Global Issue Focus : Gendered power dynamics

Literary Work: Salome by Carol Ann Duffy from ‘The World’s Wife’ collection, 1999

Non-Literary Work: “Now act like you like it” cartoon by Liza Donnelly

Focus – Gendered power dynamics 

Salome – The poem Salome by Carol Ann Duffy explores the power dynamics between male and female relationships. The poem is an allusion or transformation of the bible/original story of Salome. In Carol Ann Duffy’s version, Salome almost seems like a modern character and the idea of an avenging angle is in-directly proposed, since the gender roles are reversed from stereotypical culture. The poem also suggest the power that women have power over man via seduction

Donnell – The cartoon depicts a stereotypical traditional  male and female relationship however the roles are reversed, where the man is cleaning. Both the characters are naked/almost naked, and due to the reversed roles, it seems like the female character is using her power of “sex?” or seduction to make the man clean. With the voice over “now act like you like it” suggest similar themes to Salome which of an avenging angle.