The Dynamic of gender stereotyping
In the short stories “Women Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros and “Huerfanita” by David Andrew Talamanes, the authors indicate the abuse and responsibility women have to endure and what gender stereotyping leads to. Other writers like Sharon olds, the author of the poem, “crab” emphasizes the various struggles and sacrifices women make just be the unaccredited breadwinners in their perspective families. The authors discusses the numerous aspects of gender roles and the harassment that is to follow if they are seen shifting away from their “designated roles”. In their stories, they highlight the many obstacles families’ experiences, and the measures they must take in order to fit in both society and
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provide sufficiently for their children. “Women Hollering Creek” Cisneros implies that women, despite being the victim of abuse, do not respond with violence. They try desperately to cling on to the hope of a different life, but fear rejection or retaliation from a man. A women in the story repeatedly sticks to her cycle of obedience by “nods of her head, yawns …and laughs at the appropriate moments” (page 3). Despite the TV dramas that she aspires to live, she denies her dream every time, because she believes her wish is like “dogs chasing their own tails” (page 3).Cisneros also mentions the countless ruses women are told to be; like being housewives and she uses “La Llorona” as an example to demonstrate how women have broken down under the pressure and abuse that society insists is part of culture and life. She goes on to assert that the abuse of a woman by her husband has become so common that there was a man “who was said to kill his wife…when she came at him with a mop” yet was never arrested, charged or tried for his crime. Although Cisneros suggests this cruelty as being common, she states that these crimes are committed by husbands, fathers and friends indicating the abuse mostly ruminates from the people these women trust and respect most. However, the author of “Huerfanita” indicates that gender stereotyping not only affects women, but also affects men who are not “masculine”.
He suggests that, men who take on the effeminate roles are not necessarily accepted in society, yet women who take on the masculine roles are not unusual and are often times seen as a necessity. In Pablito’s story, Senaida sells burritos to support the family, taking the role of the man, but despite claiming to be the “breadwinner”, Beto spends all of his money on alcohol and chooses not to support his family. Furthermore, in Cisneros story, the women are dispensable and very rarely are they served justice for their untimely death. Both authors indicate the amount of abuse and even murder that happens to women who “step out of bounds”. Many times the men have a fear that their status in their community is being undermined, rather them fearing of failing their family. Like Beto and Ramon, the men are willing to beat and even kill their wives and children for the sake of their reputation. The authors suggest that many of the instances where men abuse their wives, they were all either drunk or suffering in poverty. They primarily seem to be taking out their frustration of their declining job opportunities and income on both their wives and their …show more content…
children. In “Crab” by Sharon Olds, the author implies the necessity of women to provide for their family in the absence of the father. In the culture she lives in, the man is the “breadwinner” in the family, but in the mother’s case of this story, despite the existence of the absentee father, she is the one who is providing for her family in their time of need. She takes on the role of both the father and the mother with no opposition from others. Ironically, when Pablito from “Huerfanita” even dares to embrace his effeminate side he is repeatedly beaten and called names. In my experience of living in a society where the role of a women and a man is set in a strict guideline, I have come to experience the many biases of gender inequality.
On different occasions I have been instructed to sit, stand, speak, and even eat like a girl. Despite not knowing what exactly that means, I have come to realize it is repeatedly frowned upon women who allow men to participate in roles supposedly designated for women. Like the story of Olds, the women do every task the men do. This includes hard labor, and all of the housework as well. Yet, it is rare to see women being criticized for taking on a masculine position. Through time it has become clearer why women, despite the abuse and unappreciated work, stay with their spouses. After reading the essays, it seems as if society as well as they keep themselves from leaving. Society gives women very little chance for financial opportunity. Like Cisneros suggested, women have no way of leaving or interacting with the outside world. The character in her story does not have a lot of places to go, and since she only knows her new husband “she has to remind herself why she loves him” (page 2) to cope with the stress. As the story shifts, she furthermore realizes she can’t disgrace her father by taking children to him and she can’t leave to live by herself because she has no money to support her
children. In many instances the women engaging in masculine jobs and are usually praised and even encouraged. For example, in World War II the cultural icon “Rosie the Riveter” was used to represent and encourage the women who replaced the male workers who were in the military. Despite many assuming her to be a symbol of female empowerment, she was used to encourage women to work in the factories for fifty percent less than the wage paid to men. Her “we can do it” attitude led women to work long shifts at the factory and come home to continue working in the house. The pictures displayed a masculine women with biceps, and wearing the American flag. This furthermore showed the bias that in order to work, women are expected to assume the characteristics of a man. The women mostly live their lives through fantasy of their TV shows, believing one day they might have the same lives. In many instances, the women are conflicted with themselves on whether they really have a choice or are “given” to their husbands as objects. The men on the other hand drink themselves to oblivion as a way of coping with their failure to provide for their family. Overall, the conflict is within the society and what it expects from its citizens and families. It is a conflict between what is seen as acceptable and what is not. In order to escape the continuous cycle of abuse and failure, society needs to let go of the gender roles and stereotype’s it has built. It needs to allow equality and acceptance for those who do not fit in the standard social bubble.
