Prompt for reading #2
To begin, how does "No Name Woman," the fictional text by Maxine Hong Kingston that we read earlier, illustrate the concept of woman as "Other," as discussed in this section by de Beauvoir?
Next, I ask you to choose any of the questions on page 201 to answer. Feel free to cite (agree or disagree--cordially-- with) your colleagues. I envision this blogspot as being interactive!
Next, I ask you to choose any of the questions on page 201 to answer. Feel free to cite (agree or disagree--cordially-- with) your colleagues. I envision this blogspot as being interactive!
posted by DrEmmerling at 12:01 PM
24 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I feel that "No Name Woman" and "Other" obviously state that woman are portrayed as inferior to men, and I beleive this occurs through tradition. Both stories illustrate that since time began, or at least was documented, woman have been taught to fufil the housewife position and that her husband was indirectly more powerful and above her. Because this fact has been embedded in our society and tradition, it is difficult for women to break free of the title or feelings associated with being known as the "other" (as illustrated in Kingston's "No Name Woman").
QUESTION 2
Woman being recognized as the "other" significantly discouages their psychological and social being. They are born to believe that they are inferior to men, which accordingly is carried out in their actions. If a woman doesn't psychologically feel powerful, she will not act as though she is powerful (even though she technically is equal to a man). I do beleive that in the past decades there have been obvious social changes with woman; whether it be a higher attendence rate at colleges or even attaining high position jobs, both show positive initiative to break the stereotypical roles as the "other".
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kingston mentioned the privilege men had of remaining unknown as the rapist of the impregnated woman and father of the child. He also spoke of how women were sold to families in order to be given to a man as his bride. This sort of cultural oppression established the woman as the "other."
Q: How does Beauvoir compare and contrast sexism to racism and to anti-Semitism?
She notes difference between ethnic groups and women. For instance, ethnic groups such as blacks, jews, and indo-chinese were originally independent from other races. However, women have been surrounded by men since the beginning of humankind. Also, she brings up the issue of reproduction. Whereas oppressed ethnic groups can reproduce without the help of the oppressing group, the woman cannot reproduce without the help of the male. Therefore, this dependence makes equality between the sexes that much more difficult to achieve.
In “No Name Woman” the relationship between man and woman relates closely to what Simone de Beauvoir describes as man and the “other”. The men in “No Name Woman” are independent of the women; they departed for America while the women were dependent on the money sent to them by their husbands. The aunt who was unfaithful to her husband is degraded by the villagers as soon as her belly starts showing signs of pregnancy. Her partner, who is equally as guilty as she, is not pursued by the villagers for he shows no sign of infidelity, and she does not denounce him. The men in the text are superior to the women; this suggests that they make up two castes; men and the “other”.
3. According to de Beauvoir, why is recognizing the legal rights of women not enough for women to achieve equality?
Women have not formed a “unit” as other inferior groups have, in society. For example, de Beauvoir mentions that “the Proletarians have accomplished the revolution in Russia” which granted them their equality. They accomplished the revolution through organization and unity. Women, on the other hand, “lack concrete means for organizing”. Although “we” (the society) have recognized the legal rights of women; the legal formalities were agreed upon by the two castes (men and women). Simone de Beauvoir suggests that equality is achieved through gain and women “have taken nothing, they have only received”.
Everything about the story of the "No Name Woman" suggests the inferiority of women. The fact that the the woman is blamed for her infidelity while the man is not, that her family would not even support her, that she had to suffer her pain alone, and that the child was assumed to be a girl because the mother killed her baby also, all set women up to be "others" as defined by de Beauvoir.
Question #3
Giving women equal rights through the law is a step in the right direction, but it does not mean that women are actually viewed as equals. There is such a deep-seated tradition of women being inferior to men, that simply declaring women to be legally equal to men does not eliminate the social prejudices. There are still the issues of wage differences and job opportunities that are created by a society that continues to favor men. Although our country has made great progress since de Beauvoir wrote this passage, there are still gender issues of this nature remaining in our society today.
Everything in “No Name Woman” supports the concept of women that “Other” portrays. From Maxine wanting to ask about her heritage, to the aunt committing suicide, everything portrays women as weaker than males, and incapable of looking after themselves. This is not to say this is how women should act. This is rather a role that is being filled by women, thanks to today's society and values.
