Category: Gender

Sexuality is an integral part of the human being. Human gender will play important role in their life. Some people get attracted towards opposite gender some people get attracted toward same gender. But on the other hand, human sexuality has some illness and an unintended result that can affect our overall health. Human sexuality is important for several reasons. Human sexuality is important for those who are planning on having a child, and for those who are looking for a birth control that fits their lifestyle, and some are looking to terminate a pregnancy for health or practical reasons. Sexual energy is a main source of what encourage us to get intimate in relationships.

Learning about human sexuality is important for me because this is a very new and interesting topic and the main reason for me to study human sexuality to gain more information about sexuality in relationships. It also helps me in developing my ability to make an intelligent sexual choice based on my own need. And the knowledge about human sexuality protects me from any kind of transmitted infections. Moreover, I never read about sex deeply. So, when I choose this topic at that time I was very confused about this course because it is very different from any other subject. To be honest I feel very uncomfortable in front of others because I cannot talk openly about human sexuality. But after choosing this course I learn about many new things. And the discussions in this course help me to enhance my knowledge and help me to speak openly about sex. Secondly, I do many assignment and discussion on different topics that helps me to know more about different topics that what are the methods of sex and what method is used for birth control. Before taking this course I only know about one method- condom. But after reading this course I get know about many new methods like Birth control pills, Hormonal patches, Birth control implants, Vaginal ring. And another method is Barrier birth control methods which includes Diaphragms, Condoms, Cervical caps, Spermicides.

As community member, family and workplace

• As a community member: Human sexuality is an important topic for everyone. This teaches us that talking about sex in public is not a bad thing. Like I already mention that I really feel uncomfortable talking about sex but now my fear is gone now I can teach the people about human sexuality and aware them about this topic to protect them from any kind of incident. And I also encourage them to spread this knowledge to other people in our community
• As a family member: Now I can teach my younger brother and sister about sex and I can also give them knowledge about what type of problem people face if they do not use the right ways. Secondly, I can give ideas and solution for controlling birth and give them knowledge of different birth control methods.
• As on workplace: I can help people who are working with me. If someone shares any problem with me then I can help according to my knowledge and moreover, I can also ensure that no employee feels unsafe at the workplace by giving them knowledge about human sexuality this will help those people who face sexual harassment.

And I also know many things like the background history of human sexuality that when it evolves and what method was used by people at that time and how they control the birth problems. Our sexuality is rooted in how we understand and define ourselves, how we perceive others, and how we see the world.

Specific topics

The topic which I like the most in this course is “love”. I learn that what love in the form of sexuality is. Love is a force of nature. Love is bigger than you are. You can invite love, but you cannot dictate love. Everyone has a different meaning of love. Some say love means: a life of the very emotional person but some say love means Long Original Valuable Emotion.

Love is divided into four forms- romantic love means idealized love based on romance. Secondly, unrequited love- loving to that person who will never come. The Third is passionate love means includes physical attraction and elation. The Last one is conjugal love means deep attachment, trust, and loyalty. I learn about love very deeply I know that what behavior and emotions can be changed during the love. I like this topic because I think that love is very close to my heart. We cannot express our feelings that we love someone, but it is our behavior which describes that we love someone. As a community member love is part of everyone’s life. Almost every people have their love partners. For example, I am also in love with someone special. So, I can help other people who live around me that how we feel when we love someone and as family member I always understand the feelings of other.

The Second topic that really influences me that is the importance of communication between two people. Good communication increases the probability that the relationship will last. According to me if any relation breaks the only reason is poor communication. It is normal that in every relation communication problem is normal, but it is our responsibilities that how we save our relation and how improve the relation. Most of the time many relations are ended because they cannot maintain that feeling who they feel in starting of relation. Male and women communicate in different ways. Women have a higher speech quantity that is they use more words, due to hormones during fetal development. I learned that we communicate in a verbal and non-verbal way. I learned that mostly non-verbal communicate is famous in the couple. Because they can understand the facial expression of their partner. Like when he/she angry, happy and irritate. Secondly, non-verbal communication shows your sexual desire and reinforce verbal message. It also helps me to know about my partner that if her facial expression is changed during our conversation then I can understand that she is not interested, or she is board. Now I can properly maintain my relation and easily understand the desire of my partner. Mostly a common mistake couple makes when arguing. So overall communication is best for resolving relation.

Reference

1. Carroll, J. L. (2019). Sexuality now: Embracing diversity. Australia: Cenage.
2. The Psychology of Sexuality. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evil-deeds/201405/the-psychology-sexuality
3. The importance of researching human sexuality. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://thesheaf.com/2016/02/13/the-importance-of-researching-human-sexuality/
4. Newman, T. (2018, February 07). Sex and gender: Meanings, definition, identity, and expression. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363.php
5. Stöppler, M. C. (n.d.). 15 Types of Birth Control Options, Side Effects & Effectiveness. Retrieved from https://www.medicinenet.com/birth_control_methods/article.htm#birth_control_definition_and_facts

According to the Christianity religion, God is the supreme being that created and sustains everything in the world. Their actions and believes are anchored His wishes and commands which are structured in the holy bible. On the other hand, human sexuality is defined as sexual desires and attractions that an individual gets. Their response can be triggered by desires which are either physical, erotic, emotional, and so on. To Christianity, human sexuality is defined by God, whereby the bible stipulates that these desires should be between a male and a female. Therefore, this essay is going to pose an argument on why it is necessary to remain religious even in the current technological and scientific world.

Morality in the Internet

Every human being has personal sexual desires which need to be satisfied. However, this desire must be addressed in the right manner without eroding morals, ethics and legality. Development in technology has made the world become a small village where communication can be transferred easier than before. People can share their personal information through the internet to their partners who are overseas away. This is a good development as it has brought cohesion among families. It has also improved trust, which is a basic component while discussing human sexuality. Even religiously, God command partners to trust each other by strongly condemning selfishness and unfaithfulness.

However, with all these positive attributes of the internet, there are as well negative aspects that have brought erosion of religious beliefs. Today, catholic priests are engaging in homosexual activities amongst themselves and with young recruits in the service. This extreme to which religious believes have today been eroded. With the improvement in science and technology, people whose beliefs are anchored in the holy bible are interpreting the scriptures in the way it will suit them. This has led to them continuing to satisfy their sexual desires outside their religious belief.

Religion is like a line of command which guides its believers on how to behave when encountered with life challenges. However, it is a voluntary engagement, and people in the world are not forced to associate themselves with any religion. For this reason, if one chooses to follow the faith of Christianity, one is expected to live by those beliefs. If one fails to adhere to those believes he is seen as an outcast and can be alienated by the other believers. The bible only allows people to engage in sexual activities when they get married. It also limits individuals who are married to only express sexual desires to their partners alone. According to the roman catholic, a man is only supposed to marry one wife with whom they are expected to bare kids and grow the generation (Balswick & Balswick, 2008). However, in case they are incapable of getting children, they are expected to stick together until death.

Today, there has been a drift from the religious beliefs of people sticking together through thick and thin till death. Divorce cases have increased, and Christians are now getting married too many love partners in their lifetime (Balswick & Balswick, 2008). The God-human relationship is today being interpreted separately from the traditional way. Religious people are now interpreting marriage as compatibility and not as a lifetime union. The same religious leaders who ordained marriages as a lifetime union are the same ones that oversee the exchange of vows when these people get new partners after divorce. Today the society seems to oppose the religious leaders’ teachings about remaining in marriage till death (Beya, 2006). Marriage is about compatibility and respect. If one partner does not respect the other, there is no need to stick to it.

Masturbation

Technology has resulted in children getting sex-related information at a very early age. The study has shown that 95 per cent of united states teen has access to smartphones. Among these, 85 per cent are often in internet-enabled networks (Schlosser, 2018). Because of this reason, they end up getting a lot of exposure to sex information. This exposure has affected their mentality, which often pushes them from doing immoral activities like masturbation. A study done by Rochman (2011) found out that at least 63 per cent of young united states boys have masturbated at least once in their lifetime. The percentage increased to 80 per cent as the boys reached the age of 17 years. On the other hand, girls’ masturbation rate was low with at least 43 per cent of young girls reporting to have masturbated at least once and increased to 58 per cent as they approached the age of 17 years.

This change in human sexuality morality can be attributed to change in technology and improvement of science. Before, technology came, people were more inclined to religion as a source of guidance. Human sexuality challenges were controlled by following what one’s faith meant as prescribed in the bible. Today people are using the internet to express and find guidance. Online counsellors have also increased as opposed to the traditional religious leaders. Children are more independent today as compared to traditional days. The rise of incest among young children and adults is an illustration of how society has evolved from biblical teachings. For instance, the bible prohibits any form of sexual relationships between people who have a close kinship.

Fornication

While all types of religion preach against fornication, most teens are engaging in sexual intercourse before marriage. This has led to their parents introducing their children into the use of contraceptives like family planning early. Despite the increase in sexually transmitted diseases among the young generation, they are still engaging in immoral sexual activities. Research shows that the level of HIV/AIDS is higher in young people globally than in the old generation (Kavanaugh et al., 2013). This signifies that the more people are internet savvy, the more their exposure to sexual activities. Most of the baby boomers and generation X members of the society do not have the extensive exposure to technology as compared to members of generation Y and Z. therefore, although they are today living in the 21st century they are more inclined to use their religion as guidance in sexual matters. This brings them closer to Gods will and righteousness as compared to the young generation.

Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriages

In the 21st century, cases of sex marriages have been on the rise, which raises the issue of the religious leaders’ influence in society (Beya, 2006). Biblically one marriage sex was vehemently profited as it was seen as not only immoral but also unethical. Toady these marriages have even gotten legal recognition in the united states of America and other states. This is an illustration that society today is reshaping its own course, which is different from that prescribed in the religious teachings. The same-gender marriage has even spilt over in churches with even priests taking part in the exercise. According to Norris, Marcus & Green (2015), most religious communities believe that same-gender marriages and even homosexuality do not conform to their belief. None of the common religions in the world has ever stood to recognize same-sex marriage as one of their belief (Heaphy, Smart, & Einarsdottir, 2013). It is considered as a wrong type of marriage that does not have God’s blessings as it is against His will. There are two main reasons why these religions regard same-gender marriages as wrong. One it is because of the argument that marriage is meant for procreation. The same-gender marriage does not have this capacity of bearing a child on themselves. This pushes partners to seek help elsewhere, which is against the biblical teachings of partners being committed to one person.

