...example, women of the 19th century were primarily expected to marry and serve their husbands’ wishes, not receive an education, go out with friends, or find new forms of amusement. Instead, women were required to be at home and loyally obey their husbands. But how long can one go without exploring the inner intricacies of oneself? In her critical essay “Laugh of the Medusa”, Hélène Cixous looks upon the woman who “allows herself to be threatened by the big dick” (347) with contempt and scorn. Still, this intimidation that men have instilled in women is not easily overcome. Colette (1873-1954) and Jean Stubbs (1926- ) expose the risks that come with the discovery of a woman’s true desires in their short stories, “The Secret Woman” and “Cousin Lewis”. When the false woman is revealed, she suffers and is tormented by ridicule or shame even more than when she was in hiding. Cixous wants women to stand out and be who they are by embracing their bodies and being proud of their femininity. Women need to stop being reduced to “the servant of the militant male, his shadow” (338). “Laugh of the Medusa”, is a proclamation to women writers to “write about women and bring women to writing” (334) and to stop hating themselves and hating other women for being women- celebrate each other’s femininity and set free the body! Cixous wants women to make the world fear them though their identity and femininity; not fear the world because they are insignificant servants of the male. Women should not...
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...PROFESSIONS FOR WOMEN by Virginia Woolf “Professions for Women” is an abbreviated version of the speech Virginia Woolf delivered before a branch of the National Society for Women’s Service on January 21, 1931; it was published posthumously in The Death of the Moth and Other Essays. On the day before the speech, she wrote in her diary: “I have this moment, while having my bath, conceived an entire new book—a sequel to a Room of One’s Own—about the sexual life of women: to be called Professions for Women perhaps—Lord how exciting!” More than a year and a half later, on October 11, 1932, Virginia Woolf began to write her new book: “THE PARGITERS: An Essay based upon a paper read to the London/National Society for women’s service.” “The Pargiters” evolved into The Years and was published in 1937. The book that eventually did become the sequel to A Room of One’s Own was Three Guineas (1938), and its first working title was “Professions for Women.” The essay printed here concentrates on that Victorian phantom known as the Angel in the House (borrowed from Coventry Patmore’s poem celebrating domestic bliss)—that selfless, sacrificial woman in the nineteenth century whose sole purpose in life was to soothe, to flatter, and to comfort the male half of the world’s population. “Killing the Angel in the House,” wrote Virginia Woolf, “was part of the occupation of a woman writer.” That has proved to be a prophetic statement, for today, not only in the domain of letters, but in the entire...
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...Analysis Essay on “A Sorrowful Woman” Gail Godwin signifies that not all women want to be a full time wife and mother in her short story, “A Sorrowful Woman.” This idea of feminism helps the audience understand the poignant character and her actions. Gail Godwin incorporates this epigraph, “There once was a wife and mother one too many times.”(1st Sent.) This quote at the beginning of her short story implies that the woman should not have been a wife or mother. Her unhappiness in (Para. 1) is based on how she was so sad and it made her sick to see her husband and son. She did not want to be a wife or mother so she tried new things. “She tried these personalities on like costumes, then discarded them.”(Para. 20) This shows how she could not pin-point her true identity; therefore, she tried new personalities, but none of them worked. (Critical Analysis of “A Sorrowful Woman”) When she picked up the pen and pad and attempted to write a poem (Para. 20). She failed to succeed. Because she wanted to be free, all the freedom she did have seemed overwhelming. The sorrowful woman sought to be independent. She moved into her little room and slowly but surely disconnects from her son and husband by not seeing them anymore. (“Critical Analysis of “A Sorrowful Woman”) Because the sorrowful woman could not identify herself, her husband had to fulfill her roles. “I don’t know what to do, it’s all my fault, I’m such a burden.” (Para. 15) The husband, always understanding her feelings, hires...
