Monuments and Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form in Into the Forest

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Aug 12, 2012 Christine rated it really liked it

Shelves: art, diverse-and-women-authors, feminist, myth-and-lore-criticism-history

If you watched the Olympics, you know who Gabby Douglas is. This young lady (she's 16) won both an individual gold and a team gold in gymnastics. She became the first Afro-American woman to do so, her family is supportive and middle/lower class, her father served in both the Afghan and Iraq actions. Her mother believed iin her daughter so much she allowed Gabby to move to Iowa to train. The young lady is talented, and so what did people talk about once she won? Her talent? Her family's lack of b If you watched the Olympics, you know who Gabby Douglas is. This young lady (she's 16) won both an individual gold and a team gold in gymnastics. She became the first Afro-American woman to do so, her family is supportive and middle/lower class, her father served in both the Afghan and Iraq actions. Her mother believed iin her daughter so much she allowed Gabby to move to Iowa to train. The young lady is talented, and so what did people talk about once she won? Her talent? Her family's lack of bling? Her family's dedication? Her dedication?

No. People talked about her hair. I'm not sure why. Her hair looked like hair. It was in a ponytail. What were people thinking? That a gymnast should have Beyonce hair?

And it wasn't just Douglas that gained the comments. Accordng to an Austrilian paper, at least one of the women swimmers looks like she is retarded. According to other sources, none of the female swimmers is good looking. Perhaps because they didn't have Ryan Lockte's grill? Is anyone really shocked at the focus on women's rears during the beach volleyball (a tough sport, really, because of the sand. But it's the look that gets the attention, not the skill). There is the syrncoized swimming and rhymntic gymnastics that are women only (despite the fact that there are men who do the sport) and feature women in not much clothing. Oh, and now, women have to prove they are women.

And that's not mentioning NBC Bodies in Motion spot. Did you see that?

Michael Phelps doesn't have to worry about any of that. He could even say he pees in the pool during the race and no one blinks. But his female teammates apparently should be wearing make-up and flinging thier hair around.

Warner's book is about the female form in art, and what various depictions can mean. She ties it to the ancient legends as well as saint tales. She makes an intersting connection between Eve and Lady Godiva. It is hard to disagree with her observations, such as a women in monument form is a symbol of something; a man can be himself even if he symbolizes something.

Her comments on sexuality and chasity, seem aptly linked to the view of women Olympic atheletes, who no matter what their skill seem to have be both sexual and non-sexual.

Which means, despite the books publication date, it is still rather current today. Replace Warner's discussion of Thatcher with say Hilary Clinton. Look at how we view nakeness today in art and Warner's comments are still, depressingly, timely. ...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Pamela Lloyd marked it as to-read

Shelves: study-of-enchantment-literature

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