Over the years, there has been many changes in how people think about men and women. Many societies have social roles that are to be played out by men and women. My first English 101 professor, had us make lists of what societies used to deem as only masculine characteristics and feminine characteristics. For the men, we had such things as; bread-winner, hero, strong, and ruler. For the women we had written down; caregiver, sensitive, loving, and submissive. By looking at the lists, it shows how much times have changed. Yes, men may be strong and heroic; however, women are also strong and heroic. I feel that although some women are still submissive to their husbands or significant other, women stand up for themselves more today than they would have in the past.
I thought that this tied into how feminism and queer theory are related. With the definition of queer theory as “differing from the norm,” we can see how much things are different from how they were in the past. The women taking the chances and taking on more masculine roles would reflect the queer theory. We saw this in The Color Purple, when Celie gets the strength to stand up for herself against Mr.___. Also, what I have read so far in Middlesex, I can tell that queer theory is going to be shown throughout the book.
I found a poem that I thought showed queer theory and feminism both. What I took from the poem, is that the “norm” was being shown and what really happens today is what is differing from the norm. The poem is That Women Are But Men’s Shadows by Ben Jonson. I thought that the women being men’s shadows was like talking about them being submissive to them or behind them. What women are fighting and looking for is not to be behind men but to be beside and equal to them.
Follow a shadow, it still flies you;
Seem to fly it, it will pursue:
So court a mistress, she denies you;
Let her alone, she will court you.
Say, are not women truly then
Styled by the shadows of us men?
At morn and even shades are longest,
At noon they are short or none;
So men at weakest, they are strongest;
But grant us perfect, they’re not known.
Say, are not women truly then
Styled but the shadows of us men?
