P. Burke In Tiptree

Tiptree demonstrates P. Burke to be monstrous due to the fact that she is considered worthless within society due to her appearance. Due to her appearance and attempted suicide P. Burke is given the ability to control Delphi through electronic implants that are in her brain. These implants connected to P. Burke are essentially what give Delphi the ability to interact and perform functions within her life, since Delphi does not actually have a mind of her own. However, this idea of allowing P. Burke to control Delphi has a greater importance. Tiptree is in one way or another commenting on the female body and its representation to society. P. Burke is described in the story as being beat up, odd-looking, and not very appealing to the eye, due
Burke as an almost “ugly” body within society. When P. Burke is given the opportunity to remotely control Delphi, who is a beautiful, young girl, P. Burke takes on the opportunity. Essentially, she is able to hide her own identity by being enclosed a building where she does not interact with anyone and solely has to control the mind and actions of
Her real self is not as acceptable within society, so making this avatar allows her to get the most benefits from society. However, this shows a huge problem with society, in terms of a female’s appearance and body. This shows that in P. Burke’s culture, since ads are considered illegal, celebrities are used to market and promote items. However, the celebrities must be attractive and appealing to the eye. That is why Delphi is created, to be a pretty face that can advertise items. P. Burke could not promote items because she is not considered pretty enough by her society, so instead her brain functions are used, as they are not visible like the human body is. This society places a huge emphasis on being beautiful and socially acceptable. In our society, there is still the problem with the female body and what the “ideal” body is. Females in our society feel they must have a supermodel type body in order for them to be considered beautiful, as that is what most TV, movies, and magazines show. Consequentially, a woman’s self esteem drops significantly and can even ultimately lead to self