Analyzing Vox With a Feminist Lens

Hi, everyone. So my name is Brea. And this video, I'll try to keep it brief.

Um But this video will be covering um some of the main components of my ISP essay.

Um So this video will be going over my thesis and my three subtopics and I

will try to quickly go over some of the quotes and the images that I've used.

Um

I recorded this video once but it was 12 minutes long.

So I'm going to try to condense it

anyways. So this presentation is analyzing Vox by Christina Dasher

with a feminist lens.

So let's dive right in. This is my thesis

when examining Vox through a feminist lens,

a profound exploration of patriarchal dominance and impact on women's lives

emerges specifically through the novel's portrayal of restricted speech,

generals, power dynamics and depictions of female resistance.

So those will be my three subtopics, restricted speech,

generals and power dynamics as one

and depictions of female resistance.

Um

So I'm just gonna draw your attention to the

um

cover of the book here with the woman with a red X on it.

So some of the images that I've chosen to use are um

exactly that.

So

let's get into my first subtopic, which is restricting women's speech.

So I'll be going over three points.

How exactly was restricting women's speech shown?

Um This is a woman with red tape in the shape of an X which um

I used because it reminded me of the cover.

Um

So first erasing expression,

my voice makes no sound even though my lips are forming words,

only my tongue seems to work slopping against the roof of

my mouth and vibrating there sending waves through my teeth.

So I chose this quote because I think it really shows the brutality of the situation

um

where Doctor Jean mcclellan

um is speaking, but she doesn't feel that her voice is um being conveyed,

sorry,

she doesn't feel that her voice is being conveyed.

Um I think I should provide a bit of like a summary

of the novel just in case you haven't seen my website yet.

Uh But basically what happens in this book um is that Doctor Jean mcclean,

who's the main protagonist along with her daughter,

Sonia and all the women of this dystopian society in the USA.

Um They are restricted to only 100 words a day and they

wear this metal bracelet that electrocutes them if they go over it.

Um And so that's the significance of the quote and the

book goes over how um Doctor mcclelland resists um the suppression

and that's why I've analyzed it from a feminist point of view.

Um So, yeah,

reinforcing gender roles is my second art. Um point.

Would I be happier if my husband shared my silence? Would it be easier

or do I need my husband's words to fill the gaps in the room with me?

So, this quote was uh was spoken by Doctor mcclelland when she was with her husband

and she, I believe used um the word the silence um was deafening.

Um So this brings me to my point of

uh when I was researching, I came across something called the hegemonic myth,

which I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing correctly.

But basically,

the hegemonic myth is something that the CNN coined as

um a myth that portrays men as dominant, strong,

independent while casting women as leading production.

And I think this quote really signifies that because the last part of it um shows that

Doctor mcclellan is dependent on her husband.

Do I need my husband's words to fill the gaps in the room for me?

Do I need him for me?

Um So that's why I use this quote

and the picture uh the image that I've used kind

of just shows some uh gender biases or stereotypes that um

I must admit even I have grown up with um girls, pink, boys, blue,

um that's so common, but it's still a stereotype.

Uh girls like to play with flowers, they're like um

their love makeup, all of that and boys are strong, they're independent, they work,

they earn money.

All of that are gender roles which are reinforced within this novel.

OK. Sorry. It's getting a bit longer than I thought it would be.

Um social is uh isolation is my third point. They're everywhere.

Now, the cameras and supermarkets and schools,

salons and restaurants waiting to catch any gesture that

might be seen as a sign of language,

even the most rudimentary form of nonverbal communication.

So I feel like this is the most uh the harshest um

the harsh brutality of the situation that uh Doctor mcclelland

and the women of this dystopian society are facing.

Um They're not even allowed to nonverbally communicate.

They're not allowed to write down

uh what they're thinking.

Um

They're not allowed to sign any languages.

Um

So, yeah, that's something that um

I felt uh restricted the women's speech and that's a point that I used in my essay.

