The Stigma

After reading “Her Lover” and “Snow Country,” one thing that I noticed from both
readings is that women have been negatively judged for their current work or previous
work. And this has been affecting them in their relationship with others and in their daily
lives. It is evident in the story how much they struggle because of their situation which
has been shaped by their surroundings and needs. Moreover, Women have historically
been viewed as objects that exist solely for the enjoyment and advantage of males.
Women have traditionally been seen as objects. When someone is objectified, they are
viewed and treated as if they have no thoughts or feelings and just have the status of an
object. Even after many years, there has been no improvement in the problems that
negatively impact the average woman. In this essay, I am going to discuss how the 2
stories are still relevant in modern times.
In the story, Teresa doesn't have a lover since she is despised by society for
being a prostitute and a questionable character. Teresa no longer has access to
anything that could provide her with more than just material and financial security. She
imagines the persona of her "so-called" lover Boles because she longs for someone to
support her emotionally. Also so-called the Acquaintance has been looking down upon
Teresa as a woman with a bad reputation until he realizes the true story behind what
Teresa has been doing. With this, it can be depicted that people were dying not only
from a lack of the essential requirements in this urbanized society of modern twentieth-
century Russia but also from psychological and emotional deprivation.
This short story, titled "Her Lover," illustrates how the elite, in their independence,
apparent moral uprightness, and socially acceptable virtues, disregard and treat
persons like the prostitute Teresa differently. This moral issue can still be seen in our
society today. Because prostitution involves sex for pay, many individuals, especially
those with traditionalist religious beliefs, think it is unethical and that it is a symptom of
moral decline in society. Many feminists contend that prostitution is demeaning to
women and creates an environment in which women are targeted for a robbery, assault,
and/or rape.
In the second story, the major conflict of the story is that Komako loves
Shimamura but knows that their love cannot last since they were bound by their
relationship geisha-and-client. During the climatic event of the story Shimamura makes
the subtle yet crucial error of changing from referring to Komako as a "good girl" to a
"good woman" at this pivotal moment, the first time both Komako and Shimamura are
intoxicated. Komako does not fail to notice the change and realizes, as she had feared
before, that he is only "laughing" at her. that is, instead of understanding her love for
him as a true feeling, he has underestimated it and treated it as the lust of a woman,
something which he matched with his shallow lust for her.
 In this story, it can be seen that Komako cannot escape the strangling of her
work. Despite her genuine love people still see her as a Geisha a woman who works at
parties and smaller events and is talented in the arts of conversation and entertainment.
Although geisha are revered entertainers in Kyoto and Tokyo's major towns, hot spring
geisha aren't much different from prostitutes. The best example of this in the modern
period is the porn actresses such as Mia Khalifa that cannot fully leave the past due to
the people branding them dirty. When mingling in a "polite" society, many performers
who have either left the field totally or are still involved in it experience significant social
stigma.
To conclude, the two-story shares the same theme where the women are having
a hard time facing society due to the stigma that society has given them. The story
shares and tackles the issue of people in the modern period being close-minded in this
kind of issue. Although laws have tried to advance the notion of prostitution, it seems
as though socially there has not been much development with the idea of sexual favors
in exchange for money. Even today, the thought of prostitution terrifies or, one would
even say, disgusts people. Lack of understanding and awareness of the specifics of sex
work contributes to the continuous stigmatization of sex workers.