Final!!

Throughout this semester, there have been many readings that have greatly impacted me and encouraged me to become a feminist. I chose five essays that all related to women having power in either the home or workplace because I feel that women should be able to have as much authority as men have. These five essays are: He’s A Stud, She’s a slut, The Opt-Out Revolution, Are Women and Men More Similar Than Different, Women in Political Power, and Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Current State of Motherhood. These essays stood out when I read them because they dealt with issues that I was interested in and they all connected with my overall concept of women having authority. As a result, I am going to argue throughout my paper about why women should have as much power as a man.
In the first article, He’s A Stud, She’s A Slut, the author discusses why women are called sluts, bitches, fashion plates, and show-offs while men are called studs, heroes, politicians, and bosses. She explains to the reader why women are labeled as these awful stereotypes and gives us advice on what to do about it. As a result, her thesis states: “women’s bodies are always the ones that are being vied over for control-whether its rape, reproductive rights, or violence against women, it’s our bodies that are the battleground, not men’s” (15). The author gives all of her evidence through personal stories and statistics. One of my favorite examples that the author gives to support her main thesis is when she argues that it is looked down upon when a woman pays the bill at a restaurant because it makes her look more powerful than her man. In this situation she is more powerful than her man because she chose to pay the bill. Consequently, the author explains that this situation is okay for a man and does not make him look bad at all. However, a woman is seen as a “gold digger or a dinner whore” who only wants a man to pay for her. I think that this article really connected with my argument because there were many excerpts about how women were only seen as a house-wife without any kind of power or control. It also discussed how our society disrespects women’s bodies and looks at them as objects of control. I think that if women want to have as much power as a man does they need to stand up for what they believe in and not hold back. I believe that this would make a huge difference and give them a lot more control.
In the second article, The Opt-Out Revolution, the author explains why so many women get great degrees from prestigious universities and then opt-out to be stay at home moms. She gives specific examples of women who have gotten their degrees and then, almost a year later, quit their jobs so they could raise their kids. As a result, the author states in her thesis that “[she] has reported on the intersection of life and work –something more is happening. It’s not just that the workplace has failed women. It is also that women are rejecting the workplace” (2). Throughout the rest of the article, the author interviews women in hopes of figuring out why so many woman have quit their jobs. She also jokingly asks, “why don’t women run the world?” because she believes that they can they just choose not to. (3).
I think that this article relates to my argument because many women feel powerless when they get pregnant and feel that they have to quit their job to raise their kid. I think that it is an unwritten rule in society because it is looked down upon when a mother chooses to work and put her child in daycare. It can also make a woman feel powerless when she has to choose between her job and raising her kids. For example, Katherine Brokaw, a prominent lawyer, chose to quit her high-paying job and care for her three children. She recalls feeling powerless and “wishing [she] could be the kind of parent who could continue with [her] legal career, but she wore herself out trying to do both jobs” (4). I believe that women should have just as much power as a men do because women work just as hard to get their degrees if not harder. They should not have to feel powerless and forced to choose between their job and raising kids.
In the third article, Are Women and Men More Similar Than Different, the author, Kingsley R. Browne, takes a more statistical approach. I like Browne’s approach because it is different from the other articles and it clearly shows how men and women are such diverse creatures. As a result, instead of giving a thesis he makes the reader think critically by asking questions like, “can we move to a point where difference no longer makes so much of a difference?” and “should we eliminate sex and gender dichotomies from the definition of normal and natural or proliferate categories of sex and gender into as many categories as needed to capture human complexity?” Browne answers these questions throughout his essay and gives lots of evidence to back up his points. He specifically focuses on many different kinds of traits that make males and females different including: risk taking, competitiveness, dominance assertion, and aggressiveness. I thought it was interesting that men are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and also be more competitive while women are not.
Consequently, this relates to my argument because it is statistically shown that men are more “power-hungry” and more likely to take risks while women choose not to. Psychologist Elizabeth Arch explains that “from an early age females are more averse not just to physical risk but also to social risk and they tend to behave in a manner that ensures continued social inclusion” (75). She then goes on to explain that men are promoted more often than women because women are less likely to make risks and are also fearful of success. Since women are also less competitive, men are more likely to get the better job in the first place. Subsequently, another trait that the majority of men have that can backlash for women is dominance. Browne states that “dominance behaviors are those intended to achieve or maintain a position of high relative status-to obtain power, influence, prerogatives, or resources” (71). As a result, I thought that this article was very interesting because it proved statistically that men are more dominant, powerful, and aggressive. I feel that women need to work on these traits because these characteristics are crucial in being considered equal to a man. Dominance and power are practically the same trait so if a man is more dominant, he evidently has more control over a woman.
