Society and the Gender Stereotypes

Beauty standards affect everyone today; people are pressured to look a certain way to achieve a society defined “ideal” body type. Once upon a time, dolls were “flat-footed and breastless, and ineffably dignified” (Prager 354). However, the current Barbies have “breasts [that] are so out of proportion to the rest of her body” (Prager 353). Women are becoming more and more objectified through social media, making girls believe that they must achieve that standard. Even from the day babies are born, they are forced to adhere to a strict gender stereotype: girls are given pink items (whether it be pink clothes or pink elephants) and boys are given blue items. It is not like Jesus created these radical divisions. Through the media’s rhetoric, women are forced into these patriarchal defined beauty standards.

Is looking that skinny even necessary?

Something I find very amusing is how ridiculous the beauty standards are and how frequently they change; however, they are still forced on women. For example, in Mean Girls, Regina George is made fun of for having a fat butt; however, our society right now is encouraging women to get butt augmentation surgeries. Many celebrities are posting photos showing off their butt, “verifying” that this is a needed standard for women.  Although Kim Kardashian took an x-ray to prove she did not undergo surgery, she still tries to show off her butt, making other women insecure about their bodies.

From criticizing Regina for having a fat butt...

to idolizing it!

Our patriarchal society defines that a “thirty-nine-inch bust and a twenty-three-inch waist are the epitome of lovability” (Prager 354). However, who are these standards trying to impress? Men. Women are forced into this cycle of adhering to these standards to fit in with a male-dominated society.  Making matters worse, famous female artists are even writing songs that are upholding these gender roles. In Meghan Trainor’s song, Dear Future Husband, she says that “she never learned to cook,” but she also says that “if you wanna be my one and only…if you wanna get that special loving.” Trainor will not follow the social standard of cooking for her man; however, the whole song upholds the “standard” that women are subservient to men. This sends conflicting messages to girls who should be empowering themselves, believing that they can do whatever they want to do in life without any restrictions.

Changing our mindset is going to take a lot of work; we need to stand up to these stereotypes as a world and change our perspective. This is an issue deeply rooted in our society that needs to be addressed now. Without equality, we are always going to be “trapped in Barbie’s world” (Prager 355).

BREAK THE GENDER ROLES!

Oppression and Power

Maus utilizes an unconventional format, pictures and words, to illustrate Vladek’s experience during the Holocaust. Through the use of a variety of rhetorical strategies, Spiegelman demonstrates the importance of power and oppression during the Holocaust.

Spiegelman makes a clear contrast between the Nazis and the Jews; by allowing cats to represent the Nazis and mice to represent the Jews, Spiegelman shows how the Nazis figuratively feed off the Jews to gain power. The cats are depicted with sharp fangs that look ready to feast on the mice. With control over the Jews, the Nazis demonstrate how power is gained by oppressing other people. There are far more mice depicted on the page compared to the number of cats; however, by imposing fear and caging the mice, the Nazis are able to draw strength from their weaknesses.

Furthermore, Spiegelman allows the Swastika to enclose the whole page—from the soldier’s hat and arm to the trucks. The Swastika has become a sign of terror and death for the Jews. By putting the symbol everywhere on the page, Spiegelman highlights how the symbol causes fear—the Swastika is constantly following the Jews throughout their lives. The Swastika on the truck gives power to the Nazis by suggesting that the Jews are a material property of the Nazis. In addition, the containment of the Jews in a truck further demonstrates the control the Nazis have; they are able to control the exact location of Jews, similar to material goods.

Spiegelman sets up a juxtaposition of having the mice control other mice on the bottom left, emphasizing the fact that oppression leads to power. The Nazis are able to force the Jews to subjugate their own people, removing their moral decency, but still control all of the Jews. It is a continuous cycle of abuse from one person to another, leading to the Nazis far reach in the Jewish people’s lives. Spiegelman also makes a stark contrast by having Vladek offer food to another Jew on the top frame; this is the last time he helps someone else without focusing on self-interest. The oppression was not only able to physically control the Jews, but it also controlled them mentally; the Jews no longer operate as caring people but as primitive beings with a man-eat-man mindset.

Spiegelman also demonstrates that oppression gives power to the Nazis through the dialogue. Vladek says many statements in only simple sentences, like “that they will gas us,” to emphasize the fear the Jews faced. Vladek cannot think coherently with long complex thoughts because he knows the impeding danger. The Nazis oppressed the Jews to believe that they would not come out of Auschwitz alive and that they would die for sure. This mindset gives power to the Nazis because the Jews feel hopeless, simply waiting for their death; the Jews do not want to die so they follow the strict Nazi rules. With no sense of hope left, the Jews live their lives in the concentration camps without power, giving their power to the Nazis. 

Spiegelman's Depiction (above) vs. Real Life

Blurring the Lines Between Past and Present

Maus focuses on Vladek’s reflection of the past and how the past and present converge. When Vladek revisits old family photos, the photos converge on Vladek and Artie on the last panel; this emphasizes how the past meets the present. No matter how hard Vladek tries to move on from his past, he will always remember his experiences in the Holocaust. Vladek even says, “All such things of the war, I tried to put out of my mind once and for all … Until you rebuild me all this from your questions” (Spiegelman 98). Furthermore, Spiegelman shows the parallels between past and present by comparing Josef with Artie; Josef killed himself out of grief similar to Artie’s emotional regret for coldly responding to his mom the last time he saw her. Even in the picture of Josef and Sonia together, there is a hole where Sonia’s face should be; this draws attention to Artie’s mom’s death. By paralleling the past and the present, Spiegelman demonstrates the circular pattern in life; the present will repeat the past. Similarly, the world’s history is riddled with accounts of genocide, elucidating human’s inability to change—people will continue to repeat the past

Centering the page with Levek’s photo, Spiegelman gives importance to Levek in relation to Vladek's life. Vladek gave money to Levek to help him return to Warsaw; however, Vladek sent him to his death, overcasting the present with the guilt of indirectly killing Levek. In addition, all the photos require a lot of ink. In order for Artie to rebuild his father’s history, Vladek has to go through a bloodletting, being reminded of his guilty actions. Vladek goes through this painful process just to recount his stories for Artie, emphasizing his care for his child. This highlights how family members are an integral part of one’s life. Vladek’s dead family members cause him grief, but he wishes they are alive like Artie. By trying to control Artie’s life, Vladek hangs on to the only family member he has left.

