Introduction
Gender equality is a broad notion that clarifies how men and women should be treated equally in society in a variety of contexts. The position of women and men, as well as their impact on current gender roles, are hotly debated topics throughout the cosmos. In her work "The City of Ladies," Christine de Pizan—the first French professional female writer—displays a clear perspective on gender equality. She depicts various facets of gender equity as well as the position of women in various social contexts. The position of women is one that is harmed by various perceptions in various cultures and communities throughout the globe. Most of the perceptions recognize men as the most powerful in the humankind. However, Christine showed us in her book that there are no specific traits reserved specifically for one gender because both men and women are equal and therefore what a man can do, a woman can as well do. She also showed us that the women could also have powerful positions in the world just like the men do. In her dreamlike vision of the city, Christine demonstrated that women are as useful and valuable in the society just like men. Therefore, they deserve the right social utilities like education and other rights of life. Therefore, she dwells on reason, integrity, and justice to present the position of women in civilization.
First Argument: No specific traits reserved for the male gender
First, the argument of Christine Pizan in her book portrays no specific traits reserved for the male gender in society. She considers uniform characteristic of both men and women in the society. Men and women are equal beings in the human communities. In her narrations, she believes that there are no specific characters that are uniquely held for the male gender in the society. In fact, she argues that women had outsmarted men on various occasions in the past. Thus, she presents numerous personalities who have excelled among women as the walls of her city in the book. The famous personalities range from scholars, inventors and warriors to prophetess and artists are the walls of her great city in the story. Christine laments and condemns the ancient portrayal of women as subjects who were lesser beings and could bring misery in a man’s life. This way, Christine reflects on some incidences where men slander women and wonders why such events should be allowed in the world. In such moments, she finds herself in great pain and disguises thinking about the role and place of women in the communities. "This thought inspired such a great sense of disgust and sadness in me that I began to despise myself and the whole of my sex as an aberration in nature (De Pizan 12)." At some point, Christine tends to believe that the misconceptions about women could be real since she could not trace any work recorded in favor of women. Contrariwise, Wilson perceived women in a different perspective. In his argument, Wilson believed that it was acceptable for men to mistreat and slander women in the social order. At the same time, the other authors such as Labalme felt that men were superior to women and had the right to torture and molest the woman without question. Such concerns sadden Christine, and she claimed that such culture in the society was oppressive and should not be emulated in a civilized world. Ideally, one would argue that the ancient people did not recognize women as equal beings to men and were not supposed to hold equal chances as men did in the same era. The reign of this cult saw persevere some of the worst social injustices in human tradition with a comprehensive focus on the development of men and no women competition. In her book, Christine considers both genders as humankind and deserving equal treatment in resource allocation as well as access to the essential rights of expression. According to Lawson, Christine’s work restores the image of sex, and her views transform the poor perceptions, there were oppressive and abusive (34). Quilligan thinks that the work is meant to show the different dangerous aspects of the nature of a woman in the society. Interestingly, the authors portray the position of a woman in the community as one full of controversies and disparities. Some cultures perceive women as submissive to men while considering this as a lack of civilization in the history of our development as humanity in the world around us. It is clear that the historical cases of cultural perception presented the female as one whose role bore no significant impact on the communities. As such, Christine uses her book to stress the fact that none of the social positions were reserved for a particular set of people based on their sex or gender roles.
Second Argument: Women as equally compelling as men
Secondly, Christine presents women as equally compelling as men are in the world over. She showed numerous accounts of ladies who prospered in the areas of interest such as education, art as well as another aspect of society. One of the significant turning points in her article is the lesson taught by Lady Reason. She believed in the voice of reasoning and evaluation of the past achievement by the woman of exceptional measures. Here, she ventured into the religious history to present the women of value who stood firm in their positions and roles both in the family and the community by giving no chance to any external forces. She encourages fellow women to embrace "The Virgin Mary" in their quest for greatness. This story reminds her readers of the great story of the woman who achieved more than any man in the world today. It is true that such women had exceptional achievement during their times in the world. At the same time, Watson, in her speech during the UN conference in 2014 (3) denoted that the issue of gender equality is a universal concern because women could also hold some of the most influential positions in the world. Ideally, women have shown significant development in the civilized. Hillary Clinton is one of the recent women that most people emulate based on her boldness to compete in a historically known to be men's position in US history. The world viewed such a step as an indicator of the change in the civilization prospects. Women could hold the highest offices in the world too.
