Analysis Of Homage To My Hips

This piece has a woman looking at her reflection in a shattered mirror, the bold text reads, ‘You Are Not Yourself.’ I chose to discuss this piece first because of its relevance to our most recent reading, The Last Time I Wore A Dress, by Daphne Scholinski. It encapsulates the stereotype that society has created for what is considered appropriate and inappropriate for someone to identify as a female. Throughout the book, Daphne struggles with her gender identity, she writes, “It was the doctors who came up with the idea that I was “an inappropriate female” – that my mouthy ways were a sign of deep unease in my female nature and that if I learned tips about eyeliner and foundation, I’d be a lot better off” (Scholinski 6). In our lecture about

In both poems “Barbie Doll’ and “homage to my hips” the speakers focused on the same idea but had different ways of expressing those ideas. In the poem “Barbie Doll” written by Marge Piercy shows how a young girl is affected by the idea of a “perfect” body that society thinks a girl should have. A Barbie doll is a toy that young girls play with. Barbie is an unrealistic way of how a young girl should look and can ultimately lower one’s self-esteem. The company that makes Barbie decided that it would be beneficial for young girls to see the different body images one can have. On the other hand, in the poem “homage to my hips” the speaker Lucille Clifton is proud and appreciative of her hips. She is able to go against the standard norm of how society wants girls to look and gives her hips the importance that they are actual people themselves. Although “Barbie Doll” and “homage to my hips” have a similar theme while the poets used a different structure and literary devices to portray how society sees a young girls’ body image.

Mairs discusses everyday strifes that especially resonate with women to emotionally connect with her audience. On the topic of body image, Mairs describes her younger self as, “never a beautiful woman,” and states that she has, “spent most of [her] life (together with probably at least 95 percent of the female population of the United States) suffering from the shame of falling short of an unattainable standard.” As Mairs suggests, this experience is very familiar to a majority of women, thus allowing her to appeal to a large portion of her audience and evoke their empathy. Mairs also appeals to pathos through her less fortunate experiences, such as her deteriorating health and body image as a result of her necessity for a leg brace, which, “reduces [her] limp and, more important, he danger of tripping and falling. But it meant the end of high heels. And it’s ugly. [...] It signified [...] the permanence and irreversibility of [her] condition.” Mairs’ description of her brace, and ultimately her inability to walk, appeals to pathos as her account of the effects on her identity and self-esteem evoke sympathy and may resonate with her audience. Mairs’ descriptions about her less fortunate experiences invoke feeling and allow her audience to connect to her ideas through

Hips are used as a symbol to reveal the power of a women body’s. Hips are mighty, free, and seductive. Hips are used for childbearing, only a female power. Lucille Clifton’s, a supporter of African Americans and feminism, believes that women have the same power as men. Anything men can do women can do the same, even better. Lucille Clifton’s “Homage to My Hips” rebuts the division of labor mechanism instilled in our society that isn’t politically correct; thereby taking a powerful stance in her confident belief that woman can do the same as men.

Society has created the stereotype that women are petite and dainty. “No Name Woman” emphasizes this expectation by elaborating on the extremes that women go to look beautiful. The author comments on the techniques used to pluck eyebrows saying “It especially hurt at the temples, but my mother said that we were lucky we didn’t have to have our feet bound” (Kingston 196). The expectations that society has for women to look beautiful are unfair because men put little effort into their appearance. In general, a woman with flawless appearance is favored over a woman that shows her natural

The theme of “Homage to My Hips” is first expressed to the reader through the poem’s speaker. The author made a smart decision in choosing a speaker who was confident and matter-a-fact about her opinion. From the beginning of the poem the speaker tells the readers, “these hips are big hips”(779). It is clear that the speaker is aware of how she looks, but she does not care what people think about her image. The speaker is taking a stand by explaining that “these hips” do not “fit into little/ pretty places” contrary to what society states(780). The speaker directly advocates the author’s theme while discussing her hips. The interesting choice made by the author is to not give any description of the woman’s physical appliance other than what her hips look like and how they act. Clifton is hinting at a deeper meaning. The speaker is not interested in how her hips look as much as how her hips act. The reader knows what kind of woman the speaker is based solely off of the actions of her hips, not by image. The speaker uses powerful words such

