Throughout history, society has shaped the lives of individuals by assigning individuals a specific way to be a part of society while deviation is most likely viewed as unacceptable and censured. Betty Friedan in chapter 1 of her novel “The Feminine Mystique” describes society’s assigned role for women and how women sacrificed their desires to fulfil this role and assimilate into society. E.J Graff in his essay “The M/F Boxes” describes how transgendered and intersex individuals suffer humiliation and alienation because they were not what society expected of what a man or a woman is. Stephen Hinshaw in an excerpt from “What is the Triple Bind?” brings to attention the contemporary issue young girls are facing as they are expected to accomplish
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The authors realized that those who choose not to conform to the standards of society are often alienated by the people around them and even their governing bodies of law. Graff talks about this alienation when he talks about individuals not being able to wear clothing that represents their sexual identity because be detained and arrested. Graff writes “if you’re a performing drag queen, a cross-dressing straight man like Peter Oiler...do not under any circumstances get stopped by a cop...you could be arrested and detained for days or weeks”. (253) By establishing that cross-dressing can get a person arrested, Graff shows that society is against transsexuals because the laws designed to protect the people, fails to protect the individual. Under such circumstances, it is obvious that a person will feel alienated, even when he or she is surrounded by people, because society does not accept him or her. Friedan creates a similar kind of alienation between society and individuals with his example of females feeling alienated. Friedan writes “Most women with this problem did not go to see a psychoanalyst however. ‘There’s nothing wrong really,’ they keep telling themselves. ‘There isn’t any problem.’”. (Friedan, 19) Friedan evaluates the problem women felt after they realized they were not satisfied by the role society assigned them and when they try to find help, there is no professional who can help relieve this problem or at the very least, explain what they were feeling. Therefore, women who suffered from this problem and felt alienated by the fact that there is no help for them because no one understands them besides
The authors realized that those who choose not to conform to the standards of society are often alienated by the people around them and even their governing bodies of law. Graff talks about this alienation when he talks about individuals not being able to wear clothing that represents their sexual identity because be detained and arrested. Graff writes “if you’re a performing drag queen, a cross-dressing straight man like Peter Oiler...do not under any circumstances get stopped by a cop...you could be arrested and detained for days or weeks”. (253) By establishing that cross-dressing can get a person arrested, Graff shows that society is against transsexuals because the laws designed to protect the people, fails to protect the individual. Under such circumstances, it is obvious that a person will feel alienated, even when he or she is surrounded by people, because society does not accept him or her. Friedan creates a similar kind of alienation between society and individuals with his example of females feeling alienated. Friedan writes “Most women with this problem did not go to see a psychoanalyst however. ‘There’s nothing wrong really,’ they keep telling themselves. ‘There isn’t any problem.’”. (Friedan, 19) Friedan evaluates the problem women felt after they realized they were not satisfied by the role society assigned them and when they try to find help, there is no professional who can help relieve this problem or at the very least, explain what they were feeling. Therefore, women who suffered from this problem and felt alienated by the fact that there is no help for them because no one understands them besides