While I enjoyed almost every monologue in I am an Emotional Creature by Eve Ensler, I would have to say that the epilogue really struck me hard. I remember last semester in my English class writing an essay on women's expectations in today's society. I can easily identify Ensler's opinions with my own in the ending of the book.
Ensler has two sections in this epilogue. The first discusses "what you will be told" in today's world as a woman or a girl. Here are some statements that girls today are sadly STILL being told:
On page 142 Ensler writes: "You are nothing without a man/Don't make the first move/wait for him to notice you/Obey the laws/ Don't know too much/It's how you look that matters, not what you think." While I my self can't personally identify with the above statements, I could not believe what I was reading. I was feeling a mixture of emotions, and honestly, was angry at these statements. I always pictured those mantras to be the way of living when my mom, aunt, and even my grandmother were growing up. Not in today's society. When I was growing up, I was always taught that I should go for my dreams, always push for more, get a formal education, and that I could be equal and anything I wanted to be, like a man was allowed. I was taught that when searching for a partner, looks are not the most important thing, but what was important was how he treated you and how he valued your thoughts and opinions. When I read that, I was shocked and a little angered to think women and girls are still being misled in this direction.
There is also a section entitled "Here's What I'm Telling You." On page 144, Ensler writes something that really made me re-evaluate myself as a woman. Here are a few lines: "Why am I whispering when I have something to say?/ Why am I adding a question mark at the end/of all my sentences? Why am I apologizing every time I express my needs?/ Pretending it doesn't mean that much to me?" At this point, I honestly stopped and read over each word more carefully. As much as I hate admitting this to the public eye of Blogger, I have to admit... I do these things almost every day. I thought that I was past that, that my 15 year old self had long since been gone and being an adult and finally a woman, I thought that I had achieved a new found confidence, that I was starting to become more sure of myself, and that I was starting to stop caring what people thought of me.After reading that, though, I realized I was wrong. While I have become more confident and sure of myself, I also constantly second-guess myself after placing my opinion, saying something to someone I thought could have been funny, and so on and so forth. Honestly... I should be proud of who I am, what I like an dislike, my background, my passions, my weaknesses, etc. The only way to improve upon these issues that are bestowed upon women today is to embrace who we are, despite the opinions of others.
Ensler helped me realize that. She has inspired me to be proud of who I am and where I come from as well as become confident with myself and defend myself, as well. I honestly feel every woman should ask herself these questions. If not, one could continue a journey of self-destruction, self-esteem issues, etc. Ensler has inspired me to be happy with who I am and being what I ultimately am: an emotional creature.
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