Until the last hundred years or so in the United States, married women had to rely on their husbands for money, shelter, and food because they were not allowed to work. Though there were probably many men who believed their wives could “stand up to the challenge”, some men would not let their wives be independent, believing them to be of the “inferior” sex, which made them too incompetent to work “un-feminine” jobs. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, feminist writers began to vent their frustration at men’s condescension and sexist beliefs. Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” and Zora Neale Hurson’s “Sweat” both use dialogue to express how women are capable of and used to working hard, thinking originally, being independent
In the story “Woman Hollering Creek” Sandra Cisneros covers the many challenges of being a married woman through the character Cleofilas. Cleofilas is married to a man that would not only mentally abuse her ,but physically also. Cisneros shows how double standards make it difficult for women; putting men above women. The culture has always been dominated by men.
The story “Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros describes the lives of Mexicans in a Chicago neighborhood. She depicts the life that women endure as Latino wives through her portrayal of the protagonist, Cleofilas. For Cisneros being a Mexican-American has given her a chance to see life from two different cultures. In addition, Cisneros has written the story from a woman’s perspective, illustrating the types of conflicts many women face as Latino wives. This unique paradigm allows the reader to examine the events and characters using a feminist critical perspective.
Women’s Escape into Misery Women’s need for male support and their husband’s constant degradation of them was a recurring theme in the book House on Mango Street. Many of Esperanza’s stories were about women’s dreams of marrying, the perfect husband and having the perfect family and home. Sally, Rafaela, and Minerva are women who gave me the impression of [damsel’s in distress].CLICHÉ, it’s ok though. It’s relevant They wished for a man to sweep them of their feet and rescue them from their present misery. These characters are inspiring and strong but they are unable to escape the repression of the surrounding environment. *Cisneros presents a rigid world in which they lived in, and left them no other hope but to get married. Esperanza, however, is a very tough girl who knows what she wants. She will keep dreaming and striving until she gets it. She says, "I am too strong for her [Mango Street] to keep me here" (110). Esperanza learned from all of these women that she was not going to be tied down. She said, "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain" (88). **Especially after seeing that Sally was suffering so much. Sally’s father is making her want to leave home by beating her. Sally "said her mother rubs lard on the places were it hurts" (93). There is not enough lard in the world to be able to cure the pain within Sally’s heart. Sally, "met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar" (101). Pretty soon " sally got married, she has her house now, her pillowcases and her plates" (101). Her marriage seems to free her from her father, but in reality she has now stepped into a world of misery. This was supposed to help her heal; " she says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape." (101). Unlike the other women Sally has no escape, no poetry, not even papaya coconut juice, not to mention, " he does not let her look out the window" (102). That is why "she sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission."(102). Rafaela’s situation also involves imprisonment in her own home. Cisneros introduced us to Rafaela, a young beautiful girl whose expectations from marriage were to obtain a sweet home to live in. Instead...
Sandra Cisneros short story “Woman Hollering Creek”, has many allegories about culture, morality, and gender roles.
Thesis Statement: Men and women were in different social classes, women were expected to be in charge of running the household, the hardships of motherhood. The roles that men and women were expected to live up to would be called oppressive and offensive by today’s standards, but it was a very different world than the one we have become accustomed to in our time. Men and women were seen to live in separate social class from the men where women were considered not only physically weaker, but morally superior to men. This meant that women were the best suited for the domestic role of keeping the house. Women were not allowed in the public circle and forbidden to be involved with politics and economic affairs as the men made all the
Intertwined in allusions to women of Mexican history and folklore, making it clear that women across the centuries have suffered the same alienation and victimization, Cisneros presents a woman who struggles to prevail over romantic notions of domestic bliss by leaving her husband. In the story Woman Hollering Creek, Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleófilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally. Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. In Woman Hollering Creek, we see a young Mexican woman, who suddenly moves across the border and gets married. The protagonist, Cleófilas’ character is based on a family of a six brothers and a dad and without a mom, and the story reveals around her inner feelings and secrets.
