Gender Sterotypes

The comparison between the egg and the sperm scientifically differs from gender stereotypes because the "norm" is that the male is supposed to be the big and strong and powerful specimen while as the women are fragile and sacred and unable to fend for themselves. However, the egg is the larger, sturdier specimen while the sperm is much more gentle and soft in comparison. The sperm even tries to escape from the egg which creates a more passive characteristic for the sperm. 

The contrast between Katniss from the Hunger Games and Bella from Twilight is more along the lines of feminism and how some people think it should be. Some would say that Bella is the ideal feminist because of her submissive acts; depending on Edward or Jacob to come to her rescue, being the "clumsy", fragile little girl she is. On the other hand, some people, including the author of the article, would say that Katniss would be the stereotypical feminist because of her "tomboyish" attitude and "badass" persona. This could be related to the equality portion of feminism because, a certain percentage of feminists believe that to be a real woman, is to be able to take care of herself without needing the strength, the companionship, or the ideals of a man. 

What Came First: The Sperm or the Egg?

Femininity is a feature typically viewed as weak and vulnerable in a society that has all along been implemented with gender roles and norms. In both texts, 'Twilight' vs. 'Hunger Games':  Why Do So Many Grown-Ups Hate Bella? by Noah Berlatsky and The Egg and the Sperm by Emily Martin, the authors are seeking out the stronger attributes of the female as they are most often looked down on. Berlatsky's article focuses on feminine versus less feminine characteristics in two quite different movie characters. He upholds Katniss's features as he describes her as "an extremely competent, tomboyish young woman who is athletic, focused, responsible, and able to take care of herself," posing these as the characteristics that successful women should have and strive for. On the other hand, Berlatsky puts down Bella from Twilight as a troubled teen who's "a girly girl who rides her aimlessness and hormones straight to damnation," as if her femininity never got her anywhere in the movie. The author not only wants females to avoid these features, but encourages men to have them to compliment those of the butch. Emily Martin concentrated on the characteristics given to the sex cells and their connotations through scientific language. She refers to numerous passages from other authors that describe the femal reproductive organs as "biologically interdependent, while male organs are viewed as autonomous." The female reproductive system has much negative connotation as it is usually described wasteful and passive while the sperm's journey is often narrated as a superhero comic. Her solution and request for equality for the sex cells was to express them as homologous. Martin aims to raise the view of the female ovum and lower that of the sperm's to the realistic perspective or more dominant and important ovum. As Berlatsky pushes the fierceness tomboyish woman over feminine attributes, Martin strives for a more progressive outlook on the female sex cell.

The Divine Feminine

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.

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.

Individuality and Equality

The Egg and Sperm, by Emily Martin, exposes hidden stereotypical concepts in biological research. The author goes into depth about how both female and male reproduction processes are not seen as equal. She compares the way these processes are depicted to a fairytale and refers to the egg as being the “damsel in distress” while the sperm is often viewed more as a hero. “…the imagery keeps alive some of the hoariest old stereotypes about weak damsels in distress and their strong male rescuers.” Martin analyzes and uses examples of biological research to argue how everything associated with females are automatically deemed dependent and less important than their male counterparts. Martin believes that the relationship between sperm and egg, although not depicted to be, is very equal and needs to be spoken about as if it is. She also mentions how these misogynistic cellular metaphors, if not stopped, could inevitably affect future human relations and progression. “Waking up such metaphors, by becoming aware of their implications, will rob them of their power to naturalize our social conventions about gender.” In Twilight vs. Hunger Games Noah Berlatsky contrasts the personalities of each stories’ leading female character. He begins with telling the readers why adults and second-wave feminists are so against stereotypically girly, Bella. “They saw frills and pink bows…as part of the patriarchy’s effort to infantilize and denigrate women.” Katniss, on the other hand, with her driven and independent personality, is more favored between the two. The author then brings a question to the reader’s attention “is masculinity really categorically better and more feminine than femininity?” The author shows that his purpose for writing isn’t to tell women how they should want to be perceived, but to show how a woman’s personality doesn’t influence her right for equality.  “Masculinity and femininity isn’t a duel to the death.” Although some feminists believe femininity is disadvantageous, and others believe the opposite, neither view is a deal breaker. Both authors are simply saying that we don’t have to choose between one or another, individuality trumps gender roles

Gender Roles (Feb. 8)

On Twilight Vs Hunger Games, Noah Berlatsky does not compare the franchise’s success nor their aspects but their female lead’s way of being. Both movie franchises happen to have a female lead protagonist but their way of being differs quite drastically. Katniss from The Hunger Games, is quite a tomboy while Bella happens to be ‘stereotypically girly’ as Berlatsky stated. Upon describing both female leads, Berlatsky came across on pointing out that people will tend to find the tomboy aspect from Katniss as more attractive and appealing to one. The idea of being an independent, brave girl who constantly fights and hunts people down for survivor is more enchanting than a girly girl who really has nothing going for herself and according to Berlatsky is pretty much useless. It seems that the idea that the author is trying to convey is that the typical stereotypical male characteristics seem to be more engaging than those of a female. Only to later state, “they might understand each other’s desires and each other’s strength,” which to me, it seems that he is saying that at the end of the day there is no right or wrong way of being. Everyone has their own preference and it should not be guilted. On the other hand, The Egg and the Sperm by Emily Martin talks about how they get the stereotypical gender cultural norm treatment and how it should stop being a thing. The sperm is often seen as fierce because it penetrates the egg, while the egg tends to be called weak and wasteful which ties in with Berlatsky’s part of the argument. “Waking up such metaphors by becoming aware of their implications, will rob them of their power to naturalize our social conventions about gender,” Society tends to add gender roles into almost anything, which for Martin is not a necessity.

Wants between men and women

In reading “The egg and the sperm” by Emily Martin and “Twilight vs. Hunger Games” by Noah Berlatsky I think that both authors want to show the ways why and how we see gender roles. In Berlatskys’ article he talks about the main characters from each movie and how they are portrayed. In Twilight Bella’s character is classified as “girly” and helpless she is clumsy and can’t do anything to save herself. He also mentions that all she thinks about are they boys in her life and marriage. Throughout the books, she is deemed useless and as Berlatsky said in his article “an utter mess.” In The Hunger Games the main character Katniss is the complete opposite of Bella she kills to save her life and the life of people she cares about. She wasn’t as worried about boys as Bella was even though there were guys who liked her. Berlatsky later goes on to say that Bella becomes a powerful being to save her life and the life of people she wants to protect. Katniss goes on to pick Peeta because she wanted someone who was the opposite of her someone that was kind and someone who was domestic. The two switch roles between being feminine and masculine but both movies and stories show how both are needed at some point. In Martins’  “The egg and the sperm” she talks about the effects of society and science make the reproductive organs of both male and female seem totally distant from each other. She talks about how in textbooks the male reproductive organs are seen as being more valuable than that of the woman’s. She goes on to give us information about how in other texts the female process of making eggs is just not depicted with much enthusiasm as that of the making of sperm. In all Martin is trying to say that society’s view on the reproductive systems of both men and women the males will be seen as more important than that of the females because of the stereotypical view that society has imposed. Both authors want to show that women have a major part to play in society too that women can be seen as “girly” but that they also can be brute and independent. Both articles want us readers to know that women play a big part in society and that women are just as important as men.