Post by Alan Haskayne on Sept 12, 2012 11:05:53 GMT -5
Journal One
PSY 5
Alan Haskayne
9-10-12
The differences of characteristics Eve and Mary in the Christian interpretation of the old testament I find clearly present in the media of the modern world. Eve, the second woman ever made by god, is said to be tempting, and is often portrayed without clothing, making no attempt to hide her shameful nudity or sexuality. Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, is seen almost opposite. In all depictions I can find she is seen with white and light blue cloth robes, this showing her purity, often with a halo to show holiness. While it is thought that Eve,through her disobedience, is the reason humankind was cast out of Eden, Mary, as the mother of God, serves to give us redemption and an opportunity to undo the damage done by Eve.
The idea of a pure female has changed over the years, and it has had to. According to a report done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002, 87.8% of 19 year old females and 81.6% of 19 year old males have had some sexual experience with the opposite sex.
In my observation, the common Western media depicts woman in ways that are usually close to the two extremes of masculine butch woman who might as well be males, and the girly girl damsel in distress kind of woman. While this does not address the issue of good (Mary) versus bad (Eve) girls it seems that the more subservient and needy female role is preferred.
That culturally much of the world continues to promote the stereotypical roles of Eve and Mary is not surprising when you look into what lies at the heart of the difference. The real issue is not that good girls are virgins whose lives are guided by God and bad girls wander around naked talking to snakes. The real issue is control. Male dominated society found that the best way to establish and retain control was to assign to Mary specific qualities that all women would aspire to.
Most importantly Mary was obedient and unquestioning. She selflessly gave birth to and raised the son of god knowing that he would live a life of pain and sadness only to be killed for the good of others. The fact that she would blindly follow direction was the opposite of what Eve did. Eve was also told what she could and could not do but she was not so easy to convince. She wanted to discover things for herself. This independence and curiosity became qualities that bad women would have. Because of her questioning all humankind were banished from paradise and it doesn't get much worse than that.
Because Mary was a virgin when she had Jesus it was also seen as important for good girls to repress their sexuality. Conversely men,since they are not to be questioned, had no such restrictions. In fact some would argue that promiscuity is a genetic trait males have stemming from a need to populate the species. Virility and experience are still perceived as positive for men while women remain conflicted in an era that encourages equality but frowns upon behavior that seems "unladylike".
For example,in the video game series Halo, one central female role is originally depicted as a plain looking woman with short hair, loose clothing and intelligence. Gamers were so put off by this character that they petitioned the game developers to creater a more desirable woman for the part. By the latest installment.of Halo developers had made her voluptuous, (wearing a form fitting outfit), longhaired and beautiful. She became a woman who appeared to need your help and someone who deserved saving.
Not only men are to blame when it comes to this kind of generalization. In the web series Dr Horribles Sing Along Blog the the title character is an intelligent, "nice" guy who spends months trying to get up the courage to even talk to the girl of his dreams. Once he does they find they have a lot in common and enjoy each others company. Unfortunately she meets Captain Hammer, a beefy, stupid and selfish hero who saves her and, despite her misgivings, wins her affection over the more suitable Dr Horrible.
Interestingly, Dr Horrible was created by Joss Whedon. A writer who is well known for creating strong female roles in such things as Serenity, Dollhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is seen as a feminist instead of simply a guy who writes strong rolls for women. It is often a topic of discussion that his female roles do not adhere to the Mary or Eve stereotypes but instead blaze their own trail.
Notably, one of Whedons more recent films "Cabin in the Woods" specifically speaks to the issue where the antagonists state plainly that in order to complete their task and save the world they need a virgin and they need a whore. They explain that it has always been this way and that to satisfy the Gods both need to be sacrificed. They also need opposing male characters. One is a strong, "jock" type one a more sensitive "nice" guy.
So why do we still believe in the double standard and why do we continue to perpetuate these rolls? It seems to have been ingrained in our psyches from Sunday school to the ads we see on TV. As long as we continue to reinforce our roles we can never hope to attain true gender equality.
