Blog Post February 8th: What do the authors want us to want?

After reading and analyzing Emily Martin’s, “The Egg and Sperm”, I felt that it was very clear that what Martin desired was to inform the reader of the unequal way the female reproductive system is presented in biology, and in turn make men and women want their respective systems presented equally. At the end of the reading Martin states that “Waking up such metaphors, by becoming aware of when we are projecting cultural imagery onto what we study, will improve our ability to investigate and understand nature. Waking up such metaphors by becoming aware of their implications will rob them of their power to naturalize our social conventions about gender.” (1009). It is here Martin clearly lays out her desires. She wants to convince the reader that no matter female or male we should all want equality, and act to help reach it collectively no matter how small the topic. Noah Berlatsky’s article on the other hand was not so straight forward. He begins his article by explaining that when “Comparing Twilight and The Hunger Games, it's easy to see why second-wave feminists, and adults in general, find a girly teen so much less attractive than a tomboyish one.” Pointing out Bella’s flaws and Katniss’ strengths. Only later to ask the question, “And yet, for all the critical accolades...is masculinity really categorically better and more feminist than femininity?” Leaving the reader to question his true purpose as an author. However, I felt that by the end of the article his purpose was clear. Berlatsky simply wants his readers to want what they want. His conclusion is not one that calls to action, or motivates. He simply says that, “Masculinity and femininity isn't a duel to the death.” meaning that we should all believe as we want to believe while at the same time understanding the way that others view the same topic, something I felt refreshed to read.