Misjudged Chivalry

Many people may assure that gender inequality does not exist in America in 2015. Unlike some decades ago, nowadays women can vote, have access to education and job opportunities and even be part of the government. All that reasons may turn sexism into a non-clearly-visible phenomenon, unrecognized by a large proportion of society. However, none of those inaccurate, simplistic and superficial arguments imply that gender inequality does not exist. On the contrary, there is no doubt that we live in a society in which women are victims of sexism.

In Robert Jensen’s article “The High Cost of Manliness”, he states that the idea of masculinity is a bad thing and they should get rid of it. This article debates on the common stereotypes of men, as he states:

By including rhetorical devices such as analepsis and epanaphoras in her speech, women's activist, Cady Stanton in her Keynote Address manages to successfully convey her message on how the mistreatment of women's rights must come to an end.

Although we can technically act the way we want, women are still expected to be ladylike and feminine. In most cases, women are still considered to be weaker than men. Society still frowns at us at a few things. We are judged on how we present ourselves, what we wear, and our marital status. Women are still expected to get married and have kids. Another thing that has not changed is that the wage gap has not closed. Today, females are paid only eighty percent, on average, of what males are paid. This gap is worse for colored women. Even though this gap has decreased since the 1930’s, it is still not right. Today, sometimes women still get victim-blamed, slut-shamed, and even being accused that rape was their own

Aaron Devor discusses the patriarchally-expected gender roles of today’s society. He delves into the discussion of femininity versus masculinity. Society associates femininity with weakness, whilst associating masculinity with greatness.

The essay, “What I’ve Learned from Men”, by Barbara Ehrenreich is an impressive piece of writing focusing on a significant theme which is still present and is witnessed to this day. The theme that the author discusses is the on-going gender issues shedding light on the differences between men and women. Throughout the essay, Ehrenreich argues about the one thing women need to learn from men: how to be tough. She support this argument by providing a personal experience, taking her back to the time when she didn’t acknowledge the quality of being tough and falling victim to sexual harassment. She then explains this act as “behaving like a lady” and continues to support her claim by stating facts describing how women tend to act nice or “as a lady” by being the ones responsible to keep the conversation with a man going and constantly smiling even when unneeded and even when expressing anger and displeasure. Also the author as able to strengthen her argument by adding supporting views from authorities (Jean Baker Miller), which emphasized how women tend to avoid the appearance of power as she never take credit for her achievements and usually blames it on being lucky. At the end of the essay the author advocates several strategies women should pursue in order to get tough such as “taking credit when credit is due” (Par.10), because taking credit when it is deserved is a sign of confidence and determination, also she explains how women should express their anger in different

History has repeatedly given men privilege due to their physical advantages; yet it is these same advantages that have developed into “rules” or expectations that all men should conform to in order to prove their manhood. Michael Kimmel’s essay, “‘Bros Before Hos': The Guy Code” outlines the “rules” where men are expected to never show any emotions, be brave, act knowledgeable, be risk takers, be in control, act reliable, and be competitive, otherwise they would be showing weakness which is analogous to women. It is humiliating that men associate weakness with women; they should focus on the potential of the individual rather than their gender. Most insults toward men attack their masculinity because society finds it shameful for men to be

The Oxford English Dictionary defines gender roles as, “The role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by prevailing cultural norms.” But what's the problem with that? Singling out one gender to carry responsibilities that the other gender should not. And during the time of poverty, unemployment and hardship known as The Great Depression, is when gender stereotyping established its place as a norm. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s ideas of gender stereotyping from the 30’s compels Scout to feel pressure from her town.

Women have found themselves at the bottom of society’s hierarchal pyramid for eons. Even though females make contributions that prove vital to the world’s function, they are still regarded as the weaker link. The female plight of constantly facing debasement is a pawn used to ensure compliance. It is a common notion that if one is demeaned enough, he or she will conform to the suggested persona. Society tests this notion through its treatment of women. It treats women poorly to cause them to comply with gender expectations. Not only do women have to face pressures of conformity in real life, but they also face intimidation in fairytales. Grimm’s Snow White and Cinderella perpetuate society’s notion that a woman is the inferior being whose value lies not only in her beauty but also in her abilities to perform domestic work and satisfy men.

