Literary Work – The Diet, Medusa, Beautiful by Carol Ann Duffy

Non-Literary Work – How to Testify as A Woman, Good or Slut, I am supposed to be here

[0 – 1:00] I shall begin my Individual Oral by introducing the works I’ll be analyzing. My
primary literary text is Carol Ann Duffy’s The Diet and my main non-literary text is a cartoon
by Liza Donnelly titled How to Testify as a Woman. I have connected these two works to my
global issue: how harmful societal norms and expectations serve as a barrier to women’s
empowerment across various levels of society. My initial interest in this topic stems from
personal observations of how society’s rigid standards often reduce women’s sense of
autonomy and confidence. For instance, women are frequently subjected to unattainable
beauty standards like maintaining a specific weight, having flawless skin, or silky hair. Both
Duffy and Donnelly, as passionate feminists, use their works to critique these oppressive
norms through literary and artistic techniques.

[1.00 – 3.00] Starting with the literary text The Diet, a poem from Duffy’s collection
Feminine Gospels, we see a poignant reflection on how societal norms around beauty and
body image restrict women’s empowerment. The poem addresses the harmful impact of
extreme dieting on a woman’s body and mind, shedding light on the deep psychological and
physical toll that these unrealistic beauty standards can have. The poem’s structure consists of
8 stanzas with 7 lines each, mirroring the strict, regimented nature of the woman’s diet. The
consistent line length reflects the rigidity of her dieting routine, while the last line of each
stanza being shorter suggests the fluctuating cycle of starvation and binging that she endures,
symbolizing the endless struggle women face when trying to conform to an idealized image
of beauty.

In terms of rhyme, Duffy uses internal rhymes, such as “eight stone, by the end of the month,
she was skin and bone,” which quickens the rhythm of the poem, mirroring the rush and
desperation associated with dieting. This accelerates the sense of urgency, while also
highlighting the unhealthy obsession with weight loss. The psychological effects of these
societal pressures are made clear in the fifth stanza, where Duffy writes about the woman
“drifting away on a breeze.” The wind here serves as a metaphor for the woman’s eating
disorder, symbolizing her loss of control and the overpowering grip of societal expectations.
This image emphasizes how deeply ingrained these norms are, affecting the woman’s sense
of self and her autonomy.

Duffy also employs personification in the third stanza, with the phrase “She was Anorexia’s
true daughter.” By capitalizing “Anorexia,” Duffy gives it a powerful, almost entity-like
presence, underlining how deeply the disorder has become embedded in the woman’s
identity. This personification demonstrates the intense grip that societal beauty standards,
internalized through media and advertising, can have on women. The poem concludes with
an eerie sense of dissociation, critiquing how societal beauty standards dehumanize women
and strip away their autonomy, leaving them as shadows of their former selves.

[3.00 – 4.00] This leads me to the bigger body of work called ‘Medusa’. This poem describes
how jealously can turn a woman into a metaphorical monster and ruin their self-confidence.
The idea that if women don’t conform to societal standards, they are off less worth is
asserted. This is illustrated in line 14, ‘perfect man, Greek God, my own; but I know you’ll
go, betray me, stray from home’. This use of the ‘rule of three’ portrays Medusa's
apprehension about her husband leaving her for younger, more beautiful women.
Later in line 41, Medusa says ‘Wasn’t I beautiful? Wasn’t I fragrant and young?’. The use of
rhetorical questions reflects how Medusa believed she had to fulfill the expectations of
appearing beautiful and young to ensure her man isn’t unfaithful. The use of the pleading
tone and past tense together once again points to the low self-esteem of the narrator. The
poem ends with the line, “Look at me now.” Having its own stanza, this line is strikingly
impactful. It functions as a double entendre: it could be a plea to be noticed or a threat,
referencing the mythological idea that gazing at Medusa results in petrification. This
conclusion critiques societal norms that trap women in cycles of self-doubt, illustrating how
these expectations can destroy a woman’s self-worth, transforming her identity into
something she no longer recognizes.

[4.00 – 5.00] Likewise, in the poem called “Beautiful”, Duffy explores the lives of four
prominent women in society. A core literary technique used within the construction of
Beautiful is an allusion. Although not actually saying the names of these four women, Duffy
alludes to key moments or ideas from their lives. For example, in the first line it reads, “The
camera loved her, close-up, back-lit,” This is about Marilyn Monroe who was heavily
sexualized in her prime era. In this extract from the poem, which is about Marilyn Monroe, it
reads, “They filmed on, deep, dumped what they couldn’t use”. Firstly, the consonance across
‘deep, dumped’ creates a sense of oppression and furthermore, the plosive ‘p’ within both
these words cuts through the narrative, representing the brutality Monroe experienced on a
daily basis. Duffy writes that ‘she couldn’t die when she died’. This haunting phrase
highlights the media’s continued exploitation of Monroe’s image, showing that even meeting
societal standards provides no escape from the systemic objectification and disempowerment
of women. The poem concludes by highlighting a lose-lose scenario for women, where even
success is overshadowed by the systemic barriers that prevent true autonomy, leaving readers
to question how society can begin to dismantle these damaging structures.

