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Gender in the Media
Media representation of women
Gender in the Media
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Slut-shaming is an issue which women have experienced and dealt with back to the time of The Odyssey and it still occurs today. The Odyssey displays an act of slut shaming when a women is exposed for how many men she has slept with and married. Many women deal with the harassment and criticism that is thrown in their faces, but one may ask why is slut shaming important and how can it be eliminated? Lee Suckling stated, “Slut-shaming is the act of making a female feel guilty and inferior for behaving in a way others deem to be sexually inappropriate. It could be for violating a dress code by dressing "provocatively", as the above example explains. It could be for making a woman feel "wrong" about casual sex, frequent sexual partners, or even just for …show more content…
Geraint Thomas states, "I am shocked and appalled at the inequality between men and women across the world, and the statistics on sexual violence specifically against women are appalling, so I decided to combine my creativity with my dedication to activism to alert people to these shocking figures.” DiNicola and Williams stressed that, “a majority of rapes go unreported despite the fact that 1 in 5 women are, at some point, subjected to rape, and only 1 in 10 report it.” (DiNicola and Williams 1). Previously it was mentioned that support groups to end slut shaming and taking steps can help because with those factors, women and men can become aware of how serious this situation is and why slut shaming is disrespectful. The next step is getting others aware of slut shaming. Blazeon stated, "I think we need to reframe how to understand the act of forwarding," she said. "It's easy to fall into a crowd mentality and to think that when you forward something, you're just part of a jet stream that already has its own momentum. But the fact is in that moment you're being an active aggressor.” (Blazeon
The Odyssey: Portrayal of Women How does Homer portray women in the epic, The Odyssey? In order to answer this question you must look at woman and goddesses as two separate groups of people who are "people". This is because they are portrayed in two separate ways. You see, a regular woman like Penelope is looked at as beautiful but has.
In the book, “I’m not a slut” by Leora Tanenbaum, Tanenbaum discusses the issue of slut-shaming and the public’s definition of a “good” or “bad” slut. I would like to talk about three main ideas from this book, slut-shaming, “good” and “bad’ slut and the double standard.
As Agamemnon tells Odysseus, “Let it be a warning even to you. Indulge a woman never, and never tell her all you know. Some things a man may tell, some he should cover up” (Book XI 199). This is not news to Odysseus, who treats all women with caution ever since he was betrayed by his wife Helen, who acted in a way that defiled all womankind. Agamemnon did not come to this realization all by himself, however; his statement represents the common sentiment that existed throughout all ancient Greece. Even before Odysseus speaks with Agamemnon, he exhibits a similar attitude in his many encounters with women during his long journey home. Every major female character that Odysseus comes across uses deception in one form or another to get the better of him. This being the case, Odysseus fights fire with fire, using his own cunning deception against the evils of womankind.
Although Jason and Heracles both accomplished amazing feats, the way they treated women would make them the worst heroes in Greece because they besmirched the sanctity of marriage and disrespected women. Jason abandoned Medea, who loved him and sacrificed many things for his success, and Heracles was unfaithful and defiled many women in Greece, using them for his own pleasure. Although Odysseus had an affair with two other women, he can still be considered the best hero as he treated women with respect and relentlessly attempted to return home to his wife in Ithaca. As he was tempted by two beautiful and powerful women, he is considered to be the most loyal out of all the
Judged by modern Western standards, the treatment of women by men in Homer's Odyssey can be characterized as sexist. Women in Homer's Odyssey are judged mainly by their looks. If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son or husband is a hero or has an important position such as king, the woman is successful. The way women in The Odyssey are treated is based on appearance, the things men want from them, and whether the woman has any power over men. During Odysseus' journey to the underworld he sees many different types of women. We hear about their beauty, their important sons, or their affairs with gods. We hear nothing about these women's accomplishments in their lifetime. Odysseus tells how Antiope could "boast a god for a lover,"(193) as could Tyro and many other women. Epikaste was called "that prize"(195) her own son unwittingly married.
