Today’s walk around Westminster really helped me shape the book up more in my mind. I think it must have been just going to Dean’s Yard, which is where Mrs Dalloway lived. Also going to Bond Street and seeing where the flower shop Mulberry’s was. It reminded me that the book takes place in a single day and that it would only take me a couple hours to go to the places she did. First we went to Westminister bridge and we saw the Royal Abbey. We heard the Big Ben ring and just like Woolf describes, it brought a calming sensation to me. Walking through St. James park and seeing the ducks, made me think of the walk hat Mrs. Dalloway took. I’m not sure what season this book takes place in, but it could be spring. It also rained during our walk and it made me think of the symbolism in the book, such as the airplane in the sky, connecting everyone that was looking at it. Everyone on the street we were at felt the same rain we did. So even though we don’t know what that person was going through or how their day is, we both felt the same wet rain.
That in a sense is nice to think about, because one could easily connect the whole world just through scenarios like this. It would create more empathy and you would be able to know how someone else feels. Mrs Dalloway, Clarissa, and Clarissa Dalloway are all the same person, and yet have different elements to them. When a person like Hugh asks how Clarissa is today, I know that he has a certain relationship with her to be able to call her that. When Mrs Dalloway goes into the flower shop, she is greeted by Clarissa Dalloway. I, myself act differently depending on where I am, and who I’m with. For example, with my family they might call me by my nickname Amoon instead of Amna. At school different teachers pronounce my name differently:
Imna
Omina
Emna
Amnah
I thought of this during our walk because it connected me to London in the same ways that it connected the people in this novel walking through London.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
"Don't Pretty Up My Vagina"
Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, goes far beyond contributing to stopping violence against women. In the chapter, “My Angry Vagina” the interviewee, speaks of what her vagina ‘wants’ and ‘needs’. The lady says, “It smells good already. Not like rose petals. Don’t try to decorate it” (70). I think this is important because it touches with the points made in Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth, in that nature is nature and women don’t need to be trying to impress anyone. “That’s what they’re doing–trying to clean it up, make it smell like bathroom spray or a garden” (70). I understand that this is an important lesson to teach because it’s true that our society should keep natural things natural. Instead of trying to change it into something aesthetically pleasing.
However, this chapter’s message gets lost because of certain disgusting parts. She talks about underwear such as thongs and how sometimes it gets uncomfortable to wear. For example she says it, “moves around all the time, gets stuck in the back of your vagina, real crusty butt” (72). The issue of this chapter is somewhat clear, that we put ourselves through discomfort for someone else’s pleasure. This description of the thong sounds very unsexy which I think is exactly what Ensler wants us to think, but you also just end up being grossed out instead of focusing on the issue. Especially if after saying that, she continues to put disgusting images in the reader’s mind. She says, “women would be coming all day long, coming in the supermarket, coming on the subway, happy vaginas” (72). I could not read this with a straight face, by the end of it I was laughing, but I could not look at other women the same way again.
I found it weirdly interesting how she personifies the vagina. She starts by bringing up birth, which is an important event for a vagina. Yet, she then talks about the other things that it wants. She says, “it wants to travel…read…sex…chocolate” (73). It just seems that this has lost the plot. I just think that she took it too far and I got confused by what point she was trying to make by the end of it. I feel that if she went beyond just underwear that woman wear then I would have been able to relate it to other things. Since she didn’t, I as the reader am just confused.
However, this chapter’s message gets lost because of certain disgusting parts. She talks about underwear such as thongs and how sometimes it gets uncomfortable to wear. For example she says it, “moves around all the time, gets stuck in the back of your vagina, real crusty butt” (72). The issue of this chapter is somewhat clear, that we put ourselves through discomfort for someone else’s pleasure. This description of the thong sounds very unsexy which I think is exactly what Ensler wants us to think, but you also just end up being grossed out instead of focusing on the issue. Especially if after saying that, she continues to put disgusting images in the reader’s mind. She says, “women would be coming all day long, coming in the supermarket, coming on the subway, happy vaginas” (72). I could not read this with a straight face, by the end of it I was laughing, but I could not look at other women the same way again.
