Gertrude in this play was more than any other character, the antithesis of her son, Hamlet. In the other hand, we can see that male critics emphasis Gertrude’s sexuality and her responsibility for what happened to Hamlet. This belief made Gertrude became a lustful, predatory woman, motivated by desire and ignoring the harm caused to her son. Moreover, the workings of lust also appeared in Kurt Vonnegut’s book.
He orchestrates a scenario in which Isabella partakes in a bed trick, thus preserving her sexual independence while also subverting Angelo’s autonomy. Here, both male and female characters demonstrate the ability to influence another’s honor; even the Duke, a male character, impedes upon Angelo’s honor, rather than remaining unified as would be typical of the patriarchy. Thus, the female is not merely an endangered object to men, for she is also endangers patriarchal control. The bed trick — or cuckoldry plot — empowers her, as her sexuality, which is powerful, attractive, and entirely under her control, is an imminent threat to her ‘lover.’
“Raunch culture” termed by Ariel Levy (Liss et al., 2011) is where young women report enjoying being sexualized and are active in their roles of displaying their bodies for entertainment purposes or to tease men. Some women argue that they enjoy being sexualized as it helps boost their self-esteem and gives them some sort of power from being desired (Malson et al., 2011). I don’t disagree with this as there is empowerment from being sexually desired but this may be a sense of false empowerment as to feel “empowered”, one would have to fit the socially accepted version of an attractive woman which is most always a thin, white and able-bodied, young woman. Contemporary advertisements thus do not differ from the traditional advertisements in that it is still focusing on the appearance of women as their main source of value (Vanderbosch & Eggermont, 2012) and the standard of beauty is so narrowly defined that most women do not fit the criteria of these beauty ideals which can be damaging (Liss et al., 2011). Women whose body types and features you will hardly see featured in magazines will be pressured to conform to these beauty standards, giving women a false sense of empowerment through
Anne McClintock wrote her essay “Gonad the Barbarian and the Venus Flytrap: Portraying the female and male orgasm” to examine pornography and how it has changed throughout history and its effects on how women perform as sexual beings. McClintock focuses on the various roles of pornography such as its emphasis on voyeurism, pleasure, and the male ego. She wants her readers to know that women are still not represented in pornography to satisfy their own desires, but they are there to cater to men and their subconscious. I will analyze how McClintock argues that due to the history of sexism towards women, the roles that men and women have in pornography are inherently different because of the societal belief that women are only seen as objects of sexual desire and are solely there to satisfy the male audience.
Objectification is prominent and the females’ values are exclusively for pleasure and for men’s social reputation. Reputation is exclusively shown when the daughter is introduced and the emphasis voices her body. She is the "male gaze" of desire and she is “thikke and wel ygrowen” (Parker, 167 & 3973). She is a sexual product when she is described sensually.
Society’s superficial viewing of women is also reflected in the poem’s wring, as it may seem that this poem is strictly concerned with a prostitute, but in fact it describes all females. The male representative in the poem, Georges, then asserts his superiority, despite their similar conditions of being poor. Although he is sexually attracted to her as he “stiffens for [her] warmth”, suggesting an erection, he is unwilling to accept her as a human being as he deems her question “Why do you do this?”
By being oppressed, women were able to connect on a deeper level with other women in a non-sexual way. Women were able to discuss and bring out passionate topics that men couldn’t relate to at the time, since men considered women as property. This allowed women to translate their lost feelings of passionlessness with their men to with their “sisters” who understood what they were going through at the same time, and it allowed them become stronger as an individual. Female passionlessness also helped the
Contrary to popular belief at the time, women play highly significant roles towards heroes and the male figures in The Odyssey. They give them aid, try to trick them, or seduce them with their irresistible looks. The women may not play the hero or partake in the main conflict, but they remain in the background, influencing the men in many ways. There are many other roles that women play, but these are the most
Women use formalities to gain an upper hand like men do, but women do this more politically than aggressively. Fidget states, “You would have found us modest women in our denials only” (Wycherley 1189). Meaning, they are modest in conduct but immodest in thought. This gets across the idea that women desire sex just as much as men do, and crave it without requiring compensation in the same way that men do. To his surprise, this presents Horner with an "alternate economy of feminine desire” (Burke 237).
He tells her to look at the flea and observe "how little" its size is to what she denies him of in order to point out that engaging in sex is just as insignificant and diminutive as a flea. The flea is, therefore, used by the speaker as a metaphor for the act of sex. In the third and fourth line in the first stanza, he refers to the flea, which has sucked both of their blood, to suggest that they are now joined intimately due to their blood being combined inside the flea 's body . The speaker implies that they might as well engage in sexual intercourse since there already has been an act of physical union between them. To further his argument he tries to make her admit that their mixed blood within the flea "cannot be said a sin, or shame, or loss of maidenhead" to persuade her that having sex with him is just as innocent.
His plays are based on the combination of different kinds of humor and political and social satire. One of his most important plays is Lysistrata. In the lysistrata, it is about women withholding sex from their husbands to end the Peloponnesian war. Lysistrata persuades the women to not have sex with their husbands to basically have some peace, but it only caused problems between the sexes. This play shows how much mind control women have over men.
Aristophanes uses the same theme in his play, in order to convey that women aren’t just housewives. Lysistrata demonstrates a way that the ladies can have power over the men which is through their desire for sex. She even starts to pray to the high gods in order for the women to become even more desirable to the men that way they would not be able to resist. These two themes of power and determination show that the two plays are of different genres but both contain a similarity.
She is defined by the guys she was intimate with which is supposed to control her sexuality by spreading rumors and shaming. We should also note how this kind of gossip
The Representation of Women as Objects of Desire within “The Miller’s Tale” and “The Reeve’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer The representation of women as idealized objects of desire in “The Miller’s Tale” and “The Reeve’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer functions as a way to present the value of women as seen by men. In particular, throughout “The Miller’s Tale,” Alisoun confirms the traditional stereotype of women as being lustful and desirous creatures as well as cheaters. This is identified when she tricks her husband in order to share a night of passion with another man in their bed. It is also represented in the comparison of Alisoun to animals and their actions, which suggests that women are animalistic in their search and need for sexual activity.
Jennifer’s Body, to some people, can be looked at as a joke or as a film that slightly changed the horror genre with its different way of story telling . This film took certain tropes and flipped them in order to make the audience think differently about how women are portrayed in horror films. It is very common in horror films to see a woman as a damsel in distress or as the final girl that somehow survives the mass killing. However, there are classic tropes that are inserted in this film like the pretty girl has a best friend that is less pretty than her. Their friendship is put to the test when something strange happens to Jennifer because her sexuality was questioned and she becomes a hot demonic creature.