Activism

In our last chapter, it is about activism and change. We have discussed issues that plaque society that involve women. Everyday we are battling to overcome this oppression and succeed in becoming equal. Whether we, as women, are getting paid less, receiving less respect, less opportunities, funding, more violence against us, we can still do something. It is difficult ometimes to get past the disadvantages but there are things we can do to change our society. For one we can vote, even though it can be inconvient, voting is one of the biggest ways to get your voice heard. I personally get discouraged living in a red state that my vote will not be counted, but at least I know that I did what I was supposed to do and it might make a difference. Another way is to get involved. I am a member of NARAL Pro-Choice, and feel a great sense of pride. I can proudly say that I have written to my Congressman and told him why they should not increase birth control and why what I do to my body is my choice. Being an activist, no matter what it is, will make a difference. There are many ways that you can become an activist, whether it is online website, volunteer work, protest, or write letters it will all help. After knowledge you have recieved after a Women's Studies Class, and this one in particular, you should stand-up for your rights as women. So I ask all of you, to get involved. Whether you support volunteer work at a domestic violence shelter, write to your Congressperson, protest in Washington, or vote. You can all be an activist!

The Government and Womem

Today in our class we discussed a chapter in the textbook that talked about Government and Representation. There were many areas of discussion in this chapter: particularly women in law, public policy, the criminal justice system, and the military. It was interesting reading some of the articles on women in the law. The book was published a few years ago, before Hilary Clinton was a serious contender for President, but the facts are extremely similar. Looking back at some of the acts and laws passed, they have made great strides in improving women's lives, but it is still far from perfect. It is also frightening that only a handful of women are in positions in the government.

We also discussed the increase of militarization in the United States. It is rather alarming to see toddlers walking around with camo shirts on. Why is it that people in society glamorize war, but are not willing to accept the consequences of it? It seems that we, as a society, tell our children that the military is a noble thing, yet when wounded soldiers return from battle we assume they will be fine mentally. By no means am I supporting the war we are in now, but there is a serious problem with soldiers returning with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Although the government is "helping" soldiers, we all know that is complete BS. Not only is the government hiding returning soldiers they are not giving them the health support they need. Instead of our government actually doing something to help these soldiers they promote unimportant activities such as Black Friday shopping. That way the government makes a profit to fund the unending war that will not help our soldiers. Not only is the government ruining these soldiers, they are causing an entire problem for the country. So is militarization the United States really a good thing?

Gulity after a Rape?

In our reading this past week, we read an article that dealt with this woman's feelings and thoughts after she was raped. It was a very interesting story. She started out talking about her childhood in school. She states that this boy would constantly poke her with a pencil, and it would annoy and hurt her. She agonized over it everyday, when one day she got up the courage to tell her teacher, she told her to go sit down and wait until he did it again.

Soon after this, she begins to discuss her rape. She was attacked and raped in her own home. She describe her as feeling rude for not asking him in. She is facing a man as she said scared her, and she feels rude for not asking him in. It is absolutely ridiculous that she feels this way. Why is it that she feels guilty, is that they way society has taught her? This outraged me. Later on in her story, she tells the reader about her rape. As he was raping her, she complemented him! She felt that she should give him gratitude. If it wasn't bad enough that she felt impolite, she complemented him on his performance. This is absolutely disgusting. As I was reading this, I was truly disturbed. If this is how our society deals with these situations I am truly frightened.

Prjoect (REV)

During class on Monday, we had a speaker come in and talk to us about Project REV specifically domestic violence and sexual assault. It was extremely interesting and shocking to hear some of the statistics. One of the topics she discussed was, violence against women in four different areas. These include dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. As we talked about sexual assault and alarming statistics was proven in our class. One in four women will be sexual assaulted in their lifetime. There were twenty-five people in my class and three mentioned they had already been a victim and survivor of sexual assault. I just couldn't believe that the statistic was true, three people in just my one class, and that's the only the women that feel open enough to discuss it. Another thing that the speaker talked about that caught my attention, was the rape information and stats. Most rapes are planned and are by someone you already know. Wow, to me this was shocking, I always thought, before this class, that the majority of rapes were stranger-rapes. This is not the case. The alarming fact makes it even more difficult to understand. Why is it that the people you think you can trust can turn out to be your rapists? Statistics say that between the age of 16-24 is the highest level to be sexually assaulted. Who would have thought that the person you met at the supermarket, or in class, or a gym class could be your rapist?

A Brighter Future?

The past few weeks we have discussed the family life and career aspect of women. Although most of my fellow classmates thought these chapters were boring, I liked them. I think that it is interesting to see how far we have come and how far we still have to go.

While talking to several other students, it was great to find out that most have the same desire for equality. Although, the occasional few that don't are the ones that scare me. I don't understand why people are so opposed to being called or even linked to a feminist? Other than the upper class white male, who would oppose? Why is it that being called a feminist a negative thing? Why is it that society views feminists as bitchy, pushy, etc? I hope that in the future people will be proud to be called a feminist, I sure am!

Advances and setbacks for women

In today's society we, as women, are more capable of having a career than in the past. However, with the vast achievements in making careers easier for women to have, there are plenty of disadvantages.

In the 1960s, the U.S. was going through a political and social war basically. In this time two extremely important Acts were passed to help women succeed in the workplace. The first was the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal to openly pay a women less just because she was a woman. next was he Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, that said gender can not be used in criterion in employment except where there is a "bona fide occupational exception". These acts did help tremendously, but the disadvantages and backlash were far worse. The continuity of sexual harassment still occurred as well as gender segregation. In the gender segregation, terms such as the glass ceiling, glass elevator, and glass precipe started to form.

