WP - Gender, Stereotypes, and Discrimination

Writing prompts help build the ability to respond to questions, and they help writers get their ideas down. Over the course of time, they build writing fluency and proficiency as well.

Please give serious consideration to the prompt, doing so will highlight connections in the texts we read. Please use all of the time provided -- keep writing even when you think you're out of ideas. Remember, writing is a thinking process; the more you write, the more you think! Although I do not assess daily writing responses for conventions, use them to practice your skills – try to write in complete sentences (avoid fragments, run-ons, and comma-splices) and develop other good habits (e.g., capitalization, punctuation)

Writing Prompt – Gender, Stereotypes, and Discrimination

Higgins says about Eliza’s whining, “A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to be anywhere—no right to live” (1.1). Why does Shaw write “a woman” and not “a person”? What is he trying to show? What other female and male gender stereotypes do Higgins and other characters reveal or employ? By placing gender stereotypes within the context of a comedy, what does Shaw reveal about them? How can they be simultaneously funny and cruel? What are we really laughing at when we find the employment of a gender stereotype amusing? What do you think Shaw’s overarching intent is in employing gender stereotypes? In other words, what is he trying to get the readers or audiences of the play to think about after they’re done laughing?