What if the standards that women are held to in society were reversed? What if men were viewed as subservient? What if men were forced to hate their skin and their thighs, unable to "experience equal status in the community" (Wolf 189)? What if men were routinely paid less than their female colleagues and exposed to severe sexual harassment and discrimination at work? What I have done in my last blog post is to explore what would happen in a sort of twilight universe situation. By that, I mean I am intrigued by what would happen if men were forced to undergo the same challenges (both internal and external) that women are forced to combat every day, if the Beauty Myth affected men and not women. In my story, Zach is a seventeen year old high school junior, and lives a life dominated by the Beauty Myth, in a world where the Beauty Myth reigns, targeting males, and wreaking havoc upon their lives and confidence.
***
"The norm, then, for young, middle class American women, is to be a sufferer from some form of the eating disease" (Wolf 182).
Zach dragged his feet as he walked to school in the hazy light of the morning. His gray eyes were dull and lifeless, as they had been for the last several months. He was just trying to make it through each day, but as he was consuming less and less food, the challenge of each day grew increasingly looming. It had started on a pretty low-key pattern when he joined in with his friends on a crash diet before spring break but even when school resumed after spring break, Zach was hooked on his new eating patterns. He didn't remember the last time he had eaten a full meal, preferring to pick at fruit or drink diet soda to curb his cravings. He could feel all of the other boys' jealous stares on him when he resisted the greasy pizza in the cafeteria and he knew they envied his willpower.
His first few classes passed in sort of a lifeless blur as they always did. He couldn't focus and his grades were dropping as quickly as the pounds were. He spent hours in the gym after school and found that running was the only time he could actually be free from the burden that his eating disorder put on his, thus leading him into a self-perpetuated cycle. He chewed gum viciously; he chewed it to keep himself focused in class, to curb his appetite, to keep his rumbling stomach at bay, and to rid his mouth of the foul taste of partially digested food and stomach acid.
At lunch, he congregated with his friends in cafeteria and watched with envy as they took generous bites of their ceasar salads. Did they even know how many calories the dressing had? He nibbled on a handful of grapes silently watching a nearby table with extreme envy. The table boasted the most popular and powerful girls in the school - the cheerleaders. They were pouring into their food, devouring sloppy joes, french fries, and club sandwiches without a care in the world, hair pulled back off of their faces to avoid dangling in the barbecue sauce. Zach's friend caught him staring at the girls, "I know, man," he said, "Wouldn't it be nice just for once to eat like a girl and not put on a pound?"
"If women were going to have sexual freedom and a measure of worldly power, they'd better learn to fuck like men" (Wolf 134)
That Saturday, Zach attended a party with his friends at one of their classmate's houses whose parents were out of town. He watched the girls showing off on the dance floor, laughing and being reckless and rowdy; the boys on the other hand, stood nervously, constantly readjusting clothing, and flattening their hair. They whispered in the corners, desperately hoping that one of the girls would pick them to flirt with. They would never admit it but they all wanted to be one of the latest conquests of the cheerleaders, who preyed upon weak and insecure boys.
Zach began to drink something that one of the girls handed him. He knew she was probably trying to get him drunk and take advantage of him, as he had been warned about so many times, but he was too self-conscious to care.
He wasn't sure how he ended up in the closet with the girl, whose breath smelt like beer and whose body felt like sweaty rolls of flesh. Her grip was tight and her hands were hot, making Zach feel trapped and weak. It felt like it could have been seconds, minutes, or hours, but finally someone yanked open the door of the closet, causing light to stream in and Zach and the girl to stumble out.
"Yo, nice!" girls called out to the girl, high-fiving her and slapping her hands as she walked out triumphantly. "You dog!" others echoed in praise.
As Zach crept back into the party in embarrassment he was greeted with whispers and stares. "Slut," he heard one boy hiss, but he wasn't sure from which direction. He left the party then, and trudged home.
"They will buy more things if they are kept in the self-hating, ever-failing, hungry and sexually insecure state..." (Wolf, 66)
Walking to school that Monday, Zach glanced up at the billboard hanging over a bus stop. The ad was of a perfectly groomed and perfectly chiseled man with an oiled-up body and almost no clothing. Zach didn't look at what the product was, all ads these days were the same. It didn't matter if it was selling tampons or orange juice, he couldn't find an ad in a magazine or billboard that didn't have the idealized body of a perfect man portrayed. He double-checked his appearance in the bus stop reflection before proceeding to school, the billboard staring down at him, reminding him of how imperfect he still was.
"Beauty thinking urges women to approach one another as possible adversaries until they know they re friends" (Wolf 75)
As he gazed at his reflection in the stained bathroom mirror at school, he noticed how pale and gaunt his face was beginning to look. Two other boys walked into the grungy bathroom laughing together, and Zach froze. They looked at him up and down and Zach hated the burning feeling he got in his stomach as their eyes bore into him, criticizing everything about him without even saying a word. Zach left the bathroom in a rush and disappeared into the masses in the hallway. If he couldn't be perfect, he longed to just be invisible.
***
This course has made me think in ways that previous courses haven't. I chose to focus on Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth for my last post, as it was my favorite book that we read and I think it was the book that both shocked me and stuck with me the most. I wanted to highlight the challenges that Zach goes through as challenges that many girls and women go through on a daily basis, yet these challenges are often deemed trivial and are consistently overlooked. Hopefully, people think that what's happening to Zach is somewhat ridiculous, and realize how wrong it is that when girls go through the same thing no attention is brought to it, which seems just morally wrong.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Grandmas
As the end of the year draws to a close and graduation becomes an imminent reality and not just a thing of the future, I spend a lot of time thinking about my family. In about two weeks, both my paternal and maternal grandparents will fly across the ocean in order to attend my graduation. As much as I eagerly anticipate their visit and seeing them again, four grandparents for a week will bring about a lot of "family time."
My paternal grandparents arrive first. At my bat mitzvah several years ago, my maternal grandparents stayed at my house while the paternal grandparents were put up in a hotel. Now it is my parental grandparents' turn.
My Grandma Jackie is my dad's step-mother, but the only grandmother on that side that I have known. My dad's mother, Grandma Helen, was killed by a drunk driver when my father was two. I have her middle name, her petite stature, and her love of language. Grandma Jackie is a former fashion model, and despite the face that it seems as though she is always going to doctor's appointments and getting prescribed new medicines, she is as glamorous as ever. She and I share our passions for horseback riding and baking. I have seen photos of Grandma Jackie back from the days when she modeled. She wasn't tall enough to do runway, but did a great deal of catalogue and editorial magazine shoots. In each photo, her complexion is flawless, her hair shiny, and her waist so tiny that I don't doubt that my hands would fit around it. Even now, she carries herself with poise, in spite of her thick Brookyln accent. I remember she got my an "eyebrow brush" when I was ten years old. I didn't even know women groomed their eyebrows yet.
My Grandma Phyllis is my mom's mom. She is the mother of four children (my mother being the youngest) and her family is clearly the most important part of her life. She makes her twelve grandkids, four children, and four children-in-law her priorities. She knows when any of us have a tennis tournament, a standardized test or a dance recital. What I love about my grandma, is no matter the circumstance or how soon it will be until we see her again, she always cries when she says goodbye to my family after the end of a visit. When she was 18 she went away to attend college, however her mom died during her first year, and Grandma Phyllis moved back home and went to a nearby college to help her dad raise her two younger siblings. I've always admired that.
I love both of my grandmas, and as different as they are, they both have the ability of being able to make me laugh. I'm sure that my graduation lunch won't be an exception, and I feel blessed to have two such amazing women in my family to look up to.
My paternal grandparents arrive first. At my bat mitzvah several years ago, my maternal grandparents stayed at my house while the paternal grandparents were put up in a hotel. Now it is my parental grandparents' turn.
My Grandma Jackie is my dad's step-mother, but the only grandmother on that side that I have known. My dad's mother, Grandma Helen, was killed by a drunk driver when my father was two. I have her middle name, her petite stature, and her love of language. Grandma Jackie is a former fashion model, and despite the face that it seems as though she is always going to doctor's appointments and getting prescribed new medicines, she is as glamorous as ever. She and I share our passions for horseback riding and baking. I have seen photos of Grandma Jackie back from the days when she modeled. She wasn't tall enough to do runway, but did a great deal of catalogue and editorial magazine shoots. In each photo, her complexion is flawless, her hair shiny, and her waist so tiny that I don't doubt that my hands would fit around it. Even now, she carries herself with poise, in spite of her thick Brookyln accent. I remember she got my an "eyebrow brush" when I was ten years old. I didn't even know women groomed their eyebrows yet.
My Grandma Phyllis is my mom's mom. She is the mother of four children (my mother being the youngest) and her family is clearly the most important part of her life. She makes her twelve grandkids, four children, and four children-in-law her priorities. She knows when any of us have a tennis tournament, a standardized test or a dance recital. What I love about my grandma, is no matter the circumstance or how soon it will be until we see her again, she always cries when she says goodbye to my family after the end of a visit. When she was 18 she went away to attend college, however her mom died during her first year, and Grandma Phyllis moved back home and went to a nearby college to help her dad raise her two younger siblings. I've always admired that.
I love both of my grandmas, and as different as they are, they both have the ability of being able to make me laugh. I'm sure that my graduation lunch won't be an exception, and I feel blessed to have two such amazing women in my family to look up to.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
The Vagina Monologues and the Awkward Factor
When we were told in class that we had to read the introduction and first part of The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler before the class made a decision about whether or not we would study it, I instantly saw why preparation and careful thought was needed in order to make that decision. The shock value of the book is a little bit unnerving if you aren't prepared for it, and I definitely see why some people felt uncomfortable studying it. Nonetheless, I think that itself, the fact that people did not feel comfortable discussing topics expressed by Ensler is reason enough for the class to study the play.
Class discussion surrounding this play was (in my opinion) certainly carried out with a high degree of sensitivity, but also with some degree of awkwardness. You could see people around the harkness table covering their mouths or sipping from their water bottles to mask their giggles as people said the word "vagina" freely in a classroom setting.
