Women

1. In Britain in 1914 and before, women were thought of as second class citizens. Women had few privileges that men had; they were down upon by men. Women’s employment opportunities were limited and their pay was considerably less than a man’s. All this was due to strong discrimination about women being of less importance and intelligence, the general view was traditional one which inferred that women should be housewives. Only one third of women were in paid employment. However there were differences between the jobs they did because of their class. Middle class and Working class women did very different jobs. Working class women worked in more manual, and labour intensive jobs. Whilst Middle class did more intellectual jobs.

So we already know that there were clear distinctions between the jobs the women of different classes did. Working class women mostly did domestic services such as cleaning or being servants for the rich. They had to work in poor conditions and were subjected to long working hours. On top of this they received criticism, low wages and got little time off. A major employer was the textiles industry in which women could supervise, yet men often get these jobs. Women also made clothes and dresses, or jewellery or painted ornaments. Middle class women experienced better working conditions. These women were more likely to work as teachers, nurses, secretaries and shop assistants.

Women had no political vote and were looked down on as inferior to men. Before 1914 jobs for women were limited and discouraged due to traditional beliefs about the role of women. Within this discrimination there was further discrimination between the classes of women. They were expected to manage the house. People were aware of this and a group called the Suffragettes voiced the opinion that equality should be imposed. This all changed when war broke out.

2. When war broke out the men went to war, this meant that they left their vacant jobs behind. The country was behind the war effort and all came together. Women were at first not allowed to fill the men’s jobs, they were only allowed to knit and fundraise. People, including Emmeline Pankhurst, a leading Suffragette realised that women could help more. Pankhurst in July 1915 organised a ‘Right to Serve’ march in which 60 000 women took part. There was also an increasing demand for shells due to shortages on the front line.

Lloyd George, the Minister of Munitions had to negotiate with trade unions to let women work. They came to a deal known as the ‘Treasury Agreements’. Women began to work in industrial employment; they began manufacturing munitions and shells. The government backed Pankhurst further by giving them �3000 to organise processions. Also the women war register was established; it contained all the names of women wanting to help. Also more jobs needed filling when, in early 1916 the government introduced conscription as they realised they were in for the long slog. The war wouldn’t be over any time soon.

Vigorous campaigning ensued with extensive propaganda encouraging women to work instead of men in industry, farming and the armed services.

As a result of increased levels of women working birth rates were falling, this was because women were worried about raising children during wartime. So to ease worries, the government increased the number of child welfare centres so that children and babies had a place where they could be cared for.

Female employment levels rose massively due to encouragement, campaigning and thanks to the women’s will to help the country win the war. Another reason is because men had to go fight on the frontlines so in order to keep up the production of munitions and shells, the women had to fill in the men’s jobs.

3. Before the war women were limited to working in textiles even though they were paid at a fraction of the money that men were. Only a third of women were in paid employment. There were strict traditional rules in society which made it clear that some jobs were purely a certain gender. Women of a lower class had to generally work as domestic services for the rich and middle class women worked doing clerical work and teaching. Women were seen as 2nd class citizens.

When the war broke out the men left to go to war meaning that there were vacant jobs that needed to be filled. At first the government were reluctant, but later they realised that women could make a big difference. Protests organised by the Suffragettes encouraged women to work. Women worked in industry, medical and many new areas of employment now. Women though were still treated badly, underpaid and overworked. Some men resented the women and say them as inferior. More positively though is that women became freer and some women over 30 could vote.

After 4 years of war, it was over; the allies had won and the men returned home. Women were pressured to leave their jobs for the men and go back to their old jobs, mostly housekeeping.

Women did leave work and female employment levels returned to what they were before 1914. The jobs that women worked in changed slightly though as more women worked in areas such as law and medicine, pay did also improve.

In the short term it looked like not much had changed, things were back to normal. Women were still paid less and weren’t promoted above men. However in the long run World War 1 changed the role of women and had a massive impact as they earned the respect and privileges that they deserved for their contributions. It had been made clear that women were capable of many things that men could do and over time the mood changed regarding what women could and should do.

I believe that the following statement the position of all women in the USA had improved by the end of the 1920’s is not true because only a small percentage of women’s lives changed, these were usually the upper or middle class and those who lived in the cities. I intend to prove my beliefs in the following paragraphs by evaluating the different aspects of their life’s, work, home, society and clothing. Work During the First world war a number of women worked for the first time, some of these jobs had previously been done by men.

Even though women proved that they could do these jobs just as well as the men, many lost their jobs when the men returned from war. Two million more women were employed in 1930 than in 1920, this was however an increase of only 1 per cent. Women achieved almost a third of all degrees by 1930, but only 4% of the professors were women. Women still tended to work in the least skilled and lowest paid jobs and men were still paid more than women for doing the same job. Women did not get much help from the government or police either.

The Supreme Court banned laws that set a minimum wage for women workers. Men were still the managers and had the jobs with the best prospects, there were however new jobs for women but they tended to be so called women’s jobs such as librarian’s teachers and nurses. Most women workers still had low paying jobs. In the new radio Industry women were the preferred employees because of their small nimble hands but one of the main reasons why employees were willing to employ women was that they could pay women lower wages than men for performing the same job.

Home On the whole these large middle classes do their own housework with few of the mechanical aids, among 10,000 farm houses only 32% had any running water at all, only 57% used washing machines and only 47% had a carpet sweeper. Women who live on farms and they form the largest group in the USA did a great deal of work besides their labour of caring for their children, washing the clothes, caring for the home and cooking, thousands of women still laboured in the fields.

Men remained the main breadwinners and women cooked cleaned and raised their children, whereas boys continued to play with guns and grew up to head their families, girls played with dolls and looked forward to careers as wives and mothers. Society After the war and during the 1920’s much changed, at least for middle and upper class women. Many taboos disappeared, women started to smoke in public: sales of cigarettes doubled during the decade. It became acceptable for women to drive, and take part in strenuous sport. Women also socialised with men more easily.

Chaperons were abandoned and the pre war waltz gave way to a more daring dance the Charleston. By the mid 1920’s women’s fashions had been transformed. Hemlines shot up. It would have been considered scandalous for a man and unmarried women to meet alone, for whatever reason. It was also socially unacceptable for women to smoke in public before the war, it was illegal in New York. Attitudes towards sex and marriage seemed to be changing a survey in 1920 found that only 31% of the college students questioned had not had sex before marriage compared to 74% of the college students questioned in 1900.

New laws made it easier for women to divorce their husbands in 1900 only 81 out of every 1000 marriages ended in divorce but by 1928 the number of marriages ending in divorce had risen to 166 out of every 1000. It now became acceptable for women to see the new superstars such as “Babe Ruth” at baseball games. There was exciting entertainment at the new cinemas built nationwide where rich and poor, men and women flocked to see Hollywood films featuring stars like Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino.

