Abstract The paper examines how the binary relationship between males and females has been constructed and also how that construction has specific and demonstrable effects on gender equity for ordinary people, specifically in the workplace. The paper discusses deconstruction, traditional feminism and binary construction of gender.
From the Paper "The binary conception of gender is well understood by just about everyone, even if only on an unconscious and implicit level. Academics of varying disciplines routinely take the matter much farther than the general population, but nevertheless binary male/female is a well-known aspect of everyday life permeating throughout the all parts of life. The purpose of this brief essay is not only to examine how this binary relationship has been constructed (and hence understood by academics) but also how that construction has specific and demonstrable effects on gender equity for ordinary people, specifically in the workplace."
Abstract The following paper analyzes the process of adding binary numbers by making reference to an addition algorithm as an example of this process. Background information to binaries is included.
From the paper:
"The binary number system was based on the decimal system, but uses only two digits, 1 and 0, instead of the 10 digits used by the decimal system. The system was developed for computer systems because they are more economical and precise when writing code. All digital computers use binary as their primary code. Each binary digit represents either "on" or "off" to the computer."
Abstract This paper examines the restrictive binary gender system in light of Virginia Woolf's novel, "Orlando," with insight from Kate Bornstein's "Gender Outlaw" and Leslie Feinberg's "Transgender Warriors". The paper shows that Virginia Woolf's character, Orlando, on becoming a woman, maintains the same personality and memories that she had as a man. Orlando's gender identity, then, is somewhere between man and woman, but she must choose to present herself as either a man or a woman when she interacts with society. The paper shows that Orlando, and countless less-visible individuals in the same situation, must tailor gender expression to the closest acceptable model in the binary gender system.
From the Paper "In a culture that hinges so critically on clearly defined gender roles, it seems significant that Orlando was accepted back into her life and the English culture on her return. At her estate, which she left as a man years ago, "No one showed an instant's suspicion that Orlando was not the Orlando they had known." Even that evening after meeting Orlando as a woman, Mrs. Grimsditch, a housekeeper, mentioned that "for what with the towels wanting mending and the curtains... being moth-eaten round the fringes, it was time they had a Mistress among them." It is in this comment that the frame of mind of the Englishman and Englishwoman becomes clear: While Orlando may have been a man, that does not matter, so long as Orlando fully assumes her role as a woman. For her to be accepted back into English society, she must function as a woman, for she looks like one. If she were to look like a man, then she must function as one. Orlando wishes to be part of society (as she always has wished), but her nature is at odds with the way society now expects her to behave."
Abstract The paper deals with the question of whether environment or nature defines sex and explains that it is impossible to know. The paper discusses that certainly there is compelling evidence against either of these factors being totally responsible for gender. Gender is something that a person feels--it is not defined by how a person appears. The paper emphasizes how even then, a person only ascribed themselves an emotional gender based on traditional assumptions about the binary gender. The paper concludes that with the abolition of these traditional assumptions, gender, in a way, has become obsolete.
Abstract This paper discusses how traditional assumptions about sexuality are rooted in the rigid concept of the gender binary. This gender binary generates and sustains an iniquitous power imbalance between the two genders. The paper explains how the gender binary, sexuality and power are so interwoven that it is hard to imagine one without the other - contrary to the general assumption that sexuality is assigned by biology. However, the paper notes that it is not a chicken-and-egg situation, for it is possible to ascertain which came first.
An essay showing the binary structure Nathaniel Hawthorne created in his work "The House of Seven Gables" and what he is trying to say with this literary style.
Abstract This essay examines the binary opposition evident in the characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, "The House of the Seven Gables". The paper explains that Hawthorn'es message, that posterity would benefit more from a strong set of plebeian values and ideals than from patrician inherited gold, was conveyed through his structured use of binary opposition in his characters.
From the Paper "With the Revolutionary War only sixty-eight years removed, aristocratic thinking is being challenged by the new democratic mind-set. During this turbulent, yet exciting, growth spurt in American history, Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes The House of the Seven Gables (1851). His masterful use of binary characters subtlety argues for the wholesomeness of plebeian democratic values rather than keeping the patrician aristocratic power structure. Hawthorne creates several characters that are in binary opposition to one another. Among other themes, these characters represent the theme of the rise of the plebeian over the ashes of the patrician."