Odysseus plans to tiptoe back into his hall through various schemes, one of which is to become beneficial and amiable to the maidservants. With this motivation, he offers to guard the hearth so that the fire won’t dwindle, but the response he receives is more than unwelcoming. Melantho, a beneficiary of Penelope, spurns him saying:
Odysseus ' principles and characteristics are a prototype of an ideal Homeric Greek leader. Odysseus is noble, clever and loyal. Through his distress and blunders, he gains knowledge that was not only crucial for his survival but for his companions too. Odysseus’s cleverness constantly allowed him to avoid death because he relied on trickery, rhetoric and disguise. “The society depicted in The Odyssey is one where male values were dominant and where all socially relevant transactions took place between the male members of the community”. (Whittaker 39) While males’ dominance takes the forefront in society, their principles are continuously being challenged by the allurement of women. In The Odyssey, many instances of such seduction reveals
Sexism has occurred throughout history and has impacted women significantly.The Odyssey follows the narrative of a man and looks at love from the perspective of a man. The famed poem was written by an ancient greek man and until recently, has always been translated by a man. For these reasons, The Odyssey provides a great example of how love, women, and marriage have been perceived by society, especially men, in the past. By examining the sexist undertones and the perception of women and love from the men in the epic and comparing those to criticisms made today we can truly understand how far we have come as a society.
Women play an influential role in The Odyssey. Women appear throughout the story, as goddesses, wives, princesses, or servants. The nymph Calypso enslaves Odysseus for many years. Odysseus desires to reach home and his wife Penelope. It is the goddess Athena who sets the action of The Odyssey rolling; she also guides and orchestrates everything to Odysseus’ good. Women in The Odyssey are divided into two classes: seductresses and helpmeets. By doing so, Homer demonstrates that women have the power to either hinder of help men. Only one woman is able to successfully combine elements of both classes: Penelope. She serves as a role model of virtue and craftiness. All the other women are compared to and contrasted with Penelope.
The Theme of Women in The Odyssey by Homer In the Homer's epic poem the Odyssey, there are many themes that serve to make a comment about the meanings of the story. The theme of women in the poem serves to make these comments but also establishes a point of view on women in the reader. From this point of view, a perspective is developed into the "best" and "worst" in women. Achievement of this is through the characterization of many women with single notable evil qualities.
In The Odyssey and The Color Purple, the authors show different period of time where women didn 't have the right to have an opinion nor a decision in their own lives. Second wave feminism was not only about the right to vote, etc. It was more of a fight about equal opportunities. Naturally, the differences between the people asking for equal opportunities would become a key point. In The Odyssey and The Color Purple, women’s rights are based on social structural rather than laws that allow women to make their own decisions.
Burt explains that “the hypothesized net effect of rape myths is to deny or reduce perceived injury or to blame the victims for their own victimization” (Burt, 217). When men get raped they don't see it as getting raped. Yet, when it comes to women they are more easily blamed because of “poor choices” like walking down an alleyway late at night, wearing sexy clothes or for drinking too much, giving a man a “justifiable” reason for his actions. McMahon also describes how “common rape myths include the belief that the way a woman dresses or acts indicates that “she wanted it” and that rape occurs because men cannot control their sexual impulses” (McMahon, 357). Chapleau, Oswald and Russel also explicate how “benevolent sexism is associated with victim blaming to protect one’s belief in a just world” (602). Benevolent sexism is the reverent attitudes that reward women who are traditionally feminine and is similar to hostile sexism in the idea that hostile sexism is when women are objectified or degraded often presented as anger, resentment or fear, while benevolent sexism is just as harmful, but put into a positive disguise, in a casual nonchalant manner that doesn’t make it so
The statistics clearly show a group of people who’re affected by the heinous acts of sexual assault. Everyone knows that sexual assault isn’t a topic that’s on the top of the list to talk about; people usually even try to go as far as to hide it or to cover it up. Though, it’s clear for certain; covering something up doesn’t make it alright – It won’t make it go away and the problem is still there. For that exact fact, it is the very reason that sexual assault is something that needs to be brought to the
Greek tragedy incorporates female characters that symbolize women in Ancient Greece. Through the portrayal of Antigone in the playwright, Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles and Penelope in the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, these two women play opposing roles depicting how they appear to society through their actions. In both of these stories, they embody the ideals of passionate women who are very loyal and brave. Through other female characters in each story such as Penelope and Ismene, we can construct a better view of traits illustrated by Antigone and Penelope.
Homer wrote the classic epic The Odyssey more than 2,500 years ago. At that time in ancient Greek society, as well as in the whole of the ancient world, the dominant role was played by men. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Women, of course, were valued, but were expected to possess certain traits and perform certain tasks that men demanded of them. Does Homer's writing in The Odyssey support or refute the common belief of his time regarding women? Homer endorsed the dominating belief of his time concerning women by treating the female characters unequally and differently compared to the male characters in The Odyssey.