Should be seen and not heard?

This article talks about the old school style of how children should be seen and not heard. The author talks about how this is very prominent in southern black culture, and I can say that I know that it used to be very prevalant in the United Kingdom as well, especially for female children, as the author states. She talks about how women dominated the black household, in a bad context. She talks about how children were smothered and not allowed to speak up. She makes a good point about how she had to break the rules set by her mother about how she shouldn't speak, just to learn how to talk. She goes on to state how she was smothered as a child because there was 'no calling for talking girls'.

When comparing this blog to The Handmaid's Tale, it is interesting to note the similarities. The women in The Handmaid's Tale, while adult are not allowed to express themselves. They are made to wear plain dresses and are not allowed to write, or even read, as it is shown as un feminine. This is similar to the blog, were the writer talks about how she had to hide writings under her bed, in pillowcases and amongst her underwear. The pressure on women to give birth is another throw back to earlier in the century. A good example of this is Nazi Germany, where women were made to leave work and work at home, and were paid depending on the amount of children in their familes.