Gloria Steinem If Men Could Menstruate Analysis
In the reading, “If Men Could Menstruate,” the author, Gloria Steinem, argues that no matter what the characteristic may be, men would still find a way to justify how and why this particular characteristic—in this case, menstruation—would still be a characteristic that only the powerful can hold. Although at first I was a bit confused as to what exactly Steinem was arguing and why, after having read the article multiple times, I was finally able to make sense of where she was coming from through her unique use of sarcasm and role-reversal scenario. Whereas some may automatically assume that if the roles were reversed, men, too, would know the pain and suffering that is accompanied by menstruation, thus, allowing them to sympathize more with
…show more content…
Whereas Gloria Steinem suggests that a call to action is greatly needed if we plan on changing the status quo, Martin, on the other hand, argues that the secret to improving our lives can also be found in language, which I agree completely. As can be noted in the text, by describing that an egg merely “drifts” through the fallopian tube while the sperm travels in a great “velocity” can subconsciously send the message that, even in biological terms, women are still weak and fragile while men are strong and powerful. As was also described in class, the penetrating aspect that “occurs” when the sperm binds to the egg, I thought, was a great observation because it reveals that in almost any context, the penetrator is still viewed as the strong while the one getting penetrated is viewed as the weak. Moreover, I think it is also important to point out that once medical texts began to reveal some of the true, unbiased processes that are needed when fertilizing an egg, as was seen in pages 492-493, one really can begin to see the power shift from the sperm to more of an equal, cooperative effort between the two. While some may argue that changing the gendered language in our medical texts won’t make a difference, I would argue otherwise because having the egg and the sperm play an equal role in the process of creating life can undoubtedly teach young girls and boys that they are equal in all areas, even in biological and reproductive
Whereas Gloria Steinem suggests that a call to action is greatly needed if we plan on changing the status quo, Martin, on the other hand, argues that the secret to improving our lives can also be found in language, which I agree completely. As can be noted in the text, by describing that an egg merely “drifts” through the fallopian tube while the sperm travels in a great “velocity” can subconsciously send the message that, even in biological terms, women are still weak and fragile while men are strong and powerful. As was also described in class, the penetrating aspect that “occurs” when the sperm binds to the egg, I thought, was a great observation because it reveals that in almost any context, the penetrator is still viewed as the strong while the one getting penetrated is viewed as the weak. Moreover, I think it is also important to point out that once medical texts began to reveal some of the true, unbiased processes that are needed when fertilizing an egg, as was seen in pages 492-493, one really can begin to see the power shift from the sperm to more of an equal, cooperative effort between the two. While some may argue that changing the gendered language in our medical texts won’t make a difference, I would argue otherwise because having the egg and the sperm play an equal role in the process of creating life can undoubtedly teach young girls and boys that they are equal in all areas, even in biological and reproductive