SEX AND GENDER: Which is more Dominating?
Two themes that should be explored are sex and gender because of the stark differences drawn between men and women when it comes to sex. The male is almost always the dominant figure, while the woman is left either degraded or no longer useful to the man after one or several sexual encounters. In many cases, women are considered inferior to men and women’s sexual worth is exploited until seemingly used up. She is often cast aside in most instances, no longer able to satisfy a man’s insatiable appetite for carnal lust or demand for fleshly gratification. The lines drawn between men and women concerning sex have led to a culture that is numb to the commonplace misrepresentation of women as objects of lust and a means of receiving sexual fulfillment. These two topics can further be investigated in William Butler Yeats’ poem, Leda and the Swan, Zora Neale Hurston’s short story, Sweat, and Laura Sessions Stepp’s article, Nothing to Wear: From the Classroom to the Mall, Girl’s Fashions are Long on Skin, Short on Modesty.
Although sexual encounters should be the products of desires involving two consenting adults, often times the situation is more complex. Men love to use women’s beauty and bodies as a scapegoat for their sexual transgressions and claim that women attempt to “trap” them using their bodies. However, they refuse to view women in the same light as men if these females are ever promiscuous. There is a stigma attached to both sexes for hosting several sexual partners, but the connotation is more negative toward women than men. Generally, men applaud one another for “conquering” as many women sexually as possible, but if the same can be spoken of a female, she is looked down upon with disgust and lack of respect. Should the stigma not be the same for all who engage in numerous sexual relationships without placing negative emphasis on one gender over another? The aforementioned poem and short story highlight some of these stereotypes and certain aspects of both gender roles in relation to sex.
In William Butler Yeats’ poem, Leda and the Swan, the author describes the sexual scene of Leda, Tyndareus’ wife, and the most powerful Greek Mythological god, Zeus. Leda is portrayed as a wife who, when presented with the opportunity, does not “hesitate to exchange her royal husband for a god: Zeus, even when he approached her in the shape of a swan.” This depiction of female sexuality is that of eager participation in which the male figure, the swan, is seemingly forceful while receiving her offering. The swan is portrayed as superior in strength to Leda as she is caught in “in a sudden blow…her nape in his bill,” while “he holds her helpless breast upon his breast” and she is “mastered by the brute blood of the air.” This illustration projects the male figure, although not human, as the dominating character in the encounter and the female placidly accepts his advances and her circumstances. Then, at the end of the poem, the passion described earlier is abruptly abandoned as the encounter ends when “the indifferent beak” “[lets] her drop.” All of the intense emotion that saturates the rest of the poem is quickly forgotten with this one line; the lovers no longer even resemble lovers but instead actors in a chance encounter that involved unifying their two bodies lustfully for a few moments. Yeats’ poem leaves his audience wondering whether Leda was “indifferent” to this experience as Zeus was or if she may have harboured some passionate feelings for him following the intertwining of their bodies. One is left wondering if her thoughts and feelings even matter (http://d-sites.net/english/yeats.htm).
On the other hand, Zora Neale Hurston’s short story, Sweat, portrays a situation in which gender roles in relation to sex are played out under this same skewed definition of male dominance. This story describes the events of a romantic love triangle, in which marital infidelity is punished austerely in Hurston’s world. In this short story, Delia’s husband Sykes was once kind and loving towards her until he had conquered her with marriage. After successfully possessing her as wife, he began to physically abuse her and became openly adulterous with other women. He criticized her small frame that attracted him to her before marriage and talked down to her with a tone of utter loathing. He would say things to her like, “Ah don’t want yuh. Look at yuh stringey ole neck!” And sometimes tell her she looked “jes’ lak de devvul’s dollbaby” to him (Anderson 410-411). He spoke to her out of condescension and with malice and she took it for as long as he lived because he was her husband. Other local men were aware of Sykes’ hateful attitude towards Delia and defended her because they knew he was not “wuth de shot an’ powder hit would tek tuh kill ‘em” (Anderson 407). They saw how diligently she worked to earn her wages, rain or shine, always consistent in her laundry business only for her husband to spend her wages on other women.