In the fourth article, Women in Political Power, the author explains why women aren’t bothering to vote or wanting to get involved in politics. As a result, she claims in her thesis that “voting is a responsibility that many women neglect and when [they] neglect that that responsibility, [they] may not see [their] priorities in those elected into office” (215). Thus, most of her evidence comes from short stories about women who are either involved or not involved in politics. She claims that almost nineteen million women in the world are not voting and therefore, not only voiceless, but powerless. Senator Murkowski claims that if these nineteen million decided to vote “she thinks that it would drastically change the issues that are being formulated” (219). Consequently, Julia Robinson, an alderman, states that “if those women actually voted, I think what it would do ultimately is completely change the discussion on social security reform” (219). I agree with both of these women and feel that if women start voting and start banding together on common issues, our society would be drastically different in a good way. This article relates to my argument because it shows that women could have so much more power if they chose to vote. I do not understand why some women choose not to vote, but I think we need to change that and get women more involved in politics. It is actually quite simple; if more women are involved in politics then women will have more power.
In my fifth article, Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Current State of Motherhood, the author discusses how difficult it is for a woman to choose between a career and family. As her evidence, she gives numerous examples of women who talk about their struggles and explain how powerless they feel when they are forced to make a decision. Instead of giving a straight-forward thesis, the author asks the question, “is modern feminism putting resources toward addressing issues relating to motherhood proportionate to the number of women that are mothers?” She then discusses how women often lose balance when are working their way up the corporate ladder and all of a sudden have to go on maternity leave to give birth to a child. She also interviews women who are all terrified about having to balance their career as well as motherhood. Evelyn, who holds a job and just found out that she is pregnant, states: “I think it will be hard to balance a full-time career and also give my kids the time and attention my parents gave to me. I am not sure that I can be all that I need to be in order to fulfill both roles” (152). I truly feel sorry for all women because unlike men, woman have to take on two roles that can make their lives very difficult.
This relates to my argument because women often feel powerless when taking on two roles and it is a huge struggle that they have to face. Often women do not have a choice to stay home because their husband does not make enough money to support them. Personally, I am worried about having to choose one day because I do not know if my husband will make enough money to support our entire family. This issue in general often makes women feel less powerful than a man because men do not have to choose. In the majority of households, the man is the breadwinner because his salary is usually higher than a woman’s and his employer does not have to worry about him getting pregnant.
I feel that these readings are connected in many different ways and have all been important in my understanding of women’s studies. Firstly, they all tie into my thesis that women should have as much power as a man. I discuss in each article why women are seen as powerless and how a solution can be found. I also discuss what steps I think a woman should take if she wants to be treated as equal as a man. Secondly, they are all connected because they all have to do with women empowerment in either the workplace or home. These articles have greatly helped my understanding of women’s studies. They have given me so much to critically think about! I honestly had no idea about all of these issues going on, but I am so glad I took this class and I understand now. I want to make a difference and become involved in any way I can. I also want to keep reading articles about feminism so I can stay up to date with everything going on.
As a result, these readings have given me a lot of insights and have definitely impacted my future career. I feel that I have a lot of insight about the “opting-out revolution” and also a lot of insight about what choices I am going to make whenever I am ready to start raising a family. I hope that as a speech pathologist I can open up my own private practice and take my kids to work with me. If that does not work I hope that my husband makes enough money so that I can stay at home and take care of the kids. I also have a lot of insight about women in politics and I want to get involved in any way that I can. I have always been very interested in politics and women’s issues such as abortion and birth control. I feel that a woman should have the choice to either keep her child or not because she has the power to choose. The only question I have is, “how do men feel about these issues?” I feel like we mainly focused on women’s reactions, but I think it would be interesting to find out how men feel about the issues we discussed.
Consequently, I believe that feminism has many definitions, but my own personal definition is: a movement or belief that advocates equality for women. I feel that feminism can be seen as either a movement or belief depending on the person. Some women are more passionate and choose to go out and protest while others discuss their beliefs more privately. I believe that anyone can be a feminist, including males, and there should not be a stereotype such as lesbian, hairy, evil, frustrated, etc. However, I think that the American public harshly stereotypes feminists, which causes many Americans to overlook feminism or ignore it. Many people are quick to judge when they hear the term “feminist” or “feminism” because it is such a controversial topic. Many of my friends initially told me that they would not consider themselves feminists, but after explaining what it was they all seemed to agree that they were. I also made a lot of them read “He’s A Stud, She’s A Slut” because I felt like it explained so much. Consequently, I feel like the word “feminism” has a very negative connotation because I remember reading in the “The F-Word” how much of a touchy subject it is especially to men. I found in a study that the majority of men would not consider themselves feminists, but the majority agrees that women should have equal rights.
