Politics of Muscle :: essays research papers

The Politics of Muscle by Gloria Steinem is an render arguing the difference in capability between hands and wo men. Steinem starts her essay by stating how she grew up in a generation where women didnt participate in a lot, if any, sport activities. She goes on to say that she conceptualises this is the priming coat why women of her generation believe that its non what the female embody does, but how it looks. Steinem feels that women always seemed to be owned in some peak as the means of reproduction. She believes that women atomic number 18 made to feel ashamed of their strength and that only when women rebel against patriarchal standards does female muscle become more(prenominal) accepted. (pg 372)I think that Steinems intended audience is primarily for wholly women. I feel she wrote this because she feels strongly about how the power of women is viewed versus the power of how men are viewed. I think her primary purpose is to speak to women and to arouse them to real ize how much of an impact increasing our physical strength could obtain on our everyday lives. Steinem wants to let it be known that women are not objects and that having muscles and strength can in fact be feminine. I oppose with the author that society does view women as the weaker sex. I also believe that it is true that some of the more athletic woman today are not always viewed as cosmos as beautiful as the skinny models in the magazines. However, I dont agree with her thoughts regarding women being possessions and how she thinks womens bodies are symbols of mens status. That could very well be true in other cultures, as she does state in her essay that there are many cultural differences. But for myself, growing up in the environment that I did, that is not something that I had ever authentically heard about or was witness to.