Throughout decades the roles of women in society constantly evolves. However, society continues to limit the natural progression of women, who want more for themselves. In “Why Women Smile” by Amy Cunningham and in “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan, both discuss how the majority of time, women are always expected to act on the role given to them by society. Due to these notions that are set by society, the social roles of women have not progressed to their full potential. In the article, “Why Women Smile” Cunningham argues the significance behind a fake smile put on by women around the world, in order to mask their true feelings. She reflects back on former times in history and their take on it as well as her personal experiences
The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Women’s place in society has been studied for several years, even today in 2018 it is still relevant. The history of the 19th century is when the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions has proven that women are just as equal as men. This Declaration has managed to make changes and thoughts about the roles women play in society. Women- regarded as particularly susceptible to religious and moral influences- were increasingly confined to the domestic circle, but they became more important within it (Pearson).
Similarly to the likes of Margaret Sanger, Friedan fails to mention any reference to black women and those of different ethnicities, consequently raising concerns over the solutions that Friedan is suggesting; if these middle class women go back out and work on their careers then who will come in to their homes and look after their children and clean their house? Aren’t these women who have already been combining the reality of working and domestic duties? After all, when Friedan wrote ‘The Feminine Mystique’ more than one-third of women were already in the workforce. A notable comparison between the works of Sanger and Friedan is that the liberation of women is not only dependent on their gender but also on their social class, introducing an alternative that bodily autonomy is not forefront in the overlap of first and second wave feminism. The women of the feminine mystique had the choice to become a housewife or obtain a career, although they were pressured by society to adopt the latter, the element of choice was still there for them.
Society has had this concept of what women’s role in life should be since the beginning of time. For as long as anyone can remember, humanity expected women to stay at home, attend the men’s needs, and take care of household duties. Since society has evolved, women have more freedom, rights, and respect from others. However, there is still a small percentage who think women have a distinct place in life and shouldn’t drift from their “path”. In Twin Peaks and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, women were treated as if they were irrelevant and melodramatic.
In her essay, “The Importance of Work,” from The Feminine Mystique published in 1963, Betty Friedan confronts American women’s search for identity. Throughout the novel, Betty Friedan breaks new ground, concocting the idea that women can discover personal fulfillment by straying away from their original roles. Friedan ponders on the idea that The Feminine Mystique is the cause for a vast majority of women during that time period to feel confined by their occupations around the house; therefore, restricting them from discovering who they are as women. Friedan’s novel is well known for creating a different kind of feminism and rousing various women across the nation.
In “Why Women Smile,” Cunningham is trying to explain to its readers that there are various reasons behind a woman’s smile. The main point that Cunningham is trying to make is that a book must not be judged by its cover. Cunningham states in her essay that “Psychologist Paul Ekman, the head of the University of California's Human Interaction Lab in San Francisco, has identified 18 distinct types of smiles, including those that show misery, compliance, fear, and contempt” (11). There are so many other smiles that women could be showing instead of the happy smile that women are associated with. The reasoning that Cunningham uses throughout her essay is logos, and logos is found in expository essays to help validate the point the author is trying to bring across.
Females go through their whole lives without being noticed of what they do or did for men because they were and may still be seen as just a “keeper.” Woman stopped being known as the “Keeper” because in 1960, Betty Friedan fought back and females everywhere joined in to fight the oppression and the idea roles they were suppose to portray as housewives and
In nearly all historical societies, sexism was prevalent. Power struggles between genders mostly ended in men being the dominant force in society, leaving women on a lower rung of the social ladder. However, this does not always mean that women have a harder existence in society. Scott Russell Sanders faces a moral dilemma in “The Men We Carry in Our Minds.” In the beginning, Sanders feels that women have a harder time in society today than men do.
Today’s perfect women’s social stereotype may be a woman smiling. However, Cunningham states lots of history about society has tried to force women to hide their actually smiles. She writes “Women weren’t always expected to seem animated and responsive; in fact, immoderate laughter was once considered one of the more conspicuous vices a woman could have, and mirth was downright sinful.” (174) I think it shows the women are forced to obey because of social pressures, however, it also shows that society’s view changed about the women’s smile. As a result, women should show their emotions in certain ways to face those pressures from society.
In the essay What Meets the Eye, Daniel Akst argues that look or beauty does matter in the daily life, that is, people’s life can be largely influenced or even controlled by look. Through reading Akst’s essay, I completely understand how people have different perspectives of others, as many people pay attention to and worry about how they look in the daily life. And people tend to judge others by their beauty or looks to a large extent. Akst’s ideas quite conform to and reinforce Paglia’s points that pursuing and maximizing one’s attractiveness and beauty is a justifiable aim in any society, and that good surgery discovers reveals personality. Both of them hold the idea that beauty plays an important role in people’s life and it is significant to enhance one’s beauty and attractiveness.
Friedan’s Chapter One and Two Karly Marin Sacramento State University Communication Studies Major Gender Ideology Introduction Women play a pivotal role in the growth and development of social, economic and political spheres. There are countable women in the history of the world who have made remarkable contributions to the various spheres. Their accounts are recorded in books, magazines and journals amongst others. The Feminine Mystique is one of the books that received a wide audience in the 1950s.
Women’s place and role in the society is something that has been discussed and changed over time. Should their rights be the same as men’s? Should they be superior? Inferior? The world faces a dilemma on weather they should be or not equal as men.
Life in the twenty-first century has its perks. There have been some amazing advances in the world, with major breakthroughs in science, medicine, technology, and more. But the part we take for granted most is our ability to be human beings. For the majority of history, women were seen as lesser than men. Men thought that they were emotional, hormone driven creatures with no greater purpose in life than to bear children.
This theme relates to the real world because gender inequality is a problem that has been faced throughout history. In many cultures in the past, women were in-charge of domestic work while men took the roles of public life. Be that as it may, both men and women took equally important roles; however, because of the longstanding gender bias in the world, the roles of men in society were glorified more than the roles of women. Today, gender inequality still exists in the world. Specifically, today’s women are faced with sexist comments and attitudes from men that put women down.
Figure 2 and 3 exemplify women presented in a submissive and docile image. In figure 2, there is a direct eye contact to the camera which conveys a personal address to the reader. It allows the audience to be captivated in the seductive qualities of her body. However, the use of black around her eye helps to accentuate salacious look upon her face. Furthermore, white fur and jewelry in her costuming portrays this ideal of wealth and affluence that women should be aspiring for to attract the ‘right man’.
During the 1890’s until today, the roles of women and their rights have severely changed. They have been inferior, submissive, and trapped by their marriage. Women have slowly evolved into individuals that have rights and can represent “feminine individuality”. The fact that they be intended to be house-caring women has changed.