Um So my next subtopic is gender roles and power dynamics.

First point would be domestic imprisonment and subservience.

Women can't hold jobs anymore.

We can't have more than 100 words a day,

can't do much of anything except what we're told.

So I haven't included another, another quote in this um presentation,

but basically,

Doctor mcclelland claims that her 100 words are used

to remind her husband why he loves her.

Um

which

is really crazy to me because

um that really proves how she's imprisoned within her own house.

Um And the image I've used shows how um the

women are sometimes inferior to the men of their houses.

Um

So that shows um a power dynamic within the house.

Um My second point is male control and public domination.

I'm sorry, this is getting a little longer than I expected it to be.

Um But

uh external source claims that male domination and patriarchal society refers to

the fact that men make all the decision of both their family,

unit and society itself.

So we already talked about family. So now let's talk about society.

They hold every position of power and authority possible.

They're considered superior in all ways.

So before I get into this next quote, I want to give a bit of a background.

Um There was a uh there was a mother crying for um pity

um

because her daughter

uh couldn't stop um

talking like she was

in pain because she kept getting electrocuted.

So this mother was pleaing for um

what's the word I'm looking for mercy?

Um

And she was getting electrocuted as well.

But the men in the books, zero words per day is uh zero words per day. Girlies.

Let's see how long it takes for you to fall into line.

So they're kind of mocking them by calling them girlies, but they're also,

it shows how she's not met with pity.

Um She's met with more punishment which really

shows the um reality of the situation how um

they were being dominated.

Um society was confining them

discrimination, institutionalized discrimination,

women are not allowed to work for the government to own property or handle money.

We are not allowed to serve on a jury or be elected to any position of authority.

Um

So in the beginning of the book, Doctor mcclelland was going to um renew

her daughter's uh passport,

but there was a big red screen that showed up on her thing on her sorry uh computer

which said that her daughter was a girl so

she wasn't allowed to move out of the country.

Um

So it really shows how women are treated so differently than men in this situation.

Um

And yeah,

lastly,

um subtopic

female resistance,

um

secondary source claimed that some of the ways women have

broken silence are through the analysis of silencing tactics,

creative code, switching, linguistic creat,

linguistic creativity and the organization of women's presses.

Subversive linguistic act is my first point.

We speak in numbers instead of words, words are too dangerous. 1 to 5 is safe.

We can use our hands too and our faces, our eyes,

this shows resistance.

Sorry, I have no idea what that was. Ok. This shows resistance. So

my third point is all about how the women in the story stood up to the oppression,

they stood up to

um reclaim their voices. And so,

um

sorry, I'm not sure where it ended off. But

um these are subtle acts of defiance that the women um show in this story.

So that's my first point.

My second point is collective action.

The women coming together together, we're stronger, we make plans,

we can get things done, we have to stick together and that's how we'll survive.

Um And so collective action is my second point as to how the women came together

in order to survive the depression.

So personally, I did feel that this story

um ended really quickly. The plot build-up was nice, but the ending was very rushed.

Um And so I don't have a lot to say

about the collective action because it was very rushed.

Um And lastly a reproductive autonomy, it's like a call to,

it's like a fire spreading through the forest.

It's time to resist. And I know I can't be the only one that feels this way.

So the women in the story were then

um

restricted to only having a certain number of Children

um to which Doctor mcclellan resisted.

Um

She stood up to the government basically.

Um And that's how she uh resisted the suppression

and hopefully, I didn't go over time the next 10 minutes anyways.

Um So that's my analysis of Vox by Christina Doer.

I highly encourage you to watch uh watch the video

that I've posted on my website um

which is um

a

book summary. Sorry, I'm losing words right now. But

um it just shows how I would feel if I were in that situation. Me reenacting

um Doctor mcclellan and how she would have felt in the situation. It's a bit of like

using the remix assignment.

Anyways, thank you for watching this video. Bye.

Analyzing Vox With a Feminist Lens

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