I found it weirdly interesting how she personifies the vagina. She starts by bringing up birth, which is an important event for a vagina. Yet, she then talks about the other things that it wants. She says, “it wants to travel…read…sex…chocolate” (73). It just seems that this has lost the plot. I just think that she took it too far and I got confused by what point she was trying to make by the end of it. I feel that if she went beyond just underwear that woman wear then I would have been able to relate it to other things. Since she didn’t, I as the reader am just confused.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Statistics in The Beauty Myth
Naomi Wolf mentions a lot of statistics in her chapter ‘Sex’. This chapter is about how people perceive it and people’s views on it. In this specific section, she talks about how sex is portrayed in younger people. She uses MTV as an example. She says, “It seems that exposure to chic violence and objectifying sexual imagery has already harmed the young” (162). She goes on to discuss that it is not only pornography and magazines that have a negative effect on children, but even material in music videos and songs. She names The Rolling Stones who she says are seen as ‘male heroes’ and yet they say lines like, “I’ll stick my knife down your throat” (164). Not only that, but also in videos women are shown in chains or fishnet stockings and choked to death. She mentions that these images have become so normal that they don’t really shock anyone anymore. I wish she had mentioned other countries in the world rather than just the U.S. because many people in other countries would be shocked to see images like these. It is true that most world countries import U.S. T.V so maybe over time that ideology of shock will spread. I personally know teenagers my age and adults that criticize the U.S. and even U.K for airing violent programs.
According to Naomi Wolf, there are lots of statistics that support that sexual violence is highly influenced on what men consider tobe violent. For example she cites a study of college graduates and finds that, “Some women look like they are just asking to be raped. 83.5% and it would be exciting to use force to subdue a woman. 61.7%” (165). These statistics upset me because well firstly they are horrid to think about. 62% is well over half of the entire population of those schools and I get scared to think that I will be soon going to a university too. Although my university is not in the U.S. people are highly influenced by the same programs as Americans are. So who’s to say that they won’t turn out like them?
Most shocking was Wolf’s statement that, “Cultural representation of glamorized degradation has created a situation among the young in which boys rape and girls get raped as a normal course of events” (167). I think that this is so true and sad. At the same time, there are even more differences in gender because of how we react to a boy getting raped as opposed to a woman getting raped. I think that reaction is now global and not simply in the U.S.
According to Naomi Wolf, there are lots of statistics that support that sexual violence is highly influenced on what men consider tobe violent. For example she cites a study of college graduates and finds that, “Some women look like they are just asking to be raped. 83.5% and it would be exciting to use force to subdue a woman. 61.7%” (165). These statistics upset me because well firstly they are horrid to think about. 62% is well over half of the entire population of those schools and I get scared to think that I will be soon going to a university too. Although my university is not in the U.S. people are highly influenced by the same programs as Americans are. So who’s to say that they won’t turn out like them?
Most shocking was Wolf’s statement that, “Cultural representation of glamorized degradation has created a situation among the young in which boys rape and girls get raped as a normal course of events” (167). I think that this is so true and sad. At the same time, there are even more differences in gender because of how we react to a boy getting raped as opposed to a woman getting raped. I think that reaction is now global and not simply in the U.S.
Mrs Dalloway First Impressions
Since the beginning of the year we were warned about how difficult Mrs Dalloway by Virgina Woolf was going to be. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the plot or because of the writing, but now I know it’s both. Straight from the beginning the setting was clearly placed in London, and the character of Mrs Dalloway was introduced. The first line of the first chapter says, “Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself” (1). A couple sentences later it says, “And then thought Clarissa Dalloway…” (1). Woolf continuously switches names from Clarissa to Clarissa Dalloway to Mrs Dalloway. There seems to be no pattern yet, but maybe that will become clearer as I read on. It might be that when she is in a certain place or doing something in particular then she would have to be called a particular name.
