Feminist Lens Text Set
As someone who is quite fond of applying critical
lenses to texts and movies, I decided to create a text set to help students
learn how to apply these lenses. I chose to focus on a feminist lens for this
text set but others could be applied as well; reader response, for example, can
be used with all literary works, but a critical race lens, and psychoanalytic
lens, among others, may also be applied to some of these texts. Given the topic of the text set and themes of some of the texts, I imagine this would be most appropriate for a diverse 11th or 12th grade high school class.
I chose to begin this set with a children's book that is meant to introduce the topic and find out where the class sits on traditional gender characteristics. It's short and colorful and is read aloud by the author and it's meant to pique the student's interest in the topic and prepare them to go deeper. I then chose a YouTube video that is meant to provide the students with an explanation of the Feminist Lens and followed that up with the infographic that I created. The infographic really works as a guide to applying the lens to different texts. The next two texts are meant as practice for applying the lens, but my hope would be that students could explore other lenses with these texts as well. Students will be able to take what they learned from the YouTube video and the infographic and really start exploring the different angles of the feminist lens. The final text, which I imagine would consist of a summative assignment is the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
Scholastic. “Yuyi Morales Reads Nino Wrestles the World.” Online Clip. YouTube. YouTube 9/26/2013. Web. 8/3/2021. Yuyi Morales Reads Niño Wrestles the World - YouTube
Summary: Nino Wrestles The World by Yuyi Morales is a children’s book that invites the world to take a closer look at various aspects of Mexican culture. Nino wrestles and defeats La Llorona, El Chamuco, and other competitors in a Luche Libre competition. He’s on a winning streak until he encounters Las Hermanitas, which is when Nino quickly realizes if you can’t beat them, join them.
Text Complexity:
Quantitative: This book has a Lexile score that puts at a 2nd-3rd grade reading level. This is a children’s book so it’s easy to read and the most difficult aspect of this book is going to be the number of Spanish words used throughout the text. Because this is a children’s book, the majority of the most difficult Spanish words are translated in the book in a short reference section, making it easy to access and read about prior to ever reading.
Qualitative: This book is incredibly easy to understand and I don’t expect a high school class to have any issues understanding what is happening in the book, but I do think it will be necessary to inform the class my reasoning for having them watch this video so they know what to pay attention to during the reading. There’s a lot of value in children’s books, regardless of the age of the person reading them, and I think the ideas presented in this book will be of use to have our class start thinking about gender roles as well as how gender roles are presented to us from an early age.
Vocabulary: Senora, Senor, Nino, Hermanitas
Purpose: The primary purpose for choosing this book is to introduce the topic of a feminist lens and draw on the class’s background knowledge of traditional gender roles or characteristics. This book gives students an easy way to first identify a few characteristics we typically classify as “masculine” and “feminine” and then challenges those conceptions with the ending where Nino is forced to join forces with his younger sisters because he realizes he cannot beat them on his own. I just want students to start thinking about how men and women, or boys and girls, are typically presented in works of fiction.
I also selected this book because it’s culturally enriching as it offers a glimpse into Mexican culture and might pique student’s interests in looking deeper into some of the figures from the book. This could also be used to gauge students’ interest in these figures to perhaps use in a later unit on Latino/a/x culture.
Finally, I chose the video of Yuyi Morales’ read aloud because I believe children’s books are meant to be read aloud to an audience. Yuyi Morales uses different tones and inflections that make the book more enjoyable and entertaining, especially for an older audience. The read aloud also lets us hear the correct pronunciation of the Spanish words, which I also think is very important when reading anything in a foreign language.
Question: What gender characteristics do we see that we typically associate with men or women, boys or girls? And what characteristics do we see that we don’t typically associate with men or women, boys or girls?
Nance, Tim. “What is Feminist Criticism?” Online Clip. YouTube. YouTube 3/2/2015. Web 8/2/2021. What is Feminist Criticism? - YouTube
Summary: In this short video lecture, Tim Nance gives a brief overview of the feminist lens. He discusses the symbolism of male and female symbols and how those symbols are depicted in literature, or what to look for in regard to those symbols.