In the 1920’s middle class women had more free time, partly due to the new domestic labour saving products like vacuum cleaners. If they had a car (as many did ) they were no longer so bound to the home. For thousands of American women in rural areas, the 1920’s did not bring many changes. They continued to play traditional roles within the family . The most significant sign that the roles of women was changing was when in 1920 women had been given the vote entitling them to more political power, this change affected all women nationwide every women had the right to vote despite her status in society.

Clothing Clothes had changed, the tight waisted, ankle length, voluminous dresses of pre war days had been replaced by waistless knee length, lightweight dresses. These gave greater freedom of movement as well as being more daring. Before the war women had been expected to have long hair. After the war short hair became a sign of liberation. Make up became popular and sales boomed, led by advertisements. Flapper was a name given to a liberated urban woman. Few women would have regarded themselves as flappers but the flapper represented an extreme example of the changes that were affecting many women.

They were identified by their short skirts, bobbed hair, powdered knees, bright clothes and lots of make up. Flappers were mainly upper and middle class women from the Northern states. After carefully evaluating the evidence available concerning the way women’s life’s changed in Society, work, clothing and home I believe that it is evident that only a small percentage of women’s lives changed. These were usually the upper or middle class because they were the only ones who could afford the new mod cons e. g. vacuum cleaner resulting in them having more free time in which they could go and see the new entertainment.

Also nearly all upper and middle class women possessed a car compared to a mere 40% working class families meaning that only the upper and middle class were not bound to the home. The position of all women did not improve in the 1920’s because women in rural areas who formed the largest group in the USA did not notice many changes. The only significant change that improved the roles of all women within society was them gaining the vote in 1920, but this led to women losing their unifying cause. A vast majority of women’s life’s stayed the same.

My personal way of defining patriarchy is a society typically dominated and control by men. Patriarchy shows us how our society functions and how it controls women, including all systems, like work place, home, religion etc, where women are formed and developed to the way men want them to be. It is the opposite of matriarchy, meaning women are the head and in control of families.

This quote given by H, Hartman signifies social patriarchy, so it is not naturally suggested but socially. ‘I define patriarchy as a set of social relations which has a material base and in which there are hierarchical relations between men, and solidarity among them, which enables them to control women. [p3, H Hartman: (1982), ‘What about women? ‘; ‘Gender Inequality in Employment’, 551. 04 leatures 11 and 12. ]

The way in which society used to be, was that once the content of ‘patriarchy’ had been established, it was used strongly in every society and in many different ways, creating sexual politics, where men were seen as the dominant sex class and the treatment of women, through this patriarchy system determined their future and success in life. The possibilities for women making choices in every aspect of their own personal life were taken away from them or where very limited because of this patriarchal control that was upon them.

In the past the husband was clearly the principal negotiator, with the marriage license being the only exception, where the women would really be going into a life long commitment of serving her husband as a slave. The females main source of learning were things such as learning to spin, sew and weave, and maybe a little reading and writing. The main company that was given to them, were other females, and they lived more or less behind closed doors. The women had a separate section in the house that was located away from the other sections so that communications with males or strangers were barred.

While the men when out to work, the women’s role was just seen as to be looking after the house and children, and listen to their husbands. ‘The separation of home from work led to a sharper separation of male and female spheres. The world of business outside the home became a male sphere and the world of home and children became a women’s one. ‘ [p366, Fulcher & Scott. (1999) Sociology] The husband’s leisure and business time were of no business to the wife, domesticity cut women off from business life and public activities in general.

In some society’s women were degraded, they were seen as objects used for male needs and a simple tool of breeding children. ‘A woman of a particular community, caste or social-economic stratum is raped to ‘teach’ that section of the society, in other words, to reproduce the hierarchical structure. It was in the mid-1800 when the first signs of the feminist movement came about. In 1961 it was discussed by a man named John Stuart, that the role of women is society during that time, pointing out how the patriarchy placed such an intense limit on what women could do.

A time came out when evidence should the existence of a pre-industrial division of labour between men and women. However this existence contained occupational segregation, where the females worked only in female jobs and males concentrated in male jobs. ‘Middleton (1979) argued that women did carry many different agricultural tasks, but it was the men who did the high status work of plouging. Job segregation enabled males still to maintain superiority over women, because of the patriarchal relationships in paid work.

The labour market urged lower wages for women, so that it would encourage them to marry and stay financial dependant on their husbands. Women were excluded from better jobs than men, to keep their primary responsibilities as the main caregiver for children and family. However in some areas of the pre-industrial society capable women who entered the labour market were forced into part-time and insecure employments, where they would be excluded from promotion. Once they married they had to leave their job, so their personal status would drop back down into the status level as they were when they started off.

Also the employment of women alarmed men highly as their position of the male role of head of the household became seen as threatened, especially in the twenty century then demands for labour by women became stronger, and women would no longer be ignored. This was when the ‘family wage’ became known, when the male breadwinner would support his family with his earnings, whilst the women’s earning were treated as a additional source of income so that their unpaid domestic work would not be interfered with their paid work.

It was not until the 1980s that these requirements changed, when recruitment practices of certain companies had referred to the Equals Opportunities Commission. The position of men was altered and the women’s position underwent significant changes. More women moved into the labour market and were used less in the homes. With the changing of attitudes towards means of the production, families began to drop away from the ways and ideas of ‘male ownership’ with society and the changing attitudes of women’s role became stronger.

Society needed women to work as men could not fill all the vacancies and they needed women to do the jobs that men would not. More opportunities for young children to go to school were given. ‘Private housekeeping is transformed into a social industry. The care and education of the children became a public affair; society looks after all children alike, whether they are legitimate or not’. [p170, Jodi Dean. (1997) Feminism and the New Democracy] Changes in women’s employment have had consequences that we still do not know what will happen in a situation involving children, marriages and other important factors in ones individual life.

Countries that have high birth rates now have low birth rates, due to women working. Dramatic changes have also taken place, such as divorce rates rising and single mothers increasing. Organizations themselves are re-thinking employing different work time and working practice; because number of paid work and taking care of unpaid domestic and family work has increased as men have to also help now. Females that were before at home looking after husband’s mother refuse to do this now. The late twenty century patterns was going to work, leaving work on the first child, then gradually coming back to work.

These females were married, where as mentioned before that in the early days, that if women worked, they had to leave the employment completely when they got married. Now there are more women in the labour force than men. Women’s economic behaviour is the same as men, but still do different jobs on a lower level. Patriarchy was also found in adopting the name of their husbands after marriage, but more women are choosing to keep their maiden and have a choice of titles e. g. Ms, Miss and Mrs, so that they can retain their own identity.

Also another element that changed in society which is widely appreciated now is the fact that women were able to vote which began after the First World War, which was still based on age. However the question still remains that is patriarchy still useful? I would personally argue that yes it is. One has to understand it with other concepts, with the way of how the concept of patriarchy is used. I would personally argue that some concepts of patriarchy has fad away from today society’s, but overall it has not lessened, but is now being used under different forms.