Scientifically, for reproduction to take place, there must be the presence of a sperm and an ovum which is the female egg that gets fertilized. In same-sex marriage, these two gametes are absent, meaning reproduction cannot be done. The Roman Catholic beliefs that marriage is supposed to be done between an adult man and woman and should last for a lifetime (Balswick & Balswick, 2008). The primary purpose of this marriage is to give birth to children, bring them up to maturity by instilling discipline and morals. Therefore, sex that is not primarily based on procreation is not supported by the roman catholic belief. Judaism also does not also promote same-sex marriages. The most antagonist to this type of marriage is the orthodox Judaism who opposed any form of recognition of same-gender marriage among their believers. In fact, they have been lobbying against national recognition of this marriage in the states where they exist. Islam which is the second biggest religion in the world, also refer to homosexuality and same-gender marriage, is immoral, unethical and ungodly (Hasbany, 2013). In most of the Islamic countries, homosexuality is prohibited by law. This includes Saudi Arabia and Iran. All these illustrations show that same-sex marriages and homosexuality are unwelcome in most religious beliefs.

However, with the emerging rise in homosexuality and same-sex marriages, some religions are bending their beliefs to accommodate this member of our society. For instance, traditionally, Hinduism did not have a room for same-gender marriage. However, today, some Hindu religious leaders are siting the traditional Kamasutra context as a way of accommodating members of this group (Hasbany, 2013). Although some religions are silent about this type of marriage, many are opposed to it.

The other reason why religion opposes same-sex marriage is that it is ‘unnatural’. The argument is that human beings were created to control the world and rule it (Balswick & Balswick, 2008). Animals which were created with lesser minds naturally know they are supposed to mate with the opposite sex. Therefore, the opposite sex is the ordained and God’s will. A woman was created with a complementary purpose of giving birth. Therefore, the lack of using these capacities is like an insult to the creator, who is God.

The emerging trends on homosexuality are making religions incline towards adopting the practice. The only religion that seems to be unmoved by the trend is Islam (Hasbany, 2013). This proves that following Godly ways in modern society has become difficult to not only the believers but also to the religious leaders. Homosexuality is more common in young generation than the old. The marriage is being televised on local television stations as well as international ones. Films nowadays, without one character playing as a homosexual is not perceived to make more sales. All these are avenues that have led to the adoption of this practice. Recently, there has been rife news of sexual violence in churches. Priests are being accused of violating young boys sexually. This raises questions on how the society is expected to respond to such actions having in consideration that these are the same individuals who preach against homosexuality.

Reflection

My opinion is that religious leaders should not be pushed to bend the Gods will in order to accommodate homosexuality and same-gender marriages. They should be guided by their belief and advocate to have a moral and ethical society. When religious leaders drift away from their holy book teachings, they immediately stop being Gods servants as commanded. They should stand for the truth because that is what will prevail for ages to come. My personal reflection was an experience I had two years ago when I was hit on by my friend whom I did not he was gay. Having gone for a sleepover at his place, he made sexual advancements. It was awful and shocking since I could not accommodate his actions. I left and went to my home with huge anger even after he apologized. After a few days, I met him and tried showing him how God hates homosexuality. Although he is a Christian and his belief is anchored in the bible, his argument was that homosexuality had been endorsed by many priests in the country, and above all, it is legal. I took him through a biblical journey on what the bible says about homosexuality. We both saw the facts that it is against Gods will and should not be practiced by Christians. However, despite the facts, he did not change the behavior, but instead, he changed the church. Today although we are still friends, we are not as tight as we were before.

Scientific Revolution

The society has today moved so far from Gods teachings. In 2016 a sex robot was launched and had a name Sophia (Szczuka, & Krämer, 2016). The robot had the capability to communicate with her user and give sexual desires satisfactions. This is the height at which technology and science have gone in its quest to copy Gods creation. With the current world of technology whereby people are lost in their world of cellphone, they have little time for their partners. Therefore, the primary purpose of making Sophia was to satisfy men sexually (Szczuka, & Krämer, 2016). This means that a man who has this sex robot would have no interest in a woman. This is ungodly since the holy books only recognize sexual intercourse between people.

Sex was given by God as the biggest gift to humankind, and therefore, it ought to be treasured and respected. The reason why it is regarded as the biggest gift is that it brings joy to the two partners. However, it has the ability to cause enigma in the partners’ relationship when they share with other people. The world has evolved technologically, and there has been a high development of methods of preventing conception. This has extremely changed society’s view of sexuality. People use pragmatic means to define sexuality whereby they believe it is a way of finding out how a person is sexually active. According to Hill (2008), using psychological and physiological definitions, sexual intercourse can be defined as how humankind respond to their sexual desires. Such a definition of sexuality is very secular in that it distances us from our cultural and religious belief.

Conclusion

Technology in science has often been used when people get pregnant out of their sexual engagements. Through science, a developing pregnancy can be terminated more easily without pain. People are using this technology to divorce their religious engagements which puts them at a distance with God. This is a very unique and unreligious opinion about human life which God took time to create. The roman catholic church has stand firm on protecting human life and human sexuality. To forecast the human perspective of human life and sexuality, Pope Paul VI wrote an encyclical called “Of Human Life” (Balswick & Balswick, 2008). The theme of this writing was explaining why it was important as it is today to protect the human value for sexuality. People should not only consider their personal feelings, desires and instincts when they want satisfaction, but they should consider how God wants it done. Through this, the society will be able to remain morally upright in terms of human sexuality. It is impossible to detach human sexuality from respect for human life since the former brings the other one. This means that it is out of sexual intercourse human life is created. Therefore, if people do not respect human sexuality, it would also be easy for them to terminate human life. This is why society today is using technology to terminate pregnancies.

In Vatican II, Pope’s talked on why it is necessary for religions to expand their teachings on why marriage, human sexuality and family life should be natured. The family is the smallest unit of society, and members should express love for each other. Showing respect for human sexuality is the biggest love that spouses can express towards each other (Balswick & Balswick, 2008). God’s love is unconditional, and He loves us all. Married people try to echo this love but supporting each other and remaining faithful. Therefore, marriage between man and woman is a true reflection of God’s presence in people.

Religious leaders should lead by example by showing their followers the right practices of human sexuality. To a great extent, adoption of abortion, divorce and extramarital affairs among the society of the united states has led to the wrong definition of human sexuality. It has become the new lifestyle, and most the churches have been compromised to adopt it too. Homosexuality, single-gender marriages, divorce are now acceptable. Despite the bible being direct on some of these aspects, religious leaders are choosing to interpret it in a way that suits them. Technology and science have also played a big role in changing how people view human sexuality. It has, therefore, become difficult for people, especially the young adults, to follow the Gods way as prescribed by religious teachings.

Introduction to Mulan’s Feminist Journey

Feminism women’s social theory and political movement is based on the Disney movie Mulan because it shows gender stereotypes and fights against them. Mulan shows that a real woman can do anything that man can do. Also, shows how strong she is and she can fight. Women’s experience of struggle in society and trying to be equal to men. The men stereotype is the belief that men have to go to war or go to work while women have to stay at home and take care of family. Feminism is the belief that women should have political and social equality with men.

The Disney movie called Mulan, she is a Chinese fighter and tells the story of her journey of beginning to stay at home, finding love and escape to help to win the battle. Mulan is a lead female character and her character was courageous, confident and determined. I admire her because she is a very strong independent woman and she’s very determined to do what she wants. Mulan represents that she identified herself as a female of gender and asian. I think I believe that she is madness because she stood out of her character and the way she wants to break the standardization. I believe that she represents the madwoman because she is very resisting rather than staying silent for something that she believes in right things to do. Mulan wants to defend her country, she joins the army to hide her identity to take her father’s place because being a female privilege never exists and they aren’t allowed to go to war or go to work. Mulan wants to be nothing more than to serve in the war.

Breaking Gender Stereotypes: Mulan’s Decision to Join the Army

As you can see in the movie, the first wave feminism believed that women were less inferior to men at that time. People believed that a woman’s first job was the home to do cleaning and cooking. Mulan was struggling to face the women stereotypes because they don’t have the privilege to have the same rights as men. The struggle was even more for these women because they are facing sexism and dealing with the issue of sexism. They don’t have privilege to have the opportunities to join the army and this is something that prevents them from gender roles. “Mulan has no place to go except the traditional role expected of all Chinese women-namely the role of a “dutiful” wife and a “filial” daughter” (Lan, 2020). Mulan still views the world with her own eyes, she sees gender and equality isn’t equality. Mulan has the power to have the opportunity to break the gender stereotypes to join the army. Also she doesn’t like the idea that men are only selected to attend the army and they have the honor to be given the opportunity. Mulan decided that it’s best for her to escape her home to join the army without her parents knowing because her parents didn’t want her to break the rule. Mulan is the only and one that breaks down the female stereotypes. In society, they expected them to wear the dress and polite acts. She was breaking the traditional gender role during war time. She has strong embracing powerful female heroism and strength. Mulan has a powerful voice for those who don’t have a voice. She protests against the injustices that have been done to these women who want to join the army and she has successfully used to prove them wrong that she saved her country.

The Struggle for Equality: Women in a Man’s World

The Mulan describes the inequality found in the society and other oppressions such as discrimination based on sex and class. She felt the oppression because everyone which seems to affect the everyday lives of all social brings in this world. She has always struggled to find a way to prove to these people that she can do anything that man can do. When people realize that she wins the battle and breaks the socialization of gender roles and might face the consequences of her action when she meets the emperor of China because she breaks the rule. Mulan didn’t show the characteristics that the society expected her to be a woman to find a husband and do house chores. She shows them that she’s a warrior. She definitely knows how to serve better to her home country.