Quantitative: Storytoolz.com rated this video at a 12th grade level and I would have to agree that this might be a fairly difficult video to follow. Tim Nance uses a lot of academic language, so it would be important to have a vocabulary list and possibly even a discussion of some of the vocabulary prior to viewing this video.
Qualitative: The background knowledge needed to understand this video is going to primarily consist of information learned in ELA classes. There is a lot of talk of symbolism and imagery, as well as other critical lenses. It might also be necessary for students to understand the purpose of applying lenses prior to watching this video. Without necessary background knowledge, this video isn’t going to make a lot of sense to anyone watching it but it’s a valuable tool for building off of that prior knowledge.
Vocabulary: Literary Criticism, Feminist/Feminism, Imagery, Presupposed, New Criticism, Patriarchal/Patriarchy, Symbolism, Tension, Deconstruction
Purpose: My primary reason for choosing this video was because it was short and Tim Nance is somewhat entertaining to watch. The other options for videos on this topic were very long and often consisted of an older professor in a lecture hall, which were pretty boring. This video provides a short description of the feminist lens and provides students with some general ideas to be on the lookout for while reading.
Another reason I chose this video and something I think it does well is it takes our background knowledge and asks us to start questioning it. So, we already have preconceived ideas of masculine vs feminine characteristics but then this video sort of builds on that knowledge by pointing out the relationships or tensions between men and women. We can then question where these tensions come from or what causes them.
Question: What are some common symbols you can think of that might be representative of men? Of women? Are there any books or movies you can think of that use these symbols?
Feminist Lens Graphic
Summary: I created this infographic for students to use as a visual representation of applying the feminist lens. The graphic starts with a brief description of the lens and a few questions to consider while reading or watching whatever you intend to apply the lens to. The remainder of the graphic consists of a few movie/TV show clips and images to watch/look at accompanied with questions to consider while viewing in order to see the image/video through a feminist lens.
Text Complexity:
Quantitative: This infographic received a Lexile score of 6, so it would be easily understood by high school level students. This is not a difficult text to comprehend, the vocabulary is simple as is the sentence structure and composition of the questions. I purposely made this graphic as easy to understand, linguistically, as possible because it was meant to assist people who are visual learners. I felt that using complex language would take away from the accessibility of a visual composition.
Qualitative: Some of the ideas of the feminist lens in general may be difficult concepts to grasp as a whole, so some of the videos/images may be more difficult for some students to see through a feminist lens because that isn’t how most people look at the real world. I think because this is almost a visual step-by-step to applying the feminist lens, most students will be able to easily point out what they’re seeing in relation to the lens.
Vocabulary: N/A
Purpose: I chose to use this graphic as the final piece in the sort of teaching portion or background information on the feminist lens prior to going into the actual practice portion because I thought it was a good way to put everything together so far. The graphic asks the students to call on their thoughts from the children’s book as well as what they’ve learned from the YouTube video and answer the questions while watching the videos on the graphic.
This graphic also provides students with an opportunity to see where they’re at with their understanding of this lens. This would be an activity that the class would do together, perhaps in the “I do, we do, you do” technique so if there are any further questions we can discuss those as a group.
Question: I think I would use this graphic with a See, Think, Me, We activity so that while we go over each section of the infographic we can begin to think about how what we’re seeing or how looking through a feminist lens could be applied to the real world. (See Think Me We_2.pdf (harvard.edu))
Angelou, Maya. “Still I Rise.” And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems, Maya Angelou, Random House, New York, 1978. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou | Poetry Foundation, Web. 8/3/2021.
Summary: Maya Angelou’s poem addresses the oppressors in the speaker’s life, the reasons they have tried to oppress her, and the fact that she is not going to let them hold her down. This poem not only addresses female oppression but also racism and the oppression that she’s faced as a black woman.
