THE PORTRAYAL OF GENDER EQUALITY IN AMERICA AS DEPICTED IN SHELDON’S THE STARS SHINE DOWN
Sri Mulyani1, Galang Kesatria Tama2 English Literature1
English Education2
Sri.Mulyani@gmail.com
Abstract
The development of gender equality seems become the parament trending topic that continuously coloring the diversity of human race, even America as the super power country cannot hide from the issue that is caused by the difference of gender. This thesis is conducted to explore more analysis of gender equality in America which is depicted in the novel by Sydney Sheldon entitled as The Stars Shine Down. The depiction of gender equality is of course related directly to the society, the writer used sociological approach to comprehend the analysis. This research explores dominantly the method of qualitative approach, while the data are all collected through the library study. The data used in this thesis is taken from the all part of the novel that depict the situation of gender equality in America by considering the theory provided in the thesis. The data which is including the dialogue, narration, an all other parts of the novel that depicts the gender equality will be suited to the theory and brought out to be the analysis.
Key words: Equality, Gender, Gender equality, Sociology, Sociological
INTRODUCTION
The issue about gender seems to be “a long last” issue that appears in every point of view of human history (Chavez, 2000), (Sinaga, 2017), (M Yuseano Kardiansyah, 2017). It is even most probably provided in various focuses of problem. As history goes by, the struggle to abolish this difference always appears in any kind of need. When a group of people face a problem, it will not suddenly give an exactly the same way of solving between one and another because of “gender is the range of physical, biological, mental and behavioral characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, man and woman”
Based on Nobelius statement, gender is something that can show us where a woman and a man are because gender can show us about the characteristic between man and women, but it cannot be limited about a woman activity like in gender equality (Fahrizqi et al., 2021), (Gumantan et al., 2021), (Aguss, 2021), (Pranoto & Suprayogi, 2020), (Aprilianto &
Fahrizqi, 2020).
Gender equality put itself as an issue that happens in the universe and has its own difference in one place and another place. It depends on what point that should be the dominance in equalizing process. Verloo’s statement emphasizes that gender equality is influenced by the vision. It is also influenced by the geographical context where the effort of equalizing the gender is located. Another fact is that the contention about gender equality also appears in America. America still remains the question about the exact interpretation of gender equality. The term gender equality has been defined in multiple ways in the development literature and has been the subject of great debate in the America.
Gender equality will provide a huge analysis when it is looked in different point of view that exists around the world. Gender equality denotes women having the same
opportunities in life as men, including the ability to participate in the public sphere (Pustika, 2015), (Sari et al., 2013), (Mandasari & Aminatun, 2020), (Muhammad Yuseano Kardiansyah & Qodriani, 2018), (Handayani & Aminatun, 2020). Gender equality denotes the equivalence in life outcomes for women and men, recognizing their different needs and interests, and requiring a redistribution of power and resources (Sucipto & Bandung, 2016), (Sohrabi et al., 2020). The analysis in this research will get clearer information either for the writer or the reader. By considering the various purposes of gender equality struggle that exists in entire universe, the writer agrees the summary of the definition of gender equality as put below.
In this research, the writer tries to figure out the existence of gender equality in America in the novel by Sydney Sheldon an title The Stars Shine Down. The main character in the novel named Lara Cameron, a successful real estate developer. She was the child of a broken family came from Nova Scotia, Canada. Her mother died at the time she was born.
Her father did not accept her because she is a woman. Early in her life, she learns to fend herself science her only parent not even aware to her. She worked as a cost collector for a boarding- house business. There after her father passed away, Lara made a deal with the business’s owner to grant a building to be her own. Thrilled at her success, she moved to Chicago, United State to start her real estate empire. Even though she encountered many problems, she was able to overcome them all. She became one of America’s successful business women, and was called as “iron butterfly”. Once she falls in love with a talented pianist, Phillip Adler, and married him. She was on the verge of losing everything she has achieved because the man she’d married, but the iron butterfly miraculously recovered from all her shattered dreams and gained back all her hopes and met a man whom she ever truly loved.
LITERATURE REVIEW Concept of Gender
It is important to reveal what actually the concept of gender before we continue the discussion of gender equality. In the very beginning of this research the writer has realized that the concept of gender or even all issue within the word is still remaining the continuously concept which means cannot be described in the fixed description but changeable. Realizing about that situation we need to know deeper about the gender which recently the word gender has entered the Armenian vocabulary. Before that there was only ser (meaning sex) (Evayani & Rido, 2019), (Putra & Qodriani, 2017), (Kuswoyo et al., n.d.).
