Self expression

4.9 of 5.0 (200 reviews)

Contains
862 words

Category
Other

The above thumbnails are of reduced quality. To view the work in full quality, click download.

Self expression

Self Expression

The American social environment has revolutionized the ways in which people express their sexual identity. Years ago it was taboo for a young lady to talk about sex or even arouse her interest about the topic. Sheltered under her parents wings a girl was not given the opportunity to explore her sexuality. Parents molded their children in their image and did not allow them much choice or opportunity for diversity. It was not as socially acceptable for a young person to be allowed to express themselves through clothes, music or lifestyle as it is today. Stuart Ewen presents an excellent point in his article ?First Impressions? about young people and how they have come to shape their own identity . Although this article is about the influence of urban styles on materialistic impressions, he makes a remarkably strong point about the historical transformation of individual identity. Ewen states ?The old world of the parents was rooted in a continuity'the new world on the other hand, demanded a sense of self that was malleable, sensitive to the power of increasingly volatile surfaces. Addressing the historical transformation of individual identity, historian Warren Susman describes it as a shift from the importance of ?character? to the importance of ?personality? (Ewen, 411). Audrey Lorde incorporated this theory throughout her book ?ZAMI a New Spelling of My Name? Lorde takes us on a journey through her life starting with her early childhood years. As a young black girl being raised by a strong, independent homosexual mother living a hetrosexual lifestyle, Lorde shows us how she secretly takes on many of her mother's characteristics. Audrey Lorde uses her mother's sexual identity as a foundation in developing her own sense of sexuality while struggling to express herself as a young, homosexual black woman in an extensively critical society.

Audrey Lorde paints a picture throughout this book of how her mother's sexuality played a major role in allowing her to come to terms with her own sexual identity. Lorde allows us to see that her mother lead a hetrosexual lifestyle only because back in the twenties and thirties homosexuality was not socially accepted. Although her mother was different from all of the other women, she never openly expressed herself in public. Lorde being the youngest of two older sisters spent a lot of time with her mother. As a result, it allowed her to grow very close to her mother in an intimate way. Living under her mother's control and following her every demand made Lorde a very sheltered and restrained child. She was deprived of the opportunity to go out and grow as an individual. Whenever she would try to break free from underneath her mother's wings and venture off to do something on her own, her mother was quick to pull her back and bring her to her senses. Throughout her childhood, the only influence she had was from her mother. She did not have many friends growing up in New York and her older sisters did not even speak to her. Sheltered from social interaction, Lorde took on the characteristics of the only person she ever really grew to know, her mother. These characteristics helped form the basis for Lorde's identity at such a vulnerable young age. For example, when Lorde speaks of running for class president to her mother, instead of supporting her, her mother replies ?What the hell are you doing getting yourself involved with so much foolishness? ?What-the-france do you need with election??Don't bother me with that nonsense. I don't want to hear any more of it? (Lorde, 61). This is just one example of how Lorde's mother controlled and dominated her every decision. By putting negative ideas in to her head, her mother was basically able to brainwash her in to becoming exactly like her in many ways. I feel this happened because her mother never allowed her to grow as her own individual person. Her thoughts and ideas were all molded in the shape of her mothers. This is a perfect example of Ewen's theory: 'the old world of the parents was rooted in a continuity?(Ewen, 410). Her mother forced her towards becoming so much like herself that in essence, a form of continuity was established. Practices of this nature were not uncommon in those days. Mothers tended to raise their daughters to be just like themselves and left no room for individual endeavor.

Lorde's segregated childhood left her alone and unstable in her later teenage years. Knowing nothing outside of what her mother had taught her left her scared and unknowing of what to expect of the real world. Finally moving out from underneath her parents roof two weeks after her high school graduation, Lorde was out on her own. Lorde shares with us her feelings of bitterness and resentment towards her mother as she was leaving. For example, she says ?I began to seek some more fruitful return than simple bitterness from this place of my mother's exile, whose streets I came to learn better than my mother had ever learned them? (Lorde, 104). Lorde finally rid herself from that ...

You are currently seeing 50% of this paper.

You're seeing 862 words of 1724.

Read the full essay

Keywords: self expression meaning, self expression synonym, self expression definition, self expression art, self expression quotes, self expression meaning in hindi, self expression drawing, self expression in tagalog

Similar essays

Biography of Pele

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, more widely admired by the world as ?Pel??, was born on October 23, 1940, in a small village in Brasil called Tr?s Cora??es in the Brasilian state of Minas Gerais. He was baptized in the municipal church called Igreja da Sagrada Fam?lia de Jesus, Maria e Jos?. His father, Jo?o Ramos do Nascimento, or Do...

35 reviews

Download

Sinking of the titanic

The sinking of the Titanic There have been many maritime disasters. The number of people affected by the disasters usually is the significance. The most significant disasters usually stay in peoples' minds forever, even though they were not directly involved. The Titanic was a luxury liner, considered to be an unsinkable ship....

56 reviews

Download

IT?S UP TO YOU, NEW YORKIT?S U

IT'S UP TO YOU, NEW YORKIT'S U IT'S UP TO YOU, NEW YORK New York, New York says Frank Sinatra. There must be something about New York that makes this city this much popular and this much special. Even when someone speaks about the United States New York is one of the first things that come to the mind. But Why? Why New York is this much spe...

1 reviews

Download

Case Study

Marketing Mix: The term marketing mix is used to describe the all the options available to the marketing manager in order to market a particular good or service. It is often referred to as the 4P's(i.e Product, Place, Promotion, and Place) The Product Variable: This aspect of the marketing mix deals with researching consumers' product wa...

90 reviews

Download

Hemp Around the World

HEMP AROUND THE WORLD AUSTRALIA While hemp is currently banned, government officials have permitted one farmer to grow the crop on a small-scale research plot. Public support for hemp farming is gathering. An informative one-hour Australian TV documentary, The Billion-Dollar Crop, is available on video. The Tasmanian Hemp Company is ca...

190 reviews

Download