Proceedings of the 2nd World Conference on Gender Equality
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Gender Equality Utopia in Written on the Body a Novel by Jeanette Winterson
Dr. Saman Abdulqadir Hussein Dizayi
ABSTRACT:
This paper aims at exploring the utopian aspects of gender equality in Jeanette Winterson’s novel, Written on the Body. The novel deliberately confounds the reader’s expectations of the narrator’s gender, who behaves both as a man and a woman on separate occasions. The genderless narrator provides a new approach to human identity, one that moves away from linking identity to biological distinctions in sex and toward an understanding of gender stereotypes as socially produced. The research contends that Winterson’s deconstruction of gender binary signifiers shows the artificial divide between the sexes. The idea of a genderless human society is instinctively utopian, and the paper studies the novel’s gender-free manifestations to get a firm judgment about how feminine the utopia is. The contrast between dream and reality will aid future gender studies planning, paving the path for a more integrated and just society. Furthermore, it will interact with modern gender theories and give a critical analysis of Written on the Body’s ability to contribute to current debates about gender identity, while also evaluating how the novel complicates such discussions. The analysis of the novel reveals a compelling picture of a genderless society that emphasizes the arbitrary and socially created nature of gender distinctions. The narrative depicts a utopian society in which people can reject traditional gender stereotypes and embrace a more open and adaptive concept of human identity.
keywords: Gender identity, Utopia, Written on the Body, Jeanette Winterson, Gender studies, Postmodern English Novel