=======
The Spark Notes summary of Simone de Beauvoir's book The Second Sex includes the following passages:
She [De Beauvoir] traces female development through its formative stages: childhood, youth, and sexual initiation. Her goal is to prove that women are not born “feminine” but shaped by a thousand external processes. She shows how, at each stage of her upbringing, a girl is conditioned into accepting passivity, dependence, repetition, and inwardness. Every force in society conspires to deprive her of subjectivity and flatten her into an object. Denied the possibility of independent work or creative fulfillment, the woman must accept a dissatisfying life of housework, childbearing, and sexual slavishness. ...It is unlikely that Baby Houseman had read The Second Sex, but it is likely that she was influenced indirectly by older women who had read the book. Baby's decision to attend an all-women college, Mount Holyoke College, probably was motivated by a desire to liberate herself, for at least four years, from being conditioned by older, established males to be passive, dependent, inward and mediocre.
De Beauvoir believes that woman’s inferiority in society is a result not of natural differences but of differences in the upbringing of man and woman. Male domination is not inherent or fated but conditioned at every stage of development. De Beauvoir says that “Man learns his power.” By the same token, woman is not born passive, mediocre, or immanent.
Rather, she is socialized to believe that proper women must embody these characteristics and, subtly and not subtly, she is conditioned to believe that denying her true self is the only way to achieve happiness and gain acceptance. To bring about substantial changes in society, young boys and girls must be educated differently from the outset. Since they are born equal, the possibility exists of their being equal in adulthood as well as in childhood — but it is up to society to change its skewed perspectives.
If Baby indeed did resent being socialized into femininity, then her thinking was misguided. Femininity is not entirely a product of socialization. Rather, it is a product also of evolved instinct and of self-directed learning.
* Some feelings and behaviors are instinctive because of human evolution. For example, females who behave in a feminine manner enjoy greater mating success, and so feminine instincts are passed down to their descendants.
* Children learn some behaviors in order to systemize their understanding of their world. During their very first years, children learn that about half of the population is male and about half is female. Each child recognizes his own sex and enjoys adopting its characteristics. The learning accomplishment itself is enjoyed.
* The socialization that de Beauvoir criticizes is one factor in the development of femininity, but it is only one factor and the last to develop.
During the Dirty Dancing story, Baby at age 17 resumes enjoying her feminine instincts and learning to act in a feminine manner. She will continue to be wary of excessive socialization in her femininity, but that concern will be limited to its proper proportion.
Below I will explain how all three factors --- instinct, learning and socialization -- contribute to femininity.
=====
Playing with dolls, is a feminine characteristic.
* To some extent, this behavior is instinctual. Human evolution causes females -- much more than males -- to enjoy natural pleasure reflexively when they nurture babies.The following photographs are from a family blog called the Grabers.
* To some extent, girls simply copy the examples of older females in order to practice being female. Girls observe that women take care of babies, and so girls practice and learn to become women by taking care of dolls.
* To some extent, this behavior also is socialized into girls. Adults provide special attention, praise and even adoration to girls who play with dolls.
=====
A second feminine characteristic is to decorate their personal appearance. Females tend to groom their hair, paint their faces, and style their clothing much more decoratively than males do.
* To some extent, this behavior might be instinctual. In many species, one of the sexes seems to have a much more decorative appearance that prompts the opposite sex's courtship and mating behaviors. In the human spieces, the decorative sex is the female sex. Women whose beauty attracts males enjoy greater mating success, and so their descendants inherit instinctive urges to enhance their appearance. Female humans instinctively feel some natural pleasure -- much more than males do -- when they are decorating themselves.
* To some extent, girls simply copy older females. Girls observe that older females decorate their personal appearances, and so girls learn and practice to become women by decorating themselves.
* To some extent, this behavior is taught to girls. Adults provide special attention, praise and even adoration to girls who make their appearance more decorative.
 |
| http://the-art-of-femininity.tumblr.com/ |
 |
| http://the-art-of-femininity.tumblr.com/ |
 |
| http://sempre-eterno.tumblr.com/ |
 |
| http://sempre-eterno.tumblr.com/ |
 |
| http://sempre-eterno.tumblr.com/ |
Another feminine characteristic is to specially enjoy male attention and interest.
* Females who engage in courtship and mating behaviors with males enjoy greater reproductive success. Their female descendants tend to inherit a propensity to enjoy the attention and interest of males. They reflexively enjoy a natural pleasure that is distinct and special.
* Female children observe that older women often express such pleasure. A girl observes that her mother provides special affection and favor toward the girl's father, and so the girl learns that women relate to men in such a feminine manner. Therefore the girl herself learns and practices such feminine attitudes and behaviors, beginning toward her own father, in order develop as a female.
* Females also are socialized into striving to attract a man into romance and marriage. Such socialization is a major part of our culture, but it is only one factor that causes women to enjoy male attention and interest.
 |
| "Countryside Romance" by Gating DeviantArt.com |
 |
| "3 Our Place" by Zengel DeviantArt.com |
 |
| "Vacation romance" by Zengel DiviantArt.com |
 |
| "Bad boys" by ladyburara DevianArt.com |
 |
| "attractant" by Heile DeviantArt.com |
 |
| "attraction" by Gares DeviantArt.com |
Baby has been suppressing her urges to attract male attention, because she is planning on a many-year course of higher education and professional work that might be diverted by a romantic relationship. She plans to attend an all-women college for four years and then to work in the Peace Corp for at least two years.
In order to postpone male attention, she often dresses in loose clothing that hides her female shape, especially in the movie's beginning.
In her family's presence, Baby wears clothing that covers her body's physical shape. She favors long, loose sweaters that hang down past her hips. She wears form-fitting clothing when she practices dancing, but that dancing and clothing are not seen by her family -- especially by her father.
Baby seems to think her father is more pleased if her appearance and clothing are only moderately feminine.
The advantage that Baby perceives she enjoys over her sister Lisa is that their father respects Baby's seriousness more than Lisa's feminine frivolity.
======
This is the fourth in a series of articles. Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.
No comments:
Post a Comment