May272012
As I was talking about in class the other day, I noticed a connection between M Butterfly and  Thomas Beatie, otherwise known as the Pregnant Man. In M Butterfly, Song pretends to be a woman and claims pregnancy in order to reenforce Gallimard’s false belief that she is a woman. Because Song uses pregnancy to emphasize her womanhood, she asserts the idea that only women are capable of having babies. But Thomas Beatie proved her wrong by being the first man to have a child, but it turns out Beatie was formerly a woman. I have heard that physical attributes are what define the sex, but the way one feels determines their gender. Does this statement make Beatie a woman still? Or does having a uterus make someone a woman? I personally believe that he is still a man, but I know some people may disagree with me, so please respond with your thoughts!  -Amanda

As I was talking about in class the other day, I noticed a connection between M Butterfly and  Thomas Beatie, otherwise known as the Pregnant Man. In M Butterfly, Song pretends to be a woman and claims pregnancy in order to reenforce Gallimard’s false belief that she is a woman. Because Song uses pregnancy to emphasize her womanhood, she asserts the idea that only women are capable of having babies. But Thomas Beatie proved her wrong by being the first man to have a child, but it turns out Beatie was formerly a woman. I have heard that physical attributes are what define the sex, but the way one feels determines their gender. Does this statement make Beatie a woman still? Or does having a uterus make someone a woman? I personally believe that he is still a man, but I know some people may disagree with me, so please respond with your thoughts! 

-Amanda

gender sex m butterfly thomas beatie pregnant man song gallimard 

January232012
“She was pariah, then, and knew it. Knew that they despised her and believed that they framed their hatred as disgust for the easy way she lay with men. -Sula pg. 122”

Throughout Sula we have found many connections to the previous novels read in our class. When Sula refers to herself as a “pariah” a parallel to The Scarlet Letter and Hester forms. Both characters were seen as immoral women who rebelled against the norms of the society “for the easy way [they] lay with men.” The town punishes Hester for sleeping with a man to whom she was not betrothed while the people of Medallion criticize Sula for sleeping around with white men. Both acts are defiantly against the community norms and create an image as a social pariah for each woman.

-Christine

Sula toni morrison pariah sex the scarlet letter nathaniel hawethorne parallel quotes quote 

January132012
Sex is one of the major themes in the novel Sula. This is accentuated by the fact that the novel is set in the 1920s. In the beginning of the novel, the fashion would still be in the transitional phase between the 1910s to the 1920s. In the 1910s, the style was to have a nice “s” shaped curve to your body; ie big chest and big bottom. This style really enhanced the natural sexual shape of a woman and the style celebrated the sexual appeal of women. As time went on, fashion evolved into the 1920s flapper style where hemlines came just above or below the knees!! Oh my!!!! This fashion rebellion really enhanced the sexual freedom of women. How fitting of Toni Morrison to set Sula in the 1920s when the book is all about rebellion. Stay Fabulous Paige

Sex is one of the major themes in the novel Sula. This is accentuated by the fact that the novel is set in the 1920s. In the beginning of the novel, the fashion would still be in the transitional phase between the 1910s to the 1920s. In the 1910s, the style was to have a nice “s” shaped curve to your body; ie big chest and big bottom. This style really enhanced the natural sexual shape of a woman and the style celebrated the sexual appeal of women. As time went on, fashion evolved into the 1920s flapper style where hemlines came just above or below the knees!! Oh my!!!! This fashion rebellion really enhanced the sexual freedom of women. How fitting of Toni Morrison to set Sula in the 1920s when the book is all about rebellion.

Stay Fabulous

Paige

art fashion sula sex toni morrison 1920s flapper 

January92012

“She would fuck practically anything, but sleeping with someone implied for her measure of trust and a definite commitment” (44)

This quote brings up the question, what is the difference between fucking and sleeping with someone?  For Hannah, the difference is clear that “fucking” brings about no emotions, therefore it is easy to hit it and quit it.  Hannah expieriences emotionless touching everyday, a bit of an oxymoron because when you touch someone you are literally connecting you to them.  Rather than falling in love again, she fears commitment yet she also doesn’t want to be alone and cannot go a day without being close to a man.  ”Trust” and “commitment” reveals that Hannah’s guard is up due to the loss of her husband, Rekus.  Unwilling to feel vulnerable, she closes her emotions off by not allowing herself to be truly intimate with many men; Sula has only caught her lying in bed with one man.  Is this the only way for a woman to protect herself from heartbreak? To close herself off from all possibilities of happiness for fear of being hurt.

-Amy 

sula sex fucking 

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