Nonetheless, I do feel as though I learned a great deal from reading the play and from watching clips of it performed. I liked Ensler's message that women should be proud of the fact that they are women, and that vaginas, periods, childbirth and all that comes with womanhood is something to praise and celebrate, not shy away from. She begins her piece with the phrase, "I bet you're worried. I was worried," and I found it effective that she continuously alludes to how touchy a topic she is writing about (Ensler, 3). Later, she declares, "I realize I don't know what's appropriate. I don't even know what that word means. Who decides" and then "Saying these words feels too naughty, dangerous, too direct, too specific, wrong, intense, in charge, alive," (Ensler, 117).
She talks about things that had never crossed my mind before such as dedicating a chapter of her book to women's answers to the question: "If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?" Some of the answers are outrageous. Women responded with simple things such as "jeans" or "a silk kimono" but others said apparel such as "a large hat full of flowers" or a "costume eye mask" (Ensler, 15, 16). She also talks about more sensitive topics such as rape, genital mutilation, and sexual infidelity but makes sure to throw in funny anecdotes too such as women's stories about menstruation.
Of course, the way we studied the play is very different than watching it be performed. We don't get to see the facial expressions she uses or hear the inflection of her voice change as she speaks. We don't get to hear the tone of her voice change nor see tears well up in her eyes or angry beads of sweat form on her forehead. When watching a video clip of her perform some chapters of the play, it was more moving, and more powerful to watch how completely possessed by the work she becomes. However, in reading the play we do get to take our own interpretation away from the book, as the piece is nothing if not thought provoking. I am certainly glad that our class studied The Vagina Monologues as it definitely caused me to rethink a few things and sparked new ideas.
Class discussion surrounding this play was (in my opinion) certainly carried out with a high degree of sensitivity, but also with some degree of awkwardness. You could see people around the harkness table covering their mouths or sipping from their water bottles to mask their giggles as people said the word "vagina" freely in a classroom setting.
Nonetheless, I do feel as though I learned a great deal from reading the play and from watching clips of it performed. I liked Ensler's message that women should be proud of the fact that they are women, and that vaginas, periods, childbirth and all that comes with womanhood is something to praise and celebrate, not shy away from. She begins her piece with the phrase, "I bet you're worried. I was worried," and I found it effective that she continuously alludes to how touchy a topic she is writing about (Ensler, 3). Later, she declares, "I realize I don't know what's appropriate. I don't even know what that word means. Who decides" and then "Saying these words feels too naughty, dangerous, too direct, too specific, wrong, intense, in charge, alive," (Ensler, 117).
She talks about things that had never crossed my mind before such as dedicating a chapter of her book to women's answers to the question: "If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?" Some of the answers are outrageous. Women responded with simple things such as "jeans" or "a silk kimono" but others said apparel such as "a large hat full of flowers" or a "costume eye mask" (Ensler, 15, 16). She also talks about more sensitive topics such as rape, genital mutilation, and sexual infidelity but makes sure to throw in funny anecdotes too such as women's stories about menstruation.
Of course, the way we studied the play is very different than watching it be performed. We don't get to see the facial expressions she uses or hear the inflection of her voice change as she speaks. We don't get to hear the tone of her voice change nor see tears well up in her eyes or angry beads of sweat form on her forehead. When watching a video clip of her perform some chapters of the play, it was more moving, and more powerful to watch how completely possessed by the work she becomes. However, in reading the play we do get to take our own interpretation away from the book, as the piece is nothing if not thought provoking. I am certainly glad that our class studied The Vagina Monologues as it definitely caused me to rethink a few things and sparked new ideas.
The Enigma of The Other Woman
Something that my girl and guy friends alike have noticed, is the inevitable competition that exists between women. When women are approached by another woman or meet a new woman for the first time, her hackles instantly go up as she sizes up this female and the possible threat she brings with her. On the other hand, when women enter a new environment, they can feel strangers' eyes bearing into them and making instant judgements about their clothes, hair, weight and shoes before they are declared a threat or not.
We have seen this theme of the impending danger of the "other woman" in several pieces of literature that we have read so far this semester, including Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth and Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women, two very different pieces.
In one court case that Wolf mentions, the case states that "attractiveness" is "a natural sex phenomenon which plays at least a subtle part in most personnel decisions," meaning that women are constantly sizing each other up as one woman's looks may cost another woman her job (Wolf, 38). Later, Wolf argues that it is the beauty myth itself that has "kept women from learning how to do something that makes all male social change possible: How to identify with the unknown woman in a way that is no personal" (Wolf, 75). According to Wolf, women will dismiss other women for being too pretty and made up, or looking too drab and dowdy. The perfect level is nearly impossible to achieve. "The unknown woman, the myth would like women to believe, is unapproachable; under suspicion before she opens her mouth because she's Another Woman, and beauty thinking urges women to approach each other as possible adversaries until they know they are friends," Wolf says (Wolf, 75).
Especially in a high school environment filled with hormonal teenage girls, Wolf's sentiments and concerns are on display perfectly. Freshmen often talk about receiving the "up down" look from older girls, and younger girls have described walking the hallways as daunting.
However, the same views were on display centuries early, when Wollstonecraft identified that women had to stop seeing each other as enemies and had to work together in their fight for equality. In her day, women who valued intelligence were often looked down on, as the traditional role of the woman was a domestic and subservient one. "The exclamations then which any advice respecting female learning commonly produces, especially from pretty women, often arise from envy," Wollstonecraft says, and believes that women and men both feel threatened by intelligent women (Wollstonecraft, 121). She also says that women are not able to achieve better progress because they "view each other with a suspicious and envious eye" and are unable to put that aside in order to work towards their common goal (Wollstonecraft, 122).
We have seen this theme of the impending danger of the "other woman" in several pieces of literature that we have read so far this semester, including Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth and Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women, two very different pieces.
In one court case that Wolf mentions, the case states that "attractiveness" is "a natural sex phenomenon which plays at least a subtle part in most personnel decisions," meaning that women are constantly sizing each other up as one woman's looks may cost another woman her job (Wolf, 38). Later, Wolf argues that it is the beauty myth itself that has "kept women from learning how to do something that makes all male social change possible: How to identify with the unknown woman in a way that is no personal" (Wolf, 75). According to Wolf, women will dismiss other women for being too pretty and made up, or looking too drab and dowdy. The perfect level is nearly impossible to achieve. "The unknown woman, the myth would like women to believe, is unapproachable; under suspicion before she opens her mouth because she's Another Woman, and beauty thinking urges women to approach each other as possible adversaries until they know they are friends," Wolf says (Wolf, 75).
Especially in a high school environment filled with hormonal teenage girls, Wolf's sentiments and concerns are on display perfectly. Freshmen often talk about receiving the "up down" look from older girls, and younger girls have described walking the hallways as daunting.
However, the same views were on display centuries early, when Wollstonecraft identified that women had to stop seeing each other as enemies and had to work together in their fight for equality. In her day, women who valued intelligence were often looked down on, as the traditional role of the woman was a domestic and subservient one. "The exclamations then which any advice respecting female learning commonly produces, especially from pretty women, often arise from envy," Wollstonecraft says, and believes that women and men both feel threatened by intelligent women (Wollstonecraft, 121). She also says that women are not able to achieve better progress because they "view each other with a suspicious and envious eye" and are unable to put that aside in order to work towards their common goal (Wollstonecraft, 122).
Friday, 4 May 2012
The Double Standard (Part III: Sex)
The double standard that women and men are held to is perhaps the most deeply entrenched when it comes to sex and relationships.
The most obvious way men and women and differ, is in terms of dominance and submission. To use these words, in my opinion, to describe what should be a loving, consensual act seems slightly off-colored. Sex should be about pleasure and feelings, not about who is dominating whom. However, men express slightly different opinions. When surveyed, it was discovered that "30 percent of college men would commit rape if they could be sure of getting away with it", and when the wording was changed to "force a woman into having sex", 58 percent said they would (Wolf 165).
The cycle is self-perpetuating, as many women have said that they actually enjoy being dominated and "more than 50 percent of boys and nearly half the girls thought it was okay for a man to rape a woman if he was sexually aroused by her" a UCLA study reported (Wolf 167). It disgusts me that any woman (let alone half of women polled) would ever condone rape.
Rape is another integral part of this power struggle. Date rape is a huge issue across college campuses. Women go to parties, often have a few drinks and can find themselves in compromising situations. Men persuade or force women into cars, bedrooms, or dark hallways and take advantage of them. However, it is the women in these situations who get blamed for dressing like "sluts". Dressed the way they are dressed, it doesn't matter if they say yes or no to a mans advances and even if they thwart a man's attempts, they often end up pressured into situations they don't feel comfortable in. Men blame the way the woman was acting or behaving. If she was drinking to get drunk or dressed in short, tight, clothing, she clearly wanted it. When polled, 83.5 percent of men thought that "some women look like they're just asking to get raped" (Wolf 165).
I remember when I first heard about the Cheryl Aruajo case. My mom told me the story while we were driving in the car one day and I was utterly shocked. Aruajo left her children at home one night and went into a local tavern to buy cigarettes where she was viciously raped on a pool table in front of onlookers. Nonetheless, two of her four attackers were acquitted and this was the start of the "blame the victim" mentality, as she was accused of dressing provocatively. A movie, The Accused, was later made about this story.
Another double standard in the bedroom is when it comes to climaxing. Women will fake orgasms to "please their husbands" but I have never heard of men "faking it" to please their wives (Wolf 147). Wolf argues that in development, "sexual giving emerges as generosity rather than submissiveness" but women continue to take on the role of the victim or the woman being dominated when it comes to the bedroom (Wolf 155).
Above all, what I took out of this chapter is that women should not be blamed for men's insecurities (sexual or otherwise) nor should they be blamed for their own assaults.
