Importance Of Feminism Within Writing

Anne Sexton was a poet and a woman, but most importantly, she was an outcast. Subjected to nervous breakdowns and admitted to a neuropsychiatry hospital, Sexton must have been all too familiar with the staring eyes and the judging minds of the public. Just being a woman in today's world often can be enough to degrade a person in the public's eye, let alone being labeled as a crazy woman. But Anne Sexton did not let society remain unchallenged in its views. She voiced a different opinion of women through poetry. In Anne Sexton's "Her Kind" the speaker of the poem embraces society's negative stereotype of modern, liberated women and transforms it into a positive image. Two voices, the voice of

Sexton grew up in Boston, Massachusetts with her -dysfunctional- parents, great-aunt, and 2 sisters (People). Her poetry reveals many hints that her father sexually abused her, but none of her family members have confirmed anything. Her poem “Angel of Clean Sheets” describes a scene from after the (assumed) rape of a child in great detail. Sexton uses sentence fragments such as “Little bits of dried blood. One hundred marks / upon the sheet. One hundred kisses in the dark” (Sexton Clean Sheets) to show the brokenness and confusion of an abused child. While this could just be based off of her -confirmed- depression, many believe that she could

The name Anne Bradstreet may not be as infamous to some ears as the name Virginia Woolf or Mary Shelley, but her influence on the inclusion of women in a predominantly “male society” prevails nonetheless and reigns just as prominent as other women of her time. Anne Bradstreet was a devoted wife and mother, who was also bound by the impediments of being a Puritan woman. In fact, she summited herself to her husband and demonstrates her perpetual affection toward her children in her poem “In Reference to Her Children”. In her work “The Prologue”, Bradstreet does not request complete gender equality, but suggests women obtain acknowledgment for their work. Members of her community

Powerful imagery is used throughout the entire poem to describe the struggles and loneliness of being a female outcast in society. The first stanza characterizes Sexton as a “possessed witch,” that is “twelve-fingered,” and “out of mind.” After all of this is stated, she produces an image of an abnormal woman that is flawed and completely sways away from society’s view on women. An uncomfortable feeling is stirred within the reader that is similar to that of the woman viewed as an outcast. She also describes herself as “braver at night,” and goes on to paint and image of her flying over houses at night. The scene is easily imaginable, but holds more meaning within. Sexton is alluding to the fact that the darkness is the only way for her to escape her reality that consists of daily judgement from society. This judgement originates from individuals within society that live perfect lives. The lives that they are living are assumed to be normal, thus making anyone swaying from that life an outcast. She also states, “A woman like that is not a woman,

Every author, poet, playwright has a subtle message that they would like present to their audience. It may be a lifelong struggle that they have put into words, or a multiple page book that took a lifetime to write. A poet by the name of Anne Sexton sought out to challenge society’s views of women by writing “Her Kind”. A poet, a playwright, and an author of children’s books, Anne Sexton writes about the conflicts of a social outcast living in modern times. She voices the hardships she faces through three different speakers in her poem. At the end of the poem, the woman is not ashamed nor afraid of whom she is and is ready to die in peace. In Anne Sexton’s poem “Her Kind”, the main idea the speaker is depicting is the multiple stereotypes placed on a woman, by society. Sexton’s vivid use of imagery paints a picture of the witch, house wife, and mother cliché, while also implying the poem is autobiographical as Sexton went through her own personal struggles during her life.

Diverse women writers are just as important in the movie and television sector as their white male counterparts in Hollywood. Per several journal articles that have researched this issue, they have concluded that diversity issues among women writers have long been a struggle in Hollywood. These issues have raised questions, considering ticket sales have skyrocketed through the roof at the box office when movies and television shows included diverse characters. If given the right opportunity, diverse women writers can bring more compelling stories to the theaters that appeal to a vast number of women, since they count for more than half of the movie-going audience.

