Ideology of Gender Roles

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In the world of literature, ideology has played a vital role in depicting the condition of the society. The society has used ideologies to obscure the nature and composition of domination. According to Marxists, ideology is designated as a form of politics and law that is used to legitimate power to certain social class in the society. In the traditional setting, ideologies were used to discriminate one community or gender from the other.

It enhanced the superiority of the dominant community through decision-making and social consciousness (Clinton et al. 48). Although ideologies are sometimes true, they have played a vital role in defining the social structure based on gender roles in society.

The attitude towards gender role is often characterized by different opinions and beliefs on the roles of women and men in the society. For instance, the common ideology is that the place of women should be in the kitchen. The ideologies on gender roles have enhanced the society to define distinct roles of women and men.

In most cases, women have been reported to be the victims of discriminatory acts. The belief has enabled men to have dominance over women in society. Various ways have been used to reveal the perception of ideologies in the society.

In Shakespeare’s work, portrayal of ideology in his work is imminent through Medea’s character. Feminist theorists of theater turned insistently to consider how ideology was embedded in texts and performances. It displays how spectators were positioned to accept such ideologies unquestioningly.

For instance, when Medea initially walked on the stage in fifth-century, she was not a woman at all; she was a man in a mask speaking of words of a male playwright to a gathering of male citizens. This has evoked legal and dramatic narratives that her daughters were succumbed to, following her stand in the society (Massai 52). Most often, like Medea, they are referred to as “non” women.

Gender role ideology is demonstrated by Shakespeare through Othello’s character. Indeed, absolute social and spiritual equality between different sexes do coexist with equal absolute subjection of women that is decreed and then subverted. Puritan marriage ideology in the Renaissance provides a remarkable index of the ways in which modern values were being created, and conflicts were taking shape.

Othello’s character demonstrates the apprehension and exploitation of ideological inconsistencies that prevails in the current society. In the scene (1.3) in which Desdemona and Othello seek to justify their marriage before the Vietnam senate, she unwittingly articulates a conception of sexuality and its relation to public life that is antagonistic to Othello’s (Massai 68). This demonstrate the clarity in the perception of gender role ideology in the society.

In No Name Woman and White Tigers by Maxine Hong Kingston, she used storytelling to demarcate the ideological belief and expose the truth behind the perceived social structures in the society. Kingston’s chronicle, No Name Woman, demonstrates various examples that show men’s dominance over women. For instance, when men migrated from China to America in search of work, they left women to look after the household chores and the children.

The women were expected to keep the customs and rules of the society while their male counterparts fumbled without being detected. Ideally, the work of safeguarding the tradition demands that an individual’s feeling towards an action should be played in one’s guts without exposing the rage to the society (Kingston 8). This implies that there is a significant difference between female and male’s roles.

Consequently, Kingston reveals various forms of ideologies in these two stories that he wrote; blame, oppression, and humiliation. The ideologies are intertwined to demonstrate the society’s perception of gender roles and its implication on mask superstructure. Kingston demonstrates blame ideology through the revelation of aunt’s act of committing adultery. The blame is leveled on the woman’s shoulder while the man is unaccountable of the situation.

Although the aunt is stuck in an unsuitable predicament, it is clear that ignorance persist in the society as they are blinded by gender roles’ ideology. Adultery can only be committed by two people of different sex. In this scenario, Kingston reveals that the men out-live their roles in the society, and they are taken to be in the higher social order than that of women (Massai 32).

The ideology of humiliation is demonstrated in No Name Woman when the mother of Kingston narrates the story of her aunt. This was aimed at forewarning Kingston against humiliating the family and the clan. Mother tells her story as she feels it is essential to warn her in the early stages of life, that is, before commencing her periods. However, Kingston understanding is quite different from that of her mother.

The story reveals the discriminatory acts that exist in the society when one is confined in the cocoon of the society’s culture. It shows that men will always be dominant in the society if they are not punished equally from the acts they commit. Women are not supposed to be punished excessively and men are treated as royals despite committing the same felony. The ideology outlines that men are not supposed to be humiliated.

The society provides that women are the only ones who can be humiliated from the unacceptable deeds. Ideologies of oppression do exist, as the women cannot air their grievances publicly. This is demonstrated by the community’s council of elders where only men are entitled to be the leaders of the community while the women should stay at home (Clinton et al. 254).

Kingston’s memoir focused on gender roles’ ideology. It shows how men are dominant figure in the society. She also reveals her experience on the society’s superstructure that discriminates women. Indeed, women have tried to achieve a high social order like their male counterparts, but they are hindered by these ideologies.

The use of storytelling aimed at demarcating oppression, discrimination, and humiliation that women face in the society. Her writings provided a challenge to the society on the role of women and men. Kingston’s chronicle is not an ideology reflection, but it is aimed at enabling the literature work to distance itself from ideological misconceptions.

In conclusion, ideology has been the dominant factor in the traditional and current society. Individuals seem to embed on ideological perception when defining gender-based roles. Human being should not be immune to crime in the society. Men should not be treated fairly when both women and men are found guilty of the same crime.

As such, by means of storytelling and writing, Kingston and Shakespeare were able to reveal gender ideologies, and the way men benefit from this misconception. The society needs to understand that ideologies discriminate individuals in the society. Literature work should not instigate gender roles’ ideologies, but it should demarcate its existence. Women’s roles should be distinct and where a crime is committed, like in the case of her aunt, both the genders should be treated equally.

Works Cited

Clinton, Jerome, Irele Abiola & James Heather. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009. Print.

Kingston, Maxine. The Woman Warrior: memoirs of girlhood among ghosts. London, Vintage Books, 1989. Print.

Massai, Sonia. World-wide Shakespeare’s: local appropriations in film and performance. London: Taylor & Francis, 2005. Print.

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Ideology of Gender Roles

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