Analysis Of Herland By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Some people may argue that an all-female society would be their idea of an utopia. Personally, I do not agree with these people as I cannot see only having women as my idea of paradise. However, the idea of an all-female society is not universal, and different authors have taken on this idea with different backgrounds, in different time periods and genres, which make these societies hard to fully dictate whether or not a person would like to live in one. One story that describes a society without males was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman during the era of first wave feminism. Her story, entitled Herland, depicts three men who stumble across an all-female society, who are invited to speak to the women who have not seen men in two thousand years. The women are diverse, ranging from highly feminine, to more masculine, which one of the men, Terry, dislikes: “Boys! Nothing but boys, most of ‘em. A standoffish, dis-agreeable lot at that. Critical, impertinent youngsters. No girls at all” (Gilman, 87). Moreover, the women in this society have been able to reproduce via immaculate conception, and as such worship the idea of Motherhood. Since the women can reproduce without it, sex is seen as unnecessary. This aligns very well with first wave feminists …show more content…
There has been lots of positive progress in the field of feminism to work towards gender and sexual equality in recent years, but there are still many issues that impact women and their sexuality that derive from a history of inequality. One current issue regarding female sexuality is that of sex work, and the negative connotations that come along with that issue. The two primary problems that women face in regard to this topic are that of stigma, and of safety. In a way, these problems connect in a catch twenty-two: the more stigmatized the work is, the less safe it becomes; and the less safe the work is, the more stigmatized it