I believe that the authors both advocate for stronger and
more respectable roles for women in every aspect of life. I began with the
reading "‘Twilight’ vs. ‘Hunger Games’: Why do So Many Grown Ups Hate Bella?” By
Noah Berlatsky, which describes Bella from 'Twilight" as a hopeless romantic who is weak, sex-driven, and dependent on men. Katniss from "Hunger Games", on the other hand, is described as a fearless born survivor who takes care of herself and is a preserved, respectable badass. This article took me back to sixth grade, when I read 'Twilight' myself. I finished the entire series, the whole time swooning over Edward Cullen,
the sexy, sparkly vampire. I never really looked up to Bella though, her whining was annoying to me. When “The Hunger Games" came out, I immediately admired Katniss’ character because she was so independent, brave, and strong. I think strength is the most important quality a woman can have, but I don't think having feminine interests or a sexual drive in any way lessens that strength. I think
the point Berlatsky is trying to get across to readers is that as stereotyped as the
two characters are, it does not matter who is more girly. In the end, Bella becomes
a badass vampire and Katniss ends up with a husband and kids. I think what he
is saying is that gender stereotypes are bullshit. We can attribute to both gender
norms if we’d like. Everyone has a soft side and if they choose to show more of
that, it does not make them less of a person. Emily Martin’s article “The Egg
and The Sperm” switches things up a bit. She talks about scientific inequality when
it comes to authors of scientific textbooks writing on reproductive systems of
both the male and female, comparing the sperm to the egg. They gave these things sterotypes as if they're men and women, saying the sperm is strong, independent, fast, and efficient, but making the egg seem boring and dependent on the sperm for fertilization. After this reading I
realized just how socially persuaded these scientific “findings” are. Martin
definitely advocates justice for the female body, which I am all for! Women are
awesome.
I believe that Noah Barkley uses really good examples in observing the stereotypes of women we see today in our society. By comparing the over dramatic, dependent, weak, Bella and the independent, preserved , strong Katniss. I can see why exactly it is that Bella annoyed you in a number of ways. I think its mainly because the stereotype is that women are this way and are dependent and frail. However the reasons why people hated her character is because, naturally, what kind of woman would like to be perceived this way? The stereotype of Bella is the stereotype of what the past has seen, or wanted for women. While Katniss is exactly what women should want to strive to be, Independent , strong, fearless. The reason I think this is true is because of the so many years of women having to bear the stereotype of being “Bella”. Now in Emily Martins article I agree entirely of what you said but I think we should look at this in a different perspective. In Martin’s advocation of justice we should realize it is not the sperm that is strong , efficient, and fast, but that the Egg is the one that is truly independent. In reality it is the sperm that is dependent of the egg, because without the egg the sperm would hold no purpose of use. Yes the Egg needs to sperm in order to reproduce but it is the Egg that does the bulk of the work. For instance with menstrual cycles, we men must wait until after the cycle in order to do any type of reproducing due to the production of an Egg. In total it is the Egg that rains supreme, or maybe in simpler terms women.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Author of "'Twilight' Vs 'Hunger Games': Why Do So Many Grown-Ups Hate Bella?" Noah Berlatsky; both rejects gender norms, and embraces gender norms. When first reading the article, I seen that it was obvious that he rejects gender norms and how women are generally seen in society. But upon reading the blog posted by Gabi Harkrider above, my eyes opened. Gabi pointed out that along with rejecting and believing gender norms is "Bullshit"; The author Noah Berlatsky, after telling how Katniss was strong and independent the whole time and how bella was just another clumsy weak girly girly, in the end Katniss becomes a mother and wife and bella becomes a strong powerful creature. This analysis shows that the author doesn't really care about gender norms. I was quite confused of what the Author Emily Martin was getting at in her book Article "The Egg and the Sperm"; one moment she was saying how the eggs in women basically couldn't survive without sperm and next she was saying how sperm was weak. I’m not sure if she thinks women are the better gender or not, but what I analyzed was that she somewhat was trying to point out that both genders are equal and are dependent of each other.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in Noah Berlatsky's article entitled "'Twilight' vs. 