Paper Example on Gender Equality in the Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Published: 2021-06-30
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Homemakers do not exist in the Brave New World. Additionally, the traditional roles of the women are not represented as marriage is being abolished. The professionals play the role of childbearing, and cooking is never mentioned in the novel, as no one is described to be eating. Cleaning the house and food preparation are not issues in the book. For instance, when John sweeps the floor on behalf of Lenina she claims that there are vacuum cleaners (Huxley 128).

In the Brave New World, all the people are considered equal. The reason is that both men and women are equally treated. No differences exist in the way they are conditioned, born, or even treated. Additionally, there are no gender roles, and both the men and women have similar jobs, and they engage in similar activities. According to Huxley (87), both the males and females do not participate in sex for reproduction purposes. Instead, their embryos are developed through a scientific fertilization process, which is complicated. This statement shows that there is no reproduction or parenting in the traditional way. Although it may be argued that women are considered as sex objects in the novel, it is not true because both males and females need sex. It is also shown through orgy-porgy which is a sex ceremony sponsored by the government. This issue is evident in the novel where twelve participants take soma, get downright ecstatic, summon Ford, and enjoy each other (Huxley 54)This statement shows how developed sexual activity is in this kind of society. It is regarded as a healthy thing for both the genders.

In the Brave New World, there is equality between the sexes. The reason is that the role of the mothers is not present in the society. This issue is clearly shown in the novel, as there is no existence of family or births where the role of mothers is needed. Furthermore, the traditional roles of men and women in the society have been abolished in this World state as every individual in the society is conditioned to his or her functions and jobs in the world. This information is evident by the world state motto, which says everyone works for everyone else (Huxley, 61). It means that there is equality in the novel as both the men and women work for each other and it is not the other way round where women are working for the men. The word mother is smutty in the Brave New World (Huxley 36).

According to the Brave New World, gender equality is perfectly balanced by the different characters in the novel. It also shows when Mond states that society should make sacrifices to achieve a perfect balance (Huxley 14). This statement means that both the men and women in the novel see eye to eye. The reason behind this strategy is that women and men do not need to be together. Men and women have gender equality in that the women do not rely on the men to be the head of the family by providing for them and their families. Furthermore, the men do not rely on the women to do chores like cooking as they are not in relationships that can last long for them to live together.

In the Brave New World society, housewives do not exist as they are founded on rational scientific principles. In this context, the community exists on sound scientific principles where there is no reason why women and men could not be equal finally. The reason is that in the novel, there is a new society in which the female jobs including cooking, cleaning, and child bearing are no longer needed. Thus, there is a chance of gender equality although it is not apparently achieved. The reason is that in the novel, every highly viewed individual or leader is a male. These people include the director, Ford, and Mond. There is no single information given in the novel that asserts that women have a significant amount of power.

Men and women are portrayed as equal beings in the Brave New World since all the residents are working side by side irrespective of gender. They are also not into jobs that specifically mention men as the only people who dominate those jobs. Bothe the men and women in the Brave New World need each other, and it is not like in the real world where men are the ones who look for suitors. In this novel, even the women look for male lovers, and this is evident when Lenina says that he is the one I need to Fanny in regard to John whom she desired to take out. Fanny replied to Lenina that she should just go and take him out whether he needs it or not. This statement shows that I the novel, both the men and women need each other, and there are no visible values of any gender throughout the novel.

Equality between the sexes exists in the Brave New World as there are no remnants of human bonds and relationships. The relationship between the male and female beings does not exist as all people are born in a scientific lab (Huxley 36). The women so not play the role of bearing children. Additionally, the relationship between a man and a woman no longer exist as the society shun monogamy, and all the genders learn to share each other equally.

Although the Brave New World tries to show equality between the sexes, it is not achieved. In most of the occasions as the novel presents situations in which the male individuals are the ones present. For instance, bringing the hatchery where it is clearly stated that all the students are male by the director. Huxley also hints on inequality when he refers to the women as being sex objects (Huxley 20). Therefore, despite the abolition of various traditions in the novel, women are not regarded as equal to the men. Gender equality is shown in the book in that the women do not have typical roles as the women who exist in the real world.

In conclusion, the brave new world is a novel that tries to show that both the men and females are equal in the society. Although some parts of the book indicate that there is inequality by depicting women as sex objects, a large part of it indicates there is equality in the world state. The reason is that the women no longer play the traditional roles like childbearing, cooking, cleaning the house, and food preparation. No differences exist in the way they are conditioned, born, or even treated. Additionally, there are no gender roles, and both the men and women have similar jobs, and they engage in similar activities. Equality between the sexes is also shown in the novel where everyone works for each other, and no one can do without the other.

 

Work Cited

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World: A Novel. London: Chatto & Windus, 1933. Print.

 

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