The Changing Role Of Masculinity In Literature

She never allowed herself to married, never allowed herself to reap the rewards due a warrior and in the end has a difficult being accepted for who she was in this ancient society or by herself, due to the existences of cultural gender binaries. And at the end she doesn't feel like a hero; “Feeling lonely and misunderstood, the legend says that she decided to commit suicide”(13). Not the fairytale ending one would expect for a hero. In ancient societies, stories contained gender narratives that have clear distinctions, with women’s roles taking a secondary position to those of men. Yet these narratives also show the female protagonists in roles, which were customarily reserved for the male, that allow leadership, authority, and heroism - but these stories were few and far between. The important thing for us to remember is that femininity and masculinity are not only in opposition; but they are also stratified. The values that have been tied to masculine traits have been viewed as superior to those identified with feminine traits. This does not mean that men are …show more content…
And as we will begin to see a more balanced portrayal of heroes, inclusivity will slowly creep into society’s modern story of the hero and the change sought will continue to seep into this complex narrative. And if you haven’t already sat up and taken notice of this subtle change, look to children’s films: Big Hero Six - where a young Asian boy and a diverse set of characters ( a geek, a black man, two girls)are the heroes and in Wreck-it-Ralph, whose heroes are, Penelope, a girl “glitch” and “the villain from another arcade game”. Once again, it's a reflection of a certain new reality: that other races, nationalities, and women are slowly, but certainly, becoming equals to men, in reality and