The REAL Woman
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The REAL Woman
Charlene
Ooh, I've been to Georgia and California and anywhere I could run
Took the hand of a preacher man
And we made love in the sun
But I ran out of places and friendly faces
Because I had to be free
I've been to paradise but I've never been to me...
Please lady please lady
Don't just walk away
'Cause I have this need to tell you
Why I'm all alone today
I can see so much of me
Still living in your eyes
Won't you share a part
Of a weary heart that has lived a million lives
Ooh, I've been to Nice and the Isle of Greece
When I sipped champagne on a yacht
I moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo
And showed them what I've got
I've been undressed by kings
And I've seen some things that a woman ain't s'posed to see
I've been to paradise but I've never been to me...
Hey, you know what paradise is?
It's a lie
A fantasy we created about people and places
As we like them to be
But you know what truth is?
It's that little baby you're holding
And it's that man you fought with this morning
The same one you are gonna make love to tonight
That's truth that's love
Sometimes I've been to crying for unborn children
That might have made me complete
But I, I took the sweet life
I never knew I'd be bitter from the sweet
I spent my life exploring
The subtle whoring
That costs too much to be free
Hey lady I've been to paradise
But I've never been to me...
Ironically, a Real Woman is more like a man than not. Physically, you can call her the weaker sex, but she has come of age, and she can stand tall to claim every niche and corner she has been denied, with dignity and pride. Does that make her happier? Would everyone be contented? Is the cost too high? These points are beside the point.
A Real Woman will go places. She will not be ashamed to make love in the sun, even with a preacher man. She has regrets, plenty of regrets. She is often alone, overlooked, slighted, and ignored. She is not afraid to admit that she whores, like everyone else. She has been to paradise, only to find out that paradise is but a lie to keep her in her assigned place of service: to give rise to the next generation, to provide sex, and to keep family.
What makes her stand out from her predecessor. She is Free. None can put her down again.
Carry on, Charlene. I am with you all the way.
- LuckyR
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Re: The REAL Woman
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Re: The REAL Woman
This is about the emergence of post-feminism Real Woman: your Real Sister. She does not require you to set her free. She has broken the chain. She does not ask to be compensated for her historical bondage. She no longer needs special treatment. Indeed, she would reject special treatment as disrespect. She does not even say: it is my turn. She will look you direct in the eye. "This is me, the real me, the me that i want me to be. I am free."
- LuckyR
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Re: The REAL Woman
I am, in fact referring to the emergence theme. You're attributing this change to the effect of the Feminist movement, I'm putting it on acquiring life experience. We're probably both right.gad-fly wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 11:35 amThis is about the emergence of post-feminism Real Woman: your Real Sister. She does not require you to set her free. She has broken the chain. She does not ask to be compensated for her historical bondage. She no longer needs special treatment. Indeed, she would reject special treatment as disrespect. She does not even say: it is my turn. She will look you direct in the eye. "This is me, the real me, the me that i want me to be. I am free."
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Re: The REAL Woman
Me talking about the effect of the feminist movement? That is a vast understatement, because the Real Woman is a startlingly independent structure towering over the new horizon.LuckyR wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 12:49 pmI am, in fact referring to the emergence theme. You're attributing this change to the effect of the Feminist movement, I'm putting it on acquiring life experience. We're probably both right.gad-fly wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 11:35 amThis is about the emergence of post-feminism Real Woman: your Real Sister. She does not require you to set her free. She has broken the chain. She does not ask to be compensated for her historical bondage. She no longer needs special treatment. Indeed, she would reject special treatment as disrespect. She does not even say: it is my turn. She will look you direct in the eye. "This is me, the real me, the me that i want me to be. I am free."
Attributing the Real Woman as acquiring experience is not appropriate. It is like saying that The French Revolution is no more than acquiring experience in government, or that having sex is experiencing comfort of the bed.
- LuckyR
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Re: The REAL Woman
Well, you're the one who stipulated "post-feminism". Just to be clear, I'm commenting on the lyrics you cited, you seem to have an image of something in mind that is only tangentially related to the song.gad-fly wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 1:37 pmMe talking about the effect of the feminist movement? That is a vast understatement, because the Real Woman is a startlingly independent structure towering over the new horizon.LuckyR wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 12:49 pmI am, in fact referring to the emergence theme. You're attributing this change to the effect of the Feminist movement, I'm putting it on acquiring life experience. We're probably both right.gad-fly wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 11:35 amThis is about the emergence of post-feminism Real Woman: your Real Sister. She does not require you to set her free. She has broken the chain. She does not ask to be compensated for her historical bondage. She no longer needs special treatment. Indeed, she would reject special treatment as disrespect. She does not even say: it is my turn. She will look you direct in the eye. "This is me, the real me, the me that i want me to be. I am free."
Attributing the Real Woman as acquiring experience is not appropriate. It is like saying that The French Revolution is no more than acquiring experience in government, or that having sex is experiencing comfort of the bed.
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Re: The REAL Woman
Thanks to your comment to the lyrics. Sorry if I have confused. It is never my intention to seek comment on the lyrics, but on what it inspires what I have written follow its quotation. The inspiration is what matters. The Real Woman inspires the lyrics in the first place, not the other way round.
- LuckyR
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Re: The REAL Woman
Thanks for confirming. For communication, can you please describe what makes a RW (instead of what she can do)?gad-fly wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 6:02 pmThanks to your comment to the lyrics. Sorry if I have confused. It is never my intention to seek comment on the lyrics, but on what it inspires what I have written follow its quotation. The inspiration is what matters. The Real Woman inspires the lyrics in the first place, not the other way round.
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Re: The REAL Woman
The post-feminist Woman is what I would call the Real Woman. Her emancipation took a century or so. She was thought unworthy to vote, to philosophize, to art, to politics, to medicine, and so on. Hers is the second sex, when second means inferior, as in South Korea fifty years ago. Her emancipation is still going on, but we can see the Real woman evolving to be on par with her brother in every field. This is what makes her real.LuckyR wrote: ↑August 12th, 2022, 2:17 pmThanks for confirming. For communication, can you please describe what makes a RW (instead of what she can do)?gad-fly wrote: ↑August 11th, 2022, 6:02 pmThanks to your comment to the lyrics. Sorry if I have confused. It is never my intention to seek comment on the lyrics, but on what it inspires what I have written follow its quotation. The inspiration is what matters. The Real Woman inspires the lyrics in the first place, not the other way round.
Does that make her predecessor unreal. I would think so. Compare her with the Victorian counterpart. The latter's justification is to keep family, and to give rise to the next generation. What else does she earn her keep?
What can a Real Woman do? Everything a man can do. How do you identify a Real Woman? You can find her in every field, She is your partner, your competitor, your boss, your assistant. She drinks, she fights, she lies, and she whores, just like what you may be doing.
Unlike Humpty Dumpty, she sat on the wall (or a pedestal) for so long. Slowly, and regrettably too slowly, she stands up. No one can put her down again.
lastly, she deserves your respect. You don't respect her? That is your problem. She cannot care less.
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