Girls Night & French Manicure

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

“Girls Night” and “French Manicure" are two poems I am featuring and discussing in my Capstone final project.

“Girls Night” explores femininity, the fantasy and reality of girlhood and womanhood, and sexuality through the story of a girl’s night, inspired by my own experiences. The piece establishes the girl’s night as a space where the women feel safe, not only physically, but in terms of expressing sexuality. While not present in this space, the topic of men pervades the conversations. The women use male validation and objectification as a status symbol while viewing certain men as sex symbols, or objects, themselves. 

While “Girls Night” indulges in nostalgia, “French Manicure” contemplates being “wife material”. Recently, I questioned why I was resistant to being simply “sexy” and I wanted to explore this through the study of the protagonist’s romantic relationship. Was it to excuse my sexuality with intellect? Was it to walk a fine tightrope between sexual expression and classic, kind, unrebellious beauty? I titled the poem French Manicure because a French manicure mimics nails as they exist on the human body, only making them “more perfect”. It serves as a metaphor for how the speaker feels about her own relationship to beauty, femininity, and womanhood.