Essay Samples on Gender Roles

Essay Examples
Essay Topics

Gender Stereotypes in 'Peter Pan' and Media Culture

Introduction “Real life is becoming indistinguishable from the movies” (REF). This bold statement was made by Adorno and Horkheimer in their 1947 work of social criticism, “Dialectic of Enlightenment”, to explain what they coined ‘the culture industry’. This ‘industry’ as a product of capitalism, dictates...

Breaking Societal Norms in 'Little Women': A Reflection

Introduction For this reflection paper, I have chosen the old classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott in 1868 (Goodreads, n.a.). It may be more dated and have concepts that are not a true reflection of today’s world, but in my opinion, this novel depicts...

Feminism in 'I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter'

Introduction In “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”, Julia Reyes is a 15 -year-old, that lives in a small apartment in Chicago and is infested with roaches. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants that crossed the border to have a better life for...

Family Structures and Gender Roles in Mesopotamian and Modern Societies

Introduction Ancient Mesopotamia, as considered by scholars, stands as the cradle of civilizations. Undeniably, Mesopotamian civilizations have had a profound impact on the evolution of humanity. The establishment of many traditions we uphold today can be traced back to the first civilizations of Mesopotamia. It...

The Harmful Effects of Toxic Masculinity on Men

The fight against toxic masculinity has been around for many centuries and continues to be in our society. Toxic masculinity is defined as certain traits and behavior when men are seen turning emotional situations, and not knowing how to handle them and making them violent....

The Monologue In A Streetcar Named Desire By Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire is a play by Tennessee Williams about Blanche Dubois, who unexpectedly visits her younger sister, Stella, after losing their family plantation, Belle Reve. As Blanche tells Stella the devastating news, she lies to her about why she left her job as...

Women's Role In Ancient Greek Society As Portrayed In Aristophanes' Play Lysistrata

Theatre had been seen in ancient Greece. It had been performanced for Dionysos God of vine in differences celebrations. There were two type of theatre at first; these were tragedy and comedy. One of the important playwrigth of comedy were Aristophanes who had lived in...

The Romantic Hero Gender Politics In The Sorrows Of Young Werther By Goethe

Rebellion against the society and an absolute idea of self are characteristics associated with the Romantic Hero. They are in constant conflict with the society and the prescribed norms, yet they fall victim to the social system of ‘patriarchy’. While fighting against power structures and...

Analysis of The Connection Between Themes in Toni Morrison's "Sula"

Essay grade Satisfactory

What is a theme? A theme is a thing that describes the main idea or central message of a story, book, or poem. Most of the time, stories will contain multiple themes. Some common themes that most stories share, are themes such as: love, hate,...

Comparing Two Battles in Beowulf: Reflections of Anglo-Saxon Ideals

Beowulf is an epic poem written in Old English that portrays the Anglo-Saxon culture of the medieval period. It tells the story of a hero, Beowulf, who battles various monsters to defend his kingdom. The poem's focus on the value of courage, honor, and loyalty...

Gender Role Effects In Like Water For Chocolate And The Bride Price

Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate(LWFC) and Buchi Emecheta’s The Bride Price while contextually different - set in 1920’s Mexico and 1950’s tribal Nigeria respectively, are written by authors personally affected by sexist traditions within the culture they compose about. Both texts challenge cultural paradigms...

Gender Stereotypes in Aristophanes Play Lysistrata

During the time era of the late 400’s B.C, gender roles and stereotypes were in full force in Greece. These stereotypes can be demonstrated extremely well in Aristophanes’ comedy play Lysistrata. These themes, while less pronounced in our modern era, can still be seen in...

The Portrayal of Women of Elizabethan Era in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” is considered the most remarkable play that has in the center two young characters that became the most representative and iconic love story for the world. His plays remain standing and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in various...

Sita, the Star of Ramayana

Sita Devi established gender norms and made an impact on Hindu women and feminists alike. Her epic, the Ramayana, was primarily about her husband, Rama. She played the role of a perfect wife, loving and serving only her husband. She significantly set the bar for...

Famous Literature Writings Influences on Thought: Gender Roles in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Snow White

The key to making literary writings intriguing is exploring ideas that may sometimes seem controversial. This provides an opportunity for readers to develop personal opinions on matters that could possibly affect their everyday lives. Gender representations and identity has become a major topic that many...

Analysis of Female Voice in Sonnet 14 by Mary Wroth

Essay grade Excellent

Lady Mary Wroth’s “Sonnet 14” cogitates concepts of desire and freedom through the perspective of a female speaker. Rejecting a vital theme heavily built into the structure of the Petrarchan sonnet, Wroth’s selected style of sonnet, she writes about a woman pursuing an unattainable man, questioning the restraints imposed by...

The Psychopathic Nature of Spouses in "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses"

Essay grade Satisfactory

The Girls in Their Summer Dresses by Irwin Shaw is a short story about the beginning of the end for a couple. It documents the exact moment that both Michael and Frances, the main characters, realise that the marriage and bond they committed to each...

