The Rising Tide

In no time at all the rights of women have progressed from absolutely nothing to general recognition among society. We have started to realize how important feminism actually is to our culture and how important equal rights are for all, not just some. As women make up more than half of the population of both the US and the world, they technically should be the majority in every culture, yet they are considered to be the minority in 99% of the situations they are put in. Yet, slowly but surely these women have started revolutionizing the way we think of them and recreating the stereotypes which were previously made centuries ago. Although they may try as hard as possible, they still can hardly achieve the respect that they deserve because of the patriarchal principles we reinforce on a daily basis. Men have prevented the options for women to be socially accepted on the same level as a white male by consistently changing the picture for women to fit, making social goals for success unattainable, and countless other techniques. Like it was said by Cynthia Enloe in Beyond the Global Victim, "Women articulate their own strategies for oping with their husbands' resentment, their foremen's sexual harassment, and the paternalism of male union leaders" (Enloe 534). Men don't provide the opportunity for women to succeed in the workplace, therefore prohibiting the things which let a person achieve respect in society: money and individual stability. As we encourage men to be the breadwinner of the family, we subconsciously--and sometimes consciously--force women into the domestic role. But this is changing.
When we realize the pressure we put them under, the degradation they encounter, the hopelessness they feel, and the lack of imagination possible in the meager social power we give them, we start to understand their situation. By recognizing their situation and what we've been doing to them for centuries we are finally able to change our ways while altering our social structure to allow them freedom. We can now see our oppressive ways because they have called us on it. We can now see where we went wrong and how they are supposed to act and feel: however they want. Naomi Littlebear poeticizes this idea in her poem "Like a Mountain" by saying, "Nobody can stop a woman from feelin' / That she has to rise up like the sun / Somebody may change the words we're sayin' / But the truth will live on and on" (Littlebear 149). Although we may be able to censor and suppress the inspiration of women in our society, they will continue on fighting for equality and justice. Once we give them the rights and respect they deserve, our society will be altered in complete positive ways which will lead to more happiness on a whole as a country, while also leading to less stress, more peace, and a better understanding of ourselves and each other. I'm going to say it again because you enjoyed it in "A day With[out] feminism": the way we get there is through RESPECT.

men and women in the wrong place

Society is what we are. everything we say or do or think is part of our society because we are part of our society. anything that happens because of us is happening in our society. a society can be anywhere and any time, with no limits or boundaries or with certain limits and boundaries. both our contrasting and similar ideas make up our culture, therefore our beliefs on certain topics make up the beliefs of our society, if a majority believes in them. the way one gets a majority to believe in something is by appealing to those in power to make them feel more powerful. in the case of jobs and labor in our society, those in power, men, are being appealed to subconsciously by other men who place them in positions of power. this leaves women with little representation or what's left of what the men leave behind. women pick the scraps of what men have given themselves from the beginning of time and keep taking. since from the beginning it was defined that the family is based off of a male figure and that he is supposed to be the breadwinner, that concept has stayed with us the entire time. this means that the men leave the house and deal with the public while the women stay back in the house, taking care of the "scraps" as defined by society. we now believe that housework is female/feminine because men are not the typical people to do it. normally, women do the housework, and when they can't they hire a maid. "70% of these maids are immigrant workers" according to Doreen Corjaval. this already-degrading task of being the master of the private sphere is being lowered even further so low class workers are doing low class jobs, therefore reinforcing our society's common idea that immigrants are incapable of "serious work", while women are the only capable ones of taking care of kids since men don't understand children and the problems which can arise in a household. this simultaneously restricts the jobs each gender can do because of the previously made stereotypes, while also reinforcing these same stereotypes. if we continue to follow these conservative ideals of our ancestors we will never be able to escape the bounds to which we assigned centuries ago. if we ever cross the lines of gendered labor we are discriminated against, or at least questioned. If a man wants to be a teacher, he is immediately checked to make sure he isn't homosexual or a pedophile. in Men and Work "men are very distressed by these negative stereotpes which tend to undermine their self-esteem and to cause them to second guess their motivations for entering these fields" (Bravo & Anna). parents don't believe the male teachers can love their children because they are men, therefore don't understand how to take care of kids. this occurs to men, who are the primary "rulers" of our patriarchal society, so women really don't stand a chance. men are criticized for overstepping and generally are called gay for doing so, but that's the extent of the names being called. for women there are quite a few more select phrases which can affect them in more negative ways. using the same example, female teachers are criticized for leaving their private sphere, getting a real job, and "deciding not to stay home, and went out to get a job" (Bravo & Anna). She is looked down on for leaving her daughter at home and getting a job instead of being a housewife. he is supposed to be in a real "manly" job, while she is supposed to be back in her sphere of the house taking care of the kids. we are stuck for now, until a majorities change, ideas change, and we can look past gender as a reason for labor to affect our dictations of who belongs where.