What I’ve Learned from Men by Barbra Ehrenreich Critique

The article, “What I’ve Learned from Men” was first printed in Ms. Magazine in 1985 a strategic attempt at targeting her main audience as it was published in a time when women did not have as much freedom as they do in the present day. Barbra Ehrenreich (2012), a feminist, liberal and democratic socialist, bases her article on what she believes women can learn from men, some men. She believes that getting tough is the one trait acceptable for a woman to replicate from a man. In this article she discusses the continuous battle between the two sexes and how women portray themselves as “too damn ladylike” (Ehrenrich, 2012). The message she is trying to convey is that she wants women to become stronger, and selfish individuals by using a sarcastic tone. She believes that if a woman was to adapt the traits of a man they would be able to accomplish more and earn what is owed to them. However,
Ehrenreich’s article failed at convincing her female audience to adapt this trait by her tone, language and the organization of the article itself.
Throughout the article, Ehrenrich (2012) uses a mocking, sarcastic tone. Ehrenreich
(2012) states that a “prestigious professor” attempted a pass at her, which she put an end to abruptly. She states, “I, a full-grown feminist, conversant with such matters as rape crisis counseling and sexual harassment at the workplace, had behaved like a ninny – or, as I now understand it, like a lady” (2012). The way that she reacted was any women’s instinct in a situation of that sort, feminist or not. The fact that she states “like a lady” proves her mocking tone even further as she believes acting like a lady does not reach her standards. Ehrenerich
(2012) states that when a woman has achieved something they would usually say “‘Well I really don’t know