Multimedia Presentation: Feminist Theory
Works Cited
American Women in the 20th Century. “American Women in 1950-1970.” American Women in the 20th Century. n.d. <http://americanwomen20century.weebly.com/1950-1970.html>. Accessed 20 July 2017.
Crossman, Ashley. “Feminist Theory in Sociology.” ThoughtCo. 25 April 2017. <https://www.thoughtco.com/feminist-theory-3026624>. Accessed 20 July 2017
Gale, Thomas. “Women in the Early to Mid-20th Century (1900-1960): Social and Economic Conditions.” Encyclopedia. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/social- sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/women-early-mid-20th- century-1900-1960-social-and-economic-conditions>. Accessed 20 July 2017.
Mertes, H. “The portrayal of healthy women requesting oocyte cryopreservation.” NCBI. 2013. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3987355/>. Accessed 20 July 2017.
Strong-Boag, Veronica. “Women’s Movements in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. 7 February 2006. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/womens- movement/>. Accessed 20 July 2017.
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner, 2006. Print.
Insight of a Grade 12 Student 
I agree with the point of being ahead of her time and breaking the gender roles, that is a very smart interpretation. I think it was because of people like her that those gender roles were broken at all because if women like her did not stand up to oppressive men than we wouldn’t have the equality we do today. I wonder if the point where she was portrayed as selfish for keeping the diamond ring can also show the vanity that some women have? What do you think?
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Thanks for the feedback!
People like Rosemary are what helped women realize that they wanted to make a change in how they were treated and represented in society. Despite the fact that she can be seen as a mother who neglects her children, others may see her in a different light as a woman who fought the oppression of men. I do think that keeping the diamond ring can also be representative of vanity that some women have. Though it is a very sexist and poor portrayal, I do believe that this situation displays how women can be selfish and vain at times.
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Thank you for more insight into the book! I appreciate it.
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I like how you gave background on the book and on the feminist literary criticism at the beginning of the book. You did a good job of having your associates ask you meaningful questions on the book and the topics, this gave the video a good conversational tone. I highly agree with how you said that Rose Mary breaks the gender expectations and stereotypes of women. I also put this point into my video. What do you think the author is trying to say by portraying Rose Mary as this kind of woman, and how do you think this relates to the poverty the family lived in?
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Thanks for the feedback!
I think that there are two possible points that the author is trying to make. One of them being that she is disappointed that her mother never played the role as the caregiver of the family. The other possible reason that she portrays her this way is to show how Rose Mary was very much ahead of her time. During this time there were a lot of women movements that had begun to surface. I think by including how Rose Mary breaks free from these typical gender roles is the author’s way of showing how these feminist movements have possibly impacted her mother. I do believe that poverty has diverted the attention of the family towards means of survival rather than being concerned with following the societal norms during that time period, similar to what you mentioned in you video.
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Very interesting point on Jeannette’s bias! While reading the book I also felt more attracted to Rex’s character than Rose Mary’s and that might’ve influenced my analysis. Jeannette described her mother as apathetic and since Jeannette herself was quite liberated and independent I couldn’t help but feel resentment towards her for not caring enough about her children. Also, while Rex did all those horrible things (almost drowned his kid!) Jeannette made it sound like it was somewhat acceptable. Pretty strange, huh? However, I did feel as if some parts of the video were monotonous and perhaps more media features could have improved it. Beyond that though it was a fantastic analysis!
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It’s interesting that you pointed out the father’s lack of ability to sustain the family, yet the main character favours her father over her mother. I think this demonstrates the fact that the society expects more from women than men, especially when it comes to domesticated work or taking care of their children. I personally don’t understand the point of view of the main character, because if I were in her position, I would have disliked both of them! Perhaps I would be able to sympathize with the main character more if I read the book. 🙂
Also, I agree with you that Rosemary defies the traditional role of women, which can be empowering to other women. Do you think Rosemary could have been empowering to others while being a good mother, or do you believe that she had to choose one over the other?
