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Post by morganmassino on Nov 17, 2015 2:01:27 GMT
The "Women's Sphere" article begins to discuss what was expected of nineteenth-century women right off the bat as it states how women were confined by the law and were supposed to be subordinate to men. Their focus should be on caring for and pleasing men above all else. Also, women were supposed to tend to domestic tasks while men's minds were "drawn to 'higher' things." In order to be a "good" woman, one had to have all of these characteristics and more.
These expectations and views of women have challenged throughout history. For example, when women in the United States were finally given the right to vote, they took a (small) step towards equality with men. Today, there is a growing number of females in STEM jobs and are working full time, straying from the stereotypical female figure that stays home and cleans and cooks and going against the belief that women's minds are too delicate and fragile for such topics.
Although women's equality is still a debatable issue in today's society, our idea of what a woman should be is no longer what it used to be. Women feel more "human" because they are given more opportunities and are treated with more respect as opposed to the obedient and submissive women of the nineteenth century.
What do you think has happened to allow women to begin to diminish the boundary between sexes?
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Post by Ms. McGettigan on Nov 17, 2015 19:09:56 GMT
Really good, really big issues and questions here, Morgan- good job! Things have changed a lot since the Victorian Age (thank goodness) and it's interesting to try to think about why and how.
It would also be interesting to think of where we stand now in terms of the role of women in contemporary literature and film- can you guys think of female characters that play into those dichotomies or stereotypes we talked about in class? If so, does it serve a purpose? If not, does it show how far we've come?
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Post by elizaneights on Nov 18, 2015 3:12:22 GMT
I completely agree with Morgan that the role of women has changed a lot since when Jane Eyre was written, and women are no longer expected to please men and be submissive to them. I think that writers like Charlotte Bronte, who displayed women as complex characters that may seem pure and submissive but in reality had internal desires and an urge to fight the oppression, helped women to feel more comfortable voicing their opinions and speaking out against men. When reading these types of novels, they could relate to the characters and realize that women are not as fragile and angelic as men portrayed them to be.
I noticed that in the movie Spectre, one of the main female characters, Madeleine, seemed to appear weak and delicate in the eyes of men. For example, James Bond thought that she would need him to teach her how to shoot a gun and defend herself, and was surprised when she already knew how. Throughout the movie, Madeleine was just as capable as James, but he felt the need to protect her anyway. This is much like Victorian literature because the men take charge and become dominant over the women. Some of Madeleine's traits were also more modern, such as the fact that she was openly strong and not submissive. This is not something that she tried to hide because these traits are considered positive in today's society, unlike in the Victorian Age, where the women would push this side of themselves away and not allow the men to see any of it.
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Post by rileymcgrath on Nov 20, 2015 21:28:25 GMT
Eliza, you bring up a good point about how women are portrayed in the movies. Kind of off topic, but even today, they are not many strong females in movies. When they are, they are usually just a side kick or love interest to a male protagonist. Movies try to appeal mostly to men because they are written and directed by men, and they think movies with female leads won't make money. The movie industry is very male dominated. Also, usually if there are strong females they're put into unnecessary and overdone romantic subplots. Even though women have made great strides since the Victorian Era, movies still mainly appeal to men.
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Post by tmehta on Nov 20, 2015 22:02:36 GMT
This is getting totally off-topic, but I found what Eliza and Riley said about modern movies really interesting! Eliza's mention of Spectre made me think of all the James Bond movies and their portrayals of women. I’m kind of mixed on the topic. I love how Bond always comes to realize that his Bond girl isn’t fragile and helpless but strong and determined. I think that the James Bond movies have had so much influence on society and media over the years, and it’s great to see such a popular movie franchise portraying women in a more positive light. At the same time, the only reason the Bond girl is ever in the movie is to give James some romantic scenes and someone to run away with at the end of the movie. So like I said, I’m kinda mixed on the topic. BUT male actors have almost always played the character M, and recently the role has been taken over by a female actor. (Fun fact: her name is Judi Dench, and she was actually in the 2011 Jane Eyre movie playing Alice Fairfax – full circle!!!) So while I think we have come very far as far as portrayal of women in movies goes, we still have a long way to go.
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Post by elizaneights on Nov 21, 2015 3:23:28 GMT
I think the fact that it takes the male protagonist a large amount of the movie to realize that the woman is less delicate than she seems, like Tara said, shows how far we still need to go. I agree that we have absolutely come very far since the Victorian Era, but men still underestimate the power of women in modern literature and movies. In today's society, men are still stereotypically considered strong, brave, and are expected to save women because they are not considered strong enough to take care of themselves. A woman who runs away from a fight is thought of as just a normal woman, but a man who does is considered by society as weak and not manly. I think that now, women can do more things without people telling them they shouldn't, but less is still expected from them. I also agree with Riley that most movies, especially action movies, are made for men and are mainly about men, with the women commonly being put down. Society considers women's movies to be romantic and without very much action, which is very similar to how women were portrayed in the Victorian Era, but women aren't necessarily interested in those types of movies.
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Post by danvolpone on Nov 21, 2015 14:42:03 GMT
Going back to Morgan's question, I think what has happened to allow women to diminish the boundary between sexes is the recognition that women can be just as valuable to society as men. This can be seen clearly in the United States with many women holding skilled and professional jobs, as well as women's suffrage. This has also resulted in women being less dependent on men. However, like Morgan said, the boundary is just beginning to be diminished. There are still boundaries, such as unequal pay for men and women working the same jobs.
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pditzler
New Member
I'm here to analyze literature and be a cool kid, and I'm all done being a cool kid.
Posts: 16 
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Post by pditzler on Nov 21, 2015 15:54:39 GMT
I thought all of the points about the depictions of women in entertainment were really great. The entertainment industry is so influential in shaping our minds and reflecting the ideals of society during different time periods. And it's definitely true that the depiction of women in movies and tv is still set a bit backwards. A lot of the time, women are casted solely as love interests, like you said, or as pains that the male protagonist has to deal with, like a nagging wife or girlfriend. However, as Riley pointed out, a lot of movies and tv shows are directed or written by men. These men may not feel comfortable or even know how to write a successful, interesting female character. This is possibly due to gender roles that seem so taboo to break, where a man is less masculine for knowing how a woman's personality and thoughts really are. So, the entertainment industry is another field where the ratio of female to male employees should definitely increase, which I believe it has over the years. Side note: Check out "Master of None" on Netflix. It has really well written women characters, and it's only 10 episodes long! (It's very binge-worthy.)
Outside of the entertainment industry, there are still plenty of social issues concerning equality for women. For example, the (somewhat) recent debacle about Planned Parenthood has sparked outrage over the topic of abortion, and whether or not it should be a legal option. Some pro-choice advocates have said that outlawing abortion is another way of oppressing women, by not providing a medically safe route and forcing women to either carry the baby when they don't feel secure enough to do so or attempt a very unsafe abortion at home. The debate is centered around an issue that largely concerns women and sex. The fact that we're even debating the issue of abortion shows that society is steps ahead in equality of 19th century society's view that the primary duty of women was to have children, but women still don't have complete control when it comes to sex and its aftermath. And though some pro-life advocates argue solely that abortion isn't moral, forcing women to bear children can ruin the ambitions and careers of women who truly weren't prepared for the responsibility. It's a truly icky and complicated issue that could change drastically if Sex Ed. was greatly improved in schools, but that's another topic...
What other political issues concern women and how do you think today's societal views of women are reflected in them?
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