Be a lady they said, Cynthia Nixon

Be a Lady They Said - (Feb 24 , 2020) Narrated by Cynthia Nixon

Be a lady they said. Your SKIRT is too short. Your shirt is too low. Don’t show so much skin. Cover up. Leave something to the imagination. Don't be a temptress. Men can’t control themselves. Men have needs. Look SEXY. Look hot. Don’t be so PROVOCATIVE. You’re asking for it. WEAR black. Wear heels. You’re too dressed up. You’re too dressed down. You look like you’ve let yourself go.

Be a lady they said. Don’t be too FAT. Don’t be too THIN. Eat up. Slim down. STOP EATING SO MUCH . Order a salad. Don’t eat carbs1. Skip2 dessert. GO ON A DIET. God, you look like a skeleton. Why don’t you just eat? You look emaciated. You look SICK. Men like women with some meat on their bones. Be a size zero. Be a DOUBLE ZERO3. Be NOTHING. Be less than nothing.

Be a lady they said. Remove your body hair. Bleach this. Bleach that. Eradicate your scars. Cover your stretch marks4. Plump your LIPS. Botox your wrinkles. Lift your FACE. Tuck your tummy. Perk up your boobs. Look NATURAL. You’re TRYING TOO HARD. You look overdone. Men DON’T LIKE GIRLS who try too hard.

Be a lady they said. Wear MAKEUP. Highlight your cheekbones. Line your lids. Fill in your brows. Lengthen your lashes. Colour your lips. Powder, BLUSH, bronze, highlight. Your HAIR is TOO SHORT. Dye5 your hair. Not blue, that looks UNNATURAL. Look young. Old is ugly. Men don’t like ugly.

Be a lady they said. Save yourself. Be PURE. Don’t be a whore6. Don’t sleep around. Men don’t like sluts. Don’t be a prude. Don’t be so up tight. SMILE MORE. Pleasure men. Be experienced. Be sexual. Be INNOCENT. Be dirty. Be the cool girl. Don’t be like the other girls.

Be a lady they said. DON’T TALK TOO LOUD. Don’t talk too much. Don’t be intimidating. Why are you so miserable? Don’t be a bitch. Don't be so bossy. Don’t be so EMOTIONAL. Don’t CRY. Don’t YELL. Don’t swear. Endure the pain. Don’t COMPLAIN. Fold his clothes. COOK HIS DINNER. Keep him happy. That’s a woman’s job. You’ll make a GOOD WIFE some day. Take his LAST NAME. You hyphenated7 your name? Crazy feminist. Give him children. You don’t want children? You will some day. You’ll CHANGE YOUR MIND.

Be a lady they said. Don’t get raped. Don’t DRINK TOO MUCH. Don’t WALK ALONE. Don’t GO OUT TOO LATE. Don’t dress like that. Don’t get drunk. Don’t SMILE AT STRANGERS. Don’t go out at night. Don’t TRUST ANYONE . Don’t say yes. Don’t say no. Just “be a lady” they said.

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carbs1 = short for carbohydrates = glucides           skip 2 – sauter     ____________3 – more or less the equivalent for an XXS size        a stretch mark 4 – une vergeture       to dye5 – teindre        a whore 6 = a prostitute             to hyphenate a name 7 -  For example, if your groom's name is John Smith and your name is Kate Jones, you would name yourself Kate Jones-Smith or Kate Smith-Jones.        

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Quoi que ce document très récent endosse parfaitement le but recherché, comprendre mieux la représentation (complexe et controversée) de la femme dans notre monde contemporain j’ai pris la décision de flouter certaines parties afin de ne pas choquer qui que ce soit. J’ai une responsabilité morale envers vous.  [pic 2]

Analysing the text –

1. What is it like to be a woman today ? Easy or complicated ? Explain.

1. Quite clearly men’s expectations are quite contradictory and conflicting – quote a few examples.

EX – you look too dressed up, you look too dressed down

1. Can women ever be themselves ? Can they ever make a decision ?

Can they really speak their minds ? How are they supposed to act ?

1. What about men ? What are we made to understand ? (Que nous fait-on comprendre ?)

Comparons le français et l’anglais – et c’est bien là qu’il va falloir s’apprendre à se détacher totalement de sa langue maternelle sous peine de faire une erreur.[pic 3]

[pic 4]

Français = Les hommes veulent que les femmes aient l’air naturel.

‘Vouloir’ est suivi d’une proposition complétive COD (le verbe est conjuguéau subjonctif).

Anglais = Men want women to look natural.

‘Want’ est suivi d’une proposition infinitive. Ceci est très différent, mais c’est tout de même plus facile que de maîtriser le subjonctif (pensez à vos camarades étudiant le français, … le nombre de conjugaisons à maîtriser pour pouvoir utiliser ce genre de structure forcément très utile, et très utilisée < je veux que tu ailles faire des courses < aïe, aïe …, en anglais, I want you to do some shopping

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