Gender Roles
The Way Men and Women Act
Gender is the first principle by which individuals respond to and act accordingly toward. From birth, a child is taught that s/he is either boy or girl and that designation matters. Because of this, social norms on gender are used so people have an easier time generalizing and defining a person even if it is a first impression. Though people talk more about how women are pressured by society, both men and are nudged to follow gender roles so that they fit within a specific stereotype.
The push of living in a stereotype by society is subtle, yet evident. Books like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein promote and reinforce gender roles and customs. Throughout the book female characters are given little to no depth and are only used by the author as passive consumers of plot or as prizes for the male characters. For example, Margaret Suville,the first character introduced in the book, takes in information and does not contribute to the overall plot. By having women portrayed in such a fashion, the social norm of women being seen and not heard is reinforced. Likewise, Frankenstein also stereotypes men, specifically the Creature. "You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede." (Shelley 172). The creature demands that Dr. Frankenstein craft him a wife because he needs one; the monster does not need someone that understands him or will be a friend to him per se, he just needs a wife. While still viewing female characters as docile objects, the Creature’s need of a wife generalizes that all men, whatever their condition, must seek out a wife. This is because society views marriage as a necessity for a man so they can find happiness.It also makes women seem valuable only as wives.This outdated way of viewing women may not be as prominent now as it was in Shelley’s time, but it still
Gender is the first principle by which individuals respond to and act accordingly toward. From birth, a child is taught that s/he is either boy or girl and that designation matters. Because of this, social norms on gender are used so people have an easier time generalizing and defining a person even if it is a first impression. Though people talk more about how women are pressured by society, both men and are nudged to follow gender roles so that they fit within a specific stereotype.
The push of living in a stereotype by society is subtle, yet evident. Books like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein promote and reinforce gender roles and customs. Throughout the book female characters are given little to no depth and are only used by the author as passive consumers of plot or as prizes for the male characters. For example, Margaret Suville,the first character introduced in the book, takes in information and does not contribute to the overall plot. By having women portrayed in such a fashion, the social norm of women being seen and not heard is reinforced. Likewise, Frankenstein also stereotypes men, specifically the Creature. "You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede." (Shelley 172). The creature demands that Dr. Frankenstein craft him a wife because he needs one; the monster does not need someone that understands him or will be a friend to him per se, he just needs a wife. While still viewing female characters as docile objects, the Creature’s need of a wife generalizes that all men, whatever their condition, must seek out a wife. This is because society views marriage as a necessity for a man so they can find happiness.It also makes women seem valuable only as wives.This outdated way of viewing women may not be as prominent now as it was in Shelley’s time, but it still
Cited: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein or,The Modern Prometheus. Berkeley and Los Angeles: U of California P.,1984. Steele, Claude. “An Introduction: At the Root of Identity.” Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011. Williams, Patricia. “Are we Worried about Storm’s Identity--or Our Own?”” The Nation (June 1, 2011):1-2,