Lit Log #1

The inspiration for this artwork comes from the various women on this planet, whether transgender or born female. In my opinion, everyone is important. I think that we all have a purpose other than reproduction. The many hues of the ladies in my artworks symbolize how varied we are yet so similar. We may appear to be similar on the exterior, but it is not who we are on the inside, and what frequently divides us may also bring us together. The holding hands symbolize our solidarity and the necessity to keep together and fight for our rights. They are within the uterus because some men depict us as nothing more than that, but in truth, we are powerful individuals who have worked hard to be where we are today. Only for today’s culture to dismiss us for being who we are and because of our gender.

History does not give any reassurance of what can be done for women; it constantly prioritizes males and children, with women always being the second priority. A good example is on page 46 of Chapter 8 when it says about the commander’s wife, “She doesn’t make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home.” The narrator notices how defeated the commander’s wife appears in comparison to how she appears on television, which leads the reader to wonder if the commander doesn’t care or if it’s a lack of attention. Over time, the notion of what a woman is has faded, and expectations have taken its place.

Woman, as she calls herself: “An adult female human being.” That is the Google definition of the word, but that is not what it genuinely implies. In recent years, the formerly proud title has become a derogatory slur. People expect women to fulfill these roles of the “ideal” women, the kind that cooks, cleans, stays at home to take care of the kids, does everything that a man says… the list can go on and on. In Gilead, it’s no better it’s worse In The Handmaid’s Tale it was ingrained into their head that they have no opinion, respect those above them, and would mean nothing if it were not your ability to have children. “Each month I watch for blood, fearfully, because when it comes, it means failure,” says one character in Chapter 13 on page 73. “I have yet again failed to meet the expectations of others.” I was disturbed after reading this since the narrator hopes she doesn’t have her period every month so she isn’t deemed a “failure.” These Gilead males give the idea to women that they have no authority and solely exist to serve them. Making the reader believe that women have no actual worth. This reminds me of a phrase I saw the other day in an article: “You are worth nothing in human terms.” This phrase was taken from one of the anti-pornography literature that connected with what I was saying. The author was pro-woman and believed that pornography was a tool for males to sexualize and abuse women.

The moral of this artwork is that we can be anything we want to be because we are no longer locked in the old way of thinking and are instead moving ahead to a brighter future in which men and women should be treated equally.