A Jury of Her Peers

"What was the author's purpose in writing this piece?" my teacher asks the class. A lull follows before we all gradually state our beliefs.

My hypothesis is that this piece was meant to highlight the injustice of male dominance in the society that this story was set.

Minnie Foster is believed to have killed her husband by asphyxiating him while he slept. Much of the story is written focuses on men involved with the investigation converging on the house to inspect it and find evidence. Two men bring their wives; Mrs Hale and Mrs Peters, the sheriff's wife.

From their interactions with the men it becomes obvious that while women here are respected to a point, they are still subjugated by men. Mrs Hale and Mrs Peters seem to have had 'their sense of place' instilled into them as upon entering the house they timidly wait near the door, not wanting to intrude into the men's business. The county attorney further highlights male dominance by saying to the ladies, "Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?" (6). The attorney implies that Minnie Foster is failing as a housekeeper and therefore failing as a women. He stereotypes what women must be. The men collectively also show how they believe women are not as intellectually capable as themselves. "Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder, and worrying about her preserves!" (6). Here Mr Peter laughs at how seemingly naive and disconnected the women since they are worrying about broken jars of preserves instead of the dead husband upstairs. Mr Hale reinforces this stereotype by saying to himself as they ascended the stairs, "But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?" (7). From this it is clear the men didn't believe that the women were wise enough to recognise things as evidence even if it was obvious.

Unfortunately, no one can really blame the men for thinking this way. After all male dominance is something that they have had all their lives. The degradation of women did not start and stop with this story.

And while the stereotypes are morally wrong and limit woman's potential it is understandable that in the farming environment they brawn would have been most important whereas intellect is omnipotent today. So there may have been a general truth that being a housewife was all women could do working on a farm since in general (I say this with caution!) women are weaker than men.

I can also understand how men would have perceived woman as intellectually incapable. Certainly to a point, women would have been naive since they would have been disconnected from much of the outside world. Mrs Hale and Mrs Peters worrying over broken preserves instead of a dead body is testament to this. 

But what was most noticeable for me was that these women actively subjugated themselves by willingly fulfilling their stereotypes. Even when the men were upstairs, Mrs Hale felt compelled to clean up, it is as though it is an instinct. And I shake my head every time I think of how the women failed to show the evidence that they had found that would have been key to the trial. I know they probably felt compassion for Minnie Foster because of universal suffrage, sisterhood etc. But the only way they can escape from this subjugation that they so seemingly hate is to challenge it. Proving their intellect by showing this evidence would have been a great way to do so. 

The Perfect Voice

A bit off topic but still relevant...

Recently researchers have released recordings of the perfect male and female voice. According to a BBC report there are certain voices that humans innately find more appealing than others. Preferences vary sporadically but surveys reveal that the actor Jeremy Iron and Alan Rickman possess the most popular male voices.

Meanwhile a melange of Dame Judi Dench, Mariella Frostrum and Honor Blackman's voices created the most admirable female voice.

While this find is largely irrelevant, I was still aghast that such a study had occurred. Great time and effort has probably been made into researching this topic but I believe this study should have been dismissed before it even began.

I am glad that this study did not garner great attention as it would have only made human stereotypes than they are now. Should all men be trying to sound like Jeremy Iron and women like Judi Dench? I think not, as it is one of the first parts of our unique identity, one that we need to protect dearly.

The End is Nigh

'Jeesums' was the word that sprung to my lips upon reading The End of Men by Hanna Rosin. Mankind was about to become Womankind and according to Hanna there's little any man can do to stop it. Hanna opens her article by predicting that men will soon be the subordinate sex.

Hanna attempts to prove this by referring to how neo natal clinics now get many more requests from patients wishing the sex of their unborn to be female rather than male.

Such a preference for girls is a huge shift from the historical trend of human and even animal existence. Even way back in Ancient Greece men "tied off their left testicle in order to produce male heirs" (3, The End of Men) in a desperate attempt to ensure male offspring. This seismic change of preference for girls over boys is very recent, and in her mind illustrates how society is changing.

Hanna's explanation is that only recently has "thinking and communicating come to eclipse physical strength and stamina"(3). Up until the late 20th century it could never have been argued that brawn was more useful in the first world mass labour force than intellect. Since in general, women are less strong than men, they would have naturally been not as competitive in the common workplace. However, like horses were replaced by cars, machines have been able to replace the brawn and productiveness of humans.

Manufacturing jobs are falling in the West, either because of the introduction of machines or because these jobs are being exported to countries with lower labour costs. Meanwhile, service jobs catering the female dominated female industry continue to grow.

This is omnipresent across Western enterprise. Male dominated sectors are falling while female dominated ones continue to rise. What is worrying 'mankind' is that men seem to be reluctant to adapt in order to become more competitive. They are reluctant to do jobs stereotyped to be feminine jobs.

Meanwhile women are eagerly breaking down stereotypes, hundreds of years old. More women graduate high school than boys. More women get master degrees and more women are entering male dominated sectors than ever before. According to The End of Men women's presence in the law sector used to be virtually non existent. But now they represent 50% of the work force.

Wherever we look women are breaking down stereotypes and are succeeding in life because of it. Shouldn't men be doing the same as well?