Text Complexity:
Quantitative: I used storytoolz.com and hub.lexile.com to analyze this poem because storytoolz.com rated it at a 4th-5th grade reading level, which I didn’t think was right. Hub.lexile.com rated it between 5th-8th grade, which still seems low. The language in the poem is simple and there aren’t many, if any words that would be considered especially difficult.
Qualitative: Due to the complexity of the ideas and the messages of the poem, this is more suitable for high school level. This poem is going to require the reader to think about the imagery in the poem and what it means. Applying a lens to this poem is going to be more difficult than it was in the videos from the infographic but is valuable practice for looking at imagery and feminist. I would also hope that prior to reading this poem we would have gone over either the womanist lens or race lens because both of those are fitting for this poem and will help the students gain a deeper understanding of the poem and the world.
Vocabulary: Trod, Haughtiness, Welling, Beset
Purpose: First and foremost I chose this poem because it allows the reader to apply multiply lenses. This poem not only works with a feminist lens, but race and womanist as well, and reader response would be an interesting one also. Also, I sort of feel like you can’t really go wrong with Maya Angelou and as someone who is not typically a fan of poetry I have yet to read a poem of hers that I didn’t enjoy.
I also chose this poem because of the imagery. When Angelou says “bowed head and lowered eyes” we are able to actually imagine how an oppressed person might look, or a person who has been beaten down and set up to fail. Even though the imagery in the poem forces the reader to think a little deeper than an actual picture or video would, this poem helps us to build on our previous knowledge. We’re able to take the practice of actually seeing and asking questions about the images and apply those same questions to the poem.
Finally, I think this poem really prepares the students for the next two readings which I believe are the most difficult in this text set. In addition to preparing students to read with certain questions in mind and answer those questions during reading, it also prepares the students to pay attention to imagery in a text. We could also use this poem to introduce the concept of how an author’s life and upbringing may impact the writing, which will be covered in the final reading and is also covered in one of the Wisconsin State Standards.
Question: I think I would have the class create a drawing, nothing too elaborate, that would depict a piece of the poem, either a stanza or line, through a feminist lens. When they were finished we could split into small groups to discuss the drawings then come together as a class to continue the discussion.
Perkins Gilman, Charlotte. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” New England Magazine, May, 1892. The Yellow Wall-Paper (nih.gov), Web. 8/1/2021.
Summary: The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story where the narrator is suffering from “nervous depression”. Her husband, a doctor, has moved her out into the country in hopes that rest and fresh air will help her condition. The young couple are renting a home that she mostly describes in favorable ways, but dislikes the room she is staying in. She describes the color as “repellant,” “revolting,” and “unclean.” Throughout the story, the narrator makes comments about not being allowed to write and feeling trapped in the room. She becomes increasingly paranoid and obsessed with removing the wallpaper until the end where she has a final breakdown.
Text Complexity:
Quantitative: Storytoolz.com rated this story between a 5th and 6th grade reading level but it’s really much higher than that. Lexile.com rated it as a college level text. This is another text where the vocabulary and sentence structure are not very complicated but the themes and comprehension are what make this more difficult to read.
Qualitative: This short story really puts everything the class has previously learned into practice. This is a difficult story to read because there is a lot of reading between the lines that needs to take place in order to fully understand what is happening; with that being said, I do still think it’s relatively easy to read through a feminist lens due to the nature of the story. Students will be able to ask questions regarding power structures within the story, the roles of the main characters in their relationship, and gender roles.
Purpose: I chose this piece because The Yellow Wallpaper is one of my favorite stories of all time and it’s still relevant today. Aside from being able to apply everything the class would have previously learned about the feminist lens to this story, I like the fact that the main characters are a wealthy couple and the wife is suffering with mental illness. There is still such a stigma associated with mental health issues and having an example of an affluent member of society struggle with their own mental health helps to normalize the issue.