Abstract This essay outlines the experience of cross gendered people in both India and the West and discusses liminal aspects of cross gendered experience. The paper begins with a history of the separation of "gender" and "sex", which occurred in the latter half of the twentieth century. The use of the term "gender" as a reference for the social aspects of sex identity first occurred in the context of clinical research on intersexuality (hermaphroditism) in the 1950?s. The paper then explores the issues of transgender and cross-gender in today's times, specifically focussing on India as compared to the West. The paper explains that sex and gender are currently being redefined by feminist scholars with challenges to the 'universal' sex/gender binary through cross-cultural analysis.
From the Paper "One of the most dynamic and relevant areas in anthropology today is the field of sex and gender in anthropology, with feminist scholars redefining Western, and anthropological, sex/gender "norms" through cross-cultural analysis. "The possibility of having more than two genders was opened up by divorcing gender from sexual morphology and by associating gender rather, indeed primarily, with social role and labour tasks" (Ramet 1996: 2). While concepts of universal, male:female, sexual binaries are being called into question, cross-cultural evidence and anthropological theories are being employed in entirely new ways."
Abstract Discusses conceptual binary of culture and nature in the three plays: Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Eastward Ho" by George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Martson.
From the Paper "The purpose of this brief report is to examine three plays - Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as Eastward Ho by George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston - ..."
Abstract This paper presents an analysis of how the valuation of beauty is a social construction, reinforced by the social institutions of the dominant ethnicity in society that typically "marginalizes" other groups. The paper focuses on African Americans.
From the Paper "In the video series Race The Power of Illusion we are provided with DNA evidence that questions the very core of our assumptions about race. Race remains a fundamental concept in society ..."
Abstract This paper discusses how in his poetry and prose, the Victorian essayist and author Matthew Arnold frequently makes use of binaries, or the classical rhetorical style of constructing a series of two contrasting or opposing ideas, to illustrate the speaker's main point. The paper then reviews Arnold's essay on modern religion, which is based upon the contrasts of Hebraism and Hellenism.
From the Paper "The idea that Judaism is rigidly tied to the adherence to the law, sadly, can also be implicitly, if not explicitly connected to the Hebraic refusal to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. Not only does Arnold's analysis of the Hebraic impulse towards the truth sound reductive regarding Jewish culture but Stephen Prickett suggests that by creating such a binary opposition of the Hebraic and the Hellenic, Arnold attempts to filter out what he disliked in the Christian religion by creating the false binary of Hebraism, even while both the Greek and Hebraic ancient cultures were considerably more complex than Arnold's reading: "At the heart of Matthew Arnold's writings, whether literary, sociological, historical, or biblical, was the attempt to create an enlightened and forward-looking religion. For him this meant a Christianity that was 'scientific,' 'non-Semitic,' Indo-European, and Aryan in quality," that is, in Arnold's own words, containing "more of Plato and Socrates than Joshua and David." (Pickett, 2001; Arnold 1869)"
Abstract This paper explains how female athletes face tremendous obstacles and prejudice because by definition they are in opposition to the twin pillars of our patriarchal society: the gender binary system, and compulsory heterosexuality. The paper shows that many athletes and athletic organizations spend a great deal of energy on countering suspicions that women athletes are not "natural," "real," heterosexual, feminine women. The writer suggests that women stop wasting their energy on counteracting societal prejudices, and concentrate on being the best athletes they can be. The paper concludes that society has to change, and acknowledge and affirm the new ways in which 21st century women are choosing to express themselves. The writer believes that in this way, women's sports will some day command the same respect and money as men's sports do.
From the Paper "Our society is rigidly structured on the basis of a gender binary system, which stipulates and prescribes that there must be two - and only two -genders, and moreover that these two genders are the opposites of one another. This system commonly posits the male as the norm, and the female as merely the "other," or simply the opposite of the norm. Within this system, certain attributes are regarded as quintessentially masculine, and others as feminine. Deviation from this is not well tolerated by mainstream society, possibly because it threatens the patriarchal status quo."
Tags: female, athletes, male, athletic, feminine, masculine, society
Abstract This paper discusses the humanist constructions of subjectivity and otherness and how and why those are considered to be problematic by postmodern theorists. The paper defines the "Self" as a free-consciousness and a pre-existing essence and the "Other" as a completely separate entity, which is not only considered to be incompatible with the "Self", but also inferior. In addition to the binary oppositions that are constructed by humanism, the paper also discusses deconstruction of Western subjectivity in terms of science, history, literature, arts and architecture and philosophy and religion.