At the bottom of the page, Spiegelman piles up the photos to emphasize the amount of memories Vladek has to live with. The fact that the photos fall demonstrates the weighty nature of memories—not just physically but also emotionally. Vladek has to live with the fact that so many of his family members died and that he survived partly from luck; the survivor’s guilt lingers in Vladek’s life, forcing him to be unable to live life like how it was before his traumatizing experiences. Furthermore, by having the photos over the present day panel, Spiegelman underscores how the past is eating into his present. The little space left that shows the present demonstrates the little amount of freedom Vladek has to control his own life without recollecting the past.

“The Holocaust, taken by itself, is a black hole. To look at it directly is to be swallowed up by it.”-David Novak

Chinese Patriarchy

Watch this video clip:

"My mom once said, 'I wish Heather would have been a boy then I could brag about her.'"

The Chinese culture has always been sexist, believing that women are less than men. Men would usually work labor intensive jobs, and women would do the housework. This idea that women should work at home and be dependent on men has led many Chinese parents to focus on marriage and having children. The fact that Mrs. Yang was told by her mom that she still wished her daughter was a boy in order to brag shows how male oriented Chinese culture is—the only way to have pride in one’s life is to have a successful son. Even Chinese movies and television shows uphold the image of men being more valuable than women.

Even though my parents are not as sexist as Mrs. Yang’s parents, my parents still have some gendered stereotypes; they believe men are more math and science oriented and women are more literature and arts oriented. Even though I tell them about famous people who have broken these preconceptions, they still believe them (probably because my sisters and I fit into these stereotypes). My sisters are better writers and I am better in science—however, it is hard to use scores to quantify who is better at a subject. Although my parents will never deign to admit it, they probably had three children just to have at least one son (I am the youngest).

However, they do not believe that “feeding girls is feeding cowbirds” (Kingston 46) or think that my sisters get “A’s for the good of [their] future husband’s family” Kingston 47). My parents cherish my sisters and I equally and support whatever we want to do in the future. Even though my mom has some gendered beliefs, she still supports female empowerment because she has faced many sexist remarks as a child; she was always told that men would be preferred in society, like getting admitted to college—Chinese colleges would allow men with lower test scores compared to women. This motivated her to excel academically and physically to overcome these restrictions. It is paradoxical that my mom still has some sexist beliefs, even though she broke gender stereotypes in China.

I always ask my mom why she does not try and help change our sexist society. She replies with the same response: there is not much I can do to change the ideology of the world, and employers are going to still discriminate against women. However, this will never stop her from supporting my sisters to do whatever they want in life. She wants to give all of us the freedom she never got from a patriarchal country.

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The freedom that all women deserve can only be achieved through a shift in ideology in our country. In order to create equality, stereotypes and gender roles need to be broken; there should not be jobs and activities “fit” for one gender. No matter how long the process takes, the change in thought process needs to emphasize the ability of women to achieve anything men can do.  

                                      SUBVERT THE PATRIARCHY!

The Need for School Changes

Warning: This blog post is going to be a little unconventional compared to my previous posts; it will probably sound like a rant.

I just finished reading The Chariot’s article TC Line’s Future Uncertain, and I am not impressed with the school’s actions. The administration decided to ban the TC Line temporarily and increase supervision at football games. I am not saying that the students who decided to bring alcohol to the game should go unpunished, but the “[school] is at best but an expedient; but most [schools] are usually, and all [schools] are sometimes, inexpedient” (Thoreau 1016). The school thinks that these restrictions will solve the problem of alcohol and drug abuse at Troy High School. They will not. 

I was ignorant that people at Troy High use alcohol and drugs when I first got here. Until people told me how widespread this problem is, I had no idea it occurred. I was so sheltered by being around people who do not make these poor decisions that I did not know the other side of Troy High. The administration is like me before I knew this problem—they only see the superficial, glamorous part of student life. 

Even if people are not bringing alcohol to football games, that does not stop them from drinking it at parties. I think that teenagers are at a point where they want to break rules and become independent. The more restrictions placed on them, the more they are inclined to break them just to feel “cool.” This is similar to the no gum policy in middle school. I remember teachers always having to tell students to spit out their gum. The school believed that, without restrictions, students would leave their gum everywhere and vandalize the school. However, after coming to Troy High where there is not a no gum policy (at least I think there is not), students are not putting gum everywhere; they are respectfully chewing gum to stay focused in class, and they are properly throwing it away in the trash. 

I think that the school’s “expedient” decision to ban the TC Line and increase supervision would make more students want to have parties to break these rules. In Thoreau’s perspective, students are simply exercising their conscience and viewing these rules as unjust. Again, I do not believe kids should be drinking alcohol or doing drugs, but the school is not doing much to solve this issue.  

I know we are only students, but the school should listen to our opinions more. “Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform” (Thoreau 1022). The only way we can solve issues at our school is by working together. By simply installing more regulations, the school is only exacerbating the problem. 

“plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose”

-Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr