Introduction
Author Andrea Dworkin once said, “The discovery is, of course, that ‘man’ and ‘woman’ are fictions, caricatures, cultural constructs. As models, they are reductive, totalitarian, and inappropriate to human becoming. As roles they are static, demeaning to the female, dead-ended for males and females both.” (source B).
In the essay “Women’s brains” Stephen Gould analyses several works by various authors on the inferiority of women (source B). Notably among these authors is Paul Broca whose work Gould strongly refutes. Gould also uses George Eliot’s work “Middlemarch” which laments the lives of talented women.
Judith Cofer in the “Myth of the Latin woman” sheds light on the role culture plays in the demystification of women (source C). Judith narrates her life in Latin America and the role her upbringing played in shaping the woman she is today.
William Shakespeare cuts his niche on the debate about the power that women behold. In his play entitled “Macbeth’’, Shakespeare depicts the activities of four women who make a considerable influence on the course of events that lead to the rise and fall of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as an initiator and a planner who designs her husband’s rise to the throne.
Paul Theroux in “Being a man” explores the challenges that men face especially in America. Paul likens the idea of ‘being a man’ as an insult and abuse. He analyses the pains that a man has to undergo in his everyday life. Paul says that this difference in superiority is destructive, emotionally damaging, and at least socially harmful (source D).
Women’s Brain
In this essay, Eliot observes that the idea of females being weak is only due to the inconvenient indefiniteness nature has fashioned them. Eliot goes on to discredit the measurements carried on by various researchers to determine and reach a conclusion that women are less intelligent than their male counterparts; Broca’s work reached a conclusion that a woman’s brain is much smaller than men and therefore, inferring that men are more intelligent than women receive a rejection from L. maneuver. Manouvrier opposes the mere use of numbers by Broca to christen women as inferior. According to maneuver, women are no lesser beings; they’ve got talents and philosophical authorities. The use of numbers, commentaries, and touches of sarcasm go beyond the ancient deductions by church fathers that questioned women’s possession of a soul; a woman is refused her human intelligence. Gould evaluates the comparisons in the sizes of the female and male brains and wonders whether the difference could be attributed to the differences in their body sizes. Though it proved difficult to directly attribute this difference in brain size to anything, in particular, Topinard who was a follower to Broca thought that the increasing discrepancy over time was a result of evolutionary pressures exerted on the more active man and the passive woman. If Topinard’s assumptions are to be held true, then the day when the misunderstanding will be laid on the table, and when women will leave the confines of their homes and join the life’s battles and therefore face equal revolutionary pressures, then everything that undermines them will disappear. Broca’s data stands to be dismissed as it was based on poor sampling. Age, cause of death, height, and other factors were used by Gould to narrow down the range and in fact, a woman’s brain was found to be even larger than a man’s. The basis of power that gives men an advantage over women might be coming to an end (source B).
The Strong Also Cry
Theroux’s essay is proof that men too have their ‘other side but because of the cultures in which they are brought up, men always assume the masculine behavior because there is always no otherwise presented by the society. According to Theroux, men like women are also shaped by society. To be a man, a youth is denied a chance to interact with girls but instead is encouraged to seek sporting activities, which later in life prove to be a bad recipe in his social interaction. Paul Theroux believes that society’s stance on what a man should be must be changed. He carefully depicts that the way our boys and girls are brought up turns up to either harm or benefit society (source D).
In Scott Russell Sanders’s essay “the men we carry in our Mind”, men are presented as having similar troubles as their women counterparts in the same economic class. The men in Sanders’ world have destroyed their bodies to make a living. He displays the troubles that those who don’t have face in their daily endeavors. Sanders argues that it is very easy to overcome gender differences than class issues brought about by wealth. He portrays that the only difference between him and the women in his life was their view of him because of his sex (source E). These two essays by sanders and Theroux clearly portray that the differences between both sexes are a conception of our mind.
The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria
Cofer gives a further explanation to Paul Theroux’s deduction on the role culture plays in the separation of both males and females. In this rhetorical essay, Cofer exemplifies the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in persuasion. The Puerto Rican girl in this essay is forced to practice the culture and customs of the Catholicism and Spanish worlds into Europe. Cofer goes ahead to clearly show how the different cultures in the world offer prejudices to their bearers when they move to different settings. Cofer is able to make her story credible and accurate. She depicts how the Latinos view their women all based on the culture. It is a writing that I have found very important in my argumentation. I concur with Cofer on the importance of culture on the delimitation of gender. It is evident that societies play an integral role in the general misconception of the inferiority of women (source C).
Macbeth
Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ presents Lady Macbeth as nearly sinister to Macbeth. Accordingly, she is more intelligent and pushes her husband to pursue all available channels to ensure that he assumes power. Macbeth on the other hand is weak and yielding to his wife’s persistence. Lady Macbeth demonstrates her intelligence earlier in the play. On hearing that her husband is destined to become the king of Scotland, she hurriedly arranges for the murder of the incumbent king but when Macbeth objects, lady Macbeth begins tormenting him. Lady Macbeth tells her husband that ‘’ only a real man stabs an old guy in his sleep’’ (source A). Lady Macbeth treats her guests unfairly and disregards the civil protocol. She is an ambitious woman and displays that women too can possess great intelligence. The case of Lady Macbeth is on the other extreme of what women are supposed to be submissive. The witches are also vital in the support of my stand (source A). Macbeth’s wife goes ahead to tease him when she realizes that he is hesitant in killing the king, she says, “I have given suck, and know-how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me.” She is regretful that she (women) should have killed the baby (Macbeth) when he was young; she laments “I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn.” This utterance seems to work as Macbeth finally kills King Duncan. It is a demonstration of how women can use their intelligence to influence men. From the beginning, lady Macbeth is nothing more than evil, however, I read more than this in the play, hers is an inspirational story. She has learned the art that most men use to get into power; the art of deception. She is visionary and has the image of her husband as a great King in her mind. Until the play comes to an end, she is displayed as a powerful woman. Her character is very strong than for her husband and for most men. This play supports the argument that women and men are all equal, all protocols not observed (Source A)
Conclusion
It is clear that the idea of whether one is a male or a female is a mere construct of culture. If both male and female children were brought together and exerted to a similar cultural belief that does not distinguish sex, then, there would be no differences in their thinking. Theroux and Cofer’s essays are a clear indication of how cultural teaching influences both males and females differently (source C). ‘Macbeth’ further displays that women could be superior to men. This is supported by Gould’s evaluation of the notion that the female’s brain is small and that therefore they are less intelligent.
References
Cofer O. Judith. “Myth of the Latina Woman.” Northern Arizona University, 2011. Web.
Gould J. Stephen. “Women’s Brains.”Spachman, 2011. Web.
Sanders R. Scott. “The Men We Carry in Our Minds.” Beacon press. 2011. Web.
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” Jalic Inc., 1604. 2011.
Theroux, Paul. “Being a Man.” Northern Arizona University, 2011. Web.