United States of Tara Viewed Under Feminist Scope

Women have long been fighting for their right to be seen as equal to men. Even to this day, women continue to fight for their rights, things such as the right to non-gender discriminatory wages. While there may be some arguments over the state of gender equality in the modern world, it is undeniable that there have been great strides made toward recognizing the female 's worth in the workforce and as a human being. Despite these strides, however, things are still not yet ideal for women and many of the issues females face today are the very same issues that have been plaguing them for decades. While it is unfortunate the oppression of women has been so long-lived, the length of that exposure has thankfully enabled many talented writers to both lament over the fact and emphasize the need for gender equality.

The next requirement for being a “true woman” was submissiveness. According to society men were superior to women by “God’s appointment.” If they acted otherwise they “tampered with the order of the Universe” (Welter 105). A “true woman” would not question this idea because she already understands her place. Grace Greenwood explained to the women of the Nineteenth Century, “True feminine genius is ever timid, doubtful, and clingingly dependant; a perpetual childhood.” Even in the case of an abusive husband, women were sometimes told to stay quiet

   Confinement drives a being to extreme extents. Rosa Parks, who wants to live life as an ordinary woman, comprehends this captivity and experiences it each day. She desires a standard life of a woman who comes from work, but discrimination restrains, harried, her from that very practice. Rosa Parks noted, “No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” (Parks, 6) In this statement, Rosa Parks argues

There are certain rights that are set up by the United States government to serve and protect the citizens of the United States of America. The Constitution was set up to all the people to be a free people, and laws were set up to establish ground rules of respect and equality. When domestic violence occurs, the rights of the victim are violated and the protection that is needed is not acknowledged. The amount of impact Domestic Violence has in Society has become more and more recognized over time. The main issue in collecting information to form statistics is difficult, as many victims of domestic violence choose not to report the incidents that occur within their domestic situation.( Frieze, I.H., Browne, A.)

Feminism has always been a controversial subject in society despite the fact that most individuals can agree that women are people too. John Updike’s “A&P” delves into the way sexism in society affects both men and women as well as how people can break away from the rigid roles society assigns men and women. We, as readers, experience this through Sammy’s eyes as he quits his job in an attempt to be the “unsuspected hero” (Updike 359) to a group of girls in the grocery store where he works. When seen through a feminist perspective Sammy’s view of women in “A&P” demonstrates the attitudes society has towards women depending on their age and status, and it specifically addresses the way independent women are viewed.

As evidenced by the poignancy of the Bechdel Test and the DuVernay Test, white men and their stories dominate film. The problem, of course, that arises from such a whitewashed male perspective is that the valid and worthwhile stories of other groups of people are pushed aside, often as a means of plot progression for white male protagonists. Add mental illness to the mix. On top of the silenced forced upon marginalized groups simply for not being the most privileged, the people in these groups, when afflicted by mental illness, fall victim to harsh stereotypes that further eliminate the uniqueness of their stories. Of these groups, women are of particular interest because they are not left out of cinema completely, just enough to be exemplars of a group whose voice muted by stereotypes such as that of the crazy girlfriend, the fragile wallflower, and, most importantly for the purposes of this paper, the beautiful tragedy. It is a common plotline in the mental ill woman-concerned media to start with a female character noted for her beauty, and often her innocence but not always, who nose dives into mental illness. Most importantly and, more often than not, most differently from mentally ill characters that are white and male, the craze becomes so overwhelming that the female character has to be forcibly silenced in the end, either by death or by being locked away. The same is true for other characters of alternate minority groups, such as Anthony in Dead Presidents, but

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

“When Men are oppressed it’s a tragedy; when Women are oppressed, it’s a tradition” (Pogrebin). A tradition so universal that it has spawned a multitude of anthropological theories concerning its origin. Social anthropologist Gayle Rubin identifies “a systematic social apparatus which takes up females as raw materials and fashions domesticated women as products” and notes that “the exchange of women is a profound perception of a system in which women do not have full rights to themselves” (Rubin). This tradition represents such an ubiquitous phenomenon that the narrative women exists throughout the Western canon. Historically and in literature, the oppression of women, particularly the sexual repression, often results in symptoms viewed as

Second, Bartky claims that women are victims of cultural domination. She argues that the history and culture of women are that those of men (Bartky, p. 107). They have no alternative culture or identity to refer to and are forced to accept male supremacy as the norm: there is no cultural autonomy. Third, Bartky claims that women are sexually objectified. By this, she means that women’s sexual function and parts are reduced to an instrument and extended to all areas of life separate from their personality and capabilities. She points to examples such as catcalls and whistles that humiliate and objectify women. As a result, women are forced to see themselves as men see them. The objectified become the ones who objectify themselves while attempting to conform to images of a perfect woman (Bartky, p. 109). Consequently, Bartky argues that these forms of oppression are dehumanizing and depersonalizing because it targets personhood (Bartky, p. 110). The oppressed are unable to exercise their autonomy and qualities of being a person and believe it is the fault of their incapability of being a person. Specifically, they are alienated from the construction of their personhood and abilities as a human (Bartky, p. 111).

To continue the idea of feminism on a rise, sexuality over repression is revealed through Edna’s dialect and actions express her true emotions about her sexuality with little regard to other people’s perceptions of her. As many women are soon to follow, Edna chooses art over the typical domestic duties during her daily life by going against what society is expected of woman during her time. As Edna’s character continues to develop, she manifests the quintessential model of a feminist throughout the novella.

The most evident lens incorporated with the queens is the feminist critical lens. The feminist critical lens, “sees cultural and economic disabilities in a "patriarchal" society that have

Frank Heywood, a female crossdresser, proves that women can do the same work as men. However, she can only succeed in doing so by rejecting her birth gender. Instead of doing housework and aspiring to marriage, Frank states that her work “must be father, mother, wife and children to me” (p. 302). She claimed that by giving up her womanhood, “I could go about unquestioned. No man insulted me, and when I asked for work, I was not offered outrage…I resolved to carve out for myself a place in the world as a man, and let death alone reveal my secret and prove what a woman can do” (p. 366-67). While Mrs. Bludgett is beaten, Flora is trapped in a loveless marriage, and Laura is abducted, Frank is free to work and do as she pleases. Her success in doing so proves Blake’s point that “gender” is a socially constructed and ridiculous concept. Blake succeeds in portraying the constant battles of women and through her examples of heartless treatment and behaviors from men. It’s important to note that Frank is the only women who truly succeeds in beating the

DIALOGUE Due to their genre, My Mad Fat Diary (Earl & Bidwell, 2013 – 2015) and United States of Tara (Cody, 2009 – 2011), there is a familiarity of mental illness among supporting characters. This, and the close relationships they share with the protagonists, means that the dialogue surrounding mental illness is often supportive and understanding. Not only are these characters providing information to each other, they’re providing information to the audience about the protagonist and their condition.

When someone reads or hears about someone breaking through such a barrier as sexism, all that can be done is nothing but to have an appreciation for that person. Atwood knows that the human mind can not and will not just read a scene like this and move on. She knows that this will spark conversations and debates worldwide through different cities and

Just as Pygmalion sculpts Galatea, man sculpts the idea of woman. The consequence of this is that man perpetuates the idea of womanhood, and women obey it. Beauvoir encourages women to fight against this idea of womanhood, arguing that “To pose women is to [deny]… that she is a subject, a fellow human being” (De Beauvoir). Most people unfortunately do not fight back against this idea of womanhood, and remain passive to it.