Becoming the Red Dress

Kayla Winsett Professor Debbie Hunt Comp II September 19th, 2012 “Becoming the Red Dress” ! In the poem, “What Do Women Want?” by Kim Addonizio, the author conveys the thoughts of a woman who wants to don a dress, no matter what the thoughts of those around her are. The woman in the poem wants to be seen as confident and strong. In the poem, the writer says she wants a “red dress” (line 1), and that she wants it to be “flimsy and cheap” (line 2). This gives the reader the idea of exactly what kind of dress she wants. She states that she “want(s) it too tight/I want to wear it until someone tears it off me” (line 3-4). The writer is stating that she wants to the dress to bring attention to her in ways that she may be yearning for. The writer goes on to say that she wants to walk through town in the dress past all the places she normally visits, gaining the attention of people she may know (line 7-13). “I want to walk like Iʼm the only/woman on earth and I can have my pick.” (line 14-15), meaning she wants to have the dress bring such confidence to herself that she feels on top of the world. “I want that red dress bad/I want it to confirm/your worst fears about me” (line 16-17) once again proves how little the author cares what other around her think. She wants the dress to bring about a persona of her that others may have not thought before. She then states she wants the dress “to show you how little I care about you/or anything except what/I want. (line 18-20). She wants to be known as a whole new person, even if that person may not be the best impression to others. The author then goes on to say, “When I find it, Iʼll pull that garment/from its hanger like Iʼm choosing a body/to carry me into this world (line 20-22). The author express how she wants the dress to show indefinitely who she has become and who she wants to be known as. She is showing the world her actual self and she can finally be free in her own skin. “Through the birth-cries and the love-cries too/and