1 INTRODUCTION
Caitlin Hines discusses in her research "Rebaking the Pie: The Woman as Dessert Metaphor" that there is "a consistent, widespread, generally unconscious and undocumented metaphor in English equating women-as-sex-objects with desserts" (Hines 1999: 145). Women as dessert metaphor functions both in linguistic expressions, such as tart and cookie, and in customs, for example women jumping out of cakes (ibid: 145). Hines argues that the woman as dessert metaphor reduces women to objects, sexualizes and belittles women, making women seem like powerless, inanimate objects. Moreover, she makes a point that women are not just objects, but sweet, and not just desserts, but pieces or slices. She uses Sally McConnell-Ginet's theory that
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She states that she is "not a piece of cake", yet she mentions the frosting of her heart and implies about the existing metaphor with the piece of cake expression Heart seems to be representing the cake as it has a frosting. Moreover, the woman as dessert metaphor does not just refer to women as desserts, but "pieces or slices", as Caitlin Hines states in her research (1999: 146). In the example 1, the singer explains to the receiver that the receiver will miss the slice of heaven she gave him or her last night. In this context, the slice of heaven seems to refer to a vagina or intercourse in general since hunger and eating are metaphors for sex (Kovecses 2002: 196). Furthermore, as desserts, women can be "simply done without" (Hines 1999: 148), and this aspect is depicted in the example 1 with the receiver first "taking a slice" of the singer and then discarding …show more content…
Rihanna states that a man wants to "lick the icing off", using cake and eating as metaphors for sex. Moreover, in the example 4, blowing candles out could be a metaphor for an orgasm.
Unlike Trey Songz and Rihanna's songs, Melanie Martinez's "Milk and Cookies" does not have any sexual allusions. However, it still depicts the use of the woman as dessert metaphor:
(5) I'm fucking crazy, need my prescription filled Do you like my cookies? They're made just for you A little bit of sugar, but lots of poison, too (Martinez 2015b)
As Caitlin Hines defines in her research, the woman as dessert metaphor reduces women to sinful and decadent (1999: 148), which is shown in the example 5. In the example, the female singer is offering her poisonous cookies to the receiver, making a connection with women and cookies. The example could be interpreted in an abstract sense. The singer is sweet with "a little bit of sugar", but also sinful: "but lots of poison, too".
R. Kelly's "Cookie" is filled with sexual allusions and is a metaphor for sex:
(6) You gon' wanna claim this dick, fuck with a nigga -- Mmm, like an Oreo I love to lick the middle like an Oreo (turn
In “The Beginning of the Song That Diverts the Heart” the metaphor is actually the whole poem. A girl is calling her lover to come to a field and trap birds with her. We can see it is a metaphor for making love through some of the imagery she uses. For example, she mentions for her lover to “hear the sound of my call” (77). Through analyzation this means
The words used by Bessie in this song set up a platform for her tone and the attitude of the story. The lines she uses are chalked full of images and other elements including phrases with double meanings. Some of the words in the lines she uses have literal meanings as well as more subtle referenced meanings. There were two particular examples of messages with an underlying tone dealing with intimacy. The first is when she says, “Bought me a coffee grinder that’s the best one I could find,” which implies finding a man that best serves her needs/desires. This line is followed by, “Oh he could grind my coffee, cause he had a brand new grind,” which the audience is led to believe refers to her being satisfied with the new man. The next example of her word choice creating a hint of a sexual tone begins with the line, “He’s a deep sea diver with a stroke that can’t go wrong,” and ends with her saying, “He can stay at the bottom and his wind holds out so long.” This is a pretty strong example of intimate innuendo. She uses words set up in a type of context that makes them mean something other than their literal meaning. Although what she’s saying doesn’t directly reflect it, this stanza refers to the intimate acts between her and her new lover, symbolized by the new grinder.
From the moment that the apple touched Eve’s lips, women have been seen as an embodiment of all that is evil. This reflects misogynistic societal beliefs that women are below men. While many of the prejudices towards women are hidden in modern American society, some misogynistic stereotypes are still present. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one can see many misogynistic and sexist undertones. Big Nurse Ratched is in a position of authority over a large group of men and is seen as a tyrannical and unjust ruler. Although most of her methods would have been seen as awful when used by any person, the saturation of bad women in the novel creates an unfavorable picture of women in general. The balance of power in the ward is
Women are primarily objects of sexual pleasure for the male protagonists. Their characters are always filtered through the men's perspective, with the exception of the maid Bertha, Charlie’s maid, who at times makes fun at either of the brothers. (Perspectives on How Women Internalize the Ideal Beauty Standard, Year Unknown).
Besides, Margaret as the maid to Hero, is under the deceptive appearance that veiled her witty nature. When she is with the woman, her true self is shown through the use of sexual innuendo when she refers woman as ‘maid and stuffed’ with the idea of pregnancy. She can have bawdy talk just like man when she responds to Hero by saying ‘heavier by the weight of a man’. In a patriarchal society, though women are suppressed, they are not totally submissive and innocent as their true self is veiled by the deceptive appearance.
