Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem by Fatema Mernissi

A lady is an object, one which men attempt to dominate. A man craves to get a hold of this being beneath his command, and forever have her at his disposal. In her piece “Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem,” published in 2002, Fatema Mernissi illustrates how Eastern and Western women are subjugated by the control of men. Mernissi argues that though she may have derived from a society where a woman has to cover her face, a Western woman has to face daily atrocities far worse then ones an Eastern woman will encounter. Moreover, Mernissi’s core dogma in “Size 6: The Western Women's Harem” is that Western women are not more fortunate than women raised into harems in other societies. Additionally, she asserts that though women in the Western world are given liberties, they coincide with the unattainable ideals of what is aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, to strengthen her argument towards her wavering audience, Mernissi’s main approach in her paper is to get the reader to relate with her issue by means of an emotional appeal, while also utilizing both the ethical and logical appeal to support her thesis.
Mernissi applies the ethical appeal throughout her paper so she may appear credible and trustworthy to the reader. By doing so, she creates a “common ground” where it’s easier for her audience to identify with her problem. For example, Mernissi avows “it was the self-reliance that I had developed to protect myself against “beauty blackmail” that made me attractive to others” (Mernissi 253). By stating this, Mernissi crafts her sincerity by illuminating how she was unpretentious of her blemishes. Moreover, this diverges with the reference of her disbelief when she was told that she is too broad for American proportions. Furthermore, ...

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...urrent trend. Throughout her essay Mernissi creates sympathy for herself due to how she was treated, and also for the average Western woman, as they are also apparently not normal. Additionally, the emotional appeal is key for one to understand Mernissi’s predicament, as it persuades the audience to realize that the “size 6” trend is insulting to women.
Mernissi deems that Western women adhere to what men dictate, and even though that makes their life arduous, they are willing to belittle themselves. Moreover, Mernissi concludes her argument by thanking god that she is fortunate enough to not have been born into Western society, as it is an evil against every women in the Western world.

Works Cited

Aaron, Jane, Diana Hacker, and X.J. Kennedy. "Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem." Bedford reader. 10th Edition ed. S.l.: Bedford Bks St Martin'S, 2013. 252-257. Print.