The most obvious way men and women and differ, is in terms of dominance and submission. To use these words, in my opinion, to describe what should be a loving, consensual act seems slightly off-colored. Sex should be about pleasure and feelings, not about who is dominating whom. However, men express slightly different opinions. When surveyed, it was discovered that "30 percent of college men would commit rape if they could be sure of getting away with it", and when the wording was changed to "force a woman into having sex", 58 percent said they would (Wolf 165).
The cycle is self-perpetuating, as many women have said that they actually enjoy being dominated and "more than 50 percent of boys and nearly half the girls thought it was okay for a man to rape a woman if he was sexually aroused by her" a UCLA study reported (Wolf 167). It disgusts me that any woman (let alone half of women polled) would ever condone rape.
Rape is another integral part of this power struggle. Date rape is a huge issue across college campuses. Women go to parties, often have a few drinks and can find themselves in compromising situations. Men persuade or force women into cars, bedrooms, or dark hallways and take advantage of them. However, it is the women in these situations who get blamed for dressing like "sluts". Dressed the way they are dressed, it doesn't matter if they say yes or no to a mans advances and even if they thwart a man's attempts, they often end up pressured into situations they don't feel comfortable in. Men blame the way the woman was acting or behaving. If she was drinking to get drunk or dressed in short, tight, clothing, she clearly wanted it. When polled, 83.5 percent of men thought that "some women look like they're just asking to get raped" (Wolf 165).
I remember when I first heard about the Cheryl Aruajo case. My mom told me the story while we were driving in the car one day and I was utterly shocked. Aruajo left her children at home one night and went into a local tavern to buy cigarettes where she was viciously raped on a pool table in front of onlookers. Nonetheless, two of her four attackers were acquitted and this was the start of the "blame the victim" mentality, as she was accused of dressing provocatively. A movie, The Accused, was later made about this story.
Another double standard in the bedroom is when it comes to climaxing. Women will fake orgasms to "please their husbands" but I have never heard of men "faking it" to please their wives (Wolf 147). Wolf argues that in development, "sexual giving emerges as generosity rather than submissiveness" but women continue to take on the role of the victim or the woman being dominated when it comes to the bedroom (Wolf 155).
Above all, what I took out of this chapter is that women should not be blamed for men's insecurities (sexual or otherwise) nor should they be blamed for their own assaults.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Promarama Dramarama
Prom is still nearly a month away and I feel as though the "prom drama" is already in full swing. It's hard to walk three steps without hearing some discussion of prom, and I know the "real" drama (however "real" any issues concerning prom can actually be) hasn't even kicked in yet. People are gloating about the cute way their dates asked them, lamenting that they haven't been asked yet, beginning diets and cleanses, hastily scouring stores for a unique yet stunning dress, planning their limo group and fighting about who is going to be left out, and of course probing other girls to find out what gossip they've missed out on. You'd think that the Oscars were rapidly approaching within our community given the amount of discussion prom is receiving.
Cattiness is slowly growing, as it always seems to do around this time of year. I'm not sure why that happens around big events, but girls seem nearly incapable of human tactfulness once a certain day hits. "So-and-so is going to be left without a date," I've head girls whisper about others, with an evil yet sickeningly pleased glimmer in their eye.
However, the most common snide comment that I hear is about the dresses. One senior girl started a Facebook group for all upperclassmen to post photos of their dresses so that nobody buys the same dress as another girl. I've seen similar groups with other schools and my friends in different cities, yet I still think there's something a little bit pointless about it. I've yet to hear a positive comment about a single dress posted in the group. Girls don't point out when other girls have selected a gorgeous gown, but are quick to point out the tacky dresses and the ones that are going to be unflattering. Wolf states that this could be because "beauty thinking urges women to approach one another as possible adversaries until they know they are friends" (Wolf 75).
Another thing that comes with prom is incessant spending of money. Girls put down hundreds of dollars on dresses yet it's still a lose-lose situation. Girls are looked down upon if they don't spend enough on a dress ("It's cheap, tacky, classless") but are also ridiculed for overspending ("what a snob, it's not even that pretty"). Also, prom preparation is costly. Although it's unclear who they are trying to impress, the girls, the boys, or their audience of Facebook stalkers, girls spend hours primping and pay to get their hair and nails (and sometimes even makeup) professionally done. The ticket itself is the equivalent of about 150 dollars too.
"Somehow, somewhere, someone must have figured out that they will buy more things if they are kept in the self-hating, ever-failing, hungry, and sexually insecure state of being aspiring beauties" Wolf says, however what she doesn't mention is that it isn't just advertisers and men who are causing this mindset, but other women, and even high school girls are just as guilty (Wolf 66).
Cattiness is slowly growing, as it always seems to do around this time of year. I'm not sure why that happens around big events, but girls seem nearly incapable of human tactfulness once a certain day hits. "So-and-so is going to be left without a date," I've head girls whisper about others, with an evil yet sickeningly pleased glimmer in their eye.
However, the most common snide comment that I hear is about the dresses. One senior girl started a Facebook group for all upperclassmen to post photos of their dresses so that nobody buys the same dress as another girl. I've seen similar groups with other schools and my friends in different cities, yet I still think there's something a little bit pointless about it. I've yet to hear a positive comment about a single dress posted in the group. Girls don't point out when other girls have selected a gorgeous gown, but are quick to point out the tacky dresses and the ones that are going to be unflattering. Wolf states that this could be because "beauty thinking urges women to approach one another as possible adversaries until they know they are friends" (Wolf 75).
Another thing that comes with prom is incessant spending of money. Girls put down hundreds of dollars on dresses yet it's still a lose-lose situation. Girls are looked down upon if they don't spend enough on a dress ("It's cheap, tacky, classless") but are also ridiculed for overspending ("what a snob, it's not even that pretty"). Also, prom preparation is costly. Although it's unclear who they are trying to impress, the girls, the boys, or their audience of Facebook stalkers, girls spend hours primping and pay to get their hair and nails (and sometimes even makeup) professionally done. The ticket itself is the equivalent of about 150 dollars too.
"Somehow, somewhere, someone must have figured out that they will buy more things if they are kept in the self-hating, ever-failing, hungry, and sexually insecure state of being aspiring beauties" Wolf says, however what she doesn't mention is that it isn't just advertisers and men who are causing this mindset, but other women, and even high school girls are just as guilty (Wolf 66).
The Role of the Homemaker
The stereotype of the housewife is something we overlook rather often, yet the homemaker is one of the most fixed roles in our society.
To start, women's culture, whether through literature or media, is almost always regarded as more trivial than male culture, feeding into the common ignorant viewpoint that the house is the proper place for women to work. Women's magazines began in the Victorian ages and were "catered to a female sex virtually in domestic bondage" (Wolf 62). They were an outlet for women in otherwise rather dull and demeaning everyday lives.
Wolf also argues that religion has taken on a similar role in the Victorian times. She mentions female piety and says, "From a male-dominated society's point of view, it kept educated, leisured middle-class female energies harmlessly, even usefully, diverted from rebellion..." (Wolf 92).
Culture today caters towards stay-at-home women. Being a working mother is getting increasingly difficult, and many women are choosing (or being forced, depending on how you look at it) to stay home and raise children after giving birth. If this is a choice, I find it at admirable one, as being a mother is perhaps one of the hardest and most noble professions. However, if women are being forced into this role either for economic or social reasons, this is despicable.
Advertisers and media executives feed into this cycle and Wolf points out, "Newspapers relegate women's issues to the 'women's page'; TV programming consigns 'women's stories' to the daytime" (Wolf 71).
Wolf quotes Betty Friedan as saying, "Why is it never said that the really crucial function... that women serve as housewives is to buy more things for the house?" (Wolf 66).
Even on some of my favorite television shows, women are portrayed as housewives and homemakers, and although their responsibilities are often highlighted, I think that as a society we often overlook equally the hardships of a housewife, but also the obstacles that working mothers and wives face.
Another (very timely) example of the Beauty Myth being put into practice in religion and politics, is with some stances by the Republican party in the build up to the 2012 election. Republican candidate Mitt Romney stated that he listens to his wife's advice when it comes to making his policies, however she "has never worked a day in her life" and therefore is in no way qualified to make decisions representing the American female public. On the other hand, Romney's opposition, Rick Santorum, has his own views when it comes to women. Although I would define my political beliefs as rather moderate leaning towards liberal (but in no way completely left-wing) I find Santorum to be a terrifying individual. Not only has he spoken out about opposing abortion and wishing to ban it, but he has openly expressed his views that the workplace is not the proper place for a woman and that women should be homemakers, as that is their true calling. The fact that a man, and a politician and presidential hopeful no less, could be this misogynistic and ignorant makes my blood boil.
To start, women's culture, whether through literature or media, is almost always regarded as more trivial than male culture, feeding into the common ignorant viewpoint that the house is the proper place for women to work. Women's magazines began in the Victorian ages and were "catered to a female sex virtually in domestic bondage" (Wolf 62). They were an outlet for women in otherwise rather dull and demeaning everyday lives.
Wolf also argues that religion has taken on a similar role in the Victorian times. She mentions female piety and says, "From a male-dominated society's point of view, it kept educated, leisured middle-class female energies harmlessly, even usefully, diverted from rebellion..." (Wolf 92).
Culture today caters towards stay-at-home women. Being a working mother is getting increasingly difficult, and many women are choosing (or being forced, depending on how you look at it) to stay home and raise children after giving birth. If this is a choice, I find it at admirable one, as being a mother is perhaps one of the hardest and most noble professions. However, if women are being forced into this role either for economic or social reasons, this is despicable.
Advertisers and media executives feed into this cycle and Wolf points out, "Newspapers relegate women's issues to the 'women's page'; TV programming consigns 'women's stories' to the daytime" (Wolf 71).
Wolf quotes Betty Friedan as saying, "Why is it never said that the really crucial function... that women serve as housewives is to buy more things for the house?" (Wolf 66).
Even on some of my favorite television shows, women are portrayed as housewives and homemakers, and although their responsibilities are often highlighted, I think that as a society we often overlook equally the hardships of a housewife, but also the obstacles that working mothers and wives face.
