Using only the reading provided, argue against some point the author makes about lying that you disagree with. Be sure to use quotes from the reading to support your answer. https://lesbianhistorygroup.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/adrienne-rich-women-and-honor.pdf (Some examples for assignment clarification purposes: Perhaps the author makes a distinction between this and this, what does she mean by this? She keeps using it for this, it’s X and not Y. Why is this important? Focus on one point and expound on it)

In this reading, the author argues that women are forced continually into lying because of their powerless state. The author writes, "We have been depicted as generically whimsical, deceitful, subtle, vacillating. And we have been rewarded for lying." In other words, women are not rewarded for being strong and honest in our society, but instead must practice deceit and lying to follow societal norms.

You may decide to disagree with a part of the author's writing. I chose the quote below:

"And she may also tell herself a lie: that she is concerned with the other's feelings, not with her own. But the liar is concerned with her own feelings."

The author is arguing that, although women are asked by society to concern themselves with other people's feelings and not their own, women, like everyone else, actually are concerned with their own feelings. I believe that this is true sometimes but not all the time. A healthy person balances concern for herself with concern for others. A woman can be concerned with others without neglecting herself; in fact, concern for others can enlarge one's concern for oneself. By caring about others, one becomes better and more powerful in her own mind and heart.
The following excerpt also gives a lot of food for thought:




"We have been expected to lie with our bodies: to bleach, redden, unkink or curl our hair, pluck eyebrows, shave armpits, wear padding in various places or lace ourselves, take little steps, glaze finger and toe nails, wear clothes that emphasised [sic] our helplessness."

The author equates the clothing and beauty regimens that women follow with a form of lying. There is some truth in this statement for some people. However, for others, these beauty regimens help them emphasize what they like about themselves. Curling one's hair, for example, may simply be a way to feel good about oneself rather than a form of lying. Clothes can enhance our sense of ourselves and our confidence rather than represent a form of deceit.