steady as she goes

One thing that women in this age lack is self-assurance along with a belief in themselves to be comfortable with their body shape and all it entails. this lack of confidence is generally caused by the social control that men have over women, along with the constant subjugation of their rights and power. one way that men control the minds and spirits of women to cause doubt in themselves is by making them feel insufficient no matter what they do, in regards to their body and minds. dating all the way back to the nineteenth century women were caught in a double bind when they tried to get access to higher education. according to ruth hubbard "scientists inintially claimed [women] could not be educated because [their] brains were too small" (p.162), therefore they were not fit to study at a higher level than the most basic. she also goes on to say that "if they divert this energy to their brains by studying, their reproductive organs will shrivel, they will become sterile, and the race will die out" (p.162). the idea of women being less intelligent was prevalent for a long period of time until women proved themselves both in the workplace after WWII and in the classroom, exceeding expectations set by men previously to make sure women never succeeded or moved upward in society. on the flip side, women were required to know all about this and that in order to get the cooking and cleaning done. she had to have street-smarts in order to survive in her difficult sphere of the home. so on one hand she is being suppressed by men so that she recieves no formal education, but at the same time is required to know all about her private sphere and social etiquette. men have created this bind so women have no plausible way to succeed in the outside world as they are not equipped with the necessary tools. it forces them back into their private sphere of which they know and cherish as it is one of the only things they find to be common and normal. they make women believe that the only power they hold is the power in the private sphere over the "household" although men tend to believe they hold the power there too seeing as they pay the bills. the work a woman does in the household in not considered real work to society, meaning it merits little appreciation since it so "easy and straightforward". This is another way that men find a way to oppress women and make them feel bad about themselves: make them feel bad and unappreciated for the work they do. emily martin characterizes this situation in "Body Narratives, Body Boundaries" when she says "much of what women do has been interpereted as the natural manifestation of our biology" (p.169). Women's work is degraded so that they recieve no respect for the work they do, even though it is just as, if not more, taxing than the jobs of men in the outside world. men believe that if women hold the same jobs as them, they are no longer of a subservient class and are capable the same as men, which releases them from the bind of passivity and piety. until they break the label put on them by men, women will be considered weak and worthless in society's eyes. what needs to happen is for women to be strong, stand up for themselves at all times, don't give into gender roles and be conscious of their actions and language, and change the views of men unable to see the abilities of women outside their stereotypes. ehh i could've done better.

Common Language and Privilege

This week we read many articles that mostly related to the language we use along with how the powers that rule dictate how they should be used. Also, how power is understood and by what means we have power or not. There was also discussion about other feminist movements by other ethnicities at the same time as the women's movement continuing to this day. The fact is that minorities have very little power as is in society, combined with women/gender, regardless of race and sexual orientation; these people tend to be excluded from issues that involve them, like earning money, providing for their household, and having a voice in society. does that mean, for instance, that homosexual black women don't garner any respect in our society right now? that is exactly what it means, which makes no sense. if they are considered such a minority and have such a "distinct and different outlook on life" that they are considered to be outsiders; and don't we always preach and get it pounded into our heads at a young age to keep our minds open and listen to others? how are these people along with everyone else you meet in a day not considered profound because we are all different? the patriarchical system dictates what we can and can't accept, which again makes no sense. you need to follow your own path and decide what you want to believe in without being spoon fed. everybody is different with different needs, therefore we need to respect these needs as they do the same for us and put up with our trash. when you look at the civil rights movements of the indian women along with the mujeristas, they each have the same basic principal ideas to "overcome oppression we suffer in our culture and in the society in which we live precisely because we are women" (Mujeristas). No matter what race, women are excluded from certain rights and respect in society, therefore their main, basic idea for civil rights is the same, yet each argument is multifaceted with specific needs geared toward their own interests. Also, because of this ignorance of different cultures and their needs, we tend to use language that disrespects their beliefs. similar to how the african american community has used the n word in an endearing fashion, we have taken words such as freshMAN, fireMAN, BACHELOR of arts/science, and other words of these types. the fact that we don't recognize we use these words without the connotations to either gender is a bad sign in that it creates a greater separation between men and women. it constructs invisible walls that we can't differentiate between destructive or helping, or simply neutral. what i actually think is that it doesn't create a larger dichotomy or degrade women, but instead we use it as helpful language that we have recreated to be inclusive to all genders and orientations. as it has progressed from when women stayed at home and earned their "Ph. T. degrees (Putting husband through)" (Betty Friedan) to now where women make up the majority of scholars. scholars, another word that was created for men; now accesible for describing women, too. in 10 years we have no idea where these terms will end up and what they will signify because by then even more women will be attending college and getting degrees. in 50 years some terms will become completely "feminine" or some terms such as policeMAN and freshMAN will change now automatically encompassing all genders and orientations, no exclusions. this could end up being one of the best things for women ever, just look at the progress of the n word. without genderization through speech, both men and women will have more freedom to follow activites once attributed to one sex or the other, leading the world to more possibility and freedom of expression.

The veil and its representation.

A few weeks ago we were talking about the veil along with muslim women in america and all that other stuff. we came up with a few things that the veil represented and we came up with lots of options that both gave women power but also turned them into sexual objects on occasion. i feel that the veil can work in both a positive and negative way, in one way giving women some form of freedom to express themselves and also hide from things behind the veil. the thing is that women can hide from that for only so long, they then start to stand out if other women become westernized or if they are all the same then they are like a pack of unsuspecting sheep with all the men as hungry wolves. one of the main reasons that they wear them is described in "chappals and gym shorts where she says wearing the hijab "simmbolized a way to adhere to religious and cultrual traditions in order to prevent complete western immersion." this makes sense in that the way that we in america dress is particularly outlandish when you look at the rest of the world. people in the middle east would never go out in a bikini or a speedo because it completely goes against tradition and is considered dirty and showing too much. i don't know if i agree with the part about it being unholy, at least in my eyes, i think that the bikini and other clothes similar to this are a good way to express yourself and can create a feeling of independence. i don't really know about this first hand, because i have never worn a bikini, but the ability to express yourself through your own style is the best way of all. the veil can also symbolize submissiveness in women which is how they are expected to act in some cultures. the american media uses this tactic to appeal to our subconscious. in most ads with women in them, they usually have something covering their mouth, either their hair, or their hand, or something which shows their inability to talk, therefore their place in society. this is what the veil does, it prevents women from speaking their mind or speaking in general, which makes them seem weak, therefore men don't respect them. if they didn't wear the veil that covered their face they would be respected more and be listened to much more. women, especially in this context need to be able to show that they are capable of being more than just a good housewife or some garbage like that, they need to show men in this religion and culture that they are just as proficient as men and are able to take care of themselves without needing the support of a man. In chappals and gyms shorts she talks about how her dad laughs at her when he remembers that she isn't good at cooking or cleaning, both necessities for a wife in this culture. this is disgusting, who makes these gender assignments that men do X and women do Y? there are always seperate jobs, even today. men get laughed at for being nurses or such, why? whoever made jobs male for female makes no sense. what if intersexuals were allowed to continue living their lives as inters and then they start being doctors? would others shy away from the job because it's strictly intersexual? makes no sense.