Another (very timely) example of the Beauty Myth being put into practice in religion and politics, is with some stances by the Republican party in the build up to the 2012 election. Republican candidate Mitt Romney stated that he listens to his wife's advice when it comes to making his policies, however she "has never worked a day in her life" and therefore is in no way qualified to make decisions representing the American female public. On the other hand, Romney's opposition, Rick Santorum, has his own views when it comes to women. Although I would define my political beliefs as rather moderate leaning towards liberal (but in no way completely left-wing) I find Santorum to be a terrifying individual. Not only has he spoken out about opposing abortion and wishing to ban it, but he has openly expressed his views that the workplace is not the proper place for a woman and that women should be homemakers, as that is their true calling. The fact that a man, and a politician and presidential hopeful no less, could be this misogynistic and ignorant makes my blood boil.
"The Beauty Myth" and its Presence in Movies
This weekend I found myself at the movie theater with one of my best friends on a rainy Saturday afternoon. We decided to see The Hunger Games, not because either of us had read any of the books or had an obsession with the franchise (as many girls our age seem to), but rather because it was rainy, we were bored, and the movie was playing.
I knew close to nothing about the plot and the movie in general as we entered the theatre, armed with a bucket of large popcorn and monstrous Diet Cokes. However, what I was shocked to witness was that the Beauty Myth, as Naomi Wolf describes it, actually manifests itself in movies quite glaringly.
To start, I think that to any viewer, regardless of their gender and whether or not they are familiar with The Hunger Games, will agree that Jennifer Lawrence, the actress playing the starring role Katniss is stunningly beautiful. The cast as a whole is comprised of handsome, muscular male characters and gorgeous females. This isn't unusual of a movie geared towards a teenage audience, yet viewers are still complaining. One major complaint that people have is the producer's choice to have Lawrence star as Katniss, lamenting that she is "too fat" to play someone coming from a province that is supposed to be in a state of poverty, constantly starving. This is horrendous. Not only is Lawrence far from overweight, she is thin. In one scene in the movie, she is wearing a sort of leather jumpsuit and her waist is so tiny that it appears as though you could fit two hands around it. People complain about models being too skinny, yet when a healthy, slender girl is selected for a movie, people are still not satisfied.
This brought me back to an argument that Wolf makes in the Work chapter, where she mentions the Professional Beauty Qualification. Wolf defines the Professional Beauty Qualification (PBQ) as "a parody of the [bona fide occupational qualification]" and says that "beauty is being categorized, in professions and trades further and further afield from the original display professions..." (Wolf 27).
The double standard that women are held to also applies to this situation. Wolf puts it quite eloquently:
Additionally, the film mocks the influence that advertisers have on our lives. Katniss, although a tough and far from "girly" girl, must go through a serious of female tortures such as waxing in order to be camera-ready and get sponsors for her appearance in the Hunger Games, which is not a beauty contest but rather a fight to the death. "Women are kept "beauties" in men's culture so that culture can be kept male," Wolf says, and this certainly holds true in The Hunger Games, as the boy's preparation focuses solely on their strength, tactics and skill, not their physical appearance (Wolf 59).
I knew close to nothing about the plot and the movie in general as we entered the theatre, armed with a bucket of large popcorn and monstrous Diet Cokes. However, what I was shocked to witness was that the Beauty Myth, as Naomi Wolf describes it, actually manifests itself in movies quite glaringly.
To start, I think that to any viewer, regardless of their gender and whether or not they are familiar with The Hunger Games, will agree that Jennifer Lawrence, the actress playing the starring role Katniss is stunningly beautiful. The cast as a whole is comprised of handsome, muscular male characters and gorgeous females. This isn't unusual of a movie geared towards a teenage audience, yet viewers are still complaining. One major complaint that people have is the producer's choice to have Lawrence star as Katniss, lamenting that she is "too fat" to play someone coming from a province that is supposed to be in a state of poverty, constantly starving. This is horrendous. Not only is Lawrence far from overweight, she is thin. In one scene in the movie, she is wearing a sort of leather jumpsuit and her waist is so tiny that it appears as though you could fit two hands around it. People complain about models being too skinny, yet when a healthy, slender girl is selected for a movie, people are still not satisfied.
This brought me back to an argument that Wolf makes in the Work chapter, where she mentions the Professional Beauty Qualification. Wolf defines the Professional Beauty Qualification (PBQ) as "a parody of the [bona fide occupational qualification]" and says that "beauty is being categorized, in professions and trades further and further afield from the original display professions..." (Wolf 27).
The double standard that women are held to also applies to this situation. Wolf puts it quite eloquently:
"The most emblematic women working in the West could be visible if they were "beautiful," even if they were bad at their work; they could be good at their work and "beautiful" and therefore visible, but get no credit or merit; or they could be good and "unbeautiful" and therefore invisible, so their merit did them no good" (Wolf 35).This is what we see with Lawrence and her critics that she is too plump for Katniss - probably from the same people criticizing models for being too thin for the runway.
Additionally, the film mocks the influence that advertisers have on our lives. Katniss, although a tough and far from "girly" girl, must go through a serious of female tortures such as waxing in order to be camera-ready and get sponsors for her appearance in the Hunger Games, which is not a beauty contest but rather a fight to the death. "Women are kept "beauties" in men's culture so that culture can be kept male," Wolf says, and this certainly holds true in The Hunger Games, as the boy's preparation focuses solely on their strength, tactics and skill, not their physical appearance (Wolf 59).
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Killing Us Softly
The movie we watched today in class, Killing Us Softly 4, created by Jean Kilbourne, is a shocking documentary about advertising and about the detrimental effects it has on women (young and old) and their self esteem.
Some of the topics Kilbourne mentions are the painfully thin images we see of women themselves who don't even look like that without the aid of photoshop. She features one Ralph Lauren model whose body is re-created to be so tiny that her head is wider than her pelvis, who was later dismissed from her job for being too fat, bringing back into play the "Professional Beauty Qualification (PBQ)" that Naomi Wolf speaks about in The Beauty Myth. She quotes stunning Cindy Crawford as saying, "I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford," then shows two images of her, enhanced and natural. Although undoubtedly beautiful in both, the difference is alarming.
Other models we see, I was intrigued to learn, don't even exist. Lucky Magazine, which in my opinion is a normal, respected women's magazine, ran a photo of a model composed of a few women. Editors selected body parts of each that they liked and used software to mix and match these features to create their ideal woman. On the contrary, she also mentions a German magazine that banned professional models from its publication as editors had grown tired of having to edit the images to look healthy rather than emaciated. Unfortunately, this is newsworthy. In our society, this is not the exception, not the norm as our society has an "obsession with thinness" that is "about cutting girls down to size."
In addition to using overly thin models, Kilbourne also mentions the use of nearly pornographic images to sell products. Some of these include jeans ads, in which the model is naked from the waist down, or a Gucci campaign in which a man is kneeling in front of a woman whose pubic hair has been groomed into the Gucci "G" logo. This actually disgusted me. We've all heard the expression that sex sells, and it seems as though advertisers are taking this seriously. Sexual themes and images were applied to things I've never even thought of as being remotely sexy. A woman's breasts pouring out of her bra are used to sell fishing lines, and a Burger King ad for their seven inch sandwich alludes to oral sex in a glaringly overt way.
However, what I found to be the worst thing that the advertising industry does to women was the dehumanization. "Women's bodies are constantly turned into objects," Kilbourne says. Women's body parts are featured cut up and severed, or a model's ample cleavage and long, smooth legs are featured without a face to go with them. Sometimes, women even literally turn into the products, such as a bottle of alcohol. Kilbourne says, "We see this with racism, we see it with homophobia, we see it with terrorism. It's always the same process. The person is dehumanized and violence becomes inevitable. And that step is already and constantly being taken against women."
Some of the topics Kilbourne mentions are the painfully thin images we see of women themselves who don't even look like that without the aid of photoshop. She features one Ralph Lauren model whose body is re-created to be so tiny that her head is wider than her pelvis, who was later dismissed from her job for being too fat, bringing back into play the "Professional Beauty Qualification (PBQ)" that Naomi Wolf speaks about in The Beauty Myth. She quotes stunning Cindy Crawford as saying, "I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford," then shows two images of her, enhanced and natural. Although undoubtedly beautiful in both, the difference is alarming.
Other models we see, I was intrigued to learn, don't even exist. Lucky Magazine, which in my opinion is a normal, respected women's magazine, ran a photo of a model composed of a few women. Editors selected body parts of each that they liked and used software to mix and match these features to create their ideal woman. On the contrary, she also mentions a German magazine that banned professional models from its publication as editors had grown tired of having to edit the images to look healthy rather than emaciated. Unfortunately, this is newsworthy. In our society, this is not the exception, not the norm as our society has an "obsession with thinness" that is "about cutting girls down to size."
In addition to using overly thin models, Kilbourne also mentions the use of nearly pornographic images to sell products. Some of these include jeans ads, in which the model is naked from the waist down, or a Gucci campaign in which a man is kneeling in front of a woman whose pubic hair has been groomed into the Gucci "G" logo. This actually disgusted me. We've all heard the expression that sex sells, and it seems as though advertisers are taking this seriously. Sexual themes and images were applied to things I've never even thought of as being remotely sexy. A woman's breasts pouring out of her bra are used to sell fishing lines, and a Burger King ad for their seven inch sandwich alludes to oral sex in a glaringly overt way.
However, what I found to be the worst thing that the advertising industry does to women was the dehumanization. "Women's bodies are constantly turned into objects," Kilbourne says. Women's body parts are featured cut up and severed, or a model's ample cleavage and long, smooth legs are featured without a face to go with them. Sometimes, women even literally turn into the products, such as a bottle of alcohol. Kilbourne says, "We see this with racism, we see it with homophobia, we see it with terrorism. It's always the same process. The person is dehumanized and violence becomes inevitable. And that step is already and constantly being taken against women."
