Why the feminist movement has bumps

"Don't worry about your looks honey! It's what's on the inside that counts!" -every overly enthusiastic adult, ever.
In some sense, this is true- at least society wants it to be.  But in reality, looks are vital in daily life. After all, who hasn't looked at someone and judged them- whether it be taking notice of the mousy hair or the a less than desired layers of warmth around the stomach? It's a bit of a conundrum, really. We are told that it doesn't matter how someone looks but rather how someone acts.  But then why do we have the ability to see? We cannot see someone's "inside" or personality; but we can see their physical appearance.

do not tell me you haven't done this before

However, I am by no means trying to dismiss the utmost importance of personality over looks.  In its deepest level, this problem is due to flaws in human judgement and perception.  We only get to truly know a certain number of people in life; we only touch everyone else on the superficial level.  If that is the case, then how are we supposed to know someone's personality if we don't even know them?

so yes, it is the inside that counts

This issue is apparent in a recent article we read in class about Barbies (yes, the toy). While Prager (the author) does discuss the Barbie's "influence" in a very sardonic manner, she makes an important point about the feminist movement by putting it as "a time when women sought equality and small breasts were king". This is not entirely based off of the distorted proportion of Barbie but rather the basic truth in society:  tired of being oppressed and used for physical features, women sought to end the need for "big breasts" to be considered beautiful.  Although I absolutely agree with this train of thought, this is by no means a easy task on the most fundamental level.  Women are still being used today as "sex" objects and shown as obedient and submissive people in pop culture.  There is a long way for women to go before they can truly be free from social ties and expectations, considering how hard it is to consider people outside the influence of appearance.

Time won't stop for your afternoon tea and reminiscing

Time can be seen as a very plastic element; traveling from one dimension to another has become accomplishable with the help of memory.

time is ruthless- it never stops even when we need a break

How many times have you thought about the past- whether it be a quick flashback or a full on musing? We use the past as both a vehicle for improvement and a deterrent from movement. We have all heard the saying "no need to cry over spilled milk"; however, sometimes, the events of the past continue to haunt us incessantly, and we must live in the past even when time moves on. This is exactly Vladek's case as a Holocaust survivor; despite trying to move on, his Holocaust stripes continue to clothe him until his grave.

may they rest in peace- peace from their memories, that is

In the (non-HD) excerpt below, there is a striking contrast between the past and present- not only between Vladek's story and Art's point of view, but also with the gravestone. For one, the drawing of his and Anja's gravestone is without a border- showing that it is not confined with Art's story telling; their death is a physical quality with remains and no amount of story twisting is able to dispute that fact. Also, there is no page number on this page, showing that there is no time limit for their death- it is an externalized event. The seemingly ironic mention of Richieu in the last panel demonstrates how the past is continuously haunting Vladeck: he cannot stop thinking about his deceased son even when he is with Art, However, the smoke in the middle of his gravestone (which is strikingly similar to the smoke from the crematorium) shows that not only is his body gone, but his memories that haunted him before also leave him (although they are not gone forever for they are internalized by the story Art has wrote).

                                                                                                                                            

Savoring the last drop of tea

Some things in life never leave us, even when they are long gone physically. Whether it be the best day of your life or the worst, memory is what keeps the past in the back of our minds. Holocaust survivors are unfortunately forever haunted by their inhumane treatment during WWII. In Maus by Art Speigelman, the father is now decades past his Holocaust experience yet he can never escape his memories.

behind bars

With a look at the statistics, the chance of survival was slim, with lack of better words. In certain countries such as Bulgaria, the survival rate was 0%- all fifty thousand people were killed in vain (Holocaust Timeline: Statistics of the Holocaust).  With this in mind, Vladek's ability to survive through the camp was a combination of luck, wit, and intelligence. However, some survivors may believe it would have been better not to survive the camp, as the memories will never leave them (shown in the suicide of Anja). Nevertheless, Vladek is able to continue living despite the inability to move on. It's a bit of a conundrum isn't it? Isn't living a sign of moving through life, through time? Yet Vladeck is shown-more than once- to be weighed down by his memories through his stationary bike and stripes (both panels are shown below).  His memories are like a circle- once they happened, they just kept on playing, never letting him out.  He will also never lose his stripes that decked him in his Holocaust uniform.

when searched on google, Holocaust is classified as a crime. But that seems to whitewash the reality and the after effects.


In a way, the title of this blog post is opposite of its content; although Vladeck will never forget his past (hence the last drop of tea part), it is nowhere near the positive connotation given through the idea of tea.
Disclaimer: sorry about the darker side of this post- some things just cannot be taken lightly.

Some teas have just lost their place in society

"There's no profit in raising girls. Better to raise geese than girls" (Kingston 46)
As a Chinese female, I was able to relate to many of the things that Kingston talked about in her piece about feminism in the context of an asian culture.  However, I've never heard anything as extreme as what she heard from her neighbors; I believe this is a result of being "Americanized".

your typical American Asian

My parents moved to the US after college, and since I was raised solely in America with parents that have adopted many American ways,  I supposedly lost much of my "chinese identity".  Regardless of my citizenship, however, I continue to consider myself as a Chinese woman.  This is because I value many of the morals and beliefs originated from China, such as the tales of powerful women that Kingston alludes to.  However, since my parents have raised me with slight nuances to the Chinese way, certain beliefs such as the subjugated status of women, never really permeated in me. 

I like to think of myself as a puzzle with pieces from all identities

After all that babble about who I am, I wanted to point out that Kingston's portray of women in the latter half of her vignette has really lost it's value in American society.  After reading, I remember hearing some of my classmates wondering (out loud) whether what the people said in this excerpt was really true- did women really regard themselves as nothing more than property? Whether Chinese culture had that perspective is one story, but the conventional idea that women act in such an obsequious manner is quite archaic in American society.   Not to water down the feminist tea or anything, but such extreme views have long since disappeared from our society (thank goodness).

Time to take a sip of tea and relax...

When was the last time you thought about the air you breathed? Or maybe contemplated the sky and the sun that shines on you every morning? It's probably been a while since you last stopped focusing on the minuscule but arduous tasks at hand an really looked at the world around you.

pretty comprehensive, except the sleep section is inaccurately big

We often forget about the biggest things in life and tend to focus too much on the little things- as David Foster Wallace mentioned in a speech.  An epitome of this can be seen in our bland lives: we wake up, eat three meals, go to work or school so the future can be secure, and sleep at early hours in the morning, only to wake up a little bit later to start over.  Sounds pretty familiar, right?  However, I bet it's been a while since you stopped and took a day off.  I know the initial reaction of "I don't have time to waste, every minute/day counts".  But, it's because of this tone and attitude that leads to the increasingly monotone action of our lives.  Like a cup of tea without any flavoring, milk, or sugar, this type of life can be insipid and easily become overbearing.  So even though you may think you're being productive (which you're not), it may be time to relax and enjoy the world around you, since you haven't done so in a while.

Although this is true, don't forget to step back and look at the big picture every now and then