Just Like a Ghost

To strip someone of their name is the same as stripping someone of their identity. Your name is used to identify who you are when you are meeting new people or even when someone is taking about you. It may be small but your name is a very big deal. Reading “No Name Woman” which is a memoir written by Maxine Hong Kingston, made me very sad and at the same time mad. I understand that in cultures if a girl gets pregnant before she is married or even when she is married with someone else that it is a very shameful thing but to pretend like she never existed is just cruel. I understand that the author’s mother was telling her the very brief story of her aunt getting pregnant so that the author knows not to make that mistake or she will bring shame to the family but I personally don’t think it was a very good way to teach your daughter something. The author was the only one who seemed to really care about the story behind her aunt getting pregnant and then committing suicide. She tried her best to patch up the missing pieces and although it is not accurate, it still seems believable. For her aunt to not even have a name or rarely get mentioned shows how strict the author’s culture was. But reading it was also degrading because it did not matter who got the aunt pregnant, all that mattered was that she got pregnant. No one took the time to really understand her side of the story. This again makes my feminist senses kick in because the guy who did that to her just got away but she had to suffer along with her newborn baby. She suffered so much to the point where she just became a ghost and that was just so sad.

Stereotypes

“It started before I was born, before my mother was born, and before her mother was born. We were groomed to be caretaker, to carry the world on our shoulders…” –quote from “Dutiful Hijas” by Erica Gonzalez Martinez

This quote really stood out a lot to me as soon as I started reading “Dutiful Hijas.” Upon reading this my feminist senses kicked in and I just automatically knew what it was going to be about. When we are born, actually not even then; when we are fetuses and our sex has been determined, automatically we are branded with stereotypes. Our family and friends gets blue clothing and cars if it’s a boy and if it’s a girl there are lots of pink clothing along with teddy bears and dolls. Baby boys are expected to grow up to be very strong men and take care of the money business while baby girls are expected to grow up to be nurturing to both their kids and their family and take care of the household duties. Being a girl raised in a culture where women are supposed to be housewives, I can relate to the author. After her mother gets a divorce, the author starts to face guilt, power, and dependency due to her mom not having her own identity when her husband left. The author ends up giving her mother tough love and although she didn’t want to it helped shape her mother’s identity. This part I can’t relate to since I was raised by a single mom who has a very strong identity and taught me to never depend on anyone. However, I can relate to the part where Erica was expected to take care of household duties with her sister like I am. I have an older brother and when it comes time to cleaning the house, I am usually the first person who is expected to do it just because I am a girl. Although it used to be very annoying it isn’t anymore because I realized that’s just what comes with being a girl. We are supposed to care for the house and everyone around it and just be sensitive. However, with the world evolving times have changed and more women are independent but at the same type that stereotype I believe will always remain with every female out there.

GUYS---Step Aside!

Do you want to know something that really irks me?...

                          Something that gets DEEP underneath my skin and BOILS my blood…

Well if you haven’t already figured it based on the picture up above and the title of this post; I guess I have no choice but to break it down for you.

I absolutely HATE the fact that society has implanted the thought that women aren’t capable of doing the things men can do; into the heads of many people: BOTH women AND men. Since the beginning of time (that’s totally added for dramatic purposes but hey! It’s my opinion based on what I learned in history class back when I was in high school!) women have always been inferior to men. And the question that stays haunting me is WHY!?!? WHY? WHY? WHYYY? Not only does that discourage some women from going after their dreams but it makes some men think that they’re (excuse my language) “the shit”.  Now before you start attacking me and saying “not everyone does that or thinks that way”—CALM DOWN because I know that already! I’m just expressing my opinions for those who think that women are the weaker sex.

First of all, in the 18 years that I have been alive, I have been raised by my single mother who took on the role of being a mom and dad. She brought my older brother and I from a third world country into the United States, and due to her lack of American education, she had to settle for jobs that drained the living life out of her. But guess what?!? She never complained at all! Instead she did it so my brother and I can have a better future. (which we obtained) Society makes it appear that women have to be very dependent on men but instead that’s not the case. Like my mom, there are so many women who are so independent and are able to carry themselves and take care of their responsibilities on their own. We aren’t the weaker sex because we are able to overcome any task thrown at us if we really set our minds to it. Now I get that the physical differences between men and women also contribute to this mindset and for the most part men are stronger in that aspect, but again, there are many women out there who are just as strong. Now I’m not trying to say that we don’t need men at all, because we do, all I’m trying to say is that people really need to stop underestimating the abilities of women. No matter what language we speak, what the color of our skin is, where we are from, our religious beliefs, if we set our minds to a goal…guess what? WE CAN DO IT!

                                                        Feminists REUNITE! 

Identity

Who are you?

That’s a pretty simple question composing of ONLY three words, but yet when we are asked that question we tend to have a hard time answering it. Why might that be? How can such a SIMPLE question be SO hard to answer?

The reason many people have such a hard time answering that question is because you can answer it in many different ways. It all depends on who you’re talking to and what you want to reveal about yourself. That question isn’t just asking to say if you’re male or female, short or tall, shy or outgoing; it’s asking you to reveal your true identity. That probably sounds creepy and maybe I’m just overthinking it, but there is no way that this question can be answered in a few sentences that will sum up everything about you.

A quote from “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” that really stood out to me was said by Gershen Kaufman. He stated that “Identity is the essential core of who we are as individuals, the conscious experience of the self inside.” Who you are depends on where you live, what language you speak, what country you’re from, who your family is, how you interact, how you choose to do things, and so much more. But together it makes up who you are. In order for you to really explore your identity you have to take pride in what makes you…you. No matter where you go, and who you meet, there will always be people who are prejudice against something that makes you..you. But you need to remember who you are and never change to fit what someone else wants you to be. You are, who you are.

Text vs. Graphic Novels- Caroline by Neil Gaiman

Most people prefer to read graphic novels over the actual text because it’s easier to read, there are pictures, and it isn’t time consuming. However, I’m the total opposite of that; I honestly prefer to read the text than a graphic novel. While graphic novels are pretty straight forward and you don’t have to wonder much about what’s happening because of the pictures, it deprives you to really get into the book. Unlike graphic novels, the text allows you to use your imagination and interpret the book how you want to. You’re able to put yourself into the story and really be able to connect with the character and experience what they are experiencing. You are basically creating the book the way you want based on what is written.

            The novel Caroline, by Neil Gaiman, is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. In the graphic novel the protagonist Caroline is portrayed in a completely different way than what the book states so in a way it diverts from the book. Caroline looks different than the descriptions in the book and so the other characters. Although the storyline is relatively the same, the pictures don’t add up exactly like the book says. The text is way more detailed when it describes the journey that Caroline goes through in this parallel world where her parents are completely different and more aware of her unlike her parents in the real world. In the graphic novel you have to depend greatly on the pictures to get a understanding of what’s going on and sometimes the pictures can lead your mind astray.

            Overall I just don’t like graphic novels. I don’t like the way it’s laid out nor do I like that you have to depend on the pictures to get the story. I rather take time to read a novel because I’m able to understand it much better. It’s ironic too, because I’m a visual learner but when it comes to graphic novels the pictures really don’t help me. Haha