Hairball, a Message to Feminist Feminism is an ideology that focuses on women being treated as equals to men in life. “Hairball”, by Margaret Atwood is a feminist story because it illustrates one woman in control of multiple aspects of her life that many women seem to struggle with or lose to a man. It demonstrates the reality of pride hindering success and consequentially suffer loses. In “Hairball” Kat, a middle aged woman, demonstrates control with her health, as she acquired treatment promptly for a health concern involving the female reproductive system. Intimacy, as she controlled her own sexual endeavors, her relationship as she had an upper hand and Identity, and lastly as she controlled her image. Let’s proceed to the first observation I’ve made while reading this short story of demonstrating the importance of health. …show more content…
She decides the time, place and the bit. Historically, society believed women’s main purpose was to please men. Some women feel the need to be submissive to their partner and engage in their advances. But, Atwood’s character Kat is far from the stereotype, as she held the title as executive of her intimate toils. There is a time and place for everything, and Kat throws that out the window. Kat makes untimely sexual advances in her affair with her married boss, Gerald. In the midst of a professional lunch. Gerald had inquired about the origin of the name “Kat”, and suggested it meant “Krazy”, she then fired a response out of context twisting playful words, to have a sexual under-tone. Furthermore, “It’s Kat as in KitKat. That’s a chocolate bar. Melts in your mouth”. She gave him her stare, quirked her mouth just a twitch. Gerald became flustered, but pushed on, (48). This is an example of Kats untimely advances, in the middle of the day, at an upscale restaurant. She decided to paint a lewd image in Gerald’s head, and had actually got him stirred
The ideology of feminism is that women should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men. Feminism also, by its nature, embraces the belief that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason-including equal civil rights-and that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or life style. Feminists -and all persons interested in civil equality and intellectuality are dedicated to fighting the ignorance that says people are controlled by and limited to their biology, Elizabeth Blackwell is considered an important
Feminism has been an on-going issue through many years and continues to be an issue to this day. The Yellow Wallpaper demonstrates feminism through the rest cure. This story is authoritative and has integrity (St. Jean 397). There is a magazine text which hides the sexual/political struggle that the narrator and the husband are going through. St. Jean wrote a feminism and textual studies article and within it he brings up other stories that demonstrate feminism as well. The Story of an Hour has a shocking ending to it and come to find out the old lady dies and the husbands still alive, which brings the question why would the man survive but the women die? (407). The author of The Yellow Wallpaper doesn’t publicly announce any specific interpretation of the story through her lifetime, so if no one knows for sure that this story is something she’s actually gone through in her actual lifetime. Feminism was an issue back when this story was written and it is still an issue in today’s society. Today though yes there is more equality in males and females the female still gets the “heavier” side of the responsibilities with the children. Mothers go to work all day and as soon as they get home their duties don’t end because they have a child to take care of. In the story though, it never says but the father must be taking care of the child if the mother isn’t allowed to do anything, not even write in journal. If she can’t write in a journal then she must not be able to take care of a child either, she needs to rest her body and go through the healing
Feminism is a political movement that seeks equality between the sexes. Motivated by the search for social justice, feminist analysis provides a wide range of perspectives on social, cultural, economic, and political ideologies. Important topics for feminist politics and theory include: the body, class and work, family life, globalization, human rights, popular culture, race and racism, reproduction, sex work, human trafficking, and sexuality. From early beginnings, to its current state, feminism has been a pervasive movement that has incited social, political and economic change and advancements. Generationally speaking, over the decades feminism has taken on many different meanings. Feminism has become a spectrum; each generation, or wave,
Feminist therapy dates back to the 1960’s, and is derived from the realities that lie outside, beneath, and at variance from the visions of the dominant patriarchal mainstream (Brown, n.d). Feminist therapy incorporates a worldview that no one should be constrained to stereotypical roles on the basis of their gender. As well as creating a setting where clients can work towards their own empowerment, as well as learn how to relate to others in ways that are responsible, healthy, and caring (Corey, 2013).
The right to control one’s own body was at the heart of the feminist health movement and was interpreted by feminists to mean possessing knowledge about how their bodies functioned, having the power to make informed decisions about their bodies, and being treated with dignity and respect by the medical establishment.
Feminist theory is derived from feminism, a complex doctrine that has been defined in many different ways (Chodorow, 1978). Hooks (2000) believes that without a consensus regarding a definition, that the foundation on which feminism was built is not fully clear. Nonetheless, several individuals have stepped forward to offer their ideologies and principles regarding feminist theory.
A solitary woman sits in conversation with a benign tumour that had just recently been removed from her ovary. As the woman speaks, the inanimate tumour, which she has named Hairball, looks on from its glass encased perch atop the fireplace. The scene is macabre and certainly unusual, but such is the life of Kat, the main character in Margaret Atwood’s short story, Hairball. Kat’s life is filled with the unusual and the shocking, a lifestyle that has been self-imposed. Throughout the years, Kat, an "avant garde" fashion photographer, has altered her image, even her name, to suit the circumstances and the era. Over time Kat has fashioned a seemingly strong and impenetrable exterior, but as Kat’s life begins to disintegrate we discover that the strong exterior is just a facade devised to protect a weak and fragile interior. Kat’s facade begins to unravel and she undergoes significant personal losses; in fact, the losses go so far as to include her identity or lack there of. As Kat begins to lose control, her mental and physical disintegration is hastened by three major conflicts: The conflict with the society in which she lives, the conflict with her romantic interests (specifically Ger), and finally the physical conflict she faces with her own body. In the end, these conflicts will threaten to strip Kat of her lifestyle as well as her name.
Feminism, in its simplest definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. (Webster) Feminists fight for equality for women to men socially, politically, and economically. At the peak of feminist discourse is equality for men and women in education and in employment. However, feminism also focuses on more than issues regarding the rights of women in relation to men. Issues of gender equality and women’s right to control their sexuality are also at the core of feminist theory. A key argument made by many feminists is how women have very little control over their sexuality, mainly being defined and controlled by men. T...
Feminism is a word that is stock-full of implications, and has many misconceptions. Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti attempts to give a broad overview of what feminism is, and how you should feel about it (hint: it’s positively). The book is directed primarily towards the younger generation, and talks about a variety of issues relevant to the feminist movement today and in history. The weaknesses of the book include the casual writing, the assumptions Valenti makes, and the contradictory statements that are consistently made. The strengths include providing an entertaining, broad overview of feminism, and discussing ways to contribute to gender equality. Overall, the book is more likely to be a positive experience for high-schoolers that identify as women then college-aged individuals looking for a critical analysis of issues society faces in regards to gender inequality.
Characterization plays an important role when conveying how one’s personality can disintegrate by living in a restrictive society. Although Kat is slowly loosing her mind, in the story, she is portrayed as a confident woman who tries to strive for excellence. This can be seen when she wants to name the magazine “All the Rage”. She claims that “it’s a forties sounds” and that “forties is back” (311). However the board of directors, who were all men, did not approve. They actually “though it was too feminist, of all things” (311). This passage not only shows how gender opportunities is apparent in the society Kat lives in, but also shows the readers why Kat starts to loose her mind.
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy. The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting her husband’s sudden return she regretted abandoning her moment of freedom. An analysis of “The Story if an Hour” through the historical and feminist lenses, suggests that the story is really about women’s self-identity in the 1800s male-dominated society, and how it caused women’s lack of freedom.
Throughout the texts we have read in English thus far have been feminist issues. Such issues range from how the author published the book to direct, open statements concerning feminist matters. The different ways to present feminist issues is even directly spoken of in one of the essays we read and discussed. The less obvious of these feminist critiques is found buried within the texts, however, and must be read carefully to understand their full meaning- or to even see them.
Feminism is a perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices over their lives than it has granted men. (Sapiro 441)
In an online article titled "What is Feminist Theory" by Erwin Z, he writes about what the feminist theory is. The feminist theory, in simple terms, is a theory on the rights for women and equality for all genders. The theory involves the study of women's roles in society including their privileges, interests, rights, and concerns. It turns out that there were many different feminist theories that were released as early as 1792. Many of these publications featured limited privileges and rights of women due to wrong perceptions against them. The feminist theory can be applied to several disciplines, one being language. The feminist theory also points out the world's bias on women's bodies. According to history, men were associated with the brain while women were associated with the body.
She tells of the risks involved in marriage, the possibility of being essentially sold off to some monster, the dangers of child birth, and the shame should a woman be unable to conceive and then be returned to her family. Within this she speaks of how women’s fears and wants are seen as frivols and vain. Women’s fears and desires are often mocked and ridiculed today as well. Women complaining about catcalling are told they are ungrateful and should be glad to receive compliments, even though these “compliments” are often unwanted advances that cause women to fear sexual violence and that they are merely objects. It’s also not uncommon for people to ridicule women for complaining about pregnancy, even though it is a long, uncomfortable, painful and sometimes dangerous term that permanently change a woman’s