For the Love of Women

An essay written in the winter of 2012 for a class entitled 'Women in Literature.'

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[Love Manifesto]

1.

Freedom Fighter
Virginia Woolf
Writes 
A Room of One’s Own 
In the middle of a war
not over 
not over until 
EVERY PERSON 
EVERYWHERE 
The right to choose
Own room.

2.

In the midst of a war, choosing sides only depletes numbers. Something disturbing one always finds in political writing is this distinction between the Eastern and Western worlds. When you look at the west you see: the U.S.A, Mexico, Chile, and Canada. The East: Japan, Iran, and India. Each side offers so much diversity it would be absurd to group them together. 
So why do it? In her book, Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical and Modern Stereotypes, Katherine Bullock, a converted Muslim feminist, claims that Western society views the veils as always oppressing the women that wear them. She goes on to say that it is this view “on which Western politicians rely and which they manipulate when they need to assert their interests in the Muslim world.” In this example the dichotomy between east and west happens through personal interest; creating an “other” to demonize for your own gain. The “other” present in talk between the western and eastern world isn’t much different than that in the fight between the sexes. In fact, Woolf proposes in A Room of One’s Own that men have only insisted on women being inferior because of their need to be superior. She claims that even if there were three sexes (three sides- western, eastern and central) that men would instantly start coming up with ways that they were superior to the new sex.

In the fight for freedom and equality we must stand together. The creation of the “other” creates dispute, rage, urge to kill, urge toward violence. Most popular creation of the “other” being Hitler’s demonization of the Jews. Jew against Germany. Germany vs. Jews. West against east. Women against men. Women against women. 

3.

Burka Vs. Bikini
West vs. East
Man vs. Woman
Naked as liberation
Veiling as liberation
If women stand 
Against women
What hope do we have? 

4.

Early female writers “sought to ineffectively veil themselves by using the name of a man.” 
To stand together we have to stop judging the cultures and traditions of others. Instead we have to celebrate diversity. When one in the western world looks at veiling or another culturally sanctioned ritual such as (my threaded discussion example) female genital mutilation, usually their first thought is, how oppressive. I’m glad we don’t have anything like that in our country. But in literature, afraid of gender stereotyping we veil or names. George Elliot, J.K. Rowling; afraid of being seen for who we truly are we change to avoid. But every year women and men alike die from risky plastic surgery procedures. Female genital surgery (another form of mutilation) has become popular in our culture. Procedures like labioplasty and hoodectomys (words so heinous that even Word’s spell check has no idea what to do with them) “…are becoming more popular as social acceptance of these cosmetic and reconstructive procedures continues towards mainstream (quote from a plastic surgery website whose name I do not remember).” Women are mutilating their genitals because they live in a society that tells them that to be perfect means to change. How is this any different from a society that tells women to be chaste and virginal or to be faithful and devote is to be perfect? The difference lies in interpretation; in judgments that must be destroyed. 

5.

U•to•pi•a
[yoo-toh-pee-uh] 
noun

6.

Christina Rossetti is seen by feminist as a symbol of constrained feminine genius because although Rossetti was a great female poet/writer in a time when being a female poet/writer was unpopular in a patriarchal society, she was against women’s rights such as suffrage, convinced it was against her religion. Even feminists are guilty of trying to fit people into little boxes that imply life. But if we are truly feminists we cannot only want freedom for those who agree with us. We must also fight for the freedom of those that would be against us regardless of skin, gender, or creed. Our differences aren’t the problem. It’s those that believe differences cannot co-exist within their utopian ideals. They spend their days thinking, if everyone was like me, the world would be a better place. What made Rossetti a true feminist was her establishing a right to choose her own path. Even when her own gender turned against her, she was strong in her beliefs because she chose them herself. 

7.

An imaginary island
described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia
(1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.

8.

It is important to remember that the problems Woolf finds in society and thinking about women’s right are not long over or gone. Woolf quotes Professor Trevelyan’s History of England saying that “Wife beating was the recognized right of man, and was practiced without shame… Similarly, the daughter who refused to marry the gentlemen of her parents’ choice was liable to be locked up, beaten and flung from the room…” Fact: Most U.S. states did not consider spousal rape a crime until the 1970’s and it wasn’t officially made illegal until 1993. Crisisconnectioninc.org reports that about 25% of all rape cases are marital rape.

We in the U.S. have not yet left the struggle. There is no ascending into a separate sphere of progressive superiority. NO ONE is safe until EVERYONE is free. Fact: Although the 19th amendment allowed women the right to vote in 1920 some states, such as Mississippi, didn’t actually ratify the amendment until 1984. United we stand, divided we fall. 

9.

Virginia Woolf was a freedom fighter. Her novel’s main claim, that to be successful a woman must have a room of her own and 500 pounds can be interpreted many different ways. A woman must have a physical and mental space of her own to be able to create to the fullest of her ability. A woman must be independent, free of patriarchal societies that would do her harm. A woman must not be under anyone’s thumb, free to make her own decisions. A woman must be free. This freedom is the essential component to her creativity; her right to choose. If all women have the right to choose Christina Rossetti is allowed to choose her religion, Muslim women may choose whether or not to veil. If we as a people allow each other the right to choose, that’s my utopia. 

10.

2. ( usually lowercase ) 
an ideal place or state. 
Any visionary system 
of political or social perfection.