'Hunger Games'" the author recognizes the irony and significance of the gender-role gaps between the two books and both rejects and accepts gender norms. By claiming that Bella, in "Twilight" is a weak, clumsy and sexual being that just wants to "bang Edward", the author reinforces some of the stereotypes our society lays out (the idea that women can't support themselves without a man). On the other hand, in "The Hunger Games" Katniss is depicted as a strong, independent, sexually uninterested girl (except for her interest in Peeta); therefore Berlatsky shows how gender norms are rejected in the book series, by illustrating that Katniss is a fierce feminist, who is strong and rejects the norms of the world around her. In “The Egg and the Sperm” by Emily Martin, the author discusses the sexual biology of males and females. Throughout the reading, she discusses every illustration of the female egg that has a negative connotation. Martin then claims that people often assume or claim that sperm has a greater value than a woman’s egg. Martin’s article talks about the inequality and unfairness of the authors writing science and biology textbooks on reproductive systems of men and women, comparing the sperm to the egg. The authors seem to stereotype even the littlest aspect of men and women, (the sperm and egg) claiming the sperm is strong, quick and independent, all the while illustrating the egg as ineffective and dependent on the sperm for fertilization. In both texts, the authors reject gender norms, but are not blind to the obvious stereotypes and scrutiny that women face, and in that way they embrace and reject the social gender norms our society faces today.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the reading, “Twilight’ vs ‘Hunger Games’: Why do so many grown-ups hate Bella?” is downing the role of femininity. Noah makes Bella seem weak and dependent throughout the whole book which she wasn’t. I do see that in the comparison that Katniss was stronger and more masculine. I agree that Bella probably loose in a fight between them two, when she was human, but it doesn’t make Katniss better then Bella overall. This article was really reinforcing the gender roles using two females. In the book reading, “The Egg and the Sperm” the author is wanting to reject the gender roles even though science has set a boundary in between eggs and sperm. She found that different studies show that the sperm is masculine and strong and it penetrates the egg, also how there are plenty more sperm then eggs women have. Downing not only the woman, making them weak, but also her reproductive organs. I used to think that women were stronger because our bodies go through much more natural happenings then a male does. I don’t feel that this is case anymore, we are separated before we are even born. I’ve learned that everything starts with science and after this book reading I am persuaded that science has so much to do with how we view gender roles.
ReplyDeleteGabbi, I definitely agree with your opening statement! Each of the articles advocate for more stronger and respectable roles for women in every aspect of life. I felt like both of the authors were able to discuss two very different topics that most people probably don’t associate with gender stereotypes and discrimination. Even for me, it was very enlightening reading about the breakdown of two main characters from popular movies that I have seen, as well as the negative connotations regarding my reproductive system as a female, and the underlying truth. The first reading “Twilight' vs. Hunger Games': Why Do So Many Grown-Ups Hate Bella” used Bella to portray the traditional view of femininity and used Katniss as the most appealing to most people and feminists. The author was really able to break down Bella’s character which displayed her as a clumsy helpless romantic who wanted nothing but love, sex, marriage, children, all goals that are expected from “traditional” women. Katniss on the other hand is the complete opposite. Her character challenges that “traditional” view of women. The second reading was my favorite however. “The Egg and the Sperm” really enlightened me. I had no idea that this was how people and even medicine viewed a part of my body that in my eyes is beautiful in every single way, shape, and form. The female’s reproductive system is held at a lower standard than that of the males because the males can continuously produce sperm, while us females are only born with a certain amount that overtime lessen due to menstruation. However, this should in no way be used as another way to discriminate. Men and women each have individual things that define them and make them unique. When we start to pick at these characteristics, and give prevalence or merit to one over the other, is when discrimination and stereotypes start developing.
ReplyDeleteI love "I think strength is the most important quality a woman can have, but I don't think having feminine interests or a sexual drive in any way lessens that strength." This captures Berlatsky's message in one sentence. This is a great way to express the mixture of strength and femininity. After reading the essay myself, I still saw strength and femininity as very distinct qualities that are difficult to intertwine. Berlasky's message was sent, but not completely received on my end. I brought my own agenda and laid it over Berlatsy's, but Gabi's blog made it plainly clear to me that women can be both feminine and strong in certain settings, which is a great thing. I also agree with Gabi on how "The Egg and The Sperm" describes how science textbooks are also sexist in a sense. I had never thought about the language used in textbooks i've always looked at textbooks as straight fact rather than opinion because as far as my classes go, the textbook is always right. But Martin's analysis of the language used in textbooks very clearly revealed how the females organ system is looked at as just a tool for male sperm rather than a phenomenon in itself. I overall agree with and love Gabi's blog
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