My Year of Meats pt 2

Alright, I know that the main point of this book is the whole idea of Meats and American culture and everything, but I am finding it to be much easier to pick out the idea of gender in the novel. Things like the differences between the two, the different roles they have, and the difference form gender roles in our lives today.

Women are definitely portrayed in a less than flattering light throughout this book. This whole raping scene was really disgusting to read about and it just made women look so small and weak. They say thats the motive that some rapists have, to be powerful and feel like they are in control. Other scenes, like in the beginning of the book for example when the woman was forced to buy a specific kind of condom, some like super mega manly brand. And the act of purchasing these condoms was so ridiculous for a woman, she had to sneak in the alley with the vending machine to do so.

Another part that I found the different gender roles to be really obvious was a scene between John and Akiko. On page 99 after she tells him she does in fact want children, he says “If that is indeed true, why do you stop your menstruation by throwing up? There. You see, I know everything. I know your secret. Hah! The force of the single, malodorous blast of laughter propelled him backward toward the wall. He caught himself before he fell, and leaned casually against the china cabinet for support. Akiko shook her head again. ‘I… I can’t help it,’ she said weakly. ‘Well, well. That is not what the doctor said at all. He said you were perfectly capable of controlling it if you wanted to. So now, how can you explain that? You obviously don’t want to pregnant but you say you want a family. That makes you either a liar or a fool. Which is it? Which is it I’m married to?”

I feel like throughout that entire passage, John put Akiko down and made himself look high and mighty in nearly every possible way. He doesn’t even care that she has an illness that is affecting her to the point that she is losing her period, he just cares that this is getting in the way from him having a child and not even considering how negatively it is affecting his wife.

Like I said, I know that we are supposed to be focused on the whole idea of meat and everything, but that is such a random and odd theme. I’m finding it a lot easier to focus on gender roles as the main theme and I’m looking forward to see how these roles either change or remain the same throughout the rest of the book.

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