Article Analysis: Advice to Younger Women: Practice Manning Up

Type of Document and Main Argument

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The document Advice to younger women: Practice manning up is a news article that has been published to the online newspaper called The Globe and Mail. The author is arguing that women should stop letting themselves be treated by men in ways that are unnecessarily demeaning, such as when a man spreads his legs to take up space from the seat next to his. She argues that this is as a result of their arrogance, disrespect, and micro aggression that they inflict on women. The author argues that women should learn to stand up for themselves by not allowing such treatment.

Document Analysis through Faircloughs concepts

The social problem in this document is that men can be arrogant as they are already used to being viewed as the dominant sex, but women should stop letting themselves be treated as inferior through practices such as manspreading in public, where the men tend to behave in ways that are unfair to the other sex.

There are various obstacles to tackling this problem. First, for a very long time, men have been viewing themselves, and acting as the dominant sex. Women also supported this as they heeded to any command given. Unfortunately, this history may hinder women from standing up for themselves as many are still held on to the belief that men are superior. It seems impossible to man up against men in public, yet while at home the same woman will be expected to submit to her husband. The move to man up, therefore, becomes dispensable. The men, are also an arrogant sex, many cannot accept that they are equal to women. They have grown in a generation where they view themselves as more important, which is why it may be a problem introducing a change that will take this benefit from them.

The social order, with regards to this news article, needs the problem to show how women are letting themselves be treated wrongly, all because it is believed that men are superior. Women do not have to undergo such treatment, as men spreading their legs far and wide in public, taking up much space, simply because they are men. This is merely an example of many other unfair treatments that women have to withstand.

There are possible ways past the obstacles mentioned above. First, women need to be empowered and their beliefs need to be changed. They need to learn that there is no difference between them and the men. As such, they do not have to stand the unfair treatment every day. No force should be used; it can start by simple requests every time a man does something arrogant. For instance, when in public, the women can use a simple excuse me to ask the men to move their legs. Second, the notion that men are superior should be done away with in the society. Human rights activists can also focus on this equality to help with this obstacle.

Document Analysis through Polletas Concepts

According to Polleta, stories are shaped by their institutional context. People tell stories for various reasons, such as to show that they have experience in an issue, to illustrate an idea, to start a discussion on a new set of issues, and also to give their opinion. The document being analyzed has been presented in an attempt to persuade women to stand up for themselves, and not let the men treat them unfairly as is presently the case. From the content, the author, who is a women's activist, asks how it is that educated women still withstand such wrongful treatment.

This article has made reference to previous perspectives, so as to create room for new perspectives. For instance, the author has made reference to different instances where women have been treated unfairly by men, simply because they are arrogant and view themselves as superior to women. Aside from the manspreading problem, there is also the case of ill treatment on campus and outside, despite them being well educated. She has shown how men have been behaving badly ever since the beginning of time, and has also acknowledged the fact that some positive changes have been experienced as a result of efforts from women to stand up for themselves. This is why there are rules against such behaviors in institutions such as school campuses. In public, however, there are no rules, but women should still be focused on improving how the men treat men.

Document Analysis through Losekes concepts

A theory by Loseke is that the more social relations feature strangers to each other, the more the relations are informed by preexisting images. From the document, this concept has some truth to it. In public, men treat women who are strangers to them as inferior, and the women are too scared to stand up for their equal human rights. This is because their relationship is based on the preexisting image which is that men are superior, and as such, women should submit. This is why most women withstand public humiliation from men, without fighting for themselves.

Borrowing from the approach of formula stories, the news article calling on women to man up may be symbolic in many ways. For instance, the fact that women are educated, yet are still oppressed by the men shows that no change has actually taken place. Education was introduced to bring about power. Thus, educated women should be strong and ready to stand up for their rights. Unfortunately, this is not the case as even in campus, the women are still being treated unfairly by the male classmates.