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Thanks for the comment!
That is interesting how you mention that women have higher expectations opposed to those of men. I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but I totally agree! It seems that Jeannette had higher expectations of her mother possibly due to the fact that Jeannette never had a stereotypical motherly figure to guide her through her life.
I believe for Rose Mary she was forced to choose the role of an empowering woman rather than being a motherly figure. In choosing to break free from these gender roles she had to give up the roles that most people define as a good mother. She refused to do domestic work such as cooking and cleaning. Unfortunately I think a lot of people who knew Rose Mary looked past how empowering she could be for other women because of the poverty of her family.
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I did the same book and a similar kind of presentation! I really liked how you got, what looks like your friend and brother involved. that’s very nice of them! I like how they ask questions which may seem “easy” to some but is necessary for someone viewing the video who knows nothing about the book. I agree that this book shows great historic relevance and shows how women were oppressed, and how Mary and Jeanette were feminists of their time.
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Thanks for the comment!
I thought by incorporating two people who may not know about the novel would help me explain some more background information on the novel and what feminist theory is.
Mary and Jeannette are definitely very empowering women!
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Hey Camilyn,
I really liked your argument about sexual abuse! I think it shines a new light on the life of Jeannette, and how she had more struggles than just her poverty-stricken life. It’s incredible how with everything else going on in her life, she had to deal with so much sexual abuse at such a young age. In particular, she was told to “deal with it” when her dad took her to the bar and she got molested, only for him to say “you could handle it”. I didn’t really think about this, but it shines a whole new light on the novel and makes Jeanette’s struggles more “real”. The attitudes of the time are a great add to your work. Great analysis!
Do you think that Jeannette’s lack of respect for her mother did not necessarily come from gender roles, but rather the fact that her dad at least seemed to “try”?. When he was sober, he taught the kids how to swim, learned interesting things, and was genuinely a good dad. However, Rose Mary was always looking out for herself, saying she “needed to live for herself”. Do you think that gender roles are the only reason Jeannette does not disrespect her mother? I don’t really think so.
Overall, great job!
Sheel Dalal
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Thanks for the response!
I do feel that Jeannette’s encounters with sexual abuse really added to the struggles she was already facing. It is really unfortunate for someone of her age to have to experience such traumatic events.
Though at first I didn’t really think about the fact that her father at least showed some interest in trying to make a better life for the kids, I now see the point you make! Though I do think gender roles play a large part in Jeannette’s lack of respect for her mother, I do agree that there was more effort seen from Jeannette’s father. There were countless times where Jeannette’s mother just didn’t seem to care about her kids wellbeing as it was mentioned several times that the kids often didn’t bother their mother for fear of “causing trouble”. Whereas when Rex noticed that his kids did not have a lunch, he made the effort to make sure they were fed. Overall, throughout the novel readers can at least see that Rex is trying, despite being an alcoholic. Great point!
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I really like how you explained about how empowering Rose Mary becomes and how she does not follow her gender role. I am now interested in reading this book, thanks for making me interested!
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Thanks for the response! Though I was hesitant at first about reading this book, it was really insightful and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would!
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Hey! This was very well done and I love your insight to this. I haven’t read the book but it seems really interesting. I like how the book is very personal and that it is written in her perspective. Would you recommend this book?
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Yes I definitely would recommend this book! It is really insightful and I liked how the protagonist and author Jeannette learned to overcome her struggles and make the best of life.
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I really liked how you made this blog! The points you made all made sense and the tone was very conversational which made it very easy to follow:) Overall nicely done!
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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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I have never read your book and the summary you gave of it was very helpful! Same thing with your background on the literary criticism. I really liked the tone you used speaking, it made it feel much more personal than reading a blog post. I agree with your view that Jeanette learned how to survive despite the challenges she faces. Well done!
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Thank you! Jeannette has definitely gone through many challenges but I believe that by overcoming these challenges she is much stronger.
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