"Fun Home" Bechdel covers a variety of themes throughout her story. A couple that had an impression on me were identification and regret. I personally feel that these are the two main themes of the book. Bechdel's difficulty with determining her identity was an issue she seemed to deal with since childhood. She preferred to look and act like a boy rather than a girl. In the beginning I didn't think too much of it because young kids don't always identify with things that society may deem gender specific. For instance, young girls may want to play in the dirt as opposed to dressing up and young boys may choose to play dress up instead of rolling in dirt. It doesn't necessarily mean anything when you're a young child, but if such feelings persist through adolesence and young adulthood then it may be hard to decipher who you really are. I believe that dealing with such a situation is difficult to begin with; however, if you do not have anyone to talk to or get support from then the problem becomes much worse. In Bechdel's case she never had anyone to turn to for help. Her parents were distant not only from each other, but from Alison and her brothers as well. There were no emotions expressed between any family members, which caused a social barrier. There was information that was never disclosed to any of the kids until they were older. When Bechdel started college she became more aware of homosexuality and felt that maybe she was a lesbian. I felt a sense of denial within Bechdel when the two girls invited her to the lesbian-feminist concert. She acted like they were freaks instead of people that she could finally talk to about her feelings. When Bechdel found out about her dad's homosexual experiences I know at first she was shocked, but I think there was also a feeling of understanding...almost like an "a-ha" moment where she finally could see where she came from. In Bechdel's case I don't know how I would react to such news. I could either be happy that I now had a connection with a parent who I never felt close to; or upset because someone I thought I knew isn't really who they seemed to be. It has to be a very difficult situation either way, probably quite traumatizing too.

"Fun Home" This book has been a decent read thus far. I wasn't expecting it to take such drastic twists and turns, which is why I think I've managed to maintain interest. The father figure didn't initially come off as the selfish and unemotional man he turned out to be. At the very start I thought he was just going to be one of those dad's that just isn't a family guy, but his character grew to be much more intriguing than that. He was insane, perhaps bi-polar. For him to treat his home furnishings better than his own kids clearly demonstrates some kind of mental illness. In some sense he was a very confusing character as well. You get a feeling that he doesn't really know what he wants out of life. It's almost like after he left Europe to return home to run his father's funeral business, he kind of lost sight of what he really wanted. He had a wife and three kids and it seemed he wasn't where he wanted to be. You don't want to side with the dad, but in some way you have to feel sorry for him. As much of a bastard as he was, he was lost-confused-and really just unable to connect with anyone. When you're alone and don't have anyone to turn to you become angry. Unfortunately, his wife and children received the brunt of his rage. It was also a surprise when he died. But, it wasn't just his death that shocked me it was the emotion that his family expressed as well. They were somewhat content with the idea that he was gone forever. When it was suspected that his death may have been suicide I wasn't very thrown back. I hadn't thought of it as being a suicide prior to the suggestion, but the various clues given afterwards really make you think about whether he was trying to hint something all along. Anyway, it is turning out to be a pretty good book. I am curious to see what else goes on with her family, but at the same time I'm not too thrilled about reading such a depressing book.

I Am An Emotional Creature (Post #2)

Ensler suggests throughout her book that all girls are emotional. I have to disagree and say that not all girls are emotional to the degree in which she portrays them in I Am an Emotional Creature. I don't doubt that there are young girls among us who go through very similar situations and express those kinds of feelings as Ensler describes, but as a female I can honestly say I've never been as emotional as the teens in this book. I don't find it accurate for her to say that all girls are emotional.

I'm not emotional. Well, at least not like the girls in this book anyway. Of course I have feelings and what not, but I have never expressed them or felt the need to like the characters Ensler describes. I keep stuff to myself. I don't like to talk about emotions nor do I like to hear about anyone elses feelings. I suppose I am this way because of my personality and perhaps surrounding family. My parents and I don't share our emotions and feelings...and that's fine by me. We keep everything to ourselves. Some people may deem this as socially unhealthy, but it works for me.

Everyone is emotional, guys and girls. Some people are just more in tune with their feelings than others. We all get angry, sad, confused, detached, attached, etc. Women have just been stereotyped and portrayed as being very emotional and men are perceived as being strong and unemotional. I don't believe these stereotypes at all. Based on personal experience I have seen cases where guys show more emotion than girls and vice versa. Men cry. They may deny it, but we all know they do. Men don't show their emotions as much as women because of how society suggests they should act. We believe men should be tough and always together and women are free to express as much emotion as they want. I say, who cares what society thinks. We're all human. We all have emotions. We should all feel free to withold our feelings or express ourselves in anyway we choose.

I Am an Emotional Creature by Eve Ensler.

In this book Ensler once again focuses on female topics just as she had done in the Vagina Monologues. However, in this book she seems to bring more attention to teenage girls as oppose to the variety of ages she incorporated into the V. Monologues. I Am an Emotional Creature begins with Ensler describing a young girl's school experience and the difficulty she has with trying to find herself and a group she can most identify with. It gives insight into what many young girls her age may go through early on in their school careers. Teenagers often go to drastic measures just to fit in with a certain group. They don't think about who they really are, but rather they just have their mind set on becoming one of the popular kids. When I was in grade school I never had a goal of being popular instead I just hung around with anyone - no matter what "group" they were classified as being a part of. I guess I was lucky to be able to see people as individuals and not as "groups." I have seen instances happen where kids put down their real friends just so they can have a shot at being with the popular students. It's sad to see such an event take place. Here you have one kid thinking they have a good friend by their side and when that one friend turns on them they're left feeling unwanted and confused. There's no doubt that it's hard being a kid. At that age you still don't know exactly who you are or who you want to be so you're very influential and naive. It takes time to realize your true self and understand the errors you've made and kids don't often experience this revelation until their early twenties or so.

With this particular story Ensler told at the start of I Am an Emotional Creature, I believe it can not only be understood by young girls, but by young boys as well. I think boys want to feel accepted and popular just as much as girls, however I'm unsure of whether boys go to the same extent to fit in as girls do. In Ensler's story the girl bought certain shoes, clothes, make-up, etc...but would a boy buy certain sneakers, clothes, etc to fit in with a certain group of kids? I do believe it is hard to find your place no matter what gender you are, especially as a teenager, but I don't know if maybe it's harder for teen girls rather than teen boys?