I had some different thoughts from our readings for 3/2. In terms of finishing Middlesex, what I found most interesting was the ongoing theme of reinvention. Old identities are never completely erased. Desdemona and Lefty reinvent from sister and brother to wife and husband. They have to create a new identity for themselves. I was especially interested in how this reinvention plays a role for Cal who reinvents himself from Callie to Cal. Cal’s descriptions of times in his life when Callie resurfaces through different physical acts that were typical to her makes me wonder: Should hermaphrodite children be raised without a specific gender? Traditionally, most parents of intersexed kids choose for their child to be male or female, because our society has constructed that to be what is considered “normal.” I wonder what aspects that Cal had to suppress when re-inventing himself as a male. The main idea that I feel the author is trying to get across is that no matter what sex or gender Cal is, the importance is that he is their child, a friend, and overall a person in society making a difference.
The final sentence of the novel reads: "I lost track after a while, happy to be home, weeping for my father, and thinking about what was next" (p. 529). It made me wonder: What is next for Cal? What will his relationship with Julie be like?
In regards to “Body Project” Brumberg sets out to answer questions as to why women in the past and present are continuously obsessed with their bodies and how different times in history presented different views of what was the “perfect body.”
The perception of what the desired female body image looks like has dramatically changed throughout the course of our history. While the 1920s involved movies and magazines that gave rise to the flapper image of having a small and slender body, by the 1950s, the fixation with large breasts evolved.
Reading this chapter, I was shocked by how drastically some of the young girls worked to change their body. The whole diet phase can be deadly. When Brumberg writes, “Yvonne was so enthusiastic and impatient that she tried to keep her daily food intake down to 50 calories, allowing herself only lettuce, carrots, celery, tea,” (103) I could not believe someone would do that.
The desire to be thin still plays a prominent role in our society. I think with the advent of mass media, girls became more and more conscious of their bodies and this has increased the over analysis of one’s body. What immediately comes to mind is models on the runway, in magazines, on television who are freakishly thin and emaciated. The image we are showing to women today is that to be thin you are successful. Is there an effective way to counter this kind of thinking? I think there definitely is and slowly our society is changing. For instance, this article reveals that ultra-thin models have been banned by organizers of Madrid's Fashion Week. I think the fashion industry is gradually realizing that they should not promote beauty as meaning stick thin. This is extremely damaging to young girls' self image and to their health,
The constant preoccupation with physical perfection puts girls at risk for issues such as eating disorders. I wonder where the future will lead us. As more and more magazines are showing women of bigger sizes, I think it will help transform the image of what a healthy women is. With more awareness of the issue, we can make a difference.
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