Emphasizing the value of women in society
Christine demonstrated that women are as useful and valuable in society just like men. Therefore, they deserve the right social utilities like education and other rights of life. Using her female virtues, Christine records the role of education and access to resources as a universal right that every individual should attain regardless of their sex in the system. She points at the three virtues in the city- reason, honesty, and justice as typical examples and role models for the women who live in the previous eras of life events. Her quest for universal acceptance and gender equality goes beyond just the local personalities in the city, but for the entire period of cultural dominance in the male communities. According to Labalme, learned women had a substantial impact on society (6). It was sad for Christine to realize how bad the men treated women in the past. Some were raped, others molested and much more treated in a manner suggesting that they had no particular importance in any community. The female gender could not make any decisions in the ancient society. Male chauvinism and gender discrimination dominated humanity, and nobody cared about the woman. However, in this book, she narrates the place as one individual context of humankind which is irreplaceable in any setting. The man and the woman are equally important to the family and the culture at large. The modern world does not recognize discrimination against the other gender in any move within the environment. In fact, if the woman were not to be there, life could not be bearable for the man. Intentionally, both genders play a role in the progress of the other. Christine demonstrates this fact by highlighting the role of famous women in shaping the community as well as the place of men in the older culture. She then calls those with gender-biased perceptions horrible liars who do not deserve the attention of any woman in her life. The concept of the city and the lady symbolic presents the distinction between the two classes of gender roles. The ladies are those women who have the good aspects of civilization, those who have learned their positions in the civilized world while those in the city are the ones who still dwelt in the old cult of men-dominance communities. It is not only evident to the town but also evident in the prominent examples used in the stories of the famous ladies of all time in the story. Similarly, Wilson claims that the vast female writers and achievers were exceptional cases who thrived in the unique environment. Such conditions may help us understand how this society perceived their women both at the family level and the community level. It would be satisfactory to demonstrate such contexts in a contemporary society since the men believed they are the leaders of all-time. Women have no authority to question them at all costs in life.
Importance of gender balance
In my opinion, the concepts of gender roles bear significant value in society. In the ancient community, women faced numerous types of injustice and mistreatment that most of them did not deserve. Such cultural contexts infringed the right of women and misrepresented their place in the community. Therefore, the concern on gender equality is a crucial aspect that shows the importance of gender balance. In essence, women and men should work together to make the world a better place to live. This topic explains how important it is in appreciating the importance of gender balance. The women should be obedient, and despite these challenges, they are expected to be loyal to men. The misconception that women were helpless and had to live as dependents should be supported. Gender equity has to be for both female and male to have equal opportunities in everything in life. The men need to have similar opportunities as the woman in the family, workplace, as well as society. In this paper, I will be focusing on the important argument covered in the book because this topic helps to close the gender gap between the men and women in society, which will make them on the same level.
Conclusion
To conclude, this concept has a central place in our lives today. Christine helps to understand the struggles of women in history and the context of their position in the world today. It is true that no unique traits should be reserved for men. Gender equality is essential as it empowers the female gender as well as the male to utilize their gender roles without discrimination of any kind as witnessed in the ancient society. Women are as powerful as men in the world today. At the same time, both men and women are equally vital in the progress of a nation. No gender surpasses the role of the other in the world. Therefore, we should embrace the content of Christine’s book pointing at the loopholes that existed in the ancient culture when it came to gender equality and the roles of every gender in the literature. I find this book very essential and relevant in our societies today, where some religions still treat women as lesser beings of humanity.
Work Cited
De Pizan, Christine. "The Book of the City of Ladies. 1405." Trans. Rosalind Brown- Grant. London: Penguin (1999).
Labalme, Patricia H., ed. Beyond their sex: learned women of the European past. New York University Press, 1980.
Lawson, Sarah, ed. The Treasure of the City of Ladies: or the Book of the Three Virtues. Pengui, 2003.
Quilligan, Maureen. The allegory of female authority: Christine de Pizan's Cité des Dames. Cornell University Press, 1991.
Wilson, Katharina M., ed. Medieval women writers, 1984.
Watson, Emma. "Gender equality is your issue too." Speech by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson at a Special Event for the HeForShe Campaign, United Nations Headquarters, New York 20 (2014).