Question 2
It doesn't matter if you are male or female, being referred to as the "other" will significantly discourage anyone's psychological and social position. This might manifest in different ways, depending of the person involved. Some might try and fill the void by being a huge service to others, in an attempt to achieve the "perfection of males". Some might become "man-haters" with every right to. The fact that people can make such degrading generalization just because of what reproductive organs they possess is ridiculous.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kingston's piece is the story behind the reasons deBeauvoir lays out. The passage "Other" deals with the universally accepted degradation of females in regards to the male population. Not only is it accepted by men, but also by women because as a sex women don't "unite" and make a change, therefore it has become commonplace. "No Name Woman" is a story that shows a woman's inferiority in her Chinese society as dealt to her by a man who raped and impregnated her. She could not have been at fault but since women are not seen as of equal right and power she was not given a chance.
2. Being an outsider and labeled as "other" than the norm psychologically demeaning for anyone. For women, it means they are "other" than men, which displaces power and causes women to be submissive. Socially, men are more typically inclined to better jobs and therefore higher wages because they can be taken more seriously, or at least such is the subconscious general perception. Women have been perceived to "think with their glands" and respond emotionally, in the business world this is unacceptable so men take the lead. In recent years this perception has become less apparent and women are beginning to take more positions of power. This is a good step on the path to equality.
The concept of the "other" is illustrated in "No Name Woman" by the aunt of the narrator, Maxine Hong Kingston. Kingston's aunt is exiled from her families residence and her name is cursed due to the fact that women must bear children. If men bore children, the story of this aunt plagueing Kingston's childhood would be of a very different nature, but because of this inexcapable truth this aunt's story will live on. In this circumstance, it can almost be said that the man is the "other" yet in this case it is beneficial to be the "other" because he reaps the benefits of being unknown, which might lead one to saying that because it is beneficial in this situation, the women is the "other" because the "other" is a bad conotation.
Question #3
Simon de Beauvoir explains the inherent inequality of feminity precisely, "the bond that unites her to her oppressors is not comparable to any other". Other minorities can live amongst themselves, procreate and live happily while women, biologically, need not the man, but the sperm. Accordingly, the interrealtionship between the two is unavoidable and whilst men maintain the upper hand in sperm and muscle women are physically and socially unable to achieve full equality.
It seems to me that the comparison between the traveller and the natives is classified as "Other" because in this case the minority is the traveller. But in the case of women, I do agree with Beauvoir that there seems to be no true reason or history about how was it that women became to be known as inferior to men.
I mostly agree with the idea that one becomes a woman, but not born being one. This relates to the stereotypes. The attitude of a woman has much to do with what is enforced upon her, than what she is born with.
Connecting "No Name Woman" with "Women as Other" --->
I have always had the curiosity of where the belief that women are inferior comes from. It does not all come based on religion because not everyone is from the same religion. It simply might be because the anatomy and how half the humanity (women) should be careful with her body more than the other half because of the consequences. It all goes back to biology and how an ejaculation contains millions of sperm, but the famle body produces one egg every month. Therefore, a female's reproductive system "costs" a little more. This links to how women are seen as inferior many times because her parents or relatives take care of her very much that it becomes over-protection. That menas that she must follow directions from her superiors to be able to maintain herself "safe."
"No Name Woman" and "Other" are intertwined with each other. It is almost like "Other" is a word, and "No Name Woman" is the definition. The point of "Other" is to present a universal obstacle the men place onto women. In this reading, it explains that a woman is nothing without a man, and a man can be everything without a woman. So, fittingly, "No Name Woman" examplifies this predicament through the story of the aunt. Men are the ones who drove her to her suicide. If the man who married her never would have left, the man who used her for sex never would have impregnated her, and if men in general never would have set up society to believe immorality can be found in her personal situation, she would have had a chance to survive.
Q#2.
There are definite psychological consequences from being considered "other". Because of this status, women are psychologically dependent on men and don't strive in society to be much more than their submissive stereotypical role. The social consequences of this is that because women are dependent in this way, they tend not to push pass their given standards.
In "No Name Woman", the forgotten aunt was very much the "Other" in her position. She was outcasted because she committed adultery, which would have never been known if she hadn't become pregnant. She never outted the man who was the father in order to save his name. Here, the "One" has privilege because he will never be punished. In this story, the male committing adultery will never be found out so there are no consequences for the "One"'s actions, whereas the "Other" gets the burden of being exiled and ultimately, death.
