Gender And Masculinity Flashcards
How is Curley’s wife affected by her gender
-She is a possession Curley, Steinbeck highlights that they are not equal partners but Curley is an over her.
-judged by appearance e.g. red mules and not personality. This is different to ranch workers as they are judged by personality not looks.
-double standards: the men call her a ‘tart’, ‘rattrap’, ‘jailbait’, yet there is no judgement of them going to old Susie’s
-her life is dictated by men’s choices. The man never sent her a letter about Hollywood, now she is controlled by Curley as there is less opportunity for women economically
How is masculinity portrayed
-American dream, which positively affected males as there were allowed more opportunity economically to make money. However, flappers created small change for woman but after the Wall Street crash gender roles returned to woman being neglected.
-slim vs Curley as Curley has very fragile masculinity and how he feels like he constantly has to prove himself to violence, to make sure his size doesn’t reflect his physicalallity. However, slim is seen as wise and gentle and slim doesn’t need to be physically imposing as people want to listen and speak to him. This shows how complex masculinity is and the different tropes and how each men act.
