Equality Fetish
Okay I need help with the introduction of this and I want to make sure the content supports my argument well enough. Naturally, any minor errors that need fixing are gold to me if you point them out. So give it your best shot!
Aldous Huxley manages to successfully pervert the goals of feminism into misogyny that is more oppressive than any previous patriarchy could conceive. The technology and cultural practices of the dystopia of Brave New World are not only used to keep social upheaval at bay but to degrade women while tricking them into being happy about it.
Oxycontin is one of the most addictive narcotics in modern medicine. It is a pain reliever and and opiate. Why is this relevant? The female brain is designed for communication and networking so much so that the reward for those behaviours is a surge of Oxycontin straight to the pleasure centers of the brain. Huxley’s dystopian society frowns upon nothing more than it does interpersonal bonds. They teach this to their children through hypnopaedia- a type of “sleep-teaching” that manipulates the subconscious mind. Freud would be appalled. For the male brain- which is wired to be rewarded for competition instead of making nice-nice- this is harmless. Women in this world, however, are deprived of the relationship-equals-Oxycontin-high experience. Their base instincts are undermined by science under the pretense that relationships create unhappiness. As if unwilling emotional sterility does not.
Sterility of all types, in fact, is prized Huxley’s world. Cleanliness is next for Fordliness. Relationships are antisocial. Childbirth is a horror and a shame, done away with through Malthusian birth control belts and test-tube-fetuses. Birth control, it should be noted, is the woman’s responsibility, not the man’s.
As far back as 10,000 years B.C. evidence of the worship of feminine fertility has been found. Throughout human history women have been valued for their ability to have children if not elevated to goddess status. Social norms in Brave New World rob women of this historic rank. The word “mother” is a worse oath than today’s “F-bomb”. Child bearing is primitive and to be expunged from the annals of history. Here, women cannot even claim that they are being used as baby-factories to argue for some form of feminist rights- that is stripped away from them with taught-promiscuity and non-optional sterility.
There are no free-thinking women. They do not hold positions of power- certainly there is no mention of a female World Controller. No, women are independent and emotionless clones. They cannot claim to be abused for their reproductive systems and they are brainwashed into being nothing more than interactive sex toys to be used by men. Misogyny has reached a new low in Brave New World, illustrating the classic male fear of patriarchy being usurped by feminist equality.
By creating a world that would make women ranging from the tightest-laced conservatives to the brightest flower children shudder Alduous Huxley has proved a powerful point: no combination of good intent and science can breed universal equality. It is a goal that must be attained through time and patience, even at the risk of unhappiness.
Aldous Huxley manages to successfully pervert the goals of feminism into misogyny that is more oppressive than any previous patriarchy could conceive. The technology and cultural practices of the dystopia of Brave New World are not only used to keep social upheaval at bay but to degrade women while tricking them into being happy about it.
Oxycontin is one of the most addictive narcotics in modern medicine. It is a pain reliever and and opiate. Why is this relevant? The female brain is designed for communication and networking so much so that the reward for those behaviours is a surge of Oxycontin straight to the pleasure centers of the brain. Huxley’s dystopian society frowns upon nothing more than it does interpersonal bonds. They teach this to their children through hypnopaedia- a type of “sleep-teaching” that manipulates the subconscious mind. Freud would be appalled. For the male brain- which is wired to be rewarded for competition instead of making nice-nice- this is harmless. Women in this world, however, are deprived of the relationship-equals-Oxycontin-high experience. Their base instincts are undermined by science under the pretense that relationships create unhappiness. As if unwilling emotional sterility does not.
Sterility of all types, in fact, is prized Huxley’s world. Cleanliness is next for Fordliness. Relationships are antisocial. Childbirth is a horror and a shame, done away with through Malthusian birth control belts and test-tube-fetuses. Birth control, it should be noted, is the woman’s responsibility, not the man’s.
As far back as 10,000 years B.C. evidence of the worship of feminine fertility has been found. Throughout human history women have been valued for their ability to have children if not elevated to goddess status. Social norms in Brave New World rob women of this historic rank. The word “mother” is a worse oath than today’s “F-bomb”. Child bearing is primitive and to be expunged from the annals of history. Here, women cannot even claim that they are being used as baby-factories to argue for some form of feminist rights- that is stripped away from them with taught-promiscuity and non-optional sterility.
There are no free-thinking women. They do not hold positions of power- certainly there is no mention of a female World Controller. No, women are independent and emotionless clones. They cannot claim to be abused for their reproductive systems and they are brainwashed into being nothing more than interactive sex toys to be used by men. Misogyny has reached a new low in Brave New World, illustrating the classic male fear of patriarchy being usurped by feminist equality.
By creating a world that would make women ranging from the tightest-laced conservatives to the brightest flower children shudder Alduous Huxley has proved a powerful point: no combination of good intent and science can breed universal equality. It is a goal that must be attained through time and patience, even at the risk of unhappiness.