Summary Of Sexism In When She Woke

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When She Woke by hillary Jordan shows the inequality of women in a society run by males. Throughout the novel Hannah goes through society dyed the color red by the government because she had an abortion. She had an affair with a married famous church reverend and only aborted her child because of the shame and her love for the Reverend. Society shames mothers with children out of wedlock, and Hannah didn’t want to shame her lover Aiden. Women in society are being shamed and objectified through the book. Hannah challenges the sexist ideology in society, however she became more cognizant of sexism after she was chromed because her family suppressed her thoughts before. Hannah develops through into a feminist activist during her transition from …show more content…

When Hannah was first released as a chrome she was exposed to the reality of society that her parents shielded her from. Being a chrome made her more susceptible to be raped or beaten because the police don’t protect chromes. Two young boys came up to Hannah saying “Yeah, baby, with you in the middle and us on either side, we’d make us a nice roast beef sandwich” (Jordan 150). Hannah was afraid because she knew the police wouldn’t do anything. Hannah was afraid because being a woman and a chrome men see her as an easy target to sexually assault. Hannah was seen as an object and not a person by the teen boys and also by society. Hannah didn’t truly realize this until the end when she said “Hannah had been objectified by men ever since she was chromed, treated as a thing to be used and disposed of” (Jordan 327). Hannah finally realized to the full extent that men objectified women and especially women chromes. Based upon her gender and appearance men sought her as an easy target. Men like the Fist believed in biological essentialism. After living out in the world Hannah saw how vulgar and sexist men like the Fist actually were. Hannah develops into a feminist throughout the novel by being chromed and leaving her

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