English 10 - Quarter 3 - Lesson 11: Gender, Power, and Voice: A Feminist Critique

English 10: Quarter 3

Lesson 11: Gender, Power, and Voice

Lesson 11: Gender, Power, and Voice: A Feminist Critique

I. Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Knowledge: Define feminist critique and identify key concepts such as gender roles, stereotypes, patriarchy, and agency.
• Skill: Analyze a short text to identify power dynamics and gender relationships and compose a short critique.
• Affective: Appreciate that literature can question societal expectations of gender and value the importance of recognizing stereotypes.

II. Introduction

Good morning. Have you ever noticed that in many classic stories and fairy tales, the princes are always brave, active, and go on quests, while the princesses are often beautiful, passive, and... waiting to be rescued?

Why is that? Is that the only way to tell a story? Today, we are learning to look at literature with a new, powerful 'lens' called the Feminist Critique. This isn't about saying a story is 'good' or 'bad.' It's a way of asking important questions: 'How does this story portray women? How does it portray men? Who has the power in their relationships, and why?'

III. Definition (Key Terms) - Part 1

1. Feminist Critique:
A type of literary critique that analyzes a text by examining its portrayal of gender and the power relationships between characters.

• Goal: To expose biases and see who has agency (power to act) and who is silenced.

2. Gender Roles:
Social expectations of how men and women are supposed to behave.

• Traditional Male: Strong, active, provider.
• Traditional Female: Passive, nurturing, homemaker.

3. Gender Stereotypes:
Oversimplified, fixed ideas of what a man or woman is.

• Examples: The Damsel in Distress vs. The Knight in Shining Armor.

III. Definition (Key Terms) - Part 2

4. Patriarchy:
A social system where men hold primary power and dominate leadership and control.

• In Literature: A world where women's choices are controlled by fathers or husbands.

5. Agency (or Voice):
A character's ability to act independently and make their own choices.

• Has Agency: Katniss Everdeen (volunteers, fights).
• No Agency: Sleeping Beauty (asleep, acted upon).

IV. Spring Board: The Story of Sleeping Beauty

Read the summary of this classic tale.

A King and Queen have a beautiful daughter, Princess Aurora. At her party, a powerful (and evil) woman, Maleficent, curses the princess: on her 16th birthday, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. A good fairy changes the curse, so the princess will instead fall into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by "true love's kiss."

To protect her, the King and his male-dominated court order all spinning wheels in the kingdom burned (which fails). The princess is hidden away. Despite all this, the curse comes true. She pricks her finger and falls into a deep, passive sleep. A hundred years pass. A brave Prince, who has never met her, hears the story, fights through a magic forest of thorns to find her, kisses the sleeping, beautiful girl, and awakens her. They are then married.

V. Essential Questions

Analyze the story using your "Feminist Lens."

1. Who are the main active characters (those who do things/make decisions)?

Answer: The King, Maleficent, the good fairy, and the Prince.

2. What is Princess Aurora's main role? Does she have agency?

Answer: Her role is to be beautiful and passive (asleep). She has no agency; she makes no decisions. Her only "action" is getting pricked.

3. What is the Prince's main role?

Answer: He is the active hero. He hears, decides, fights, and rescues.

4. What gender stereotypes does this story clearly show?

Answer: The "Damsel in Distress" (helpless beauty) and the "Knight in Shining Armor" (active savior).

5. From a feminist perspective, what message does this story send about relationships?

Answer: It suggests women are passive objects with no control over their fate, waiting for a powerful man to give them a happy ending (marriage).

VI. Exercise: Critique and Flip

Think about another fairy tale (e.g., Snow White). Critique it and then "flip" it.

1. The Critique (1 paragraph): How does it reinforce harmful gender roles? 2. The Flip: How would you change the story to challenge the stereotype?

Teacher's Critique Model: "Our feminist critique of Snow White shows a story that reinforces harmful gender roles. Snow White's only agency is in domestic work (cleaning), and her main value is beauty. She is a passive 'damsel in distress' who must be saved by a man's kiss."

Teacher's Flip Model: "We would flip it so that Snow White wakes herself up and then organizes the dwarves into a union to demand better pay."

VII. Generalization

Today, we learned how to read with a 'feminist lens.' We see that this critique isn't about attacking stories, but about understanding them in a new, deeper way.

We learned to identify gender roles and stereotypes and to ask who has the agency and the power.

This skill helps us see the hidden messages in media and allows us to be more critical thinkers, questioning why things are the way they are.

VIII. Evaluation

English 10 - Short Quiz No. 11

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question.

Full Name:

Result: English 10 - Short Quiz No. 11

Name:

Score:

Attempts:

IX. Additional Activity (Enrichment)

Assignment: Choose a modern movie, TV show, or song that you know well.

Write one paragraph answering these two questions:

1. Does this work challenge or reinforce (support) traditional gender stereotypes?
2. Give at least one specific example from the selection to prove your point.

Congratulations! You have completed Lesson 11.