Comparative Critique of the Disney Films: Maleficent and Others

Over the twentieth century, fairy tales have changed significantly from the way that they were originally portrayed in the late eighteenth century. Before the mid-twentieth-century, fairy tales were extremely barbaric, and they made the audience experience fear and fairy tales had an intimidation factor within...

The Unfixable Issue of the Portrayal of Women in Films

Since the beginning of Hollywood, the industry used its platform as a form of expression. Whether it was shaping popular culture or shifting public opinion on politics in America, the industry can be held accountable for influence throughout the years. In the early 1900s filmmakers...

The Representation of Women in The Snows of Kilimanjaro

The way Heminway represent the female gender in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is how he thought of women in the past, all of that because of his mother, Grace Hall Hemingway, was a domineering type who dressed Ernest as a girl and called him Ernestine....

The Representation and Roles of Women in the Ancient Rome

This paper I will discuss the roles of women in Ancient Rome. I will argue that women were active members of society and because of this, had a big impact in the society of the Roman Empire. Ancient Rome has been known to be an...

Transvestism as Deviance and the Condemning Behaviour

Firstly, we discuss about the introduction of research topic “Tansvestism as deviance”. Clothing is only outward symbol to represent your chosen on the basis of basic internal psychological situations. The transvestites periodically want to be free of the rigid demands of being a man, with...

Breaking the Mould of Gender Identity in Antony and Cleopatra

Johnson wrote in his preface to The Plays of William Shakespeare that Shakespeare creates “a faithful mirror of manners and of life”[1]. However, passive reflection is not necessarily the limit of the involvement of Shakespeare’s plays in social commentary. Antony and Cleopatra is a subtly...

The Roles and Responsibilities of Women in Mona Lisa

Today I will be discussing the changing roles and responsibilities of women in film, especially in Mona Lisa Smile. Mona Lisa Smile, directed by Mike Newell, is about Katherine Watson (an art history teacher) inspiring her students at Wellesley College to challenge the lives they...

Gender and Identity in Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South

“But she had learnt, in those solemn hours of thought, that she herself must one day answer for her own life, and what she had done with it; and she tried to settle that most difficult problem for women, how much was to be utterly...

Gender Roles in Romantic Ballet

The female role in the Romantic Ballet took a huge tole in performances, while the males became more of an assistance to them as they gave the illusion of effortless and weightless movements that involved two people. The females became the dominate gender as everything...

Carol Ann Duffy Challenges Traditional Gender Roles

Carol Ann Duffy challenges traditional gender roles through the power portrayed of women who are in a relationship and by reinventing a classic fairytale. In the classic fairy tale of beauty and the beast we see belle, the female lead, as someone who loves to...

How Does Carol Ann Duffy Portray the Identities In 'Little Red Cap' and 'Thetis'

Within both poems Carol Ann Duffy portrays female characters as chanting their identity in order to survive the patriarchal society. In little red cap Duffy shows another version of little red riding hood but in her experience Little Red-Cap is a sexual and revolutionary symbol...

Women as Victims in a Patriarchal World in 'The Bloody Chamber'

It can be argued that Angela Carter only ever presents women as victims in a patriarchal world in The Bloody Chamber Collection. Carter implements this through nuanced female characters, many derived from fairy tales giving opportunity for the feminist lens to decipher the prevalence of...

Balance of Roles of Men and Women In 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'

In his book One Hundred years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez presents a society with what seems to be a balance of roles of men and women. Each has roles that are distinctive of the other and both are portrayed to be comfortable in their...

Gender Roles In Toni Morrison’s Beloved

Gender is depicted in multifaceted ways throughout Toni Morrison’s Southern gothic text, Beloved. The reader is able to acknowledge the concepts of matriarchy, the maternal and female strength which are embodied within Sethe; a character that opens up a dialogue (albeit a fragmented one at...

The Depiction of Gender Roles in "Antigone" by Sophocles

Essay grade Satisfactory

Throughout the years, women have always been stereotyped to be inferior to men. This issue extends all the way from early civilization to unfortunately today. Society has made sure to show that men are the providers and the head of the household, when in fact...

Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"

Essay grade Excellent

Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, is widely regarded as a classic of African literature. The book provides a powerful insight into the complexities of gender roles and stereotypes in the Igbo society of Nigeria during the late 19th century. The novel remains an essential...

Gender Roles and Masculinity in the Civilization in the Epic of Gilgamesh

The epic of Gilgamesh gives us insight into one of the greatest world civilizations—Mesopotamian. It provides significant view on kingship, friendship and mortality. Crossing the cultural divide of over four thousand years, the epic of Gilgamesh addresses some of the fundamental questions of human existence...

The House on Mango Street: Magnificence of Prose

“The House on Mango Street” was a beautiful surprise, a delicate gem that will mesmerize its readers. Despite being short in length and lacking great actions or adventures, this book has a slow yet powerful tone. Rashly, impetuously but still in a delicate and exquisite...

Gender Rolls in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

The 1950s was a decade characterized by traditional gender roles of women as homemakers regulated to the domestic aspect and men as providers. In the 1960s however, stereotypical gender roles were being pushed as American society was swept up in the “drug culture, the civil...

