Seduction of the Innocent

What then would be daring and provocative, but would now be considered soft-core pornography, Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina (1743) deals with the sexual desire of both men and women. They are held as equal in this story, perhaps even moving slightly more to the women’s side as the title character Fantomina is often the one making first contact, as well as putting in the extra effort of creating costumes to attain her next fix of pleasure. Yet Haywood’s heroine goes beyond her disguises’ purpose of…

Who do you trust when you are suddenly told that you must battle your classmates to the death? According to the students in Battle Royale, not the wanton one. The depiction of Mitsuko Souma, the most promiscuous female character in Battle Royale by Takami Koushun, as being feared and othered by her classmates reflects Japanese society's view of promiscuous and sexually powerful women. During the kill-or-be-killed game that they are thrust into, several students in Mitsuko’s class explicitly…

The worship of Bacchus and the Bacchic mysteries, the “Bacchanalia”, spread form southern Italy into Etruria and from there the cult found its way into Rome. At the beginning, the mystery’s rites and gatherings were carried on during the day, three time per year and only women were allowed to participate; men were strictly declined. Additionally, married women were assigned as priestesses. However, Pacula Annia, priestess from Campania, changed the mystery’s structure and method of celebration.…

In the world of fairy tales, the ‘Cinderella story’ often portrays its protagonist as being beautiful and innocent, granting her the ending of ‘happily-ever-after’ with her Prince Charming. Unmatched beauty and subservient innocence have become a virtue for women, a societal expectation. This ideal for women is unfortunately what has been emphasized both in fiction and in contemporary society. In both Roman myths and modern day fairy tales, beauty is an advantageous and essential characteristic…

INJUSTICE AGAINST WOMEN IN THE RAMAYANA INTRODUCTION: Woman had a secondary role in the society. She is dominated by her husband and also she act as a servant of her own husband. Male child preference , matrimonial life and the ruling system shows the position of women in the society. A women after marriage should led a life with her husband’s parents by leaving her parents who was with…

Satan’s evil corruption occurs through another tragic area involving human sacrifices mentioned in the Bible. Early masochism and other cruelties appear to have erupted during this time. “…innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions” (Ps 106:37-39). One of the main gods that instigated this…

I watched her as she ran through the sprinkler, squealing with delight and amusement. The air was filled with her joyous peals of laughter. Her clothes clung to her thin frame as water dripped from her wild hair and those long, childishly thick eyelashes. Surrounded by a halo of water mist, her celestial beauty was spellbinding. The impression of my love is forever engrained into my heart and soul. In Lolita, written by Vladimir Nabokov, we can observe the main character, Humbert Humbert, and…

that man has in his morals. In his essay, “The Lowest Animal”, Twain claims that man is the bottommost animal because he contains a conscience that makes him aware of the rightness and wrongness of his actions. Twain also states that man is “not innocent”, unlike the “higher” animals, because he is “consciously” aware of whether or not his actions are moral. Humanity is defined as “the quality or state of being human”, however, “being human does not mean that an individual…

A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich examines the 1785-1812 diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife in Hallowell, Maine. Ballard composed concise daily entries that chronicle her domestic work, deliveries and nursing, as well as community events. These entries, coupled with Ulrich’s extensive archival research, show the complexity of the female economy and its interactions with the mercantile economy of the late 18th century. Ulrich presents the masculine and feminine economic interactions…

In the society today, highly-profiled individuals are put on the stand to be slaughtered by their actions from the past which have come back to haunt them. They are accused of sexual misconduct and the accusations lead to their reputation being no longer existent. The movement itself goes far back into the past but it all started with a movie producer, Harvey Weinstein as he was accused of sexual abuse. This was the spark that started it all. #MeToo is trending on Twitter and the stories are…