· Identify a section or passage from your memoir that would be worth analyzing through one of the lenses. Summarize this section briefly, in a sentence or two.
· Then analyze this section or passage through one of the lenses in a few sentences.
· Close your blog post with a lens question related to your analysis, that any classmate—no matter which memoir they are reading, can respond to. (Examples: Is anyone else starting to feel that their memoirist’s memory is unreliable? Is anyone else’s memoirist struggling with his/her performance of gender role norms? Is anyone else seeing examples blurred lines between the “colonizer” and the “colonist”?)
· Respond to at least 2 of your peers’ posts.
Nina Godiwalla is the third sister of four and out of all four sisters she is constantly bullied and put down by her father. Nina was supposed to be a boy because that's what her father prayed for but, when she was born she was considered to be a shock to her parents but her little sister was a tragedy placed upon their family. His whole life Nina's father had prayed for two boys and two girls and he was stuck wit four daughters. Out of all his daughters Nina's father chose to constantly put Nina down and be a bully rather than a father to her. Although she did as well as her older sisters in school and brought the same marks it was never good enough for him. This can be looked at through the Gender Lense because it shows that Nina's dad wanted a boy so bad that he would even go to the extent of bullying his own daughter and that Nina was constantly put down because she was a girl. With her Indian background the fathers need for a son was understanding but his bullying to a blessing was uncalled for. Do you believe that all fathers should be this sexist towards their children because they don't get the gender they want? and are your memoirists dealing with gender discrimination?
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that fathers should be sexist towards their children, and this is because any child should be considered a blessing, because this is something that you created. Furthermore parents shouldn't even be praying for a certain sex because they should appreciate what they receive.
DeleteAlthough its not justified, I believe that's its the culture that formed Nina dads mindset to be like that. Similarly this situation relates to my cousins family, all 4 girls. Even though my uncle wanted a boy as well, he learned that his all his daughter are just as good as boys and he is happy with all his girls. I hope this whole "praying for a boy" concept dies out and instead people just start praying for a healthy baby.
DeleteNo parent can rightfully blame their child for who they are. Gender is not in the hands of the child. Meaning, a child can not choose what gender they want to be. Like Emani stated before, every "child should be considered a blessing" Therefore, any parent who is sexist towards their child is automatically in the wrong.
DeleteThe author Nina begins to recall a time when she was in grade school, when her class had a party. Each person had to bring a dish from their culture, and Nina decided to bring burfi which is an Indian sweet. When she brought it to school, the children were reluctant to try and made remarks such as "That looks like green puke". Through the post colonial lens we can see that the children was othering the dish, because it was something new and different to them. To add, it should also be noted that everyone brought a unique dish to this party, so most kids were probably being the colonizer, and colonized in terms of judging each dish. Is anyone else beginning to see that the author uses different lenses in order to go back into her memory and reenact the situation?
ReplyDeleteI think using more then one lens is a great way to really bring the moment/memoryto life. Since the reader was not present when the event happened, using examples of gender and "othering" can paint a clearer image for the reader.
DeleteI think post colonial theory relates to that section specifically because Nina is being " othered" in many instances, as to where the kids in her class are making fun of her culture, since it's looked at as " unusual" and not your average child in society.
DeleteI agree because so far Nina is definitely being "othered" by her father and also where she works. Does this have to do with gender?
DeleteIn the book I'm reading the author uses both the gender lens and post colonial theory lens to show how Jaycee is othered by her kidnapper and his wife and is looked down on because she is a girl.
DeleteJen began noticing that her son had no friends so, in order to prevent him from being the "weird" kid in kindergarten, she found a play group that met once week. The red group met on Wednesdays and the orange group met on Fridays. Since Jen was a real estate agent and ran her own business, her schedule did not allow her to join the Friday play group. The women in charge of the playgroup did not allow Jen to join the Wednesday group because supposedly it was too full. This can be analyzed through the post-colonial lens because Jen knew that the only reason she was not allowed in the group was because she was a "nobody." All the mothers in the Wednesday group were friends and so they didn't want an outsider joining. In post-colonial terms, the mothers in the playgroup "othered" Jen simply off the fact that she was a newbie. Is anyone else noticing that their author is able tell when they are being judge?
