Essays on Gender Issues

[Image Source: Mister V]

In my essay reading class, we have been reading essays focusing on gender issues the last couple of weeks.

We started with the “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The declaration was part of the first US women’s rights convention in 1848 and was signed by 68 women and 32 men. It is believed that the document was a pillar contribution for the women’s right movement in America. “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments” is basically a rewriting of the "American Declaration of Independence," with the uppression of the American states by the King of England’s substituted with the suppression of women by men.

Our second reading was a transcription of Sojourner Truth’s amiable and extemporaneous speech “And Aint’ I a Woman?” at a women convention in 1851, in which she refutes the claims of many previous (male) speakers. She persuasively rebuts arguments that women are by and large dependent and weak, or that women should have less rights on account of less intelligence (!) or because Jesus was a man. It is very likely that this famous speech commonly excepted as the standard version is not a direct transcription; actually it is a revised version published by Frances Gage in the 1860s. Nonetheless, every time I read it, and I’ve done so quite a number of times, I’m impressed anew by the charm and eloquence of it.

We followed these two examples of women’s rights texts from America with an article in two parts (Women in Korea 1; Women in Korea 2) written by Mathias Specht for the Korea Times daily paper. From his view as an outsider (i.e. non-Korean) who has lived in Korea as a student at one of Korea’s Ivy League universities,Yonsei University, Specht discusses what he considers the serious inequality of the sexes in Korea. Specht opens his article with an anecdote of an old Korean man accosting two young women and slapping the one for smoking in public. With this emphatic anecdote, Specht sets the tone for the rest of the article in which the injustices against Korean women is rolled out.

To transition towards a focus on men, we read Maxine Hong Kingston’s narrative “On Discovery” in which a man named Tang Ao is captured by women in the “Land of Women” where they slowly, and through torturous “care,” turns him into a woman. While the story of Tang Ao is quite short, it covers quite a number of themes related to gender issues, such as sex roles, sexism, nature vs. nurture, and questions on identity.

Our last reading on the topic of gender issues was Gretel Ehrlich’s “About Men.” The essay concerns the “cowboys” and “ranchers” of America’s West, particularly Wyoming. Ehrlich begins by contrasting these men, the real cowboys, with the romanticized icons often portrayed in the media. She then sets out to show the androgynous nature of cowboys—how they are both hard and masculine, but also tender and maternal, a dichotomy she plays out successfully throughout the essay. The essay concludes with: “…their strength is also a softness, their toughness, a rare delicacy.” Upon concluding our series on gender issues with “About Men” in which the aloofness of the hardened cowboy is deconstructed to show that they are both manly “hunters” and womanly “nurturers,” I put before my students the following question: “What makes a man?” or “How can one define masculinity?” The question is in part a personal question that I have contemplated before. (See my post: "When Does Manhood Happen?")

There is one other essay I would have liked to cover. It is an article that has been listed here on this blog under the “Web Pages I Fully Intend to Read One of These Uncertain Days”-tag, “Where Have All the Real Men Gone?” by Kathleen Parker. Well, after more than a year, maybe two, I at last got round to reading it. The essay argues that “feminism has neutered men and deprived them of their noble, protective role in society,” and is well worth reading. Unfortunately it is just a tad too long to include in my class as this coming week is the last week before the midterm exams. If I’m still here next year, I may very well adjust the syllabus and include this essay. I would've also liked to include something by African-American James Baldwin, whom was a essayist focussing on issues relating to sexual identity and race.

I must say that I take great pleasure in this class, and quite enjoyed the topic of gender issues that we’ve considered. I hope that the students enjoyed it similarly.

Next week we will take a look at Virginia Woolf’s short essay “Death of a Moth,” which will be our final essay before the midterm exams the following week.