The Feminist lens

Feminism: "Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social, political, and economical inequalities. With any ideology, political movement or philosophy, there is no single, universal form of feminism that represents all feminists. The most well-known types of feminism are: liberal feminism, social feminism, radical feminism, and post-modern feminism."

The Language Of The Brag

I have wanted excellence in the knife-throw,

I have wanted to use my exceptionally strong and accurate arms

and my straight posture and quick electric muscles

to achieve something at the center of a crowd,

the blade piercing the bark deep,

the haft slowly and heavily vibrating like the cock.

I have wanted some epic use for my excellent body,

some heroism, some American achievement

beyond the ordinary for my extraordinary self,

magnetic and tensile, I have stood by the sandlot

and watched the boys play.

I have wanted courage, I have thought about fire

and the crossing of waterfalls, I have dragged around

my belly big with cowardice and safety,

my stool black with iron pills,

my huge breasts oozing mucus,

my legs swelling, my hands swelling,

my face swelling and darkening, my hair

falling out, my inner sex

stabbed again and again with terrible pain like a knife.

I have lain down.

I have lain down and sweated and shaken

and passed blood and feces and water and

slowly alone in the center of a circle I have

passed a new person out

and they have lifted the new person free of the act

and wiped the new person free of that

language of blood like praise all over the body.

I have done what you wanted to do, Walt Whitman,

Allen Ginsberg, I have done this thing,

I and the other woman this exceptional

act with the exceptional heroic body,

this giving birth, this glistening verb,

and I am putting my proud American boast

right here with the others.

The feminist interpritation:

In our culture pride is shown in our achievements of riches and strength, "I have wanted excellence in the knife-throw" and it is more attainable for males "the haft slowly and heavily vibrating like the cock" due to our own standerds we have set as a society. It is also in our culture, "to achieve something at the center of a crowd", it is some what our American pride, our courage, strength, our need to be like and to be the best. Olds bring us to " I have wanted courage," as though females do not have the strong dominace for achievment to "I have dragged around my belly big with cowardice and safety", though our society protects the pregnant woman "my inner sex stabbed again and again with terrible pain like a knife" this very act takes away what we are suppose to hold, our elegance. Though we as woman have "wanted some epic use for our excellent body, some heroism, some American achievment" and have "stood by the sandlot and watched the boys play" we have done the ultimate act " slowly alone in the center of a circle" and have had the courage to "have lifted the new person free of the act" and still hold our elegance. Olds holds woman at the utmost highest dregree in The Language Of The Brag without demoralizing men or our society, that we all have created. This is true feminism in my eyes. "I am putting my proud American boast right here with the others" is Olds holding her feminanity without bashing men, but just simply playing with them.

Sharon Olds on Sex and Gender