The repetition of the words, ‘hips’, ‘theses’ and ‘they’ throughout the poem puts an emphasis on the power of the speaker’s body and her declaration of body love. Clifton uses hips as a synecdoche for her entire body; a body that is constantly put up for scrutiny by the world. She begins the poem with the proclamation “these hips are big hips” (1) to make it clear that she doesn’t have a body that fits societies’ standards of what the perfect body is. Clifton only refers to the hips in the poem as ‘these hips’ or ‘they’ to create dissociation from her. She never once uses personal pronouns in the poem, except at the end when she says “i have known them/ to put a spell on a man and/ spin him like a top!” (13-15). She does this to show that society has taught her that her body doesn’t belong to her and the only time she will be able to be remotely associated with it, is when she is being considered a temptress. She and every other female have been taught that their body size must be small and will always be public property for every man that walks their way. Clifton reclaims her hips by making statements of her hips powers “they don’t fit into little/ petty places. these hips/ are free hips.” (4-6). Even though she never claims her hips as her own, she is still slowly taking them back from society. In this part of the poem, she is saying society

The poem also gives insight into what the writer feels society does not think is beautiful. They don't fit into little petty places. these hips are free hips. they don't like to be held back. these hips have never been enslaved (Line4; Line5; Line6; Line 7; Line 8). Further in the poem the writer talks about how they are not confined to what everyone else considers the standard. they go where they want to go they do what they want to do (Line 9; Line 10). Meanwhile the poet Robert Frost talks about being okay with taking the road less traveled and through experience sharing how it feels to choose differently. “I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” (lines

In her article “The Body Beautiful”, Rosalind Coward (1998) argues that society creates a negative obsessions of the “perfect” female body and it affects women negatively in their daily lives. She explains that women have to think of their bodies in separate parts and believe that each part has a different life of their own. Coward goes on to explain the way society expects women to be seen as by providing readers with example advertisements and how it pushes women toward having the body that is viewed acceptable. She concludes by stating that although society creates a negative obsession of the “perfect” body, it helps women from falling into despair because they keep a vague relation to the ideal image. By analyzing an advertisement for Elizabeth Arden’s anti aging serum, we see Rosalind Coward argues that advertisements for facial product often expect women to be flawless and perfect in their body figures.

This report looks to demonstrate my capability in the area's of understanding personal and social issues in society. The research project deals directly with these capabilities as it begs the thoughts about women in society. It asks what women think about their own body but also, how society sees it. I will demonstrate in all eras how women influenced by media and the relevant ‘pin-up girl’ of the time tried to find their own identity closely linked to these role models. Such linkage being mainly through fashion that enhanced the targeted body shapes

In Lucille Clifton’s home to my hips, Clifton perspicuously uses her hips as a symbol of self love and radiates the message of body positivity. She uses this poem as an opportunity to expose one of the many flaws in modern society, fat shaming. The tone of the speaker as well as diction used adds sass and pride to the poem and gives the reader an insight into this unique personality. In addition to challenging the common views of society, sexuality is also a main topic in this poem. In more than just a physical sense, hips are used to symbolize the empowerment of women no matter the shape or size.

The author is trying to express that no man can make a woman do what he would like her to do. This poem shows that females are no slaves and what explains a female is her “hips”. The poem starts off mentioning how women can feel good about their hips or any part of their body and should not be afraid to flaunt it. A fact to mention is how now a day’s its becoming a trend to be in shape and have a slim body which is becoming a complexity to women with big bodies. The parts of the poem which explain how wonderful big bodies and big hips can be are encouraging to the women out there who are not happy with the way they look.

“Homage to my hips” shows us different side of the same coin in essence. On one side we have a very strong and confident woman while on the other hand we have a slightly insecure woman. Once again these ideas are

In this article, author Suzannah Weiss begins with the idea that the objectification of women and girls is not separate from many other problems of sexism, but the basis of it. The rest of the article is about how women are taught to view themselves as objects by the media, societal expectations, double standards, and rape culture. She explains that victim blaming teaches women and girls that their bodies are to blame for anything bad that happens to them, and this sends the message that they are only objects of desire and must cover up if they want to be safe. Another way women and girls are taught that they are only objects is through society’s double standards when it comes to unnecessary beauty rituals. Women are told that they must wear

Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hips,” is all about women’s empowerment. Throughout the poem, we see this reoccurring symbol of “hips.” Clifton is talking about women’s hips in general, not just hers. The “hips” in this poem symbolize how strong and powerful women are. How women can accomplish anything if they set their mind to it. These three lines talk about how not every woman has a perfect body and how each of them are different. These hips do not fit into society’s standards for women. These hips are different, not perfect, but they are beautiful in their own way, “they don’t fit into little petty places.” In the poem it says, “these hips are free hips” which explains how women are free to make their own decisions. They are free to have whatever kind of body type they want, without being shamed for being different. Clifton uses the imagery of the hips to show how women are huge role models for