LITR 5737: Literary & Historical Utopias
Midterm Submission 2007
Brouke M. Rose-Carpenter
June 18, 2007
The Battle of the Sexes: Gender Coexistence in Utopias
For centuries many attempts have been made to define, or create a “Utopia.” It is near to impossible to generate a single definition of “Utopia” due to the fact that all human beings are different. The individuality and uniqueness of all people is what makes the world interesting. To strip one of their individualism, is stripping them of their personality, and inevitably their freedom. To create a universal utopia the death of individuality must take place. Which brings one back to the question, what is the definition of utopia? As Bryon Smith points out in his 2005 midterm, “Utopias: Defining Perfection”:
Utopia: the word is commonly defined as coming from a set of Greek roots meaning “no place,” but to simply define utopia as no place is rather dismissive. If we consider the word as relating to the Greek roots for “good place,” the meaning deepens. …utopia is a good place that doesn’t exist.
Here Bryon looks back on the history behind the naming of Utopia, which, as we see, is both broad and vague.
Utopia cannot be defined as a whole in regards to specifics, but an individual can define their own utopia. Being that people are distinctive as to what they consider “perfect” or “utopian”, will cause rifts in the idea of a cohesive utopia. In other words, one’s utopia will not meet the needs of another.
One of the largest problems can be found in the matter of sex. It is not sex, as in intercourse, but sex, as in the matter of separating genders. In Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward, the matter of female equality is merely skimmed over, and females perform as the stereotypical “delicate flowers,” while men work, run the household, and essentially hold the power. Charlotte Perkins Gilman then flips the stereotypes on men in her novel, Herland, with her matriarchal system. Then in Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, one is exposed to a dystopia of the future where people are stripped of their individuality, but the sexes are also completely separated, and in the end the idea of a unified utopia is completely thrown aside. Through Looking Backward, Herland, and Anthem, one is exposed to the matter of gender, male and female coexistence, and how it always seems to contrive an issue in any utopia.
In Bellamy’s, Looking Backward, we see the perception of what the future holds from an 1887 point of view. Where Bellamy seems to keep an open mind to what the future holds, and even takes chances by stepping out the norm, he seems to have forgot about the advances of women. Women seem to steadily hold their position as daughter, mother, and wife.
The “Industrial Army” opens endless doors and possibilities for men. Throughout the novel men are continually given the opportunity to choose a career, education, and life. Anytime the idea of education is explored, the promises are directed to “young men,” “Usually long before he is mustered into service a young man has found out the pursuit he wants to follow, has acquired a great deal of knowledge about it, and is waiting impatiently the time when he can enlist in its ranks” (Bellamy 43). Job opportunities are also phrased in regards to the potential for “men.” Women do not seem to be part of the equation.
Edith Leete, who is a 21st century woman, seems to have only one concern, shopping. Bellamy captures the 19th century woman, and sets his readers up for a more descriptive and versatile woman of the 21st century, but does not deliver. The first Edith’s dress, mannerisms, and culture are pictured. So, when the reader is introduced the second Edith it is shocking that she has not evolved. Where the rest of the world has developed, woman has stayed the same. She is concerned with superficial things, and appears to be happy with her dependence on the patriarchal system that she exists in. Why doesn’t this gender evolution take place?
While Bellamy’s imagination is vast, the idea of forming a perfect world, utopia, with equal women does not work out for his best interest. The Leete women appear to content living in a world where they seem carefree of responsibilities, but are also restrained to the will of the men in their life. They are dismissed from the dinner table, told to go to bed, and do not voice their opinion. They act as if they are little children constantly following their fathers command. Bellamy appeared to be incapable of conceiving the idea of a female wanting her independence in the work place, school system, or home.
Bellamy does not make a harsh environment for women per say, but he does not explore the possibilities of what could be for women, as he does for the rest of the world around him. Perhaps this is due to the complications of creating an equal, and cohesive environment for both men and women to reside, and then transforming it into a utopia.
Where Bellamy has stayed consistent with the stereotypes of women, Charlotte Perkins Gilman has reversed their roles. In her novel, Herland, a matriarchal system is not only in play, but there is a complete absence of men. Gilman’s utopia has evolved in all aspects including childbearing. Through the evolution of childbearing without men, Parthenogenetics takes over. Not only does Parthenogenetics resolve the population problem, but it also acts as a literal sisterhood. Gilman has reversed the idea of a utopia built for male domination, and given her women not only the upper hand, but the only hand.
