John Mill Gender

Mill makes a very strong argument that the position women have in society is not the only possible way to structure societal hierarchy. The reason it seems unnatural to change its structure, he claims, is because it is uncustomary.

He feels that because women have been in this position for so many years, it would feel irregular to deviate from it. “The subjection of women to men being a universal custom, any departure from it quite naturally appears unnatural” (Mill 1157). As he continues, he reveals his thoughts on the matter to the reader: “this relic of the past is discordant with the future, and must necessarily disappear” (Mill 1159). Mill explores many aspects of the issue. He attempts to uncover the differences between the sexes to provide maybe another solution to the problem, but to no avail, “nothing final can be known” (Mill 1162); nothing is as strongly stated as when he places the blame on custom. Later in his essay, while exploring the systems of past societies, he comes to the same conclusion as earlier. Only this time, he states that there has been some improvement in the system as time went by; however, equality has not yet been reached. He believes that the small increase in power over time is enough to suggest that equality is the solution: “Through all…human history, the condition of women has been approaching nearer to equality with men. This does not itself prove that the assimilation must go on to complete equality; but it assuredly affords some presumption that such is the case” (Mill 1160). This quote is yet another contribution to the blame of custom. In the past, societies lacked equality

Louise Halfe’s “Body Politics” challenges the qualities and behaviour of the idealized feminine woman by contrasting the stereotypical “city woman” with a more masculine “real woman.” The poem’s speaker describes her mother’s opinion of what it means to be a real woman, which is seen through “Mama said.” Throughout the poem, the speaker uses vivid imagery to create a stark contrast between the idealized feminine “city woman” and a “real woman” who does not conform to the feminine gender norm. To begin with, the title of the poem itself can be viewed as an obvious critique of the feminine ideal. By definition a body politic is a group of people “considered as a collective unit” (Merriam-Webster). This is significant because in Butler’s theory, she emphasizes that a person’s gender can vary depending on a given situation, and therefore women cannot be grouped together and defined exclusively by their feminine qualities. Instead, she argues that women should be viewed as individuals capable of possessing both masculine and feminine behaviour. This belief relates directly to the poem’s title, as Halfe is clearly making a statement on the manner in which patriarchal societies expect women to conform to a singular feminine ideal. Moreover, it illustrates how women’s bodies become a political site for the masculinist culture to impose feminine gender on. With consideration to the title’s reference to a homogeneous group of women, it is interesting that stanzas two through four all

More and more women were pushed into the work force. "The 1960's and 1970's became an era of diversity and identity politics as a host of "others" sought recognition and liberation from the constraints of discriminatory laws, social policies, and negative stereotypes" (Erera 354). As more women were entering the work force, they were becoming financially independent and were able to live on their own. This led to many women who were unhappy in their marriage to divorce their husbands and raise their children on their own. As more and more women became financially independent, the more appealing single life became to them. Soon women all over were adopting and fostering children, and many also decided to give birth while still remaining single. "With the increasing numbers and visibility of single-parent, step, and adoptive families, the gay liberation movement opened the way for the emergence of gay and lesbian families" (Erera 355). Gay and lesbian families were starting to become more common as the seventies had passed.

Mill rejects society’s claim that the subordination of women is ‘natural’. According to him, this is a product of custom and however universal they may be, they afford presumptions. He says that they ought not create any prejudice in favour of the very arrangement which places women in social

Ruth Bloch's book comprised of eight essays titled Gender and morality in Anglo-America discusses the early century changes and importance of ideals on gender that came to promote cultural values. The book explores what are now considered the traditional gender roles and the influence of its 18th century origins by comparing these ideals with older and differing values. Bloch uses historically important developmental impacts on 18th century through use of religious, political, and literary accounts to support her claims on gender and its social effects. The under arching theme present throughout these essays emphasizes how the definition of gender has been shaped and the influences that relationships between cultural values, symbols, and concepts

Species. It was in this work that researchers and the public based their assumptions on the biological differences between men and women, which as a result became the basis of a rather one-sided debate working against the social advancement of women: ‘writers argued that women 's efforts to enter the public seek employment, to vote, to enter misguided because they placed women 's social and political aspirations over the purposes for which their bodies had been designed (Kimmel 23).

So, first, feminism values women as important and worthwhile human beings and second, feminism recognizes the need for social change if women are to lead secure and satisfying lives. The main social change that feminists promote is and end to any kind of domination: those of men over women and also among women in different classes. Conservatives on the other hand, promote to keep gender arrangements as they have been in the past years, with males holding public power and women being restricted to home and family. They have been also justified by both biological and religious grounds, so women should not be encouraged to try doing things that go against their “nature.” When there is an interaction between individuals, the influence of sex and gender associated. People use gender to make inferences about sex, as they use earlier observed sex characteristics to make inference about gender. For example, when man and woman go to buy a car, the sales person tends to direct the sales to the man rather than to the woman. The sales person acts according to his beliefs about which partner is more likely to make decisions, in this case to buy the car. These kinds of interactions are so ‘normal’ that they pass unnoticed when encountered.