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...wife tells the person who she’s talking to that he will be picking him or her up regardless of him even being able to pick the person up. That’s how it seems to be in the whole story. Him thinking too much and his wife taking decisions on he’s behalf. A short essay about how men and woman communicate: Communication between men and women is very often too poor. The woman expects a lot of things of her man, and so do the man of the woman. But none of them cares enough to talk about things – woman often wrap things up and men normally say what they mean. Somehow that makes the whole difference. Sometimes men hurts woman by their direct way of saying things but often it’s the easiest way of saying whatever they mean. And more often men are irritated by woman’s wrapping up, because they never really say what they mean, they want the men to figure out some of it by themselves. This often results in problems between the two of them. Normally woman tends to make decisions on behalf of their man whereas the other way around men normally talks to their other half before making a decision. Most men find it natural to act this way because they want to make sure that both parts are involved in the decision whereas women just makes the decision regardless of any plans their partner might...
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...Explore Wilde’s Presentation of Women in “A Woman of No Importance” A woman of no importance was written late in the Victorian period and was first published in 1893. This was a time of change in traditional English society, the class system, that has stood in place for so many years, was brought into question, a long with the role of women in society with early ideas of gender equality and ‘women’s suffrage’ campaigns. In ‘A woman of no importance’ Wilde explores these changing views and offers several, contrasting presentations of women that existed in Upper Class Victorian society, which I will explore in this essay. One presentation, which some may perceive as the most obvious one, is that women are weak, feeble creatures who need male influence in their lives in order to be able to function. There are several examples of women being presented this way throughout the play; firstly, the way in which Mrs Arbuthnot is shown to be completely dependent on the males in her life throughout the play, firstly on George Harford, and then on Gerald. In the passionate speech she makes to Gerald at the end of act 3 she tells him, in the third person, of her undying love for George she felt at the age of eighteen, ‘he made her love him so much that she left her father’s house’, for her to leave her home and ‘(to break her) father’s heart’, Rachel must have felt that she could not live without George, showing her total devotion and dependence on him. Earlier in the play, we see how...
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...what failing. As men the power we should be aware of is feminine power over us. Any man who loves a woman is under her power; in most cases he is not aware of it. In this art work which was done by Picasso, I see the power of women over men. As men we think we stronger than women. We can do lot things that women cannot do. In fact, they have the power to make us do what they want us to do. Demoiselle is oil on canvas painting done by Picasso. In this art work, I see Picasso painting five ladies. The painting is for young ladies. Picasso painted the ladies in cubic form which was the modern way to pain at that time. By looking at the painting, you see that all the figures inside have almost the same face but different size of the body. In my opinion, the women body is what put pressure on the man. Most of strippers in clubs have a nice, beautiful body; men are attracted to the body more that the soul. If the woman has a nice body, she more likely to have the man does what she wants in order for him to have a piece of the cake. In the painting, Picasso had drawn the women body parts in different ways. This indicates the different parts of the body that man likes in general. Some man likes the legs, others like the boobs. At the end, the women body is what allowing her to control man. One element that attracted me the most is why Picasso painted all the figures with eyes looking straight at the person who’s looking at the painting. These shows how confident the woman...
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...Women will always find themselves chasing an elusive identity and dream unless they embrace who God made them to be according to the Bible. Women must come to accept their femininity. God has made them different purposefully. Physically, they are different, being generally weaker and crafted to bear and nurse children, and they have different emotional needs as well. Peter exhorts husbands to treat their wives in an understanding way because they are different, being women, and men need to understand this (1 Peter 3:7). Women must come to define womanhood based not on the culture or even what well-meaning Christians might assert but on the Word of God. The Bible says that a woman does well if she bears children (Psalm 128), and it doesn’t condemn a woman as inferior if she remains unmarried, does not have children, or cannot have children (Matthew 19:12). The Bible says that women should be workers at home (Titus 2:5), but it also allows for them to do profitable business ventures (Proverbs 31:16). The Biblical ideal is for men to provide for their families and for women to stay at home to raise the children. Unfortunately, this will not always work out perfectly, and both men and women need to be willing to adapt and be flexible and understanding. If it is possible for a mother to be with her children and raise them, then there is no Biblical reason to excuse her from not doing so. Though a stay at home mother might feel at times like she is...
