​​​​​Women Written By Men

This is a man’s world. Against my will and to the harm of many, we’ve always lived in a patriarchy. All throughout American history men have and continue to dictate the way the world runs. Although forced into it, overtime women became masters at appealing to their (male) audience when necessary. In the end women are randomly and constantly expected to follow imaginary roles assigned by society simply for being. What would happen if the people collectively agreed to get rid of the unnecessarily expectations placed upon women? Jamaica Kincaid’s story, “Girl” shrewdly gives a small glimpse into the reality of being a woman.  Though it is unclear why this inequality has become the norm, with the understanding of Bell Hooks “Homeplace” and the Bechdel Test, Kincaid’s story exhibit the levels in which gender roles are inescapable and constantly come up in daily life, explain gender inequality and  even the most simplest things are meant to be harder for woman or assigned to them.

​To exist in a world that has already decided your fate is difficult enough. To play a role in a system that wants you to remain stagnant is much harder. How do women prevail when all their responsibilities are assigned at birth? In Jamaica Kincaid’s story, “Girl” a mother is giving advice to her daughter every sentence. The daughter, “girl”, interrupts her mother to ask questions and defend herself. However, she is always scolded and reminded that the advice is to keep her from becoming a “slut” (Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” Pg. 1). She is taught simple things like how to keep a house, how to prepare food for a family, and how to be around a man. The mother will never see anything wrong with her advice, because it was that same advice that potentially saved her from what could have been a harder life. However, in giving her advice she teaches, scolds, and reminds her daughter of what she will become if she does not follow her role in her gender. These notions that society will place upon women are designed to work in such a way that most people would not know to go against. Especially when you have parents from older generations that pass on their unethical gender roles as if they’re as sacred as a bible. So you see, women will always carry many responsibilities yet keep themselves small enough to never out do a man. And women will teach women how to do so because it is what kept them temporarily safe but not ultimately happy. 

​The entertainment business has been around for centuries while developing and changing overtime. We have movies and shows that are given to us by actors and actresses, composed and performed in Hollywood. However, gender inequality is still an occurring issue here. In most cases if a woman is featured in a movie her role is typically a damsel in distress, and if two women are featured in a movie their characters revolve around a man. I’d be incorrect if I said that there is absolutely no awareness of this gender injustice. In fact, there are ways to determine whether a film is morally correct in terms of how women are portrayed. The Bechdel Test is a test that measures the real representation of women in films with three simple rules; (1) At least two women are featured, (2) these women converse with each other, and (3) they discuss something other than a man (Bechdel, Alison: The Bechdel Test. 1985). The existence of this test proves in itself how real gender roles are. Why would a test be created to ensure no sexist representations of women in movies if men and women are equal? The short answer is; men and women have never been equal. Even in movies that are intended for entertainment with fantasy elements, a woman cannot escape the role she is always expected to play. That role is to attend and revolve around men. Much like in Kincaid’s “Girl” In many ways, women are actresses in their real lives, playing the part of a woman written by a man. The girl’s mother is urgently correcting and teaching her daughter the role that she must play in society, much like how society corrects and “teaches” women the way they should be. This cycle of gender roles that, at this point, have become a generational teaching, are overall harmful to the greater good of the masses if we ever want to be equal

​Though being a woman is hard enough, we also have to account for the different types of women there are. What I mean by that is, aside from the fact that we have to worry about our gender there are many women that have to factor their race in as well. More specifically, women of different ethnic backgrounds all face the expectation that they have a feminine role to play. However, depending on their race, society will treat other women more harshly compared to others based on their female role. For example, in Bell Hooks, “Homeplace” it tells the story that commemorates black women for the hardships they face in a world that wants to work against them. They overcome these hardships through remaining resilient in areas of politics, home life, and the world in general. However, just because these trials and tribulations are always faced and handled that does not make it any more okay. Hook explains how, “Since sexism delegates to females the task of creating and sustaining a home environment, it has been primarily the responsibility of black women to construct domestic households as spaces of car and nurturance in the face of the brutal harsh reality of racist oppression, of sexist domination.” The role of a woman is typically limited to being housewives while taking care of household chores and activities. Please note that the job a woman is expected to complete in a system that is designed to work against them, is a battle that must be put to an end. Of course, women will love their families and care for them to the best of their abilities, but a woman’s worth should not be measured in how good of a mother or wife she is. No, a woman’s worth should not be measured on society’s imaginary, and quite frankly un asked for, benchmark for what defines a woman. 

​To be an acceptable woman is to embody the role of motherhood and grace. It is to be a lady and never ask why. To be a woman is to dim yourself down, you wouldn’t want to outshine the men around you while creating a nurturing environment for others. If you are not maternal, are you even a real woman? The list goes on for what makes a woman. Even in movies this is inescapable as there are many different ways a woman can only be a woman in movies, but the common denominator is that they’re always stereotyped. Whether it was men who wrote the list and women added on to it, I’m not sure. But it is certain that in this society, a woman’s destiny is already decided once she is identified. Though the fixation on the role is quite odd, these unspoken laws have been around for so long can we ever get away from them? 

 

Work Cited:

– Hooks, b. (2015). “Homeplace: A Site of Resistance.” yearning: race, gender, and cultural politics. New York: Routledge, 2015 (1990 by South End Press).

-Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp.306-07

-The Bechdel Test