Feminist Manifesto by Mina Loy
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Surreptitious
surreptitious
sur·rep·ti·tious
[sur-uhp-tish-uhs]
adjective
1. obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.
2. acting in a stealthy way.
3. obtained by subreption; subreptitious.
Found in Mina Loys Feminist Manifesto
“The woman who has not succeeded in striking that advantageous bargin– is prohibited from any but surreptitous re-action to Life-stimuli–&entireky debarred maternity.”
This definition helps me better understand the passage becuase I now understand that Mina Loy was trying to tell the reader that you cannot act in a stealthy way. The passage now comes together with knowing the word.
Midterm prep
” Incited. That was it, the guiding principle of her life in Copenhagen. She was incited to make an  impression. She was incited to inflame attention and admiration. She was dressed for it, subtly schooled for it. And after a while she gave herself up wholly to the fascinating business of being seen, gaped and desired. ”
1.Quicksand
2.Nella Larsen
3.In this passage Helga was provoked by the opinion of others in Copenhagen. She was convinced that her expensive clothes would make an impression on others , especially men in Denmark. Helen was provoked to expect attention due to the amount of care she had already begun to receive. Being back in Denmark she had began to notice that she would be praised In some sort and desired, she gave up her original style to take on a style that had been provoked by the people of Copenhagen and the way they treated her.
4.To me this passage helps to represent the inconsistency of Helga. It connects to the bigger picture In this text because it proves as just another one of the escapades on the journey of finding herself. This passage helps me to notice that Helga does not really accept herself besides  what makes her acceptable to others. It is justification that who she is , or was before she came back to Denmark was not something or someone that she was satisfied with. Helga spent a lot of time criticizing herself, and when others did not criticize her, she felt a sense if belonging. I think the bigger picture here is identity.
Mina Loy’s Feminist Manifesto Brain storm (Late)
In Mina Loy’s “Feminist Manifesto”, she rejects the fact that women are equal to men. In her writing she encourages women to basically dehumanize themselves to fit into society and to claim power. “Woman must destroy in herself the desire to be loved” This basically implies that in order to be taken seriously by a man, a woman must not be soft and avoid loving relationships. It also implies that it will rid men of the notion that women are of objects for sex. She continues to state that although women should stay emotionally detached in order to maintain respect, sex isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It should only be used for reproduction purposes. If I was to write a feminist manifesto, I would write about the objectification of women all around the world. Women everywhere are sexually objectified based on their bodies/looks whether it be in the middle east or even in some place like miami. All around us there are billboards, posters, magazines, and movies telling women how they should look, starting from a very early age. It’s very rare to come across such things for men. They are so many unrealistic expectations for women to look a certain way that it can cause a lot of issues within themselves, get in the way of building their characters and confidence. Women are told from a young age that they need to look beautiful or presentable in order to find “Prince Charming.” Society pressures women to act a certain way, in order to satisfy the needs of men, mostly. This often keeps them from being their true selves because a lot of women are afraid of being judged. Mina Loy encourages women to get rid of that fear and embrace themselves by first stripping themselves of emotions towards men, which will lead to them not caring about what other men want or need which is an essential part of being a human being first.
Loy
Lynn Cottage wrote a play called Intimate Apparel. The story takes place in 1905. The main character is an African American seamstress her name is Esther. Esther lives in a boarding house for females. She usually sews intimate apparel for her female clients. Her clients range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. Esther didn’t want to be a seamstress her whole life she wanted to open up a beauty parlor. The specify catered to African- American women. Esther wanted African –American women to just as special as her wealthily clients. Like all women Esther wanted to find Mr. Right. There was a man named George how began to send her letters. Esther couldn’t read because she was illiterate. In 1905 this was very common problem for African American women, this proves that Esther had to work at a very yung age and didn’t have opportunity to go to school. So to respond too the letters she had Mayne and Mrs.Van Buren respond to the letters. After many letters Esther agreed to marry George. Esther lived in New York, when he arrived Esther noticed that he wasn’t the man he as in the letters. He sent all her money on alcohol and whores.  Personally this was a very easy play to read the reason for that is because  the author explained everything in great detail. Even though thi story took place in 1905 this troy can relate to women today.
