While reading “wishes for my son,” I had the same reaction
as Leah. I find this poem to be very relatable and humorous at the same time. I
feel that Clifton did a great job of capturing the negatives that come along
with being a female and experiencing a period. Men will never have to feel this
pain, be embarrassed about starting their cycle unexpectedly, or deal with the
hot flashes that come with being a female. I feel as if this poem was not only
written to show men that women go through terrible symptoms for a week out of
every month, but I also think that it was written to show that women are strong
and can endure pain. Women are viewed as weak, while men are seen as strong. I
believe that she is making the argument that although women are seen this way,
could a man withstand a menstrual cycle?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think you are asking a really interesting question, Jessica. It's is kind of funny that throughout history women have been deemed as weak. Although, we go through quite a bit that as you mentioned, men will never know the feeling of. I often wonder, "if women are given menstrual cycles, what are men given?" I guess in a way my question reverts back to gender roles because throughout history men have offered protection and safety while women have offered children.
ReplyDeleteI ponder this thought often Jessica. I find it funny that we are reading these poems in particular because I was just treated improperly a couple of days ago at work. I work in the mall and two young men walked passed the store and cat called. I find it interesting that (some) men have a very crazy misconception of what females even ARE and what we go through, know, mean, etc.
ReplyDeleteJust like all of you ladies I also wonder about whether or not men could endure a menstral cycle. The question makes me think of some of the experiments/dares some men have done to immate a woman's pain in child bearing or labor. I don't really have an answer to your question unfortunatly, but I think it is a fair thought and I like the idea of the poem being a cry for men to understand that women are, in fact, not weak as many believe.
ReplyDelete