Image: "Girls" by Figala
I still stand by my previous statement, I think the contents of this book fail to be both inspirational and motivational for young girls and teens. After re-reading it however I have found that some of the more developed monologues that really explore the character of the girls, do at least hold some substance that could be valuable for girls to read. I only wish there could have been more of them.
Many of the stories in I am an Emotional Creature are written in a poetry like form, they can be hard to follow, and their short length makes them easily forgettable. I think the reason I dislike this book so much however, is because most of the characters come off as being completely idiotic teenagers. I realize that these girls are young, immature, and cannot be expected to always make the best decisions for themselves, however when I read stories like "It's not a Baby, It's a Maybe"I just grow frustrated with the character. Ignoring a pregnancy will not make it go away, and it is unfortunate that this girl doesn't feel comfortable enough to talk to anyone about it, however she is putting both her health and the health of her child at risk by staying silent about it. Also by avoiding the child's existence, she limits the options she has for herself in regards to if she wants to have the baby or not. Although the scenario is realistic, I just can't get over this girls poor decision making.
To me, the most successful monologues are told from the girls who posses the most character, who are not just simpering teenagers whining about their problems. One example would be the narrator in "the Joke about My Nose" in which a iranian girl is forced to get a nose job by her parents, and in the process feels like a piece of her identity was taken away from her. I could both understand and sympathize with this girl. Before her nose job, she describes herself as being a class clown, and that her nose "put everyone at ease. It was a conversation breaker Somehow it let everyone know I could be trusted." She had a beautiful philosophy when it came to how she looked she said that her nose "Inspired me to be daring. It was like you'll never be one of them so you might as well be yourself." I wish more girls in this world could think like that.
Unfortunately for this girl, everything she loved about herself seemed to leave her when her parents had her get a nose job for her sixteenth birthday. After the procedure her father had said to her "You will be a princess now" and her reply to him was "I don't want to be a princess. I was happy being a clown."She was truly happy with herself and learned to love the face that she was given, it is a shame in that respect that something she loved about herself was stripped away from her. At the same time, her parents were very well intentioned. The wanted their daughter not to have hardships when she went through life because of her appearance. They wanted to make her as beautiful on the outside as she was inside. This is a rare gift that many people in this world wish they could have. You hear many stories of once beautiful, or even just normal looking people becoming disfigured through tragic events, but this is a girl who was able to become more beautiful instead of less. However increasing her outer beauty made her lose touch with who she really was.
The only thing that I do not like about this monologue is her perception of "pretty girls" she says that she "felt sorry for pretty girls because everyone is always staring at them." What she means is now that she is pretty, people will expect less from her. She now feels that she is meant to be looked at, and not listened to, and she begins to act upon her new identity by saying that she has begun to starve herself and limit her food intake to maintain her body so it can match her face. I hate per perception of "pretty people" and I actually find it insulting. She is playing into a preconceived idea that pretty people are just meant to be looked at, and aren't meant to be intelligent or funny. Well she can STILL be funny, and intelligent, and if anything I was hoping her new face would inspire her to work harder and combat this stereotype. A positive message could have been sent saying that even though you might not like the way you look, that shouldn't prevent you from being you. It is a shame that this girl could not see that for herself.
A monologue that I enjoyed would be "Asking the Question" in which a teenage girl is nervous to ask her boyfriend to use a condom while they are having sex. When I began to read this I expected the ending to be that she didn't ask, and now she is pregnant with an STD (since most of these stories seem to be depressing like that.) However I was pleasantly surprised that the character did have the courage to ask him to use a condom (which he seems to plan to do anyway) but I think this sends a very positive message to girls showing that asking someone questions like this is perfectly ok, and that you shouldn't let an awkward situation get int he way of protecting yourself. At the end she states "We're both protecting ourselves and each other and this makes me like him and me." Just simply asking this question allowed her to both develop deeper feelings for this boy, but also she loved herself for doing it. This simple event made her a stronger and more confident person, and I hope any girl that reads this will have the courage to ask questions such as this when they become involved in a sexual situation.
The other story I found to be a shining example in I am an Emotional Creature is "Five Cows and a Half" which show the reader a world which we are not familiar with, and how one girl managed to triumph in a culture that does not always give women the respect that they deserve as human beings. The narrator is an African girl from Kenya, who's father attempts to sell her, and have her married off to a much older man in exchange for cows. It is very traditional in this culture that fathers marry off their daughters and receive a dowry for them, and also the family was not doing well financially at the time. However rather than accept her fate by giving into this outdated tradition (which would also result in her having to experience female circumcision) she chooses to run away from her family to the safety of a rescue center for girls. This must have been a terrifying experience for her because she took a risk with her own safety, as well as she had to cope with the fact her decision might result in her never seeing her family again, but she defended herself and her body, by running away she showed her father that she was not property, she was a human being who deserved to find love in her own right, and not be sold as a bride for profit.
Happily, she was able to return to her family, according to her, her time away had made her both "strong" and "confident." She recaps what has happened to her by stating "My father was willing to sell me for five cows and a half and a couple of blankets. That is about thirty thousand shillings. But when I am educated I will make more money. I will build him a house. I will take care of them all. This shows that she does not begrudge her father for what he did, and wishes to make the lives of him, and her family better. I find her to be incredibly inspiring, and is an excellent role model for girls of any culture.
I will admit, this story and its "happily ever after" kind of ending is not the most believable circumstance, but that is the beauty of creating s story in a book. Eve Ensler has the power to create a strong motivational story such as this. I wish more stories in I am an Emotional Creature could have been like this. Not necessarily that they had to end happily, because they still need to be realistic, but I think they show better examples of intelligent and strong young women who triumph through their situations.
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