From the Paper "Construction of Western subjectivity in humanism takes place in the philosophical and religious sphere by putting the human in the centre of universe and the creation. Hu'man', the ideal form of which lies in the Western Self, is considered as the ultimate achievement of the universe, the master of the universe, as the essence of the existence with its human powers such as reasoning as Descartes states with its famous 'Cogito ergo sum' (Tyson 1999, 249). Postmodern theorists reject such mastership and being the centre of the universe and deconstructs humanist constructions of the Western Self in terms of philosophy and religion."
Abstract This paper is an in-depth review of the cultural/social binaries in Ang Lee's 1994 "Eat Drink Man Woman." The paper discusses how these binaries allow the characters to show their complexity as they face the demands of conflicting expectations. The paper also dissects the characterization and development of the movie's three female leads. The paper concludes with the author's assessment that Ang Lee successfully subverts the patriarchal binary schemes of these women's societies.
From the Paper "Ang Lee's 1994 film Eat Drink Man Woman is a mature and empowering cinematic, comedic exploration of the lives and development of a splintering family in contemporary Taiwan. The film begins by setting up a series of stereotypes, drawn from the usual constructions of the Asian household, as well as woman's perceived role in modern society generally. The film is redeemed from simple Hollywood-style re-presentation of the standard tropes by subverting these throughout the film. This subversion itself, however, is becoming cliche in movies today, and the womyn who defy the odds to overthrow the oppressors (see GI Jane, Thelma and Louise, and their ilk) define and limit women unfairly. Lee, however, avoids the temptation of excess, and his characters make choices not because they are self-consciously trying to protest a male dominated world, but because they believe what they are doing is best for them. Their psychology meshes superbly with their development, leaving us satisfied that the characters have become stronger woman because of their own actions vis-a-vis their context, not because of the contrived agenda of the director."
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that today's society is based on a gender binary that requires men and women to be opposites. Men are expected to be active and aggressive; women are expected to be inactive and passive. The writer discusses that women in sports directly challenge this gender binary - they are not passive, but rather the opposite of passive. The writer maintains that women in sports are sometimes subjected to the abuse and discrimination that all gender outlaws in our society attract. The writer points out that this issue is particularly marked in Canadian women's hockey. The women's team is far more successful than the men's team and yet most people don't even know it exists. The writer discusses that women playing hockey detract from the aggressive male image associated with male hockey, while at the same time challenging every tenet of the gender binary. The writer concludes that teenagers should be taught parenting skills of which an important part should be examining and unlearning the sexism they have already learned from society.
Outline:
The Issue
Sources from the Internet
Explanation for the Issue and Plan of Action
From the Paper "Thus, as soon as a woman is strong and brave, she is suddenly a suspect! No wonder no one pays any attention to Canada's women hockey players!
"What is the solution to this? Clearly, there has to be an education program to combat the enduring belief in biological essentialism. Children need to be taught from a very young age that all people are capable of all attributes. They need to understand that the various human qualities are a virtual smorgasbord, from which they can freely choose, regardless of their gender. They need to be exposed to role models of adults who transcend the usual norms."
Abstract This paper discusses Katherine Mansfield's "Miss Brill", a story of an elderly woman who spends her Sunday afternoon visiting a seaside park. The paper looks at how, by using structuralist technique for criticism, Mansfield questions the discrepancy between the character's inner nature and outward appearance through several key binary oppositions: loneliness/companionship, isolation/inclusion, youth/old age, and reality/illusion. Of these binaries--loneliness/companionship and reality/illusion--form the crux of the story, and being the all-encompassing binaries and overarching themes. The paper also examines how, by using the third-person limited omniscient point of view, Mansfield successfully shows that old Miss Brill tries to avoid loneliness by making up illusions that will free herself from reality, but eventually ends up having to face the reality again.
From the Paper "Initially, "Miss Brill" begins with a great day with the blue sky "powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publique" (Mansfield 464). Miss Brill picks out her fur, so she can wear it to the park. After she arrives at the park, the band is playing. She sits down at her "special" seat next to an old man and woman. Miss Brill always looks forward to hear other people's conversation. An Englishman and his wife also sit next to her on the other side. Miss Brill wants to "shake" her because she doesn't seem to appreciate anything her husband does for her. Miss Brill turns her attention to some other people, who sit "still as statues" (Mansfield 465). She loves to be an observer--sitting by herself and watching other people's behavior. "