Something I found interesting how Woolf literally wrote her words in a train of thought, as in sometimes completed and sometimes not. For example, Clarissa says, “For it was the middle of June. The War was over…John, her favourite killed; but it was over; thank Heaven–over. It was June. The King and Queen were at the Palace” (2). I had to read that sentence twice or three times just to understand it. She keeps jumping around thoughts and mentioning different people so that I don’t really know whom I should be paying attention to. Will there ever be just one main character?
This takes place after WWI, maybe this is a sign of how it affected the people. For example, Septimus Warren Smith was in WWI and when he got back started to talk to himself and get stressed out easily. His wife, Lucrezia is frustrated because the doctors say there is nothing wrong with him, but she heard him say, “I will kill myself” (12). I don’t blame her for being upset. It’s sad that the doctors didn’t know what Post-traumatic stress disorder was. There are so many different characters introduced to the readers within the first 20 pages. It’s hard to follow who’s who, but also difficult that they don’t interact with each other and there is very little dialog. It seems like there’s a person thinking per paragraph, for example the bottom of page 21, Maisie Johnson is thinking and then it moves to Mrs. Dempster thinking about Maisie Johnson. I feel that this is most likely a reflection on society at the time, because people were confused about the war and violence that had happened.
I sincerely hope that I get used to this book quickly and can understand what I read within the first time of reading it. I hope that I learn to love Woolf’s writing style and maybe pick up a few traits for myself.
Something I found interesting how Woolf literally wrote her words in a train of thought, as in sometimes completed and sometimes not. For example, Clarissa says, “For it was the middle of June. The War was over…John, her favourite killed; but it was over; thank Heaven–over. It was June. The King and Queen were at the Palace” (2). I had to read that sentence twice or three times just to understand it. She keeps jumping around thoughts and mentioning different people so that I don’t really know whom I should be paying attention to. Will there ever be just one main character?
This takes place after WWI, maybe this is a sign of how it affected the people. For example, Septimus Warren Smith was in WWI and when he got back started to talk to himself and get stressed out easily. His wife, Lucrezia is frustrated because the doctors say there is nothing wrong with him, but she heard him say, “I will kill myself” (12). I don’t blame her for being upset. It’s sad that the doctors didn’t know what Post-traumatic stress disorder was. There are so many different characters introduced to the readers within the first 20 pages. It’s hard to follow who’s who, but also difficult that they don’t interact with each other and there is very little dialog. It seems like there’s a person thinking per paragraph, for example the bottom of page 21, Maisie Johnson is thinking and then it moves to Mrs. Dempster thinking about Maisie Johnson. I feel that this is most likely a reflection on society at the time, because people were confused about the war and violence that had happened.
I sincerely hope that I get used to this book quickly and can understand what I read within the first time of reading it. I hope that I learn to love Woolf’s writing style and maybe pick up a few traits for myself.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Guilt
After reading both A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and The Beauty Myth, there were parts that made me feel guilty.
To begin with, in Wollstonecraft’s book she advocates that it is time for women to change their mannerisms in order to better society. She says that women need to be more educated in order to have more things to think about in their daily lives rather than just housework. She says, “girls marry merely to better themselves” (79). Wollstonecraft clearly states that she does not approve of these actions but would prefer that women spend their time doing something more productively. This makes me feel guilty because I feel that I too am a part of what she disagrees with. I have dreamed about getting married and having kids. Not because I don’t want to have a job or be educate, but instead just because it makes me happy. Wollstonecraft says, “women have seldom sufficient serious employment to silence their feelings” (78). I sort of disagree with this and I will use my mom as an example. She told me that she had many opportunities to work, but she refused them because she felt like spending time with us was more important. She didn’t mind spending all of her time with us, nor did she feel like that didn’t satisfy her needs.
In The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, she explains that putting on make up and looking nice, can objectify a woman. She describes how a woman walks down the street, “she painted her face for an hour, blending and shading, and now she holds her head as if it were a work of art” (249). Well firstly, reading that line made me think of a confident executive woman maybe in a business suit and how she feels confident about herself. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I feel like by saying she held her face up like a ‘work of art’ we would be judging her. I understand that women should not only care about their looks, but I personally feel that it should be ok to want to dress up and look nice just because it makes one feel good.
