So I just happened to stumble upon this image online, needless to say it brought on some huge LOLs! Delicate? Quiet spirit? I find it so sad that some people actually believe that this is the true meaning of a woman, people like this only set women and women rights back generations rather than empowering women to move forward. I would like to assume that this is a man describing the true meaning of a woman however its actually a young woman! (Sad).This image comes from a BlogSpot blog called "The Art of Being Feminine" please check it out @ http://theartofbeingfeminine.blogspot.com/ .
This blog is suppose to be an outlet of information for women trying to "be the best woman they can be" giving tips on "crucial feminine needs" such as "How to Make Men Fall in Love Forever" to "Why Feminine Women are Happiest". This blog is created by a young woman named Melina, most of her influence comes from The School of Courtesan and Geisha Arts.
I thought that this culture jam compliments my last blog post perfectly because is shows how everyday women are still affected by this idea of being the ideal woman. The fact that young women are reading articles that tell them in order to be feminine and "lucky in love" they should have a quiet spirit makes me shudder! In this day-of-age I think that even most men would find that ridiculous!
Citing: Melina. (2007). The Art of Being Feminine. Retrieved January 16, 2010. From http://theartofbeingfeminine.blogspot.com/
*Silver
"The Art of Being Feminine (OMG!)"
ReplyDeleteWas posted by Silver. I was on a rant and forgot to sign, lol.
*Silver
Silver,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that these constructions of a female (soft, tender, delicate, and quiet-spirited)sets women back and does not empower them. The title alone had me questioning myself as a woman? Am I even regarded as a human being? The Art of Being Feminine is geared solely towards females and I am absolutely sure that men can also possess many of those constructions listed. Many women do regard themselves as being the "ideal woman" because of these constructions, but they need to question these constructions. I am enjoying all of these blogs BTW.
Aaliyah Jasmine
Personally I was not shocked that this was created by a female. Many of the ideas and ideals that put women lower than men in the social heirarchy are created by women. I think that this goes back to the dominant discourse and how many women have started to simply accept the labels that they have been given. I feel that this is one of the biggest issues that will set feminism back because if we cannot stand up for ourselves how can we expect other to join the fight.
ReplyDelete- Princess Consuela Banana Hammock
Some of these qualities are nice to have/be associated with to women, however it is sad that there are no empowering words associated with women in this list.
ReplyDeleteI love being a caring,hospitable, respectful and responsible woman, but I do not have a quiet spirit, and I am very proud of that aspect of myself.
I am loud and proud of it!!
~Beautiful Bombshell~
I scrolled down a bit on the blog and saw that there were links to specific articles where women can find out "How to Attract an Alpha Man" and how to "Be Graceful and Lovely."
ReplyDeleteAt first I found this surprising; do women really rely on these ideas as guidelines for their lifestyles? But then thinking about it, aren't these the messages that are portrayed in popular culture? In almost any media source we encouter, these are the traits that are given to women and the traits that are valued in a woman. If you pop open a magazine, it might not say "Ideal Women Attributes" or "How to Dress more Feminine", but it will be a cascade of images, words, and ideas that emulate these same messages.
I agree with the comments above, and it's sad to think, but many young girls, teens and even older women believe that these are qualities of being 'feminine' and will try to strive for these ideals.
Also, out of curiosity, I did a search on an online thesaurus of 'feminine' and even there it was coming out with results like 'dainty', 'soft' and 'tender'. Isn't a thesaurus supposed to find words that are equivalent or very similar in meaning?
-Cyoinea
"it is sad that there are no empowering words associated with women in this list" - I've picked this particular quote because it speaks to the disgruntlement that's being expressed about what it is to be 'feminine'. Why do you think that femininity (and the words that are used to describe it) aren't 'power words' / desirable attributes [OK, possibly desirable, but not as culturally valued as say 'strong leadership'].
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor
This is exactly what I was going to post about, except I can't answer the Why question...Maybe first we can come up with a list of what words are desperately missing....
ReplyDeletestrong
determined
open minded
intelligent
powerful
considerate
fearless
.....
lastly, what does self denied refer to? Is it really self denial or societal denial?
TVfree.
Hi! What is This The School of Cortesan? Is it a book?
ReplyDelete