In Class Essay 1 PDF

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Prof Lehman In class essay 1...

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Gender roles have always been an issue in society. Currently, women are breaking through the gender norms and are not letting society determine how they should express themselves. These gender roles limit what women can do and scrutinize them if their behavior falls outside the norm. These gender roles are outdated and leads to gender inequality and negative stereotypes. However, it also leads to female empowerment. Three characters in Bambara’s short stories that can be role models of female empowerment are Miss Hazel, Hazel and the narrator of “The Hammer Man”. All three of these women participate in actions that empower themselves. They are exemplary and admirable for women of all ages. Miss Hazel, Hazel and the narrator of “The Hammer Man” are all perfect examples of female empowerment roles models. Bambara’s short stories were written before present day. All of the stories take place in a time period that is much different than the current one that we are living through today. In the time that each story was taking place, it was the norm to have gender roles. If women broke out of these gender roles they were reprimanded and almost forced to behave in the “proper” manner. Female empowerment was something that was not as prominent then as it is today, so it was shocking that these three characters carried themselves in such a manner. “My Man Bovanne” is about a middle-aged black woman who befriends an older blind man at a party. Her kids scold her about dancing so close to him, as well as the clothes she has on and her behavior. They tell her it’s not appropriate for a woman of her age to be wearing such exposing clothing and drinking so much, on top of pressing up against a man in public. Miss Hazel can be seen as a role model because instead of listening to her children disrespect her and do as they say, she left the party with Bovanne. She was not going to let others, even if they are her own children, criticize her choice of clothing and lifestyle. She was going to live her life her own way, and not follow rules that society was trying to force on her. She broke away from gender roles, even if it did make her an outsider in her own family. This is a good lesson to women; they should always stand their ground against gender roles, no matter the consequences. “Raymond’s Run” is about a young girl named Hazel who partakes in more masculine activities than feminine ones. Her own mother told her that she wished she acted more like a girl. Her mother is trying to enforce gender roles on her by insinuating that running is more of an activity a boy would do, while girls would participate in pageants. Hazel can be seen as a role model because she takes everything her mother, and others, say with a grain of salt. She does not care that people feel like she should behave girlier, she likes what she likes and she refuses to change just to please someone else. This is also a good lesson for women because it shows them that they do not need to conform to gender roles. It is okay to like something that is not seen as normal. In fact, nothing is abnormal. Any activity can be done by both men and women. Activities should not be categorized by gender, which is why Hazel sees it as her mother speaking nonsense when she tells her to participate in girlier things. “The Hammer Man” has a main character that was unnamed. This story focuses on a young girl who plays rough with boys and partakes in the same activities the boys in the neighborhood do. Her mother had to coaxed her into joining the center where the girls had to wear skirts and participate in activities like sewing. She wanted the narrator to stop behaving like a young boy and start doing things young ladies should be doing. Although the narrator did join the center, she still continued her habits. She is a role model for female empowerment because she, just like Hazel, did not conform to the gender roles. Even after literally being forced into something that she was not willing to do, she didn’t change her behaviors to benefit others.

When women read stories like these, they are going to understand that they do not have to do something they are uncomfortable with. Their personalities are their own. They like certain things and behave certain ways because that is what makes them unique. Conforming to gender roles will make each person uniform, and one of the most interesting things about humans is our ability to be different. Not everyone needs to be the same, and no one needs to follow rules that disrupt who they truly are. It is unfair and discriminatory. The three characters in Bambara’s short stories that can be role models of female empowerment are Miss Hazel, Hazel and the narrator of “The Hammer Man” because they break out of the gender norms others are trying to box them into. If women keep letting society determine their personalities and behaviors, then they will lose control of their own self. Everyone is entitled to their own beings, and no one has the authority to alter who they are or their actions....