Both these books have very valuable and important messages that have definitely helped shape society. While it is important to be aware of these issues, we should also focus on getting rid of the guilt and judgments. At the end of the day, isn’t that what makes us feel the worst?
To begin with, in Wollstonecraft’s book she advocates that it is time for women to change their mannerisms in order to better society. She says that women need to be more educated in order to have more things to think about in their daily lives rather than just housework. She says, “girls marry merely to better themselves” (79). Wollstonecraft clearly states that she does not approve of these actions but would prefer that women spend their time doing something more productively. This makes me feel guilty because I feel that I too am a part of what she disagrees with. I have dreamed about getting married and having kids. Not because I don’t want to have a job or be educate, but instead just because it makes me happy. Wollstonecraft says, “women have seldom sufficient serious employment to silence their feelings” (78). I sort of disagree with this and I will use my mom as an example. She told me that she had many opportunities to work, but she refused them because she felt like spending time with us was more important. She didn’t mind spending all of her time with us, nor did she feel like that didn’t satisfy her needs.
In The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, she explains that putting on make up and looking nice, can objectify a woman. She describes how a woman walks down the street, “she painted her face for an hour, blending and shading, and now she holds her head as if it were a work of art” (249). Well firstly, reading that line made me think of a confident executive woman maybe in a business suit and how she feels confident about herself. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I feel like by saying she held her face up like a ‘work of art’ we would be judging her. I understand that women should not only care about their looks, but I personally feel that it should be ok to want to dress up and look nice just because it makes one feel good.
Both these books have very valuable and important messages that have definitely helped shape society. While it is important to be aware of these issues, we should also focus on getting rid of the guilt and judgments. At the end of the day, isn’t that what makes us feel the worst?
Pornography- Men and Women
Naomi Wolf writes in The Beauty Myth that “such imagery [beauty pornography] represses female sexuality and lowers self-esteem by casting sex as locked in a chastity belt in which beauty is the only key” (146). In other words she means that pornography can make women feel ugly. In my opinion this is true in many cases, as we see men falling for women with a certain figure. That in a way can allow other women to think that they can only be beautiful if their bodies are similar to the women in pornography. Pornography is giving a false image of how women are meant to look like during sex and also how they’re meant to act. I feel that a lot of people in our society forget that pornography isn’t real and that most of those women were not born with bodies like that.
Another example where you see that pornography is not reality, Wolf describes a situation with a friend of hers. “A friend, a model, at fifteen, showed me the prints from her first lingerie shoot…I could hardly recognize her (151). Her friend, Sasha had scoliosis and had to wear a back brace, yet it was hidden and she was still posing in a provocative way for the camera. At the end of the story Wolf says, “like me, Sasha was a virgin” (151). This passage made me realize that nothing is even real in these advertisements. For example Sasha didn’t really have breasts that big, as she was only fifteen at the time. Also the whole scene was made to look like something made up and it didn’t represent Sasha’s real life as a high school teenager.
Wolf acknowledges the fact that pornography also can effect men negatively. While women are afraid of being ugly, the men say, “we’re afraid they’ll laugh at us” (153). I think what Wolf is trying to convey is that even though women are judged a lot by men, men are also judged by women. “The fact is that women are able to view men just as men view women, as subjects for sexual and aesthetic evaluation” (153). I like how Naomi Wolf always made sure to point out both sides for men and women. That way, her book reaches out to more viewers and avoids having a one-sided biased view. It shows that men can also feel uncomfortable with their bodies and that may pressure them into doing unordinary things.