ReplyDeleteI definitely noticed in my book that my author knows when she is being judged. My author is in fact considered the " other" in her family and work force and she faces challenges with being seen as the colonized.
DeleteThis shows that she is being othered because of her social status. It can also correlate to what we're going in GOVECON12 b/c it shows that your social connections do matter and can prevent you from doing things
ReplyDelete"Disappointed again, my parents returned home with another daughter, not a son. With four girls, my father was overburdened with irregulars." The lens used in this passage was gender lens, Nina is the third child of four daughters in which her father exclaims his disappointment with having another female child. His obsession with having a son affects his relationship with his daughters. Showing how favored boys are in their culture, Nina and her sisters have to face the reality of not being in favor of their father's gender expectation. Has anybody else noticed their narrator being discriminated against because of their gender ?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because since he only has daughters his mind set is different. Maybe if he had a son I wondered if he would stop "othering" Nina.
DeleteI agree with your statement and think it is amazing the little value that is given to a girl many times. I also seem to be seeing gender play a role in the memoir I am reading.
DeleteI agree with you and I see this in my memoir as Malala elaborates on instances where she was discriminated or told to act a certain way because of her gender.
DeleteIn the book Suits Nina is the third sister and she constantly gets yelled at her father and gets judged where she works. Post Colonial Lens is shown because we can see that when she's at work she is made fun of because of her accent and at home she being targeted by her father. Do we notice why the author uses a lot of discrimination depending on gender?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that Nina is being discriminated because she is a female, but I also believe a big part of this discrimination can be because of her accent.
DeleteI agree with the fact that she is discriminated because of her gender. I also feel like your connection between gender and "othering" is something that we come to see a lot in society. Using gender to other someone.
DeleteI agree and adding on to Thalia's statement, othering can be used with gender and because of that comes the standards we have in society.
DeleteI would say that she is being discriminated mainly because she has a accent, if a male was in her place, I still think he would have been targeted by other people.
DeleteIn the book, A Stolen Life, Jaycee writes about how she is kept in a tent in the backyard of her kidnapper, Phillip. He did not allow her to do anything without his permission. She was not even able to go outside of the tent for years. In this section of the book we can see how Phillip is the colonizer and treating Jaycee as the other since he keeps her isolated and controls everything she does. Is anyone else seeing how one person is othering another by keeping them away from others?
ReplyDeleteI agree because it is evident that Phillip is othering Jaycee by keeping her alone in a tent while everyone else lives in the house.
DeleteIn the book, A Stolen Life, Jaycee talks about wanting to ask her mom if she could shave her legs and armpits because she was going on a water park trip and she didn't want to be embarrassed. This is an example of Judith Butler lens because Jaycee feels that just because she is a girl and can't have certain things like armpits and leg hair. Is anyone else seeing how their author wants to change themselves to satisfy the gender norms set by society?
ReplyDeleteYes, in my book this is exactly what is happening.
DeleteMy book's author is going through the same problems and she wanted to shave her legs when she was 10 years old.
DeleteA Stolen Life, is a memoir that presents us with the character Jaycee a girl who starts to depend so much on her capturer she starts to think he is good. When in reality this man has raped her and torture her in ways that are hard to imagine. This demonstrates Lacan's theory and the idea that you are truly at your purest state when you are a baby. The interactions that Jaycee is having with the world Philip has created for her is causing her to change and become a "puppet" of his play. Is anyone else seeing events happen in their memoir that demonstrate Lacan's theory to be valid?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because At first Jaycee was viewed as the other but now she has become Phillip's pet.