I feel that the majority of Americans still do not know much about feminism because it is a somewhat new phenomenon. First-wave feminism came about in the early nineteenth century initially just to gain women’s suffrage. However, many women started becoming involved and realized that they were not being treated as equally as men. This brought many women together who formed feminist organizations. Alice Paul, one of the most dominant figures in women’s suffrage formed the National Women’s Party, which protested at the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. Another women’s rights advocate, Margaret Sanger, is credited with starting Planned Parenthood, which is still around today. The first wave of the women’s movement is significant “because women obtained the right to vote because their work helped change the perception of women from voiceless dependents to independent thinkers with a valid voice in shaping the country” (23). Consequently, second wave feminists focused on specific goals relating to women’s issues such as birth control and equal pay. There was a lot of racial tension and many women of color led this movement because it occurred around the 1960’s when race was playing a huge factor in society. Dolores Huerta was a woman of color who accomplished so much during the second wave. She founded the Agricultural Workers Association in California and the National Farm Workers Association, which were extremely successful. Huerta still remains an active leader who “notes that contemporary women still need to work on integration in the women’s movement” (28). Overall, second wave women fought exceptionally hard for legislative victory that granted significant rights to women.
Subsequently, third wave feminism is taking place right now and is associated with many women who were born between the mid-1960’s and the 1980’s. The problem with this wave is that many women feel as if they are not making a difference. Katie Pandora, a young feminist, exclaims, “I think a lot of women in the third wave are in a demographic of apathy. They think their voices don’t or can’t count. Unfortunately, democracy depends on numbers, and we have to identify at some level as a movement in order to make it worth time of mainstream politicians to focus on us” (33). Personally, I know that I feel like that and many of my friends feel the same way too. I think that a major solution to this problem is involvement. If women go out more and get involved I feel that their voices will be heard. Women also need to start voting more and become involved in politics.
As a result, I have seen that the discipline of Women’s Studies intersects with feminism in so many ways. The core purpose of Women’s Studies is to teach/promote women’s issues and the majority of women’s issues coincides with feminism. For example, in class we frequently discussed how it is looked down upon when a woman sleeps around. We also read about it in “He’s A Stud, She’s A Slut” when the author explains how a man can sleep around as much as he wants, but a woman can’t. This issue relates to the feminist issues of abortion, contraceptives, and birth control methods. Thus, we also discussed how hard it is for a woman to balance her two jobs: work and taking care of the family. Men really only have one job, which is at the workplace while women are typically seen as the main caregivers who have to keep the house and family together. This issue relates to feminism in so many ways because again, women are seen as the ones in charge of the family.
After taking this class I would definitely say that I am a feminist because I am feel women should be treated as equals to men. Before taking this class I did not consider myself a feminist at all because I had no idea about all the issues going on. I was so oblivious and didn’t even notice how badly some women were treated or portrayed. I could not believe how many commercials portrayed women as sex objects who were just there to please men. I also thought it was extremely unfair for women to have lower salaries than men who held the same job. Before, I honestly wanted to be a housewife who stayed at home and took care of my kids. I have always wanted to get married and raise a family before every having to work. However, this class challenged my opinion and also changed my mind. I want to go out into the workforce, get a good job, and then raise a family. I learned throughout the lectures that I do not want to be totally dependent on a man when I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.
I am a feminist because I believe that women should be just as equal as men and should be treated the same way that they are treated. If women were treated as equal as men, the world would be a much easier place to live in because there would not be gender conflicts. Women would not have to play the “mommy” role and males would not have to be the breadwinner. The male could stay at home and take care of the kids while the female could go to work and “bring home the bacon.” I think it would be better overall because women would have a choice. Personally, I think that a lot of women give up their jobs to stay at home and raise a child because they feel other women would look down on them. I feel that we have come a long way from how our society used to function, but I do not think this will be happening anytime soon. There are always going to be people that argue the other side and take a more traditional viewpoint so I think that gender equality may take a while.
This class has truly opened my eyes to gender and made me think outside the box. At times it was uncomfortable because of the controversial issues we discussed, but I am glad that we did. I was forced to change my way of thinking and listen to some else’s beliefs. Before taking this class I had a very conservative viewpoint, but now I feel that I am more moderate and very open to being liberal I actually have quite a few liberal beliefs! I am so glad that I took this class because it really helped me think critically about issues I have never though about before.