One form of patriarchy that can be seen as a useful concept, is entertainment given by women. Women are appreciated on their glamour. In the media women such as the ‘Spice Girls’ are a role model in society because of glamour. Naked women are commonly shown e. g. in the Sun Newspaper, on page three, where as men nudity is more under the covers. This is seen as useful, as it can be forfilling entertainment for men, and women’ role models are being used to put across message, such as Spice Girls putting forward the message of ‘girl power’.

It can also still be useful in a relationship as men still oppress women, maybe it is something that males inherent, that men can use to impress women, such as paying when going out, walking the lady home etc. I would say it’s main usefulness still lies within the family, as the family and religion are the source of many of our beliefs. Families and religion can be the most powerful sets of shaping one’s personality and future. This is important as it is given to us from our primary experiences of family life.

It is believed that for a family to work it needs to be organized within a set of rules and belief’s. These still mainly come from the main positional power, which is mainly the role of the father. The rules and beliefs are expected to be practiced in order to keep a family together. ‘The key to survival and success for the children in the family system, or the underlying incentives and rewards, is to please the father or, in it’s modern form, please the parents, and obtaining their attention and/or approval. In some religions and cultures it is seen as a useful concept, for example Islam, because some elements are practice to protects women and their dignity. Their rules come from the Holy Qur’an, which Muslims obey by not only because they have to, but also because they believe it has been given to them to help guide them and protect them from the dangers of life, one example, adultery.

However some may not see it as useful, as facts have shown that the top politicians and scientists are men. Work hours still have had seen to be problems for women. In Britain inequality is illegal but still is happening in other parts of the country, and men still oppress women. Sometimes society promotes sex- stereotyped roles themselves when it is unnecessary, for example in some cultures there is more of a celebration when a baby boy is born, or when children are a bit older society places them into their sex roles, e. . to praise them we say things like “that’s pretty for a good girl” or to a boy it is said ” you do that like a girl”, or “boys don’t cry”. We are teaching girls to be feminine, and boys are taught to be masculine, by being tough and insensitive. My conclusion to this essay from reviewing the facts I have gained, is that patriarchy is seen more as useful concept in society today despite the negative elements.

I would personally say that women today still depend on certain patriarchal concepts to enable them to gain security within their lives, however this is not true for everyone. During this essay I have covered a range of topics to with patriarchy. In my essay I have concentrated on four aspects, I have defined the term ‘patriarchy’; I have talked about how society was how society has changed, and discussed if patriarchy still is a useful concept. I have produced this with relevant evidence in a form of quotes.

Throughout our lives we are governed by how we look and act according to society. One of the main leaders throughout history has been which sex a person belongs to. This governs our every aspect in life from a baby, through to adulthood. Opinion changes constantly to whether children should live a certain way and especially act certain ways at different ages and stages throughout life. We are socially constructed from the start of our lives, if a baby wears blue or pink determines societys view of how to treat the child and most importantly whether it is male of female.

We are judged in our abilities and skills just by from which sex we belong to. It is one of the most influential factors in life, being male or female. I will be looking at the perceived differences between males and female body image and actions throughout the life cycle, from birth through to old age. One of the first things we notice about a person is which sex they belong to. Today due to changes in societies impressions and opinions on sex and sex orientation, it is generally possible to immediately determine the sex of a person that gives out first impressions and places stereotypes.

Every culture distinguishes between male and females and this accompanied by beliefs and psychological and physical behaviours belonging to each sex. It is not a recent act to distinguish differences between the sexes. In pre-industrial Britain children were sent off to work at an early age between 6-7. They were kept apart and designated a job. At this age physicality’s of gender differences would not be differentiated because of no puberty growth in the children causing no differences in physical ability and strength yet girls would be sent to become servants while boys would be trained to be apprentices.

In the sixteenth century boys were increasingly sent to boarding school, while girls were mainly kept at home, any small amount of girls who were sent to boarding school were trained for domesticity. Their father or their masters controlled any girls in a family, like an ownership. The males possessed them. Any money that was made was not their own to keep but passed on to their masters or their family for their parents personal use or placed back into the family for food and supplies. Both boys and girls were used for their bodies yet in completely different ways.

In the early nineteenth century working class children would be used in working class factories for cheap labour. Boys would follow the men with physical work while girls were sold for prostitution. Girls where not seen to have many uses apart from their bodies or domesticity uses. This treatment of girls continued through the years in society. Towards the First World War girls were not sold for such explicit reasons but used in different ways (Humphries 1977). Families became dependent on the wages of their siblings. With men called to war the children would work to help the families upkeep.

Girls would be expected to help their mothers with domestic tasks and to take the role of second mother for their younger siblings. While boys and young men where used for their physical abilities. By the twentieth century psychologists identified that childhood was a vital part of a persons identity. Freud dedicated his life to the study of people and the affect of childhood on their adult lives. Children could be scared for life because of their childhoods. This could explain judgements of people on sex opinions later in lives because of their upbringings, which had forced the stereo types into society.

Post war brought the decline of infant mortality and the decline in birth rate. Children where not therefore depended upon for their help with the families income. Adults began to see children as pleasurable company. Children soon became the main focus of life. The division of home from the workplace resulted in an isolation of women and children. The home in middle-class households represented a haven from the competition of the market place and from the public world. Men would stay in the workplace and women and children were kept ‘confined’ and ‘protected’ in the home.

This soon broadens from the middle-class household to the working class home. This image of the western family soon became the model norm of the western societies, which influenced many people throughout their lives. Female and male children are segregated and classed as different, which has continued up to the present day. From birth they are given different clothes and toys and are subjected to socialisation. Children were even segregated at school, boys may have been sent to a different school than girls and be taught different curricula.

Children now share schooling and have moved closer together in the curricula but in many other ways they are treated differently. Although today boys and girls may study the same curriculum, some subjects are still labelled as being male or female subjects. Increasing anxieties about sexual threat in contemporary society, because of sexual abuse cases, has become increasingly popular; causing boys and girls to be treated differently. Girls are surveyed and controlled more than boys of the same age. Girls and boys are sheltered differently.

Girls are protected from the real dangers of society but also the ones, which are possibly fictional, or of an adult’s exaggeration. Girls in particular are sheltered from the real adult world. The sexualisation of adults’ contact with children means girls are seldom allowed to walk alone, or spend much time on their own. This treatment causes girls today to be segregated from society from the start of their lives. This influences the way they live their life and attitudes they have towards their influencing adult guides.

When children are allowed out ‘to play’, boys seem to be allowed out later than girls or more trust and leniency. Although childhood is seen as psychologically influencing on a persons’ life adolescence is both psychologically and physically changing. Adolescence is a time for psychological adjustments to the physical changes in the child’s body. For young girls and women it is normally related with developments of secondary sexual qualities such as breasts, and body hair. When we become adolescence’s we gain legal responsibilities. At the age of 16 a young woman can give consent to sexual intercourse with a man.

