Summary Of The F Word By Firoozeh Dumas

Firoozeh Dumas’s essay “The ‘F word”” is not about what people really think it is. When people hear the someone mention the “F” word all sorts of things pop into their head. Yet Firoozeh Dumas twist that. Dumas takes a stereotype in the title to grab our attention. In the article, Firoozeh Dumas tries to explain her experience as an immigrant from Iran to the US. Dumas tries to show how hard it was for her to come to America and live with her name. This blatantly apparent during her childhood because the children would make fun of her and the rest of her family’s name. To counter this Firoozeh decided to add Julie as an American middle name so strangers would not feel so awkward around her. Julie became the author’s middle name which caused her to play a “double role” in her life. This was because her family knew her as Firoozeh and her friends and coworkers that knew her as Julie. Later when she became a stay at home mom Dumas decided to be called by her first name. This return caused her some uncomfortable situations because the “double role” collided. Dumas states, “make room in [the] spice cabinet.” because she

This is evident when she says, “ Never one to let mockery or good judgment stand in my way, I proceeded to ask for suggestions. My father suggested “Fifi.” Had I had a special affinity for French poodles or been considering a career in prostitution, I would’ve gone with that one. My mom suggested, “Farah,” a name easier than “Firoozeh” yet still Iranian. Her reasoning made sense, except that Farrah Fawcett was at the height of her popularity and I didn’t want to be associated with somebody whose poster hung in every post pubescent boy’s bedroom.” This is ironic because even though her name is unique and hardly anyone can pronounce it when she is trying to find a new name except the only good options she can come up is more commonly associated with dogs and sex