Loy
Mina Loy, Feminist Manifesto
Women if you want to realize yourselves-you are on the eve of a devastating psychological upheaval-all your pet illusions must be unmasked—the lies of centuries have got to go—are you prepared for the Wrench–? There is no half-measure—NO scratching on the surface of the rubbish heap of tradition, will bring about Reform, the only method is Absolute Demolition
Cease to place your confidence in economic legislation, vise-crusades & uniform education-you are glossing over Reality.
Professional & commercial careers are opening up for you—
Is that all you want?
- I believe that the main idea here is to get the females to make their own identity. She encourages women to stand up for what they believe. To know their worth. Loy basically encourages women to go against the male beliefs. Loy believes that women she be on top and ahead of men. She promotes the superior status over men. She also talks about power. And refuses to share the power that females can gain. Loy argues that women should have a different attitude towards sex. Loy’s “Feminist Manifesto” is a way for women to promote the higher status of women, and self improvement. Her message is to seek expression free of society’s standards is important to both sexes, but her ignorance of men in a sexual and social actions shows Loy’s point of view to see her fight and argument as better and higher status women. But Loy isolates the men from the world just to make women’s rights to stand out. Loy wants the women to have greater individual rights, freedom and their true identity. She degrades men in every situation to bring out the importamce of female status.
Bogey
Bogey (noun)
Definition:Â something that causes fear or worry
Source:Â http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bogey
Found in: Feminist Manifesto by Mina Loy
Quote: “The fictitious value of a woman as identified with her physical purity—is too easy to stand-by—rendering her lethargic in the acquisition of intrinsic merits of character by which she could obtain a concrete value—-therefore, the fist self-enforced law for the female sex, as a protection of the man made bogey of virtue—which is the principal instrument of her subjection, would be the unconditional surgical destruction of virginity through-out the female population at puberty—-.”
In the context in which Mina Loy uses this word, bogey means the man made “fear” which is that a woman’s worth is her virginity.
Manifesto: Women in the workforce and pregnancy
We all know there are many issues surrounding woman and the workforce. For one, Mina Loy in her manifesto mentions the different values of a man and a woman in a professional and commercial setting, stating outright that women are not equal to men. Many gender role stereotypes are placed on women regarding their career during and after pregnancy. For example, women are not all guaranteed maternity leave and safety of their job if they are to get pregnant. Although after pregnancy the situation can get much worse. If a mother has a child and must return to work soon after, an easy stereotype is that she is a career driven woman who places her work above staying home and caring for the child. However on the other hand, if a woman has a child and decides to be a stay at home mom, people may brand her as lazy or living off her husbands money. Women are so easily critiqued for either inevitable choice they must make. Men however do not have to deal with these issues. Men are free to climb the economical ladder without pressure of getting pregnant within a certain time frame when their body can handle it. Men are free to be tigers in the workforce without the biological and hormonal effects of pregnancy. Women also must deal with the physical signs of pregnancy such as a growing belly or swollen feet. During a job interview however, women can do nothing when the hiring committee decides to hire a man instead simply because he isn’t pregnant. Women can be stigmatized when pregnant such as “she won’t work hard now” or “what if she quits? Or “What if she is too tired to complete her workload?”. The pressure for women to have a career and be a mother and homemaker is at an all time high. Now, women are expected to be breadwinners along with their husbands as well as bare the children and keep a clean home. Women must realize that the pressure from society to do all of these things will never dissipate, but we must rise above the stereotypes and live our lives in the way that makes us the happiest. Regardless of the path a woman chooses regarding pregnancy or careers – it is her path to choose and live with.
Society will always have a negation to each positive, a critique for each choice.
Indomitable
Indomitable – Adjective
- Incapable of being subdued or overcome; in-conquerable.
Found in: “Feminist Manifesto” by Mina Loy.
“Woman for her happiness must retain her deceptive fragility of appearance, combined with indomitable will, irreducible courage, & abundant health the outcome of sound nerves…”
This means that for a woman to be happy, she must keep her most important qualities, qualities for her strength, intact.
surreptitious
surreptitious
sur·rep·ti·tious
[sur-uhp-tish-uhs]
adjective
1.
obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.
2.
acting in a stealthy way.
3.
obtained by subreption; subreptitious.
Found in Mina Loys Feminist Manifesto
“The woman who has not succeeded in striking that advantageous bargin– is prohibited from any but surreptitous re-action to Life-stimuli–&entireky debarred maternity.”
This definition helps me better understand the passage becuase I now understand that Mina Loy was trying to tell the reader that you cannot act in a stealthy way. The passage now comes together with knowing the word.