Before this age a young woman will in the eyes of the law be seen as irresponsible and unable to give responsible consent. Also at the age of 16 a young man and woman may get married however although legally responsible to have a sexual relationship and possibly bare children, the young adults must have parental permission. Their responsibilities are too high to be married from their own choice at this age. The legal view on heterosexual relationships seems a reasonably understandable law, compared to the opinions on homosexual relationships.

Homosexual relationships between men are not legal unless both parties are 18, however same sex relationships between two women are legal at any age. It is evident from these figures that young men and women have a different statues in law reflecting different assumptions about masculinity and femininity. Young people become legally responsible for their actions from their age of 10. This makes youth today so much longer than it was many years ago. This extended period in the youth phase causes extensive protection from the parents.

One explanation for this could be the increasing choice by children to stay in education for a longer period of time. The number of young people choosing to go into higher education increases because of more opportunities, larger choices in courses and the range of training schemes increases. It is apparent that young people especially women seem to be spending longer being trained and educated, and then having greater uncertain futures because finding full-time work is increasing remote. This is especially apparent for young people because they are most affected by unemployment.

Young women have come through time from not being educated to spending more time in education than young men. Government reports have stated that young women do considerably better in school than young men due to a stronger ambition to be successful and ability to concentrate their efforts into studying. It is generally stated that adolescence is a period of stressful experience. However an anthropologist Margaret Mead challenged this. She studied adolescent women in eastern Samoa (1943) and found no evidence of role confusion, conflict or revolt.

Suggesting that adolescence was not world-wide and biologically determined but ethnically variable, and that the stresses of this time could be socially determined, and because of confusing status to which, young people find themselves consigned by particular communal forms. It is a wide-ranging protest from adults to complain of adolescent deviant behaviour however this suggests that it is the western societal norms which push adolescents to be seen as irresponsible and problematic to society. Adolescence is a particular distressing time for young women.

Trying to conform to societies views of how to behave and to trying to keep their reputation with friends and partners at the same time makes life very traumatic. The behaviour of teenage women is partly the result of being treated differently from boys through their life. As was stated earlier women are seen as more in need of care and protection. Parents ‘police’ their daughters more strictly than their sons. This then is linked to the ideological definition of ‘appropriate behaviour of women’. Sue Lees (1986) has shown how boys control young women in the public eye through threat of labelling them sexually promiscuous.

It is expected of young men to copulate but for a young women to continue with the same behaviour would result in such labels as ‘slag’ or ‘slut’ and ‘scrubber’ or an ‘easy lay’. This labelling is less to do with the actual sexual action rather than to the extent to which young women’s behaviour deviates from the normal ideas of femininity. For example a female should not be seen using foul language or rough behaviour as they could be classed as a ‘tom boy’. Sexuality is classed in very different ways. Both sexes are concerned with reputation; the basis on which it rests is very distinct.

For boys sexual reputation is enhanced by varied experience boasting to their friends for all the girls they have ‘made’, for a girl reputation is to be guarded. It is to be under threat not merely if she is known to have sex with anyone other than with her steady boyfriend but also if she goes out with several different boys, or dresses in a certain way. To remain a ‘nice’ girl a young woman must suppress any sexual desire, and instead conform to the dream image of romantic love and complete monogamy.

This double standard serves to constrain the public and private lives of young women to ensure conformity based on a model of sexuality, which ultimately takes its form from the ideology of the nuclear family. Feminist sociologists’ arguments showed that post ideas that suggestions of femininity and masculinity classed as natural were actually of a social origin. Young people apparently learn roles. Mc Robbie and Garber stated that young women didn’t ‘rebel in the same way which young men did but instead used the ideal romantic fantasy as a form of escapism.

Sue Lees (1986), Christine Griffin (1985) and Clair Wallace (1987) have looked into the theory of the role that romantic love fantasies have in young women’s lives. They are apparently not deceived by characters lives portrayed in women’s literature, but actually have realistic ideas of married life. It was also believed that young women have tactics of resistance for example ‘tom boys’ or pregnancy, which are not in the ‘nice’ girl stereotype. They state that an important aspect in young girls lives is their status and independence inside and out of the family that could be achieved by them acquiring a job by themselves.

Sharpe (1995) study contrast to an earlier study found that young women interviewed no longer saw marriage and parenthood as their only goal in life. These studies show a change in young women’s views and opinions; however, it causes views of people to think young girls are rebelling against the norms of society because family life is not their first objective in life. The media is one of the most influential aspects to people’s lives. It is used to inform, sell, advise, and help the readers and many other uses. Young women are important customers of media resources.

There are magazines, which particularly target young women and influence their lives. The magazines give advise on romance, hygiene and behaviour according to societies rules at the time. 80% of magazines are articles about fashion and appearance pushing young women into a proposed look. They steer young women to see romance as standard and as an ultimate goal in life to have a ‘normal’ steady monogamous relationship leading to marriage and all as typecasts with a male companion. According to these magazines the main interest of their teenage years is in getting a man’.

The young women become immersed into the ideology of romance and of ‘falling in love’. Adulthood is associated with taking up full status in society, having sexual relationships, getting married, having children, having a full time stable job, and living in an independent household. When we become an adult we associate it with citizenship status -the right to vote, to take loans, or to enter legal contract we are given responsibility and trusted. This legal responsibility is associated with the turning of age to 18. There are many physical body aspects, which are also associated with adulthood. Such as first menstruation, and first sex.

This today is more associated with the teenage years because of younger people having sex earlier and young girls developing into women earlier so the legal opinion of an adult may not be the same as a physical adult. The transition of adolescence to adulthood can be more meaningful for women than young men generally because young women marry earlier, have sex earlier and many other things earlier than men. It is often said than young girls mature earlier than young boys. It is a stressful time for women when the beginning of sexual activity occurs. It is a time of pride and manhood for males while traumatic and cautious for women.

Not to be seen on the one side as ‘frigid’ or a promiscuous ‘slag’ on the other (Cowie and Lees 1985; Halson 1991). Marriage, childbirth and parenthood are also parts of adulthood that are given different meanings from men than women. This seems to be because although attitudes are changing in society today women in the main have the foremost responsibilities and usually end up interrupting their careers to care for children. Today it is increasingly popular for single parent families which again is mostly women taking the responsibilities, the majority of about 90% of single parent families are headed by women.

Baring children is also seen as hindering a women’s working career and leisure life. The process of pregnancy changes a women’s body, and although both men and women’s bodies change in the life course this can be seen as the biggest change a women can experience. Increased hormones and the gradual growth of the baby stretches and changes the women’s normal body shape. This change, during pregnancy and after can affect a woman greatly because of opinions of what a woman should look like. It is looked upon badly if the bulge during pregnancy is on show when in the public eye.

It is a nature event that is seen as part of a women’s’ meaning on earth. However, it cannot be looked upon, only in disgrace. Is it a disgusting view to see a woman pregnant? Or is it disgusting to see a woman out of shape, from societies view of what a woman should look like, as I suspect it could be. Women’s careers are perceived as more intimately tied to their biology and reproductive cycles than are men’s. Men’s bodies are defined by their performance and action in the labour market and public life. Their reproductive functions and their bodies are seldom referred to and are seen as unproblematic.

