Monday, September 27, 2010
"Scandalous" behavior similar to Hester Prynne's is still looked down upon in modern society. Celebrities are frequently criticized for scandalous behavior which leads them being publicly shamed. This in many ways is similar to the way that the townspeople shun Hester Prynne and criticize her actions. On a much smaller level, promiscuous behavior committed by a student in high school will be criticized and may cause people to exclude or shun the person because of their behavior. The Puritan society of The Scarlet Letter judges Hester's behavior more harshly than it would be judged nowadays however. In some ways, women are judged more harshly for promiscuity than men because modern society's expectations for women's behavior involve women being much more chaste than men. The expectations for men's behavior condones behavior like Hester's and in some ways glorifies it.
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I agree that people are often criticized for "scandalous" behavior, and that our society is more lenient towards men. However, it seems to me that sometimes, celebrities are famous for their scandalous behavior - that is what people find interesting. There is also a discrepancy between the media's portrayal of women and society's expectation of their behavior; women in the media are usually skinny, beautiful, and scantily dressed, but I agree with you that we tend to judge women for being promiscuous. Our definition of "scandalous" is not entirely clear, but I definitely agree with you that it is much less harsh than in The Scarlet Letter.
ReplyDeleteSociety has dramatically changed since the time in The Scarlet Letter. Society is less strict and much less austere. However, scandalous behavior is still looked down upon for women. Why is it that when a girl conducts scandalous behaviors they are referred to as derogatory terms such as slut, whore, or one of many others? And when a man conducts scandalous behaviors they get a high-five and are referred to as empowering terms such as a player, womanizer, or any other similar name that congratulates them for their behaviors? It is evident that these scandalous acts conducted by women of modern society are viewed much less harshly than in The Scarlet Letter. Women today wear more revealing clothes, use a more sexually-oriented vernacular, and even work at places such as Hooters or Gentlemen's Clubs which are extremely degrading towards women. Back then, women would wear clothing that would cover every square inch of their skin except their face, and then some. Women today from the middle east wear clothing that only reveals their eyes. How are they so tan? The punishment towards women, from all over the world, for conducting scandalous behaviors was much more severe than today. In the end, I agree with all the points made by both Emily and Sarah. Great job ladies. And dont work at Hooters. (unless you enjoy chicken wings)
ReplyDeleteI think that the topic for B group was commonly agreed that the modern society is not as generous to women's promiscuity as they are to men. However, the past puritan society during 18th century's view of women being inferior to the men had been eradicated. Obviously, we do not punish women who committed adultery by making them wear a sign "A". Comparing to our past history, women have higher social status and they are able to fight against discrimination. Moreover, there are even some women who are confident about their sex lives. For example, in the TV show, Secret Life of the American Teenager, the character Adrian is very open about the men whom she had slept with. This can be an example which apparently shows that women in the past and now are very different in terms of their behavior and in the future there will be more change.
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