Judith Shakespeare: An Observation of Gendered Society

an essay responding to, and expanding on Virginia Woolf's A Room of one's own. It presents an observation on how society's ideas of what is acceptable are so closely linked to expected gender roles.

Judith Shakespeare:

An Observation of Gendered Society

Lorraine Hampton

 

            Throughout all of history, there have been different aspects of society that were considered either male, or female. This division of roles is evident in all fields; the home, careers, social life, and even simple traits are considered male or female. This holds true even in today’s supposedly egalitarian society we know as the United States. There are also behaviors seen as good or bad dependent on gender. Also, women are not the only ones held to such a standard, men are also subjugated in this way. One could even possibly say, we are equal in being unequal.

Virginia Woolf once asked the question, “…what would have happened had Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister” (Virginia Woolf, Literature by Women, A Room of One’s Own, pg. 241). She named this hypothetical Shakespearean sibling Judith, and Judith was talented in theatrical arts, literature, and was quite intelligent. But being raised in a greatly gendered age, she had no room to grow in the way her brother had. A woman in Judith’s position would be kept from any formal education save housework and so-called “womanly arts” such as needlepoint, cooking and cleaning. William Shakespeare married at 18, and soon grew weary of that life and left for London. He would then embark on a journey through the world of theater and poetry, freely creating and eventually coming into his fame. Judith on the other hand, would be married off young, and in Woolf’s scenario, would originally be against the marriage and would refuse, ultimately leading to forcing her into the marriage, and upon refusal was beaten and scorned. She would then choose, as her brother had, to travel to London. She also had admiration for the theater but was rejected because of her gender. An actor would the take pity on her, seeing her genius, and then would be burden with his child. She was not even granted a place in the shadow of her brother, and, her talent wasted and heart once filled with song, would grow cold with despair and she would ultimately take her own life, thus ending the creative light that was once Judith Shakespeare.

In the time of Shakespeare, the realm of the arts was considered the world of a man and the home was a woman’s place. Today the lines between the male and female world are blurred, but without a doubt, still in existence. An example would be if a man were known for his sexual prowess, he is often seen in a positive light by his fellow males, whereas if a female is known for her sexual prowess, she is often shunned by her fellow females, being labeled with titles such as s**t or w***e. In the same sense, if a man takes the place as an active supporter of his child’s pastimes generally viewed as a mother’s activity (i.e. soccer-mom, den mother, etc.) it is seen as strange and likely suspicious, but if a woman were to be in these positions, no one would look twice. Behaviors, occupations, expectations, all of these are truly gendered.

In Fatima Mernissi’s story Scheherazade Goes West, the title character must face a shift in cultures from Morocco to the United States where she finds many clashes in culture. One of these instances occurs when she goes to an American department store to buy herself a new skirt. After entering the store, she asks an employee for help, but the employee told her that the store only carried sizes two, four and six and goes on to explain that Scheherazade is considered overweight while the average American woman was a size six. In Morocco, Scheherazade was considered voluptuous and beautiful whereas in the United States, the idea of beauty was a twiggy, thin, and curve-less woman. Some may question my motives in retelling that story, and those motives are to introduce the question; what is beauty?

Every culture and every person have their own answer for this question. Your idea of beauty may differ from that of the person nearest to you and both of your opinions can be vastly different from the opinion of someone in another country. Beauty is never a quality that is set in stone. In the story, Scheherazade is admired in Morocco for her curves and full, womanly figure, but in the United States, she was considered overweight. To Morocco, she is beautiful, to the United States, she is not. Based on the media of 2012 in the United States, an ideal woman (mind you to the most extreme of possibilities and of my own observations) would be very thin and yet have a curvy figure, she would be beautiful but not stuck up, she would never cheat on her partner but would also bow to their every wish, she would be a tomboy and a prep, smart and dumb, and fall into a variety of other paradoxes that follow along the same pattern. It is not only women, however, who have an idealized form; Men fall prey to it as well. The description of a perfect male is less strict, which is why the focus of media is on women. Men are allowed more variation, so to speak. Because of this, the focus of a more sexualized media seems to be directed at women.

