In modern American society, the push for gender equality is a popular controversy between the media and the public. Men are sexualizing women more often due to the ease of the internet. However, women are working hard in the fight to prove they are more than just a pretty face. The gender discrimination women face today is due to the enculturation of times passed. The society today is comparable to societies from world history. Society shapes gender because societies create gender ideologies of their people; Ancient Greece, Egypt, and China used educational systems and cultural norms that fostered these gender ideologies in their societies.
In the Mesoeurasia area, legal rights bestowed upon women were uncommon occurrences. However, Egypt proved …show more content…
Gender differences were extremely high due to the social norms reinforced by the famous philosopher, Confucius. Confucius wrote in the Shihjing: “a clever man builds a city; a clever woman tears it down” (Qui). Chinese men looked down upon women and womanly intellect was not a subject of praise for men. Confucius continued to say “the wagging tongues of women are the instrument of our decline.” It is obvious women had no say in political matters in Ancient China. If a man had involvement with a woman, he lived in a wickedness comparable to addiction. In the Book of Documents, Confucius wrote about “the three fashions and their ten evil ways” (Qui). If a man set his heart on a woman, he fell into the “the fashion of extravagance” (Qui) and his family came to ruin. If the man was of nobility and his heart was set on a woman, then his state came to ruin. Men saw women as baby machines, so the basis of value was women’s bodies. Men overlooked a woman’s strength, creativeness, intellect, and passion for life. Ban Zhao, a female scholar, was past Confucius’ time, but because Confucian writings had such an impact on society, Chinese culture still viewed women poorly. In Lessons for Women, Zhao stated that a woman “ought to have four qualifications”. These qualifications included; womanly virtue, womanly words, womanly bearing, and womanly work. The reality that women had to meet criteria to be considered …show more content…
Men sat steadily at the top and women sat weakly at the bottom. The content of the Greek entertainment showed the gender discrimination. In the play Antigone, the King of Thebes, Creon, had to punish Antigone for her deed against the state. He tussled with his son about how to punish Antigone, and he said: “if I am overthrown, I want it said at least I was I was beaten by a man rather than outmaneuvered by a woman” (Sophocles). It is plain men recognized the intellect of Greek women, but the men possessed too much pride to admit defeat by anyone other than men. Men saw women as weak. Parallel to the beliefs of the Chinese, men also valued for the sole purpose of reproduction. The document, The Government of Sparta, outlines the way Sparta and other Greek polis drove their
In the Mesoeurasia area, legal rights bestowed upon women were uncommon occurrences. However, Egypt proved …show more content…
Gender differences were extremely high due to the social norms reinforced by the famous philosopher, Confucius. Confucius wrote in the Shihjing: “a clever man builds a city; a clever woman tears it down” (Qui). Chinese men looked down upon women and womanly intellect was not a subject of praise for men. Confucius continued to say “the wagging tongues of women are the instrument of our decline.” It is obvious women had no say in political matters in Ancient China. If a man had involvement with a woman, he lived in a wickedness comparable to addiction. In the Book of Documents, Confucius wrote about “the three fashions and their ten evil ways” (Qui). If a man set his heart on a woman, he fell into the “the fashion of extravagance” (Qui) and his family came to ruin. If the man was of nobility and his heart was set on a woman, then his state came to ruin. Men saw women as baby machines, so the basis of value was women’s bodies. Men overlooked a woman’s strength, creativeness, intellect, and passion for life. Ban Zhao, a female scholar, was past Confucius’ time, but because Confucian writings had such an impact on society, Chinese culture still viewed women poorly. In Lessons for Women, Zhao stated that a woman “ought to have four qualifications”. These qualifications included; womanly virtue, womanly words, womanly bearing, and womanly work. The reality that women had to meet criteria to be considered …show more content…
Men sat steadily at the top and women sat weakly at the bottom. The content of the Greek entertainment showed the gender discrimination. In the play Antigone, the King of Thebes, Creon, had to punish Antigone for her deed against the state. He tussled with his son about how to punish Antigone, and he said: “if I am overthrown, I want it said at least I was I was beaten by a man rather than outmaneuvered by a woman” (Sophocles). It is plain men recognized the intellect of Greek women, but the men possessed too much pride to admit defeat by anyone other than men. Men saw women as weak. Parallel to the beliefs of the Chinese, men also valued for the sole purpose of reproduction. The document, The Government of Sparta, outlines the way Sparta and other Greek polis drove their