References:
The F-Word
Are Women and Men More Similar Than Different?
The Opt-Out Revolution
He’s A Stud, She’s A Slut

Blog 10

One issue that is extremely important to me is rape because I have heard so much about it. Over the years, I have read so many awful rape stories that have truly made me aware of what goes on in our world. I feel very passionate about this issue because being raped is one of the worst things that can happen to anybody...either a boy or a girl. As a result, I found an organization called AWARE, which stands for Arming Women Against Rape and Endagerment. This is an organization that promotes "effective self-protection for intelligent young women". Their mission is to educate the public, organizations, and individuals about issues related to personal safety. It is a source of training, information, and support for people, primarily women, learning how to cope with violence. AWARE training is focused on self-protection and self-defense skills that can enable women to avoid, resist, and survive situations ranging from low levels of aggression to extremely violent assault. It also is a valuable resource for self-defense instructors, law enforcement professionals, social workers, rape crisis counselors, human resource employees, and victim service providers.

I really like this organization because it teaches women how to pretect themselves and this is crucial in avoiding rape. Being aware of your surroundings and knowing how to protect yourself is crucial in potential rape situations. I definitely support this organization and would really like to donate money to it. In the future, I would love to be able to work for an organization like this.

Readings:

In the F-word, the author discusses the difference between the second wave feminists and the third wave feminists. Reuss claims that the second wavers are more concerned with electoral change while the third wavers are more concerned with social change. I think that this is very interesting. He then goes on to argue that the third wavers are making many mistakes and that everything is their fault. I don't completely agree with this because I think that times are very different and we cannot judge the second wavers or third wavers.

