Clarissa Blanco, Blog #5 : "I'm Every WO-MAN"

                       What would be more difficult than womanhood, for a woman, is the lack of the ability for it to be shared through literature and media. It'd be undeniably impossible to say that the introduction of women into both of these has not opened the doors for discussion and discourse over what's truly important and vital to our communities at a whole. Songs like "I'm Every Woman" (Whitney Houston), "No Scrubs" (TLC), and EVEN "A Man's World'' (James Brown) both highlight the importance and empowerment of women over time.
                 Movies like Diouana and Who Killed Vincent Chin do great jobs at assimilating the role of women into our  daily lives. In pursuit of experiencing what probably once felt like just a fantasy world, Diouana left all she knew for the adventures of the unknown. I can only imagine what it must've felt like for her to realize that what she thought was to be amazing was no less than a cage to keep her away from the happiness and experience she searched for. Diouana tried to fight against the oppression of her new life in France by wearing her fancy garments, hair piece, and shoes, but it proved to be too strong for her as she slowly but surely gave up on her Parisian dreams. In my opinion, Diouana had more of a mental battle going on than a physical one. Yes, she was trapped in that home, in clothes she did not want to wear, but even so she challenged herself mentally more. Diouana was constantly asking herself why she was there, what her purpose was, and why was she treated the way she did. It was almost as if she blamed herself for being foolish enough to believe that maybe she could see the beauty that laid outside of her own country. Diouana left her family and significant other, everything that defined a woman in this time period, in pursuit of the "finer things of life" she thought was awaiting her in France but what she was met with instead was a world of disappointment. In Who Killed Vincent Chin, Vincent's mother was the embodiment of a strong, well rounded woman. Not was she only able to show the emotion that should come naturally when youre in pain through her tears, but she was strong to fight against the racial misconducts that led to her son's death and that are present around the world. She was also very well-versed and showed that one must always be able to keep self-respect and dignity in order to be respected in your community. It's not easy to stand when you're basically alone. But strong woman do what is necessary to infiltrate their communities and make a change.
           It is indeed a man's world, but without women there would be no men. Nor would there be any good literature. Any good story has a protagonist character with the support of another,  and that is a woman to a man. I believe that a woman's story of triumph and having overcome not only tells our story, but tells the story of a nation that constantly fights for what is right and necessary.