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...further from what it seems. Henrik Ibsen, the writer of Hedda Gabler, seems to not be telling us the personal story of the woman Hedda Tesman, but showing us the faults of society for that time period in terms of the roles of women. “The Trapped Woman”, is a term I will use to describe the role of “The Woman” in the late 19th Century. Henrik Ibsen appears to be showing us through Hedda’s life that no matter the apparent strength or background of a woman during the 19th century, they are still trapped in a way which forbids them to be who they truly are. Hedda Tesman, as described early on in the play, due to her background and personality, should in no way be anything but in complete control over her life. As stated by Aunt Julle, “General Gabler’s daughter. What a life she had in the general’s day!” (Ibsen). This statement in the beginning of the play almost immediately foreshadows her unhappy life in her current state. Due to the roles of women for that time period, she is just the representation of all women in her situation at the time. Women in the 19th century had very minimal rights. When a woman becomes married, the rights of woman are immediately given to their spouse, which in Hedda’s case is Jürgen Tesman. One can make the assumption that for women in the 19th century, marriage is actually closely related so slavery, in that the woman is owned by the man, in every way possibly (Buckner). Hedda’s character shows us of a woman seemingly aware of these truths, and...
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...Sexualization of Girls and Women in the United States: A Growing Epidemic Kayla Johnson Chamberlain College of Nursing Sexualization of Girls and Women in the United States: A Growing Epidemic Brittany, a freshman in High School arrives at her home after school and turns on the T.V to watch MTV music videos. She watches the T.V. as half naked girls dance in the background of male singers. She picks up her phone to get on Instagram where she scrolls through images of famous women like Rhianna and Kim Kardashian who post scantily clad images of their bodies. Brittany thinks to herself, “I wish that I looked like these girls, maybe if I looked more like them the boys at school would like me more”. Brittany’s mother gets home from work and puts dinner on the dining room table. Brittany sits down and eats only a portion of her meal because in the back of her mind she is still feeling as though her own body is inadequate, she could probably lose more weight and if only she had bigger boobs and longer legs, maybe then she would feel better about herself. She lies in bed that night and wishes that she had a better body so that she could feel beautiful and happy. If only she knew that thousands of other girls were feeling the same way, maybe she would realize that the issue isn’t her own body- the issue is the cultural emphasis on female sexualization that has become a norm in our society. Unfortunately girls all over the world are struggling with self-confidence related to...
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...Andrew Herrick ENGL1304 Rolater Fall 2014 The Beauty Within “How to Love” is a song and music video by Lil Wayne. The video depicts the life choices of one woman, the causes and effects of these choices, and ultimately, how they impact her life. “How to Love” centers around the issue of low self-esteem that many young women face, due to sexism and a lack of love for their personalities versus their bodies. This video serves as a message of awareness, to both men and women, about how deeply harmful sexist abuse can be. “How to Love” begins in a hospital operating room, where a young woman is waiting to undergo an abortion. The opening scene sets the serious tone for the video and serves as foreshadowing for later on, during her daughter’s portrayal of life. The young woman has a swift change of heart and flees the hospital in tears. This is the first example of a choice being made that greatly impacts one’s life. Her daughter is now an infant and sits crying in a baby carrier while watching her mother and father entangled in a physically and verbally abusive ordeal; which clearly shows sexism in the form of domestic violence. The video progresses and the infant is now a young girl who is visiting her father at a prison; which clearly shows the audience that he is not a good man. Fast-forward again, and the audience is presented with the young girl as a pre-teen, being molested by one of her mother’s lovers. This scene and the lyrics, “you can’t have a man look at you...
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...Ciara Pepper 05 Nov. 15 English 101 Eilene Myers The Monkey Garden Aging promotes the loss of childhood and innocence. Little girls go from skinned knees and imaginary friends, to running around in their pantyhose and hanging out with their boyfriends. In Sandra Cisneros', "The Monkey Garden", she addresses the emotions that occur during this drastic transition through the view of herself as a little girl. Esperanza tries her best to avoid what is renegade against the normal expectations of women. Esperanza's overwhelmed tone reveals her fear and doggedness to adversity when Sally's game defiles the garden's innocence/purity, exposing Esperanza to the realization that she cannot remain a kid forever. Esperanza's syntax reveals that innocence is irrevocable. Reminiscing of the Monkey Garden,...