Women’s body shape and reproductive functions are constantly studied and are sometimes referred to as determining their lives (Ussher 1989). In the media it is women’s bodies that are used to sell their products. A car advert will usually at some point show a young stereotype of a woman draped over their product in order to sell it. It is unusual to see a man or even a larger woman used in the same way. Women’s lives are constantly referred to by their menstruation. They are frequently seen as ‘victims’ of ‘ragging hormones’ either because of ‘pre-menstrual tension’ or because of menopause.

Each case supposedly causes women to ‘suffer’ from temporary indisposition that can sometimes become ‘insanity’! This then could be the reason why it is used for reasons of moodiness, road accidents and even cases of murder. On account of these biological ‘problems’ women’s lives are intervened with medical attention and even seen as a kind of disease. Women can be recommended hormone replacements therapy and hysterectomies as a solution to menopausal problems and are given special diets or hormone treatment for pre-menstrual tension.

Unlike male bodies women’s are somewhat controlled by medical science from the moment of first problems with menstruation or with the need for birth control through to menopausal problems. Some women may never need medical assistance, but most do at some point in their lives. “Imagine what might have happened in a world with different cultural and moral attitudes towards gender and responsibilities for family planning and children. It is not beyond imagination that we would have ended up with a male contraceptive pill, a medical treatment for male menopause and a classification system of multiple sexes (Oudshoor 1994).

One of the most traumatic times in a person’s life is the process of ageing. No person wants to loose his or her looks, shape or mind. For men it is loosing their hair or gaining that ‘beer belly’. For women physical attractiveness is the most important feature and loosing this is a major source of anxiety. Women spend thousands of pounds on creams, potions, dieting, exercise and even plastic surgery. Men today are also increasingly purchasing these types of items but it is generally women that advertising is focused on (Arber and Ginn 1991). It has been questioned what is persona purpose in life?

One of the proposed reasons is to reproduce, to keep the population. Men are seen to do this throughout their lives, so women who have therefore passed the menopause could be seen as having no use anymore for their reproductive functions and therefore are uninterested in sex. Doctors are more likely to recommend hysterectomies to women than men. In medical textbooks women’s ovaries are described as ‘shrivelled’ or ‘senile’ metaphors, which, imply they are ‘useless’, or ‘past it’. Women are classified by their biological position in and throughout their lives. Pre-menstrual’ in their youth, ‘pre-menopausal’ in their thirties, ‘menopausal’ in their forties and ‘post-menopausal’ in their fifties, its as though their reproductive organs control women’s lives. Women who have children find themselves defined in terms of their roles as mothers and carers. On the other hand childless women are seen as frustrated mothers and somehow incomplete. It is as if a woman’s ultimate goal is to bare children. A childless woman is classed as having psychological inadequacies or a lack of feminine qualities.

Today many more women are pursuing careers rather than starting a family, this is seen as selfish whereas men are not exposed to such punishments. It is seen as acceptable for a man to never be a part of a family. Women’s lives are seen as shaped by their biological bodies and the changes these bodies undergo. Men’s lives by contrast are seen as shaped by their achievements. Throughout our lives we are governed by our sex and opinions made by society which label us according to our sex. These labels are started through opinions made from birth, which stay with us until death.

During the nineteenth century, before war broke out new job opportunities began to emerge for women as teachers, shop workers, clerks and secretaries in offices. Even girls from working class backgrounds were able to achieve higher status than that of their parents and began to receive better pay packets.

Women from middleclass backgrounds were gaining better education opportunities and a few won the chance to go into higher education eventually becoming doctors to name but one thing. However education wasn’t improving for the majority of women in lower classes often receiving no education. This left them no options but to go into domestic service or the “sweated industries” such as cotton factories or home dress making. Also between 1839 and 1886 there were a series of laws passed giving married women greater legal rights, however they couldn’t yet vote in general elections. Some people thought that all women should be allowed to vote too as the number of men who could vote was gradually increasing. Others disagreed, yet the debate was not as simple as a case of men versus women.

Early campaigners for the vote were known as suffragists. These were mainly middle class women. Their leader was Mrs Millicent Fawcett. By handing out leaflets they began achieving some success with Liberal Mps and leading Conservative Mps. However this still got them know where.

Then by 1903 Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst started the Women’s Social and Political Union. The “Daily Mail” named this group the “Suffragettes” this got them into the headlines.

The “suffragettes” caused chaos disrupting political meetings and harassed ministers. Often ending up in prison, eventually going on hunger strike.

The above source shows that when many of the men signed up to be part of the Great War, there was no longer sufficient numbers left to continue making munitions and other industrial instruments. It was the women in the munitions factories that came out the worst in the end, after dealing with the harmful TNT their skin began to turn yellow and their hair became ginger. With this they became easily recognised and were given the nickname of “Canaries”. The long-term effects however were much worse than they initially thought; many women were unable to become pregnant. However this job was highly paid and they women didn’t have much other choice, it was also considered an important job and a valid contribution to the war effort.

The source published during the war showed the positive aspects of working women, however it portrayed the women as strong, healthy and capable of doing men’s jobs while they were at war. Overall a positive image; hoping to encourage more women to join the war effort. Then on the other hand it does not show the illnesses that the women suffered and the dangers of working in the factory. As the image shows they were constantly surrounded by the shells of the bombs, which in this image were all, filled with TNT, you can tell this by the fact that the tops are on. They also had to be very careful when moving them as if they dropped one it cause the whole factory and its workers to go up with it.

While the majority of men were leaving home for the war many young women also found themselves leaving home for the first time. These women left to join the land army. As the above source shows women were beginning to take over the men’s jobs that many of the farmers who gave the women board and lodge thought not very lady like. However without the women’s help potatoes would not have been picked, sheep would not have been tended to. Women left for the land army as I thought it was a chance to gain freedom and new experiences. However it was not all that it seemed they were under strict discipline and once they were there they could not get out of it as they signed contracts for either six months or a year.

Overall this source is accurate, as the historian G. Thomas has gathered factual information from the time. Even though the source was recorded many years after the First World War the entire source is based on information of the time.

My daughter went out at 7am to the Maypole Diary Co. shop and after waiting till 10.30am was turned away without any margarine, came home chilled to the bone besides losing education. If we could have a system of rationing, I believe these hardships would be overcome.

“Workers” Dreadnought”

(A weekly newspaper of the East London Federation of Suffragettes,

and edited by Sylvia Pankhurst) 19 January 1918

Not all women had the chance to get good jobs in munitions factories or join the land army. Many had to deal with food shortages, and often as the source tells us queue for hours on end without any food by the end of it. The source gives us a realistic view of how working class women had to deal with life while husbands, sometimes sons were away fighting for the country. The “Workers Dreadnought” was aimed at the working class audience, bringing their suffrage to light. The source gives us just one example of how a young child had to find food as her mother had to work to raise some money that would supply a small amount of food. The source also informs us that many had already thought of rationing yet it was used until a month later, which was February 1918.

