Critical Essay Sample on Role of Women in a Brave New World

Introduction

Huxley's Brave New World is a revolutionary piece that provides a glimpse of the perceptions of the future. Under this dystopian world, women don't have roles such as giving birth as the role of the "World State." The role of conception and childbearing rests with the state with children conceived from artificial wombs in a factory. The word "mother" is considered offensive in the futuristic world. Therefore the question is: are women better off having been relieved of this role? The world in which women exist they are conditioned to be sex objects and subordinates to men.

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Women as Sex Objects

From the book, there is no evidence of women occupying elite roles in society. There are no conditions that would otherwise limit the women from occupying these positions. Both men and women are raised under the same conditions starting from conception as the state handles all their affairs; therefore, equipping both men and women with the same conditions to thrive and acquire skillsets. However, women remain treated as objects in society. One circumstance from the book is where Bernard discovers Henry Foster talking of Lenina "as if she were a piece of meat." (Huxley 53) John the Savage provides another perspective of the society as he is more of a conservative. When Lenina makes sexual advances to him, John calls her a "whore" and even resorts to killing her as she does not fit his unrealistic standards (Moroz 12).

One alarming factor is the way the book strips away women's role in relationships. By stripping away women's ability to bear children, the women are required to love their status as treated as another sexual object (Spang). Women in laboratories only follow orders from men. When Henry asks Lenina on a date, all he had to do was command her to come to the date and not ask (Huxley 13). During a conversation between Henry and the Assistant of Predestinator, Henry recommends that the Assistant of Predestinator should have an intimate relationship with Lenina (Huxley 37). The exchange represents the symbolic treatment of women as sex objects within society. Bernard's outrage signifies the extent to which women are degraded equating women to pieces of meat (Huxley, 53).

Women do not fit in this society based on the fact that men use them for their pleasure with disregard for their feeling. The general perception is women are tools to satisfy the needs of man in society. The perception begs the question: are women tools who can be used and thrown away? Are women expendable with their only role being sex? The World State seems unfair being that it was built to elevate men to a higher position that women to such extent that they can play the role of masters. Women, therefore, do not fit the society as there is no level playing field that fosters gender equality.

Women as Subordinates to Men

When placed in the 1930s context, there is evidence of the separation of roles in Brave New World. All women in the World State fall under the authority of males. Men populate all the leadership roles. In the laboratory, Lenina and other women take orders from men. In one instance, when the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning (DHC) enters the conditioning room, all the nurses stood attention, and when he commanded them to bring in the children, all the nurses obeyed him. He then proceeds to give them a set of commands which they wilfully obeyed (Huxley, 15).

The book is full of dialogues which women have to obey orders from men creating an inferior perception of women. From the case above, it is evident that the nurses have no say and are more of slaves than co-workers. Douglas-McMahon argues that the dystopian society does not exist in the Brave New World and the message is that women are inferior in the society with no capacity to make intelligent decisions outside their physical appearance (Douglas-McMahon 21).

The argument is that men in the society can use genetics as a means of phasing out women should they desire. The ability to take away the role of women in the society as child bearers pushes women to the wall as such that they cannot revolt against men for fear of being out-phased or subjected to more slavery under men. Therefore it is pointless for women to assume leadership positions as men can still overpower women through the use of genetics to limit the advancement of women. It is evident that men are in charge of the whole process of bringing a child into the world, thus limiting the role of women.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Hurley acknowledges that society views women as sex objects. He, however, critiques women based on the fact that it is women who advance the idea of themselves as sex objects. Women also are subjected to the ideology that they are inferior to the society creating the perception of helpless beings. Besides providing their eggs for creating babies, the only role left for women in the society is to be sex items for men.

Works Cited

Douglas-McMahon, Sukyi. "Technological Determinism and Feminism in Aldous Huxley's Essays, Brave New World, and Island." 2008, pp. 1-71., digital.library.txstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10877/2645/fulltext.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Chatto & Windu, 1932, www.fadedpage.com/link.php?file=20160545-a5.pdf.

Moroz, Grzegorz. "Brave New World, Intertextuality and Mieczyslaw Smolarski." Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies, no. 18(3), 2017, pp. 8-17., doi: 10.15290/cr.2017.18.3.01.

Spang, Frank. "The Role of Sex in Brave New World." Peutinger, peutinger-gymnasium.de/html/lernen/brave_new_world/The_Role_of_Sex_in_Brave_New_World.html.