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...Kristen Ngan is the name. The type of girl who is very adventurous, creative, “kikay”, loves collecting girly things, fashion and colors! I can say that every object in my plate, symbolizes me or my personality. The “Pink Shoe” and the “Pearl Bracelet” represents Fashion. I've always had a 'Passion For Fashion’. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been reading fashion and beauty magazines. I was always wondering how women could bring out the best in themselves. In fashion, my biggest inspirations are definitely Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Gabrielle Chanel. They show the difference between a woman and a lady. In my free time I like to read fashion magazines, fashion and beauty blogs. I love to surf the internet to look up all sorts of fashion online shops. Not just to see what’s new, but to get inspired as well. Being involved into “fashion” is really a big thing for me. Because in that way i help myself increase my self-esteem. My interest in fashion started at a young age. I enjoyed spending my days alone playing with my Barbies. I repurposed their clothes with a stapler and tape and gave them haircuts to match their look. The “Green Ribbon” represents how girly I am. The “Red Nail Polish”. When I became a teenager, like I said, I love colors! and so I’ve been very addicted to nail polish. Its just I’m so plain, without them. And I really take good care of my nails. Also, believed in the saying “Nails Are Like Jewels, Don't Use Them Like Tools”. The “MAC...
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...woman’s hero in her time because she was all about women having equality. She spent five years researching a book dealing with what she called the “problem with no name”. This excerpt gives a general view on how she felt as a woman who took a back seat to her own life to become the “American House Wife”. She discuss how women would try to make themselves believe that being the good wife was what you had to be and living behind the shadows of a man was acceptable. In this document Friedan wants people to know exactly what occurred during the feminist movement. How women's rights came to a reality, how women believed there was only one role to have which is a typical housewife that has a husband to overpower her. Not being able to vote, or have any rights as an equal to men. This means father not mother, children of both sexes needed to learn, recognize and respect the abilities and functions of each sex. No matter what, the men were in charge. Next, Friedan discussed how women where brought up believing when they grow up, they are to marry and have children. Going to college is what is a woman had to do, but graduating wasn’t required. Being well educated is shown to be unfeminine. Men didn't enjoy a woman knowing information they knew. Men wanted women uneducated, men were supposed to be the only one educated in the household. The role of women was to find a husband to support the family that they would raise. Many women dropped out of college or never went in the first...
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...Top companies of India that use diversity as one of their strengths: 1. Infosys The diversity team at Infosys focuses on propagating and promoting diversity and inclusivity among employees through ACTION which stands for: * Audit inclusivity and diversity levels * Create change agents * Train the managers * Initiate and implement alternate work models * Organize and assist affinity groups * Network with external bodies to benchmark practices Infosys Women Inclusivity Network (IWIN) promotes a gender-sensitive work environment. IWIN recognizes the unique aspirations and needs of women. It provides avenues for vocational, personal and psychological counsel to enable professional and personal development. Infosys won the first NASSCOM-India Today corporate award for excellence in gender inclusivity in 2007. Infosys actively seeks to hire and train persons with disabilities. In 2006 and 2007,Infosys BPO received the Helen Keller award for the best employer from the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).Infosys announced an intake of 300 graduates from universities in the US in 2006 and about 25 from universities in the UK in 2007 as part of itscommitment to create a diversified workforce. The new employees will develop their engineering skills at Infosys Development Centers across India for six months before returning to Infosys offices in the US. 2. Google India Diversity is an essential component of the culture...
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...seemed to ignore her because they all were “Londoners”, or so she thought. There was only one person in the hall left – it was a young woman by the name of Laylor. “Do you have change?” (P1, Line 12) she asked. The woman seemed to turn round slowly. In some way they both start to communicate and the woman finds out that the girl is not from London, because of her accent. Unfortunately the girl a refugee is from Uzbekistan. She has the most spectacular eyebrows and her hair is black. Laylor is very young, maybe a student and she has a younger brother, but their parents aren’t with them. The parents were arrested in Uzbekistan (they were journalists). Friends of their parents acquired passports for them and put them on a plane to England. The women don’t know anything about people in Laylor’s situation and she speculates on why the girl doesn’t search for some help. Laylor tells to the woman that she’s afraid of that she will not see her mother again. The woman starts to think and her head is full of so many sensible thoughts, she starts to imagine how it will be, if Laylor get the help she really needs. In the end the woman decide to get away from...
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