Another example where you see that pornography is not reality, Wolf describes a situation with a friend of hers. “A friend, a model, at fifteen, showed me the prints from her first lingerie shoot…I could hardly recognize her (151). Her friend, Sasha had scoliosis and had to wear a back brace, yet it was hidden and she was still posing in a provocative way for the camera. At the end of the story Wolf says, “like me, Sasha was a virgin” (151). This passage made me realize that nothing is even real in these advertisements. For example Sasha didn’t really have breasts that big, as she was only fifteen at the time. Also the whole scene was made to look like something made up and it didn’t represent Sasha’s real life as a high school teenager.
Wolf acknowledges the fact that pornography also can effect men negatively. While women are afraid of being ugly, the men say, “we’re afraid they’ll laugh at us” (153). I think what Wolf is trying to convey is that even though women are judged a lot by men, men are also judged by women. “The fact is that women are able to view men just as men view women, as subjects for sexual and aesthetic evaluation” (153). I like how Naomi Wolf always made sure to point out both sides for men and women. That way, her book reaches out to more viewers and avoids having a one-sided biased view. It shows that men can also feel uncomfortable with their bodies and that may pressure them into doing unordinary things.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Chapter’s I Didn’t Want To Talk About
As I’m writing this I am trying to cover the screen because there is a random boy sitting behind me and I really would rather him not know what I am writing about.
The Woman Who Loved To Make Vagina’s Happy
This chapter was about sexual acts and orgasms, but it also goes into a woman figuring out that she is a lesbian. The chapter goes on to discuss how this woman felt while watching romantic movies and seeing women moan on the screen. She says, “I longed to moan. I practiced in front of my mirror, on a tape recorder, moaning in various keys, various tones…”(107). I thought that was so weird. Who does that? She didn’t even mention how old she was while doing this. The only thing I’ve practiced for in front of a mirror was singing or a speech. I guess the other thing I had a problem in this chapter was when she describes the different types of moans in the last paragraph. The one that stood out to me the most was the “semireligious moan (a Muslim chanting sound)” (110). I guess it’s because when I hear this chanting sound I never never ever connected it to sex. It’s always been in a sacred place like a Mosque or even the Holy City of Mecca. To me this was a little bit offensive.
“As a lesbian” pg. 115 – 118
This chapter is about a woman describing sex and foreplay, all kinds of things and it makes Eve Ensler feel uncomfortable. This is surprising to me she came up with the idea of this book and yet still she wasn’t feeling very comfortable hearing this woman describe her vagina. Ensler says, “I realize I am embarrassed, listening to her…her love for vaginas and comfort with them and my distancing, terror of saying all this in front of you, the audience” (116). I think it was in this place where she realizes that she is pushing boundaries. There were certain words and phrases in this chapter that I just find too uncomfortable to discuss. Even though I understand her motivations and reasons for writing it, I have my own limits. Part of me thinks she was trying to shock people, but maybe that is for the better because it is true that we do not use these words or talk about these things openly. Maybe Eve Ensler did not intend for this book to be vulgar, but I think speaking these things aloud can provoke that reaction.
The Woman Who Loved To Make Vagina’s Happy
This chapter was about sexual acts and orgasms, but it also goes into a woman figuring out that she is a lesbian. The chapter goes on to discuss how this woman felt while watching romantic movies and seeing women moan on the screen. She says, “I longed to moan. I practiced in front of my mirror, on a tape recorder, moaning in various keys, various tones…”(107). I thought that was so weird. Who does that? She didn’t even mention how old she was while doing this. The only thing I’ve practiced for in front of a mirror was singing or a speech. I guess the other thing I had a problem in this chapter was when she describes the different types of moans in the last paragraph. The one that stood out to me the most was the “semireligious moan (a Muslim chanting sound)” (110). I guess it’s because when I hear this chanting sound I never never ever connected it to sex. It’s always been in a sacred place like a Mosque or even the Holy City of Mecca. To me this was a little bit offensive.