With such terrible setbacks in the workplace it is no wonder that it became so hard for women to achieve success. Not only were women penalized for being female they also were paid less. Still today women make 76 cents to the man's dollar. Since it is still an uphill battle for women to achieve equality, especially in the career world, we must not forget that we deserve these rights like men do. No matter what gender you are you should be able to achieve the highest success possible. If we continue to strive for success, we can eventually overcome this oppression.

Equal Partnership

As it is true in many households, there is an imbalance between partner's household work. For the majority of people, it is usually the women who end up working the "double shift". Although this has been common throughout history, I think the time has come to break away from this unfair tradition. The work among a household should be equally divided up. The ideal of equal partnership should be practiced in every household no matter what the employment circumstances are. Although one (or both) of the household members work outside of the home should not determine who receives the majority of household work. Now that women have more economical freedom, we should be able to have a career, a family if so desired, and not have to perform all of the chores at home as well. If equal partnership was the social norm, then there would most likely be less stress on the women as well as a more enjoyable life. Not only would it make women more happy, but also make the other household members lives more fulfilling.

A Feminist and still Pro-Life?

It is not hard decision for me, but for some it may be. I firmly believe that you can not truly be a feminist and be a pro-life supporter.

I can personally say that I am a feminist who supports pro-choice. I do not understand or know for that matter, how people can say they are a feminist and pro-life. One of the main principles in being a feminist is to support equal rights for women. So agreeing that abortion is wrong because the fetus does not have rights, is saying that you do not care about the rights of the woman. Why is it that the pregnant woman has less rights than the unborn fetus? Why is our society so fixated on the idea that the fetus has the right to life, why not the woman? It just doesn't make since, the women should have more rights. It is there body, they should be able to choose what is best for them. I do not believe that your could possibly be a supporter of pro-life and honestly say that you are a feminist.

Killing Us Softly

Killing Us Softly, is the third part in three films by Jean Kilbourne. Her first film was in 1979, then 1987, and finally 1999. They all are about Advertising and the effects it has on women and the way advertisements show women.

During the film, she showed clips from magazine articles, television commercials, and other forms of advertisements and the way women were portrayed. The clips that were shown were everyday ads that we would all see on tv, or billboards. It was rather shocking to see the images in these ads. First of all the women were being hyper-sexualized, which was especially disturbing when it was young teens or young women. No matter what age of the women, unless you were over age 50, you were displayed as a sex object. The advertisements keep increasing the way to objective women. As terrible as the Ad industry is, we are the ones who continually buy the products. Unless we stop giving in, it just turns into a vicious cycle again. It is our time to stand up, no woman should have to deal with being objectified especially in the media.

Picking Mates

In class last week, we read an article by bell hooks about romance and the idea around love. It was very interesting. I still am not sure where I stand exactly on this, but I do know that it was indeed thought provoking. The class discussed the article for a good fifteen minutes. It was roughly questioning the logic around being in love and the process, or lack there of, of finding a mate.

I read the article and at first was completely thrown off guard. How we could possibly choose our mates by a list based solely on our needs. Oh my, what a brilliant idea. If only it could be that easy and logical. It would be a great idea if we actually chose our mates by our needs and by our mind. Instead we are taught my the media, society, etc, that we are supposed to fall dramatically in love and be swept off our feet. Clearly that is not the case. Just think about how much happier couples would be, the divorce rate would most likely decrease. But, the romance side of love would be completely gone. If only we could do away with romance, but can we? Even it is what we really truly need, will we be able to give up on romance?

Women in Sports

Earlier this week in class we had discussed questions over several readings. One of the discussion questions in particular was fascinating to me. It was basically asking why women aren't taken seriously in sports. It also asked what influences society played in women's sports.

It was clear to me playing sports through high school who was valued more. In case you didn't notice, everyone else did. I mean people blatantly tell you you are not as important as the boy's team, even if they lose all the time. I thought maybe it was just a high school thing, but unfortunately it is not. Who decides that women are not as important and shouldn't be given the opportunity? Is it like every other institution, where the white men with the money run the show? So the "upper class" white men get to decide if it is important enough to have a women's tennis team or softball team. But boy will they support a women's cheerleading team or dance team. Why is it that all women have to fit into this cookie-cutter life, not all women want to be like that.

Tough Guise

Today in class we watched the video "Tough Guise". I was a tad confused by the title but was genuinely open to the contents of the film. Within two minutes, I was completely captivated by the narrator. Jackson Katz talks to the camera in a simplistic way, but his information is stunning. He makes connections that I have never thought of or questioned in some aspect but didn't fully understand. The key argument that the film is based on is masculinity and the fact that it is or could be a pose.

Wow, I couldn't believe this. This whole idea that being masculine is taught to boys from birth, not a surprising fact, but that it is also a pose. I started to think in detail about this. They really are taught by birth what is "normal" and masculine for boys. How to act and feel, or more appropriately not feel. But what about after birth, teenage years? The media especially portrays "real-men" as being muscular, strong, independent, and so forth. Young men especially feel that they have to be a "real man" there is no other except able way. So in return, they do pose as being masculine. The concept is really not that shocking once you look at the evidence, but just saying it opens the topic up. After all opening up controversial topics is the first way to solve it.