How Medea’s Character Remained Relevant Beyond its Time

Essay grade Good

In the play ‘Medea’ written by Euripides in 431 BC, Medea is seen as having supernatural powers due to her outspoken and rebellious nature when it comes to the female norm of society. Due to this, some may challenge the validity of her ability to...

Traditional Gender Roles in "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"

Essay grade Excellent

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a novel that delves into the complexities of gender roles and societal expectations in a small Colombian town. The town's moral code is based on the preservation of honor and reputation, which is upheld by men...

A Raisin in the Sun: Gender Roles in Lorraine Hansberry's Play

Essay grade Good

In her play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry plays a significant role in depicting the impact of traditional gender roles in the struggles of families amidst change. By reading the play, individuals get the impression that Hansberry is a feminist with her opinionated...

Women Challenging Gender Roles in A Doll's House and Trifles

In both A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, and Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, the focus is on women as they exist within the confines of a man-dominated society, and how they respond to extenuating circumstances presented in their marriages. Both stories have a common theme...

The Effect Of Gender Role Socialisation On People’s Behaviour Towards Mental Illnesses

Attitudes surrounding mental illness cannot be considered in isolation from the context of gender role socialisation. Male gender role conflict and the resulting fear of femininity have both been closely linked to the stigmatisation that underlies societal attitudes towards mental health issues. Because traditional masculine...

“Why We Should All Be Feminists”: Rhetorical Analysis of Adichie's Speech

Essay grade Excellent

In 2017, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TED talk titled "Why We Should All Be Feminists," in which she discussed her experiences and observations of gender-based discrimination in Nigeria. Despite being written in 2014, the speech remains relevant today, as the issues she raised are...

Challenging The Traditional Notions Of Women's Roles In Society In Sappho's Poems

To be attractive wives and lovers, most young women were probably taught to compose, sing, and dance in honor of love. Women’s social status was directly related to beauty and how one was presented for potential matchmaking. In poem #30 Sappho tells how the “lucky...

Conventional Gender Roles In Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"

Essay grade Satisfactory

“War has been, for almost all peoples and all times, the purest test of manhood” states Evan Thomas in Why Men Love War. War is a biased and gender-preferenced activity that excludes women. During the Vietnam War, a strong backlash against the pro feminist movement...

Feministic Characteristics Of Elizabeth Bennet From Pride And Prejudice

This paper examines the characteristics and traits of Elizabeth Bennet, heroine of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and her similarities to Post- Colonial concepts and ideas of thought. Elizabeth defies the age and her age, when we look into her life as she can be...

The Country Girls Trilogy: Studying the History of Female Voice in 1960’s

Published in one volume, the three books known as The Country Girls is one of the most famous, beloved, influential, and scandalous Irish original created in the 20th century. Embodying a new chapter within Irish literature, The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien portrays an invocation...

Breaking Stereotypes: The Portrayal of Gender Roles in Disney Films

Disney films have been a popular source of entertainment for children and adults for many years. However, over the years, there has been criticism regarding the way gender roles are portrayed in these films. While some argue that Disney films have made progress in recent...

Portrayal Of Genders In Breaking Bad Show

In the summer I watched a five-season show called “Breaking bad” on Netflix. I considered it one of my favorite shows so far according to the way they filmed it and the idea far from romance and comedy which what I like. Breaking Bad is...

Should Homosexual Marriage Be Legalized Worldwide?

Introduction: Homosexuality marriage relationships has informed federal debates that greatly affect traditional families. One of the most high-stakes debates in the United States today concerns whether and how homosexuality relationships influence the health, particularly mentally, and well-being of individuals, families, and even society. (U. S....

The Differentiation Of People According To Their Social & Economical Roles

The body has for generations enjoyed a status of an absent presence in the dominant discourses largely ignored as insignificant due to the secondary or lesser importance accorded to it in the mind /body Cartesian dichotomy which clearly privileges the mind over the body or...

Transformation Of The Main Characters In Shiloh By Bobbie Ann Mason

Bobbie Ann Mason’s story “Shiloh” was giving an opening image that really suggests something about the transformation of the main characters. The struggling characters are trying to make sense of themselves and one another. What we see through the course of the story is both...

Representation Of Gender Roles In Mexico In Paintings Of Olga Costa

Although the field of art was dominated by men during the Mexican Cultural Revolution of 1910-1948, Olga Costa was one of the few female artists that was recognized for her paintings. Olga Costa is from German, however her and her family fled to Mexico to...

The Portrayal Of Women In Movies In Different Time Periods

Movies are a reflection of our day to day lives. Hence they impact and influence various outlooks in our society. Different eras and time periods reflect changing atmospheres and a rise of a women centric world. Rare scenes of women seen as a protagonist in...

Female Stereotypes In Contemporary Western Society In Good Girls Series

Television network Netflix Original crime-comedy-drama series, Good Girls, is a show full of life lessons and hidden meanings. Most present-day shows are saturated with themes of alcohol, drugs, and violence; Good Girls is no exception. However, Good Girls focuses more on the woman’s point of...

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