Female circumcision for women is a way of purifying them of their masculinity. Second, female circumcision is done to denote women power. Many social conditions, which require female circumcision, are the alienation of women, particularly from power. Women are controlled in community, family, emotionally, and even sexual matters. By definition, a loss of autonomy causes an otherwise
The book consists of monologues by a various number of women. Every monologue expresses the aspects of things women go through in their lifetime, such as sex, love, rape, menstruation, and talking about their vagina in metaphorical ways or simply the physicality of it. Some pieces were of importance to me because some reminded me of past readings and research, and some because I can relate on a personal level. On page 9, the subject being questioned was hair. In the piece, the woman stated that her husband hated her hair down there.
The shattering of classifications and stereotypes, and the subversion of traditional gender roles, and the concept of sisterhood or unity among women are among the main tenets of feminist criticism. In the words of Catherine Besley, she mentioned that the cultural construction of subjectivity is one of the central issues for feminism (qtd. in Con Davis and Schleifer, 355). All women are feminists. However, it cannot be denied that women still experience the effects
A particular artist by the name of Ludacris decided that enough was enough and determined that he would take a stand against abuse in his song, “Runaway Love.” This song, performed by Ludacris and featuring Mary J. Blige, voices their concern about the issues of rape, physical violence, gun violence, and unwanted pregnancy. They do this by unveiling three different stories of girls whose home life is less then glamorous. In “Runaway Love,” the song tells of three little girls that deal with different types of abuse. Ludacris says, “Yeah, I can only imagine what you goin' through, ladies/Sometimes I feel like runnin' away myself.” He feels this way because he understands the horrors of what they are going through. He grew up around people that struggled with physical and emotional abuse day in and day out.
Lorde did express her feelings clearly stating that, “Prosthesis offers that empty comfort of “Nobody will know the difference”. But it is the very difference which I wish to affirm, because I have lived it, and survived it, and wish to share that strength with other women. If we are to translate the silence surrounding breast cancer into language and action against this scourge, then the first step is that women with mastectomies become visible to each other, for silence and invisibility go hand in hand with powerlessness”. “The Cancer Journals, 1980”. Lorde did talk about the process she had to endure on a personal level that took her on a journey of denial through acceptance.
Most women these days would do anything to look pretty and attract the opposite sex. This story gives us the importance of body image to women and they get judged about it. Amber the “finger throated sickness one”. She gets teased because of her anorexic appearance. This is a mental illness common to the young woman.
Orenstein began with an anecdote expressing her frustration with the princess theme, then talked about different product lines with the princess theme. From there she jumped from criticizing mothers that fell for the princess trend to how Disney’s princess product line started and finally finishes with references to studies about change in different aspects of a girl’s life. Along with their differences in approach, there also was a major difference in effectiveness. Poniewozik’s article was much more structured going from movie to movie explaining its impact on a girl’s life and stuck to one point which came across very effective. Orenstein, on the other hand, jumped from topic to topic without much of a connection and supported her claims with very little evidence, so it failed to be effective in getting her point
I tell the story of my tattoo - what it means to me, what it means to be a woman with a tattoo and the history of tattoos. This paper argues that commercialized beauty – plastic beauty - is not only a system of control, but a way society silences women. It highlights “the rebellious use of tattoos as a form of radical feminist self-identification”. (Megan Jean Harlow, 2009). Through this memoir, I hope other individuals better understand what it means for women to have a tattoo and how it relates to gender, women and sex.
Valenti provides many statistics of abuse against women here in the United States as well as examples of evidence for the mistreatment of women. Valenti's appeals began before she had written a single word, mainly due to her being a woman. She appeals to the emotional side of her readers, writing that we “cry with Oprah and laugh with Tina Fey”, that we are “fooling ourselves” into believing that a “mirage of equality...is the real thing." She is trying to explain that it is a sort of ignorance-is-bliss situation: look at all these successful women on television so how could equality not exist? She also cites facts, while maintaining an emotion, by mentioning George Sodini, who specifically targeted women in his shooting “killing three women and injuring nine others."
Oscar Chen Ms. Norton 2. May.2013 Rape Culture Rape culture has greatly influenced society and has caused women to sink in danger situations. Rape is ultimately caused by men’s urge to enjoy the power they can exert over women’s bodies. Rape not only includes sexual assaults but also serve violent and punishment for women. Rape has affected many cultures and women’s life that we cannot imagine.