PSY 5
Alan Haskayne
9-10-12
The differences of characteristics Eve and Mary in the Christian interpretation of the old testament I find clearly present in the media of the modern world. Eve, the second woman ever made by god, is said to be tempting, and is often portrayed without clothing, making no attempt to hide her shameful nudity or sexuality. Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, is seen almost opposite. In all depictions I can find she is seen with white and light blue cloth robes, this showing her purity, often with a halo to show holiness. While it is thought that Eve,through her disobedience, is the reason humankind was cast out of Eden, Mary, as the mother of God, serves to give us redemption and an opportunity to undo the damage done by Eve.
The idea of a pure female has changed over the years, and it has had to. According to a report done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002, 87.8% of 19 year old females and 81.6% of 19 year old males have had some sexual experience with the opposite sex.
In my observation, the common Western media depicts woman in ways that are usually close to the two extremes of masculine butch woman who might as well be males, and the girly girl damsel in distress kind of woman. While this does not address the issue of good (Mary) versus bad (Eve) girls it seems that the more subservient and needy female role is preferred.
That culturally much of the world continues to promote the stereotypical roles of Eve and Mary is not surprising when you look into what lies at the heart of the difference. The real issue is not that good girls are virgins whose lives are guided by God and bad girls wander around naked talking to snakes. The real issue is control. Male dominated society found that the best way to establish and retain control was to assign to Mary specific qualities that all women would aspire to.
Most importantly Mary was obedient and unquestioning. She selflessly gave birth to and raised the son of god knowing that he would live a life of pain and sadness only to be killed for the good of others. The fact that she would blindly follow direction was the opposite of what Eve did. Eve was also told what she could and could not do but she was not so easy to convince. She wanted to discover things for herself. This independence and curiosity became qualities that bad women would have. Because of her questioning all humankind were banished from paradise and it doesn't get much worse than that.
Because Mary was a virgin when she had Jesus it was also seen as important for good girls to repress their sexuality. Conversely men,since they are not to be questioned, had no such restrictions. In fact some would argue that promiscuity is a genetic trait males have stemming from a need to populate the species. Virility and experience are still perceived as positive for men while women remain conflicted in an era that encourages equality but frowns upon behavior that seems "unladylike".
For example,in the video game series Halo, one central female role is originally depicted as a plain looking woman with short hair, loose clothing and intelligence. Gamers were so put off by this character that they petitioned the game developers to creater a more desirable woman for the part. By the latest installment.of Halo developers had made her voluptuous, (wearing a form fitting outfit), longhaired and beautiful. She became a woman who appeared to need your help and someone who deserved saving.
Not only men are to blame when it comes to this kind of generalization. In the web series Dr Horribles Sing Along Blog the the title character is an intelligent, "nice" guy who spends months trying to get up the courage to even talk to the girl of his dreams. Once he does they find they have a lot in common and enjoy each others company. Unfortunately she meets Captain Hammer, a beefy, stupid and selfish hero who saves her and, despite her misgivings, wins her affection over the more suitable Dr Horrible.
Interestingly, Dr Horrible was created by Joss Whedon. A writer who is well known for creating strong female roles in such things as Serenity, Dollhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is seen as a feminist instead of simply a guy who writes strong rolls for women. It is often a topic of discussion that his female roles do not adhere to the Mary or Eve stereotypes but instead blaze their own trail.
Notably, one of Whedons more recent films "Cabin in the Woods" specifically speaks to the issue where the antagonists state plainly that in order to complete their task and save the world they need a virgin and they need a whore. They explain that it has always been this way and that to satisfy the Gods both need to be sacrificed. They also need opposing male characters. One is a strong, "jock" type one a more sensitive "nice" guy.
So why do we still believe in the double standard and why do we continue to perpetuate these rolls? It seems to have been ingrained in our psyches from Sunday school to the ads we see on TV. As long as we continue to reinforce our roles we can never hope to attain true gender equality.