Tag: essay

Moving the Mountain by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

It’s hard to believe that this novel was written in 1911 with some of its modern and forward-thinking concepts. What’s sad, is that some things still haven’t changed…

3/5 stars.
ebook, 118 pages.
Read from September 1, 2019 to September 3, 2019.

Having loved The Yellow Wallpaper, I was intrigued when I saw this trilogy of feminist books on sale for a really cheap price. How could I say no?

Moving the Mountain is the first book in the Herland trilogy which is based around a feminist utopia. While the last two books in the trilogy are chronological, this book while carrying similar sentiments, is in a different setting and with different characters. This book is narrated from the perspective of a man who has been living abroad for the last 30-years and when he returns home has come to find that his country has completely changed. His sister is thankfully there to fill him in on all of his outdated ideas and views. Women have taken a prominent place in society and have turned it into a completely functioning utopia. The narrator finds it all hard to conceive at first but he slowly comes to see the benefits of this new society.

This book is a novel with long essay-like passages explaining exactly why the variety of different aspects of this new society are successful. The author seems to have thought of everything with this new society and takes you through a debate about why her setup for this new world is ideal. Other than the blatant suggestion of eugenics, this reformed society sounds pretty darn nice. The ideas in this story must have been so far ahead of its time seeing how this book was published in 1911! Ms. Perkins must have been quite a woman.

The majority of concepts in this book are intriguing but I did find myself at times scrolling aimlessly through a few pages that went on a bit too long. The ending, however, was immensely satisfying. If you’re into feminist reads, I would consider this one a must.

 

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of “We Should All Be Feminists…””

4/5 stars.
ebook, 32 pages.
Read September 20, 2018

I can’t recall how I found this short essay but I’m really glad I did. I have often a wondered what exactly feminism means today? Especially in this volatile political environment. How can we as women explain our situation to the many men (and some women) who still don’t think that it is a relevant position to take a stand on in the present day? Well, I think the continued awareness and prevalence of rape culture, that a misogynist is the American president, how toxic masculinity is creating more and more troubled men, and the potential uproar over women’s basic rights in first world countries and all over the globe is more than enough time to consider how important feminism still is. This essay is important, so much so that I wish I could casually hand a copy of this to nearly everyone I know.  Essays like this should be required reading in high school and universities everywhere. 

“Some people ask: “Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?” Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general—but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.”

How do you persuade people to understand a point of view? You explain how your point of view will benefit them and to not attack them for their current views. Chimamanda finds this wonderful balance between stating facts firmly to diffusing difficult aspects of feminism with grace and humour. She discusses the marginalization of men and women and the archaic beliefs that shape this discrimination, while also recognizing that we’re all unconsciously shaped by our culture so it’s easy to get caught up in what’s perceived as normal. Feminism is here to help us dismantle the beliefs that no longer benefit us in society, and that’s for both men and women. Feminism is not something to be feared, as many men do, as there is a history has a prevalence of fearmongering when it comes to women empowering themselves and others. 

“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man. “

In end, people will believe what they want to believe. You cannot move people like Trump and those who follow him, but for the rest of us that want better for humanity and are constantly trying to understand and improve, this essay is a wonderful, pervasive and persuasive read. 

“A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves. And this is how to start: We must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently.” 

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