Feminism can mean many things, but what matters is gender equality, being able to control your own life and live the choices you make. It's not about hating men or thinking women are superior. In this seminar article I will try to connect the definition of feminism with Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. But I won't just talk about women. Male participation in feminism is very important to achieve gender equality and that is why I will write about how both men and women are forced to act how society wants them to act. There are double standards, but in the end we are all the same. I can connect these two literary passages to Kate Millets' quote: “Due to our social circumstances, male and female are actually two cultures and their life experiences are completely different…”, and I will try to explain this theory during my seminar . As I said, I will talk about feminism but not about a radical approach that says women are better than men or as Valerie Solans said: "Every man, deep down, knows he is a worthless piece of shit." plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “It made me wonder, I thought, what would have happened if Kate had been healthy… Of course, I would not be part of this family.” In this book, the younger sister, Anne Fitzgerald, is specially born to be paired with her sick older sister to help save Kate's life. This raises the question of how far one family member should go to help another member of the family family: “See, unlike the rest of the free world, I didn't get here by accident. And if your parents have you for a reason, then that reason better exist you are too. On the other hand, we have Never Let Me Go, a book in which humans exist only to be available for body parts until death: "Anyone who has been deemed 'unnatural' in the face of prevailing biological norms, anyone who has experienced injustices committed in the name of the natural order will realize that the glorification of 'nature' has nothing to offer us…” The topics of these two books are very similar: the lack of the right to life. However, this is not the only similarity. The main characters in both novels portray qualities often associated with feminine characteristics in literature, which brings me to my three questions that I will try to answer: what are the differences between the portrayal of men and women, what is masculinity and femininity, and what it means to have control over one's body: «I think we will not be able to understand the functioning of transphobia, of homophobia, if we do not understand how certain types of links between gender and sexuality are created in the minds of those who want it masculinity is 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 for example boys' sports) are avoided. All students are encouraged to express themselves in non-masculine ways, for example by creating art. The Guardians are mostly women and are parental figures for all students. At the Cottages, students are exposed to gender roles. On the other hand, the Fitzgeralds house is not so patriarchal. The father, Brian Fitzgerald, is often his wife Sara's biggest supporter, but at the same time he is able tolook at the situation from your children's point of view. She may be kinder than Sara at times, but Sara proves to be emotionally stronger of the two even though she "should be" weaker because she is a woman. As Anna said: “Normality, in our house, is like a blanket that's too short for a bed: sometimes it covers you very 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 carer and giver also contributes to patriarchal gender roles but the 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 similar to being a provider in a family. “I wasn't very good as a caregiver. I never even learned to drive. I think that's why the notice for my first one came so early. I know it's not supposed to work that way, but I guess that's what it was. I didn't really care. I am a good giver, but a terrible caregiver.“ Anger is used by men and women should be more open about their emotions, but at the same time they should never show aggression, which is a bit contradictory: “.. .and even though tears were streaming down my face, I wasn't sobbing or losing control. I just waited a bit, then went back to the car, to go where I needed to be.” According to patriarchal gender roles, it is unusual for men to demonstrate weakness. Jesse, Anna and Kate's older brother, acts like a delinquent, but much of his behavior stems from anger at his inability to save Kate and a feeling of having been ignored his entire life. In Halisham, boys are punished for showing too much emotion, such as crying. Tommy becomes an outcast because, unlike his peers, he lacks artistic ability, which leads him to develop a violent character that manifests itself, for example, in acts of tantrums and crying. She has no male figure in Halisham and after Halisham she continues to display a mixture of masculinity and femininity. Judith Butler points out that when it comes to distinctions between "male" and "female" bodies and behaviors, we cannot assume that something is "natural" or "exactly the way it is": "When we say that gender is interpreted, usually we mean that we have taken on a role or are acting in some way and that our acting or role-playing is crucial to the gender we are and the gender we present to the world already mentioned, emotions are often associated with women. They should be caring and motherly, it is expected of them. Girls, from an early age, see themselves as potential mothers and try to adapt to female gender roles just like Ruth did. Kathy is different, she has it in her. These two characters can offer some insights into the way women are portrayed in the novel. Kathy often plays her favorite song called Never Let Me Go and the chorus makes her think of a woman having a baby as she sings and rocks her pillow like a little girl. She has a maternal instinct (or society makes her have one), but she is simply conforming to patriarchal standards. According to Judith Butler, it would be wrong to say that she "has" maternal instincts. Kathy doesn't have them because she is a woman: "Gender is not something that one is, it is something that one does, an act... a doing more than a being." This part, which is at the beginning of the novel, shows us how polite she is; especially towards Tommy. He never shows aggression, not even towards Ruth, because this is reserved for men. The fact that he has been an assistant for eleven years shows how much he cares for others. Furthermore,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. She was only eleven at the time: "It's about a girl who's on the verge of becoming somebody... A girl who maybe doesn't know what she wants right now, and she might not know who she is right now, but who deserves the chance to find out." For a better comparison between 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 creates a book, as a gift for her mother, with all her memories and precious moments inside. Part of it was about her ex-boyfriend Taylor, who died, but also about guys in general. Two entire pages were covered with the questions "What is masculine?" ,"What is feminine?" and the answers. Some of them for the first question were: dirty nails, soccer ball, short hair and black color, while 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 a woman made her think that she is now ugly because she doesn't look like the rest of the world: “…don't say it. Don't tell me no one will stare, because they will. Don't tell me it doesn't matter, because it does. And don't tell me I'm fine because that's a lie. But what are masculinity and femininity? Patriarchal cultures have limiting forms of masculinity that are restricting not only the life choices of men, but also those of women: “It is my opinion that gender is culturally formed, but it is also a field of action or freedom and that it is very it is 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 than everything else; just how Kate felt while dealing with cancer and how 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 considered the specifics of this little girl. I only thought about this daughter in terms of what she will be able to do for the daughter I already have... On the other hand, my dreams for her are no less lofty; I intend for you to save your sister's life. What does it mean to have control over your body? Feminism is not just about gender equality, but also about owning your body and your life. In feminist ideology, this is usually connected to the belief that a pregnant woman should have the freedom to choose an abortion if she wants it, but I won't talk about that. What I wanted to say is that every human being, no matter whether man or 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 do not have this right and are not able to be the people they want to be: "What I'm not sure about is whether our lives have been like this different from the lives of the people we save. Let's complete everyone. Perhaps none of us truly understand what we have experienced, or feel we have had enough time." Is it ethical for clones to sacrifice their lives to save someone's? If they were considered human beings, they should have the right to make decisions about their bodies: “With my heart pounding, I ran in the opposite direction; leaving the rest of this rescue to people who actually want to be heroes. "Remember: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay To summarize, "Whatever the "real" differences between the sexes may be, they probably.”