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Gender and culture in the middle east
Women's role in art
Gender and culture in the middle east
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I believe Art doesn’t always present only one thing and it could potentially mean several other ideas that could only advertise political inference. In Winegar’s article, the broad theme is linked to oppression of women through the context of political art. The Middle Eastern society is often a male-dominated society and often women’s voices do not matter. One of the participants in Winegar’s article name Shirin Neshat expresses the inequality through her photograph named “Speechless”. The photograph shows “where a barrel of a gun stands in as a women’s earring” (p.669). Winegar (2008) state, “her art as showing and challenging women’s oppression in the middle east and the inequality between men and women” (p.670). The interpretation of western
In Chapter 4, The Cruel Hand, Michelle Alexander does a great job analyzing the issues that many inmates go through when they get out of prison. This chapter was a bit more interesting to read compared to the last one. One passage that stood out to me was when Michelle Alexander stated, “Even if the defendant manages to avoid prison time by accepting a “generous” plea deal, he may discover that the punishment that awaits him outside the courthouse doors is far more severe” (Michelle Alexander Pg. 142). Like I mentioned in the beginning, when inmates are done serving their sentence they usually suffer on the outside world. That is because they’re now being labeled as criminals in our society and corporates/businesses have a little leverage on
In her article, “Lecture Me. Really”, Molly Worthen addresses the issue college students know all too well: how to lecture properly. Published in the New York Times, Worthen writes a passionate article about lecturing but from the perspective of a professor. Worthen presents the idea that lecturing, although some may think ineffective in the classroom, is a way to truly challenge and engage students into critically thinking. Worth dictates this idea with an excellent build up logical argument but lacks the proper evidence to support her claims creating a faulty argument.
Even today, despite much debate, we live in a patriarchal society—we live in a world ruled by men and their thoughts, feelings and ideals. Women are a large part of a man’s life, and there are standards and inferences made about them. Berger explains man’s view of its counterpart through art. The earliest depiction of nudity is in art surrounds the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In the tale, Eve is pictured as a temptress and because of her rebellion against God; she is a lesser being. This is what kicked off the prejudice against the female race. The discrimination reflected in society by the roles women are given in the world. They are objects owned by men. Women are expected to clean, bake, cook and please their men in anyway possible. They do not hold jobs; their job is to obey and dote on their husbands. Women are passive members in art, so they become ...
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
In the chapter “The Veil,” Satrapi’s graphic novel displays a connection with advertisements; that being a theme of oppression toward women. In the chapter “The Veil,” Satrapi introduces her readers to her life in 1980. A frame from “The Veil,” Satrapi includes a caption and image that 1980 was the year when wearing the veil became enforced by the law (681). The frame prior to the enforcement of the veil explains that the reason behind this law is due to ‘The Islamic Revolution’ (681). With these two frames, readers see that new laws such as the veil were enforced due to “religious” reasons because the government. Having men in government enforce such laws on women demonstrates the control they are attempting to gain. Women face oppression in advertisements similarly by society telling women how they are seen and how they should look. The types of advertisements that target women this way are sexual advertisements. An example of an advertisement oppressing a woman is displayed in Dolce & Gabbana. Dolce & Gabbana created an adver...
...ion on which all others are based" (604). Using images to change the perception of gender relations and gender roles poses an interesting possibility. Using the images may be the only way to shape any change at all in our society. Rich has used her experiences to grow and evolve. Her poetry gives voice to her pain, to her victimization, to her past and to her future. She uses the images in her poetry to shape awareness if not change. This all may be very difficult because, "We have inherited some of these representations from of former era" (Bordo 156). The timelessness of these images may be hard to eliminate or alter. There is hope though, because if images have been used to maintain cultural ideology, then images can also be used to change our perceptions. This would have a destabilizing effect and as a society, we are resistant to such a drastic change.
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
At the time of his death, Charles L. Dodgson (1832-1898)(Fig. 1), known better to the public by his famous nom de plume Lewis Carroll, was by all measures an interesting if famous, eccentric personality. Most of his contemporaries saw in him a deeply religious man who was generally reticent and shy among the adult public but could be wonderfully silly, almost child-like and creative among his favored audience, little pre-pubescent girls. It was for these very special children that Carroll wrote his two famous nonsense
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.