The Double Standard (Part II: Advertising)
I don't remember the last time I opened a magazine and wasn't greeted by the perfectly clear skin and symmetrical face of a model. Let me expand on that. I don't remember the last time I turned on the television, glanced up at a billboard, or drove by a bus-stop ad that didn't have the shiny eyes and perfect proportions of a model staring down at me.
Funnily enough, I remember the first time that I opened Vogue magazine. I was surely only about eight or nine years old and I was sitting in the dentists office with nothing to do, bored before my visit. I think the reason I opened the magazine in the first place was because the model on the cover was stunning, and probably reminded me of whatever Disney princess or movie character was my favorite at the time. However, the magazine confused me. I flipped through the pages and saw pages upon pages of ads. Perfume ads, ads for cars, clothing campaigns, beauty products. The list was endless but as a child in a dentists office armed with a magazine I was just confused. Questions ran through my head. Where were the stories? Where were the words? Why were none of of people wearing clothes?
In theory, I am not opposed to using beautiful people to sell products and I agree that yes people will be more likely to stop and examine a product if it is being sold by a figure with chiseled abs or shiny lips.
What does bother me, though, is the clear double standard portrayed in magazines between men and women. Men are not degraded to nearly the same degree as women, and advertisements in men's magazines still feature scantily clad women trying to sell men's products. If men are, by chance, featured barely clothed or in their underwear, they still stand strongly and powerfully. Their bodies are stronger than the average man's, not thinner and weaker. "Rape is the current advertising metaphor," Wolf says, which is certainly true (Wolf 79). Men are constantly powerful, strong, figures, whereas women are weak and submissive, important only for their bodies (and more often than not, the sexuality of their bodies: breasts, legs, cleavage).
Unfortunately, this has turned into sort of a trickle-down system. What I mean by that, is that Wolf argues that it is the advertisers who are perpetuating this vicious cycle and enhancing the prominence of the Beauty Myth in advertisements, and by doing so in society too. "Advertisers are the West's courteous censors," she claims which feeds into the production cycle of magazine (Wolf 77): ""What editors are obliged to appear to say that men want from women is actually what their advertisers want from women" (Wolf 73).
Renowned feminist Gloria Steinem agrees and has said, "Advertisers don't believe in female opinion makers" (Wolf 82).
This double standard in advertising has caused magazines to take on different tones too. Women who read magazines are constantly made to feel bad about themselves. Whether they are too old, too fat, too blemished, too lazy, or too plain, they are far from perfect and advertisers make sure that they acknowledge their flaws. Unfortunately, this means that "many readers have not learned how to separate the prowoman content from the beauty myth in the magazines, whose place is primarily economic" (Wolf 73). Women's self esteem plummets as they sit on airplanes flipping through the latest pages of Cosmopolitan or Vanity Fair, and the sad thing is they don't realize the harm they are causing to themselves. Women are belittled by the advertisements, that much is certain, but also by the wording, which Wolf argues is equally harmful and worlds apart from the way men are addressed in men's magazines, saying, "Hence the hectoring tone that no other magazines use to address adults with money in their pockets: do's and dont's that scold, insinuate, and condescend. The same tone in a men's magazine - do invest in tax-free bonds; don't vote republican - is unthinkable" (Wolf 84).
Funnily enough, I remember the first time that I opened Vogue magazine. I was surely only about eight or nine years old and I was sitting in the dentists office with nothing to do, bored before my visit. I think the reason I opened the magazine in the first place was because the model on the cover was stunning, and probably reminded me of whatever Disney princess or movie character was my favorite at the time. However, the magazine confused me. I flipped through the pages and saw pages upon pages of ads. Perfume ads, ads for cars, clothing campaigns, beauty products. The list was endless but as a child in a dentists office armed with a magazine I was just confused. Questions ran through my head. Where were the stories? Where were the words? Why were none of of people wearing clothes?
In theory, I am not opposed to using beautiful people to sell products and I agree that yes people will be more likely to stop and examine a product if it is being sold by a figure with chiseled abs or shiny lips.
What does bother me, though, is the clear double standard portrayed in magazines between men and women. Men are not degraded to nearly the same degree as women, and advertisements in men's magazines still feature scantily clad women trying to sell men's products. If men are, by chance, featured barely clothed or in their underwear, they still stand strongly and powerfully. Their bodies are stronger than the average man's, not thinner and weaker. "Rape is the current advertising metaphor," Wolf says, which is certainly true (Wolf 79). Men are constantly powerful, strong, figures, whereas women are weak and submissive, important only for their bodies (and more often than not, the sexuality of their bodies: breasts, legs, cleavage).
Unfortunately, this has turned into sort of a trickle-down system. What I mean by that, is that Wolf argues that it is the advertisers who are perpetuating this vicious cycle and enhancing the prominence of the Beauty Myth in advertisements, and by doing so in society too. "Advertisers are the West's courteous censors," she claims which feeds into the production cycle of magazine (Wolf 77): ""What editors are obliged to appear to say that men want from women is actually what their advertisers want from women" (Wolf 73).
Renowned feminist Gloria Steinem agrees and has said, "Advertisers don't believe in female opinion makers" (Wolf 82).
This double standard in advertising has caused magazines to take on different tones too. Women who read magazines are constantly made to feel bad about themselves. Whether they are too old, too fat, too blemished, too lazy, or too plain, they are far from perfect and advertisers make sure that they acknowledge their flaws. Unfortunately, this means that "many readers have not learned how to separate the prowoman content from the beauty myth in the magazines, whose place is primarily economic" (Wolf 73). Women's self esteem plummets as they sit on airplanes flipping through the latest pages of Cosmopolitan or Vanity Fair, and the sad thing is they don't realize the harm they are causing to themselves. Women are belittled by the advertisements, that much is certain, but also by the wording, which Wolf argues is equally harmful and worlds apart from the way men are addressed in men's magazines, saying, "Hence the hectoring tone that no other magazines use to address adults with money in their pockets: do's and dont's that scold, insinuate, and condescend. The same tone in a men's magazine - do invest in tax-free bonds; don't vote republican - is unthinkable" (Wolf 84).
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
The Double Standard (Part I: The Workplace)
I can honestly say that I think The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf is the first piece of nonfiction literature that I have ever read and fully enjoyed. From the introduction and definition of what the Beauty Myth is, I was hooked, not solely because of Wolf's bold statements and pointing observations, but because of how true everything is that she said. In addition to stark data to back up each of her chilling points, it was no difficult task for me to think of my own examples of things she was saying.
For example, Wolf describes television journalism, a career that I myself have considered at one point. She describes the typical broadcasting duo of a "avuncular male anchor joined by a much younger female newscaster with a professional prettiness level" (Wolf 34). Immediately, I thought of the Will Ferrell movie Anchorman. Ferrells character, a hairy, slightly chubby anchorman is joined by an attractive, intelligent, talented co-anchor - a woman. She is the only woman on the news team and is constantly the victim of cruel comments and cold treatment by her co-workers. The only other women on the staff work in the cosmetics department, and seemed stunned by her desire to work alongside the males. At first she is only given frivolous stories to focus on as her talent is overlooked because of her gender.
Although this is only a movie (and a comedy at that) and set in the sixties, similar conditions for anchormen and women still existed up through the 1990s when Wolf wrote her book. Although men are viewed as looking more dignified reading the news as they age, women anchorwomen go through "a real nightmare [...] because soon they won't be pretty enough to do the news anymore" (Wolf 35).
Not only is this a complete double standard, but it isn't a double standard of the past. This book was published in 1990, so a few of the references are slightly outdated. Nonetheless, basically every aspect of the Beauty Myth that Wolf mentions still holds true in today's society, twenty two years later. Women are still hired for their beauty, ostracized in the workplace for being too pretty or too plain.
Women are fired for not being attractive enough or not upholding their appearance and judges rule that it is "not sex discrimination but market logic" (Wolf 37).
I find this shocking. In a self-proclaimed free and tolerant country, women should not be held to a different standard as men. If women are required to dress a certain way for a job, men should be as well. If men harass female coworkers, they should be held responsible, not exonerated because, as Wolf says, "Beauty provokes harassment, the law says, but it looks through men's eyes when deciding what provokes it" (Wolf 45). Also, quite hypocritically, only 15 percent of women surveyed said they use their appearance to their advantage in the workplace, whereas 35 percent of men gave the same answer.
Additionally, while male models are certainly present in advertisements on TV and in magazines, female models are literally everywhere. With that, Wolf states that "the model fantasy is probably the most widespread contemporary dream shared by young women from all backgrounds" (Wolf 41).
The beauty industry and advertising companies can be partially blamed for that, where double standards run rampant...
For example, Wolf describes television journalism, a career that I myself have considered at one point. She describes the typical broadcasting duo of a "avuncular male anchor joined by a much younger female newscaster with a professional prettiness level" (Wolf 34). Immediately, I thought of the Will Ferrell movie Anchorman. Ferrells character, a hairy, slightly chubby anchorman is joined by an attractive, intelligent, talented co-anchor - a woman. She is the only woman on the news team and is constantly the victim of cruel comments and cold treatment by her co-workers. The only other women on the staff work in the cosmetics department, and seemed stunned by her desire to work alongside the males. At first she is only given frivolous stories to focus on as her talent is overlooked because of her gender.
Although this is only a movie (and a comedy at that) and set in the sixties, similar conditions for anchormen and women still existed up through the 1990s when Wolf wrote her book. Although men are viewed as looking more dignified reading the news as they age, women anchorwomen go through "a real nightmare [...] because soon they won't be pretty enough to do the news anymore" (Wolf 35).
Not only is this a complete double standard, but it isn't a double standard of the past. This book was published in 1990, so a few of the references are slightly outdated. Nonetheless, basically every aspect of the Beauty Myth that Wolf mentions still holds true in today's society, twenty two years later. Women are still hired for their beauty, ostracized in the workplace for being too pretty or too plain.
Women are fired for not being attractive enough or not upholding their appearance and judges rule that it is "not sex discrimination but market logic" (Wolf 37).
