Contextual Considerations

What contextual (social/cultural/political etc) considerations does the section you have examined engage with and how?

The section of “What He Want to Say, Which is Right to Say” explores the hardships of an unmarried woman through a woman’s perspective. This section also explores the vulnerability that woman have to face and potentially be sexually harassed as for example as seen by “They smile and see me top to bottom” and “Some say work like that is not much better work than work in Geylang”. It is important to know that Geylang is a known area for prostitution in Singapore. The case of being an unmarried woman also creates lots of pressure for them to get married to gain social acceptance because of the traditional and conservative values in Singapore, as well as people a male-centric society. This can be seen in “I don’t need to be afraid of being alone, I don’t need to worry about being fat (because I have children). I don’t need to feel guilty that I have too much time. I don’t need to feel bad about seeing my mother.” which suggests that woman have to keep up their appearances solely for the purpose of impressing men, to get married and become a mother. “I will never meet this man who is made up of all men who walk by: this guy who… a little too tight on Fridays.” this shows the traditional and conservative impacts of women no longer having freedom after being sucked into marriage as the speaker wants to find a man who will treat her well and not look down on her.