Nevertheless, many wealthy upper class people survived on their wealth. They were able to send out their servants to queue for them. Or they could barter on the black market. Through their wealth they were able to obtain any food they wanted.

Many women offered their services to help with the war effort, however both employers and trade unionists were reluctant to see women working in men’s jobs, particularly in munitions factories. However women didn’t take this lying down. As the above source shows they held a huge procession on the 17th of July letting the employers and trade unionists know that they were prepared to work. Within the procession there was a large banner reading “Men of the Empire are Fighting – The Women of the Empire are Working”. This source proves that women are not just good at cooking and cleaning, but determined to contribute.

Nevertheless without the women’s contribution to the war effort, especially in munitions factories Britain would not have won the war.

The above sources tell us of women’s working lives during the war.

These posters show an idealistic view of mothers preparing packages for their beloved. These posters were far from the reality; there wasn’t enough food to go around without sending packages to the battles. Even joining food queues did not determine even a small amount of food. This must have been so disheartening. “Pears’ Soap” was advertised in “The Illustrated London news”. An upper class newspaper that could not have been supportive of the ways in which everyone had begun cutting back.

“Only the Best is good enough” due to the war any soap would have done, the company could not have understood the ways that all classes were suffering. This included the upper class.

The Bishop of Liverpool said the other day that drink was now most deadly amongst women. He could speak of a street in which almost every woman was drinking and demoralised. The Bishop of London………also said quite recently that the East End clergy told him that they had never known such an orgy of drinking among women as during the last 12 months.

‘White Ribbon’

[the monthly newspaper of the

British Women’s Temperance

Association]. December 1915

Women had little free time for any leisure activities as they were either working or if food was short queuing for what they could get. The above source is unreliable about what women were getting up to in the December 1915; this is as ‘ White Ribbon’ concentrates on the big cities like Liverpool and London. It is also written by an anti alcohol association which could be making the circumstances under which they saw these women’s drinking habits worse than they actually were. This source does not cover the country or smaller towns.

Therefore people who read this article would have been reading inaccurate information on women’s leisure time.

With as the source says more than six million men going away to war, women were left with only their salaries to pay for the rent on their homes. Landlords felt that with constant increases in numbers to the cities as this is where the jobs were would cause people to take in lodgers which would help with the rent. However it didn’t work out like this, once the landlords put up the rent women found that they couldn’t make the payments and decided to go on strike. This left the landlords in a worse position than they had been, as they were now receiving no money.

This source shows a realistic view of what women had to deal with while their male relatives fought in the war. It is likely to be an accurate source as G. Thomas is a historian who would have used articles of the time to write this article.

Previous sources tell us about women’s attitudes and domestic lives.

These statistics from a report written after the war show a positive change for women. There is an obvious increase of women in employment in every job except domestic service where there is a decline. However this decline cannot be taken in a negative way, this shows that during the war women found that they were better used in other jobs. These would have also been better paid. This source must have been very positive to the women who had worked to change men’s attitudes to women and their working roles.

Even though this was published twelve years after the war it is still useful. Overall the source is biased as it is from the obituary of Millicent Fawcett. Yet it tells us of how the war acted as a catalyst to women getting the vote. The vote would have eventually arrived in Britain, but not as soon. Through the war politicians realised that women’s voices now had the write to be heard, they then gained the vote for women over eighteen in 1918.

However there were probably other factors apart from the war that would have lead to women gaining the vote.

This shows that women involved in air factories that probably feared losing their jobs as they thought they would no longer be needed, now had a chance to remain in employment. However this time the work was more enjoyable as they did not have the worry of war over their heads.

This source proves that even though many women were at first reluctant to join the war effort. By the time it was over many didn’t want to return to their lives of cooking and cleaning so jobs such as toy making which they not only enjoyed but they were good at proved a positive way to go.

Evaluation

World War One brought about the change in the role and status of women, as before the war as I stated in my introduction women remained in the home while the men went out to work and paid for food and anything that might have been needed in the home.

With the outbreak of war all this began to change, first slowly then as more and more men signed up the role of women quickly changed. For the employers and trade unionists this was hard to take in, they believed that many jobs women were now completing were not suitable. However they had no other option but to employ them. With the men at war women became the sole earners, just as their husbands had done. Except women also had to continue cooking once they had finished working as many had to provide for young families.

Young women also found new freedom in the land army giving them experience that they would not necessarily achieved without the war. Many travelled more than they would have done and began to enjoy jobs that before would have been considered ‘men’s ‘ jobs. Employers soon began to realise that assembly jobs for things such as gramophones were much better suited to women they had more nimble hands and enjoyed the work a lot more than men would have.

The most dramatic change however was women’s political status. Mps soon realised that giving women the vote would say thank you for their contribution to the war. The war speeded up women gaining the vote as pre war there were two main groups who spent time handing out leaflets and making stands in political meetings, trying to persuade the government to give women the vote. Finally the government gave in giving all women the right to vote in 1918.

As far as women’s role and status changed the war could not have helped more. The war allowed women to show their potential in a working environment, at the beginning it could have gone either way but employers gave them a chance and it all worked out for the best as when the men returned they went back to their jobs but women had realised what they were good at and new jobs were now available to them.

Overall The Great War brought about the most substantial change in women’s roles.

The Rose of the World Why do we blame Helen’s beauty for the Trojan War or Eve’s curious nature for Adam’s choice to eat the apple, thus beginning the mortal human civilization? Throughout history men have found it convenient to hold women responsible for their own weaknesses and intolerance. The apathy of anti-feminist and conservative movements showcases the reality of the Stockholm syndrome and medieval serfdom. Men have been the captors and the masters of the women for time in antiquity, but we still see empathy in women.

Henry Kissinger could not have summarized it any better when he said, “Nobody will ever win the Battle of the Sexes. There is too much fraternizing with the enemy. ” Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is neither about the battle of sexes nor is it a feminist manifesto. The literary inferences, socio-political context, portrayal of various female characters, and their influence on the male characters truly depict changes in the social perception of gender roles, resulting conflict, and their outcome for American society.

Along with all the things the men of the Alpha Company carried, they also took on the burden of feelings of love for the women they had left behind. Women are a source of motivation, inspiration, and comfort. Lieutenant Cross finds comfort and getaway from the war in his daydreams about Martha; for Henry Dobbins his girlfriend’s pantyhose are a reminder of her love, which he believes is a life-saving talisman; Norman Bowker can gather courage to talk to Sally Gustafson; and Fossie is madly in love with Mary-Anne to the extent that he arranges to fly her down to Vietnam.

The interpretation of the word love has been romanticized to the extent that it never embodies the unwanted consequent feelings of anger, lust, objectification, jealousy, possessiveness, and insecurity. Jimmy Cross’ love metamorphosizes into lust and jealousy; he is obsessed with Martha’s virginity and begins to scrutinize every single detail, even the shadows, in the photograph. Even though Martha has never confessed about her feeling towards Jimmy Cross, his feelings of jealousy and lust transforms into anger at the death of Ted Lavender.