Mulan can experience the wartime while she’s hiding her female identity because she knew she wasn’t allowed beings in the war with all of these men militaries. The way she experiences in the wartime is different than the way men experience but they all can fight in the wartime in a full capacity. Women shouldn’t view themselves as weak but they should view them as strong. They live in a different world. It’s just different gender roles. It’s how Mulan’s expressing that they can show the society what they have. Mulan desires to see and experience the army in the same way men do when connecting emotionally to battle. She has always been in a relationship with her brain and heart because she knows that she is strong enough to fight and is going to win the battle for her country. Women are less able to experience the meaning of the army because they are not allowed to join it. This has also inspired movies such as Mulan to work on fighting the gender stereotypes and believed herself to protect her country. These women’s roles have evolved and greatly expanded the relationship of the emperor of China with Mulan. Women have the ability to experience men’s role in society but they can develop a cultural and more meaningful relationship with the emperor of China that goes beyond the wall.

Everytime she sings a few songs to honor her feelings because she’s really focused on every detail of emotions such as sadness, happiness, scared and nervous. She should open her feelings to see what she feelings and ask herself multiple questions like what’s going on? Why is this happening? She should allow herself to see that doing this is the way to open her eyes and realize if this is the right thing to do. She doesn’t even talk about her true emotions or discuss with her parents because of the reality of society that taught her to take something in immediately herself as a young woman. She doesn’t always show her emotions when it comes to discussing with her parents when she wants to take her father’s position. She was struggling to find the true definition of her true strength. Mulan’s journeys and life experience can be a relentless pull of emotions. This process is part of her to grow her journey from the bottom to the top. For example, from the bottom, she was newly in the army and she was struggling and exhausted at practice to be prepared to be a real soldier but when she found out that she was laid off because she was not doing well. She’s determined to fight her feelings and it leads her to success. She’s experiencing her emotions and being vulnerable when she’s working with the people and it helps her to have great strength, not a weakness.

Mulan’s Emotional Resilience and Inner Strength

The song, “I will make a man out of you” is an inspiration song because it shows gender stereotypes and how women struggle through gender roles. “Her initial attempts at both these roles are so poor as to be comical, but eventually, having been she can go home, Mulan becomes so determined to succeed that she very quickly begins to prove herself, both as a man and as a soldier” (Davis, 2020). When Mulan became a soldier, she was very brave and fought the bad Huns who invaded China. Mulan proves that she can do anything a man can do, shows how strong she is and has the ability to fight. This song is the main point about how she starts to become a warrior to fight in the battle where she keeps her hope and doing the best she can be in the war to prove them that she’s a real soldier while she develops the qualities and skills that the males have because society still views the women as weak and views the men as superior. Mulan has to be masculinized to become a strong prove to the capital of the army.

The Power of Music: “I Will Make a Man Out of You”

“Television, in particular, began to feature shows about strong, captable women-referred to by some as superwomen- who were successful and balanced in their careers, with their families, with their love lives, and in any other areas of their lives” (Davis, 2020). She is a strong independent female leader with courage and purpose who defies gender stereotypes and she wasn’t afraid of rebels. She doesn’t need a prince to save her but in fact, that she saves herself and to defend her country. She really stands up for herself and beat these gender stereotypes. She was selfless and fearless. She did everything to protect her loved ones. She doesn’t need to be saved but instead she saves her family’s honor and brought the honor to the emperor of China after what she did to her country. She believed in herself and used the action going toward the equality between men and women. She discovered that she always ends up victorious and that she’s grateful that she brought the honor and sword to her home.

Conclusion: Mulan as a Symbol of Gender Equality and Empowerment

Her struggles seem to be in vain because all her attempts to escape to save her father’s position seems to push her back to where she fought. She only puts herself in the position first because she wants to focus on herself and her success.

One of many reasons why I chose Mulan as my cultural analysis essay because I think she was the perfect example that she represents the madwoman and she was the figure of gender, mental illness and social class. The way she describes the movie that she’s a warrior. She wasn’t like every other woman because she was different in an extraordinary way. She finally was heard because she fought one step at a time from the bottom that leads her to success. She keeps believing in herself when nobody believes in her. She never gives up on herself and she was a very determined person not like others. She was awarded the honor come from the emperor of China and she changes the world and changes the way people view her as a strong independent woman.

Works Cited

1. Davis, Amy M. Good Girls and Wicked Witches: Changing Representations of Women in Disney’s Feature Animation, 1937-2001. Indiana University Press, 2011. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gzbqk. Accessed 23 Apr. 2020.
2. Lan, Feng. “The Female Individual and the Empire: A Historicist Approach to Mulan and Kingston’s Woman Warrior.” Comparative Literature, vol. 55, no. 3, 2003, pp. 229–245. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4125407. Accessed 23 Apr. 2020.

The term ‘gender’ has become complicated for scholars to define in recent decades.

For the purpose of this essay, the constructivist meaning of gender will be used, which defines it as “a process of social construction, a system of social stratification, and an institution that structures every aspect of our lives because of its embeddedness in the family, the workplace and the state as well as in sexuality, language and culture”(Lorber 1994, p.5). In our postmodern society, scholars have began to question the “dichotomy of sex and gender…and the interdependencies of biology and social construction” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.220), with many emphasizing the “relational quality as well as the ambiguity and fluidity of gender” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.220). These developing interpretations of ‘gender’ have acted as a catalyst for change in society and culture, predominantly in developed capitalist countries across the world. Sport is a gendered institution, meaning that those doing sport are categorised as a man or a woman. However, due to complications over the definition of ‘gender’, this dual sports structure has come under scrutiny in recent times because of the embedded nature of gender in culture in our postmodern society. This is not the only complication with regards to gender and sport, as the outdated cultural norm that men take the “lead role in the development of various physical exercises and sports” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.221) has been challenged in many industrialised countries, with the breakdown of male patriarchy and the rise in number of females in politics and the formation of feminist groups “ensuring progress towards gender equity” (Aitchison, 2003, p. 86). This essay will interrogate how the gender construct within sport is not individual to itself, but a reflection of hegemonic discourses and practices with regards to gender that are embedded in the social construction of society.

The complications over the meaning of gender that are present in our modern societies demonstrate the entanglement of sports, politics, and culture. Originally, competitors have always been placed into the categories of male and female. From 1966, “chromatin tests” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.225) were used at the Olympic Games to place athletes into these categories and was as simple as revealing a “combination of x and y chromosomes” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.225). Whilst sporting committees still categorise competitors as either male or female, it is nowhere near as straight forward as previously, due to the development of the term and notion of ‘genderqueer’. According to (Winter, 2010), the term was developed “for gender identities which do not fit in the binary scheme of man and woman or in any other fixed categories” (Winter, 2010). Predominantly Western countries have seen a rise in people coming out as transgender; “an umbrella term that describes people whose gender identity or gender expression differs from expectations associated with the sex assigned to them at birth” (Berg-Weger, Marla, 2016, p.229). The rise coincided alongside the invisible transition towards a postmodern society, which has an anti-foundational nature that sees a fluidity and unstableness. The progression towards political acceptance of people considered transgender has developed, with “16 openly transgender individuals have been elected to office in the United States” (Lyons, 2017). In sport, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) ruled in 2004 that transgender athletes can compete “if their assigned sex is recognized by their government and if they underwent hormonal treatment for a period of two years prior to competition in their newly assigned sex” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.226). The need for recognition by the government, and the recent acceptance of transgender people in society demonstrates the entanglement of gender between politics, society, and sport. Whilst it is positive that transgender athletes are now able to compete, there have been many complications with regards to those registered as the female gender from birth who have “naturally elevated androgen levels” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.226) – the term for this is ‘hyperandrogenism’. There is a social and cultural stigma towards women who suffer from hyperandrogenism that has developed as they have “distinct competitive advantages” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.226) due to the physical implications of the condition. In 2009, the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) put in place a policy to exclude women who suffer from hyperandrogenism from competing with other women, following South African runner Caster Semenya’s victory at the World Championships that year. Whilst she was allowed to compete the following year, cultural issues within societies arose from this decision, which was thought to be fuelled with discriminatory and racist intent “by some commentators, politicians and activists” (Dixon, 2009). Similar incidents have occurred within the past decade, further highlighting the entanglement. Because of the issues surrounding hyperandrogenism and testosterone levels in sport, commentators in recent years have debated whether the existing gender structure within sport should be abolished, and whether sporting categories should be determined by other factors such as hormonal levels. However, owing to the fact that gender is a social construction and is embedded in culture, it would be difficult to break down this hegemonic norm.

The socialization of gender with regards to sports and practices is heavily tied to the culture and politics of societies. From the moment a person is born, they are subject to various masculine and feminine cultural expectations. According to (Giulianotti, 2014, p.226) “the dichotomous structure of (competitive) sport ‘genders’ the participants and reinforces gender duality as it groups individuals into one of the two gender categories”. What this has resulted in is a gendered world whereby they “adopt the dominant discourses including sport skills and practices” (Giulianotti, 2014, p.227). Such discourses include the idea that there are more masculine sports such as wrestling and rugby, and more feminine sports such as gymnastics and ballet, and if people break these norms then they could be easily considered as outsiders in their culture. More controversial discourses used to exist in Western countries, and today in less developed countries. In his work Sports and Masculinity (Kidd, 2013), Bruce Kidd deconstructs certain cultural ideas towards gender and sport. He considers that “education and socialization through sport was consciously understood to be ‘masculinizing’” (Kidd, 2013, p.113) and that sports’ nature is patriarchal. He emphasises that “male doctors and physical educators argued that humans had only a finite quantity of energy, which in the case of women was needed for their reproductive organs” (Kidd, 2013, p.119-120). These cultural norms can be considered as entangled with the politics of the 20th century, whereby politics was a male-dominated sector of society and women had minor representation and there was a significant lack of equality. Although in Western Countries these discourses are now outdated, they have consequently caused the segregation of men and women in sport, whereby women play on a “sex-segregated basis with inferior resources” (Kidd, 2013, p.220). Issues have arisen from this segregation within culture due to how women are perceived in sport. The human body has become important due to this segregation, as norms and ideals of the human body are forged by cultural practices, in accordance gender in cultures and societies. Consequently, the cultural norms with regards to how one’s body should be, have entangled with sport. The 2011 Women’s football world cup saw numerous examples “for the ‘beautification’ and ‘sexualization’ of players” (Pfister, 2014). This sexualization of women has only further changed their roles and how they’re represented within sports, as they are commonly placed in secondary and supporting roles to their male counterparts, undertaking roles as cheerleaders and spectators. Thus, sportsmen and women are not only considered to be doing sport, but in fact also doing gender and appealing to masculinities and femininities in society.

