Monday, September 24, 2012
Double Standards
Today I didn't share my initial reactions to the new section of reading we are starting in the course, so I thought I would share here. What I noticed is that some of the same issues from the past are still occuring today, and I think a lot of them deal with double standards between men and women. I noticed on page 378, it said, "Orpheus, that quintessential elegist who mourned in song the loss of his wife, Eurydice, is demasculinized because of the excess of his grief." Men who wrote with too much emotion or extreme pain were weak, which relates to the traits of women. This is still a relevant topic today. It is okay for men to have a certain degree of sensitivity, but when men cry or get over emotional about something, people will make fun of them or even call them "gay." It is still considered weak for men to be that emotional, and it is still considered a womanly trait to be over emotional. Another point was on page 383. It said, "Since the time of the early Christians, remaining virgins has been a way for women to become men's equals and take away the 'sins of Eve.'" In a way, this still relates to our current society. If young men sleep with many women, they may be sometimes praised by their friends, but if women do that, they are considered sluts or whores. There are still many double standards today that clearly stem from these historical issues.
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This is a really good point. I feel like double standards will always exist because everyone is different and will have different opinions on what type of behavior is acceptable or not acceptable. Not everyone in the past probably felt these double standards like not everyone now does and will in the future however some people will always feel this way. It's not as much a double standard as it is an opinion or a means of fitting in. That's just my opinion
ReplyDeleteBoth of you guys make great points. Chelsea, I wanted to say something about this quote in class too, but our discussion turned the other way. Since the creation of early man, women have been seen in society as being easily tempted. Heck, Eve did 'catch' Adam in The Garden of Eden, which supposedly where original sin was first created. But enough talk about God.
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a stereotype that women don't really have anything going on upstairs, and just think of ways we can further ourselves in society. In part that is true. We want to be seen as equals among men, and have our thoughts and opinions be valued in 'men's world'. In some instances, women go to extreme lengths to gain attention from the opposite sex, even if it means dressing provocatively or dumbing ourselves down, so men feel superior and more masculine. In most cases though, women are often driven to reach and obtain the goals that they set for themselves, and we try not to let men take advantage of us. Liz, I agree with you in the aspect that "it's not as much a double standard as it is an opinion or a means of fitting in." We as women are always feeling the burden of society to fit in, whether it be from the media, men, or the influence of the people we socialize with on a day-to-day basis.
Every person is entitled to their own opinions. If men state them, they are seem as scholarly, but if women state theirs, we are high maintenance, close-minded bitches. Unfortunately, even as feminist movements continue, I still believe there will always be this stereotype against women. There has been since Eve in Garden of Eden, and always will be unless during the proposed Mayan Apocalypse, all men die, and only women are left to rule the world. :)