It is undeniable that there are various problems in American society. Issues such as racial discrimination, and the gap between the rich and the poor exist and affect people’s daily lives. And the severity of the subject we are discussing today is no less than the above examples – sexism. Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one’s sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to stereotypes and gender roles. It is worth mentioning that sexism also exists in all aspects of society. Therefore, it is also one of the social problems that we cannot ignore and need to solve.
The novella opens at a theater. A beautiful, distinguished, witty lady, who is called Fantomina, is attending the Playhouse. Rather than watching the play, she observes the behavior of the aristocratic males also attending the theatre, watching how they react to the prostitutes in the ‘Pit’ below. But it occurred to her that she wanted to get involved by imitating the behavior of a prostitute and seeing how men would treat her. She did and got a lot of men to approach, but then she found a different man – Beauplaisir. He treated Fantomina differently from other men and was attracted to her. But he was desperate to have sex with Fantomina. This makes Fantomina very tangled because she is a traditional conservative woman. But with a man she loves and a desire to keep her chastity, Fantomina decides to hide her true identity and have sex with a man through role-playing.
The first character she pretends to be is the daughter of a Country Gentleman. She convinces Beauplaisir of her identity through a series of arrangements while having sex with him. But the male lead quickly tires of his feelings for her. To regain his attention, Fantomina created a second character – Celia, in a maid’s uniform, a broad country accent, and a generally unrefined demeanor. Having sex with Beauplaisir while helping Beauplaisir’s room. But unsurprisingly, the man quickly tires of the relationship again. Fantomina changed her identity again as she drove to Paris. Her new disguise is a widow’s dress, with hair tightly done up. She calls herself Widow Bloomer. Guided by fake stories and words, they have sex again on the way to London. Realizing that Beauplaisir is growing tired of all her current disguises, Fantomin disguised himself as a House staffer named Incognita. She hides her features through a mask and attracts Beauplaisir again with a gorgeous costume. So they have sex again. But this series of behaviors led to her pregnancy. Fantomina’s mother asked Beauplaisir for his opinion after learning about it, but he refused to admit that the child was his own. So Fantomina decided to go to the monastery after giving birth and refused Beauplaisir’s visit. This is the outline of the story in this book.
Among other things, the book satirizes claims to control female sexuality. The motivation behind Fantomina’s actions throughout the entirety of Haywood’s novellas is freedom from the constraints that accompany her role in society as a lady. Most importantly, this is inclusive of sexual freedom: without her usual upper-class dress, she can now interact with men without any judgment. Fantomina thereby possesses control over the expression of her female sexuality and refuses to conform to the constraints of a society that expects women to only become sexually active as a man’s wife. It is therefore ironic that at the end of the story, despite her greatest efforts, Fantomina goes into labor and is finally a slave to the bodily functions that only occur to the female sex. Fantomina has fought for the entire novella to dictate her own secret desires, only to be forced to submit and admit to the societal bonds that her status as a female imposes on her.
The second example is Not my responsibility by Billie Eilish. It’s a short film that posts by Billie Eilish on Jul 30, 2021. In the short film, she bluntly addresses examples of sexism she encounters. Eilish said she hated her body. “I would have done anything to be in a different one. It’s funny because when you’re a little kid, you don’t think of your body at all. And all of a sudden, you look down and like, whoa. What can I do to make this go away?” From her words, we can know how seriously people in today’s society discriminate against women, no matter if she is an ordinary people or a star. This can’t help but remind us of the norms of women in society. For example, women should be regulated to be “perfect women” from an early age, they should manage their bodies, do laundry and cook at home and take care of children. At the same time, you have to protect your virginity for your husband. This is a very serious sexism issue. This feudal idea is shackled and disrespectful to women. In American society’s belief in freedom, everyone should have the right to make their own decisions. Whether male or female, they can choose whatever they want to do. Even women can choose to be a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher. They should not be required by feudal ideology and normative behavior to become a “full-time wife”.
The last example is called Purl, directed by Kristen Lester and produced by Gillian Libbert-Duncan on Feb 4, 2019. It’s talking about a ball of yarn named Purl who gets a job in a fast-paced, high-energy, bro-tastic start-up. Obviously, she suffered from male discrimination
in the beginning, and then she began to learn how her colleagues dressed, behaved, and talked. Then finally she became more aggressive, more serious, and sharper dressed to be seen by her colleagues’ nevermind taken seriously. But in the end, a ball of yarn like her came, which made her realize her mistake and changed the atmosphere of the whole environment through herself. From this example, we can learn that gender discrimination is not only in the norms of women but also in the workplace. A lot of times, many people will think that men are more capable and capable of handling things than women and therefore men should be paid more. This is very wrong and discriminatory against women (sexism). Because in America, women have the same rights as men. They have the right to study with and compete with men. To be precise, it should enjoy all rights equal to men. So this means that women are not necessarily inferior to men in ability, they should have the right to prove themselves through their abilities. Rather than being oppressed and restricted by the wrong ideas of this society. Overall, the issue of sexism is still a social issue that people need to focus on and correct.
