Article Annotation 2

Article Annotation (2)
October 27, 2011

The Impact of Male Chauvinism Rooted in People’s Mind

       Male Chauvinism influences people’s concept of thinking about different gender of singles. The terms we call the single man is eligible bachelor. However, when it comes to single women, people may think of the terms like the old maid and spinsters. The former gives us such an attractive impression of male, and the latter, however, make us think of an old lady who is odd and lonely. Compare these two impression, male seems to be better than female, and that is an outcome which cause by the concept of Male Chauvinism.
       The definition of Male Chauvinism is “male prejudice against women; the belief that men are superior in terms of ability, intelligence etc.”
(Oxford Dictionaries online: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/male+chauvinism)
       The original definition of Chauvinism is “exaggerated or aggressive patriotism”, and its origin is from “late 19 century: named after Nicolas Chauvin, a Napoleonic veteran noted for his extreme patriotism.” So it is a word which initially used to be described the person who loves his or her country extreme passionately, almost becomes an aggressive attitude. In 1970s, it evolves into “a term particularly associated with women's liberation movement and used to attack men's attitudes towards women. It suggests blind, arrogant, excessive, and narrow-minded assumptions of innate male superiority, of male ascendancy over women, and of men's pursuit of their own collective interests.”
(Oxford Dictionaries online: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/chauvinism)
(Oxford Dictionary of Sociology: http://www.enotes.com/oxsoc-encyclopedia/male-chauvinism)
       Nowadays, Male Chauvinism is still having a lot of impact on our society. Even though people gradually advocate the gender equality, there are still many cases that can be related to Male Chauvinism. For example, dramas always feature a handsome and rich male character that works as a high position in a big company, and on the other hand is a poor, or middle class and hardworking female character. There are lots of works within these typical main characters. Such as the movie “The Prince and Me”, it is a story that an ordinary girl who falls in love with an attractive young man in collage, and then she finds out he is the prince of Denmark. It perfectly conforms to the feature which I have mentioned before. Male character’s status is higher than the female character.
       Or take this mother’s feeling as an example, she says that she feels strange when she receives a post from her daughter’s school, mentioned that parents should accompany their children to school for the first day of the classes. The school also says that both parents should come and if it is not possible, at least the father should come. Therefore, she calls into question “Why is the father so superior when it comes to choose between mother and father?”
(Why is Male Chauvinism so Prevalent? By K. reddy http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/860137/why_is_male_chauvinism_so_prevalent.html?cat=41)
(a) They also said that both parents should come and if it is not possible, at least the father should come. It appeared perfectly normal at first but after a bit of thinking I started to find some hidden meaning in it. At least father should come- is the only thing harassing me for the past week. Why is the father so superior when it comes to choose between mother and father?
       In Taiwan, parent-teacher meeting is thought to be a meeting that mothers should attend. That is because our society thinks that mother is responsible for the family cares, and it is their duty to take care of children. People may have the idea that it is men who have enough ability to go to work and raise the family. However, nowadays lots of women are going out and also work hard to increase the income of family.
       Then the mother in that article gives many examples; first, in politics, there are a few amounts of women who can have a foothold in this field until recently. Secondly, the female actors in Hollywood who performs well cannot be paid as high as the male actors. And also in the professional side such as a job, if there are equally talented man and woman, the company may prefer the man.
       It is not a bias anymore; it becomes a habit in our society. We get used to it. People live under the Male Chauvinism. For example, women like the romance, and there are countless novels, movies, and dramas in the rich-man-poor-woman pattern. There may have some people aware of this phenomenon, such as the mother I mention before, and they may show their disapproval or anger on this issue. What they expect most is the gender equality, but it seems that now we are still living in a world dominated by the Male Chauvinism. As a result, we should not take Male Chauvinism as a standard to view women as the inferior group and mark the single women with not appropriate terms.

Revised Annotation 1

Sex and the City season 5, episode 3, Luck be an Old Lady

& Bachelors Vs Spinsters

Revised Annotation 1

        My topic is about the stereotype of single women. At first, I think of doing the topic of singles, and when I am looking for the information, I find that there are different terms of calling single men and women.

In this film clip, Carrie is going to have a blind date. She tells this decision to her best friends Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. Two of her friends seem not support her decision. Charlotte says that she know that there are some couples she knows that meet on blind dates and she reminds Carrie, “You have to take risks so you don’t wind up an old maid.” And then Miranda says, “Why do we get stuck with old maid and spinster and men get to be bachelors and playboys?” Her words point out directly that people have a stereotype of single men and women.

