"After this come in here with your shoulders covered"

The short story "A&P" written by John Updike was definitely written by a man. If I was to critique this article as a feminist would, I would definitely not be happy with Mr. Updike. This short story is tasteless, and demeans women in the most terrible of ways. Throughout this story, the main character, a 19 year old male, refers to women in demeaning ways: "There was this chunky one..." "You never know for sure how girls' minds work (do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)..." Only a man would speak so harshly about a women. Another thing I found disturbing was the fact that the three girls, and all the rest of the women in the story, spoke little to no lines. The only time the girls speak, they get shot down by the male manager, who tell them "after this come in here with your shoulders covered." The last thing that really offended me was the fact that the guy, obviously enjoying the fact that three pretty girls came into his place of work in swimsuits, called them out on that fact in his mind. As he's watching them walk down the aisles, he thinks "You know, it's one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach...and another thing in the cool of the A&P, under the fluorescent lights..."

This story is a perfect representation of what most men are thinking all the time. Remember ladies: Don't go into a super market, or anywhere that isn't a beach, without properly covering every inch of your body. Can't let the men think we're "impure" or "racy".