I find this shocking. In a self-proclaimed free and tolerant country, women should not be held to a different standard as men. If women are required to dress a certain way for a job, men should be as well. If men harass female coworkers, they should be held responsible, not exonerated because, as Wolf says, "Beauty provokes harassment, the law says, but it looks through men's eyes when deciding what provokes it" (Wolf 45). Also, quite hypocritically, only 15 percent of women surveyed said they use their appearance to their advantage in the workplace, whereas 35 percent of men gave the same answer.
Additionally, while male models are certainly present in advertisements on TV and in magazines, female models are literally everywhere. With that, Wolf states that "the model fantasy is probably the most widespread contemporary dream shared by young women from all backgrounds" (Wolf 41).
The beauty industry and advertising companies can be partially blamed for that, where double standards run rampant...
Sunday, 18 March 2012
What's in a name?
Your name is the most basic part of your identity, something (and perhaps one of the only things) that you possess from the time you are born until the time you die. Your name accompanies you all day every day, regardless of your location, profession, relationship status. The concept of going nameless is foreign to any of us.
That being said, the protagonists in two of the texts we have and are studying are essentially stripped of their names. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the narrator is no longer known by her name, but instead she goes by Offred. "I too am a missing person," she ponders about her lack of identity. She recalls the time when she used to have a name, and the freedom that she took for granted, and then realizes, "I must forget about my secret name and all ways back. My name is Offred now, and here is where I live," (Atwood, 153).
Likewise, when Janine is giving birth in the Birth Day scene, Offred thinks that Janine looks, "inflated but reduced, shorn of her former name," (Atwood, 126). Her role in society is no longer dependent upon being an individual, but solely upon her fertility. Having her own name would be viewed as superfluous.
Jasmine, in Bharati Mukherjee's novel Jasmine has had her name changed in each separate stage of her life. Note that this is passive. Her name was changed on behalf of her, and, with the exception of Lillian Gordon, always changed by a man. Her input in her shifting identities was always minimal if any at all.
Born Jyoti, Jasmine grows up as a relatively poor girl in an Indian village. Like any other girl, her family has aspirations to marry her off. After marrying Prakash, her first husband, he changes her name to Jasmine. In New York she becomes "Jase," a bolder and more colorful woman. She describes herself, Jase, as "a women who bought herself spangled heels and silk chartreuse pants," (Mukherjee, 176).
After fleeing New York in favor of the Iowan plains and beginning a relationship with Bud Ripplemeyer, she is transformed into Jane, a suburban American housewife in Iowa with an adopted son.
Like Offred, Jasmine experiences some confusion and almost a level of being disoriented with her lack of identity. She says, "In the white lamplight, ghosts float toward me. Jane, Jasmine, Jyoti," (Mukherjee, 21). Nonetheless, her multiple names and identities aid her and she believes, "My grandmother may have named me Jyoti, Light, but in surviving I was already Jane, a fighter and adapter," (Mukherjee, 40).
To put it simply, Jyoti, Jasmine, Jassy, Jase, and Jane all represent the different stages of this woman's life, the challenges she overcomes, and the relationships she builds.
That being said, the protagonists in two of the texts we have and are studying are essentially stripped of their names. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, the narrator is no longer known by her name, but instead she goes by Offred. "I too am a missing person," she ponders about her lack of identity. She recalls the time when she used to have a name, and the freedom that she took for granted, and then realizes, "I must forget about my secret name and all ways back. My name is Offred now, and here is where I live," (Atwood, 153).
Likewise, when Janine is giving birth in the Birth Day scene, Offred thinks that Janine looks, "inflated but reduced, shorn of her former name," (Atwood, 126). Her role in society is no longer dependent upon being an individual, but solely upon her fertility. Having her own name would be viewed as superfluous.
Jasmine, in Bharati Mukherjee's novel Jasmine has had her name changed in each separate stage of her life. Note that this is passive. Her name was changed on behalf of her, and, with the exception of Lillian Gordon, always changed by a man. Her input in her shifting identities was always minimal if any at all.
Born Jyoti, Jasmine grows up as a relatively poor girl in an Indian village. Like any other girl, her family has aspirations to marry her off. After marrying Prakash, her first husband, he changes her name to Jasmine. In New York she becomes "Jase," a bolder and more colorful woman. She describes herself, Jase, as "a women who bought herself spangled heels and silk chartreuse pants," (Mukherjee, 176).
After fleeing New York in favor of the Iowan plains and beginning a relationship with Bud Ripplemeyer, she is transformed into Jane, a suburban American housewife in Iowa with an adopted son.
"Bud calls me Jane. Me Bud, you Jane. I didn't get it at first. He kids. Calamity Jane. Jane as in Jane Russell, not Jane is in Plain Jane. But Plain Jane is all I want to be. Plain Jane is a role, like any other. My genuine foreignness frightens him. I don't hold that against him. It frightens me, too," (Mukherjee, 26).However, the best stage of her life and the stage remembered with the most fondness is her life in New York with Taylor, Wylie, and Duff. While living a life in Iowa filled with economic hardship, very few friendships, and Bud's disability, she reminisces about New York, Taylor, and being Jase, "I whisper the name, Jase, Jase, Jase, as if I am calling someone I once knew," (Mukherjee, 215).
Like Offred, Jasmine experiences some confusion and almost a level of being disoriented with her lack of identity. She says, "In the white lamplight, ghosts float toward me. Jane, Jasmine, Jyoti," (Mukherjee, 21). Nonetheless, her multiple names and identities aid her and she believes, "My grandmother may have named me Jyoti, Light, but in surviving I was already Jane, a fighter and adapter," (Mukherjee, 40).
To put it simply, Jyoti, Jasmine, Jassy, Jase, and Jane all represent the different stages of this woman's life, the challenges she overcomes, and the relationships she builds.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Power and Control
The easy assumption to make with regards to the characters in The Handmaid's Tale is that the men have the power in society, and use said power to control the women. After all, it is only men who are allowed to hold property, and women are not even supposed to look men in the eye. Women are there purely for their fertility and gift of childbirth, some might argue. However, after finishing the novel I have begun to see it differently. There is not one superior gender, and women are viewed to be just as important as men, since without them the population of Gilead would suffer.
It can be argued that Gilead is actually a very matriarchal society. Women fall into neatly organized ranks, ranging from the Aunts, to Wives, to Marthas to Handmaids. Every woman knows her place and no woman is "serving" a man, so to speak. Instead, women report to to and work for other women. If a handmaid acts in an inappropriate manner, it is the Wife's job to punish her, not the Commander's.
Although they have almost no say in their own lives (meals are monitored, their clothes are chosen for them, their socializing is minimal), handmaids play a crucial role in Gilead and therefore enjoy a taste of power in their own way. When the commander requests that Offred joins him for nightly Scrabble games, Offred remarks, "It's difficult for me to believe I have power over him, of any sort, but I do; although it's of an equivocal kind...there are things he wants to prove to me, gifts he wants to bestow, services he wants to render, tendernesses he wants to inspire," (Atwood, 221).
However, it does appear as though men enjoy the taste of dominance that they appear to have. Luke doesn't understand Offred's anger and frustration when she is stripped of her possessions and legally becomes reliant and subservient to him. Likewise, the Commander takes advantage of his position and privileges. "Perhaps he's reached that state of intoxication which power is said to inspire, the state in which you believe you are indispensable and can therefore do anything, absolutely anything you feel like, anything at all," Offred says (Atwood, 248). Another example of men having power over women is at Jezebels, a sort of brothel-type establishment not so dissimilar to a modern day strip club. Moira states that men "like to see you all painted up. Just another crummy power trip," (Atwood, 255).
Something that I liked about The Handmaid's Tale is that the reader never really is sure about who has the true supremacy. The men might hold the more authoritative roles, but handmaids have the ever-important job of having children. It is never clear who wins the power-struggle between the genders, but both men and women experience the thrill of having power and the misery of having none throughout the story.
It can be argued that Gilead is actually a very matriarchal society. Women fall into neatly organized ranks, ranging from the Aunts, to Wives, to Marthas to Handmaids. Every woman knows her place and no woman is "serving" a man, so to speak. Instead, women report to to and work for other women. If a handmaid acts in an inappropriate manner, it is the Wife's job to punish her, not the Commander's.
Although they have almost no say in their own lives (meals are monitored, their clothes are chosen for them, their socializing is minimal), handmaids play a crucial role in Gilead and therefore enjoy a taste of power in their own way. When the commander requests that Offred joins him for nightly Scrabble games, Offred remarks, "It's difficult for me to believe I have power over him, of any sort, but I do; although it's of an equivocal kind...there are things he wants to prove to me, gifts he wants to bestow, services he wants to render, tendernesses he wants to inspire," (Atwood, 221).
However, it does appear as though men enjoy the taste of dominance that they appear to have. Luke doesn't understand Offred's anger and frustration when she is stripped of her possessions and legally becomes reliant and subservient to him. Likewise, the Commander takes advantage of his position and privileges. "Perhaps he's reached that state of intoxication which power is said to inspire, the state in which you believe you are indispensable and can therefore do anything, absolutely anything you feel like, anything at all," Offred says (Atwood, 248). Another example of men having power over women is at Jezebels, a sort of brothel-type establishment not so dissimilar to a modern day strip club. Moira states that men "like to see you all painted up. Just another crummy power trip," (Atwood, 255).
Something that I liked about The Handmaid's Tale is that the reader never really is sure about who has the true supremacy. The men might hold the more authoritative roles, but handmaids have the ever-important job of having children. It is never clear who wins the power-struggle between the genders, but both men and women experience the thrill of having power and the misery of having none throughout the story.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
It could never happen to us...
