Chintan Jani
Professor Amanda Meyer
English 102-05
21 September 2016
Hips Don’t Lie
When issues like body-shaming are hindering many from being happy with who they are, Jes Baker in Things ‘No One Will Tell Fat Girls’ says “The second you stop looking for someone else in the mirror and start looking at you is the second you will start to appreciate what you are. You are perfect”. Similarly, Lucille Clifton in ‘homage to my hips’, uses “these hips are free hips” to show other women that they do not need to fit in with the rest of the world to be happy, they can be proud and comfortable with who they are and have no need to abide by anyone’s rules.
Homage to my hips presents a very bold and positive scenario. Lucille right off the bat makes her point by stating “these hips are big hips.” (1) for it was rare for someone to claim things of that nature and praise themselves during the time when being …show more content…
The strong figurative use of ‘hips’ shows the bigger picture about women and not only just their hips but the way how freely they move with delight and there is no shame but just joy. It also goes to show that being ashamed of something that is a part of Poem also lacks the very capitalization and rules that normal poems follow and lines like “I have known to put a spell in a man and spin him like a top” (13-15) only solidifies that the author wants the reader to know that they are better than men because she knows the kind of power her hips hold, that they can be in control of their own life and if they desire can have the world at their