Gender studies

Cleopatra, Shakespeare uses the relationship between Anthony and Cleopatra in order to initiate a critical discussion on the presence and consequences of the severe gender norms and expectations that are placed onto individuals. He utilizes the character of Anthony to resemble the masculine individual struggling with his prescribed gender identity; he then contrasts this figure with the depiction of Cleopatra, who is not under the same pressures as Anthony. Furthermore, Shakespeare uses the…

Gender roles are culturally constructed and, in the case of ‘Macbeth’, masculinity has as many expectations and connotations as femininity. At the beginning of the play Macbeth fulfils the criteria of contemporary masculinity; presented as ‘brave’ and ‘valiant’…

The short story called Boys and Girls, written by Alice Munro show society’s unwritten rule about gender inequality. Throughout the story, the narrator plays the role of a tough girl who tries to get her father’s attention by helping out on the fox farm. The narrator’s dad takes the horse out back and shoots it so he can use the meat for the foxes. The father tells her to stay behind, but instead of listening to her father, she decides to talk her little brother, named Laird, into watching their…

pre-kindergardin to the twelfth grade. Since the age of five years old, the mindset that my gender would not hinder me from anything that I try to accomplish in life was drilled into my mind on a daily basis. Not until I arrived to college did I realize that so many other women and men had a completely different mindset than me. Some of these people thought that women should be in traditional stereotypical gender roles, while other women believed that they could not preform certain occupational…

Rahilly ‘Gender Truth Regime’ Rahilly (2015) adapts Foucalt’s concept of a ‘truth regime’ to explain the ideological prevalence of the gender binary in modern western society. She argues that at an individual, interactional, structural and ideological level, the notion of sex and gender being intertwined has a pervasive effect. Weaving this with West and Zimmerman’s (1987) concept of ‘doing gender,’ she likens parents’ resistance to the gender binary to Bernstein and De la Cruz’s (2009)…

what literature has found to be of merit to the conversation of masculinity and education. I then turn to explore how masculinity may be in opposition to schooling. Next, I discuss the achievement gap in regards to race, socioeconomic status, and gender. Lastly, I turn to structural changes that may impact schooling for…

Within Japanese entertainment, the topic of gender, sex, and sexuality are often explored and played with in various ways, particularly within the genre of shoujo manga. In manga such as “Crimson Hero” by Mitsuba Takanashi, and “Princess Knight” by Osamu Tezuka, the themes of gender, sex, and sexuality are used to explore the uncertain boundaries between the male-female binary within societal situations. While “Day of Revolution” explores the difference in day to day life between the two sexes…

the extreme poverty surrounding her, as well as the gender expectations she faced from her religious family. Similarly, in Warren St. John’s novel, Outcasts United, the life of Luma Mufleh, a soccer coach to a refugee team, is also highlighted, and issues of gender inequality and religious expectations are also addressed. Despite their different cultural backgrounds, Janisse Ray and Luma Mufleh experienced similar hurdles in life regarding gender roles and what was expected of them. Those…

Gender and race are two popular theories, in the sense that these theories are relevant today’s society as well as at the time when the theories were first analyzed. The two theories have similarities and differences in how to question the idea of power and how power is used in to subjugate woman and minorities. Feminist and gender theories and theories of race and racism are alike in how they were formed in society, and how both theories can be seen in an individual/group to show the oppression…

“Nice guys finish last” is a statement that is commonly heard among men who fail to win over women they are interested in. It is almost a form of self-congratulatory reassurance that the rejection was solely due to the fact that the women are not into “honest, good and nice” men, as portrayed by several television shows and movies in the media. This reassurance is used to create a sense of completion where these group of men feel inadequate and insecure. This notion was strongly delved into in…