Part of what struck me from last night's reading was the ease at which society was completely transformed. America morphed from a modern, democratic society to a theocracy run by extremists, with puritanical views on religion, sex and politics. Whenever we view an event in the news regarding rebellion or genocide - a society totally overrun - we take comfort in the fact that we live in a wealthy, developed country. We have rights, we have a constitution, we have freedom, we have equality. We can feel the distance between us and the havoc being wreaked on opposite corners of the world. What's happening there could never happen to us, we say, shaking our heads at the TV screen and newspapers in front of us. But in Gilead (The Handmaid's Tale) it did.
Offred describes the events that led to the transition. The president was assassinated, congress slaughtered, and a new religious extremist regime took over. She remembers the way she was feeling:
After the new government takes over, women are stripped of all money and property rights. The equality that women fought so long and hard for vanished right before their eyes. This is also a frightening thought. Today, men and women are more or less considered equals, and if someone suggested to strip one gender of their rights, they would be scorned or even ostracized. In spite of that, Offred doesn't feel as though Luke (her husband back when she still had a normal life and real name) comprehends the gravity of her situation.
In fact, later, Moira describes using the restroom as the "one freedom" that women still possess, and Offred describes the process as being "democratic." It's disturbing that in Gilead, women have become so stripped of their rights the bathroom has become almost a symbol of independence.
Offred describes the events that led to the transition. The president was assassinated, congress slaughtered, and a new religious extremist regime took over. She remembers the way she was feeling:
"I was stunned. Everyone was, I know that. It was hard to believe. The entire government, gone like that. How did they get in, how did it happen?" (Atwood, 183).The events that Offred describes terrify me, as they seem so real. It's frightening to think that could happen the America that we know today. She recalls the green paper money that people used as a distant memory, a thing of the past, back when women held jobs.
After the new government takes over, women are stripped of all money and property rights. The equality that women fought so long and hard for vanished right before their eyes. This is also a frightening thought. Today, men and women are more or less considered equals, and if someone suggested to strip one gender of their rights, they would be scorned or even ostracized. In spite of that, Offred doesn't feel as though Luke (her husband back when she still had a normal life and real name) comprehends the gravity of her situation.
"We still have... he said. But he didn't go on to say what we still had. It occurred to me that he shouldn't be saying we since nothing that I knew of had been taken away from him,"(Atwood, 191).It seems as though women are loosing their liberty, one step at a time. First, the freedom to hold jobs, then the freedom to hold property, then the freedom to travel as they pleased, and eventually even the freedom over their own bodies.
In fact, later, Moira describes using the restroom as the "one freedom" that women still possess, and Offred describes the process as being "democratic." It's disturbing that in Gilead, women have become so stripped of their rights the bathroom has become almost a symbol of independence.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Sticks and stones can break your bones, but can words really hurt you?
Women gossip. No matter the time or society they live in, all women at some point or another have been guilty of talking about another person, usually a women, behind her back.
Gossip starts in the playground. Middle school girls in matching ponytails and sneakers stand around in circles, running from group to group, sharing secrets, spreading scandal, and hearing rumors. "Lizzie likes Johnny!" might be the gossip of the day, or perhaps "Mary didn't invite Lucy to her birthday party!" Harmless enough, in theory.
But as women mature, their cattiness unfortunately grows with them. By the time girls reach high school, rumors are more vicious, deceit is more rampant, and manipulation and betrayal come to be reoccurring themes for many. Gossip progresses.
"Did you hear Catie slept with three guys over spring break!"
"Apparently Stephanie did ecstasy last weekend!"
"Nick is cheating on his girlfriend with her best friend!"
"Whore," some girls are labeled. "Loser," others.
Grown women are not exempt from the practice of gossip that their younger peers partake in. In fact, grown women are just as, if not more, prone to gossip and making judgements than their younger counterparts, as shown by both wives and handmaids in The Handmaid's Tale.
To begin, in Janine's birthing scene, the wives fawn over her, celebrating her fertility and rewarding her with kind words and gentle gestures. "More like a daughter to you, as you might say. One of the family," one Wife says (Atwood, 125). However, as soon as Janine is out of earshot, the whispers and judgmental remarks commence. "Little whores, all of them, but still, you can't be choosy. You take what they hand out, right girls?" (Atwood, 125). These women show no more maturity than your average high schooler, lowering themselves back to a teenage sort of pettiness. It also shows that this pious society has failed to stop one of the most traditional practices of women.
Later, after Janine's baby is proven to be unhealthy, the wives enjoy the opportunity to partake in another session of slurs aimed at handmaids. Offred wonders what Serena Joy is saying about her. She imagines:
While in the Red Center, the handmaids rarely found the occasion to giggle together, let alone share secrets. Nonetheless, the bathroom wall serves as somewhat of an outlet for them to get out their womanly need to gossip. "Aunt Lydia sucks," someone has scrawled (Atwood, 234). Offred describes the feeling she receives while gossiping with Moira about the Aunts:
(all images from Google Images)
Gossip starts in the playground. Middle school girls in matching ponytails and sneakers stand around in circles, running from group to group, sharing secrets, spreading scandal, and hearing rumors. "Lizzie likes Johnny!" might be the gossip of the day, or perhaps "Mary didn't invite Lucy to her birthday party!" Harmless enough, in theory.
But as women mature, their cattiness unfortunately grows with them. By the time girls reach high school, rumors are more vicious, deceit is more rampant, and manipulation and betrayal come to be reoccurring themes for many. Gossip progresses.
"Did you hear Catie slept with three guys over spring break!"
"Apparently Stephanie did ecstasy last weekend!"
"Nick is cheating on his girlfriend with her best friend!"
"Whore," some girls are labeled. "Loser," others.
Grown women are not exempt from the practice of gossip that their younger peers partake in. In fact, grown women are just as, if not more, prone to gossip and making judgements than their younger counterparts, as shown by both wives and handmaids in The Handmaid's Tale.
To begin, in Janine's birthing scene, the wives fawn over her, celebrating her fertility and rewarding her with kind words and gentle gestures. "More like a daughter to you, as you might say. One of the family," one Wife says (Atwood, 125). However, as soon as Janine is out of earshot, the whispers and judgmental remarks commence. "Little whores, all of them, but still, you can't be choosy. You take what they hand out, right girls?" (Atwood, 125). These women show no more maturity than your average high schooler, lowering themselves back to a teenage sort of pettiness. It also shows that this pious society has failed to stop one of the most traditional practices of women.Later, after Janine's baby is proven to be unhealthy, the wives enjoy the opportunity to partake in another session of slurs aimed at handmaids. Offred wonders what Serena Joy is saying about her. She imagines:
"Agreed to it right away, really she didn't care, anything with two legs and a good you-know-what was fine with her. They aren't squeamish, they don't have the same feelings we do," (Atwood, 227).
While in the Red Center, the handmaids rarely found the occasion to giggle together, let alone share secrets. Nonetheless, the bathroom wall serves as somewhat of an outlet for them to get out their womanly need to gossip. "Aunt Lydia sucks," someone has scrawled (Atwood, 234). Offred describes the feeling she receives while gossiping with Moira about the Aunts:"There is something powerful in the whisperings of obscenities, about those in power. There's something delightful about it, something naughty, secretive, forbidden, thrilling. It's like a spell, of sorts. It deflates them, reduces them to the common denominator where they can be dealt with," (Atwood, 234).In most ways, the way in which women behave in Gilead is so far from the behavior of the modern American woman. However, the way the women (of all classes - ranging from handmaids to wives) behave in this story makes one wonder if gossip is, unfortunately, an innate practice of all women.
(all images from Google Images)
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Gender Roles, Guerrilla Girls and Modern Art
Undeniably, one of the major points in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is the emphasis of the rigid structure of society and the importance of gender roles. Women and men alike each know their place in and the job they must fulfill, the only difference being that men have some level of social mobility (Guardians can be promoted to Angels).
The protagonist, Offred, is a handmaid, meaning her sole purpose in society is to have babies. After completing rigorous schooling and training she now lives with a Commander and his Wife, where she must keep a low profile and complete her job of getting pregnant. She describes the Wife's attitude towards her by saying, "I am a reproach to her; and a necessity," (Atwood, 23). She has been uprooted from her old life and stripped of her former name. In class we discussed the origin of the name "Offred" and I believe that the handmaids' names are composed of the word "of" plus the name of their Commander. This essentially leaves them with nothing of their own and nothing of their past life.
In Gilead, where the story takes place, there are other positions that women can hold, of course, besides being child-bearers. Nonetheless, these roles are all subservient, and more equivalent with the duties of a Puritan housewife than a 21st century woman. Other than handmaids, there are also Wives, upper-class women who marry the Commanders; Marthas, who do the housework; Aunts, who educate the handmaids; and Econowives, who are the lowest class of women and who have a mix of responsibilities. Women are forbidden from holding important jobs, and a strong emphasis is placed on preserving their innocence.
So far, I am REALLY enjoying The Handmaid's Tale and I am finding that the story is resonating with me throughout my daily life. For example, the other day I went to the Tate Modern with a friend and as we meandered through the exhibits we stopped to examine a collection of posters and artwork by the Guerrilla Girls, a group of feminist artists who protest against the way women are treated in the art world. We looked at the different posters displayed for a while, each with a different glaring statistic or fact. Right next to the Guerilla Girls exhibit, there was a set of paintings by Linder, a different feminist artist, who portrays women (for the most part) with idealized bodies and distorted faces, doing various household tasks. Both exhibits of art reminded me of the defining gender roles portrayed in The Handmaid's Tale.
(photos from www.guerrillagirls.com and www.tate.org.uk)
The protagonist, Offred, is a handmaid, meaning her sole purpose in society is to have babies. After completing rigorous schooling and training she now lives with a Commander and his Wife, where she must keep a low profile and complete her job of getting pregnant. She describes the Wife's attitude towards her by saying, "I am a reproach to her; and a necessity," (Atwood, 23). She has been uprooted from her old life and stripped of her former name. In class we discussed the origin of the name "Offred" and I believe that the handmaids' names are composed of the word "of" plus the name of their Commander. This essentially leaves them with nothing of their own and nothing of their past life.
