Breaking Labels through Feminine Sexuality - Essay Example

Breaking Labels through Feminine Sexuality Introduction Boundaries that are within society through labels and expectations are one of the controversial topics in literature. Many authors use the concept of boundaries and labels to describe how these can be overcome within society. In the stories Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Moth and Other Stories by Helena Viramontes, there is a concept of overcoming the boundaries of gender identity and race. In both stories, the characters change their role and the way in which they interact with others, specifically to resist and overcome boundaries and labels that are placed on them by specific types of identity. The concept of redefining female sexuality becomes a central point in both stories. Through sexuality of the women, relationships change and the gender identity creates questions of the roles of the women. The women in each of the stories rebel against gender identity and labels by taking actions with feminine sexuality that redefine gender roles. Defining Gender and Race The concept of gender identity and race in both stories is central to how the women in the story act and react. In both novels, there is a sense of identity, rigidness and restrictions which apply to the gender of each of the individuals. Most of the rules which are placed on the women come from a strict patriarchic culture that is defined by the rules of women and the expectations they have for staying within specific confines. The defining of gender and race comes with specific boundaries and expectations as well as labels in which each of the characters is required to obey. Through both of the stories, there is an undertone of the expectations in society through the secondary characters, as well as how the main characters question these and try to overcome the boundaries through specific actions that they take. Beloved shows the concepts of rigidness in gender boundaries and identity through the main way in which the males treat the women and different races throughout the book. This is first seen with Sethe and Denver’s escape from slavery in the 19th century, which was not looked up to. More important, the death of Sethe’s daughter contributes to understanding the level of boundaries that were placed on race and gender within the society. The main concept is to define the boundaries of gender and race as being submissive to other genders and race while creating a specific identity that is not able to contribute to society in specific ways. The role in both race and gender holds an expectation of remaining submissive and not carrying an identity that is able to have a place within a patriarchal society. The same concept is seen in The Moth and Other Stories, with specific roles that are a part of society and where one should stand. For instance, the narrator points out that Apa would complain about her rebelliousness with identity, specifically because she wouldn’t take the expected role of a woman or culture. “That was one of Apa’s biggest complaints. He would pound his hands on the table, rocking the sugar dish or spilling a cup of coffee and scream that if I didn’t go to Mass every Sunday to save my goddamn sinning soul, that I had no reason to go out the house, period” (Viramontes, 29). The specific scene with Apa shows that the boundaries and expectations with gender, identity and culture were a leading aspect of those in the stories and which the characters were required to be a part of when growing up in a specific society. The same concept of gender identity, racial expectations and the boundaries that are a part of culture are in each of the stories in The Moth, all which show how one should uphold the traditions, beliefs and culture that is associated with the sense of identity. Resisting Identity through Sexuality The characters in the book represent the traditional aspects of culture and the barriers that are related to both gender and race or are the resistance against the expectations. Both books portray the performance of the main characters as overcoming and resisting the expectations that are placed on them from the family and those that are in the surrounding community. The actions, dialogue and the way in which each of the characters interact provide insight into resisting and overcoming identity that is placed on them from society and from the external ideologies that come from the patriarchal society and from the outside expectations. The feminine sexuality becomes a symbol of overcoming the boundaries and moving outside of the concept of expectations and tradition that are withheld by the past traditions of each of the characters. Beloved shows the resistance of gender identity through the main character of Beloved. She lives in the household of escaped slaves and is an unknown entity in the community. The controversy of the character is based on the way in which she interacts with men and women as well as the characteristics that she develops to break gender and racial identity. Moving into a more aggressive role and acting out of other instincts is one that leaves Paul D questioning identity. More important, is her open relationship with sexuality with Sethe, which leaves several of the characters questioning the feminine sexuality that Beloved acts out. “Rainwater held onto pine needles for dear life and Beloved could not take her eyes off Sethe. Stooping to shake the damper, or snapping sticks for kindling, Sethe was licked, tasted, eaten by Beloved’s eyes” (Morrison, 72). The main attribute that Beloved shows is one that overcomes the concept of gender identity and breaks the bounds of feminine sexuality for the time period. Beloved is up front with her sexuality, aggressive with how she seduces women and breaks bounds of expected gender roles to create a different gender identity from her demeanor. More important, she rejects the traditional role of women, which doesn’t notice the rainwater or discomfort of the outdoors because of her desire to break the traditional bounds of gender while looking at Sethe. The woman based relationship and the assertiveness toward the relationship then show how the concept of feminine sexuality breaks the bounds of gender expectations and identity. The same breaking of confines is seen in The Moth and Other Stories. In The Moth, the main character is noted as not being able to do more feminine things, such as crochet without pricking her fingers or working the same way as the other women. Instead, her interest is in breaking bricks and pounding nails into cans, which shows more masculine attributes of the main character. Other stories show the same attributes, such as Birthday. In this specific story, Olivia decides to go against the expectations of society and the way in which different individuals are expected to be together for marriage. Instead, Olivia openly has an affair with a man and has two of his children without expecting him to stay. For the time frame and culture, she becomes rebellious against the culture and resists the expectations of marriage, love and family. “She had not felt like this in a very long time; moonwarm