Female Chauvinist Pigs Summary

From birth gender is defined by physical characteristics. In the twenty-first century, a person now has the option to define his or herself as whatever he or she pleases. Transgender is becoming more culturally accepted in American society. With the transformation of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner, even the media has taken a stance on accepting the switching of sexes. Defining one’s gender can be a tough process to go through for the outcome of achieving happiness. The process of identifying one’s gender has become an uphill battle for the rite of passage into society. Ariel Levy, author of “Female Chauvinist Pigs”, details a similar battle. The battle she describes is that of women’s success and the creation of a new woman called a female …show more content…
A rite of passage is a ceremony, usually religious, that marks the changing of a person’s status, usually moving into adulthood. Many cultures embrace this protocol, such as Jewish and American cultures. The Jewish culture appropriates the Bat Mitzvah ceremony of a girl of 13 years becoming a woman. The American culture celebrates the coming of age for a girl on her 16th birthday. Both cultures hold these rituals to a high standard and go to great lengths to achieve the best of the best. Because there is such a huge emphasis on the need for the best party around, the parents of these young participants give up almost everything. Julia Alvarez helps further this allegation through the financial deduction that comes with a quinceañera, the Hispanic coming of age ritual. Alvarez explains “In talking about the impoverished Latinas throwing parties, they threw the house they probably didn’t own out the window “(54). In saying this, Alvarez is depicting the scenario of poorer Latina families going to extreme lengths for an over embellished party. Parents of these girls feel the pressure and are willing to break the bank in order to have a onetime party. In the Hispanic culture, the quinceañera is almost as important as a wedding so there must be a lot of effort put into it. Outside of just the coming of age rituals, other occurrences in acceptances into society …show more content…
There are many identities in American society. From transgenders to gays to Hispanics to Jews, every single person in America identifies in some way. Minority groups in America are usually swept under the rug or told they cannot be the way they are. For example, the gay community just recently is able to marry. Minority groups have been oppressed always in America, but are becoming more open to the idea of changing little by little. Levy provides an example of how a minority is being oppressed in today’s day and age through the ideal of tomming. Tomming, as described by Levy, is “conforming to someone else’s—someone more powerful’s—distorted notion of what you represent” (273). This ideal is represented by all women. Women are brought down and treated as subdominant to that mankind. From the bottom position is where the female chauvinist pig makes her debut. By conforming to other’s standards, this newfound identity is, not completely accepted but, admitted into society. Alvarez agrees that conformity is created by modern society, although she views the conformity only through the view of quinceañera. She surveys Bruce Lincoln who states, “the desired result of [a women’s initiation] ritual is to make a girl ready and willing to assume the traditional place of a woman as defined within a given culture…. The strategy is that of