Fossie’s love transforms into jealousy, possessiveness, and insecurity when he senses that Mary-Anne is drifting away from him. He finds it emasculating that Mary-Anne now prefers to spend more time with the Green Berets than with him and his colleagues. He conquers her by imposing marriage on her, which is evident when Rat Kiley says, Over dinner she kept her eyes down, poking at her food, subdues to the point of silence […. ] Nervously, she’d look across the table at Fossie. She’d wait a moment, as if to receive some sort of clearance, then she’d bow her head and mumble out a vague word or two.

There were no real answers (O’Brien 103). Mary-Anne’s state and Fossie’s forceful proposition justify what Andrea Dworkin says about marriage: “Marriage as an institution developed from rape as a practice. Rape, originally defined as abduction, became marriage by capture. Marriage meant the taking was to extend in time, to be not only use of but also possession of, or ownership. ” One can sense a feeling of victory, sarcasm, and pride in Fossie’s tone when he says, “One thing for sure, though, there won’t be any more ambushes. No more late nights…I’ll put this way-we we’re officially engaged…Well hey, she’ll make a sweet bride […. Combat ready” (O’Brien 103). This further justifies Andrea Dworkin’s claims about marriage, conquest of women, and their subjugation by men. The idea of young soldiers going to war for their country, romanticizing about the love of their life, and coming home victorious to claim their trophies (the women they love), is so ideal and over sentimental. This idea would be classified as the story truth by Tim O’Brien, something everyone would like to hear, but the happening truth that accepts the word love with all its connotations is deemed too negative by the story truth. P. B.

Shelley’s poem “One Word Is Too often Profaned,” deals with Shelley’s resolve not to use the word ‘love’ to express his feelings because it has been used so loosely that it has become too profane to express the feeling for love. One word is too often profaned For me to profane it; One feeling too falsely disdained For thee to disdain it; I can give not what men call love; But wilt thou accept not. The love stories of Jimmy Cross, Mark Fossie, and Henry Dobbins end in either rejection or despair. These stories are more about cathartic redemption and courage rather than failure and pain. Jimmy Cross is transformed into a utiful and responsible leader after detaching himself from Martha. The author assumes an introspective tone as he discloses Lieutenant Cross’ transformation in the following excerpt: There was the new hardness in his stomach. He loved her but he hated her…No more fantasies, he told himself. He would accept the blame for what had happened to Ted Lavender. He would be a man about it. He would look them in the eyes, keeping his chin level, and he would issue the new SOPs in a calm, impersonal tone of voice, a lieutenant’s voice, leaving no room for argument and discussion” (O’Brien 24-25).

Henry Dobbins unlike Fossie, is able to keep himself together after his girlfriend leaves him, and now those stockings around his neck symbolize his resolve to withstand the pain of desertion and turn it into the strength to fight and stay alive in the war. Dobbin’s commendable light-heartedness after reading his girlfriend’s break-up letter is evident when he says. “No sweat. The magic doesn’t go away,” as he wraps his neck with the stockings (O’Brien 118). Mark Fossie is in absolute misery after Mary-Anne rejects him, to the extent that he does not talk or eat for days and gives up on his own existence.

He is in a worse condition than Cross and Dobbins, as he feels responsible for the rebellious transformation of Mary-Anne, thus bringing rejection upon himself. From the male perspective, Fossie would label Mary-Anne’s transformation as rebellious, which he tries to quell down by the proposition of marriage and engagement. But from a female perspective her transformation would be labeled as liberating. The Green Berets symbolize the renaissance men and social charters of the ‘twenty first’ century who treat women as equals.

In contrast, Mary-Anne symbolizes and foreshadows the emergence of the assertive women who are impervious to gender bias, and are not afraid to leave the shelter of men for achieving their own goals. Finally, Mark Fossie symbolizes male chauvinism that is in decline, and this suggests that the institution of marriage cannot be used as an instrument to confine women for their convenience. The female characters in The Things They Carried can be classified into three theme-based groups. The first group consisting of Martha and Sally Gustafson characterizes the conventional love interests of the soldiers.

Martha is inspirational for Jimmy Cross, but she never knows that she serves such a purpose in Jimmy’s life. She writes him letters, and gives him pictures, and sends him a pebble for a good luck, but never intends to be Jimmy’s romantic interest or his girl waiting at home for him. By the time of Ted Lavender’s death Jimmy knows that none of her letters has a romantic idea to them and that the pebble is nothing more than a good luck charm. She never mentions about the war in her letters to Jimmy. In a way, Martha’s character shows lack of empathy towards Jimmy, who is amidst a war.

It is explained by the narrator’s reasoning of Cross’ feelings as he states, “In those burned letter Martha never mentioned the war, except to say, Jimmy take care of yourself. She wasn’t involved. She signed the letters Love, but it wasn’t love, and all the fine lies and technicalities did not matter” (O’Brien 24). Women like Martha feel sympathetic towards Jimmy, but they cannot understand what the soldiers are going through. This is could be attributed to the reason that conventionally women do not serve a major in wars except serving as medical nurses.

Norman Bowker assumes that Sally would not be interested in hearing stories about Vietnam given her dislike of profanity. The profanity, blood, and gore in Rat Kiley’s letter to Curt Lemon’s sister would have had the same effect. She could not have been able to empathize with Rat Kiley, and help him find solace by replying to his letter. The woman, who retorts to the story of the baby buffalo being tortured by Rat Kiley with disgust and shame, fails to understand the nature of war and its effect on people.

All these women conform to the conventional notions and reservations regarding the roles of women in society, especially that women cannot serve in combat. The second group of female characters consists of only Mary-Anne. She characterizes the liberated and confident pool of 21st century modern women. Mary-Anne’s appearance resembles the first group of female characters: “A tall, big-boned blonde. At best, Rat said, she was seventeen years old, fresh out of Cleveland Heights Senior High. She had long white legs and blue eyes and a complexion like strawberry ice cream. Very friendly, too. (O’Brien 93). However, she is transformed after coming Vietnam into a self-aware, confident, and independent woman and this gives a sense of competition to other men. This is well depicted when Fossie and Rat Kiley are left without words when they meet Mary-Anne after six days, as she tells them, You’re in a place […] where you don’t belong…. You just don’t know,[…] You hide in this little fortress, behind wire and sandbags, and you don’t know what it’s all about…I get scared sometimes—lots of times—but it’s not bad. You know? I feel close to myself. When I’m out there at night, I eel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it’s like I’m full of electricity and I’m glowing in the dark—I’m on fire almost—I’m burning away into nothing—but it doesn’t matter because I know exactly who I am. You can’t feel like that anywhere else (O’Brien 111). This passage captures the real essence of Mary-Anne’s transformation, distinguishes her from other female characters, and shows that she has more virility than even the men in the war. Hereby, O’Brien disapproves the notion that women are better suited for non-combat roles in war.