Gender should not be considered as a singular discourse and practice, but rather as one that intersects with other discourses, such as race and ethnicity and social class. Whilst over the past couple of decades there has been a rise in minorities competing in sport, there are still complications and cultural differences that are evident. (Toffoletti and Palmer, 2016) study the relationship between Muslim women and sport, and how although women of an ethnic minority can compete, there is still a struggle. During the London 2012 Olympics, the news headline “The Muslim women who overcame the odds and the prejudice to make history today on the Olympic stage” (Toffoletti and Palmer, 2016, p.149) was used by the British tabloid The Daily Mail. It is clear that the headline created the portrayal that the female Muslim athletes were struggling “against oppressive forces – religious, political and patriarchal” (Toffoletti and Palmer, 2016, p.149). The headline evidently portrays the women as powerless to society in their own country, indicating that they are subject to oppression from men and their political ideologies. Political and cultural obstacles have prevented Muslim women from being able to participate. Many developing countries still have a male patriarchy within their political systems and culture, whereby the women are suppressed, with their role in society being centred around the household and raising children – a cultural norm that has been abolished in most Western countries. This has meant they have limited access to sport, as once they reach adulthood, it is frowned upon to compete by many. Sports media and the Western norms of the female body have only further demonstrated the under-representation of minority women. In the media, female athletes are “sexualised feminised, and infantilised” (Bernstein, 2002, p.8; Messner and Cooky, 2010), and studies only show that there is a further “lack of attention paid to ethnically and racially diverse women” (Toffoletti and Palmer, 2016, p.155), primarily because they do not conform to the western norms of beautification; for example items of clothing that act as a veil, such as hijabs, do not “conform to hegemonic norms” (Toffoletti and Palmer, 2016, p.155). Whilst it is clear that the entanglement of sports, politics, and culture highlights the oppression that minority groups of women are succumbed to, it does however provide the basis for sport based interventions that can help bolster the position of these women, and aid them in progressing culturally and politically in their societies. International sporting organisations can lead the way for representation of these minority groups within sport, as they provide support for these women to aid their involvement within their home country and develop a more modern perception towards them in terms of equality.

Whilst inequalities between men and women exist in sport, they also exist in politics and culture. Sport can be seen as a magnifier of these inequalities, and that it reflects the embedded construct of gender within society. It is no coincidence that in industrialised countries, the advancement of political rights for women and progression towards equality has coincided alongside the push for gender equality within sports. For example, The Fédération Sportive Féminine Inter-nationale (FSFI), a sporting body formed in Europe in 1921 that was devoted to let women compete in sport, was formed in the same decade as women were given equal franchise to men in Britain through the 1928 Representation of the People Act. The past few decades and the transition to postmodernism have equally demonstrated the entanglement, as the acceptance in society of those considered ‘genderqueer’ and the advancement of their rights has seen an increase in transgender athletes, despite controversies surrounding this. Furthermore, these decades have seen gender intersects with race and ethnicity become progressively obvious, with many hegemonic norms under scrutiny. Although there have been advancements with regards to gender in sport, it’s intersection with race and ethnicity amplify issues surrounding women of ethnic minorities and in developing countries, and the suppression they are subject to by men. In conclusion, gender illustrates the entanglement of culture, politics, and sport because it is a system of social stratification and construction, that is embedded in the core of society.

Question：

How does gender play a role in the making and reception of a work of photography? What kind of issues have feminist and contemporary artists prioritised in addressing this role? What feminist strategies of image production have they adopted?

In the lecture from week 7, we explored issues related to how feminism uses the medium to perform in photography. This article will also examine the role of gender in photography and how feminism considers and addresses the rights of women’s photography, and how to declare feminism in feminist images.

Despite the pursuit of equality between men and women in today’s society, the differences in gender still have different effects in photography. At the same time as the pursuit of the ultimate picture, the effects of different photography techniques applied to specific genders will be more idealized (Patrick Keating, 2006). Anderson believes that portrait photography is more reflected in the face’s mark, and the human’s character will clearly mark the lines on the face of the person (Patrick Keating, 2006). Personality is an intrinsic change and a change that manifests itself in the face. Anderson insists that gender with obvious personality markers are more suitable for strong contrasts, while gender with less distinctive characters are more suitable for soft contrast. Men are most likely to have a more pronounced personality, because men’s lifestyles are more about the actual development process and decision-making, while women are less obvious than man, and women are more reflected in the beauty of the mind (Anderson, 1973). According to this theory, the use of portrait photography by men is more suitable for places with strong contrast between light and dark, while women are more suitable for soft light. According to the test of Anderson, when soft, flat light hits the male’s side face, the wrinkles on the male face are eliminated, giving a counterproductive effect.

At the beginning of the 20th century, with the change of photographic mechanical technology, photography became more and more common in the application of softening technology, and the softening technique was very effective in static photography (Barry Salt, 1985, p287–293). Portrait photographer Hendrik Sartov applies softening techniques to the female face close-up, emphasizing the “soft” beauty of women. Soft light is more suitable for women, in line with Anderson’s theory. After that, more soft face details in Hollywood movies are used in female, but not male. Later, the photographer tried more different ways to used softening and backlighting. Backlight special effects have quickly become one of the standards for shooting people (Patrick Keating, 2000). Although the backlighting method has a good effect in both men and women, the way of backlighting effects is more obvious applied to the female. Because women have long hair, they can absorb more backlights, which makes women’s portraits produce more diffusion under the backlight work, while many men are short hair and can’t absorb too much backlight (Patrick Keating, 2006). It is clear that there is a significant difference between the roles of men and women in two different genders in portrait photography.

Photography was born in the early nineteenth century, and male photographers have always dominated photography. Before the rise of feminist photography, women were only allowed to participate as passive actors in the field of photography (Legido, 2004). The beginning of the feminist photography movement marks the use of photography as a means for female artists to criticize and restore gender rights. The focus for women in the field of photography is how feminist photographers declare their opposition to patriarchalism. Because at that time is a male-dominated society, the issue of production, sales, and exhibits has become the biggest challenge for feminist photographers.

By the end of the 19th century, photography has gradually become a social leisure activity. Since contemporary society is still in the patriarchal society, women at that time were limited by unequal photography opportunities. As a pioneer in the era of feminist photographer, Barnes has opened up a new career photography path for women (Margaret, 2012, p156-171). Since the work of women in the 19th century was not valued by the society and the photography industry, Barnes as a distinguished female photographer, used a method of recording female work through photography to declare feminism in photography. Barnes has opened a ‘Women’s Work’ column for women photographers in photography magazines, and more middle-class women were encouraged to enter the field of photography (Barnes, 1890, p39-42). Barnes believes that indoor photography about family life scenes is a good way to declare feminist photography (Mus White, 1999). Barnes proposed the theme of narrative photography of ‘poetry’. Female photographers can describe the status of women in the family and the ‘feminine’ photography by photographing women caring for children or setting up family scenes, just like those painting artists (Barnes, 1890). Barnes also encourages women to take photos of the outdoors. “Women who are in a picturesque environment will be a very worthwhile thing to record through photography.” (Barnes, 1891, p.59) Barnes believes that the record of the travel landscape It is an effective way to replace the travel diary, and can better show the different between female photographers and male photographers in landscape photography. Barnes published her own opinion on travel photography in a picnic magazine, and pointed out that the travel record is a souvenir for a special moment for relatives, friends, or elderly people who cannot travel. Barnes presented this idea at the annual photography conference in the UK and attracted a large number of photography club members to come. Barnes promotes hiking records rather than train trips, so the photographer can freely stop and record your travels.

In 1889, Barnes attended a joint annual photo exhibition in New York and Washington, and advocated the abolition of the ‘Ms. Award’ system. She mentioned that men and women should participate in photography exhibitions at the same time. The idea of ​​“woman works” should be eliminated. The work should be regarded as “whole” rather than male photographers or female photographers (Barnes, 1890, p.42). Barnes lectured throughout the United States and spoke in a women’s speech to the working class that women who want to compete with men in the photography industry must be exposed to a work that transcends stereotyped female gender orientation (Barnes, 1891). For example, the chemicals that will stain clothes, the glass that is easily scratched, and the original work of photography that the original male was engaged in.

Similarly, in the late nineteenth century, feminist photographer Johnston used his career to support women’s rights and strongly advocated the professional recognition of female photography. Johnston advocated a visual concept: Declaring feminism by taking photos with eye contact of the man who observed the female portrait. The entire female portrait presents an unusual female character, beer and cigarettes, exposed stockings and ankles. Johnston believes that eye behavior is a medium of “recognition of rights”. The desire of men for women is a special recognition of women’s rights. This is also the way women take over the dominant power, embodying the value of women and undermining the stereotype of “the patriarchal” (Kristie S, 2015).