We all commonly assume that we act freely, that we make our own decisions without regard to the opinions of those around us. We all like to think we create our own stories, and choose the way we tell them. However, many of us are probably at least tempted to wonder if this a thing completely within our control, how much of it is, and how we can resist attempts of others to write our stories for us, regardless of what we actually desire. Particularly when it comes to women, the society around us is very sure of what it wants our stories to be, and who should tell them and when. This is, of course, a process that begins early. As Foss,

Anne Sexton was an American poet born on November 9th, 1928 in Newton, Massachusetts and raised in Weston. Her family was successful economically wise and Sexton was raised in a middle-class environment; however, Sexton’s relationship with her parents were extremely strained and perhaps abusive; her father was an alcoholic. It was suggested that Sexton may have been sexually abused by her parents and felt that they were hostile to her. As such, Sexton sought refuge in her close relationship with Anne Dingley, her maiden great-aunt, as an escape from her broken family, which further lead to Sexton’s traumatization after Dingley’s mental collapse and subsequent hospitalization. After the birth of her first child in 1953, Sexton

Gender is one of the biggest ways we judge someone in our world today. Being a girl is typically a sign of being weak, powerless, and not as important. If a man was called a girl, it means they are being childish, or stupid about a certain situation. On the reverse, being a man comes with many expectations of power and strength as well as just being the bigger, better person. They say boys learn how to be a man from none other than his father, or a father figure none the less. People stick on stereotypes for being both a girl and a boy. Gender even depicts things like being in a rock band, or playing sports. Most girls who are in rock bands are considered childish, almost as if they are playing around and are not any good. Just like boys who do not play sports are known to be sissy and weak. The groups society puts people in do not even make sense half the time, seeing as, for example, there are many sports that are for girls rather than boys. Although gender roles do play an important part in how we treat people, we should not judge people based on their gender. Pearson writes in a way that makes gender constrict and define the characters. Stereotyping someone based on their gender is an awful way to get to know someone.

Poets are influenced by the poetry they read, likewise some of Marie Howe’s poems are like the poems from Anne Sexton who was born and raised in Massachusetts. She committed suicide at 45 which was when Howe was in her early 20s. Howe was born In New York and is still alive today. Both poets made poems about sexual pleasures however Sexton made more poems on love while Howe made reminiscent ones. Sexton’s poems had a figurative language that could be interpreted in many ways that did not have a relationship between each other while Howe had metaphors that were interconnected with different meanings.

Everyone has once been someone that they aren’t necessarily ashamed of, but something they aren’t anymore. When you’re in school, everyone is different; between the popular kids, the jocks, the cheerleader, the dorks, the Goths, and all the other “types” of people. In “Her Kind,” Anne Sexton shows that she has been a lot of different women, and she is not them now. In this paper we will be diving into the meanings behind the displaced “I,” the tone and reparation, and who Anne Sexton really is and how that affects what she is trying to let people see through this poem.

Feminism is the belief that women should have economic political and social equality with men. This term also refers to a political movement that works to gain equality within a male and female relationship. In a male and female relationship both the roles of the male and female should be equal. Equal in many ways ten one: they should trust each other, share responsibilities, listen to one another, respect each other, and of course love one another equally.

It seems that the study of gender differences has existed and evolved. The conclusion was not always in favor of the females. In fact, the females’ ability with the language was a testament and evidence of their inferiority to the males. The capability to produce with facility meant that a “females linguistic dexterity was regarded as mere transient talkativeness, reflecting shallow thought, while male taciturnity was evidence of intellectual superiority” (Jones and Myhill 457). Today, studies suggest that neither gender demonstrate a more superior achievement over the other instead they reveal educators perceive boys with the inability to master effective writing skills over the girls the results in favor of the girls.

The role of women in the society is always questioned and for centuries, they have struggled to find their place in a world that is predominantly male oriented. The treatment of women was extremely negative; they were expected to stay home and fulfill domestic duties. Literature of that time embodies and mirrors social issues of women in society (Lecture on the Puritans). But, slowly and gradually, situation being changed: “During the first half of the 19th century, women 's roles in society evolved in the areas of occupational, moral, and social reform. Through efforts such as factory movements, social reform, and women 's rights, their aims were realized and foundations for further reform were established” (Lauter 1406). Feminist poets like Emily Dickinson and Anne Bradstreet talked substantially about feminism in different lights in the past two centuries. They were very vocal and assertive about their rights and the ‘rights for women’ in general. While they might have been successful at making a good attempt to obliterate gender biases but still there are lot of disparities between the two genders. Nevertheless, their poetry reflects a deep angst.

Books, plays, and movies that depict culture and social life often make statements about social issues such as gender roles, racism, and class distinction. Stories set up a context in which characters relate, often representing “stock” characters chosen from society and placed in situations where their stereotypical behaviors—and sometimes their breaking of these stereotypes—are highlighted. As feminism became a popular movement in Western countries in general and the United States in particular, female voices were naturally heard through fictional characters. Social and political issues commonly fuel entertainment; feminism, racism, and classism—recurring themes in entertainment through the 20th Century and into the modern day—have