DeleteIn I am Malala, Malala states how when she grew up in the village she was placed in various situations where many called her out for not covering her face or not acting in a certain way and even though her father stood up for her, they still dealt with the backlash. Looking through the gender lens, it's visible of how there are restrictions placed on girls and it impacts what they are able to do. Is anyone else seeing their author confronting situations like this?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because in societies like the one in Swat Valley, girls have very high expectations of them, and many of them are often oppressed. They aren't allowed to do the things guys are allowed to do, such as go to school. They would be looked down upon because they are seen as people who would raise families, cook and clean for their husbands.
DeleteIn the memoir I am Malala, Malala talks about a girl from her village named Seema, who had apparently committed suicide because of her parents' oppressing her. She was really in love with a guy in their village, and often she would gaze on him, and usually those are signs of flirting, according to the villagers. And the girls aren't allowed to do anything like that, or they would be considered a disgrace. Love is arranged in Pakistan, so it was forbidden to love anyone outside the marriage line. Seema's parents were infuriated with her, and eventually, out of distress, the poor girl killed herself. This shows that there are a lot of expectations placed on girls in societies with strict religious rules, and if they make a single mistake, they would be disgraced. On the other hand, boys in the village are allowed to talk to girls and even flirt with him without being looked down upon.
ReplyDeleteDo girls have a stricter role in societies such as Pakistan?
DeleteYes, I believe in some society they have sticker roles.
DeleteI agree with Ben, religion makes people value things more.
DeleteI would like to disagree with something you said. I think this has very little to do with religion, you mention the rules in the country Pakistan, not religion. There's more than one religion that is practiced in Pakistan. Please remember that culture and religion are not the same thing. And by the way, Love is not looked down upon in Islam and arranged marriage is a South Asian tradition, not a law, it is not mandatory, but I guess it was pretty strict for Seema and that's really upsetting that the pressure made her kill herself :/
DeleteIn the book Jen Mann talks about her house cleaner. She talks about how she loves her so much and how both Jen and her husband did not want to clean. Since they both did not want to clean the house became very messy until they hired the maid. This part of the book can be analyzed through the gender lense. I wonder if she is purposely protesting the gender norm that women should clean. There also seems to be more pressure on her because she is a women to clean. Do women get "peer pressured" to preform these certain roles?
ReplyDeleteI think you have a point there because even if she is not cleaning there is still a women cleaning the house.
DeleteThe author of the book, Tina Fey talks about how women are expected to have "Caucasian blue eyes, full spanish lips, hairless Asian skin with California tan, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, etc." Why do you think women are always expected to be "perfect" physically but are always looked down upon when they try to step forward in so called "male dominant society"?
ReplyDeleteI think it is unfair how women are looked down upon because they are seen as incapable of taking man working jobs. Look back at WWII, that was not always true!
DeleteMalala continuously uses gender roles to justify her end goals. Her goal is to get women to have an equal education. She keeps bringing this idea of being "free" but she can't be with all this opposition. Are any of your characters feeling that the opposition goes against your character's goal.
ReplyDeleteIt states in the book Bossypants "the little Spanish singer on The Lawrence Welk Show- but they were regarded as a fun exotic alternative." In this line Tina Fey brings up post colonialism by showing how the spanish singers are othered when compared to the brunette White singers. Although overall, this concept can be looked through the gender lense, by looking deeper, you can find other lenses within a lense. Is anyone else able to find a type a lense within another lense?
ReplyDeleteYes in my book there are some things with a combination of lenses.
DeleteMindy Kaling says that if you are reading her book then you are probably a woman or gay or thought it was the Malala book which is using the post colonial theory because she is othering herself into only those people getting the book about her and she is othering anyone who is not one of those people stating that they would not get her book when they could.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else finding their author othering themselves?
DeleteNina is one of the girls from an Indian/Persian family. She has no brothers, so all her siblings are female. Throughout the book, she explains how her family saw the all-girls situation as a negative thing. From her mother being wheeled away to the hospital screaming for them to pray for a boy before she gives birth, to her father never being satisfied with her academic achievement. She is constantly under gender-role expectations.
ReplyDelete