Size 6~ Western Women's Harem

Questions about Writing Strategy:

1. What is the purpose of paragraphs 6-7? What do these paragraphs contribute to Mernissi's larger point?

The purpose of paragraph 6 and 7 was to further show how America is more reliant of beauty standards than Morocco and how these beauty standards make women feel less adequate and lower their self-esteem. This contributes to her point, because her point states that beauty standards are very strict in the USA so showing that she was fully confident in Moro

cco but once she got to the USA her self esteem was lowered right away because she didn't feel beautiful. She shows this by writing: " In fact, I have to confess that I lost my usual self-confidence in that New York environment."(page 253)

2. What two further comparisons does Mernissi make in paragraph 16? What transitions does she use to signal the shift of subject within the comparison?

She compares the western beauty ideals and the ancient foot binding in China, to explain how they were a lot alike. She does this when she states: " Chines e foot-binding worked the same way"(page 255). After her comparison to Chinese foot-binding she switches back to the ideals and ways of Morocco and how the accept people more than the Western world.

3. Mernissi devotes considerable attention to a narrative of her adventure in the department store. Why does she tell this story in such detail? What does this contribute to her essay?

She tells her story to provide evidence about her claims. If she were to just make the claims they would never be accepted because many people perceive the Western World as being less sexist than the Muslim world.Telling the story in detail provides evidence without a reasonable doubt that American ideals are more destructive in the Western world than in the Muslim world.