The Australian Legend and Feminism

The Australian Legend And Feminism

Until recent years it has been believed that there are two sexes, being male and female, and with these there are two genders, with these being masculinity and feminity. It may also be argued that sex is biology determined where as gender is socially and culturally constructed as studies of societies, both present and past, have shown that there is no relationship between social roles and biological sex (Abercrombie, Hill & Turner, 2000). With the introduction of post modernist feminist theories we have begun to question whether or not there are only two genders and how to classify transgender (Flax, 1990).

It can be argued that masculinity has socially and culturally been constructed as dominant within the public world. In western countries, such as Australia, it is upon men that “autonomy, control over the world and mastery of others” (Porter, 1998, p. 27) has been placed. Parsons (Porter, 1998) suggested five alternative sets of positioned values which are structured as being either expressive or instrumental. Parsons (Porter, 1998) was of the belief that men embodied the instrumental values of affective neutrality (capable of unemotional and impersonal interaction), self-orientation (primary pursuit of own interests), universalism (making objective evaluations when interacting with others), achievement (ability to achieve set goals and related status) and specificity (interacting or working within a specific role). Parsons theorized that these five instrumental values were associated with western ‘advanced’ societies (Porter, 1998).

In Australia, women and children are seen to be subservient to the male superiority. Parsons (Porter, 1998) believed that women embodied the expressive values of affectivity (highly emotional), collective orientation (putting others interests before your own), particularism (responding differently towards different people), ascription (having status ascribed regardless of intrinsic qualities), and diffuseness (role covers a wide range of interests and is non-specific). To Parsons these roles were seen to belong to primitive society and in modern times were to be associated with women and private life (Porter, 1998).

These roles have been reinforced through popular media, for example by the bible which is the worlds’ best selling and most distributed book (Guinness World Records). Within the bible the word "man" may be found 5,335 times in 4,536 verses whilst “woman” may be found 379 times in 347 verses (Christ Unlimited Ministries, n.d.). Passages of the bible may also reinforce the notion of male superiority for example in Genesis 1:26-28 (Christ Unlimited Ministries, n.d.) which tells of god creating Adam in his own image and then creating for Adam a helper, Eve, whom God calls Woman as she is created from the rib of man. Another example is Proverbs (White, n.d. b),

“Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil… She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life…”

The book continues of what the woman will do for her husband, her family, and all those around her but does not tell of what her husband will do for her.

The Australian books How To Succeed In A Man’s World and Woman’s World, both of which were published in Australia, are another two examples of media that have reinforced feminine and masculine stereotypes. How To Succeed In A Man’s World, published approximately in the early to mid 1900s, was written for men “to supply [the reader] with a window on to the world, to broaden [their] horizons and increase [their] opportunities (White, n.d. a). The series, of four volumes, contains forty lessons on understanding the business and social worlds. The courses include management, leadership, marketing, management, political science, law, etiquette, home decoration and handyman, women and motor cars.

In contrast to this book is the book titled “Woman’s World”, published approximately in the early to mid-1900s, is designed to be a ‘bible’ for the “woman who cares and is as vital to her as feminity” (White, n.d. b). The book has nine courses that cover beauty, fashion, poise and personality, cooking, how to ‘catch’ your man, love and marriage, the home, the family, and interests and hobbies. The book contains limited information on career choices or employment itself although it does acknowledge that a woman ‘may’ work.

With the rise of feminism in Australia during the late 19th century, male dominance has come under attack. In 1902 Australian women secured the right to vote in Federal elections under the Commonwealth Franchise Act (Banham, 2002; Summers, 1994). At this time Australia