Feminism of the Femme Fatale

A correlation to the evidences of the genius of the female race are their roles in literature, and its evolution throughout history that lead women to develop into strong, independent influences. The interesting voice of female minoritiesisatypicalsubjectinmanycomingof age books that permit every writer to lay out a different personality for their characters and themselves. A list consisting of well-known femalewritersthatchangedtheadvancementof book publishing are: the rebel feminist Jane Austen, who paved the path for the appreciation of English Literature with female character leads and their experiences on oppression; Anne Frank, who was a young Jewish girl that chronicled her experiences during the Holocaust, thus helped historians to better understand the heinous acts of Adolf Hitler; Virginia Woolf who was considered an ambivalent activist of politics, but a confident supporter of feminism and anti-homophobia acts throughout her literary career; and lastly, Betty Friedan, who was best known for writing 'The Feminine Mystique', in which she encourages women to seek more opportunities for themselves outside traditional home-based roles and founded the National Organization forWomen.

With the 'stereotypical' achievements of the female species said and understood, it should notbeshockingtoknowthatwomeninpolitics andmilitaryhavebeenshiningintheirpositions sincethe20thcentury.Itmaybehardtobelieve since it was just in the 1920s that women were granted the right to vote and participate in acts that were once only acceptable to the male gender, but it was truly the quickness of these ladies'braveryandpoliticalstatutethatresulted intheseimmediatesuccesses.

OutstandingexamplesofthatareformerUNHuman Rights Commission Chair Eleanor Roosevelt's advocation to women and children’s causes; Grace Hopper being the first woman to earn a PhD in mathematics,andthehighrankofrearadmiralinthe U.S Navy; Edith Cowan being the first ever female member of the parliament for her women’s rights activist despite controversial backlash; and Amelia Earhart, for her fearlessness to be the first woman to fly solo across the world. As for the latter who is probably the most popular name on the list, Earhart not only preceded her mysterious disappearance on the Atlantic Ocean but her legacy lives on through her flying accomplishments, contributions to American aviation, works to motivate women to pursue their careers, and her support of the Equal RightsAmendmentaswell.

These examples of women and their impacts have significantly set the standards of feminism of the femme fatale for centuries to come. Each and every one of them were once little girls who never would have thought that they would be more remembered and loved than the princes they wished to be. All of them may be pioneers on very different fields and advocacies, but their one great similarity is that they are all mothers who dreamed of a world more accommodating and open minded for their children compared to the cruel and harsh society they were forced to adjust in. It is truly just beyond fascinating to think that women have reached a success so immenseandiconicinaman'sworld.

In a faraway land lived a fairy with two beautiful daughters – Araw and Buwan. They are known forbeingtheexactoppositeofeachother,Arawis the kind one, and Buwan is the cruel one. There would be times when Buwan would discretely do cruel things towards Araw to pick on her and there would also be times when Buwan would secretly hate on her. One day, their mother came home and caught Buwan mistreating her older sister,Araw.Theirmotherfeltsobadandhelpless so she asked God for help. Even before this time, God had already prepared valuable gifts for both ofthem.Thesegiftsweretwoenormousdiamonds thatcouldlightupthewholeuniverse.

Upon hearing the prayer from their mother, God went down and disguised himself as a beggar. He carefully assessed both of them and observed that Araw was really the kind-hearted one and Buwan was the opposite. He then decided to only give Araw’s diamond. Consequently, Buwan was angered by the favoritism of the Almighty so she went to heaven and stole the other diamond. However, she found out that the diamond she stole was not as brilliant as Araw’s. God found out what she did and commanded two angels to punish her but the angels didn’t listen to him. They abused their commission and seized both sisters and threw them into the sea. Their diamonds were then thrown into the sky – the brightest stone was named after Araw and the otherwasnamedafterBuwan.

This was the story of why the sun shines more brightly than the moon – which people commonly know. However, no one knows the origin of Buwan’s anger and envy. No one knows how a beautiful lady turned out to be a cruel one. What she did was wrong but did she really mean it? Or wasshejustforcedtodoso?

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Buwan was born years after Araw so there were alreadyalotofexpectationsfromher.Theyexpect her to be as modest as her older sister, as kind as her older sister, and as optimistic as her older sister. However, Buwan was naturally playful and excited. She would go around pulling pranks and tellingjokesbecauseit’sherwayofmakingpeople laugh. She would also go around running and chasing animals because they were her only friends. She was also very clumsy so she would oftengohomewithsmallscrapewounds.

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People praise her for being joyful but would most often compare her to her modest sister. They would compare how they act and how they talk. Buwan grew up being compared to her sister but shenevergotmadandneverkeptagrudgeagainst her. It was until she felt that her mother favored Arawmorethanherbecauseshewasmorehelpful when it comes to household chores while she was just making a mess because of her clumsiness. It was a small thing but for Buwan, it was the start ofhercomparingherselftohersister.Whatdidn’t matterforhersuddenlymattersandhurtsher.

Since then, Buwan started to drift away from her original personality. The harmless pranks turned into cruel ones, the jokes turned into insults, and she started avoiding and glaring at people she encounters with. People wondered why Buwan had suddenly changed and just assumed that it was because her ‘true color’ had finally shown. It got worst as she grew older, especially that time whentheirfathercamebackandrefusedtoaccept thatBuwanwashisbecauseofhercruelbehavior.

Buwan felt so betrayed and neglected that her grudge and envy grew and grew until she couldn’t control it anymore. She grew to hate herself more andreleaseditbyhurtingeveryoneandeverything aroundher.Shehadahardtimechangingbecause people had set their minds on her cruel behavior evenwhenshewaslittleandevengotharderwhen she became one of her enemies. Her own self became one of her greatest enemies she couldn’t fight.

Just like their stones that are now lighting up the whole universe, Buwan may not be as bright as Araw but she is also shining brightly in her own silveryandluminousway.