Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Gender Roles
After reading the articles The Egg and the Sperm and 'Twilight' vs. 'Hunger Games': Why Do So Many Grown-Ups Hate Bella? you begin to understand how some stereotypes can be perceived when it comes to genders. In The Egg and the Sperm, Emily Martin talks about how biology even shows certain stereotypes that are perceived differently through males and females. For instance, when discussing a female's egg and a male's sperm, why is the sperm considered some kind of "unsung hero"? As Martin states, "It is surely no accident that the "remarkable"process of making sperm involves precisely what, in the medical view, menstruation does not: production of something deemed valuable." Martin basically goes on to acknowledge how people just naturally picture women as being "weak" and always needing the male's role to come and save the day. When I read Twilight' vs. 'Hunger Games': Why Do So Many Grown-Ups Hate Bella? by Noah Berlatsky, I got a different perception, due to the fact that in this article, the more "manlier" and "butchy" type of female is actually considered cool. Berlatsky gives a scenario of two different actresses that are asked to fight. Who would win? On one end you have a girly girl Bella from the Twilight Series and than you have Katniss from the Hunger Game Series. When asking people who would they choose to win the fight, of course he gets many Katniss fans, due to her warrior instincts from The Hunger Games. He states, "Katniss sees everyone she loves die one by one and still manages to fight on. Bella's boyfriend dumps her and she spends most of an entire book in a deep, infuriating depression." This ideology gives off the vibe that one female is being too dramatic and emotional, while the other one is more strong and extremely competent. Both articles describe how females can be perceived depending on the situation. In one instance the manlier woman is considered more valuable, while on the other hand, the female is considered wasteful. I believe these perceptions explain how differently gender roles can actually be, depending on what situation is being discussed.
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I agree with your contrast in the articles, because one article (The Egg and the Sperm) conforms to gender roles while the other (Twilight vs. Hunger Games) rejects gender roles. I think this is because it's in two different perspectives as you also stated. It's sad to read that Emily Martin stated that men are biologically "stronger" because I really disagree with that statement even though she provides medical evidence. I think that people assume that women can't do certain things, when in reality they can do just as much and some women can even do more than some men. I think that Noah Berlaysky's article however, rejects gender roles because he supports the idea of women looking at this 'badass' woman character as a good reach, or a step up for women in general. Although he does talk about Bella's weak characteristics that do conform to women's roles in society, I think it's pushing away from that and emphasizing how you said "strong and extremely competent".
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view of how they perceive the gender roles in the readings. I think that they both reinforce and reject the gender roles. They reject them in the Hunger Games as they make Katniss to the more type of dominant and independent female compared to the sterotype of them just being emotional and non dominant. I think that they do a great job in the Hunger Games rejecting the female sterotypes with her character. However in Twilight they make Bella fall under the reinforced side of females. They make her emotional and seem to be weak because she makes all of her decisions off of her emotions. So I do agree with how you portray each of those portray the gender sterotypes. Hunger Games rejects the sterotype while Twilight decided to reinforce the sterotype.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that women are just as strong as men if not stronger than men in some cases, and how society automatically assumes that males and their genetic make up is superior to women. Our society has views men as the dominant gender of our species for thousands of years, and is now starting to change with the rise of strong independent women. I agree that Katniss has definitely set the bar higher for women in society by showing them they can be strong and independent too. Even though Bella is viewed as weak and dependent, she still has some independent qualities, especially once she becomes a vampire and a mother. You start to see a different side to her than you did before, stating that even the weakest of people can become strong.
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