Feminism can mean many things, but it mainly comes down to gender equality, being able to control your own life and live your choices. you make. It's not about hating men or thinking women are superior. In this seminar article, I will try to relate the definition of feminism to Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. But I won't just talk about women. Men's participation in feminism is very important to achieve gender equality and that is why I will write about how men and women are forced to act the way society wants them to act. There are double standards, but at the end of the day, we are all the same. I can relate these two literary works to Kate Millets' quote: "Due to our social circumstances, men and women are actually two cultures and their life experiences are completely different...", and I will try to explain this theory throughout my seminar. As I have already mentioned, I will talk about feminism but not a radical approach according to which women are better than men or as Valérie Solans said: "Every man, deep down, knows that he is only 'worthless shit. » Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “It made me wonder, what would have happened if Kate had been healthy…Surely, I wouldn’t be part of this family.” In this book, the younger sister, Anne Fitzgerald, was born specifically to be matched with her ailing older sister; to help save Kate's life. This raises the question of how far a family member should go to help another family member: “You see, unlike the rest of the free world, I didn't get here by chance. And if your parents have you for a reason, then that reason better exist. Because once it's gone, so are you. On the other hand, we have Never Let Me Go, a book in which humans exist only to be available for parts of their bodies until they die: "Anyone who has been judged 'unnatural' faces By current biological standards, anyone who has suffered injustices committed in the name of the natural order will realize that the glorification of “nature” has nothing to offer us…” The themes of these two books are very similar – lack of right to life. But that's not the only similarity. The main characters in both novels represent qualities often associated with feminine characteristics in literature, which brings me to my three questions that I will try to find an answer to: what are the differences between the representation of men and women, what is maculity and femininity, and what does it mean to have control of one's own body: "I think that we will not be able to understand the operations of transphobia, of homophobia, if we do not understand how certain types of links between gender and sexuality. in the minds of those who want masculinity to be absolutely separate from femininity…” In Never Let Me Go, the three main characters conform to patriarchal gender roles in different ways, but Halisham is not patriarchal at all. The first time we see patriarchal gender roles is at the Cottages and in Halisham, typical gender roles (except e.g. sports for boys) are avoided. All students are encouraged to express themselves in non-masculine ways, such as creating art. The Guardians are mostly female and represent the parental figures of all students. At the Cottages, thestudents are exposed to gender roles. On the other hand, the Fitzgerald household is not so patriarchal. The father, Brian Fitzgerald, is often his wife Sara's biggest supporter, but at the same time he is able to view the situation from his children's point of view. Sometimes he can be nicer than Sara, but Sara is shown to be emotionally stronger of the two even though she "should be" weaker because she is a woman. As Anna said: “Normally in our house it's like a blanket that's too short for a bed - sometimes it covers you really well, and other times it leaves you cold and shivering; and worst of all, you never know which one it will be. The differences between men and women are much clearer in Kazuo Ishiguro's book than in Picoult's novel. Becoming a caregiver and giver also contributes to patriarchal gender roles, but these roles are, according to Judith Butler, “not biologically fixed but socially constructed.” Being a caregiver is a more feminine job and being a donor is a more masculine job. Being a provider is like being a provider in a home. “I wasn’t very good as a caregiver. I never even learned to drive. I think that’s why the announcement of my first came so soon. I know it's not supposed to work that way, but I think that's how it is. It didn't really bother me. I'm a pretty good giver, but a bad caregiver. » Anger is used by men and women should be more open about their emotions, but at the same time should never show aggression, which is a bit contradictory: “…and although the tears were streaming down my face , I wasn't sobbing and I wasn't out of control. I just waited a bit, then went back to the car to head off to where I was supposed to be. According to patriarchal gender roles, it is unusual for men to show that they are weak. Jesse, Anna, and Kate's older brother acts like a delinquent, but much of his behavior