Harbor the Honey pots
In this misogynistic world in which we live, fraught with objectified women and rape culture, no children’s book exemplifies this realm of patriarchy than Alan Alexander Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh. Amidst the journey of a pudgy, tawny bear lie subliminal messages of inherent biological essentialism by merit of a penis. Milne’s book is devoid of any strong female characters; instead he chooses to focus on an egotistical, self-centered bear who will only entertain stories “About himself. Because he’s that sort of bear.” (Milne 2). Rather, the only feminine influence occurs within insignificant side characters or yonic symbols holding traditional attributes of women. Portrayed in Chapter one in the form of bees, Milne shows…show more content… He completely overlooks the environmental impact of bees for pollination and the spread of flower spores, preferring to focus of the one quality he deems useful. Pooh goes on to prove his arrogance; insisting that “the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it” (Milne 2). And seeing as he views bees only as a vessel for which to curb his desires for honey, the bear attempts to recover the honey from the bees by fooling them into thinking he is a rain cloud. He does this with complete disregard for the wishes of the bees. Even when he is questioned on whether the bees will mind his intrusion upon their honey, the bear simply shrugs saying, “you never can tell with bees.” (Milne 3); insinuating the desires of the bees do not matter so long as Winnie-the-Pooh’s own needs are fulfilled. When the bees retaliate against his unwelcome intrusions after he fails to deceive them, it is decided they must be the “wrong sort [of bees]… [and] make the wrong sort of honey.” (Milne…show more content… Winnie-the-Pooh represents the typical patriarchal male pursuing women, portrayed by the bees, for the honey, which is sex or pleasure. When pooh first hears the bees, his mind automatically goes to honey, and when his primitive intrusions hail, he is not deterred. Rather, he comes back in a disguise to deceive the bees. This mirrors a common tactic used by men in order to have their way. Women are continually led to believe men are something they are not, told not to make assumptions, or, even more disturbing, meant to feel as if they have a responsibility to fulfill or tolerate disrespectful behavior simply due to their very nature. We are constantly berated on the streets, and meant to feel unsafe walking alone in public by merit of possessing a vagina. Whether or not one has internal genitalia should not be an invitation for harassment. And yet, females are taught from a young age they are expected to tolerate this behavior; that it is their duty to even prevent this unwanted attention. Cover up. Don’t smile. Walk in a group. Avoid dark hallways or stairwells at night. Be alert. You shouldn’t have been such an easy target. How is it that a woman is responsible for the repulsive actions of another human? Rather than teaching that everyone has a duty to live with deference to all of those around them, society has place the burden on women. Even in consensual relationships it is generally