Question # 2
I think the social and psychological consequences of the status as Other for women subconsciously make women feel like they are almost providers for men. I think women in society today feel like they have to attract men to themselves and please them to keep them around, which biologically seems wrong because in other animals the male always has to attract the female. It seems that women have pretty much accepted this role, and maybe that's because we grow up learning that this is how we're supposed to be.
In Maxine Hong Kingston’s “No Name Woman” the aunt of the author is looked down on as shaming and betraying her family and her family name because she breaks the “code” of how a woman is supposed to act. Giving different rules to female behavior, and making things that men do seem more “acceptable” and “gender-fitting” puts women in the box that is the “other.” If a male had done the things that the author’s aunt did than the consequences would be far less…if there were even any consequences at all. This just further proves that people are more willing to punish women for crossing boundaries and more accepting of actions that males make. It is pretty much saying that women should stay as the role bearer for the “other” and they won’t be looked down upon, but an escape from the box means there will be consequences.
#3. Giving women equal rights seems like an ideal solution to a problem that has shadowed the system forever, but it’s not that simple. When the Brown vs. Board decision was made it was supposed to end segregation in all schools. But people everywhere still carried out segregation in their schools; the law doesn’t mean that automatic solutions will occur. Giving women equal rights does not mean that the job is done, there is still so much inequality and men and women alike need to recognize it and see that change needs to occur.
In both "No Name Woman" and "Women as Other" woman are being seen as dependent on men. Each story portrays how women come second in this male dominated world and are considered the "Other", which is implying that women are in no way equal to men. In "No Name Woman", the males in the family were so shamed that their sister committed adultry that after she killed herself they felt it was necessary to act like she had never been born. To me, this story really ruffled my feathers because the males in this family and in this society had the power to erase a woman's complete identity after they had already drove her to kill herself! Even though women should never have to feel inferior to men, in the past and many times today, women are considered the weaker of the two sexes and don't take the initiative to prove them wrong. For many years women just stepped into that role that the men made for us and did nothing about it. In the recent decades, I feel women are breaking the binds that have held us down for so many years and finally rising up to challenge the stereotypical society that has reined for so long.
Question #2
I feel if a woman is brought up to think that she is inferior to a man then there can be huge consequences psychologically as well as socially. As we know, in the past, woman were considered the "Other" and gratefully took that headline because they didn't know any better. In the present since some people do tend to see women in this same ignorant way, a woman can find it heartbreaking to think that she is a second class citizen and just considered a way to bring more men into the world. Socially a woman brought up to think this way will never be strong enough to defy a man and will be stuck in this mold of "housewife" until she finally passes on.
To me, the biggest connection between the "no name woman" as other is that women are inescapably trapped in the roles that society has placed them in. The "no name woman" has all the characteristics of a trapped woman desribed in "Women as Other." She is completely dependant on her family for support socially, economically, and physically. Another way in which the "no name woman" is similar to the generalized women in "Women as Other," is that their whole situation is completely unfair. The "no name woman's" life is ruined because someone violated her. This complete unfairness towards women was described in "Women as Other."
Question 3
Why is recognizing the legal rights of women not enough for women to achieve equality?
According to Beauvoir, recognzing the legal rights of women would not achieve equality because women would still lack an identity, and still be locked in their place in society. Giving women equal pay, for example, would not sset women free from their age old place in society. Conversely, it would likely worsen their position in society because men would become afraid of losing their traditional dominance and become even more oppressive of women.
In “No Name Woman” the tale of an aunt who killed herself and her illegitimate daughter is imparted as a cautionary tale by Kingston’s mother, after Kingston’s menarche, lest she fall victim to the same fate. In the de Beauvoir article, she discusses how a woman’s anatomy is regarded as a “hindrance, a prison, weighed down by everything peculiar in it” which explains why Kingston’s mother held the aunt and her fertility responsible for her infidelity/pregnancy, rather than the father of the aunts baby.
According to de Beauvoir, why is recognizing the legal rights of women not enough for women to achieve equality?