The contribution of modern feminist themes to Australian contemporary art has also been greatly recognized (G. Cole, 2015). Since the old feminist ideas surrounding gender equality have been dissipated in modern times, the new feminist ideas are mainly reflected in the desire of feminist photography for women’s aesthetics. The aesthetics of modern feminism for female photography is mainly reflected in the humor of “performance”. “Performance” humor is a dual effect of sight and touch. Female photographers express a victory symbolizing self-consciousness through humor, an unstable force that may break the order, the “performance” humor will be better than directly satirical works and“performance” humor are much more tolerant and bring a less ironic irony (G. Cole, 2015). Feminist photographers are committed to break the rules of “sex” and abandoning the “closed” thinking of women. Artist Castagnini (1992) curated the photographic theme of female mainstream pornography, and awakened the aesthetic thought of ‘sex’ in female photography. At the same time, it also satirized the traditional concept of sexual orientation in society, giving feminist photography through the charm of female body which come to have a ‘feminine’ work.

With the development of the Internet, more and more feminist photographers have begun to promote and display their collections on the Internet. The Girlgaze website was created in 2016 by Amanda de Cadenet to help women artists to promote and display their work and find employment opportunities (Girlgaze, 2016). Girlgaze gives female photography support through a topical activity on Instagram with the theme ‘Girl Gazing.’ The photos of women who added the Girlgaze topic were selected on Instagram and the selected photographers had the opportunity to participate in a series of women’s photographer exhibitions (Girlgaze, 2016). The open event attracted the participation of a large number of female photographers and successfully attracted mainstream media and multi-party sponsors. Girlgaze focuses on the theme of sexuality, beauty, physical and mental health to show feminism, and shows the public how women express their themes through feminist images.

Instagram is one of the most popular and most used online social software for young people, and many young photographers publish their work on Instagram. Many feminist photographers declare feminist images by publishing female naked bodies, but many “overexposed” body photos are banned due to network management (Magdalena, 2014). Dacy is a female photographer who posted bare work on Instagram. Dacy’s account was deleted several times by the “legality” rule, but she didn’t give up on publishing new works. When Dacy was interviewed, she stated that she had troubled with the work about to republish on the Instagram platform, because she didn’t know if Instagram would ban her own work again. She has tried a variety of ways to eliminate the “over-exposed” rule， to preserve the body art that women should have. For example, by using a simple horizontal and vertical tape to cover the genital organs, or using a headgear to cover the face, or using the bending of the legs and hands to create a ‘naked without revealing’ effect. Dacy once stated that she hated the bar very much, but she found new inspirations through some of the bar images on the web, such as fancy lights, messy rooms, empty glasses and unconstrained postures. Those materials bring new inspirations and make the images more interesting (Magdalena, 2013). Women are re-manufacturing their bodies while following the rules of the network, creating a new feminist art space (Duggan, M. and Smith Smith, A, 2013). Under the suppression of the rules, feminist photographers received unexpected new art ideas (Berlant, 2008).

Since the feminist movement at the end of the 19th century that promoted equality of rights between the sexuality, or to the feminist movement in the 20th century to promote equality of work opportunities, or to the desire of modern feminism for the aesthetics of female photography, the feminist ideas have continued to advance from the 19th century to the present. In the 21st century, the feminist movement is seen as a “practical culture”. The changes from pursuit of equality to the pursuit of self-awareness, feminist photographers have obtained feminine charm that is not restricted by rules.

Reference List:

1. Magdalena, 2014, “Feminist Self-Imaging and Instagram: Tactics of Circumventing Sensorship”, Visual Communication Quarterly, Vol.21, Iss.2, pp.83-95
2. Margaret, 2012, “Catharine Weed Barnes Ward: Advocate for Victorian Women Photographers”, History of Photography, Vol.36, Iss.2, pp.156-171
3. Jacqueline Millner, Catriona Moore & Georgina Cole, 2015, “Art and Feminism: Twenty-First Century Perspectives”, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, Vol.15, Iss.2, pp.143-149
4. Muñoz-Muñoz, Ana M; González-Moreno, M Barbaño, 2018, “Women photographers in Europe: a fresh, feminine approach”, Vol.37, Iss.4, pp.141-145
5. Fleckenstein, Kristie S, 2105, “Reiterating with a Difference: Feminist Visual Agency and Late Nineteenth-Century Photography”, Vol.41, Iss.1/2, pp.1-IX
6. Patrick Keating 2006, “From the Portrait to the Close-Up: Gender and Technology in Still Photography and Hollywood Cinematography”, Cinema Journal, Vol.45, Iss.3
7. Ruxandra Looft, 2017, “# girlgaze: photography, fourth wave feminism, and social media advocacy”, Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, Vol.31, Iss.6, pp.892-902

Sexuality is something which cannot be confined; it covers a wider number of issues. It is basically a umbrella term which can have many perspectives. Sexuality is political as well as very personal and sensitive issues. Human Sexuality is something that seems to dominate a lot of the world we live in. It’s in our schools, at work, and especially in the mass media. The way your body develops and the way you feel and respond to others sexually creates your sexuality. It can shape and affect people’s lives as well as our own. It is concerned with the fact that how one gender feels attracted towards the other gender. It’s about the sexual feeling towards other that a person can have irrespective of his gender. Sexuality is often mistaken by the person with whom one has sex with; one can take time to explore his or her sexuality. The sexuality of a Person can get influenced by culture, family, media, religion, experiences, and friends. Some people are very sexual, while others experience no sexual attraction at all. No matter how sexuality gets considered important to a person, each has desires, thoughts, values and attractions that are considered unique.

There are usually taboos about sexualities and people are often uncomfortable to discuss about their sexuality. This probation generally does not allow an individual to explore his or her actual sexuality. For instance, in India one is always expected to be heterosexual that is to be attracted to opposite sex and not the same. Attraction towards same sex is still considered as sin in many parts of the world. For this reason sexuality can produce confusion, anxiety and fear. Sexuality includes much more than just sex. It includes anatomy, biological sex, gender, sexual orientation, relationships, and sexual behaviors. Applying the sociological approaches will give us a better understanding of human sexuality.

Sexuality as a concept also has gender bias to itself. Women sexuality and male sexuality are looked very differently. Female Sexuality has been a controversial subject that plays a crucial role in our everyday lives. There is a constant double standard women face. In terms of sexuality both males and females are more similar than society deems them. There is a never ending battle of hypocrisy that women face when it comes to sexuality. These problems are influenced by gender roles, socialization, and even religion. It is considered a conquest for men to have many sexual encounters. This has a religious aspect to it. Women are supposed t be non sexual objects and women having sexual desire are considered to be prude according to many religious texts across religions. Women’s sexuality has been anything but stagnant, especially within the last 150 years. The very idea of a woman being a “sexual being” is relatively modern. For centuries, women have been confined to restrictive behaviors until the rise of the sexual revolution in the 1960’s. Women are considered sexual objects but are expected to be virtuous. Media also have huge influence on how women sexuality is seen. Media from centuries through movies, plays, dance, songs and other sorts of forms have shown women as someone to be “looked upon” and women having sexual desires as flawed. It has given the concept of” good women” and “bad women”. Sexuality of women have often mistaken by “honor” of women which is resultant of great inequality of perspective in men and women sexuality. Women should be encouraged to embrace their sexualities safely and positively and seek the empowerment and self-discovery that can come from it.Queer sexuality is till date not even discussed or talked about. Their sexuality is considered something very unnatural, sinful and generally disregarded.

Although sexuality is a significant part of our modern-day culture in movies, videos, and other celebrity induced trends, it is still a subject that isn’t easily discussed. Sexuality is a reality that it plays an important role throughout our lives. It intertwines physiological, psychological, and social character of one person. Ideally, sexuality of a person should be considered as a personal issue. Society should allow one to express their sexuality and should not impose them any. One should free to explore his or her sexuality and be confident and proud about it, rather being judged on the basis of it.

Sixteenth-century Venice viewed and treated women with restrictive and symbolic societal expectations, and this is a theme prevalent through the art and architecture of the period. Through the Casa delle Zitelle, Veronese’s Apotheosis of Venice, and Andrea Vicentino’s Disembarkation of the Dogaressa Morosini Morosini Grimani from the Bucintoro and Her Progress Toward the Triumphal Arch, the Venetian social expectations of women can be assessed. Women are treated as fragile commodities whose encouraged traits are beauty and purity. This often prevents them from coming into public view except for rare public occasions, and they are only presented powerfully and liberally only when being used as allegorical symbols for abstract concepts.

Women were treated as fragile resources that needed to be protected and commodified. The most prominent example of this idea is present in the creation of the Casa delle Zitelle, the ‘House of Unmarried Girls.’ Young women who were deemed at risk for prostitution were collected and kept within the confines of the building, where they would be taught to be desirable wives. The plan of the building is an H-shape around the church of Santa Maria Della Presentazione, emphasizing that the protection and purity of the girls are centered both physically and metaphorically around the church. This design also results in limited access to the building, further separating the women from the public. However, In Andrea Vicentino’s painting, we see women dressed in white standing tall in the celebration. They are wearing immense platform shoes to dramatically enhance their height and portray themselves as visual spectacles, further emphasizing the idea that they are commodities for visual appeal. Additionally, their white gowns signify that they are virgins, a trait that Venetians found essential to signify a woman’s purity. Thus, although they are not being kept away, they are still focused on presenting beauty and purity. The appearance of these women in a public setting, however, draws the discussion toward the cases where women are permitted to be viewed.

Women were deemed suitable for public spectacle under particular political contexts. Women were typically kept within Venetian palaces, but they would be able to participate in civic life during ceremonial events and festivities. In Veronese’s Apotheosis of Venice, women have gathered around in the center of the painting, and they wear lavish dresses and jewelry. Given the rarity for a woman to partake in such public activities, women would often wear bright and ornate clothing. In Andrea Vicentino’s painting, the Dogaressa Morosini Morosini Grimani arrives in Venice with a celebration. This painting also exhibits the fact that the Dogaressa and Doge do not arrive together so as to stop them from appearing as a king and a queen, further exerting restrictions on the ways that women may present themselves in public. Additionally, the restricted visibility of women is prominent in the design of the Casa delle Zitelle. The building faces away from the center of the city, and the windows are placed at a height such that the women’s bodies cannot be seen by outsiders.