"My name isn't Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it's forbidden. I tell myself it doesn't matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter. I keep the knowledge of this name like something hidden, some treasure I'll come back to dig up, one day," (Atwood, 94).
(photos from www.guerrillagirls.com and www.tate.org.uk)
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Why I Want a Wife
It seems fitting to write this blog post during High School Spirit Week, on a day when my grade was assigned to dress up to fit the theme "midlife crisis." While the boys of my grade (all of whom are either seventeen or eighteen) took this as the opportunity to boast suits and ties and varying levels of business attire, the girls took a different approach, donning aprons, tracksuits and pearls and their best housewife apparel. One of my friends commented to another upon seeing her costume, "You'd make the best housewife!"
Therefore, while looking back though the text "Why I Want a Wife" by Judy Syfers, it instantly jumped out and appealed to me. Although it exaggerates (or maybe speaks the blatant truth, depending on what view you take) the role of the wife, it seems as though that stereotype of the overworked housewife is widely accepted as the truth in society. Or at least in my senior class, anyway.
In her piece as she examines the different things that wives must do for their husbands, Syfers decides that she too would like to have a wife. I mean, look at all of the things that wives do for their spouses. In addition to a wide variety of household chores (ranging from driving the children to school to filling guests' glasses at dinner parties) wives are expected to selflessly abandon their job should it conflict with their housework. Unfortunately, instead of being a massive dramatization, many wives are expected to adhere to those guidelines.
Perhaps one of the most interesting points that Syfers makes is her view on how wives are supposed to view sex.
Above all, wives are expected to grin and bear their obligations. Syfers, after all, wants "a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties." And duties they are.
Therefore, while looking back though the text "Why I Want a Wife" by Judy Syfers, it instantly jumped out and appealed to me. Although it exaggerates (or maybe speaks the blatant truth, depending on what view you take) the role of the wife, it seems as though that stereotype of the overworked housewife is widely accepted as the truth in society. Or at least in my senior class, anyway.
In her piece as she examines the different things that wives must do for their husbands, Syfers decides that she too would like to have a wife. I mean, look at all of the things that wives do for their spouses. In addition to a wide variety of household chores (ranging from driving the children to school to filling guests' glasses at dinner parties) wives are expected to selflessly abandon their job should it conflict with their housework. Unfortunately, instead of being a massive dramatization, many wives are expected to adhere to those guidelines.
Perhaps one of the most interesting points that Syfers makes is her view on how wives are supposed to view sex.
"I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it," (Syfers).While sex is arguably one of the most intimate moments a husband and wife can share, a moment that should be characterized by mutual love, respect and passion, Syfers implies that it is also a wife's duty to fulfill her husbands desires. Additionally, while some of the above chores really are expectations husbands hold (grocery shopping, feeding children, hosting dinner parties etc.), the final task is that the wife must understand that her husband does not have to remain monogamous. She says,
"If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free," (Syfers).That is never part of the original deal of marriage. 'Til death do us part - not 'til boredom do us abandon.
Above all, wives are expected to grin and bear their obligations. Syfers, after all, wants "a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties." And duties they are.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
"A Jury of Her Peers" and the role of women
Today we started off class by journaling words we have heard used or seen used in literature to describe women. At first, the activity was slightly difficult - I didn't know where to start - but as my mind began to churn and as we began to discuss, my journal page quickly filled up with words ranging from timid and defenseless to passionate and confident. Other words included determined, nurturing, infantilized, flirtatious and gentle.
I was struck by how different all of these words were and by the fact that some of these adjectives completely contradicted each other. Part of this, I believe, is due to the versatility of women. In only a week of class we have read poems and stories featuring women as breadwinners, scientists, mistresses, and even murderers. Women have a flexibility in literature that allows them to be molded to whatever the writer desires - a flexibility that men do not necessarily possess.
The role of women in "A Jury of Her Peers" can be described as somewhat of a traditional role with the women acting passively and appearing nearly subservient to their husbands. For one, the women are rarely mentioned by first name, but instead are called Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, emphasizing the importance of their husbands.
Marriage plays a defining role in this story, especially for the character of Minnie Foster Wright. The other women in the story remark on how Mrs. Wright (formerly known as Minnie Foster) has transformed since marrying Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale notes,
Although the women bicker throughout the story, after they begin to realize that Minnie Foster was potentially abused, their relationship changes. Although no words on the subject are exchanged, they are both under the agreement that it is not their responsibility to alert the men to what they have found, a sort of protective gesture to Minnie Foster. They share pity for the woman, and Mrs. Hale laments that she didn't make enough of an effort to form a relationship with Mrs. Wright.
I was struck by how different all of these words were and by the fact that some of these adjectives completely contradicted each other. Part of this, I believe, is due to the versatility of women. In only a week of class we have read poems and stories featuring women as breadwinners, scientists, mistresses, and even murderers. Women have a flexibility in literature that allows them to be molded to whatever the writer desires - a flexibility that men do not necessarily possess.
The role of women in "A Jury of Her Peers" can be described as somewhat of a traditional role with the women acting passively and appearing nearly subservient to their husbands. For one, the women are rarely mentioned by first name, but instead are called Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, emphasizing the importance of their husbands.
Marriage plays a defining role in this story, especially for the character of Minnie Foster Wright. The other women in the story remark on how Mrs. Wright (formerly known as Minnie Foster) has transformed since marrying Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale notes,
"She -- come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself. Real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and -- fluttery. How -- she -- did -- change," (Glaspell 13).Later, after discovering the dead bird that Mr. Wright strangled, Mrs. Hale states,
"...a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too," (Glaspell 15)."A Jury of Her Peers" also brings up the theme of sisterhood and the common bond that women share. The men of this story group the women together. The women only accompany the men to the Wright's house to keep each other company and to prevent one another from growing uneasy or scared. They hang back as the men investigate. Nonetheless, the men make several sexist comments towards the women, grouping them together. The sheriff jokes, "Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder, and worrying about her preserves!" (Glaspell 6) and when Mrs. Hale tries to defend Mrs. Wright's dirty kitchen, the county attorney interjects, "Ah, loyal to your sex, I see," (Glaspell 7).
Although the women bicker throughout the story, after they begin to realize that Minnie Foster was potentially abused, their relationship changes. Although no words on the subject are exchanged, they are both under the agreement that it is not their responsibility to alert the men to what they have found, a sort of protective gesture to Minnie Foster. They share pity for the woman, and Mrs. Hale laments that she didn't make enough of an effort to form a relationship with Mrs. Wright.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Is it the end of men?
This blog marks two separate beginnings for me -- the first time that I have ever blogged and the first time I have ever taken a class on women's literature. As I've never blogged before, I am expecting a few technological glitches (setting up my blog was a challenge in and of itself as I accidentally created four different accounts and one email address). As a complete technophobe, I usually get my younger brother to help me when it comes to even the most basic technological tasks, including, but not limited to, downloading movies and even turning on the DVD player. I thought about that on a few occasions while reading "The End of Men", an article published in The Atlantic by Hanna Rosin, and in the rebuttal to this argument in "It's Not the End of Men" in The American Prospect, written by Ann Friedman.
In "The End of Men," Rosin aggressively asserts women's dominance over the other sex. Not one for sugar-coating, she argues that modern, postindustrial society, is "simply better suited to women."
Although Rosin's thoughts are clear and her message is powerful, I have a hard time agreeing or sympathizing with what she is saying. She talks about women surpassing men in the workplace, citing that women now hold 51.4 percent of all managerial and professional jobs. However, Rosin doesn't fail to mention that only 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and, on average, men still out-earn women in most professions. How is it possible that men are "failing to adapt," yet even men with only a high-school diploma earn 7,000 dollars more than women with the same level of education?
She goes on to speak about social class:
Nonetheless, something I found interesting in Rosin's article was the statistics about women and men surrounding university, and the fact that many universities are now comprised of about 60 percent women undergraduates. Affirmative action is now being applied with "boys playing the role of the underprivileged applicants needing an extra boost." I found this ironic as when American public and private universities were originally founded, they were male-only institutions. Also, Rosin does not fail to make overarching stereotypes about men and women in university:
Women are making substantial progress, and that progress should be applauded. However, I find it to be outrageous to say that "it is the end of men" when men are still the top-earners and hold more prominent positions in the economy and the political world. Let's stop comparing.
In "The End of Men," Rosin aggressively asserts women's dominance over the other sex. Not one for sugar-coating, she argues that modern, postindustrial society, is "simply better suited to women."
Although Rosin's thoughts are clear and her message is powerful, I have a hard time agreeing or sympathizing with what she is saying. She talks about women surpassing men in the workplace, citing that women now hold 51.4 percent of all managerial and professional jobs. However, Rosin doesn't fail to mention that only 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and, on average, men still out-earn women in most professions. How is it possible that men are "failing to adapt," yet even men with only a high-school diploma earn 7,000 dollars more than women with the same level of education?
She goes on to speak about social class:
"It's [the] broad, striving middle class that defines our society. And demographically, we can see with absolute clarity that in the coming decades the middle class will be dominated by women."This may certainly be true, but those in position of power (think CEOs and prominent politicians) are still comprised of a male majority.
Nonetheless, something I found interesting in Rosin's article was the statistics about women and men surrounding university, and the fact that many universities are now comprised of about 60 percent women undergraduates. Affirmative action is now being applied with "boys playing the role of the underprivileged applicants needing an extra boost." I found this ironic as when American public and private universities were originally founded, they were male-only institutions. Also, Rosin does not fail to make overarching stereotypes about men and women in university:
"Guys high-five each other when they get a C, while girls beat themselves up over a B-minus. Guys play video games in each other's rooms, while girls crowd the study hall. Girls get their degrees with no drama, while guys seem always in danger of drifting away."Attitudes like that, Friedman argues, are what contribute to the misconception that we have reached the "end of men."
Women are making substantial progress, and that progress should be applauded. However, I find it to be outrageous to say that "it is the end of men" when men are still the top-earners and hold more prominent positions in the economy and the political world. Let's stop comparing.
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