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(2016
midterm assignment) Model Student Midterm answers 2016 (Index) Essay 2: Personal / professional topic |
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Timothy Morrow
23
March 2016
All Lilies Wither: Analyzing Violence towards Women in Science Fiction
Since traditionally Science Fiction started out as more of a “boy’s
club,” the perspective of women in its literature was presented with a more
sexist and oppressive depiction. In Karin Blair’s article, “Sex and Star Trek”,
she refers to a concept called the
femme-objet which is “caught in the constructs of the male imagination” and
“is created in the imagination of society: a certain Maidenform bustline, a trim
waist, Revlon-styled lips, Mascara and eye shadow embellishments and so
on”(Blair). This is quite evident in the portrayal women have received in past
Narratives of the Future. The extreme hyper sexualized females in these stories
reflect the society from which they were made, a patriarchal “boy’s club”.
With the popularity of futuristic and dystopian narratives in popular
culture such as The Hunger Games and Divergent comes the availability of new
perspectives in story-telling for young people to enjoy. These Narratives of the
Future provide new heroines that act as positive role models for women readers
as well as giving proper representations of the female gender. The future of
female portrayal in these narratives is addressed in Ghazel’s article “Science
fiction is no longer a boys’ club” which states that “female science fiction
characters aren’t just gaining momentum and mainstream acceptance. They’ve also
become more varied, and are less often reduced to the role of eye candy”
(Hamidi). As the decades roll by for the world of Science Fiction literature,
the depiction of women characters are adapting from the sexist view point of
being “eye candy” into becoming dynamic characters that are valued for more than
just their sexuality. Although the theme of sexualized and oppressed women in
Science fiction is on the decline, as an English Major who wishes to teach not
only teach literature, but also touch on Women’s Studies, it is important to
observe the depiction of women’s roles in narratives of the future, “Stone
Lives” Parable of the Sower, and the
biblical utopian book Genesis.
The
short story “Stone Lives” is an excellent example of the over sexualized and
oppressive portrayal of a female character. June Tannhauser is an assistant for
the boss of the Citrine Tower, one of the biggest corporations of a future quite
in disorder. So in retrospect, she is quite high in the business food chain.
Yet, when Stone shows up in the story, she is instantly subjected to the male’s
perception of her being a submissive sexual being, rather than someone with more
value and experience. When he asks her for her name, she gives it and he instant
replaces her surname with his own first name (Filippo). Rather than being
observant of her identity and respecting her heritage, he begins placing his
name with hers, almost in an act of ownership those in a relationship might take
liberty to do. By the first instance of the two meeting, Stone has subjected the
female character to being dominated by him almost from the moment he even learns
her name. This action on his part foreshadows the treatment of women this story
entails. Soon later in the story, Stone has an intimate encounter with June, yet
the experience is hyper sexualized for the reader, defining June once more to
her sexuality rather than her as a character. The passage states “Her lips are
warm and complaisant under his. Her nipples seem to burn through her shirt and
into his chest. His left leg is trapped between her thighs” (Filippo). This
quote mentioned above further
emphasizes the role June is in this story, not of a flesh out character that can
help further the plot, but a character defined by her flesh and the fantasies of
the man that wrote her. This objectification of June’s body is a clear sign of
her being a femme-objet, and instead
of being a well-rounded character, respected for her experience in the Citrine
Tower, she is portrayed in the sexualized manner shown above. Rather than given
the opportunity to express her feelings and thoughts in the narrative, she is
exploited by the author and Stone for her fanciful sexuality. Furthermore at the
end of the short story, the Citrine building is attacked and blown apart. Stone,
when waking up, asks about June only to find that she had committed suicide when
the raiders tried to capture her. Stone reflects with a proficient verse then
continues with his life, not a syllable more reflection on the woman he had
exploited. He soon learns that he is the newest owner and master of the Citrine
and his focus focuses solely upon his new found responsibility rather than
June’s lost life. This portion of the narrative truly shows how little June’s
life was valued in the story rather than her sexualized body and depiction of
that.
In
The Parable of the Sower, the reader
is given a different approach to women in the narratives of the future. Although
women are still subjected to society’s view of their sex and bodies, they are
represented in an earthier and rawer sense. In the second chapter of the novel,
the reader is presented with the reality of how women are treated in this
apocalyptic setting. When trekking to get baptized, Laura sees a woman on the
street, remarking that she is “young” “naked” and “afraid, and while acting
drowsy it is possible that she was “raped so much that she was crazy” (Butler
9). This depiction of women in the possible future is quite repulsive. Rather
than having the possibility that there are women outside of the “wall” that
could have detailed characters, the first opportunity the author has in
representation women of the future, she present them as victims to their
sexuality and prisoners to a world that views them by their bodies. As Laura
continues further on her journey she observes more female life and notices “a
little girl, naked, maybe seven years old with blood running down her bare
thighs. A woman with a swollen bloody, beaten face….” (Butler 13). Once again
women are not represented in the narrative by their other attributes that might
add to provoke thought of how women may evolve in society as the world advances,
but instead are bound down by their sexuality. The violence and sexualized
depictions of the female gender in Science fiction continues with the passage
mentioned above. The young girl being a victim to rape as well as the portrayal
of the battered woman continues this theme. Not only are these women being
violated through the depiction of them as walking sex objects, but also
presented physically beaten and abused. Although
The Parable of the Sower addresses
the theme of women as sex objects differently in the novel, they are still
subjected and demeaned to that role, without given other traits.
In
the utopian narrative Genesis, the
female character, Eve, is instantly under oppression of male possession from the
moment she is created. When she is introduced to Adam, he states “This at last
is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because
she was taken out of Man” (MacArthur). This utopian narrative presents women as
something created from man, meaning
not equal. As viewed as by-products of man, women have been subjected to the
patriarchal society oppression towards them as below them. This portrayal is
much like in the short story “Stone Lives” when Stone first meeting June in
their own “paradise” subjects her to his ownership. The idea of viewing women as
property further oppresses women in these narratives. This negative belittling
depiction of women is continued in the
Genesis when Eve eats the forbidden fruit and offers it also to Adam,
causing the fall of man (MacArthur). Having women being the literal bearers of
bad fruit to the world, and causing mankind to be cast out of paradise bring
women front and center as evil beings that potentially seduced into destruction
and portrays them in a negative light. Not only are women’s sexuality and bodies
negatively represented but are continued as seen in a negative light in the
apocalyptic text of the book of
Revelations. The verse states “you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls
herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual
immorality and to eat food sacred to idols” (MacArthur). Although much of
Revelations can be argued as merely
metaphors and not literal things, it should be noted on the negative contagions
with the metaphors. Once again a woman in an apocalyptic narrative is
represented in a negative light. Her sexuality is expressed as something wicked
and corruptible. Much like how it is viewed in popular culture that Eve seduced
Adam into falling into sin, the female character Jezebel is depicted as someone
evil which, while not only is she reduced to her sexuality, but is depicted as
using it to leer men into evil. This oppressive portrayal of women in narratives
of the future is continued in the Biblical narratives with both women being
reduced to their sexuality as well as being judged for it.
Works
Cited.
Blair, Karin. "Sex And Star Trek." Science Fiction Studies 10.3 [31] (1983):
292-297. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 23 Mar. 2016
Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower.
New York: Warner Books, 2000. Print.
Filippo, Paul Di. “Stone Lives.” 1985.
Handout.
Hamidi, Ghezal. "Science Fiction Is No Longer a Boys’ Club." Saloncom RSS. Salon
Media Group, Inc., 31 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2016
MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study
Bible English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 2010. Print.
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