“As a lesbian” pg. 115 – 118
This chapter is about a woman describing sex and foreplay, all kinds of things and it makes Eve Ensler feel uncomfortable. This is surprising to me she came up with the idea of this book and yet still she wasn’t feeling very comfortable hearing this woman describe her vagina. Ensler says, “I realize I am embarrassed, listening to her…her love for vaginas and comfort with them and my distancing, terror of saying all this in front of you, the audience” (116). I think it was in this place where she realizes that she is pushing boundaries. There were certain words and phrases in this chapter that I just find too uncomfortable to discuss. Even though I understand her motivations and reasons for writing it, I have my own limits. Part of me thinks she was trying to shock people, but maybe that is for the better because it is true that we do not use these words or talk about these things openly. Maybe Eve Ensler did not intend for this book to be vulgar, but I think speaking these things aloud can provoke that reaction.
Too Much Information- The Flood
The lady then talks about meeting a handsome boy and him coming onto her in the car. That excited her and so she had what is considered as an embarrassing situation. He said to her that, “it smelled like sour milk and it was staining his car seat” (27). My first reaction to reading this was that I probably shouldn’t continue reading this book because things might get weirder. I also found this a bit graphic just the description of the wet car seats and stained leather. Afterwards I thought about it and came to the conclusion that if that had happened to me I would have been just as embarrassed maybe even more. Andy, the boy she was with at the time, didn’t help the situation at all. He made it worse by calling her a “stinky weird girl” (27).
After this was all over, the woman tells Eve Ensler that she could never have sex again because she was afraid it would happen again. She says, “I closed the whole store. Locked it. Never opened for business again” (28). I thought it was sad that something like this would stop a person from having future relationships and even a family. I’m sure at that time during the baby boom of the 1950’s all women were expected to do was to have kids. I think it’s good that she ended up content with other things that she had going on in her life. She says, “Who needs it anyway? Right? Highly overrated. I’ve done other things. I love the dog shows. I sell antiques” (29).
I think that Eve Ensler had a good point in starting these interviews because every person should be able to talk about something that has changed their life forever. I was surprised that this woman had never had therapy about this incident before and instead let it control her life. This chapter for me, was significant in that it showed that Eve Ensler had a good point in making these interviews because as the lady says, “You know actually, you’re the first person I ever talked to about this, and I feel a little better” (30).
Friday, 6 May 2011
Dad's Reaction
Just the title of this book gives such a strong reaction to people, from what I know. When I began reading alone in my room, my dad walked in and saw the title straight away. He said in a straight face, "I'm glad you're getting your work done." He knew it was for school... I'm glad he didn't ask. But instead of letting him leave it at that, I asked if he would sit next to me and allow me to explain what it's actually about. "The Vagina Monologues," I said, "are about much more than vaginas." I stopped there and corrected myself. "Well, actually they are mostly about vaginas...but the meaning behind it is about the women." He nodded and so I proceeded. "Eve Ensler interviewed over 200 women and didn't even plan to have this book be about vaginas. [while typing it told me that the plural form of 'vagina' is 'vaginae,' funny I never heard of that].
Thinking about how Eve Ensler had no idea she was going to write The Vagina Monologues, reminded me of how impossible it is to predict the future or tell what results are caused by your actions. Like the anonymous women who were interviewed in this book, telling their stories. The women for the most part had no idea how much they were going to tell Ensler in the interview. Ensler writes that her interviews with the older women in their sixties were the "most poignant of all, possibly because many had never had a vagina interview before" (23). Which to me is not that surprising. I would not have expected any of these women to have had vagina interviews before especially considering they were from the 'down there generation' which in the Foreword Gloria Steinem writes, "those were the words spoken rarely and in a hushed voice" (ix).
Thinking about how Eve Ensler had no idea she was going to write The Vagina Monologues, reminded me of how impossible it is to predict the future or tell what results are caused by your actions. Like the anonymous women who were interviewed in this book, telling their stories. The women for the most part had no idea how much they were going to tell Ensler in the interview. Ensler writes that her interviews with the older women in their sixties were the "most poignant of all, possibly because many had never had a vagina interview before" (23). Which to me is not that surprising. I would not have expected any of these women to have had vagina interviews before especially considering they were from the 'down there generation' which in the Foreword Gloria Steinem writes, "those were the words spoken rarely and in a hushed voice" (ix).
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