Lois Tyson Learning For A Diverse World Summary

Have you ever noticed in english literature or your modern day life how females are depicted to be reliant on males and rather submissive? The truth is that up until now, women were characterized to be inferior in comparison to men making them vulnerable to certain stereotypes and gender role expectations. These gender role expectations became clear once forms of literature exposed these faulty stereotypes which women had to obey in order to fit into society. Take Lois Tyson’s “Learning for a Diverse World” for example, in which she outlines the scenarios that women face on a daily basis because of the unbelievable gender roles. Tyson mentions how the “Feminist theory asks us to examine instead the ways in which our personal identity is formed …show more content…
Tyson leads the reader to believe that patriarchal stereotypes are the reason why women feel so insecure when she asks a rather interesting question. Tyson asks, “Is the role of the strong, rational protector given to the male character while the role of the submissive, emotional nurturer is given to a female character? Or to put the question another way, are the female characters depicted according to patriarchal stereotypes of women?” (Tyson 84). Tyson is absolutely right considering how Sarah is depicted as an insecure women looking after her children, yet another patriarchal stereotype. Sarah is insecure about her body and this is clearly noted when Zoline writes, “Sarah Boyle thinks of her nose as too large, though several men have cherished it. The nose is generous and performs a well-calculated geometric curve” (1). Despite other men finding Sarah’s nose attractive, she, herself isn’t too fond of it. This relates the idea of how Sarah is not pleased with what she has as a women and expects to have more. A key aspect for men when it comes to women is for them to look attractive and even though Sarah is indeed good looking, she still desires for something more. As Sarah yearns for more things, she starts to resent her children, her home and her family as they constantly remind her of an unfulfilled career and …show more content…
Tyson summarizes this concept best when she says, “For according to the feminist theory, these ideologies are responsible for the oppression of women throughout the world and for the failure of most women and men to live up to their full human potential” (86). Tyson is once again stating how because of other factors such as oppression, women are left feeling uncertain about themselves and their contribution to the world. Similarly, Zoe is left feeling insecure about herself, because she is uncertain about where she stands as a women in the world. To summarize, Zoe has the financial position, job, and freedom that most oppressed women desire, but yet remains insecure about herself as she desires a husband and children to call family. Zoe’s insecurities are caused by the fact that she understands how she is not compatible with most males, making her an inferior women (since women at the time who could have many kids and take care of them were seen to be superior in the eyes of the male). Take Zoe’s encounter with Earl for example, a possible boyfriend for Zoe, who Zoes shut out as she doesn’t feel comfortable around him. More specifically Zoe attempted to freak Earl out of the relationship when she said, ‘“They’re putting me through tests.” She sighed. “I’ve had sonograms. I’ve had mammograms. Next week I’m going in for a candygram”’ (Moore 16). In this quote Zoe