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=3523

        -Bachelors Vs Spinsters by Nimisha Mittal

        These ramblings mention the same idea. As the author writes:

        (1) Bachelors in stories are usually fat and cheerful, jolly and rich. But they're still eligible. Spinsters, on the other hand, are usually characterized as being grouchy and ugly, with quick tempers and quicker tongues. In books, a girl is always terrified at the prospect of dying 'an old maid', but which boy ever had nightmares about remaining a bachelor all his life?

        (2) Also, Bachelor parties are the coolest bashes under the sun after Siberian polar bears' rendezvous, but who ever heard of 'spinster parties'? (not to be confused with 'ladies' night', which is something entirely different).

        Nowadays women get married later is nothing new, but this concept does not entirely disappear. Take the Sex and the City film clip I choose as an example. Carrie Brandshaw is a weekly column writer of New York’s newspaper and also the writer of magazine. She lives in a fashionable and nice lifestyle. However, even though she has such a good life, she is still afraid to wind up an old maid.

Just like Carrie, women are more independent than before. However, the independence does not mean women are unwilling to get married. Women now also have good education, and they can get good jobs to earn their own living. They are looking for someone who can match up with them. The ability makes them have better choice of partners; however, it may not be easy to find a person they are willing to marry. As a result, women tend to get married later. Marriage is not a wrong choice of women, but it should be women’s own decision whether they want to have a husband or not. People should not have the bias on different genders of the singles.

Male Chauvinism

Annotation (2)

Male Chauvinism

The definition of Male Chauvinism is “male prejudice against women; the belief that men are superior in terms of ability, intelligence etc.”

(Oxford Dictionaries online: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/male+chauvinism)

The original definition of Chauvinism is “exaggerated or aggressive patriotism”, and its origin is from “late 19 century: named after Nicolas Chauvin, a Napoleonic veteran noted for his extreme patriotism.” So it is a word which initially used to be described the person who loves his or her country extreme passionately, almost becomes an aggressive attitude. In 1970s, it evolves into “a term particularly associated with women's liberation movement and used to attack men's attitudes towards women. It suggests blind, arrogant, excessive, and narrow-minded assumptions of innate male superiority, of male ascendancy over women, and of men's pursuit of their own collective interests.”

(Oxford Dictionaries online: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/chauvinism)

(Oxford Dictionary of Sociology: http://www.enotes.com/oxsoc-encyclopedia/male-chauvinism)

Nowadays, Male Chauvinism is still having a lot of impact on our society. Even though people gradually advocate the gender equality, there are still many cases that can be related to Male Chauvinism. For example, dramas always feature a handsome and rich male character that works as a high position in a big company, and on the other hand is a poor, or middle class and hardworking female character. There are lots of works within these typical main characters. Such as the movie “The Prince and Me”, it is a story that an ordinary girl who falls in love with an attractive young man in collage, and then she finds out he is the prince of Denmark. It perfectly conforms to the feature which I have mentioned before. Male character’s status is higher than the female character.

Or take this mother’s feeling as an example, she says that she feels strange when she receives a post from her daughter’s school, mentioned that parents should accompany their children to school for the first day of the classes. The school also says that both parents should come and if it is not possible, at least the father should come. Therefore, she calls into question “Why is the father so superior when it comes to choose between mother and father?”

(Why is Male Chauvinism so Prevalent? By K. reddy http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/860137/why_is_male_chauvinism_so_prevalent.html?cat=41)

(a) They also said that both parents should come and if it is not possible, at least the father should come. It appeared perfectly normal at first but after a bit of thinking I started to find some hidden meaning in it. At least father should come- is the only thing harassing me for the past week. Why is the father so superior when it comes to choose between mother and father?

Then she gives many examples; first, in politics, there are a few amounts of women who can have a foothold in this field until recently. Secondly, the female actors in Hollywood who performs well cannot be paid as high as the male actors. And also in the professional side such as a job, if there are equally talented man and woman, the company may prefer the man.

I think it is not a bias anymore; it becomes a habit in our society. We get used to it. People live under the Male Chauvinism. For example, women like the romance, and there are countless novels, movies, and dramas in the rich-man-poor-woman pattern. There may have some people aware of this phenomenon, such as the mother I mention before, and they may show their disapproval or anger on this issue. What they expect most is the gender equality, but it seems that now we are still living in a world dominated by the Male Chauvinism.

Annotation 1

Sex and the City season 5, episode 3, Luck be an Old Lady
& Bachelors Vs Spinsters

Annotation 1

        My topic is about the stereotype of single women. At first, I think of doing the topic of singles, and when I am looking for the information, I find that there are different terms of calling single men and women.

