Why is there such a thing as a Feminist? I don’t really hear the term “Male-ists”… I guess if you think about all the things woman have gone through, you’d expect some sort of support group to arise.
Ann Fessler’s “The Girls Who Went Away” tells the stories of the million and half women who kept silent during the post-World War II era in the decades before the Roe versus Wade case that allowed legalizing abortions. These women got pregnant, confided in their families, but were then sent away to special homes, where they were degraded, and lonely—and then gave birth alone in a hospital and had their baby taken away. They were many times dehumanized, humiliated, and degraded for becoming pregnant, and were never given a chance to see their child once it was born.
A feminist critique would look at Fessler’s story and study the ideology that was upheld in regards to unwed motherhood. A large number of the stories, the woman expressed how they were abused for breaking the norm of society. Due to their pregnancy the woman were treated like objects that were shipped away, kept in storage and sent back when “fixed”. A feminist would look at this, and question society, and the American vision of equal rights.
A fem. critic can also look at this entire story and question the facts that the men who impregnated these woman never got penalized or in trouble. The men were in no way bothered at all, and many times were not even told as to not hassle them.
Another thing to question is the number of mothers, who sent their own daughters away, and what they were thinking when they did that. How can a mother allow her daughter to give birth alone and have no support from anyone in such an emotional and physically strenuous situation?
Overall, this entire story is a haven for feminist critics to dissect and analyze in regards to the time period, the process of legalizing abortion, the females of the time, the males of the time, and society as a whole. *** Get this book, its an amazing read!
Ann Fessler’s “The Girls Who Went Away” tells the stories of the million and half women who kept silent during the post-World War II era in the decades before the Roe versus Wade case that allowed legalizing abortions. These women got pregnant, confided in their families, but were then sent away to special homes, where they were degraded, and lonely—and then gave birth alone in a hospital and had their baby taken away. They were many times dehumanized, humiliated, and degraded for becoming pregnant, and were never given a chance to see their child once it was born.
A feminist critique would look at Fessler’s story and study the ideology that was upheld in regards to unwed motherhood. A large number of the stories, the woman expressed how they were abused for breaking the norm of society. Due to their pregnancy the woman were treated like objects that were shipped away, kept in storage and sent back when “fixed”. A feminist would look at this, and question society, and the American vision of equal rights.
A fem. critic can also look at this entire story and question the facts that the men who impregnated these woman never got penalized or in trouble. The men were in no way bothered at all, and many times were not even told as to not hassle them.
Another thing to question is the number of mothers, who sent their own daughters away, and what they were thinking when they did that. How can a mother allow her daughter to give birth alone and have no support from anyone in such an emotional and physically strenuous situation?
Overall, this entire story is a haven for feminist critics to dissect and analyze in regards to the time period, the process of legalizing abortion, the females of the time, the males of the time, and society as a whole. *** Get this book, its an amazing read!
1 comment:
Yikes! I think feminism is much more than just a "support group." There are not "maleists" because males have not been a traditionally marginalized group, as females have been. There simply doesn't need to be one.
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