Gilman Sumblog 6

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an active female social thinker in the late 19^th century. She is most famously known for her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Gilman’s sociology focused on three main ideas: sexuo-economic relation, an androcentric culture, and public vs. private spheres. She stated that there was a great deal of inequality between the sexuo-economic relations. She felt that all social life was economically interdependent. “As long as what I get is obtained by what I give, I am economically independent.” Gilman felt that women were economic factors in society; she also stated that a horse was as well. They both help produce more wealth, but have no means to create money for themselves. Another interesting topic Gilman talked about was the origin of gender stratification. She felt that it derived primarily from an androcentric culture. This means that people view all things in a society from a males’ perspective. Meaning, men have more power and greater access to power. Gilman contextualized this inequality by describing the differences of power in public and private spheres. She said that males dominate the public sphere through economics. Where as private spheres such as the home, where you’re surrounded by people you know very well were characterized as more feminine places. A prime example of androcentrism in our society today would be sports. Male athletes get more airtime, recognition, and even better wages for performing the same sports. A video I found below helps to demonstrate this core idea of how many people view the world through a male perspective. A Japanese man and woman are playing a game. When the woman hits the man, she does it once and he is able to put a helmet of sorts on before she hits him. When it is the male’s turn to hit her he literally stands up and just starts hitting her as many times as he can before the official has to pull him away. There is a level of inequality between these two players that is evident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB-uVhYKlHU