Femininity In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Power as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the possession of control, authority, or influence over others.” It connotes having the upper hand over what happens to somebody or something. In the book, The Wife of Bath’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, he talks about a kingdom that had a lusty knight who raped a lady, and was charged to find out what women loved the most. In the knight’s pursuit to answer this riddle, he discovers that women want sovereignty and power. Power is a very important theme in the book. The impact power has is delineated in the characters of the lusty knight, the loathsome lady the knight marries and the women of the land.

Gender is a common thread that is woven through most major Shakespearean plays. An argument that follows the story lines of works such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and a more dominant role in Othello. Written in 1603, Othello examines the contrast between female and male characters, and where their place is in society. As this was written in a time where women were seen as the lesser sex compared to their male counterparts. Males take on more power hungry roles, drowning out the roles of females by minimizing their thoughts and actions.

traditional gender roles are challenged. Through the use of magical realism and characterization, Nottage irrevocably illustrates the power that women truly have. She challenges what is said in society and shows women in a different light. What is more, by giving it a feminist swing, Lynn illustrates that the society purposely places these gender specific roles to ensure that hierarchy is kept, and psychologically oppress women, who are equal in strength to

Both texts ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ were written during the second wave of feminism which centralised the issue of ownership over women’s sexuality and reproductive rights and as a result, the oral contraceptive was created. As powerfully stated by Ariel Levy, ‘If we are really going to be sexually liberated, we need to make room for a range of options as wide as the variety of human desire.’ Margaret Atwood and Angela Carter both celebrate female sexuality as empowering to challenge the constraints of social pressure on attitudes of women. Both writers aim to expose the impact of patriarchy as it represses female sexual desire and aim to control it thus challenge contemporary perspectives of women by revealing the oppression

Some may possess high level of masculinity where as some with femininity. But some with high degree of both .and the index is called Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The first euphoria faded as criticism began to be voiced against BSRI type psychometrics. If certain qualities are seen inherent to being female, these then also appear unalterable. But if we claim that they are unique to being female, then we are being in the patriarchal.

Olympe de Gouges can be considered as the pioneer feminism advocate. Her famous work “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen” (DRWFC) in 1791 was highly controversial. Her work propagated to place women at the centre of politics and society alongside with men. This was highly contentious as women had been subservient to men for much of history. Her work was grounded in the Enlightenment ideas of thinkers such as Diderot, Voltaire, and Montesquieu who questioned the unequal treatment of women (Racz 1952, 151).

Throughout history gender plays a huge role deciding which sex is capable of possessing more power. Through power, Women are taken advantage of simply because they are female. Power of the government is unfair and gives strict rules on women. Finally, Power tends to be misused if in the wrong hands. In the Novel The Handmaid's Tale , power is obtained depending on gender.

Wikipedia has devoted considerable space to the topic. However, the use of tropes that victimize women is a dizzyingly popular choice that authors have been milking since the written word was pressed into a book. This raises question on whether fiction is art that is imitating life? What happens when we apply the beloved tropes from

Nonetheless, Andrea Dworkin would argue that "women facilitate a complex and contradictory negotiation of pain, pleasure, and power in their performance in the fetish realm of BDSM... is linked to female sexuality and violence. "(410) Dworkin claims that BDSM reinforce violence on women rests upon the questionable assumptions that the women are not in control. She then quotes from Audre Lorde, stating "sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of dominant/ subordinate relationships." (412) Argue the inherent violence that exists within these practices, primarily those directed against women. She would demonstrate how it legitimizes the male desire to subdue, assault and control

It is so deeply embedded in our culture that a change in the former is more difficult to attain than a change in the latter. According to her, a sexual revolution would bring to an end the institution of patriarchy and the ideology of male supremacy. Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch (1970) makes a vehement attack on the stereotyping and fixed gender roles to which women are conditioned. According to her, “the female is considered a sexual object for the use and appreciation of other sexual beings, men. Her sexuality is both denied and misrepresented by being identified as passivity .