Language & Written Expression IV

Madonna   Madonna´s speech is one of the most important speeches delivered in the field of music because it is related to feminists ideals, which generated great repercussions around the world. In her speech, Madonna declares, that she feels   vulnerable   as many women do. The main reason is  gender inequality . In the field of music, as in many other contexts, there are differences between women and men. For girls, there are rules, but for men not. Madonna supports this idea by telling the audience about her  own experience   during their first years of her career. As a result of being inferior to men, Madonna has to face off many  challenges  such as; try not to be out of the market, in spite of her marital status. Through her experiences, she confirms that women do not have the same freedom as men. Finally, Madonna gives a clear message:  “To seek out strong women from, to collaborate with, to be inspired by, to support and enlightened by.”    MADONNA´S

We should all be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  Introduction     We teach girls that they can have ambition, but not too much [...] to be successful, but not too successful, or they'll threaten men , says author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In this ted talk that started a worldwide conversation about feminism, Adichie asks that we begin to dream about and plan for a different, fairer world -- of happier men and women who are truer.   Although Adichie belongs to another period, she also includes feminists thoughts in her speech like Madonna, Blessing, and Angelou did it in her works. Chimamanda talks about her personal experience in this ordinary world and puts a great emphasis on how society looks at her. In addition to this, Adichie makes a reflection about gender equality, one of the most important and controversial themes related to the feminism movement, among others.    A further reading  Men and women differ in several ways, but there is no evidence that

Doris Lessing  A woman on a roof The story is about a woman sunbathing on the roof of a building that is being refurbished by three construction workers. When the men notice the nude woman, whistling and hollering to draw her attention, she resists their advances, silently ignoring them. When the youngest of the men approaches to make the woman’s acquaintance, his advances are abruptly dismissed as the weather turns. Thematically, the story explores feminism, the male gaze, romantic fantasy, sexual desire, and resisting intimidation.  Narrated from the omniscient third-person perspective, the story begins in London during a June heatwave. Three men are repairing the roof of an apartment building: Harry, a forty-five-year-old man; Stanley, a good-looking man of about thirty; and Tom, a seventeen-year-old newbie. As the sun bakes down, the men notice an unnamed woman sunning herself in the nude on the adjacent roof about 50 yards away. The woman has black hair and fair skin.

 Why is Angelou's poetry/literary production considered "feminist"?  Maya is one of the female writers who include feminism´s ideals in her works. Maya expresses about women during racial discrimination, segregation, male domination, among others. Through her poetry, she intends to send a message to her readers: Although our physical appearance is not perfect, everybody should value and love themselves. That is, to end with the bad conception that beauty means owning a slim body, thin lips, and small hips. Analysis   Maya Angelou   is one of the women writers who include feminist ideals in her works.  Phenomenal woman presents the ability of a woman to be extraordinary, and remarkable among others. It talks about a woman who is so proud to be a woman, who is confident and has faith in herself. She also believes in her inner strength that makes her able to achieve success in her life as a man could be. This poem represents the evidence of capability or pow

About James Petras James Petras is a Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. He is the author of more than 62 books published in 29 languages, and over 600 articles in professional journals, including the American Sociological Review, British Journal of Sociology, Social Research, and the Journal of Peasant Studies. He has published over 2000 articles in nonprofessional journals such as the New York Times, the Guardian, the Nation, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, New Left Review, Partisan Review, TempsModerne, Le Monde Diplomatique, and his commentary is widely carried on the internet. His publishers have included Random House, John Wiley, Westview, Routledge, Macmillan, Verso, Zed Books, and Pluto Books. He is winner of the Career of Distinguished Service Award from the American Sociological Association’s Marxist Sociology Section, the Robert Kenny Award for Best Book, 2002, and the Best Dissertation, Western Political Scien

Class Divide  is a film based on two groups of young people from the so-called opposite sides of the tracks in the hypergentrifying Chelsea neighborhood. On the one hand, there are kids like Rosa, who live in public housing. On the other hand, there are the young students at Avenues, an elite private school across the street, with swanky gyms, state-of-the-art technology, and Mandarin Chinese classes. The Avenues students inhabit the same physical space as Rosa and her classmates, but they live in a parallel universe. “The gap is just becoming larger between the two [sides of the street],” Luke, a student at the school, points out in the film. “Even though you may see just an avenue between each block, it’s much larger than that.” The documentary is told from the children´s point of view, both at the exclusive school and in the projects. The private school kids are insightful but in spite of all of their wealth, they feel tremendous pressure to excel in a future economy that ch