Invisible Gender Rules Changing yourself is very difficult to achieve, but completely changing a group of people is almost impossible. For women, the last few years have changed their lives, careers and family life. Yet the women's revolution did not eliminate discrimination from society, it only transformed some discriminatory actions into others. Fatima Mernissi wrote the short story "The Harem Within" about a young girl who lives in a Harem where her main role is to become her husband's slave, being both ignorant and different from her. Moving forward a few years, the short story "Preciousness" by Clarice Lispector introduces another young woman with similar problems in a completely opposite place, as this young girl's Harem is society and the expectations of her peers. Gender roles are very specific to different cultures and religions, but what continues to be a problem is the presence of discriminatory rules and regulations. No matter how advanced a place becomes, there will always be the discriminatory idea that a gender should be a certain way, despite who they really are and who they would like to become. Both women and men are subjected to this harsh reality. Women and men have been evolving for many years now, whether it is style, personality or religious beliefs there is always room for change. Even though the women's movement can be said to have been very successful, there are many young women who still have personal and emotional issues raised due to society. Lispector describes these issues through his character in his short story "Preciousness" describing the emotional pains of adolescent growth... middle of paper... in different ways, both of which relate to each other in very similar aspects. Lispector and Mernissi tell stories of young women struggling to become someone important, unsure if they should become what the rest of the world wants them to be versus what they feel they should be. This is truly a fact of life and can relate to most people in this world who have struggled with this concept of belonging. Even though our hearts may tell us what is right and what is wrong, there is always the temptation to become something you are not to make things easier for yourself. Bibliography Lispector, Clarice. "Preciousness". The Longman Anthology of World Literature Vol, F.Ed. David Daursh New York: Longman, 2004.771-777.Mernissi, Fatima. "The Inner Harem". The Longman Anthology of World LiteratureVol, F.Ed. David Daursh New York: Longman, 2004. 777-781.