On Gender Identities and Sexuality in Fun Home and “The School Children”

Among the most fundamental tenets and heavily-discussed concepts in Feminist Theory is the relationship between sexuality and gender, and the extent of which the two interchangeably influence and dictate one another in the perception of the individual…

Bodies and Beauty.

In the texts Fun Home and In Magazines (I Found Specimens of the Beautiful), a lot of focus is placed on accepting yourself. Though our forefathers say “all men are created equal”, it should be noted that not all bodies are created equal. Society has a different view of what is considered…

A Common Thread

Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home and Alice Walker’s “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” both explore gender identity through differing means of navigation and ultimately terms of acceptance, generating thought-provoking material that challenges our individual understanding of navigating and coming to terms…

How to view and not to view one’s body

The two texts “Fun Home” and “Mama” both make points about body image and do center a lot of their energy thinking of their form compared to a “true women’s form”. It should be made clear that neither one has body dysmorphia, but they could have easily taken that path, like anyone else…

Motherhood is not for the Faint of Heart

Joanna Rakoff, author of “Ask Your Mother”, offer readers an insight to motherhood through the slightly traumatic birthing experience she had at the hospital. Sandra Steingraber, author of “Having Faith”, shares with readers her own excursion to motherhood by way of breastfeeding…

Who Deserves The Title “Woman?”

I’m Still Thinking About Zola

What defines femininity? As a woman, is it the clothes I wear? Is it the makeup I put on my face? I often hear feminist conversation discussing the objectification of women as defined by clothes we…

Healthy, Desirable, and Powerful

Training a certain skill or trade gives a person a vigilant eye about what they’re examining, allowing them to feel confident that their perception is accurate and, at times, helpful. While in some cases this is very focused and diligent, such as the training underwent…

Ideal

In the book, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (by Alison Bechdel), and the short story, The New Louise (by Sharon Pomerantz), both texts discuss the relationships the main characters have with their parents and other significant people. It seems that it is these relationships that greatly affect the lives and beliefs…