Your first thought is the love between the couple is toxic and lethal yet, he cannot resist his partner. But, really it is a reference to Cocaine. Cocaine is given a female voice. He uses personification by bringing the drug to life, where it can communicate with him and become part of his life. He knows that this “girl” meaning, Cocaine is going to be the death of him. While in use of Cocaine he gets numb. “But at least we’ll both be beautiful and stay forever young/ This I know, (yeah) this I know” (3-4). You say again, that he is singing about how the love is so very satisfying. But he is actually meaning that his desire for this young and beautiful woman makes him feel good. He feels as if he is invincible when he has her. Even though he seems to be aware of the consequences that come with feeling young and beautiful; with the use of Cocaine. “She told me, ‘Don’t worry about it.’/ She told me, ‘Don’t worry no more.’/ We both knew we can’t go without it/ She told me you’ll
The gruesome scene of the sisters who were demanded to “cut off your [their] toe” and “heel” (Grimm 3) shows the sacrifices women make for the sake of men and being loved by one. Feminists will view this to be an unequal way of seeing sacrifice because it is very rare that we see a guy sacrificing everything for a girl. Often times, we see girls changing their lives in order to please men, which is untrue in real life. Because of the influence of sexism in literature, women are viewed to be easily manipulated. The “gold and silver” (Grimm 2) Cinderella begs for symbolizes expensive goods used to win a prince’s heart. This shows a degrading attribute in how women use materialistic objects to appeal to men. The subtle symbolism seems innocent at first, but after a feminist-lens analysis, sexism and gender roles are
Thus, when considering the sexualized symbolism of the pear tree blooms, Janie reveals she comprehended the idea of what a marriage should be through witnessing the pollination of a bee into the blossoming pear tree.
Back in the day almost everyone viewed woman to be the person who cleans, cooks, has children, and obeys her husband. Even woman themselves had this view hammered into their minds at such a young age, the views that women are inferior to men. This stigma of woman can be found traced throughout Virginia Woolf’s essay of two meals, a meal for men and a meal for women at a college. She uses numerous composition techniques and effectively disperses them throughout her narrative. By doing so, she accurately demonstrates her views on society’s stigma of a woman's role in an eloquent manner.
Presenting literature to the public that is meant to be a commentary on social or political issues, masked under the guise of entertaining and fictional, is a tool implemented by authors and activists for centuries. While not all satire is as overt as Jonathan Swift’s suggestion that we eat the babies, it does not diminish the eyebrow raising suggestions that are conveyed once the meaning has been discovered. In Aphra Behn’s The History of the Nun and Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina, the established expectations of the female role within society are brought into question then directly rejected. These expectations establish that women should be deferential to men, morally unblemished, and virtuous at all times. Men, however, are not held to these expectations in the same way. The masculine roles assumed by Isabella and Fantomina demonstrate a private rebellion against the established patriarchal society as it warns against the under-estimation of women and proves that women exist independently.
This verse compare his musical career to sex for the first time. A virgin will push to the limit to "pop her cherry" and get the physical pleasure that she so despartley wants, especially when a girl is losing her virginity, she tries to make it the best experience of her life because it will impact her for the rest of her life. He is also portraying how he is "virgin" to the kind of money a famous singer will make, so hopefully he can handle it. this is his only chance and he hopes that he will be on top and stay there.
While he waits “at a traffic light,” he “catches his eye [on] a tall girl in a black leather skirt” (Coetzee 194). She is mere stranger on the road, yet he is confident in being able to immediately hook up with her. The way he looks at women, reflects how they are displayed as animals and sexual bodies waiting for someone to catch them and because this occurs frequently, the idea of female bodies being dominated and constructed through male ideology becomes naturalized and accepted as a norm in society. It is evident that though all women do not become prostitutes because they enjoy the idea of it, there is this acceptance of the gender binary, where women choose to transform themselves into this sexualized character that seeks attention and is submissive to the man. Monique Wittig highlights the idea of categories in her text, “One is Not Born a Woman.” She agrees with Coetzee’s representation of the male and female roles and says that “for “woman” does not exist for [them]: it is only an imaginary formation” created by men (Wittig 15). Wittig explains that the category of “women” goes beyond the biological genes and outer appearance. It is something that is created not to make women feel good about themselves or to give them certain types of privileges, but it is a socially constructed idea that subject’s women into a certain type of character that benefits men. She goes on to say that “Once the class “men” disappears, “woman” as a class will disappear as well, for there are no slaves without masters” (Wittig 15). Consequently, the class of “women” is created in response to “men,” where if the category of “men” did not exist, then women would not be so restricted in the things that they are allowed to do and they would not have to live a life trying to satisfy men in order to
In “Cinderella”, a woman’s worth is identified with her chastity. As Cinderella’s glass slipper is the most famous symbol in “Cinderella”, it is also the most sexist. In Perrault’s version, the prince uses the glass slipper as the only proof that Cinderella was truly the princess he danced with at the ball (Lecture Notes, 5/11/17). Further analysis can interpret the glass slipper as a sexual symbol, like the “key in the lock” (Lecture 5/11/17). Since Perrault specifically made it a glass slipper, its brittleness and fragility can be an analogy to a woman’s virtue. During Perrault’s time, a woman’s virtue is so sacred to men, that one’s future would be shattered like glass if their reputation is tainted. This qualifies as an antifeminist symbol as it places much pressure to keep one’s virtue because men have said it would devalue her.
to the chocolate as a black man. Hmmm or is she really just talking about chocolate, or maybe
Female sexuality is condemned in ‘Snow, Glass, Apples’ by displaying women who only take interest in pleasuring men, and not themselves. In the story, the queen talks about her husband and says “when he wanted me he would send for me, and I would go to him, and pleasure him, and take my pleasure with him” (Gaiman 2). Also, when the stepmother becomes Queen and leads her people, it is because the King died and not because she earned it. It is provocative that the Queen leads her people alone because she is in control of her people, and does not receive a man’s insight. When the Lord of the