People use art to display the beauty found in the world and, because of this, women have been subject to objection through paintings and photography all throughout history. Whether it is a commissioned oil painting from the 17th century or an advertisement from the 20th century, there will always be some type of image that objectifies women. In the book Ways of Seeing John Berger states that a woman “comes to consider the surveyor and surveyed within her as the two constituent yet always distinct elements of her identity as a woman,” (Ways of Seeing 46). Berger is saying that women know they are seen as an object purely because they are women. Women in paintings and photography are objectified for the pleasure of the viewer, they are illustrated for the surveyor’s specifications, so in essence the picture is a better representation of the owner than the subject.
Shel Silverstein was a cartoonist for the military newspaper during the Korean War. After the war he went on to write well known songs for popular artist like Johnny cash and Loretta Lynn. After writing music for a while Shel met a woman named Ursula Nordstrom, a book editor, who convinced him to start writing children’s books. He later created books know across the world such as The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends. In his poem “Sick”, the theme Innocence is shown by the contribution of hyperboles, Imagery, and rhyme scheme found in his poem.
The portrayal of the Arab woman has always been through several different perceptions. Some believe that these women are weak, dependant and victims of a hyper patriarchal tradition and culture. They live their lives as if caged from one man to another. First it is their father and brothers and then their husbands and sons. It is true that Arab women do live within patriarchal traditions and cultures but the same can be said for majority of the women around the globe. A much more accurate perception can come only through the realization that what popular Western concepts conceive as women liberation and independence does not necessarily apply to every women around the world. One must understand the culture, religion and traditions and history of a people to know what their ideas regarding concepts such as liberation and independence are. In the west for example women were allowed to vote relatively recently compared to Muslim women who were allowed to vote over fourteen hundred years ago, the same could be said for owning businesses and property and the right to a career. One of the most popular beliefs in the Western world today regarding oppression is that women in Arabia are sexually controlled by their men. This has been brought about especially by the concept of the Hijab as being one of the channels to control women’s sexuality and freedom. It can be argued that in various cases this is true but one cannot commit such a grave injustice and put all Arab women under one umbrella and stamp them as sexually oppressed. The fact is that the Middle East is a region where many states, cultures and identities exist.
The Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto narrates the story of Mikage, who is a single girl without a family. However, she finds a new family with an old friend Yukichi and his mother Eriko. The two are very helpful, and they comfort her and through them, she can overcome the challenges that she has experienced in her life “great people emit light that warms the hearts of those around them. When that light has been put out, a heavy shadow of despair descends.”. She picks up her life, and now she hopes for a better tomorrow. The author of this story, Yoshimoto, used Yukich to develop a theme on the essence of a family and the good role it plays in someone life. Mikage has been used to show the struggle that one goes through without the family. Through
Alice in Wonderland belongs to the nonsense genre, and even if most of what happens to Alice is quite illogical, the main character is not. “The Alice books are, above all, about growing up” (Kincaid, page 93); indeed, Alice starts her journey as a scared little girl, however, at the end of what we discover to be just a dream, she has entered the adolescence phase with a new way to approach the mentally exhausting and queer Wonderland. It is important to consider the whole story when analyzing the growth of the character, because the meaning of an event or a sentence is more likely to mean what it truly looks like rather than an explanation regarding subconscious and Freudian interpretations. Morton states “that the books should possess any unity of purpose seems on the surface unlikely” (Morton, page 509), but it’s better to consider the disconnected narrative and the main character separately, since the girl doesn’t belong to Wonderland, which is, as Morton says, with no intrinsic unity. Whereas, there are a few key turning points where it is possible to see how Alice is changing, something that is visible throughout her journey. Carroll wants to tell the story of a girl who has to become braver in order to contend with challenges like the pool made by her own tears, or assertive characters, like the Queen.
Cliff Lewis is from the working class and, according to the stage directions (page 10), he is the same age of Jimmy; physically is short, dark and big boned; and psychologically, he is easy and relaxed almost to lethargy. He is Jimmy and Alison’s friend and he lives with them. His relaxed humor changes only when Alison is going because he does not want to see anyone hurt. He is considered by Jimmy like someone common and uneducated, and Cliff thinks that Jimmy gets on him because of that (he tells Alison in the page 30). He changes a little bit, because at the beginning of the play, he thinks that he is not capable to live on his own again because he is rough and ordinary (and also because he does not want to leave Alison alone) (Page 27); but at the