Venetian art will often portray women in more liberated positions when they are being used for symbolism. In Veronese’s Apotheosis of Venice, Venice is personified as a woman sitting upon a cloud and being crowned by an angel. Venice’s most common personifications are the Virgin Mary, Justice, Venus, and Goddess Rome, and in this painting, Venice appears to take on the form of Justice. She stands above the clouds appearing as a powerful ruler, and this portrayal requires her, in the context of Venetian art, to be personified as a woman. Because a woman could never be mistaken for an existing ruler, the female body is treated as an empty vessel to be filled with meaning. Additionally, although the Venetian women located in the center of the painting are not allegorical personifications, they are still symbolic because their intricate clothing and jewelry are meant to symbolize the beauty of Venice. However, the concept of symbolism is portrayed less directly in Andrea Vicentino’s painting; the Dogaressa Morosini Morosini Grimani wears a gold dress, and she stands beside a gold statue of Justice personified as a woman. This color choice links the two figures together, correlating the appearance of the Dogaressa with allegories and symbolic concepts rather than reality. Thus, women in Venetian art are portrayed in more empowering fashions when they are either being compared to symbols or are personifications of concepts.

Thus, gender in sixteenth-century Venice is a concept with a particular divide between men and women and how they are portrayed in art. Architecture such as the Casa delle Zitelle is functionally designed to teach women a Venetian sense of purity and womanhood while hiding women from public consumption. Veronese’s Apotheosis of Venice and Andrea Vicentino’s Disembarkation of the Dogaressa Morosini Morosini Grimani from the Bucintoro and Her Progress Toward the Triumphal Arch, however, are examples of women being in public spaces, though these are under the conditions of attending celebratory events. Additionally, while Veronese’s work directly personifies Venice as a woman, Andrea Vicentino’s painting only compares Dogaressa Morosini Morosini Grimani to the symbol of Justice.

Hostility towards sexuality is a reality that spans in some form or another across all religions. In terms of Christianity, there is a hostility towards women and women’s sexuality and sexual relationships that do not fit into the accepted ideal of the christian church. Because human sexuality is one of the most basic aspects of human biology, it was something that was seen as needing to be controlled and regulated. There are many ways in which religion exercises control over human sexuality, beginning with the strict moral codes that are enforced upon it. Because it is seen as a means for reproduction only, the church ties the idea of sexuality to reproduction and leaves very little room for question. The churches strong stance on monogamous relationships and marriage is directly related to the idea that sex is for reproduction and not for pleasure.

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Ephesians 5:3)

One can argue that that control over sexuality is ultimately a display of power not only over the laity but within the institution itself. The strict celibacy regulations on the clergy is another way of the church executing control and communicating its views on sexuality. This essay will examine these views using reference from scripture, Foucault’s model of power and closely examine the Catholic Churches control over sexuality and women in ireland throughout the 19th century

The hostility towards sexuality can be drawn from interpretations from scripture. The story of creation and Adam and Eve can be seen as the foundation of the christian interpretation of sexuality and the structure for what is and is not acceptable. First and foremost, the fact that Adam was created first and Eve was subsequently made from the rib of Adam immediately puts woman as second to man. Adam and Eve were made in Gods image and therefore this should be taken as given that this is the way in which God intended the ‘family unit’ to begin with. She was seen as a companion for Adam to have dominion over, therefore validating women’s status as subservient to men.

When it comes to gender, the church has a long history of enforcing gender roles onto its followers. Theological orthodoxy and sexuality are dominant discourses that silence difference and conceal the implicit relationship between theological utterances and bodily acts. This domination is maintained by the symbolic system of monotheism, which secures a single theological truth and a dominant sexuality. (Bernauer and Carrette, 2005) A women’s role was to be morally sound and to submit to men in all areas. Scripture backs this up, for example, Paul’s words that women should not speak in church and if they had questions, they should ask their husbands. The lack of precedence of women in the Bible only serves to allow the church to continue to enforce this level of power even though it can be argued against, as the Bible is a product of its time period and there are countless passages in the Bible that cannot be adhered to in modern society.

In Christianity, not only is sexuality highly repressed and women placed in subservient positions to men, women’s sexuality above all else in this regard is presented as a threat to men. Eve was depicted as an evil temptress who gave into temptation and was responsible for the fall of mankind, hence the story of Adam and Eve is vital in maintaining this notion. When we say christian sexual ethics, it refers to the churches teachings and strong beliefs on what is and is not acceptable. In the book ‘Catholic sexual Ethics’ this is broken down stating “This tradition teaches now and has always taught that sexual union between a man and woman is good, indeed holy. It teaches now and has always taught, that the virtue of chastity is necessary for all persons, male and female, married and unmarried, so that they might fully have freedom of self possession and not be controlled by unworthy sexual desire.” It also goes on to point out which sorts of sexual activity are not in accordance with church teachings, stating the most obvious, fornication, adultery, contraception and sodomy, for instance. “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”(Hebrews 13:4)

Homosexuality has been a taboo issue in church history, stemming back to biblical times and still faces backlash and prejudice within the church and society itself today. Christian teachings deem same sex relationships as an inherently evil and against god’s will. The non-procreative aspect of these relationships is used to give strength to invalidating them. Essentially, if it does not fit into a heteronormative social structure it is wrong. Scripture is used heavily in these cases to implicate the wrong in these types of sexual relationships and condemning them outright. Some of most used are from Corinthians and Leviticus.

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men” (Corinthians 6:9)

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22)

“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” (Leviticus 20:13)

One could say that the use of scripture for this argument is actually contradictory. While the message is clear, as mentioned earlier, the issue with taking scripture as infallible is linked with modernity. Leviticus 20:13, for example, homosexuality is an abomination, is used widely, however in most society the idea of people being put to death would horrify. Therefore applying bible passages to modern sexuality is no longer a strength as many aspects have to be ignored so it is a case now of choosing which can be used and which cannot. However, with modernity moving fast and changing social attitudes the church came under pressure to reevaluate some of its views and the strict guidelines that were placed on its followers. Thus came the second Vatican council where the outcome was a more relaxed approach to the laity in that they were seen as more of a part of the church as a community rather than a docile flock thats only role was to follow and obey. However, the churches stance on sexuality did not change much in regards to its views on women, contraception and gender roles to name a few.

French philosopher Michel Foucault discusses power and sexuality in the church at length. Control over sexuality is ultimately a display of power and is arguably the foundation of the hegemonic views of the church. In order to understand the acceptance of the Catholic Churches teachings, cultural views on sexuality and the desire to implement control over this, one must look at the foundation of these views.

Foucault’s theory of governemtality can also be applied to christian sexual ethics. Thought is important to the theory of governmentally in terms of how the collective circulation of thought can direct, reform and conduct. Therefore central to foucault’s theory of governmentality is the disciplinary power, i.e the Catholic Church, in this case. However, imperative to disciplinary power is that this power is productive, the the population reiterate what is circulated by the church and discipline themselves to fit into the narrative. Taking a closer look at Ireland, the 19th century had athe church had a particular power over women and their role in the family. French philosopher Michel Foucault discusses power and sexuality in the church at length. Foucault’s model of power

The Irish constitution states that mothers will not be obliged to work outside the home and this gives us a clear image of what the expectation of Irish women were. The government at the time aimed to emphasise morality and the ties to the Catholic Church. At the time, the government maintained control of the people by the use of censorship, the strict moral guidelines and a discrimination against women in the workplace. This may have been an informed decision on De Valera’s part to prolong the Church’s power over the family and in turn women. These events took place in a world in which women were beginning to hold more social and political power. This special relationship with the state gave the Catholic Church a way of maintaining control over Irish women and keeping them in the home.

In 19th century Ireland it was the Church who ruled on the the right way for society to behave. This is perhaps where the family moved from the seclusion of the private sphere to that of the public sphere, leaving it open to the strict ideologies of church teaching. It was this emphasis on morality that aided in the subordination of women and using mothers as a means of surveillance within the family. One could relate this example to the Foucauldian model of power and discipline. It was the mothers responsibility to make sure the family functioned in a obedient and upstanding way and that society could not have any means to criticize her for her poor leadership. ‘Whatever power an Irish mother had was mainly a moral power which was derived from and maintained through the church’(Inglis 1998) This is the reason for Irish conservatism and the notions held about what it was to be a good Catholic being so ingrained in State ideologies. ‘They had to be monitored and supervised within the house’- this role fell to the church. (Inglis 1998) It was principally priests and nuns who took on the role to supervise mothering, in particular, in the last century, ironic perhaps when these are the individuals that by definition would never experience marriage or sexuality first hand. It was through the control of sex that the church had the most power over women. They were sought to confess their sins on a regular basis, their sexual feelings, desires and activities a constant topic of confession. ‘It was through the control of sex that the modern Irish mother and family were first established.’(Inglis 1998) This is what Foucault would term productive power. The power of the disciplinary system at play is exercised through the women who the mechanism was ultimately designed to control.

When researching into the ambiguous relationship between the church and the family in Ireland one must be aware of the importance of the shift from regarding the family as a private entity to an issue of public concern and means of surveillance from church officials. Ireland is a unique example of this kind of intervention due to the church becoming so enshrined in ordinarily state governed bodies such as schools and hospitals etc. Women are taught to be passive and timid so as to inhibit any male attention and therefore deem herself impure but also to be trained to fulfil the only role optional for women at that time-to be a mother. The church used a number of mechanisms to control this influence over women but the main one was sex. It was something to be confined to the sanctity of marriage, primarily intended for reproduction. The church taught women nothing about their bodies or sex in general; they relied on the fact that many were frightened and innocent and were therefore unlikely to engage in any uncivilised behaviour. Crucially it’s the mother’s ties to the church by turning the mother from the object of surveillance to the surveyor that subjugated women. Women were pitted against other women and in order to defend themselves found fault with others and turned it into an issues of public morality. This is how the Foucauldian model of discipline is exercised, so that the mechanisms of discipline can be replaced, so that all who the mechanism is geared towards can serve the same function. This is how the Church succeeded in having their discourse about motherhood and women permeate through generations of Irish women and insure the morality of the family as an institution.