Gangsta Rap by bell hooks discusses the sexual objectification of women in rap videos. In the writing, she had been asked to comment as a black woman on this objectification, she had claimed that it was not only the African American community who was responsible, but rather all American men. Throughout history, women have traditionally been turned into iconic symbols of sexual desire. It has become so common that one hardly notices it, but if a man were to be objectified in the same way, it is likely to be seen as comical, strange or grotesque. In other words, there are occupations and activities that are greatly gendered. Sexually related occupations and activities are only one of many examples of this type of gendering. There are also occupations such as nurse, which had at one time been an all-female occupation, has shifted to a co-ed career. Male nurses, however, were still scrutinized for the longest time. In the present day, though, it is far more common to see male nurses. Another such example could be the Victoria’s Secret lingerie store chain. If a man were to work at one of these stores, he would be judged and thought of negatively, and yet, a woman is perfectly welcome. When it comes to occupations involving much physical labor, women become the subjects of scrutiny, but in the fairly “equal opportunity” professions, such as doctors, or business men and women, there is still a present division of gender, because even today, females in such professions as these are subject to slightly smaller salaries ten men in the same profession. Occupation however is just one gendered aspect of society.

Public and social behavior is a majorly gendered area of life. In Woolf’s essay, she describes the occupational factor of Judith wanting to be an actor, but she does also mention of “proper” behavior. Judith would have been expected to remain silent and submissive in the days of Shakespeare. If she were well behaved, she would have properly accepted marriage, would never disobey the men of her life, and would have stuck to the womanly arts; Judith does not do so. Instead, Judith attempts to express her independence and is shunned for it. in today’s society, there are many behaviors described as either purely male or female. These behaviors can range from something simple like the release of “manly” gasses in public (in other words, belching or passing gas), or the female routine of makeup application, or as controversial as the acceptance of breastfeeding in public versus the acceptance of a shirtless man in public. Things such as what we can wear, what we can say and what we can do are so greatly gendered that it is a part of our daily life. For instance, if a man were to wear a skirt, which is very much considered a female piece of clothing, passersby would look at him with a sense of confusion and often disgust over a simple piece of fabric. In a similar case, if a woman chooses to shave her hair off, which is considered a very manly haircut, she is also scrutinized. Behaviors such as these are often considered unacceptable due to gender differences, but what exactly is wrong with a man wearing a skirt or a woman shaving her head? If you can’t think of anything aside from, “it’s just unnatural” then you have proven my point which is; the only reason such gendered things are “unnatural” is because the society we have been raised in says it is. One could conclude that gender normality does not truly exist. Society raised us to believe things are either male or female.

I have observed these gendered aspects of life myself in my twenty years, and, while I may sound a hypocrite, I myself have looked at those displaying these aspects with scrutiny. It is only through my own processing and experience that I have come to the conclusion that society will likely never cease their gendered beliefs, and yet, we should not expect ourselves and others to uphold these traditional ideals, but rather, leave the choice to the individuals to decide. In Virginia Woolf’s essay, she was addressing the lack of female authors, and I believe if I were she, I would have concluded my thoughts by saying, “Women! Put down the dish and the needle! And in its place, take up a pen and some paper. Let the ink flow with your heart, create, and live!” so in celebration of this woman I would like for you, my audience to consider what it means to be male or female. What exactly does it mean? Why is it such? Ask yourself how they are different. Think about the roles of men, of women, and of yourself. Which one do you fit? You are Judith Shakespeare, and the world is your theater. Can you take the place of the man and become an actor? Or would you keep to your secret journals and remain a woman? Is either better than the other? Is there a such thing as true gender?

Author's Note

This piece is not limited to only the affects of society on the female gender role, but also of the male gender role. I am also in no way criticizing Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, or anyone else mentioned in the text. debate is welcome, but insult is not.