Gilman does not take the radical feministic approach and create man-hating women, but instead displays her women as intrigued and welcoming to men. Herlanders have not purposefully secluded themselves, but are curious to the outside world. Once the three men have arrived, they are hungry for knowledge as to the outside world.
The men, especially Terry, continually reveal the stereotypes that held women back, but the Herlanders are quick to reverse those stereotypes, and to question why they are even used. Keri Welborn explores the same gender issues in her 2005 midterm, “Utopia: Ideal Perfection”:
Gilman’s Herland exposes a feminist utopian society in which the women who inhabited it did not follow the “norms” of the outside world. Herland discusses feminist issues prevalent to Gilman’s society such as educated women, and the raising of children. It also offers a creative look at how utopian ideas differ from person to person with the characters Jeff and Terry.
While this exploration into the female utopia is political, it also reveals the complexities of a male and female cohabitated utopian. As Welborn stated, the differing perspectives on the women and their world can be seen from the view point of Jeff, and then to the other end of the spectrum with Terry.
By allowing the men into their world they are also inviting the possibility of ruining their world. Once the men are around the women, emotions that the women have never experienced begin to arise. The women begin to feel jealous of one another, experience violence through Terry, and have to open up to the sexual desires that come along with a male and female relationship. The world of Herland, that has always ran so cohesively as just women, is now dealing with turbulence by inviting men into their realm.
Herlanders had created a world that grew in all aspects- education, architecture, agriculture, and population- but is now taking the chance of losing it all by the introduction of men. It is not to say that men are “bad” by any means, but to point out the fact that once the opposite sex was introduced to their culture the regular aspects of their perfect world change.
Taking a different approach in Anthem, Ayn Rand displays the way a dystopia of both males and females does not function. In her completely communal world, no one person has an identity, men and women are kept completely separate from one another, and everyone has their routine that they have to live by. Rand not only displays how appalling this system is, but how it would never work. Putting aside the problems of this society, and focusing on the gender cohesiveness, we see how both men and women are assigned duties equally, but they are kept very far apart.
The separation of the sexes is part of the reason Prometheus and Gaea leave. Prometheus defies rules to communicate with Gaea, and in the end is able to run away and begin a life because she is with him. They have to run away from the dystopia/utopia in which they were living, to be together. If someone considered that world to be a utopia, it is again the combining of men and women that causes the disruption. They have to live on their own, by themselves to finally have their own utopia.
This want for a perfect world or utopia is not only seen in fiction, but there are multiple attempts in the real world. As seen in the historical presentations the Oneida group also attempts to create their own utopia. Obviously for Oneidas it is their own perfect place, but as an outsider looking in, they also seem to have their own gender issues. The women are given their own room to reside, but the men are allowed to float around to whichever room they want. They have put the women in a room and restricted her freedom, while giving the men the freedom of their whole world. The women are allowed to call their room their space while the men can roam from room to room without any limitations.
We again see how the men have all of the freedom they want, while the women are enclosed to a certain area. By limiting only the female’s freedom, they have allowed the men to be more superior. The men can bed any woman that he chooses for the night, while the women have to allow which ever man wants her, to have her, making the woman a shared possession. So where is the equality in this real life instance?
Male dominance is also rewarded in the Islamic religion. When a man conducts is life well in the Islamic tradition, he is to be rewarded with 72 virgins in the afterlife. Displaying another instance where male dominance is rewarded, and encouraged.
Overall, Men and women are very different, but most are incapable of fighting their human nature, and their desires of attraction. Their attraction to one another will differ, just as all human beings differ from one another, and at some point there is conflict. Whether the conflict is contrived from the misbalance of equality seen in Looking Backward, the emotions that come with a relationship seen in Herland, or the desire seen in Anthem, at some point the combination of both sexes in a utopian setting does not seem to unify.
Which brings us back to the original question, what is the definition of utopia? There is not one. Many problems arise anytime anyone attempts to put an exact definition on utopia, one of which is gender cohesiveness. If we cannot find a way to create a utopia where both sexes act as equals then how do we find a meeting ground? Others may not wish to have equality, but then we are back to square one. Every person is unique, and every person wants their own unique utopia.
Time: You don’t even want to know! I hate technology!