* WOMAN

THE CONUNDRUM


" Do we refer to a very masculine lesbian woman as a man, or do we still consider her a woman? Do we refer to a very feminine man, who wishes  to be a woman, as a man or a woman? These are two of the major questions our generation has to answer. "  



(Excerpt above from the paper of a student --- and perhaps a future news analyst --- in my  Advanced American Literature 11 class.) 







QUOTES EXCERPTED FROM STUDENT PAPERS: 


(Note: Biological Determinism is the theory that one's body determines one's fate, i.e. that a body which produces babies and milk is destined to procreate and feed others while a body which substitutes muscles for procreative powers is destined to subdue the earth and subdue others with those muscles.)

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• 1.  When they cannot open the jar of pickles, they get emotional. Sometimes crying comes with these emotions.
• 2.  There are many men, and even some women, who think a woman's place is in the home. A real woman must be fueled by comments like that. She takes a negative and demeaning point of view and uses it as motivation to succeed. 
• 3.  Women will always have compassion. tolerance and understanding, when it comes to their family's needs.
• 4.  And then, independence is important for women . . . Many women feel that is the one important way to get the same social status as men. 

• 5.  A modern woman should be able to diversify taking on all the roles of of traditional man such as holding a job and "bring home the bacon."
• 6.  I still firmly believe that women are kinder in nature than men, always have been and always will be.
• 7.  A woman is defined as someone who refuses to be held back because of her physical features, values her freedoms, and still takes pride in being a mother.
• 8.  The main great ability of woman is to be independent and support herself without needing to rely on a man.
• 9.  A woman today is one who has resources to do things herself. She is able to do any of the tasks that males can do, even if not of the same quality.
• 10.  A woman should be comfortable with herself. She can accomplish this by staying home, going out and working, not getting married, or choosing not to be a woman any more.
• 11.  Women today have a stronger willpower than they did back then, they are ready to take charge of their own lives without being told what they can and cannot do.
• 12.  The role women play in society now is almost equal to that of a man. The public, for example, uses medicine developed by a woman, attends classes run by woman, and lives by laws that have been put into place because of women.
• 13.  A woman in 2012 knows her place. She knows what is socially acceptable and she knows what to do to be seen. A woman is not rude, but she knows how to get her voice heard and get her point across.
• 14.  Women still have children but are not prisoners in their own home, bound to raising kids and cooking and cleaning for their husbands.
• 15.  A woman is more caring for others because she doesn't think about herself as much as others.  Some of the women I know take care of elders, friends and other family members when they are sick. She takes in what others are feeling.
• 16.  Now, women determine what they want to do, how they want to do it, and when they want to do it. They take no orders from anyone.
• 17.  If she is single then she has a part-time job to make some money, but she also has a practically full-time job trying to flaunt her body to men and appear as eye candy.
• 18.  In 1930 women spent on average 44 hours a week in the kitchen, says the ers.usda.gov. Every husband and child expected to have a meal from their mother. In the year 2012 things have changed :  cnn.com says 40% of men cook for their families.
• 19.  . . . the definition of a woman in the twenty-first century should be: a woman knows how to love, has the potential to be a worthy mother, and puts her husband and children before herself.
• 20.  Feminists groups are all over the country now and are working harder than ever , but it's going to take a long time to get women to be as equal as men.  If you look at the definitions of the two, you can clearly see that women are still the maids and sex objects . . .
• 21.  She is willing to do what he asks of her. She manages the house by getting the kids to school and taking care of them. She cooks and cleans continuously and goes to work. She always puts her family first just as the man does.  She is always sexy.
• 22.  Females in 2012 are pressured into being someone who they are not on a daily basis . . .Women are judged on how they dress, how they wear their hair, and how they do their make-up. Their hair, body, skin and face have to be flawless with no imperfections, otherwise they will be criticized.
• 23.  A trait that is prominent in all women is faithfulness. Without this a stigma may mark them which would surely repel any opportunity for settling down and starting a family.
• 24.   . . . I would define a woman as an independent, caring, hard worker, a definition which would not have been the same in the early 1900's.