After my research and talking with my professor, I've narrowed down and figured out the comparisons and the points that I want to make between gender, Gone With the Wind, and the new media.
In a previous post I mentioned that the Internet is a gender-neutral place. That's what I thought at first--but it's not. Actually, I'm prepared to make the opposite argument: that current use of the Internet is actually amplifying traditional gender roles.
Think about it. You could look at a blog and probably be able to guess the blogger's gender before you read a single word. What are women using the Internet for? Women's main use of the Internet is not to neutralize gender and enter more into masculine roles; women use the Internet to help them cook, sew, shop, make handicrafts, cut hair, do makeup--all traditionally feminine pursuits.
But women aren't using the Internet simply as a means to a traditional end. They're using it to be part of a social community. Women, much more than men, are using the web to connect with others who share their interests, hobbies, and goals. They use it as a way to reach out, to find support and to help others.
Melanie, from Gone With the Wind, is a perfect example of social connection. Throughout the Civil War, Melanie seeks the company of other women, looking to connect with them and support them. Melanie isn't afraid to reach outside of her social circle from before the war; she's even willing to befriend Belle Watling. Similarly, women are taking the dawn of the new media as an opportunity to step outside of their geographically bound social circles and connect with people from all over the world. Women are building new communities with each other and creating social ties--something women have always done, but now they're able to do it in a new way.
But there is also another side of the coin, manifest in Scarlett's behavior. Scarlett resisted connecting on a deeper level with the women around her, finding them difficult to understand. She disregarded the feelings of the women in her community, even stealing away her sister's almost-fiance Frank Kennedy in order to secure his money for Tara. While the Internet offers more opportunity to connect and support each other, it also offers women a way to preserve other feminine qualities that may not be so valuable. Social networking websites like Facebook and Myspace offer endless opportunities for gossiping about and otherwise undermining friends. The "womanly wiles" that Scarlett uses are ever more prevalent today in the use of the Internet.
Scarlett didn't value her relationships with the women around her; she valued money, possessions, and land. She didn't even value Melanie until after Melanie's death. Where did this leave her? Alone, without friends or family to support her. Scarlett's failure to tap into her potential as a woman to make deep social connections ended up ruining her.
So are we going to use the Internet to be a Melanie or a Scarlett? Are we going to use it to strengthen social connections or undermine friendships?
Over the next few days I'm going to try and seek out women who have used the Internet as a social means and ask them such questions as: How has the Internet given you more opportunities to reach out socially? Do you feel that the Internet has helped you to better reach your potential as a woman, and if so, how? I would love to hear feedback on these ideas.
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