Lipstick JungleFriday, I agree: Why do I not love these books? Why, in fact, do I not only not love them, but I do not like them, and sometimes even dislike them? I should relate to the characters, but I do not. I should enjoy the stories, for it is fact that people enjoy reading about things which they can relate to: stories in which they can insert themselves. Do I not relate to the stories? I guess not. In Nanny Diaries, I could not relate to Nanny, or see the struggle between her and Mrs. X through her eyes. In Lipstick Jungle I cannot relate to the a pervasive theme in the book: individual woman vs. collective men. The book seems to promote a progressive view of women.: women in the workforce, focused on their career, the main bread-winners in their marriages. Even the depiction of Nico as adulterous makes a statement, for men are usually depicted as the adulterous one, or the one with more power in the relationship. Yet, the underlying theme of powerful women does not do what I believe Bushnell intended it to do: Women do not appear equal to men. By presenting so much of the women’s power as a fight against or conquer over the men in their lies, the women still appear inferior to the men, having to fight against to hold the power they do. The apparent inferiority does not lie in the actuality of the struggle, but in the mindset the women hold. In actuality, I doubt whether the conflicts are objectively about a war between woman and men. However, the women in this book view their lives as a struggle against men, and, thus, give men exactly what they are fighting against: a superiority. As Nico talks about her affair to Victory she says, “Of course men do it all the time, but we have to be better than men” (328). Even more, Victory discusses the power struggle with Lyne: “The problem is, how can I be a successful woman when I’m with an even more successful man?” she asked. ”I can’t. Its like my success doesn’t count” (380). Why is one or the other, Victory vs. Lyne, woman vs. man. In actuality, I do not believe that Lyne’s success, or a man’s success, diminishes the success of his female partner. Success is measured by people outside the relationship, based on things accomplished at work, totally outside the relationship. Why does Victory say this seemingly ridiculous comment? It is not success that is threatened by the man, it is power. She thinks that she holds more power in a relationship if the man is not also successful. But, this, too, is a mental notion that is confirmed by the woman’s own thoughts about it, not necessarily by others. The intensity of the struggle portrayed in Lipstick Jungle of man vs. women is conveyed through Nico’s thoughts: ”But women like Wendy and Victory and herself, Nico thought, were a new model of powerful women. They weren’t bitches, and they weren’t enamored with that old-fashioned idea that being with powerful men made you more important. The new power babe wanted to be around other powerful women. They wanted women to be ruling the world, not men” (336). The strength of this statement is completely off-putting for me. Neither man nor women should “rule the world.” Good people should rule the world. Nico’s thoughts convey the idea that she thinks that an important struggle in this world is for women to gain power and men lose it? I find that incredibly offensive, shallow, and wrong. There are horrible women just like there are horrible men, and those women should not rule the world. The statement could be equivalent to saying that one race should rule the world, not another. It is bigoted. The women’s power movement is not about, or should not be about, gaining power over men. The feminist movement ought to be concerned with equality between men and women. I am turned off from relating to Nico’s, and the other girl’s struggle, and thus do not relate to these women.
March 31, 2008...12:28 am
My second time: Woman Vs. Men?
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