American Literature

    Fanny Ferns A Law More Nice Than Just tells about the self-serving and oftentimes weird nature of some of our laws. It could just be considered as a small case of weird clothing laws, wherein women at those times were not allowed to wear mens apparel. However, it could also be viewed in a much different light men who made such laws somehow made them in their favor. Gender bias was a commonplace at those times that it wouldnt really be a shock to encounter such laws forbidding women to wear mens clothes. The message of this article may be perceived differently by different people. Gender and age would be an important factor to consider when looking at the readers reaction to and perception of the story.
    It was only during this decade that women were truly considered as mens equals in every aspect of the society government, work, and family. Before, it was a common notion that women are inferior to men, and because of this, men are the ones who often called the shots in our society. In this story, the author Fanny Fern is hindered by the law to go out wearing her husbands clothing. This situation is the result of several days of rain, and her lack of physical activities like walking. She doesnt like to go out in skirts and other ladies apparel, because it would just be uncomfortable in such weather. For me, just having a law such as this is a sign that society is putting women in a box. It may be weird for some and funny for others, but as modern women like me would see it, it is somehow insulting and degrading. We shouldnt be told what to wear and what not to wear. I should be free to wear whatever I want, whatever I am comfortable with. As Fanny Fern would put it, any woman who likes, may stay at home during a three weeks rain, till her skin looks like parchment, and her eyes like those of a dead fish, or she may go out and get a consumption dragging around wet petticoats I wont  I positively declare I wont. I completely agree with Fanny Ferns resolve to go out and wear her husbands clothes, because society shouldnt be biased with anyone, with any gender, and everyone should be allowed to wear whatever they want.
    My closest male friend and neighbor had a different reaction after reading the article. His initial reaction was that Fanny Fern was just being silly when she really went out wearing her husbands clothing. According to him, this isnt really a serious matter, since everyone had their own clothes. Males have their pants, while females have their skirts. Fanny shouldnt insist on wearing one because it wasnt really made to fit a womans body. Also, men at that time never insisted on wearing womens clothing, so it is just fair if women never insisted on wearing mens clothes. He finds Fanny Ferns character delightful and funny, mostly because of her donning male clothing. My friend didnt consider Fannys seriousness in wearing such clothes instead he found her funny because she even paraded it outside their house.
    From what I observed, I think my friend never really thought deep enough about gender issues presented in this story. He was more about the clothes and the practical aspect of assigning mens clothes and womens clothes. He dwelled on the idea that men never desired wearing womens clothes, so it is just if women never really bothered wearing mens clothes. He was not open to the idea that males may have desired wearing mens clothes because of comfort and they wouldnt have to worry about getting bottom of their skirts wet. Surely, men would not and can not wear womens clothing because most of them had smaller bodies than males. There is no sense of comfort in any way if they ever wanted to wear womens clothes.
    A different reaction was also given by my friends mother, who is in her early sixties. She strongly agrees with Fanny Fern, because she shares the same experience as her. According to her, there is a great deal of difference in the society between the present and some 30 years ago. She said that there werent really much choice of clothes for women at that time. Their generic clothing is the skirt, and wearing pants would really be radical Also, the pants at those times were made only for males, unlike now that there are even more pants for females. According to her, gender was really an issue at that time, and women are expected to behave just like what the society dictates. If you dont follow this and act differently, you would be looked at and frowned upon by different people. This prohibition to wear pants is just a light issue of the society at that time. Indeed, there were a lot of other case of gender discrimination and bias which make cases like this as unassuming and would just deserve a laugh. It was only recently that we became conscious of things that concern gender, which is why its only now that we notice such outrageous laws even though they existed for quite some time already. I learned from his mother that this isnt really a big issue if were gunning for gender bias and discrimination. We are able to notice it only now because it is the only thing that we could associate to gender bias. Before, there are a lot of things that really put women at a clear disadvantage.
This article is aimed to promote awareness regarding unfair, gender-biased laws that we have today. The message of this article may be perceived differently by different people so it is really important to consider several factors that could affect a readers perception of and reaction to the story. Gender and age were the main factors that affect the perception and reaction to this matter.