comes from anger at his inability to save Kate and his feeling of being ignored his entire life. In Halisham, boys are punished if they show too much emotion, such as crying. Tommy becomes an outcast because, unlike his peers, he lacks artistic abilities, leading him to develop a violent temper that manifests itself, for example, in tantrums and crying. He does not have a male figure in Halisham and after Halisham he continues to show a mixture of masculinity and femininity. Judith Butler points out that when it comes to distinctions between "masculine" and "feminine" bodies and behaviors, we cannot assume that anything is "natural" or "as it is: "When we say that gender is accomplished, we usually mean that we have taken on a role or that we are acting in some way and that our acting or role-playing is crucial to the gender that we are and the genre that we present to the world. As we have already mentioned, emotions are often associated with women. They are supposed to be nurturing and maternal, that’s what is expected of them. Girls, from a young age, see themselves as potential mothers and try to fit into feminine gender roles, just like Ruth. Kathy is different, she has it in her. These two characters can provide insight into how women are portrayed in the novel. Kathy often plays her favorite song called Never Let Me Go and the chorus reminds her of a woman having a baby. She sings and throws her pillow like a baby. She has maternal instincts (or society gives them that), but she simply conforms to patriarchal norms. According to Juidth Butler, it would be inaccurate to say that she "has"maternal instincts. Kathy doesn't have them because she's a woman: “Gender is not something you are, it's something you do, an act… a doing rather than a being. » This part, which is at the beginning of the novel, shows us how caring she is; especially towards Tommy. She never shows aggression, even towards Ruth, because that is reserved for men. The fact that she has been a caregiver for eleven years proves how much she cares about others. Additionally, Anna says she doesn't want to help her sister anymore because she wants to live her life to the fullest and have children in the future. At that time, she was only eleven years old: "It's about a girl who is on the verge of becoming someone... A girl who maybe doesn't know what she wants right now, and she may not know who she is right now, but who deserves the chance to find out. » For a better comparison of these two books, I also watched a movie with the same title as the book - My Sister's Keeper and one thing was really interesting. As Kate is dying, she makes a book, as a gift for her mother, with all her memories and precious moments. Some of it was about her late ex-boyfriend Taylor, but also about boys in general. Two entire pages were covered with questions “What is masculine?” » , “What is feminine? » and the answers. Some of them for the first question were: dirty nails, football, short hair and black color, and for the second question the answers were: pink, tears and long hair. Kate lost all her hair due to chemotherapy and this idealistic image of woman made her think that she is ugly now because she doesn't look like the rest of the world: “…don't say it. Don't tell me no one will look at me, because they will. Don't tell me this doesn't matter, because it does. And don't tell me I look good because that's a lie. But what are masculinity and femininity? Patriarchal cultures have limiting forms of masculinity that narrow not only men's life choices, but also women's: "I think gender is culturally formed, but it's also an area of ​​action or freedom and that it is very important to resist violence. this is imposed by ideal gender norms… “Sometimes women are dominated by men and including cancer can make them feel even smaller compared to everything else; just as Kate felt about cancer and the way Anna is controlled by her parents: "Even though I'm nine months pregnant, even though I've had plenty of time to dream, I haven't really think about the specificities of this child. I have only thought of this girl in terms of what she can do for the daughter I already have... Then again, my dreams for her are no less lofty; I intend for her to save her sister's life. What does it mean to have control over your own body? Feminism is not only about gender equality, but also about owning your own body and your own life. In feminist ideology this is usually linked to the belief that a pregnant woman should have the freedom to choose to have an abortion if she wishes, but I won't talk about that. What I wanted to say is that every human being, whether a man or a woman, has the right to do with their body what they want: “Freedom is not given – and it 'is certainly not given. by something “natural”. The construction of freedom implies not less but more alienation; Alienation is the work of building freedom. " In both books, people are denied this right and are incapable of being the people they want to be: "What I'm not sure is whether our lives have been that different from those of the.”