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She explains to this young girl all the right and wrong ways to go about doing certain things to better herself and become a respectable woman. The mother repeatedly warns her daughter not to act like a **** while completing these tasks. For years women have been told not to be so provocative by their elders because they are being judged by men at all times. This relates to Kilbourne’s article due to the fact that women are being plastered all over magazines and billboards to be negatively judged by onlookers. We do not want to give any reason for men to think of us as a ****, yet we are allowing these advertisments to continue to be posted. At the close of the exert Girl after the mother explains the rules for her daughter all while making sure she doesnt act like a **** she says, “Always make sure to squeeze bread to make sure it’s fresh,” the daughter then retalliates with, “but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?” The mother suprisingly replies “You mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?” This conversation between two contradicts the mothers quest to make sure her daughter was not acting like a ****. She is saying that she should let men come on to her instead of sitting back and being danity. Acceptance by men seems to be so important in soceity, more important then even maintaining ones dignity. Mothers do not want their daughters to be alone for the rest of their lives without a signifiant other. We want to believe that being a “lady” is what all women want, but that is not how we are being portrayed by men. These men are seeing women as objects and nobody seems to be in a rush to change things. Kincaid and Kilbourne’s writings are similiar in the fact that society seems to be revolved around pleasing men. The pictures of scantly clad women catch a man’s attention and the list of dos and don’ts given by the mother in “Girl” was all to impress or earn acceptance from a male. I believe that women are giving men too much power. We do not have to objectify ourselves for any reason in order to gain acceptance and become more independent.
Source(s):
www.theantsaremyfriends.wordpress.com
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