Mary-Anne unlike the female characters of Martha, Sally Gustafson, and Curt Lemon’s sister who are either unaware or turn a blind eye towards the war, finds it very self-satisfying. “Sometimes I want to eat this place. Vietnam. I want to swallow the whole country—the dirt, the death—I just want to eat it and have it there inside me. That’s how I feel. It’s like . . . this appetite,” O’Brien’s choice of words in this excerpt symbolizes that for Mary-Anne Vietnam has a stabilizing effect, and the way she wants to calm her inner chaos is by consuming (experiencing) everything that Vietnam has to offer.

A contrasting character to Mary-Anne in this aspect is Rat Kiley, as he shoots his own foot in order to escape combat in Vietnam. Even the Green Berets, who are considered the most virile and badass soldiers in Vietnam are humbled by Mary-Anne’s courage: “There were times, apparently, when she took crazy, seath-wish chances-things that even the Greenies balked at” (O’Brien 115). Mary-Anne reminds me of another woman from the books of history who shares the same courageous traits as her, and led the men and a whole nation to victory; that is Joan D’Arc.

Hereby, it is not surprising that liberty and the nationhood of France are personified as woman, the Statue of Liberty and Marianne, respectively. The third and the last group of women consist of Linda; she signifies how pure love can inspire and transform a person’s life. The relationship between Tim and Linda is the most optimistic one amongst all the relationships. Irrespective of his age at the time of his short-lived childhood romance with Linda, the relationship has a long lasting effect on him.

Even though they did not get to spend a great deal of time together O’Brien dreams imaginary meetings with Linda in his sleep that rekindle and keep his feelings alive. The real moments shared with Linda and her memories are kept alive by his subconscious mind as it creates the imaginative dreams about her, which alleviate the pain of her death and the fact that she is no more around him. This idea is well conveyed in the last chapter when O’Brien says, I’m forty-three years old, and a writer now, still dreaming Linda alive in exactly the same way.

She’s not the embodied Linda; she’s mostly made up, with a new identity and a new name, like the man who never was. Her real name doesn’t matter. She was nine years old. I loved her and then she died. And yet right here, in the spell of memory and imagination, I can still see her as if through ice, as if I’m gazing into some other world, a place where there are no brain tumors and no funeral homes, where there are no bodies at all (O’Brien 245). Tim O’Brien writes about his experiences in Vietnam in order to keep those memories alive and preserve them in his stories.

He discovers that storytelling has a healing effect on him, when he mentions, “Yet when I received Norman Bowker’s letter, it occurred to me that the act of writing had led me through a swirl of memories that might otherwise have ended in paralysis or worse” (O’Brien 158). He ends the book with an exemplifying statement about storytelling, by saying, “I realize it as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story” (O’Brien 246). The different and distinct roles of women in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried portray the conflict of expectations, individualism, and freedom between men and women.

It is difficult to label The Things They Carried as a work on Vietnam War or plainly a collection of love stories. But it is certain that the book captures the changes and conflicts in the nature of relationship between men and women in terms of boundaries, space, independence and individualism. I can relate to the male characters of The Things they Carried, as like them I too have experienced my feelings of love transform into jealousy, possessiveness, and insecurity, leading to similar changes and conflicts.

Being left desolate and in despair helped me to transform the failure into strength to carry on and become a better person. This strength has instilled in me empathy, which has enabled me to understand my female counterparts better and respect them even more. Work Cited O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: a Work of Fiction. New York: Broadway, 1998. Print. Shelly, Percy B. One Word Is Too Often Profaned by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The Literature Network: Online Classic Literature, Poems, and Quotes. Essays ; Summaries. Web. 13 May 2011. ;http://www. online-literature. com/shelley_percy/671/;.

I. Images in the media are having a negative impact on female body image and has given society a blurred meaning as to “beautiful” A. Models 1. Models give an unrealistic view of the ideal woman; they give the idea that you cannot be beautiful unless you are thin. 2. “The average model is taller and weighs 23 per cent, or almost a quarter, less than the average woman who is 5’4″ and weighs 148 lbs. ” (Canadian Women’s Health) 3. Model’s bodies have been getting thinner by the years, and as the bodys keep slimming down women and girls in society are becoming more unhappy with their selves. B. Economic goals . “There are no official statistics for spending on diet products, but estimates vary from $40bn to $100bn in the US alone – more than the combined value of the government’s budget for health, education and welfare. ” (Cummings) 2. By the media presenting an almost impossible ideal to get and maintain, the cosmetic and diet industry becomes profitable. 3. Ads are directed mostly to younger girls purposely. C. Health issues 1. Exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls. . The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control (bulimia, anorexia, excess exercising, laxatives, skipping meals. ) 3. This has even affected younger girls, as low as 5-6 years old. 4. Nearly half of all preadolescent girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting. (Tiggeman) 5.

Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions, for example, found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition. II. Although the damage has been well done, by eliminating the fake women pictures and providing the society with a healthier view of themselves, women’s views about themselves would be a lot healthier and they would feel uch happier. A. Although these campaigns have just started with their healthy ideas, many companies have tried to help with this problem and have received much positive feedback. 1. In 2004, Dove launched the very successful Campaign for Real Beauty which features real women, not models, advertising Dove’s firming cream. (Dove) 2. Dove has also recently launched a new campaign, 3. In September 2006, a news and media furor erupted when Spain banned overly thin models from its fashion runways. 4.

Dove produced this video in response to the negative comments of the changes of the company’s models called Evolution which shows the transformation from a regular women to a model and how unrealistic perceptions of beauty are. 5. In 2010, Dove® set out a bold new vision for the brand with the Dove® Movement for Self-Esteem. ( Dove) III. Not everyone agrees, however, that this is something wrong. A. The people that prosper from these ideas say 1. Women need to have more self control. a. It’s not like women can just avoid these ads, they are everywhere and have come to dominate our society.

Depression and low self-esteem is not something that women want to have. Not everyone is born the same. 2. Obesity is a problem, thinner is healthier. a. Thinner can be healthier because obesity has become a growing issue but the media has taken it to their advantage. b. The thinness shown in magazines and models is not healthy, the models are always underweight which leads to fainting and serious health conditions including malnutrition. Works Cited “Beauty and Body Image in Media. ” Media Awareness Network. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Nov 2011. <http://www. edia-awareness. ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty. cfm>. Cummings, Laura. “The diet business: Banking on Failure. ” BBC news. N. p. , 05/02/2003. Web. 20 Nov 2011. <http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/business/2725943. stm>. “Body Image and the Media. ” Canadian’s Women’s Health Network. N. p. , 2005. Web. 20 Nov 2011. <http://www. cwhn. ca/node/40776>. “The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. ” Dove. Dove, n. d. Web. 20 Nov 2011. <http://www. dove. us/Social-Mission/campaign-for-real-beauty. asp&xgt;>.