Although the article draws no attention to the fact all of the teachers of “expression” and most of the students mentioned in “Expression in the Popular Culture of Dallas” were women. What made the teaching of “expression” a suitable career for a lady of this time period? How was learning “expression” supposed to prepare girls to become suitable young women? And suitable for what? What does this reveal about the state of gender-based prejudice during this time period in America?
Teaching “expression” was a suitable career for a lady during this time because it was all about the connection of expression with art. The manifestation of expression showed soul and spirit, which created this hierarchy of intellectual ability of making art look effortless, but still obtained authenticity of the individual. This career for women also demonstrated a rhetorical message towards younger women because the purpose of teaching expression helped with the notion of individuality with the utilization of ethos and pathos during public communication. In addition, by obtaining expression it was inherently subjective for women, where they are able to express their own personal feeling towards the audience to show their soul and sensitivity. In essence, this career taught women the skills on how to appropriately express themselves in front of others.
Learning expression during this time was a discipline. Expression was supposed to prepare girls to become poised, obedient, graceful, and how to listen and follow direction. During this time young women wanted and needed to find marriage and it was important for women to learn how to be sensitive and have a good soul. By practicing and learning expression, this trait was in their favor for how men viewed them. In today’s world, the teaching of expression is highly present in popular culture. For example, many young women are enrolled in extra curricular activities, such as dance, ballet, cheerleading, acting, musical instrument lessons, etc. These activities teach young women certain feminine characteristics at an early age and how to express one’s self based on these traits they learn to inherit.
Teaching of expression reified this state of gender-based prejudice because young women during this time were in this constant process of finding approval. Therefore, learning the discipline of expression demonstrated this consistent mirror of self, where women evaluated themselves in order to become a part of this mold. In retrospect to teaching of expression during this time, my parents enrolled me in dance classes to obtain feminine qualities, but also to benefit me as a woman and I found interest in the activity. I was fascinated by young dancers using expression to demonstrate to their intended audience their feelings of emotion and soul. Further, I have found that I have this mirror of self because I was raised on receiving many positive and negative critiques by my dance instructors and parents. This type of education pushed me to excel in many areas of my life because receiving this type of criticism taught me how to understand the comments and the comments I received only benefited me as a woman in today’s society.
I believe learning expression during this time in America revealed a major gender-based prejudice because these women were then viewed suitable due to the qualities and traits learned, such as being nurturing and sweet. This means they were then a suitable future wife and were viewed as more attractive by the men. There were these constant expectations of how the men wanted women to entail these feminine characteristics, so the women would take these expression classes in order to become a good wife and contribute to society. Learning expression also created this hierarchy of intellectual ability for them because they maintained individuality. Further, I believe this discipline has been transmitted into popular culture because young women are still practicing the teaching of expression and how to entail these feminine characteristics to be suitable for the status quo.
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Tricia, great post! I especially enjoyed your last paragraph. Women during this time period and to some extent even today were and are judged based on the abilities and traits learned rather than the self. While this form of expression was predominantly for women this still applies to men as well. Men are judged and selected just like women based on traits learned rather than the self. I think this would be an interesting point for you to include in this essay; the judgement of women based on learning as well as men. Similarly, it would be interesting to consider the differences that exist in this binary as well.
ReplyDeleteBethany, interesting point. Men are judged/ critiqued just as scrutinizingly as women. Consider that for many women, an ideal male/partner needs to be relatively high on the socio-economic hierarchy, be physically attractive as well as strong, and genetically have good qualities for potential offspring. Thus, males and females are both judged on their performance of self through the body. This has become even more so today with mass media always inundating us with pictures of what we should look like, both men and women.
ReplyDeleteGood job of tying in a contemporary example and a personal experience.
ReplyDeleteI'd like you to be more specific about the characteristics that you feel that the expressionists believed were important for a "proper woman" to have. What made these characteristics so important?