How I Am Miss America By Ellen Bass

In today’s world, women and men are often put into categories where they are expected to follow the normal behaviors for their genders and not color outside the lines. As members of society in America, we have these “rules” or “behaviors” that we need to chase after from the moment of birth. There are few people who dare to push those limits and color outside the lines. They often feel that they are more than what they are expected to be. When they become who they feel like they need to be, they are often judged and humiliated by other members of society. Many do not dare push boundaries because of the things that result when they do. We have countless examples of people who are not afraid to break the rules about who they are supposed to be.

There are stories, books, movies, and many other forms of media that display gender role breaking. The two poems and two movies that will be mentioned explore how gender roles are pushed and how members of their societies reacted. They each embody pushing the limit of what is expected, defying the odds against them, and how they felt like they were Others.
How I became Miss America by Ellen Bass is a text that explores pushing the status quo and changing gender norms.

The poem begins with first describing what it was like to win the Miss America pageant. It creates the feeling of what a women feels when she wins such a contest for beauty. The contest displays what society deems a women needs to be. The speaker then changes their tone and changes the ideal image of what women is supposed to be upside down. In the second half of the poem, Ellen Bass begins describing changing from society’s description of a woman to someone who is exploring what else a woman can be. Bass shows examples of how women are misused, misunderstood, and objectified. It is evident that the speaker comes to the realization of what women truly are and that they do not need to follow the standards set forth by society. Bass uses Lady Gaga in a meat dress to show that women are often thought of pieces of meat. The author’s use of real life examples gives proof that this is something that is ongoing in society. Her use of symbolism helps further the understanding. Bass creates the feeling of Otherness by going against what is thought of as normal. The speaker is challenging preconceptions because they no longer feel that they fit the description they are required to fit. The gender norms are no longer relevant to the speaker. Ellen Bass created a poem that advanced a women’s role and let it be known that you do not need to fall under the ideals that are set forth by

society.
The poem Romans 12:1 by Jericho Brown has a message of Otherness. The speaker is claiming their own identity in the poem even though others are judging them. The speaker does not feel like they are the gender they were born as. They feel they are the opposite gender. As they begin to accept who they are, they are judged by others for coming out claiming who they feel they are meant to be. The themes in the poem are body, sacrifice, gender and Otherness. The structure of the poem is free verse. This provides the speaker with the platform to go and write the story they want to tell. The last two lines of the poem, “Dear dying sacrifice, desirous as I will be, black as I am,” gives the meaning that they are sacrificing the old them in order to become, as black as they are, the person they desire. Throughout the poem, they discuss the challenges they met when they showed society who they were an Other. The feeling of belonging to something else takes over. The people who are witnesses to those changes cross their legs when the speaker is near. This is sign of society not being willing to accept those who feel different causing them to feel as they are outsiders. They also don’t see him as one of them anymore. The speaker states in the poem that they are hurt by him and no longer refer to him as a “brother.” The speaker has a deep feeling of being another person and when they show the world they are a different person, they are forced to be an Outsider to society.
Disney’s movie Brave exemplifies what is means to push gender roles to the limit. The main character Merida comes from a family of royals. She is a princess and is expected to be one. As time comes for Merida to prepare to be a future leader, she pushes the boundaries of her gender role and societal norms in order for her to able to be in charge of her future. The plot of the movie begins with the typical stereotype that a princess needs to find a suitable suitor in order to become queen. Throughout the movie, her father embodies the classic idea of being the protector of the family. Merida breaks the idea her mother has of who she needs to become by shooting for her own hand in the archery battle. Successfully and much to her parents and other members of her society’s dismay, she is better than the men who are supposed to be the best. As a result, she is punished for not being or doing what is expected of her. This shows what many people who do what she does go through. They experience punishment for not behaving the way they were “born” to do. The theme in Brave that relate to the poems and other movie is gender otherness. She does not want the life she was born into or the life that is expected of her. She wants to be in control of what she does in life. The powerful image Brave displays is that of a princess that does not need to be married or follow what is expected of her in order to be happy.
It wasn’t the first time that Disney has dared pushed the lines with their films. Back in 1998, the company released a film named Mulan. The film’s setting is in China during the Han Dynasty when they asked for a member of each family to join the army following an invasion. The main character is Mulan comes from a family where the only male is her elderly father. She is set to find a suitor and marry then like many women in China did at the time. This followed the typical women role of finding a suitable husband to be married off to. Society’s expectations of women in China is to support their husbands who follow the emperor and bear children, specifically male children. Mulan feels that she is not made for the typical life of a Chinese woman or follow what is expected of her. Her parents follow those expectations society has imposed on everyone, as do others in the film. In order for her to help her father, she takes his sword and disguises herself as a male in order to take his place in the Chinese army. She eventually follows suit and is part of a group in the army. She befriends others and in a particular scene, they discuss what is desirable in a woman. They discuss how she needs to appreciate things, have strength, be beautiful, and have the ability to cook. This film explored what it was like to break society’s gender roles. She felt she was an Outsider to the person she was expected to be and disguised herself. In the end, she found who she was meant to be and displayed that it was okay to feel different and not follow the rules.
These four texts are just a few examples of witnessing the experiences of characters that are changing the common ideas of genders in different societies. Each one of the texts shows a character being born into a society with certain expectations of who and what they are set to become. Each character pushes those boundaries in their own ways but overall they share similarities. The common similarity is the character’s all behave in a manner that society deems unacceptable. Ellen Bass’ character moves from typical society standards of a woman to being someone who is pushing the acceptance of all women being different. Jericho Brown is a male who does not feel that way about himself and lives the way he feels he needs to. Merida was born into a royal family disobeys her parent’s wishes to get married and instead fights for her own hand. Mulan disguises herself as a male in order to take her father’s place in the Chinese army. They each connect to Otherness in a similar fashion. Each character displays a sense of feeling like they belong to something more than what is expected of them. They are all first seen as not belonging because they get treated differently for not wanting what is expected of them. Not a single character in any of the texts follows what is expected of them. In the end, they each prove to readers or viewers that it is okay to not live up to the norms that are appropriate for society.
We have learned a lot about the different portrayals of being born into otherness or being an outsider. We learned that the people who go through this experience do it because they have deep inner feelings of not belonging to the society they are apart of. Society’s lack of acceptance towards people who feel different then the majority are shunned and out casted. The ideas about otherness have been similar throughout the texts we have read. Most have included real life experiences as support their statements. Each text does include the way they get treated and what causes them to feel they do not belong. There are some differences in the texts. The main difference is that not all shared the same reason for feelings of otherness. Race was a factor for some. Gender, sexuality, status quo, and being born different accounted for other reasons why some characters felt they do not belong. The central idea for the reasons of feeling like an outsider is society’s unwillingness to accept those who are different. Those who are different or deemed to be different are not widely accepted into society as others may be. Every text we have reviewed gives examples wanting to belong and not being accepted. If society were willing to accept those who are different, we would have a more beneficial environment. Until that happens, we have to learn to be kinder to those who are made to feel like they are not welcomed.