الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract This research concentrates on examining the cultural meaning of gender differences; it has been found that gender differences are linked to the roles of women relative to men. The cultural meaning of gender differences varies across different cultures. Historically, gender differences have been linked with gender inequality, or the relationship of the status of women to their often-dominant male counterparts. Gender differences are determined by social and biological factors, but as the emphasis put on these factors changes, the significance of gender differences in society also changes (Mealey 2000, p.78). Social feminism is primarily a feminist movement that advocates and argues for social rights and special accommodations for women. It was first used to describe members of the women’s suffrage movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which were concerned with social problems that affected women and children. Women considered obtaining the vote mainly as a means to achieve their reform goals rather than a primary goal in itself. After women gained the right to vote, social feminism continued in the form of labor feminists who advocated protectionist legislation and special benefits for women. The term is widely used, although some historians have questioned its validity (Fraser 2003, p.10). So, it is not strange to see that these disciplines are interwoven into the works of Southern America dramatists, especially female ones. This research aims at investigating one of the contributions of recent feminist literary movement. Showing the conservative culture in the Southern States of the USA that has shown a strong focus within Southern literature on the significance of family, religion, community in one’s personal and social life, the use of the Southern dialect, and a strong sense of place. The following four selected literary works of two major contemporary female writers of the 21st century, Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour (1934) and The Little Foxes (1939) as well as Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart (1978) and Impossible Marriage (1998), may be good examples for the argument that the Gender Differences are still there in the American society and still have an strong impact upon the individual’s behavior, especially in the Southern States. |