According to Tovey and Share, ‘the complexity of the religious symbolic (heaven and hell, good and evil) help to delineate the norms and values of society and how religious institutions and practices help to ensure adherence to those norms and values.’ (Tovey and Share, 2003:385) They go to define how religion establishes the boundary of a society, how it enforces to its members whose in and who’s out. On the same theme, O’Toole (Cited in Tovey and Share) states that ‘when it comes to belief in the existence of the soul, in life after death, in heaven, in prayer, the Irish score so much higher in surveys than the rest of us in the developed world as to seem not part of that world of all.’ Therefore one could assume that if the population of Ireland have a devout attitude towards morality the Church discourse about the expectation of women and their role in the morality of the family may have been another influence in the stagnation of women’s role.

In controlling sexuality, the church was cementing its notion on what the family should be.

In conclusion, it is essential when examining a social phenomenon that the historical prerequisites are highlighted in order to improve our understanding. In order to examine the Church’s influence on the role of women, the historical context needs to be set. The fact that Ireland was a British colony in the time leading up to the constitution meant that there was an effect on the development of the national revival. Therefore one could argue, as above, that the emphasis of the Church was in a bid to clearly demarcate what was Irish from what was British. Women’s exclusion from history has been highlighted due to their lack of social power and the historians favouring to include stories of the political and revolutionary heroes who banished the English and returned Ireland to its people. This essay has emphasised the Church’s involvement in the panoptic ‘productive power’ over women and its role in keeping them within the home, as with the state and Foucault’s Governmentality. Thus the power that the Church, the state and other influences had over women helped to keep them in their place, within the home.

In Ireland, the last decade has shown the extent in which public attitudes towards sexuality and accepting those that do not fall into the strict christian ideal has changed. Both the same sex marriage referendum and the abortion referendum have shed light on how modernity has given way to changing views. While the church remained strong in its opposition towards both, ultimately the

According to Christopher Derrick, the real significance of the difference between the traditional Catholic sexual morality and the amorality of the permissive society cannot be even vaguely appreciated if we remain on the level of morality (what is good as opposed to what is bad) it can only be apprehended on the level of religion (what is sacred as opposed to the profane). Religion, dealing with the sacred, concerns both God and Satan, love and hatred, whereas the profane is the realm of the indifferent. The moral codes proposed by the church and most secular philosophers respectively are based on two different understandings of the ultimate significance of sexuality. (Derrick 1982)

References

1. Lawler, R., Boyle, J. and May, W. (1985). Catholic sexual ethics. Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor.
2. Moore, G. (1992). The body in context. London: SCM Press
3. Bernauer, J. and Carrette, J. (2005). Michel Foucault and theology. Aldershot: Ashgate.
4. Twomey, V. (2010). Moral theology after Humanae Vitae. Dublin: Four Courts Press.
5. Christopher Derrrick sex and sacredness: a Catholic homage to Venus (San Francisco) 1982
6. Inglis, T. (1998). Lessons in Irish sexuality. Dublin: University College Dublin Press
7. Tovey, H. and Share, P. (2011). A sociology of Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan

In this investigation, I plan to study gender and identity through the language used in children’s books. These are Disney books such as ‘Cinderella’, Beauty and the Beast, ‘Snow White and the seven dwarves’, ‘Mulan’ and ‘Brave’ written by Walt Disney Records, and “What I Like About Me” by Allia Zobel-Nola. I will explore the gender representations portrayed in these books through the language choices as I will further investigate the different actions and words characters illustrate through the author’s language.

“What I Like About Me” is a fiction children’s book written by Allia Zobel-Nola that breaks down gender stereotypes. It recognizes the feelings of children who do not fit into specific gender stereotypes as the book conveys the message that it is okay to not fit into those norms and that being different is what makes you unique. This stereotypical view can be seen through the adjective in the quote “ Mom says my glasses look distinguished. If I knew what it meant, I’d get an A in English.” In the book, this is said by a little boy and the connotations we get from this is that those who wear glasses are associated with being nerds. Nerds are seen to be lacking in social skills and reclusiveness. However, the adjective ‘Distinguished’ defies those expectations. The use of this adjective emphasizes that wearing glasses makes one look noble and esteemed in appearance and manner. It reinforces the idea that glasses make you look dignified which denies all expectations of boys being nerds. This impacts a young children reading this story as it encourages them to be open to the different preferences of how they identify themselves.

Another quotation from this data presents the breakdown of the norms that society believes what sort of identity a man and woman should have. This can be seen through the adjectives and premodifiers which is said by a little girl, “Ballet slippers make my feet petite. But here’s what I’d rather wear on my feet.” We later come on to the realization that the little girl wants to wear big fuzzy slippers. The adjective ‘petite’ and the premodifier ‘Ballet’ both suggest expectations about what a female is expected to be like. George Balanchine quotes that ‘ The Ballet is purely a female thing; it is a woman, a garden of beautiful flowers, and man is the gardener’. Although being a male ballet dancer himself, he suggests that Ballet is a feminine attribute. Females are commonly associated with taking part in ballet and interestingly, the little girl in this book defies the expectation of what a female is expected to be. This impacts a child because it makes them be open with their gender identity even at a younger age. Professor Deborah Tannen’s book ‘You just don’t understand’ is outlined in an article where she presented male and female language use in a series of six contrasts. These are Status vs Support, Independence vs Intimacy, Advice vs Understanding, Information vs Feelings, Orders vs Proposals, and lastly Conflict vs Compromise. However, Status vs Support is the idea that men are grown up in a world where it is competitive, as they explore for superiority or to stop others from dominating them. For women, talking is a way to achieve confirmation of their ideas and beliefs. Men see the world as a place to gain status whereas women see it as a place to gain support and a shared consensus. This can be linked to my data, the book ‘What I Like About Me’ because it breaks down those gender expectations Deborah Tannen mentions as it encourages children to create their own identity no matter what gender they are. The young boy wants to be known as he feels that wearing glasses makes him look distinguished creating the sense that he wants to gain status but whereas the young girl wants to make it seen that steering away from society’s expectations is okay thus the sense of confirmation and shared consensus.

Children’s books present a lot of gender stereotypes for example in Disney books. This can be seen in the book “Cinderella”. “They filled her days with cooking, scrubbing, washing, and chores of every kind.” Here the author uses a list of domesticity to present the amount of work that Cinderella is doing and how hard it is for her. From this list, a semantic field of domestic work is presented which links to the idea of women having traditional roles in society. It also portrays the continuous aspect of ‘ing’ verbs which gives the impression of monotony. It suggests the idea that Cinderella is going through the same thing time and time again. ‘Cinderella’ was published in 1974 and at the time domestication was expected. Children may read this book for the first time and may receive these standards that are unfavorable which can create an impact on their own gender identity. This impression of Cinderella presents attributes of normal behaviors and perspectives that each gender is expected to possess. Certain perspectives such as femininity and masculinity traits are linked to each specific gender then these roles are presented very early in a child’s life. It’s clearly shown here the traditional roles that women are meant to have thus impacting the social norms and expectations on gender roles and identity.

It is also seen in the book ‘Cinderella’, the traits women are expected to have in society. Women are seen to be subjective as is seen clearly here through the conversation Cinderella and her Step-Mother have. “ Pick up the laundry and get on with your duties,” her Step-Mother declared.” The imperative verbs ‘Pick’ and ‘ get on’ emphasize the manipulation Cinderella’s Step-Mother portrayed and how she has dominance over Cinderella. The imperative verbs do not leave space for Cinderella to respond or question. It exaggerates the way Cinderella acts leaving her to look as though she frequently accepts the chores and orders given to her. The verb ‘declared’ creates a solemn and emphatic manner that portrays the stepmother to have dominant as she has the power to make Cinderella do all the work. This impacts the identity of young children reading this as they are instilled with this ideology that these are the traits women are meant to have and may internalize these aspects of gender identity.

From this same data, I also came to the conclusion that Disney villains are presented to be very powerful just as we have seen in my data ‘Cinderella’. Disney villains are presented to be powerful and evil in order to ensure they can remain their power and authority. Cinderella’s stepmother, Lady Tremaine shows dominance and power through her actions and sayings towards her step-daughter. ‘Get them done quickly’, said her stepmother. Here the use of the imperative verb ‘Get’ suggests the power and dominance she has over her step-daughter. It also suggests the control she has over Cinderella as she makes her do whatever she wants and needs. From a young age, children manifest these stereotypes making them think this is how a woman should be when they grow up and that this is how all older women are to be. This impacts a child’s gender identity making them be what the books tell them to be. It clearly shows they have no choice of what kind of identity they can have when really they can have whatever identity they want. A study by William O’Barr and Bowman Atkins in 1980 looked at courtroom cases and witnesses’ speeches. From this, they found that they were challenging Lakoff’s view of women’s language. They found that language differences arise on situation-specific authority or power and not gender. This links to my investigation that children can create their own gender identity.

Disney villains such as the evil Queen in ‘Snow White and the seven dwarves’ uses her status to make sure she stays as the ‘fairest one of them all’. The magic mirror says to the evil Queen ‘You are the fairest one of all’ which emphasizes her beauty and looks to be very appealing. The superlative ‘Fairest’ suggests that the Evil queen cannot be beaten or degraded which shows how powerful she is. This can also be seen through the quotation ‘Bring back her heart in this,’ she commanded him. The use of the imperative verb ‘Bring’ emphasizes the power the Evil Queen has over the huntsman. The imperative mood is really powerful and can be clearly seen through the manipulative technique of the imperatives. This heavily impacts the young readers as this book creates a clear representation of what traits a female should have and that is to have power and dominance. The researchers, from Brigham Young University in Utah, said: ‘Given the age group which Disney targets, the frequency with which young viewers watch these shows and their wide popularity, analyzing the portrayal of older characters in these movies can provide important insights into the messages young people receive regarding older people.’