The word chivalry can be found throughout history. Some may only connect chivalry with knights in shining armor. However, the term shows more complexity than that. It is argued whether or not chivalry is dead, some believe chivalry is dead. Although, others believe that it is not dead ,but has evolved over time. Many think of chivalry as a man holding the door open for a women or taking her coat, but men are not the only ones to perform acts of chivalry. Women as well should be performing these acts. Chivalry can be compared to altruism, simply meaning selfless actions for others. Chivalry can be found in today's society,however, it seems to be dying and we as a society need to work to keep it alive.

The term “chivalry” emerged around the 10th century A.D. in France, referring to the medieval institution of knighthood that developed between 1170 and 1220. The code of chivalry back then represented a combination of Christian and military ideas of morality. As time progressed, the real meaning of the word disappeared and was mated with the fancies of love that resulted in a new definition that stressed on social and moral values. Chivalry got romanticized.

In the article “Men –It’s in Their Nature” by Christina Hoff Summers, the author supports the claim that men acting the way they are born and bred—that is, aggressive, competitive, and more indifferent to their feelings—is not an issue (Sommers 366). The issue, she argues, is that schools are trying to make boys less “like boys” and more “like girls”. Sommers believes that masculine qualities and behavior are rooted in men’s DNA and it is practically a hate crime to try and force them to suppress their manly tendencies. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, men being “the way they are”, or rather, “the way they are supposed to be”

There are still many beliefs about activities appropriate for men and women exist. Many cultural practices tend to eliminate women from the public globe and confined them into the "doll's house". For example, girls should be playing with dolls (in the house), whereas boys should be playing with cars (traveling outside the house). This negative perception is told from the moment they are born. That's why we are still under the shadows of Torvald and Nora. To stop gender inequality we have to treat women and men equally. If we continue to make believe about the society’s expectations towards ourselves, then we will be locked in the doll's house with the ghosts of Torvald and Nora hanging

Stereotyping is not something that only happens with women; men are meant to fit a certain standard, and those who fail to do this are the target of insults. “Be a man,” “suck it up,” and “don’t cry” are only a few phrases handpicked from a plentiful selection of ego-damaging constructions built into today's society, aimed at boys and men. Reinforcing rhetoric that feminizes emotional expression and masculinizes violence has the power to stunt empathy, drive dominance, and connect respect with fear. Boys are born loving creatures, but at a very young age they are taught the traits, diminutive language, and mindset that aligns them with society’s concept of what it means to be a man. If a man is not like this, then essentially, he is not a true

In our society exists another social norm, a code called, “Behavior Code”. Even at this moment, many idiosyncratic babies with different characteristics are born around the world. In their adolescence, however, many boys and girls question themselves whether their behaviors are in accordance with the behavior code. For instance, some girls grow into tomboys — “girls start wearing stylish clothes and watching from the sidelines as the boys acted and spoke” (Pipher, p1). But, unfortunately, at some points of their adolescence, those idiosyncratic girls lose thier authenticity and become a part of the society, behaving correspondingly to the behavior code. “You all die at 15”, notes Pipher in “Reviving Ophelia”. Girls “die” and set themselves apart from courage, competency and irreverence that a word “tomboy” accompanies with, ultimately developing themselves into oppressed wives. According to Judy Brady (Brady, p1), unlike what dictionary says, our society defines wife as coo, housekeeper, nutritionist, chauffeur, friend, sex partner, valet, nurse, social secretary, ego-builder, and more; There are a lot of works that are labeled as “women’s”: keeping house clean, serving dishes, taking care of children, etc. Socially considered female, women are expected to solely finish those jobs. Nevertheless, one may argue that now that the kind of task defines gender, everybody becomes “female” if one