In addition to inspiring a discussion on mental health, this story also provides the class with an opportunity to research the author. The Yellow Wallpaper was likely inspired by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s own struggles with mental health after she experienced a severe depression and underwent several unusual treatments for it. As with Maya Angelou’s poem, we can look at The Yellow Wallpaper and speculate how Gilman’s own life influenced the story and the characters and how this story might have been different if her own experiences had been different.
Question: Try to imagine the story from John’s point of view, what might be different?
Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Riverhead Books, 2007.
Summary: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini follows the lives of two women living in Afghanistan from the 1960s to the 2000s. Mariam becomes somewhat of an orphan as a young teenager and becomes the bride of a much older Rasheed, as time goes on she learns to accept her position and even becomes somewhat content in her situation. After many miscarriages, however, her husband becomes mentally and physically abusive.
Laila is the other woman in the story, she lives down the street from Mariam and Rasheed and is several years younger than Mariam. Laila’s brothers die in the war, leaving her as the only child of her progressive father and depressed mother. Once the war reaches their town, bombs become a regular occurrence and Laila loses both of her parents in a blast. Rasheed and Mariam take care of Laila and Rasheed eventually marries the young girl. Laila has two children but eventually experiences the same violence Mariam felt at the hands of Rasheed. Even though this story doesn’t have the happiest ending both women end up freed of their abusive marriage.
Quantitative: Storytoolz.com rated this book between a 5th and 8th grade reading level. This is yet another example of how the vocabulary and sentence structure is relatively easy to read but the actual content makes the book more difficult. I do agree with akjeducation.com put this book between 9th and 12th grade, which I feel is more appropriate.
Qualitative: Considering the use of the feminist lens, this book is a valuable selection as it offers the experiences of two different women who grew up in two very different environments. One of the biggest problems with this book is the amount of domestic violence that takes place, and rape, which could be triggering for some students. I suppose this book would need a warning to be given prior to reading and anyone who feels they can't read it would be offered a different text in its place.
Vocabulary: Aftawa, Akhund, Arbab, Dehati, Didi, Dil Dishlemeh, Fahmidi, Gul, Harami, Hijab, Jihad, Jinn, Khala, Kichiri, Kolba, Mullah, Namaz, Sufi, Tahamul, Tandoor
Purpose: I chose this book for several reasons, the first being that it allows us to look at a world that not a lot of Americans know about or try to learn about. This book introduces us to the Middle East and really asks the reader to dig deeper into the struggles of Afghanistan and educate ourselves on its history. It is important to note that this book merely grazes the tip of the iceberg as far as the actual history of Afghanistan and the Middle East, but it definitely opens the door for more research and conversations. Although the characters and their lives are fictional, the war taking place throughout the book was very real and it is not impossible to believe that some people may have had similar experiences, at least in a very broad sense.
In addition to educating our students on another culture, or introducing another culture to our students, this book provides us multiple perspectives of women living in this country during a long stretch of time. There are a lot of examples and ways in which we could apply a feminist lens and compare and contrast the experiences of different women in this book. Laila and Mariam begin living very different lives, Mariam never had the opportunity to go to school where as Laila attended school and had a father who believed that women should be educated. Students will be able to look at the text as a whole, but also different characters and time periods through a feminist lens.
The last reason that had a huge influence on my decision was that the author is a man. Aside from the informational YouTube video, this is the only text in this set that was written by a man. When we're reading a book, especially one that is meant to represent authentic experiences of a group of people, it is really important that we question and consider the source. Can a man accurately write about a woman's experience from her perspective? I wanted to use this book as an opportunity for the students to really dig into the author's purpose and who the author is. I would then ask the students to consider what they find within the context of a feminist lens and then compare the previous two texts with this one.
Question: Can a man authentically write about a woman's experience from her point of view? How would you answer this through a feminist lens?
For more info on children's books in the secondary ELA classroom:
10 Picture Books for High School English Class - WeAreTeachers
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