In her time era, women weren't seen as the dominant type. Men were always said to be more dominant even in our day. I whole-heartedly disagree on that. I am not saying I am a feminist but I am saying that anyone, man, woman, or any other classification of a human, should be recognized for their work that they apply to this competitive work. I think George makes a good statement when he says that she was living in a world that was "unauthentic, unreflective and strangely disturbing" (George 345). No one understood what she was going through even less then people understanding it now. Society doesn't recognize the struggles that went on in her life. Men wanted to give her pity but in reality she was born into that life therefore she learned how to cope with it. She didn't need pity, all she needed was people to believe in her which they did. She was more of a "woman" then ever. BEing called a "girl" or woman should never be a bad thing. The commercial by Always, is a prime example of this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs .
As for Butler's "Gender Trouble", this article provides a lot of information around how complex it is to be a male or female. The quote by Butler, "women constitute the unrepresentable"(Butler 13) , due to the fact that we have always lived in a man's world. I find this to be untrue. If it weren't for women pushing out babies, there would be no man. I think if men realize that, besides our emotions that can sometimes interfere with our thoughts, we have always found easier ways to do things in this life. I am not, by any means, saying that men have done nothing, but women have never been aloud to voice their opinion or be taken as seriously as men till a lot later in the game. We, as women, are not only nurturing, but very smart.
I believe that changes are being made and points are being taken seriously. Helen Keller was a great start for women and it will only continue to get better over time.
You are so right, I never in a million years (well, the nineteen I’ve been alive) thought of her as a rhetorical theorist. As I talked about in my post, I also believe she accomplished a great deal in relation to Burke, for example, because of her ability to really connect with her audiences on a more personal level. The cake representation was, by far, one of my favorites. I was able to understand her concepts clear as day, partly because they were spelled out by George, yes, but I think more so because she knows how to present topics to people in straightforward, thought-out ways, probably because she understands the difficulty of communicating better than most rhetoricians. I like your claim that Keller can be seen as a turning point for women, in terms of confidence, control, and determination. The #LikeAGirl video is a wonderful reflection of this and definitely hits home in expressing the struggles of being a female. It is interesting that you interpret George’s article as a sort of women’s suffrage piece. While I recognized certain characteristics that I interpreted as ways that Keller was a revolutionary who fought for greater equality through her political work, I didn’t see that right away. Can you also expand on what you think Butler’s quote (“Women constitute the unrepresentable”) means? Do you think this is meant to put women down? Why would Butler do that since she is a woman herself? Is she saying that women were seen as being unable to represent things in the past?
ReplyDeleteSara Schluender
Sam:
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opinion 100%. In fact, my blog was even about this idea: what makes men dominant over women? Yes, I understand that society started off as male-based, but what really confuses me is why still today, women are still considered second to men. I mean seriously, women have created so many incredible contributions to the world, just like men have, so this whole concept of men being dominant over women seems a bit odd. One thing that I find supportive of my opinion, is that Helen Keller, a WOMAN literally had the same rhetorical views and ideas as Kenneth Burke, an intelligent, prestigous MAN, as proven in "Mr. Burke Meet Helen Keller". "Both Keller and Burke sought effective ways to advocate radical change; both aruged for socialism by creating identification and "boring from within" (George, 340). The Always commercial you posted is one of my favorite commercials, because it shows the serious implications society has in terms of this feminist idea. These young girls showing they are not what society deems them as in my eyes highlights the irony of the feminist theory. If women are aware of how society categorizes them to men, then how can men and society keep these categorizations alive. Women can do what men can do (despite the view that men can do it better). Just check society, it's evident. Good post Sam!