feminine gospels

Degradation and mistreatment of women 😢

Women in History 👭

Motherhood 👪

Sub
Duffy subverts history by replacing women in the roles of men

Beautiful - women throughout history have been sexualised by a male dominated society, which destroys women. Figures such as; Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana.

identity 👤

History - women forgotten about throughout history, focuses on how the elderly are disregarded and forgotten in society. The woman in the poem is personified as history itself, being witness to all historical events

map women - beauty standards metaphor shown by the word 'Map' reinforcing the idea of rules and guidelines. Trying to change identity, finding sense of self within her

beautiful - beauty standards AGAIN

the diet - critisising herself, like Map Woman, body dismorphia

forgotten women ❌

Virgin's Memo - from mary to Jesus/God, irrelevance of female opinion as Mary lists things that aren't important but the one recommendation she does make for the world 'unicorns lovely' is ignored (unicorns...don't exist..)

Anon - Women in History are disregarded and lost. Duffy reinforces that their legacies will remain, like in The Long Queen

Sub - again, women forgotten throughout history and in the media. Duffy subverts history by replacing women in the roles of men

Loud - women's voices are not heard. Forgotten about. Explores power of female voices and responds to the sexist notion that women should be passive and silent.

Beautiful - women mistreated by sexualisation, and the media.

Loud - women no longer put up with being submissive, criticism of media and society

History - 'Herstory' is seen more on here, mistreatment of the elders in society.

Work - Mother nature being destroyed by capitalism

Virgin's Memo - Virgin Mary speaking to baby Jesus, ABC order in structure alongside the unpleasantness of the world

The Long Queen - Queen Elizabeth I, not being a physical mother as she had no children, she sacrificed that part of her life by devoting her time to creating a better society for women, she is their mother.

Unheard Voice 📢

History - women's voices are forgotten throughout history

White Writing - invisibility in women's speech and writing. It has always been there but has been treated as invisible, disregarded

Sub - Women's voices substituted into male dominated victory situations

Laughter of Stafford Girls High - The rise of feminism, goes from women's voices being unheard to gradually growing stronger. Laughter acts as a form of rebellion/liberation and female voices

Loud - women's voices are not heard. Forgotten about. Explores power of female voices and responds to the sexist notion that women should be passive and silent.

Anon - voices are lost. Duffy advocates their voices in this poem and allows them to be heard.

Virgin's Memo - rambling and nonsense babbling, Perhaps to show how women are often referred to speaking nonsense, not considered serious

good quotes to use for each woman:

Marilyn Monroe 👧🏼

  • 'dumb beauty' - plays on dumb blonde stereotype that is represented in a male society.
  • 'filmed her harder, harder till her hair was platinum' - quite sexual with repetition of 'harder' and 'platinum' conveys the over exposure to the media, Monroe is bleached by the saturation

Diana 👑

  • 'she's elegant bone' - eating disorder. Trying to look good for the media/ in general because of the pressure society puts on her for being royalty.
  • 'empty head' - again, the dumb blonde stereotype

Helen of Troy 👗

  • 'She won the heart of every man she saw.' 'enchanted' - Her beauty is so powerful over men

Cleopatra 🐍 :(

quotes that reference identity/weightloss

  • 'skipping breakfast, lunch, dinner, thinner' - sounds like a strict routine
  • 'skin and bone'
  • 'Anorexia's true daughter' - ref. to ED. She's like a 'daughter' in that Anorexia's supposed to care for her and help her out, but in reality its unhealthy and doesn't look after her really.
  • 'started to grow smaller, child-sized, doll-sized' - dehumanizing her
  • 'guns for hips' - dangerous imagery, suggests what she's doing is dangerous and destructive to her own self/health
  • 'a shadow' - loses identity as she decays