Who is a Feminist?

More of a Corpse than a Woman

Give them my regards when you go to the school reunion;
and at the marriage-supper, say that I'm thinking about them.
They'll remember my name; I went to the movies with that one,
feeling the weight of their death where she sat at my elbow;
            she never said a word
            but all of them were heard

all of them alike, expensive girls, the leaden friends:
one used to play the piano, one of them once wrote a sonnet,
one even seemed awakened enough to photograph wheatfields-
the dull girls with the educated minds and technical passions-
             pure love was their employment,
             they tried it for enjoyment

Meet them at the boat: they've brought the souvenirs of boredom,
a seashell from the faltering monarchy;
the nose of a marble saint; and from the battlefield,
an empty shell divulged from a flower bed.
             The lady's wealthy breath
              perfumes the air with death

The leaden lady faces the fine, voluptuous woman,
faces a rising world bearing its gifts in its hands.
Kisses her casual dreams upon the lips she kisses,
risen, she moves away; takes others; moves away
           Inadequate to love,
           supposes she's enough

Give my regards to the well-protected woman,
I knew the ice-cream girl, we went to school together.
There's something to bury, people, when you begin to bury,
When your women are ready and rich in their wish for the world,
          destroy the leaden heart,
          we've a new race to start.



The other day, a friend of my older brother messaged me on Facebook and asked if I considered Nicki Minaj a feminist. After the release of her new video, Anaconda, he wondered how anyone could consider her a feminist when her video is completely about her sex appeal and women are constantly degraded down to only their sex appeal in the media. One might wonder at this point what a Muriel Rukeyser poem and a Nicki Minaj question have in common. However, I see an underlying thread. Though I agree that Nicki Minaj's new video is over-sexualized and I also agree that the woman described in Muriel Rukeyser's poem sounds vapid and problematic, I cannot help but feel uncomfortable by dissecting these women. Both of these situations are examples of focusing the blame on the oppressed instead of the oppressor.

Women today, especially performers, are narrowed down to their looks and sex appeal, as seen in Misrepresentation. Which is why the question about Nicki Minaj is relevant, yet when asked, I felt offended. I find I am constantly straddling the fence between anger and respect- anger for perpetuating stereotypes I have to fight on a daily basis. But respect, because I feel women should be able to express themselves in any manner they please. Rukeyser says at the end of her poem "When your women are ready and rich in their wish for the world, destroy the leaden heart, we've a new race to start". I find the line of this poem powerful, however I can't help but question, what does she mean by "when your women are ready"? Is it the responsibility, and therefore the blame, of these women for their vapidness? Personal blame, yes but societal blame? There is an implication of annoyance in this poem; annoyance with the "type" of woman she describes as "leaden". I can relate with this annoyance because I am tired of fighting stereotypes. And I also see importance in recognizing these trends, such as over-sexualized women or for Rukeyser, women who are bored and uninterested. I also wonder if we can ever truly end the gender gap if we do not quit analyzing the bodies and actions of women so strictly.