Miranda said that "Why do we get stuck with old maid and spinster and men get to be bachelors and playboys?" (1:14)

In this film clip, Carrie is going to have a blind date. She tells this decision to her best friends Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. Two of her friends seem not support her decision. Charlotte says that she know that there are some couples she knows that meet on blind dates and she reminds Carrie, “You have to take risks so you don’t  wind up an old maid.” And then Miranda says, “Why do we get stuck with old maid and spinster and men get to be bachelors and playboys?” Her words point out directly that people have a stereotype of single men and women.

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=3523

        -Bachelors Vs Spinsters by Nimisha Mittal

        These ramblings mention the same idea. As the author writes:

        (1) Bachelors in stories are usually fat and cheerful, jolly and rich. But they're still eligible. Spinsters, on the other hand, are usually characterized as being grouchy and ugly, with quick tempers and quicker tongues. In books, a girl is always terrified at the prospect of dying 'an old maid', but which boy ever had nightmares about remaining a bachelor all his life?

        (2) Also, Bachelor parties are the coolest bashes under the sun after Siberian polar bears' rendezvous, but who ever heard of 'spinster parties'? (not to be confused with 'ladies' night', which is something entirely different).

        Nowadays women get married later is nothing new, but this concept does not entirely disappear. Take the Sex and the City film clip I choose as an example. Carrie Brandshaw is a weekly column writer of New York’s newspaper and also the writer of magazine. She lives in a fashionable and nice lifestyle. However, even though she has such a good life, she is still afraid to wind up an old maid. I do not mean that women get married is a wrong choice, but I mean it should be women’s own decision whether they want to have a husband or not. General should not have the bias on different genders of the singles.

Quote from Sex and the City

In the series Sex and the City season 5, episode 3, Lucky be an Old Lady


Miranda said that "Why do we get stuck with old maid and spinster and men get to be bachelors and playboys?" (1:14)

Issue Paper Draft 2

English Composition IIA

        Professor: Mei-Ya Liang

Sue Lee 991002024

October, 5 2011

(October, 13 2011)

Eligible Bachelor and Worthless Bachelorette?

Issue Paper Draft 2

        In general public’s stereotype, people usually think that a man unmarried is more valuable than a woman in the same condition.

Take the classic novel Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen, 1813) as an example; the mothers in the story always want their daughters to get married as soon as possible. Because they know while the girls become older, they will have lesser chance to marry the men with better economic condition. On the contrary, the male characters in the story are judged by their property. The point is: it is those men who seem to have the right to choose who they want to marry or not. In recent years, there are more and more singles. Women are more independent now. They have high education, and have the ability to earn their living. The thought is changing; marriage is not the only purpose for women anymore. And because of these reasons, men become more difficult to find a woman to tie the knot. However, the concept of “eligible bachelor and worthless bachelorette” seems to be unswayable. Two years ago, there is a popular Taiwanese drama called My Queen (2009), which is a story about a thirty-three-year-old unmarried woman who finds her love. In this drama, the main female character is a successful woman, and she is very independent. However, her friends and people surrounding her are laughing at her that she is an unattractive woman so no man wants to fall in love with her. No matter how perfect she does on her work, she is thought to be a loser as usual. Finally, she finds someone to love and has a happy ending. I think this drama still presents the idea that a woman has to find her mate then she is a really successful woman. Is single such a bad thing?

        On the other hand, man over forty years old still can be considered as an ideal partner. For example, another classic novel Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell, 1936), the main male character Rhett Butler is a middle-aged man. He is rich and wild, although he is not young, he is still thought to be attractive and he marries Scarlett O’Hara who is twenty years younger than him. If he owns a lot of possession, regardless of how old he is, he is a good consideration of marriage all the same. Just like what Miranda, one of the main characters in the American series Sex and the City, says that, “Why do get stuck with old maid and spinster and men get to be bachelors and playboys?”(Season 5, episode 3, Luck be an Old Lady). Therefore, in these situations, men may want to be single is because they are not worried about older age will make them become lesser popular. They want to have girl friends freely rather than wives who always keep a watchful eye on them.

        Because of these reasons above, the meaning of single has difference in gender. As time goes by, people do not change the concept of single man and woman. I think people have this kind of stereotype deeply is because we live in a world which dominated by capitalism and male chauvinism. Therefore, we should break the traditional rules; women also have the equal right to pursue the lifestyles they want.

Note: I try to make the comparison of old days and nowadays impression of singles and also try to explain that I think people’s concept of eligible bachelor and worthless bachelorette do not change a lot as what I mention in the last paragraph.

My Queen

My Queen teaser

My Queen episode 9