The Golden Ass: An Analysis

The transgressive depictions of the two female protagonists as willing prostitutes is especially noteworthy, seeing as they challenge socially-established moral codes that place great value on female chastity. Moreover, the two female protagonists’ control over their sexuality seems to grant them a unique form of ‘power’ in relationships with men who are sexually attracted to them. It is hence obvious that there is a direct relationship between female sexuality and power that is portrayed in the two

It is unsurprising that every disguise Fantomina displays for him is made into a new sexual conquest for Beauplaisir. One of the reasons one may chose to have a stock character is to show an ideal, which is the case in Haywood’s text. As an aristocratic Beauplaisir is able to sleep with as many women as he choses while paying for their service. The way Beauplaisir has relations with all of Fantomina’s disguises is done in a way that would be considered correct in eighteenth century society. He is charming and willing to pay any fee for sleeping with these women.

Her unsuppressed sexuality produces the appearance of a wild and uncontrolled woman, but in her relations with men she proves to be tamed and submissive. She is used, and often abused, by her powerful lovers, firstly, the colonial representative, the Englishman who fathered her child, and, secondly, the new neocolonial delegates: the General and the tycoon. For the renowned movie star, these men were “all the same…Carrying around her used panties as if they were a fetish, like a piece of her they had carved off, like her skin” (Hagedorn,226). Sex, for her, is the means of support, it provides her with luxury and she willingly accepts the price she has to pay in return. The first encounter with Luna’s character in the chapter appropriately named “Surrender” portrays her on her knees with her lover, the General, standing above her and pulling her “unruly hair” (Hagedorn, 127).

The repetition of the word ‘lust’, combined with the sexual associations of Desdemona’s bed, reflects and draws attention to Othello’s preoccupation with sensual matters. Othello even refers to his precious wife as ‘whore’ (III.iii.356), a ‘subtle whore’ (III.ii.20) and a ‘cunning whore’ (IV.ii.88), in a way to appreciate him. Shakespeare actually has indirectly revealed Othello’s fear of Desdemona’s sexuality. Even though Othello seems to be very confident in him and his control over Desdemona, he is actually tentative and afraid that Desdemona will cheat on him, proving his

Power relations Taking into consideration what had been said about representation of genders in The Big Bang Theory, I would like to discuss the relations of power between male and female characters. Although we can say that there are stereotypes about both men and women in this show, there is one fact that puts male characters in the privileged position over the female ones: the female characters always seem to be defined by their relationships with their male partners. For example, as I already mentioned, the character of Bernadette seems to be liberated from all the sexist and stereotypical views, but at the same time, she gets married to the most sexist characters, Howard Wolowitz, who before their marriage tried very hard to be a womanizer, seeing women purely as objects of pleasure, discriminating them based on their looks. As Rachel Redfern wrote: "Howard played the role of a disgusting, probably should be on a sex offender list somewhere, horny aerospace engineer. His goal was to get laid and so he lied to women, hired prostitutes, chased them down in a park, and was in general, completely repugnant for laughs".

In both The Female Bell-Cricket and This Powder Box, Nakamoto Takako and Uno Chiyo explore the notion of female sexuality as power. By asserting their sexuality, the female protagonists in both texts deliberately defy socially-prescribed female virtues of chastity and obedience. This ownership of their sexuality grants them power in their relationships with men and liberates them from the submissive position that women are traditionally expected to be in. It is crucial to note, however, that the depicted ‘strength’ of the two female protagonists is ultimately a constructed façade; they are still tied down by society’s prescriptive ideals of “femininity” and “love”, and have their behavior propelled by their relationships with men. The explicit depiction of female sexuality in both texts underscores the two protagonists’ seeming disregard for and

Leonowens focuses her writing on women as slaves, and rarely discusses men as being slaves. This could be due to the concubinage and polygamy exhibited by King Mongkut, in which he can easily utilize his wives to do whatever he orders, physically and sexually. He also has the control to bring them to trial and sentence them if they don’t follow his expectations. The women in this situation have little or no

As described in Mulvey's work, women are always sexually objectified and can be subjected to what she refers to as the ‘male gaze’. (Mulvey 1998) The representation of the image of the two women, Thelma in particular, was framed as being the sex objects of man with the highlights of the traditional belief of beauty they need to have in the visual stimuli of male gaze. However, as the film progresses, the two characters sharply changed their images. With jeans, cowboy hat, and modified T-shirt, biker tank top, the women are more conscious of being objectified and actively prevent being viewed as erotic objects by concealing their sensuality. Their ‘cowboy’ look not only presents them with stronger and more active image, but also

Female characters are dehumanized because they are used as of men’s desire, men’s world and men’s Dream. The Great Gatsby, therefore depicts “the new social and sexual freedom” enjoyed by women through the lives of Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson who are “the focus [of both] romanticism and the moral indignation. They are symbols and are seen as objects which speak to the still unstable role of women in the society” (Fetterley

It turns out that Lady Macbeth let the stereotype overrule her conflict and allowed Macbeth to do the deed himself. She still involved herself in the plan, (in a not so innocent way) by distracting the other men with the king by getting them drunk. Lady Macbeth’s character depicts the significance as to how women deal with the conflict of gender role stereotypes in relationships everyday. The bible talks about how the husbands are supposed to "rule" their wives in the same way that kings ruled countries, wives are also supposed to submit to their husbands like the kingdom submits to the ruler. (Ephesians 5:22-33) If Lady Macbeth respected Macbeth’s decisions in not wanting to kill the King, then it would not have led to the guilt’s and consequences they both faced at the end of the story.

Max sees women as sexual beings and nothing else unless they spike certain interest in him. When reminiscing on the women he slept with in the past, he makes crude comments about their bodies. “There were a few tough hairs on (Fredericka’s) breasts that made love making somewhat uneasy. And that thing, that ugly, dangling, crippled labia; it felt like taking hold of a piece of warm chitlin (Williams 175).” Fredericka, like the other women Max has slept with, has put herself in a vulnerable position by allowing Max to see her