Throughout our lives we are constantly exposed to our societies strict beauty standards. From a young age we socialize girls that their worth is based off their physical appearance and their ability to attract a man. In order to help dictate that this system stays in place, our society has come up with traits that are deemed masculine or feminine.Women are typically supposed to be submissive, empathetic, beautiful and kind; men on the other hand are expected to be dominant, assertive, intelligent, and strong. When people break these out of the roles society has placed them in they are seen and treated negatively. It is one of the ways we force people into what is believed to be their proper place. This leads many young girls and women to prioritize
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In “On Monsieur 's Departure” Queen Elizabeth I is forced to push away her beau in order to maintain the power she holds on her position. Because of this, the speaker is forced to “I grieve and dare not show my discontent, /I love and yet am forced to seem to hate” (Tudor 1-2). Queen Elizabeth I is forced to not only push away her lover, but also appear as though she is not affected. By showing any sign of emotional weakness she opens up the opportunity for members of the court to believe that she cannot handle the responsibility of being the ruler of the country as she is ruled by her emotions. Whitney on the other hand, writes a poem in order to be able to leave any sort of legacy. Because she is a woman, Whitney is instantly unable to leave any worldly possession to anyone. This is because during her time women were not allowed to have any real possessions as they were thought to be the possessions of men. This lead her to write “I wysh good Fortune, be thy guide, …show more content…
She believes that her “mountainous hips, buck teeth and her metal retainer, impossible Afro hair… this belief in her wrongness had subdued her” (Smith 224). For all of her life, Iris has been told that the most beautiful thing a woman can be is a petite white woman. By teaching her that her appearance is undesirable, her society is able to create the idea that her Jamaican features make her less than desirable than her white counterpart. This idea teaches Irie that she is worth less than her white counterpart. By teaching Irie to internalize racism, her society is trying to make sure that she believes that she should not attempt to move up in society as she is not worthy. By making sure Irie struggles with internalizing racism, her society is making sure that they keep her in a low socioeconomic class.” (Aviles). In Second Class Citizen, Adah is forced to come to terms with the fact that she is no longer an upper class woman based off of not only her job but her physical appearance. In Nigeria, Adah expected nothing but the very best. However, once she comes to London Adah’s physical appearance makes her leads to her mistreatment. After giving birth to her third child Adah worries about the things people were saying “about her. Look at that nigger woman with no flowers , no cards, no visitors, except her husband who usually comes five minutes before the closing
In “On Monsieur 's Departure” Queen Elizabeth I is forced to push away her beau in order to maintain the power she holds on her position. Because of this, the speaker is forced to “I grieve and dare not show my discontent, /I love and yet am forced to seem to hate” (Tudor 1-2). Queen Elizabeth I is forced to not only push away her lover, but also appear as though she is not affected. By showing any sign of emotional weakness she opens up the opportunity for members of the court to believe that she cannot handle the responsibility of being the ruler of the country as she is ruled by her emotions. Whitney on the other hand, writes a poem in order to be able to leave any sort of legacy. Because she is a woman, Whitney is instantly unable to leave any worldly possession to anyone. This is because during her time women were not allowed to have any real possessions as they were thought to be the possessions of men. This lead her to write “I wysh good Fortune, be thy guide, …show more content…
She believes that her “mountainous hips, buck teeth and her metal retainer, impossible Afro hair… this belief in her wrongness had subdued her” (Smith 224). For all of her life, Iris has been told that the most beautiful thing a woman can be is a petite white woman. By teaching her that her appearance is undesirable, her society is able to create the idea that her Jamaican features make her less than desirable than her white counterpart. This idea teaches Irie that she is worth less than her white counterpart. By teaching Irie to internalize racism, her society is trying to make sure that she believes that she should not attempt to move up in society as she is not worthy. By making sure Irie struggles with internalizing racism, her society is making sure that they keep her in a low socioeconomic class.” (Aviles). In Second Class Citizen, Adah is forced to come to terms with the fact that she is no longer an upper class woman based off of not only her job but her physical appearance. In Nigeria, Adah expected nothing but the very best. However, once she comes to London Adah’s physical appearance makes her leads to her mistreatment. After giving birth to her third child Adah worries about the things people were saying “about her. Look at that nigger woman with no flowers , no cards, no visitors, except her husband who usually comes five minutes before the closing