Princesses like Snow-White and Sleeping beauty and Cinderella, have a shared similarity of having amazing beauty. Through the data I have gathered, I am analyzing the book ‘Snow White And The Seven Dwarves’ as it portrays the beauty that women are to have in society. This can be seen through the verb in the quotation “Her wicked Stepmother, the Queen, feared that some day Snow White’s beauty would outshine her own.” The verb ‘outshines’ clearly emphasizes how beautiful Snow White is, as to outshine someone means to be better at someone in a particular area as in this case beauty. Snow White ‘outshines’ her stepmother and for her to be a queen, a superior position just reinforces how beautiful Snow White is. This indicates how these books are influencing young minds into what certain identity they should encompass. It creates a representation of what female identity should be as this book differentiates the expected roles of gender as it also creates the expectation of what beauty should be. These young readers are instilled with the idea that they need to encompass beauty like Snow White which suggests that young children do not have a choice in their gender identity. This heavily emphasizes the gender stereotypes that are presented in Children’s books.

Not only are female stereotypes shown in Disney books but also Males. Through the data of “Snow White And The Seven Dwarves”, Prince Charming is portrayed to be a figure of masculinity. This can be seen through the quotation “The handsome prince had searched far

and wide..”. The adjective “Handsome” portrays the connotations of one being good-looking, having a great amount of strength, and being pleasing. In addition to this, the adverb “Far” and “Wide” imply that Prince Charming went to great lengths to save the love of his life. This portrays the heroism of the Prince, thus emphasizing his bravery. All these descriptive pointers about Prince Charming suggest the traits that men are supposed to have in society as this can be as offensive to men as it is to women. As books are an agent of socialization, what is brought alongside it is the expansion of gender stereotypes and gender roles which allows how children to come to terms with their own gender and identity.

In the Disney book “Beauty and the Beast”, the data in which I am also analyzing, hyper-masculinity is portrayed through the character of Gaston. Hyper-masculinity is an exaggeration of masculinity such as physical strength and virility. This can be seen through the adjective in the quotation “The handsome but conceited Gaston watched her.” The adjective “Conceited” gives the meaning of one favoring their own appearance thus here where Gaston watches Belle even though he loves himself more than anyone or anything which overall presents him to be egoistic. Through the verb “admired” we can also see how egotistical Gaston is. “Gaston admired Belle almost as much as he admired himself.” The verb “Admired” gives the connotations of Gaston watching Belle who is beautiful with pleasure. It is interesting to see here the attention he gives to Belle although it was not enough is enough he gives to himself which presents him to be self-centered. Through this declarative sentence we can also see hyper-masculinity.“ She is the girl I am going to marry,” he declared.” Here we can see that Gaston believes Belle is expected to fall in love with him and marry him. The effect of this declarative sentence clearly conveys the statement that Gaston is presenting which is that he will for certain marry Belle and we can also see this announcement through the verb “Declared”.From all of this, we receive a clear impression of the hyper-masculinity that Gaston presents. Not only this but it also suggests that Belle does not have a choice. Thus this role of Gaston serves as a clear example of what boys are meant to have power and women are. This expected role of a man creates a powerful impact on young children as from a young age, they are to believe these are expected roles of specific gender identities. This influences a child’s gender identity as they internalize these roles and characteristics then which become taken for granted thus creating norms. Therefore their identity is very subjective and it is expected of them to accept what is presented to them when really children can have any role they want in society. Therefore the ability to make and create their own identity which is specific to their individual traits and personality.

Some Disney books were written at an earlier date such as ‘Cinderella’ in 1974 and ‘Snow White and the seven dwarves’ in 1812. However as the years have gone by and with different ideologies coming through, both male and female characters in books have changed much differently. The stereotypical female portrayal is thrown away such as ‘Cinderella’ a young princess in need of help and has drastically changed to young female warriors like in the Disney books such as “Mulan (1998)” and “Brave(2012)”. Through the quotation from my data “Brave”, Merida defies all expectations of what a princess should be which has previously been assumed to be. “Merida lived for her rare days of freedom when she could grab her bow, climb onto her horse, Angus, and spend the day in the forest”. The use of the listing of dynamic verbs here presents the activities in which Merida partakes as they are her hobbies. One would imagine that the young princess would not do archery and go riding alone in the forest however Merida does these things for her own freedom. This implies that Merida is not like Snow White or like Aurora who lives in fear of what is to come rather she goes into the forest and lives. This is significant because hobbies like archery and riding out into a forest lonesome is something one would think a male would do and not a female. Hence this children’s book defies the expected gender role of women in society and helps young children reading this to create their own gender identity.

Expectation defiance of what a woman should be is also shown in ‘Mulan’. ‘ Mulan knew that no matter how perfect her clothes or makeup, she would never be the delicate, graceful bride she was expected to be’. The adjectives ‘delicate’ and ‘graceful’ imply the attributes a woman should have. ‘Delicate’ creates the suggestion that Mulan should be a woman that needs to be carefully handled and that she is fragile. This gives the impression to young children reading this that women are seen to be weak. ‘Graceful’ implies that Mulan is to be an elegant and sophisticated woman. In order for Mulan to have a good match and marriage she needs to have these attributes as she can also bring honor to her family. The verb ‘Expected’ creates the meaning that Mulan’s family is highly anticipating Mulan’s marriage. To expect is to confidently believe that it will happen and in this context, Mulan’s family highly awaits Mulan to get married so honor can be brought to the family. Later on in the story, We know that Mulan sacrifices herself for her family and saves the whole country from the Huns, which suggests that Mulan created her own sense of identity instead of what others had been telling her to be. However such defiance of femininity is shown through the nouns in the quotation “Mulan had become a hero and a leader, bringing honor to her family in her own way”. The noun ‘Honour’ suggests connotations of Mulan doing something right which was to save her father as well as her country. Also, the noun ‘leader’ implies that Mulan has good principles and that she is a person who is leading and is superior and in this context, it was leading the army. Here a change has begun when the female protagonist Mulan is drifting away from society’s norms and expectations as princesses like Merida and Mulan seek their own freedom and future.

In conclusion, it is clear that gender stereotypes are presented in Children’s books. These stereotypes are used time and time again which shows it is hardly being challenged. Although there might have been times when these stereotypes have been challenged it can be said that they have been challenged by female authors for example in the data I have analyzed, ‘What I like about Me’ By Allia Zobel-Nola.

We have come a long way with the acceptance and respect for women however sexism and inequality is still alive and well. Hate crimes, sexual harassment, the wage gap and social exclusion are just some of the discriminatory acts that are still in use today. And one of the least known being gendered language. The words and expressions we use change everyday. However, those changes don’t seem to express the improvement in society regarding women’s rights.

Gendered language is so common that it is difficult for some people to even notice it. ¾ of the world’s languages use a sex-based system of feminine and masculine nouns whilst every single language spoken in today’s world makes some kind of gender distinction. Male centre words are everywhere! We use our manpower to elect congressmen who rule manmade institutions. And this can all have a damaging effect on our self-belief and self-image.

Words aren’t just meaningless sounds we make. When we use male-centric word as the norm, we choose men as the dominant group, effectively removing the remaining gender from our vocabulary and marking them as “other”. The words people hear affect their perceptions of the “correct” gender of certain careers, interests and activities. Due to the default of using the male noun when referring to jobs (such as fireman or postman), males become a prototype for specific jobs. This gives woman a huge, undesirable disadvantage when seeking out a labour force job as they would not fit the employers original vision of a man. Not only that, the use of gendered language could affect the choice men and women make through their life; this subtle yet effective way of depreciating women affects our choice of hobbies, GCSE and A-level options and our career choices. It can account for 125 million women being out of the labour force. And if we don’t stop this, there will be more.

Douglas R. Hofstadter is an American Professor. And to clearly show the extent of gendered language he replaced male-based generic words with race-based words. Therefore, manpower becomes whitepower. Mankind becomes white kind. Chairman becomes chairwhite. And so forth. And it is ridiculous that we would ever expect people of ethnic backgrounds to feel accepted in this made-up society. It would not only damage self-image but also leave a long-lasting effect where they believe that they are not able to meet the criteria of specific jobs due to something that they cannot control. But that is exactly what we do to women.

Whether in the classroom, at a party, or walking down the streets of my town, I’ve heard men and women refer to other women as “sluts,” I’ve heard classmates ridicule art and fashion as “girly crap,” I’ve heard coaches tell their players not to “throw like a girl,” I’ve heard friends tell each other to “man up” or “grow some balls.” It’s tiring and insulting, because pegging femininity and feminine words as negatives have a real impact on how we see individuals who identify that way. When we use female words to insult a woman, we communicate a disturbing message and we communicate the same disturbing message when we use only positive words with male terms. The usage of words like “slut” and “whore” are used to derogate women whilst terms such as “jack the lad” or “player” are used to promote men despite having similar situations between them both.

Alyson Jule describes gendered language as “The historical patriarchal hierarchy that has existed between men and women, where one is considered the norm and the other is marked as other – something quite different from the norm”. Gendered language is used so we see femininity as a weak trait — something over which to hold power; something to suppress and contain and control. It can make people feel stressed, uncomfortable and anxious (specifically people who identify as trans or intersex). Therefore we should all use gender neutral language.; it eliminates assumptions about someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation; it avoids reinforcing gender binaries and respects diverse identities and it will no longer contribute to gender power imbalances. Everyone of us has the power to create the world we want to live in. So do we want a language that reflects our history of excluding and diminishing women? Or do we want a language that inspires people to be more inclusive for the future, for our mothers, our sisters and our friends? Your decision is to become a more respectful person by using gender neutral language, your decision is to build a world where people feel free to express themselves, feel included in conversations and feel empowered enough to build a career. It’s your decision to make a world that takes women seriously.