The existence of gender issue in the social life will most probably giving a chance to the appearance of distinction toward both gender. The issue of gender is not the individual with different sex but the determination of roles, access, or even decision making (Kisworo, 2018), (Wantoro & Priandika, n.d.), (Nurkholis & Susanto, 2020), (Aldino & Sulistiani, 2020), (Andrian, 2021). It is also similarly argued by another expert that actually the distinction in the application in the social life toward both genders cannot be avoided. The issue of gender diversity and probably gives the conflict is existed from the very beginning of social life (Evayani & Rido, 2019), (Megawati, 2017), (Anuar et al., 2020), (Rusliyawati et al., 2020), (Schrape, 2018).
Gender Equality
The issue about gender in its distinctions is not a new topic in human race . Gender issue has become a mainstream topic that can bring a new phenomena and new problem as a running of history of human being. Even though the issue about gender, is already appeared since very long time, but this issue can make a new topic year by year even in the different place of the world. Gender issue appears differently in any places, but it still rooted by the diversity of gender between men and women (Schrape, 2018), (Gunawan D, 2020), (Rianto, 2021).
Gender equality is a case where women and men have the same opportunity. the same opportunity here is the woman could get his chance to expand its participation in both the education and the economy, both in the family and in society. Mikkola also explained that men and women will equally be honored in the form of their aspirations in the community.
The diversity of gender, once it becomes the problem, especially when it is touched by the aroma of discrimination, will give a complex problem especially of course to the women.
The discrimination toward women which is lack of opportunity will give the effect of women prosperity because women will be most probably faced to the fact that they cannot express their full ability in gaining their ambition and fill their need to get the prosperity. If this kind of phenomena happens, it will most probably appear the problem of poverty toward women and get lack of development (Liu et al., 2020), (Abudhahir et al., 2015), (Ahmad et al., 2020), (PUSPANINGRUM, 2012).
The Equality in America
Gender equality has already its own meaning and purpose as formulated by United Nation General assembly and it is of course valid for countries around the world. Even though found any differences, it most probably about the type of discrimination and the action taken by the government. In this thesis, gender equality is provided by describing the same opportunities had by women in America in four parts of life that have been mentioned in this chapter. The gender equality in America that will be brought by portraying the story in the novel The Stars Shine Down by Sydney Sheldon will be subjected to the formulation of meaning and type of discrimination that has been described in this chapter.
Gender equality in America is, first and foremost, a human right. Women are entitled to live in dignity and in freedom from want and from fear. Empowering women is also an indispensable tool for advancing development and reducingpoverty. The equality in America that include in economic, education and social life it is describe that woman and man have the same position and the same opportunities to get their goal.
The Equality in Economic
Another part that very crucial to bring surface the issue of women discrimination is in theeconomic field. Economical field in the society cannot be separated with the probability of discrimination toward women by considering that there still be a basic ability which is generally in the aspect of physical condition. The equality of this field is of course not about the equalizing the opportunity in the physical part but based on the article made by Löfström the equality of gender in the economical aspect is including three main points which are the same employment rate, the same occupational breakdown, which means that there is no monopoly toward women to have a certain job, and the last the same level of productivity.
The Equality in Social Life
Social life is of course cannot be ignored in the struggle of gaining the gender equality because it directly touches the life of women themselves. the equality of gender in social life for women. In America, especially portrayed in the novel the stars shine down by
Sidney Sheldon, can be found some parts of the story that can be assumed as the sample of the equality in gender issue that can be analyzed.
The Equality in Education
The last part will be focused on field of analysis of gender equality in America. Education in human life gives very crucial probability to find the issue of women discrimination.
Chen in his article explained that the equality of gender in educational activity is portrayed by the fact that whether male or female has the same opportunity and there is no any kind of discrimination within the activity.
METHOD
In conducting this research, the researcher focus to the purpose that this research should be new information to the writer herself and also for the readers. Regarding that thing, the writer tries to provide a systematical paper research so that this research can fulfill the purpose of the researcher. Taking action of this, method of research is very important part overall to get an appropriate reading by providing this paper research. In this research, the writer uses the library research which involves some books and article related to the issue of gender equality which will be the topic in this research. Library research is done by using factual information or expert opinion in order to complete the data when we are conducting the research.
The objective of this study is to describe the gender equality in America as depicted in Sheldon’s The Stars Shine Down which needs the clear information that cannot be explained in parameter of statistical data. For this fact, the writer will use the qualitative method which emphasizes the information by using the words sequence in telling the data resulted.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Equality in Economic
In the explanation, the equality economic is served in the theory of this paper.It emphasizes that the same opportunity in gaining employ rate is the point of the gender equality in economic. By considering of this point the portrayal of gender equality in American economic will be formed as the clear explanation in this part of analysis. A little additional stereotype of economic equality in America is the position of women in the contribution in economical process is not bordered only in the informal production but also the formal.
This can be explained that the process of gaining job or occupation in order to get the equality in gender for women is putting women to the subject of the economical process which can through the gap that usually dominated by men.
