Disguise of Hypocrisy

After reading the "Women Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston, specifically the chapter "White Tigers," I could not feel anything but disgust and utter anger for how Kingston was treated during her childhood and young adult life. This is not a new development sadly; the disrespect shown towards women has been going on for centuries. But what most angers me about Kingston's predicament is the wavering on-and-off support from Kingston's parents. Parents obviously don't support their children in every single endeavor the child tries to embark on; this could lead to danger for the children. In Kingston's case, however, this support was for Kingston herself as a person, which shifted from her mother "talk[ing]-story" about "swords-women" and "heroines" to completely devaluing Kingston's worth as a living being (19).

By the end of the chapter, I failed to understand what Kingston's parents actually were. In my opinion, they weren't actually Kingston's parents. Her so-called "parents" were nothing more than people who made sure Kingston and her sister stayed alive and did the chores. When Kingston describes her time with her parents, she states that they felt "ashamed to take us out together" (46). What kind of parent would do that to their child? Love, support, and care are very important things that every child needs. It was evident that Kingston didn't always have that in her life.

This leads me to my greatest grievance. Kingston's mother degrades Kingston and makes her feel as if she shouldn't be alive. But then she goes on to tell stories to Kingston about being strong and brave? The amount of hypocrisy is almost suffocating. Her parents continue to bombard Kingston with insults and harsh words of uselessness, and it's evident that these experiences have had a profound effect on Kingston. So the question draws attention to itself: is it Kingston's parents fault or the Chinese culture? It seems as if Maxine's mother tried her best to move Maxine away from the stereotypes of what a girl is in Chinese culture, but ultimately couldn't stray away from the destructive labeling. Whoever the blame falls on doesn't essentially matter. What matters is the need for women to be revitalized from slavery they were once trapped in. The effect of such treatment is evident even today, where some women aren't treated equally as some men in the workplace and outside. The world needs to get its head checked and realize women are essential to life; if some people didn't realize, they give birth to everyone.