Faterna Mernissi Size Six the Western Womens Harem Essay Example
Cynthia Wing
Tacoma Community College
Ms. Parsons English 101
July 21, 2012
Size Six Western Women’s Harem Critique
The inconsistency’s found in the article size 6: The Western Women’s Harem, written by Marnissi eave one to question the arguments validity. She starts by sharing her shopping trip to purchase a skirt in New York City. Then she blames Western men for requiring women to be young and a size six to be considered attractive. She also refers to the Chinese foot binding era that was abolished in 1912 equal to
Women’s size six, the same as the eastern man’s demands and control over woman. She is concernd the pressure to be youthful and skinny is possibly more cruel than what goes on in the harems.
In the beginning of her article, Mernissi claims that men are the driving force, requiring women to be skinny and young. She claims the pressure for western women to be thin and young is because the western men demand it. She thinks the American men manipulates time and light and declare that in order to be beautiful a woman must be a size six and young, and to be mature and voluptuous is a sign of ugliness. In actuality it is the advertising and fashion industrys’’ that set the standard for the clothing industry. The actual average body size in the west is a size 12-14. (Mernissi ) ; today the idealbody size is 23% smaller than the average body size. A generation ago the ideal body size was 8% smaller than the actual average body size (Mernissi ). Mernissi believes our size six attitudes are just as cruel as the veiling laws required of the eastern women.Although she doesn’t explain the reason for veiling women in the eastern culture, which is to keep the men from lusting after the females.
Secondly the description of the eastern harem Mernissi gives is not equivalent to the usual definition of a harem in the Webster’s dictionary. The understanding that the western people have about the eastern harem, also is not accurate. According to
Tacoma Community College
Ms. Parsons English 101
July 21, 2012
Size Six Western Women’s Harem Critique
The inconsistency’s found in the article size 6: The Western Women’s Harem, written by Marnissi eave one to question the arguments validity. She starts by sharing her shopping trip to purchase a skirt in New York City. Then she blames Western men for requiring women to be young and a size six to be considered attractive. She also refers to the Chinese foot binding era that was abolished in 1912 equal to
Women’s size six, the same as the eastern man’s demands and control over woman. She is concernd the pressure to be youthful and skinny is possibly more cruel than what goes on in the harems.
In the beginning of her article, Mernissi claims that men are the driving force, requiring women to be skinny and young. She claims the pressure for western women to be thin and young is because the western men demand it. She thinks the American men manipulates time and light and declare that in order to be beautiful a woman must be a size six and young, and to be mature and voluptuous is a sign of ugliness. In actuality it is the advertising and fashion industrys’’ that set the standard for the clothing industry. The actual average body size in the west is a size 12-14. (Mernissi ) ; today the idealbody size is 23% smaller than the average body size. A generation ago the ideal body size was 8% smaller than the actual average body size (Mernissi ). Mernissi believes our size six attitudes are just as cruel as the veiling laws required of the eastern women.Although she doesn’t explain the reason for veiling women in the eastern culture, which is to keep the men from lusting after the females.
Secondly the description of the eastern harem Mernissi gives is not equivalent to the usual definition of a harem in the Webster’s dictionary. The understanding that the western people have about the eastern harem, also is not accurate. According to