Simply can be said that the gender equality in American economic is shown by the existence of women in the process of economic without any boundaries caused by gender, even women have more probability even better than men. So the gender equality in America not only show from the activity of women in gaining money but more to the activity of women in putting themselves into formal economic activity in the middle of the economic society. The explanation about the gender equality in America, especially in economic can be portrayed from some parts of the novel by Sydney Sheldon entitled as The Stars Shine Down. One of the examples of the portrayal of gender equality is taken from the part of dialogue in the novel like bellow:
You're putting up the world's tallest skyscraper. Your competitors call you the Iron Butterfly. You've made it big in a business traditionally dominated by men."(Sheldon, 2002:
From the part of the dialogue above we can look a little portrayal of gender equality in economic happens in America. The fact that the equality in gender is about the same opportunities to gain the economic prosperity is really suit to the statement. The words in the dialogue that tell Lara has passed the border in the economic process shows that Lara is not only put herself in the informal activity like farmer or gardening to gain eaten material.
The opportunity meant in the gender equality in American economic is the equality in all aspect of economic process that giving the formal position for women in doing the economical activity surrounding men. This fact is matching with the explanation of gender equality in economic in America.
The Equality in Social Life
The second equality in gender in America that would be brought in this research is about social life equality. About the gender equality in American social life, the writer has put the theory that formulate the social life equality in America is the condition that women can go out within society, express themselves in the society, having work and probably helping their family.
The existence of gender equality in American social life in the novel entitled as The Stars Shine Down by Sydney Sheldon can be seen from some parts of the story written in the novel. The portrayal about this gender equality cannot be directly seen by reading flatly the text. The writer is sure that the existence of the American social life equality toward women is implicitly portrayed in the story of the novel. This can be happened because the writer has read the novel in several times and try to look deeper to the meaning hidden behind the dialogue, narration and all aspects of the novel.
By regarding the explanation of theory about gender equality in American social life, the writer has formulated some parts of the story that can explore the portrayal of gender equality of this aspect. One of the examples is in the dialogue below. The dialogue between Lara, the main character in the novel, and Mr. Thompson, a reporter of a magazine implicitly portrays the equality in social life by exploring the meaning of the dialogue.
Her voice was filled with passion. "You must understand something, Mr.
Thompson. What I do has nothing to do with the money or the bricks and steel that makes a building. It's the people who matter. I'm able to give them a comfortable place to work or to live, a place where they can raise families and have decent lives.” (Sheldon, 2002: 44)
If we read the conversation above without any attention about the probability about the condition behind the dialogue, we most probably difficult to reach the portrayal of gender equality in that dialogue. But if we try to underline the words spoken by Lara that she works not only about the money or the material used in the building but also her attention toward other people which desirably to give them any comfort to them to live their life.
TheEquality in Education
The last topic of gender equality in America in this research is about education. Gender equality in education in America is formed by the assumption that both men and women should have same distribution for innate abilities. It means that equality in education
toward gender diversity in America is by giving the same opportunities toward women to gain the educational activity in order to distribute their innate abilities.
CONCLUSION (Times New Roman 12, Bold, Spasi 1, spacing before 12 pt, after 6 pt) In conducting the analysis about gender equality, firstly the researcher formulate the essence of gender equality which in the formulation made by United Nation General Assembly stated the struggle against the discrimination of which are about distinctions, exclusion or restriction based on the gender or sex is the main point that should be avoided in order to gain the equality of genders between men on women. The parts that most probably appear a kind of discrimination toward women are generally education, economic, social and cultural (social life). The three fields of life stated here is the most common place to be happening the discrimination that can be the obstacle in order to gain the gender equality. Knowing thatanalyzing the gender equality should be focused to those three main topics of equality, the researcher then formulate those three point become the basic of the analysis. The equality in economy, social life, and education in America will be explored in this thesis.
In the last part of this research, researcher give the conclusion that the gender equality in America which is separated to be three big part is truly portrayed in the novel by Sidney Sheldon entitled as The Stars Shine Down. The portrayal of gender equality in America in that novel are taken from the activity of main character Lara Cameron and other part of the story that suitable with the theory used in this thesis. Besides that, after having the analysis and considering all theories about gender equality, the writer realizes that this issue in America is continuously changing as time passes by. But this far, the situation of gender equality in America is continuing to the better condition and slowly abolishes the gender gap in America.
Realizing that the novel that become the data source in this thesis is exploring many kinds of philosophical intension meaning, the writer very suggest to the readers to do the analysis based on this novel. One of the most interesting intrinsic meaning that writer suggest to analyze is about the Marxist feminism. The fact that this novel is telling about women who struggles in wealth freedom, makes this novel is hugely filled by the depictions of Marxist feminism.
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