While recognizing the legal rights of women is a necessary step in the pursuit of equality, these rights are difficult to carry out when sexism is so deeply ingrained in out culture and institutions. Also, these rights granted to women must also be monitored to make sure that they are enforced. For example, in the 1970’s a federal law required to establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Office; however, this office has never received sufficient funding which renders it nearly inoperable.
The idea of cultural representation of women as the other has been a long established tradition, and Kingston here lists a number of ways in which the idea has started. She brings to mid the idea of male rapists not having to be named, among many other details. What figures heavily into Kingston’s idea is the connation of the word “other” and how it applies to language. By referring to women as the “other” se it brings to mind a picture of inferiority, and further distances men and women from equality.
How does Beauvoir compare and contrast sexism to racism and to anti-Semitism?
In terms of comparison Beauvoir talks of the different races as being thought of “others” by the dominant white men, and in this way sexism and racism share a common theme. However what makes the idea different is that women are present in every society, and thus even the differences of ethnic groups have not entirely replaced the idea of women as the other. She also brings to mind the co- dependence of men and women, without men women are unable to give birth, and thus there has to be some sort of co existence among the two, although I believe that I had read that scientist are attempting to make it possible to reproduce only by DNA, which would take the man out of the equation.
In "No Name Woman," the title "other" is meant to portray the ongoing stereotype of women. For a long time, women have been seen as inferior to men, limited to certain behaviors, dependent on men, etc. From the time of birth, women are taught and raised as inferior. The aunt in this story commits adultery and her family and the villagers completely deny her. However, the man is not treated differently. This shows the difference between men andwomen in society and the fact that men are treated as superiors to women.
Question #2:
Being referred to as the "other" can affect someone psychologically and socially. It naturally brings the "other" down a social level and makes them feel powerless and dependent on men. Women are suppose to please men and support families, men are socially more suitable for jobs and paid more. If women were not referred to "other" or had these particular stereotypes, they would be more inclined to improve and rise up in society.
In "No Name Woman" the term other definately is applied to women. The men are everything in their culture and just by refering to women as other it automatically forces them to assume a submissive or inferior position to whatever isn't the "other", in this case men. Men are seen as important and women are seen as a type of supplementary being.
Question 2
I think that by placing women in the position of the other it definitely has major psychological affects on women. They go through their whole life comparing themselves as inferior to men. With a label like that it is almost impossible to overcome because it is so degrading and engrained into their heads.
In “No Name Women” it is visible how women are sometimes subjugated in society. Women are categorized as a second class and inferior citizen, which it is implied by Beauvoir when she refers to women as the “other” in her writing. It is infer from the reading that the women’s job is to be a house wife, listen to their husbands commands, and be accuse for something’s beyond their control, such as rape.
Q:2 The consequences for the classification of women as the Other is oppression. Women will constantly be subjugated because they are not viewed as equals to men. In fact, in the reading the mother killed her own child because the baby was a female. This shows the psychological consequences that women oppression can create. Overall, the result from classifying women as other can create a world were men world be the dictators with all the power and women would be their defenseless salves.
In the "No Name Woman" and "Other" they are saying that men are superior to women making them feel inumportant and are alienated. in this two stories they explain than since the beginning women have met their expectations as housewifes. of course, never challenging her husbands demands. this axpectations are still here today because, maybe not as much as before but it is difficult to step uo and challenge the female figure because through out our lives we have been made believe that men are superior of us.
Question 2
Being called the "other" will make you feel like an outcast and alienated. no one like to be referred to as the other. being referred to as the other will scar a person emotinaly. women that can become men haters. others will just give in and accept men as being the superior object in their lives.
Maxine Hong Kingston shows us cultural impressions of how women should act in many places around the world. This shows us that there is much that the United States has achieved as far as womens rights. She shows us a typicaql gender stereotype in an ancient culture. There is firm religious beliefs about the behaviour of women in china, the middle east and these become more watered down as people come farther west. It is difficult for women of these cultures to achieve any rights. The nearest comparison that I can think of is the Poligamyst society controlled by Warren Jeffs. We have a similar form of treatment.
Question 3
De beavoir shows clearly that there is a lack of unity among women. This may have been true at that time, however now it is clear to see that women have the freedom and the means to organise themselves, this is mainly due to an advancement in technology which gives free transfer of information, thus they do not rely on their husbands incomes to organise. This is the major difference which invalidates De Beavoir's argument.
Post a Comment
<< Home