The gender history of the Victorian era can be defined in many ways, one of which as a patriarchal model that reserved power

This is directly due to the fact that men cannot have babies and women do not have the upper body strength it takes to tend fields with a horse and plow. It is obvious that the roles of men and women have changed drastically in the last century; some believe it is for the worse. Fathers are being pushed out of their role and seen as unnecessary for discipline and guiding the children to respect women. There is a profound difference in how children are raised in current society. Today's generations are being brought up to be self-motivated and not to need another person. This goes against the very basis of socio-economic growth and the known dependence on society to benefit from one another's contributions. In the past, during an emergency, the men were always the last to get to safety, always putting women and children ahead of themselves for protection. Men have always been the caretakers of women, the providers and the disciplinarians, until the women's movement. A feminist who believes she is capable of anything a man can do should not raise sexist accusations against men when she puts herself in a situation to be treated like a man. If a woman hits a man in a domestic dispute and the man hits her back, she should not be able to have him arrested for abuse. If the man were hit by another man, he would defend himself and

Written by John Stuart Mill in 1860-1861, as the Victorian era took place in England, “The Subjection of Women” is a critical piece of analysis in regards to the status of women in society and their unequal relationship with the opposite sex. During Mills lifetime, women were considered to be inferior to men by custom and laws, therefore, it was expected of them to be submissive in nature and to drive their aspirations as far as those of a homemaker, wife and mother could go. Deeply influenced by the ideas of his wife Harriet Taylor Mill, and John Stuart Mill’s own beliefs, “The Subjection of Women” was published in 1869, becoming a piece of literature that would not only challenge the common views of society at the time, but will advocate for different approaches in light of modern times.

There are roles played out by the male and the female that have remained stable and consistent throughout all walks of life for most of our existence. When we study almost any species of being, we see distinctly different jobs carried out by each member of a family. While our text would cite otherwise, I still believe the practical aspects of gender is universal. There are exceptions to every rule in nature and every culture will vary in it's beliefs and traditions, which would allow for the findings of Ms. Mead in her study of New Guinea. Our text does acknowledge that "men are favored in all of the world's societies," which would show the need for change. However, when we truly examine what it is the feminists are trying to accomplish, we can link the feminist movement to the disintegration of the family unit as it is known to be. The proper functioning of a family relies greatly on the division of responsibility. In general, most societies have relied on the male to take on the figure of authority, while the female would tend to the raising of the children and domestic matters. To some this might seem a repressive role for a woman to place herself in, yet it is her role that keeps the family intact. These role distinctions are rooted in biology and remain present and unchanged

During the years between 1500 and 1700, known as the early modern period, men and women lived within a society with gender expectations and standards to fulfil. The question at hand, whether men and women were equally constrained by gender expectations, is an interesting one and it calls into question the patriarchal hierarchy established to maintain the dominance and authority of men as well as reveal that men were also constrained by gender expectation despite the literature supporting such an argument being relatively little compared to that of the gender expectations of women. This essay will look at how baldness played a key role in preventing men from living up to their gender expectation and how it also impacted the patriarchal hierarchy both within the household and wider society. This will then be countered with the gender expectations faced by women. This will look at what it meant to be a woman in the early modern world and how strictly enforced it was on women compared to men. This essay will look at texts by Will Fisher, Alexandra Shepherd and Anu Korhonen to conclude that women and men were not equally constrained by gender expectations and men did not face as much pressure as women did when it came to living up to such expectations.

However, critics of feminist theory advocates for men who have been

From a historical stand point, it was always assumed that the head of the household was always the male. Today's society have groomed people to believe and expect a man to be brave, industrious and domineering, whereas a woman is suppose to be submissive and nurturing (263). Men have also been raised to believe that their feelings and emotions are suppose to be hidden from others and should be dealt with internally. With creating this society, men will be able to express themselves without ridicule. Men will be able to continue to provide for their families, as well as maintaining a clean image without being labeled as "queer." Men will have an overall promising and positive impact on society by creating a community where children will have positive male figure in their lives. This new type of man, one who is sensitive, caring and not afraid to vent his feelings will still be able to carry the burden of taking care of the household and the children in the event there is absence of the mother. The female and androgynous perception of a man will eliminate the dominance of a male's ego.