men essay Flashcards
opening quotes
‘If Men could menstruate’ - put in intro
‘even though the only thing it does is make them more subject to ultraviolet rays and wrinkles’
‘penis envy is ‘natural’ to women’
‘What would happen, for instance, if suddenly, magically, men could menstruate and women could not?’
taboo
‘The answer is clear - menstruation would become an enviable, masculine, boast-worthy event’
‘men would brag about how long and how much’
‘street guys would brag (‘Im a three pad man’) or answer praise from a buddy (‘man your looking good’) by giving high fives and saying, ‘yeah man, im on the rag’’
discrimination
(‘men-struation’)
‘women were equal, just different’
‘Lesbians would be said to fear blood and therefore life itself - though probably only because they need a good menstruating man’
role of women
‘And how should women be trained to react?’
‘one can imagine traditional women agreeing to all arguments with a staunch and smiling masochism’
‘if we let them’
‘-even though the only thing it does is make them more subject to ultraviolet rays and wrinkles’
The use of a dash effectively emphasises why discrimination is completely illogical and wrong and implies that white people - who have been seen as superior for centuries - are actually no different than any other race. If anything they are actually biologically disadvantaged because of their skin. This causes much hilarity in the reader as it makes absolutely no sense why white people are put on a pedestal and reinforces Steinem’s point that logic is a factor that is never considered when discrimination occurs.
‘penis envy is “natural” to women’
Inverted commas emphasise how utterly ridiculous the idea is that women are constantly jealous of men. The word ‘natural’ has connotations of uncontrollable or expected. This causes laughter as we find it absolutely ludicrous how women are portrayed to resent men for their “superiority”. Obviously this is not true as this idea has actually been pushed on women for centuries and has somehow been engraved into our society.
‘What if for instance, if suddenly, magically, men could menstruate and women could not?’
The word choice is effective as it suggests that it is a ridiculous statement that is not biologically or scientifically possible. The use of a rhetorical question and one sentence paragraph emphasises the amount of exaggeration and humour the writer is trying to convey as she is trying to draw attention to how ludicrous an idea this is.
For years women could not serve in the army as they were deemed too weak and Steinem imagines this would not change:
‘(men-struation)’
the clever use of a hyphen in ’men-struation’ makes clear how language could be interpreted as confirmation that menstruation is inherently masculine and therefore proof that all blood related activities should be reserved for them only. This is ludicrous and the humour here has poignant elements as the reality for women is not so different from what is being presented here.
‘women are equal, just different’
The word ‘equal’ has connotations of alike and fair suggesting that men and women are very similar. This contrasts with the word different as the writer is suggesting that they are the same however they are getting treated completely differently which is utterly unfair to women. This use of humorous writing allows the reader a small laugh as we understand how society is mocking the idea of equality.
“Lesbians would be said to fear blood and therefore life itself - though probably only because they needed a good menstruating man”
Dash provides extra information drawing attention to the fact that in some countries gay women are raped by a man in order to “convert” them. This emphasises how much more ignorance and discrimination lesbians would face because their lack of interest in men could only be explained by a fear of blood. Not much humour but a ridiculous idea that alarmingly is possible to imagine.
“The answer is clear - menstruation would become an enviable, boast worthy, masculine event.
At first this may seem perplexing to the reader but as she elaborates we are in no doubt that she is right. The use of a dash emphasises the writers point that periods would be seen as a privilege if men received them. We cannot help but laugh at the absurdity of “boast-worthy” as women would never be openly proud or gloat about their periods.
“Men would brag about how long and how much”
Laughter is caused by the word “brag” as it suggests that men would turn periods into a conversational topic and there would no longer be a taboo around them. The one sentence paragraph emphasises how we can immediately visualise the arrogance and pride men would have when discussing their periods which highlights how completely opposite it is for women as they would be looked down upon for discussing periods
“And how should women be trained to react?”
The word ‘trained’ has connotations of educate and instruct which suggests how disrespected women are, no matter what alternate reality they are in, as people constantly feel the need to coach them on how they should behave. The reader finds amusement in the rhetorical question and mocking tone as it is clearly absurd how women are expected to follow someone elses orders and not think for themselves.
‘one can imagine traditional women agreeing to all arguments with a staunch and smiling masochism”
The word ‘staunch’ raises a smile in the reader as it has connotations of commitment and faithful which once again suggest the absurd idea that women must remain loyal to a man. The word ‘masochism’ emphasises the writers use of darker humour as it suggests the idea that women are expected to do as they are told without complaints, even if it hurts or humiliates them. The fact that the writer also includes ‘smiling’ emphasises how women are expected to look happy despite their lack of power and ability to refuse orders from men - both in this alternate reality and our own society. horrific truth
“If we let them”
minor sentence and one sentence paragraph at the end of the text emphasises how crucial a point the writer is trying to make about illogical discrimination. The word ‘we’ creates a sense of togetherness and community for women as every woman has faced some sort of discrimination in their lifetime and its about time that it stops. The word ‘let’ emphasises how fed up women are and that they have the power to stop being discriminated against if they all stand together and force society to change the narrative forever.
