In Orpheus And Eurydice

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The Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice embodies a contrast between how man acts and how man is expected to act. An interpretation of the mythological characters Orpheus and Eurydice disprove male gender expectations, while the biblical figures of Lot and his wife affirm female gender expectations. In the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, Orpheus is the one that looks back before instructed to, and in the story of Sodom and Gommorah, Lot’s wife looks back but both actions led to extreme consequences. With gender expectations in mind, homosexuality is introduced as well.Throughout the years, it is evident that gender expectations have been disrupted, and mankind’s judgements on homosexuality is more lenient. Orpheus is madly in love with his …show more content…

The angels have originally decided to spend the night in the square, but Lot insists that they stay the night at his house. Lot treats them generously and prepares a meal for them. They had just finished eating dinner, and before going to bed, they hear men from all parts of the city of Sodom surround the house and yell to Lot ““Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can get to know them” . In those times, those actions of homosexuality were absurd and a consequence was to be put for those kinds of actions. “Bring them out to us so that we may get to know them.” There is some debate about the ‘to know’ here. Most scholars would agree that is has the sexual meaning here-but it is very clear that we are talking about homosexual rape, a violent act of aggression-and clearly something we would all condemn and deem worthy of God’s punishment” (Robinson web). Lot is flabbergasted and informs the men that he has two daughters, and they can do whatever they insist with them instead of taking the men. The men from the city of Sodom did not want anything to do with the daughters. As the city mean reached forward to break down the down the door, the angels pulled Lot back into the house, shut the door, and struck the city men with blindness so that they were unable to the find the door. The angels asked Lot if he had anyone else in the city who belongs to him like a …show more content…

Gender stereotyping is also implemented in both stories. “We also found that the “gender stereotyping” was used without the indication of whether gender stereotypes were assessed in terms of personal stereotypes beliefs, knowledge of cultural stereotypes, stereotyped judgements, or the enactment of stereotype consistent behaviors” (Zosuls web). This supports the evident gender stereotyping of expecting Lot’s wife to look back since a female is the weaker sex. But, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice disproves gender stereotyping because of Orpheus giving it his all to gain Eurydice back and when he looks back at her too soon. Those actions diminish his masculinity as well as when he turns his love for women into a love for young boys. During the times when Orpheus and Eurydice and Sodom and Gomorrah occurred, someone being homosexual is not as obvious as to how it is now. “The gay men in these media rehearse both what we already ‘know’ about gay men while simultaneously reinforcing received notions about what is to be ‘a homosexual’ that is, particular looks, movements, patterns of voice, manner of dressing, lifestyle choices and consumption patterns which are coded as homosexual are offered up as evidence of a character’s homosexulaity” (McLelland web). Over time, homosexuality has become more accepted to our society with

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