Sweat reflects the ways men are willing to chase women and flatter them until they have gotten them in their clutches, sealing the deal. Hurston’s “difficulty in marriages” contributed to its incorporation in this story. She uses her personal marital experiences “replete with infidelity and hatred” to speak out on behalf of her characters because, despite “hardships in her own marriages,” she saw it as an “important institution capable of providing possibilities in life (Uppling). With a contract such as marriage, men find excuses to complain about a woman’s looks, her cooking, and all other affectionate deeds she does for his love and liking. Men appear to lose interest in a woman once there is no longer a threat of losing her and thus no thrill of chase. This is what happens to Delia’s and Sykes’ marriage; it breaks down once he knows she is legally bound to him, he uses this assurance to go out and have extramarital affairs. What kind of message does this send to young women, except that men are cheaters and women are longsuffering? In this case, Delia is eventually repaid for suffering through Sykes’ cheating ways, but that may not happen in the less-than-perfect real world.
Contrasting with today’s more modern world, Laura Sessions Stepp infiltrates and exposes the lives of teenage girls and their infatuation with sexy fashions. She describes their universe as the “world of naked fashion” across age groups ranging from high school down to as young as elementary students. “Skimpy dress” is extremely “widespread” and many parents blame sexy pop music icons such as Britney Spears (Anderson 621). Stepp feels that there is “something rotten in girl culture,” because girls of younger and younger ages are allowing themselves to be objectified by the opposite sex solely on the basis of their physical attributes. They are no longer looking to be viewed as intellectual equals with men, but are allowing this culture to tell them “that their bodies, not their brains, are the means to power and success” (Stepp). Sexual exploitation is now so common that feminists are feeling that their efforts were all in vain to gain leverage for women on the basis of merit instead of gender-based characteristics. Young girls are buying into the lie that “hot girls send a message” that could earn them respect as individuals because there is not integrity to be found in provocative dress. If the issue comes up concerning the impact their sexy style of dress has on male peers, the girls want to know why “can’t he learn to control himself?” These girls are using sex to get attention in a society where “sex is so much more pervasive in society than it used to be” (Anderson 623). No wonder these “pubescent girls” want so “desperately to grow up” and are willing to do “whatever it takes to snag a man” (Stepp).
Although all three works of literature explore different aspects of a specific gender dominating sexual influence, they can all be reconciled. Yeats’ poem explores the passion during a rendezvous of infidelity that ends in indifference, but just as Zeus lost interest in Leda after intercourse, so does Sykes similarly lose interest in Delia after marriage and multiple sexual encounters under the veil of marriage. The only difference here is the institution of marriage being betrayed in one situation and undermined in the other. Laura Sessions Stepp’s short story takes the underlying principles in the previous two literature works and places them within the context of these modern times. Girl that dress “hot” now only attract male attention for a moment, but if allowed to act on their urges, these young men are just as likely to quickly lose interest as the male characters of Zeus and Sykes. However, Zeus and Sykes’ actions cannot be projected onto all men, but they do provide exemplary support for the issues involving male and females concerning sex.
All sexual problems that women face cannot be blamed solely on men, but they can be placed on the shoulders of society and the image constantly portrayed by the “increasingly savage marketing industry that sells fashion and beauty to girls with the notion that sexiness equals independence” (Stepp). Male dominance is not a new occurrence, but it has been masked quite effectively and now seems that women are subjecting themselves to play the roles of sexual inferiority. The question is who are the top marketing executives; are they more likely to be male or female? Although many advances have been made for women, the world is still grossly male dominated and reflects male attitudes and tastes. Women have to become more aware of this fact and strive as individuals first to set themselves apart from the stereotypes before coming together collectively to fight the ideas that sex outweighs intellectual merit capabilities for women wishing to get ahead professionally.
Works Cited
http://d-sites.net/english/yeats.htm