A quote from Tannen’s piece that really stood out to me was “there is no unmarked woman.” (Tannen 556). I completely agree with this statement. While men can be marked too, the extremity to which women are marked in society doesn’t compare. Women are sexualized, categorized, and objectified by what they wear, what they look like, and how they act. Even if you say you don’t categorize people on how they look, act, etc., then you are lying because our society has shaped us to do it unconsciously. Especially to women. Personally, I do believe that there is such a thing as an unmarked man. Society has shaped us to be egocentric and when a man falls into our own personal stereotype-looking category, then we don’t think anything of them. On the other hand, there is no standard-looking category for women. Anything that a woman wears says something about her that makes us judge her right away, consciously and unconsciously. I believe that as time has gone on since this piece was published, we have learned to “mark” people more often. A variable that I think plays a much more significant role in our lives nowadays is sexual orientation (for both men and women). Through sexual orientation, people can be grouped into many different categories, this automatically gives them a label whether they want it or not. Overall, while Tannen’s piece gives the concept of “marking” a negative connotation, does that mean that it always has to be a negative thing?
The Stranger's Meursault, displays a pattern of behavior that is very uncommon in most literary works. While readers are usually able to relate to the main character and sympathize with the emotions that they are feeling, Meursault is the opposite. The way Meursault interacts and feels about certain situations and characters is quite strange, as if he's almost a stranger (hence the title) to the readers throughout the novel. We begin to wonder, is he a sociopath? Where are his emotions? Or why does he act this way? We wonder these questions because of how unfamiliar his character is to its readers. A term to somewhat describe Meursault's perspective and type of behavior would be nihilism. A nihilist is someone that does not believe in anything, has no loyalties, and ultimately believes that they, and society, have no purpose. Wow, that sure sounds like someone I'd love to be around! Meursault's detached personality erupts strange emotional behavior. For example, du...
I agree that everyone places judgements on others, even if they do it unconsciously. It's unfortunate that society puts so much importance on physical appearance.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement as well, and it’s a good point to mention that there is no standard-looking category for women. Even if a woman were to try to dress completely unmarked, that would say something about her and she would get judged for it.
ReplyDeleteI like how you took Tannen's claim and analyzed it for yourself in today's society. Personally, I believe that nobody can go unmarked. It may seem like some people are unmarked but that's only one person's perspective and if you look at it through a different lens I am confident that there is something that is marked about that person. I like how you ended with a question. Marking could be a positive thing, it just depends on how it is interpreted. Good job Sawyer.
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