We as humans tend to get very uncomfortable
unless we can identify a person by using a very broad label. Are you gay? Are
you a lesbian? Are you bisexual? Pansexual? Transgender? By using these labels,
you are giving expectations to a person who may not be able to live up to them.
We can see this clearly in the Thirteenth Century French Romance Silence. Silence was born a girl in a
time where being a girl meant you legally had no right to any property or
money. She was not just any girl, but a girl of great beauty. She was so beautiful;
the author describes Silence in a very sexual way. “And she makes the arms very
straight, the hands small, the fingers long, the bosom well-turned, slender
sides…” (1936-1938). The “she” being referred to in this quote is Nature.
Nature acts as a kind of God-like figure who creates people in her own image.
Because women have no rights, Silence parents thought it best for her to be
raised as a boy. This puts Silence in another category that she or he would not
understand why.
What makes Nature and Nurture interesting in
this piece of literature, is their personification. She, Nature, created Silence
as a beautiful girl. But being raised as a boy diminishes some of that beauty,
which angers Nature. She believes that with all the beauty Silence possesses, he
is wasting it by hunting, wrestling, and working outdoors. Nurture is enraged
by this because she has raised him the way that would benefit him the most.
Being a man gives him so many more rights than a woman would have.
Having this argument about what you “should be”
or “should do,” can really scare and confuse a child. And confuse and scare it
did. Silence is ashamed of what he is. He is afraid to undress and be discovered.
Being discovered would not only put his life in jeopardy, but his parents as
well. Silence is physically a girl, but does not know anything about “being a woman.”
If we just get rid of all these silly gender standard, then maybe we would not
have as many angry and sexually frustrated people!
These gender standards and expectations put a
lot of pressure on young people today. I always here how a girl should act and
be, and if I don’t comply, I am ostracized for being different. Being different
is okay, and not complying to standards is okay. Everyone needs to just live
their lives as their own, and let others do the same.
Hmm. I agree that labels can lead to expectations that put pressure on the labeled, but I don’t think that they are entirely damaging. I personally prefer to label myself because it helps me identify to myself and others, though I definitely can see why others do not like to be labeled. In this example, Silence has labels forced upon him that do lead to some issues and cause problems throughout the narrative; this kind of labeling is damaging. But if someone offers to label oneself, like I do with myself, then I think that they are like me – they want others to know that they identify with those labels and to respect that. Or maybe that’s just me…either way this was well-written and I enjoyed reading it
ReplyDeleteThese labels and stereotypes that we see the world through can be damaging and helpful in moderation. Psychologically, we use schemas to categorize everything we come across, including ourselves. This system is used to make quick decisions and place common associations on various things. Many find comfort in labels, as it is a guideline in which they function in society. But I agree, that at a certain point, these labels can be detrimental in development. Negative reactions to nonconforming individuals can cause various detrimental outcomes. Labels are inherently bad or unnecessary in my opinion, but can easily lead to negative experiences.
ReplyDelete