Throughout most of recorded history, women generally have endured significantly fewer career opportunities and choices, and even less legal rights, than that of men. The “weaker sex,” women were long considered naturally, both physically and mentally, inferior to men. Delicate and feeble minded, women were unable to perform any task that required muscular or intellectual development. This idea of women being inherently weaker, coupled with their natural biological role of the child bearer, resulted in the stereotype that “a woman’s place is in the home.” Therefore, wife and mother were the major social roles and significant professions assigned to women, and were the ways in which women identified and expressed themselves. However, women’s history has also seen many instances in which these ideas were challenged-where women (and some men) fought for, and to a large degree accomplished, a re-evaluation of traditional views of their role in society.
In the 1950’s, a woman’s life path was pretty clear cut, graduate from high school and find a good man while your ultimate goal is to start a family and maintain an orderly house. This is shown when Kingston says to the little girl “Some one has to marry you before you can become a housewife.” She says this as if becoming a housewife is a top priority for a woman. However presently, most women in America hold very respectable jobs and the role as housewife is slowly disappearing from American culture. Another example of modern day women showing strength is portrayed when the narrator’s mother goes on a cultural rampage and forces the narrator to go to the drug store and demand a piece of candy simply because the druggist missed the address of the house. This scene is shown in pages three, four, and five. By doing so the narrator comes off as poor and illogical.
“Poverty and exploitation of women in Latin America can never be alleviated because they are rooted in machismo,” meaning that because of the way society was run in Latin American, women can’t advance from the ancient state of mind that they belong in the private sphere and should stay there, because only men are good enough to be out in the public sphere. The reason why society was run in this manner, was because of the machismo feeling engraved in the minds of men and, in some cases, women in society. Alicia, Carolina, and Nancy don’t really have any other choice, than try to survive on their own by doing acts that are not “approved” by the society they live in. Even now, because of their actions, we could even disagree with the way they decided to approach their situation, because even now a day, we could think that selling one’s body or being involved in “off the book”
...women’s roles in society and in the household are. It is quite interesting on how many biased readers and writers we have in this world. There are so many people so quick to label women and men based on very simplistic roles in society. Men believe women have something to prove or justify, but only in the household. Overall, I really enjoyed interpreting this short story and literary reviews by Ann Oakley and Karen Ford.
A house is not a home if no one lives there. During the nineteenth century, the same could be said about a woman concerning her role within both society and marriage. The ideology of the Cult of Domesticity, especially prevalent during the late 1800’s, emphasized the notion that a woman’s role falls within the domestic sphere and that females must act in submission to males. One of the expected jobs of a woman included bearing children, despite the fact that new mothers frequently experienced post-partum depression. If a woman were sterile, her purposefulness diminished. While the Cult of Domesticity intended to create obliging and competent wives, women frequently reported feeling trapped or imprisoned within the home and within societal expectations put forward by husbands, fathers, and brothers.
In the story "Woman Hollering Creek" Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleofilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally .Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. Cisneros has been famous about writing stories about the latino culture and how women are treated; she explain what they go through as a child, teen and when they are married; always dominated by men because of how the culture has been adapted. "Woman Hollering Creek" is one of the best examples. A character who grows up without a mother and who has no one to guid and give her advise about life.
Thus, from very young years Clemencia saw that having an affair in not a happy marriage was normal. She turns herself into a strong woman that treats men the way men treat women under the machismo way. Cisneros’s heroine thought she had a control, “you’re nothing without me. I created you from spit and red dust” (Cisneros 75), but, in reality, it was an illusion. The disappointment in the relationships and marriage formed Clemencia’s stereotyped character, “not a man exists who hasn’t disappointed me, whom I could trust” (Cisneros 69). A young woman always became a witness of infidelity. The main reason for that, “I’ve helped them to it” (Cisneros 68). The collapse of hopes for a true love, a happy family provoked Clemencia to disrupt her anger on the masculine. Thus, she started to use men, “borrowed. That’s how I had my men” (Cisneros 69), but she could never find a man, “I could trust to love” (Cisneros 69). Basing on the memories about her family, mother’s behavior and on her personal experience, Clemencia made a decision, “I’ll never marry. Not any man…Not because I couldn’t….Marriage has failed me” (Cisneros 69). From Clemencia’s words, “Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Chilean, Colombian…I don’t care. Not men I
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.