A Critical Textual Analysis Feminine Identity And The...

This critical textual analysis will examine feminine identity and the essentialistic ideas of the late nineteenth century between men and women as elaborated by Kaplan and Rogers in â€Å"Essentialisms, Determinisms. It will include an analysis of theories regarding dichotomies of biological determinism and cranial classification. Essentialism argues that there are categories of objects and genres that have essential characteristics, notwithstanding individual variation, and that these essential characteristics define the objects and genres to an extent that they reveal truth (Kaplan and Rogers 27). Determinism is a theory or in some cases a doctrine. â€Å"Nature† has been the historical burden women have faced. It is not the only such burden, but it has been the largest and the heaviest. Psychological and social implications of essentialist beliefs create gender segregation, inequality, and is often used to excuse gender-based biases in society. These types of ideas are often used as a justification for misogynistic and essentialistic systems in society. Kaplan and Rogers examine how determinism takes essentialism a bit further in the way it looks at the natural world. Dichotomy provides a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different, in this case it is the sexes. Kaplan and Rogers state, â€Å"Two related paradigms underscore all such thinking: reductionism and division into dichotomous categories – black versus