How does she survive being a woman?
She's expected to wake up first, sleep last, be perfect on the outside, and on the inside... In recent times, the role of the female has become even more complex. More so, she is pressed on all sides with criticism from the male gender and even her own self.
Not too long ago, a controversy came up on X about women cooking for their husbands and there were so many opinions. The women who advocated for equality and consideration in the affair were tagged "feminists". It seems today that the woman has been placed to a high standard and any attempt to create “breathing space” for herself would tag her a 'feminist' or an uncultured poorly trained woman.
This poem by Hafsat Abdullahi (Havfy) talks about the woman in the light of society's expectations and declaration. It has been analysed using the Feminist Literary Theory, in lieu of the contemporary situations we experience today.
Key concepts that would be utilized in the analysis are marginalization, oppression, patriarchy, discrimination, role specification, stereotypes and femininity.
Marginalization can be defined as the state of subjugation of a group of people, or a situation where a particular set of people are sidelined based on their qualities, characteristics, gender, race, culture, class, etc. Both the male and female gender have experienced subjugation and marginalization. Nevertheless, the poem focuses on the marginalization and oppression of the female gender.
It points out the practice of the society attributing the woman to weakness. It also shows how women have been categorized as objects of male satisfaction, pleasure and entertainment. The woman's body is treated as a means for making money or satisfying sexual urges. The poem portrays the marginalization of women as their restricted to the compiles of the home the woman is not encouraged to work in the office or become a manager or a lawyer she's expected to be concerned with only making dishes, babies or pleasing her husband.
The poem says Society says "it's okay to fly but not too high... Not pass the iron bars that bar even her nerves to dream." This portrays marginalization; how a box has been created for the woman and she's expected remain within it. The concept of patriarchy proposes that the male gender rules, and possesses more of the power economically, politically and socially. It proposes a man's world. This ideology is criticized by the poem when it says "the woman is human, not less human, not a trophy, not some prize to pride over masculinity..." Patriarchy is built by society and sustained by it.
Therefore, the poem portrays the view of society as against the truth and the right. Talking about society, the poem might as well just be referring to patriarchy as it is an institutionalized system of male domination, encouraged by socialization. It features role specification and discrimination. Discrimination refers to a situation where a particular set of people is treated differently than others. This happens in the society today and it is portrayed in the poem how the woman is relegated to the background and made to think that being feminine means being weak.
We also see role specification clearly where the woman is told that "her place is behind every cosmetic can, behind every closed door ... not in the board room or a court room." This is also seen when society promote a flawed perfect picture of pink and blue. The poem says that Society has created an "illusion, one that colour-graded us into classes of limitation, a system that projects creation as one that subjects a set to sheer degradation." This proposes that Society encourages marginalization and discrimination, not just of the female but of the male and it's high time the mindset of people are changed. The poem notes that "femininity is not fragility".
In this light, stereotypes that have been placed, dictating to the woman what she could be and not be, are to be dismantled and the woman should be encouraged to see her femininity are strength. This is a message to the society to stop portraying the woman in a bad light and making her see her gender as a mistake or a by-product.
This poem portrays the ills of the society and proposes a change in its system in the light of emancipation, equity and the advent of knowledge in contemporary times.
_____
What do you think of this article?
Do you have opposing views?
Have you ever felt belittled for being male/female?
Share your experience in the comments.
Also, kindly share this post if you agree with it.
Credits: "Society Says" by Havfy
コメント