and tender for another person. She loved once before, but not secretly. She lived openly with him, bringing forth two sons. And what a scandal that had caused! If she would have to live an outcast, she would do so for him. But he left one afternoon” (Viramontes, 55). The character of Olivia defines open sexuality instead of staying within the confines of a specific society. The story states that the openness she showed caused a scandal; however, she didn’t stop rebelling against the expectations of society. The feminine sexuality that is presented is one that is more aggressive and rebels against the concept of expectations for gender role and instead creates a different sense of what gender identity means through the sexuality that is expressed. The myths of La Llorona and Gritona apply to the same concept of female sexuality and overcoming the boundaries that are associated with this. In La Llorona, there is a myth associated with women coming up from the depths of sorrow to search for their children. To find her children, La Llorona leaves her husband and becomes a human being that is self – reliant and responsible (Guillory, 169). The women in the book carry the same breaking of gender identity to find their true feminine nature and to express their sexuality in a different manner. There isn’t a sense of dependency on men for sexuality, pleasure or for the changing roles of women. Instead, the women remain independent and take a more aggressive role in defining their own sexuality. The main ideology which is used within this myth is to recreate the concept of destroying the older ideas of gender and to represent a new image of feminine sexuality. Both novels portray this through open sexuality, redefining gender roles and the character identity that is shaped specifically by the desire to create a different performance of the concept of feminine sexuality that is not defined by society, family or expected roles. Challenging Racial and Gender Relations The concept of sexuality in both of the novels is not only important in breaking the traditional roles. There is the ability to question and re-identify what the concept of identity means. The characters rebelliousness toward the expected identity and labels then provides the ability to recreate the meaning of gender roles and what it means to belong to a specific gender. Each of the women breaks the boundaries through their actions, not only with sexuality, but also with other attributes that are not feminine in nature. More important, these roles break the expectations with race, class and the stereotypes that are created specifically because of race and gender. The characters are then able to challenge the main concepts which are attributed to relationships of identity within each of the novels. Beloved challenges the concept of gender identity and roles of women through the sexuality by breaking the bounds that are a part of expected roles. The racial and gender relations are challenged by not conforming to the expectations within society. More important than the feminine sexuality that is broken or altered, is the way in which this creates a difference within society, while altering the expectations of those that are in a given society. For instance, when Denver finds Sethe and Beloved together, it creates tension that Denver can’t bring to the public because of how much it breaks the rules. “She never went back. The second day she didn’t go, Sethe asked why not. Denver didn’t answer. She was too scared to ask her brothers or anyone else Nelson Lord’s question because certain odd and terrifying feelings about her mother were collecting around the things that leapt up inside her” (Morrison, 121). Moments like this show that the concept of feminine sexuality that broke out of traditional roles was significant in breaking bounds not only with the sexual expressions. More important, the societal differences and the confusion of expected gender identity became prominent among those that were surrounding in the novel. The statement made was that the expectations for gender identity and roles of race and other labels were broken, specifically because of the expressions of feminine sexuality which were expressed. The same types of concepts are associated with the stories and The Moth where the concept of feminine sexuality becomes more than an expression. Instead, it relates to breaking the boundaries, expectations and labels that are placed on both gender and race. The concept of breaking boundaries is not only seen in the physical expressions of sexuality, but also appears through the children and the characters which are interested in more than the boundaries and expectations which are placed on them. The characteristic of how one should be when belonging to a specific gender role where broken through each of the women with different actions taken. In The Moth, the main character does this by a sense of rebelliousness that is seen through the story and which breaks the bounds of gender through the characteristics shown. “I wasn’t respectful either. I even went so far as to doubt the power of Abuelita’s slices… Regretful that I had let secret questions drop out of my mouth, I couldn’t look her in the eyes. My hands began to fan out, grow like a liar’s nose until they hung by my side like low weights” (Viramontes, 27). The concept of respect is one that is defined by the role in which the character should have in society. More important, the secret questions not only refers to the main concepts, but also associates with the ideology of moving into the secret places of true sexuality, gender and race to identify character and to redefine the main concepts which are associated with various parts of identity. Breaking identity and labels and questioning what is expected in society becomes the main attribute through the characters in each story. Conclusion The concept of breaking gender role is the most important attribute in each of the stories. In both Beloved and The Moth and Other Stories, there is a challenge over gender identity, race and labels that create stereotypes. The main way in which this is seen is through the feminine sexuality that is expressed in each of the stories. The sexuality becomes a symbol of how the concept of boundaries is broken in gender and identity. More important, each of the actions for feminine sexuality is attributed specifically to the breaking of boundaries and identity. The acts of sexuality are not as important as the questioning that each of the characters has toward their expected roles as well as the rejection of the traditions, beliefs and roles that each is supposed to carry within the given society. The patriarchal society is broken through the actions of the characters and the way in which they display their own questions and understandings toward society. Works Cited Guillory, Elizabeth Brown. Women of Color: Mother – Daughter Relationships in 20th Century Literature. Texas: University of Texas Press, 1996. Print. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Random House, 2006. Print. Viramontes, Helena Maria. The Moths and Other Stories. Texas: Arte Publico Press, 1995. Print. Read More