In “Belly Dancer,” Diane Wakoski is endorsing the Women?s Liberation Movement in an effort to rouse repressed women into supporting the Movement. The Women?s Lib strives for equal rights and female freedom (Vanauken).
The belly dancer in her poem is a member of the movement and seeks the “awakening” of the restrained women who have been raised as “proper women”. Wakoski satirizes the women who do not support the movement by portraying them as uptight and ignorant people. She disagrees with their sentiments and lifestyle but knows that the women could be efficient members in a more egalitarian society. In the first stanza of the poem the poet emphasizes the word “movement” by repeating its root word, move, twice. The word “movement” implies the Women?s Liberation Movement, and that it moves itself is her statement that the process is natural and expected, the next logical step in society. It places the movement out of her hands as just a poet and gives it a deeper power, as if it was a thing itself with a need for advancement. The thin green silk that is worn by the belly dancer is very sensual image and is alluring as silk clings to the skin and is often extremely sheer. The green is the colour of envy, which may be felt on a subconscious level by the women seeing the grace and sex appeal of the dancer. Also it is the colour of nature, again suggesting that the wearer is only performing a natural act.
The Essay on Moon Water Movements Dancers Dance
In western dance there is a preconceived view of the dancers' role on stage. On stage we often see male dancers with female dancers. Also there are set roles and certain movements for female and male performers. In Moon Water you see neutrality in gender. In Moon Water a dancer is just that, a dancer. Moon Water breaks free from the very restricting aspect of how we perceive the roles of the male ...
In the conclusion of the stanza the dancer expresses her belief that women feel a natural sensuality and therefore “any woman wearing such fabrics/ would move her body just to feel them touching every part of her.” The second stanza has the women in the audience displaying their disgust with the belly dancer, as they try to cover up and they act falsely, not seeing what the performer is doing, for that would be below them. The fear they show is of being tempted away from their perfection, which is one they have created based on Victorian beliefs. The manner of the belly dancer, carefree and confident, is an alien principle to some women in the sixties. The psychologists that these women would have seen would almost certainly be male and the “somehow” (line 8) would represent Diane Wakoski?s belief that a male most likely would be unable to comprehend the Women?s Liberation Movement. The “awakening” (line 9) in themselves that the women fear is suggested by Wakoski that all women have an inborn desire that has the potential to be extremely powerful. The fact that it is the men who would be incapable is a strong statement that she is making against the inferiority of women. The women have sexual pent up energy because they are restrained by their beliefs in Sigmund Freud?s incorrect conclusions about women?s sexuality. Freud stated that women have two types of orgasms, “bad” immature clitoral orgasms and “good” mature vaginal orgasms. This stated that a female was totally dependent on the penis to experience “normal” pleasure (Freeman).
In stanza three Wakoski strongly satirizes the women not supporting the movement by portraying them as uptight, unfeeling and weak. She says that the women fear liberation, and not being repressed, so they protect themselves by hiding behind their clothes and show no skin or sexuality. The “framework” (line 12) that they hope will support them is a system of society set up in the past, one that places women in an inferior position. They hope they will not feel all of the emotions that they know the belly dancer feels, out of fear that they will lose their treasured self-control. The fourth stanza notes the temptation felt by the women in the audience. This is depicted as a snake, which is a biblical reference representing temptation. It is the snake that lured Eve into sin and brought it upon Adam as well. The snake tempted Eve into eating an apple from the Garden of Eden against God?s will, and her actions resulted in the banishment of humankind from paradise. The parallel to this poem is that women do not want to be drawn into sin, like the belly dancer is. They do not want to be sexual beings, but desire the “power” of the dancer. The snake that is viewed by the dancer is seen as the way a woman can be: graceful, smooth and calm.
The Term Paper on Living the Legacy: The Women’s Rights Movement 1848-1998
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” That was Margaret Mead’s conclusion after a lifetime of observing very diverse cultures around the world. Her insight has been borne out time and again throughout the development of this country of ours. Being allowed to live life in an atmosphere of religious ...
The presence of a snake in the room would cause no physical damage to the women, but dainty, weak behavior is expected of them and they have developed a conditioned reflex to make them act more “womanly”. Wakoski uses a double meaning in line eighteen when she states “Yet that movement could be their own” [?that? meaning the snake?s]. She says that the women could be movement girls, members of the Women?s Liberation Movement, and also that they could be graceful creatures like the snake, or a belly dancer, that seem to glide around the earth. The smooth movement has the ability to awaken instincts in the women that encompass them and have been existent in women all around the world. In the final stanza the dancer reveals her feelings toward the audience. She knows her scantily clad body offends the women but she is proud of herself and has high self-esteem. She says the women have “old-young bodies” (line 24) in the manner that they are physically young, but treat their bodies like they are old by being protective and unwilling to take risks. Like the old, they seem to be out of date of the fashions and ideas of the time. The men, the oppressors, are revealed as she sees them, weak people whom she is able to control with her sexual appeal. There are no comments deriding them as male chauvinists or sexists, as many contemporary movements dubbed them. She snubs the men and their beliefs but it is the women who are her central focus. They are the ones who can change, for they are molded to the men?s liking and need to be broken out. It is to them she dances. The women do not realize their potential for life. They are afraid of the unknown, new, to go against what they were taught. The belly dancer has no dislike for the women, for they are innocent creatures who are ignorant and afraid.
The Essay on Women Movement 19th Century
The temperance movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries was an organized effort to encourage moderation in the consumption of intoxicating liquors or press for complete abstinence. The movement's ranks were mostly filled by women who, with their children, had endured the effects of uncontrolled drinking by many of their husbands. These organizations used many arguments to convince their ...
Diane Wakoski focuses on the women throughout the poem, reinforcing her belief that it is the women who allow this treatment and that they are the ones who can end it. The male oppressors don?t get mentioned until the final stanza, and even then they are not accused or the target of anger, but merely ignorant, minor players who do not deserve much respect. The belly dancer, representing the Women?s Liberation Movement, is a much stronger character than the group of women. She maintains that the women are not realizing their full potential and that they could be so much more.
Bibliography:
Works Cited Freeman, Jo. “The Women’s Liberation Movement: Its Origin, Structures and Ideals.” Pittsburgh: Know, Inc., c.1971. http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/womlib/. Vanauken. “Freedom for Movement Girls ? Now.” Nashville, Tenn.: Southern Student Organizing Committee, 1969. http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/vanauken/.