[5.00 – 7.00] While Duffy uses poems as her medium, Liza Donelley an American cartoonist
uses visuals instead as seen in the non-literary text, called ‘How to Testify as a woman’. This
piece of work was created in 2018 inspired by lawyer Christine Blasey Ford that fought a case
in the supreme court despite mass oppression.

Liza Donnelly’s "How to Testify as a Woman" uses visuals to critique the harmful societal
norms that create barriers to women’s empowerment. In the cartoon, Donnelly illustrates a
woman in a courtroom surrounded by labels that dictate how she should behave in order to
assert her credibility. The caption “How to Testify as a Woman” refers to the way women’s
voices are marginalized in professional and public spaces, drawing attention to the double
standards that exist between how men and women are expected to present themselves. The
imperative diction—“No tears, No anger!”—highlights the societal expectation that women
must suppress their emotions to be considered rational and credible. These standards suggest
that if women express their true feelings or assert themselves too strongly, they risk being
deemed unreliable, undermining their empowerment.

Donnelly also makes a deliberate choice in her use of color, or lack thereof, to emphasize the
societal burdens placed on women. The woman’s grey attire in the cartoon serves as a
metaphor for the loss of individuality and vibrancy under the weight of societal expectations.
This reflects how societal pressures drain women of their identity, forcing them to conform to
rigid norms.
The cartoon also employs irony through the overwhelming amount of text used. Unlike her
typical minimalist approach, Donnelly floods the image with phrases like “non-aggressive,”
“quiet voice,” and “pleasant,” symbolizing the endless list of societal rules women must
follow to gain basic rights or respect. The repeated phrase “but not too much” underscores the
contradictory nature of these expectations: women must simultaneously exhibit strength and
submissiveness, professionalism and passivity. This irony exposes the absurdity of this
courtroom culture, forcing the reader to confront the reality of how these rules undermine
women’s empowerment.

[7.00 – 8.00] Donnelly further critiques these harmful norms in the cartoon ‘good girl or slut’,
where she uses analogy to explore societal prejudices that shape young girls' understanding of
their future prospects. Here, the setting is a child’s bedroom where two girls are playing with
dolls. The casual conversation between them—about the limited choices women face, such as
being judged for either obeying men or being labeled a “slut” for pursuing career
advancement—reveals the internalized gender roles that girls grow up with. The term “slut,”
which contrasts with the more accepted “good girl,” exposes how women are penalized for
stepping outside of conventional gender roles, often judged harshly for behaviors that would
be considered acceptable in men. This analogy is powerfully juxtaposed with the innocent
playdate atmosphere, amplified by soft pastel colors, which starkly highlights how these
deep-rooted societal expectations are passed down through generations. By portraying girls as
controlling the actions of their dolls, Donnelly also alludes to the manipulation and
objectification of women in real life, mirroring how societal pressures sexualize women from
a young age and influence their self-perception. This cartoon serves as a critique of the
societal systems that impose these harmful expectations, and how these norms limit women’s
autonomy and opportunities for self-empowerment.

[8.00 – 9.00] In the third cartoon, Donnelly uses irony to comment on the underrepresentation
of women in the corporate world. The illustration depicts six men and one woman at a
meeting, where the lone woman stands out, not just visually (with her purple shirt contrasting
against the men’s blue attire), but also through her internal thoughts: “I am supposed to be
here.” This speech bubble emphasizes the self-doubt women often experience due to their
historical exclusion from executive spaces. Donnelly uses irony to highlight the fact that
women’s presence in such environments is still seen as exceptional, even though they are
fully qualified. The woman’s pride in asserting her right to be there challenges the outdated
notion that men are inherently suited for leadership roles. By focusing on the internal struggle
of this woman, Donnelly addresses the self-esteem issues and psychological barriers women
face in environments dominated by male norms. This cartoon critiques the societal structures
that create such barriers and emphasizes the importance of dismantling them to allow women
to truly thrive in male-dominated fields.

[9.00 – 10.00] This leads me to the conclusion of my individual oral. I’d like to argue that
both the literary and non-literary works show how there are various barriers imposed on
women by the harmful societal norms and expectations that prevail in today’s world. These
include restrictive beauty standards, the expectation of emotional suppression, and the
systemic exclusion of women from positions of power. In Duffy’s poem, she critiques the
pressure on women to conform to idealized notions of beauty and youth, demonstrating how
these expectations strip them of their autonomy and self-worth. Meanwhile, in Liza
Donnelly’s comic, she explores the societal double standards women face in professional
spaces, as well as the internalized limitations that begin during childhood, perpetuating a
cycle of disempowerment. Thank you.