Reading Gender: The Eternal Feminine

While reading The Eternal Feminine, by Castellanos, I found that many scenes were very significant in portraying gender. However, I thought that the Honeymoom scene clearly demonstrated the best portrayal of how unkindly men treated women. This act showed in a very comical way how women are seen as nothing more than sex objects who gave their bodies over to their husbands. They were not suppossed to enjoy sex in the least bit and were also not allowed to have slept with any other man before they got married. The man was also allowed to question his wife as much as he wanted. For example, Juan asked Lupita question such as, "Have you ever been married before?" or "Is this your first time?" However, the woman wouldn't dare ask her husband these questions because that would be seen as disrespectful. It is only acceptable for a man to ask a woman these questions, which personally I think is ridiculous. It made me upset that men could treat women so badly and that women could not stand up for themselves.

I think the main point Castellanos is trying to make is that women really are treated this way and that men think they have a right to their wife's or girlfriend's body. A lot of men think that they own their girlfriend/wife and can take control of them whenever they want. However, they do not want their woman's body when it has been taken by another man in the past. This bothers them so much that they will take drastic measures to makes sure that she has not been with another man before. I was shocked when I read about the bloody sheet and thought that it was awful for a man to check and see if his new wife was a virgin. Consequently, I also think that Castellanos wants us to believe that a woman must always give the right answer when asked a question. For example, Juan became extremely defensive when Lupita told him that she didn't enjoy having sex with him. Juan told her that "she vowed to obey him" and that she was breaking her promise when she did not enjoy sex. Castellanos was also showing that women are not supposed to like sex...it is just something that they are supposed to tolerate in the marriage. This is why Lupita told Juan that he would have to force her to have sex with him.

From the in class discussions, we talked about the traditional gender roles that men and women are supposed to play. Women are typically the "faithful lovers" who do all the housework while the men make all the money and can do what they please. In the article, He's a Stud, She's a Slut, Valentini discusses how if women go out and sleep around they are considered a "slut", but if a man sleeps around he is seen as a "stud" These gender roles and stereotypes are seen in the play as well because it is a huge deal if a husband finds out that his wife has slept around. It didn't matter if Juan had slept around, but it was a big deal if Lupita had. Personally, I think that our society still uses this kind of logic today because men still think it is "slutty" if a girl sleeps around. Most men will not even date a girl if they know that she has slept with a lot of guys. I also feel that women are still seen as objects and are told to behave in a certain way.

Blog 9

I found a non-governmental organization called Global Fund for Women, which is a nonprofit grantmaking foundation that advances women's rights worldwide. It is a network of men and women who believe that "ensuring women's full equality and participation in society is one of the most effective ways to build a just, peaceful, and sustainable world." They do this by raising funds from a variety of sources and and making grants to women-led organizations.

These are some of the reviews and success stories that I found:

"We want to raise the status of rural women, prepare them for the market economy and create conditions in which women are able to make a living wage.” — Bubuzura Azhumudinova, founder of Eldik Uzda

“What we really want is to change violent attitudes and behaviors. We are trying to find the best way to introduce elements for prevention and protection against family violence.” — Fátima Millón, former director, Red de Mujeres Contra la Violencia

“Women for Women’s Human Rights has [made a] great contribution to the women’s movement in Turkey. Three years ago, they organized women’s groups to change the Turkish Civil and Family Code, and they got the government to change the laws.” — Nurcan Baysal, GFW Advisor

I truly think that this organization is worth giving money to because they are trying to help women all over the world. Their main purpose is to advocate and defend women's human rights and they truly use every penny that is donated towards issues concerning women. The money is distributed to issues such as: expanding civic and political participation, advancing health and sexual/reproductive rights, increasing access to education, fostering social change philanthropy, and ensuring gender-based violence. This organization aims at fixing the inequality problems women face everyday and also in promoting justice for every woman in the world. I want to donate to this organization!

Reading:

In chapter 8 of FIFE, hooks discusses global feminism and how it needs to be achieved in other countries as well as the United States. It begins by discussing white upper class women and how they dominate the movement and often leave out other races and poor women. It then discusses neocolonial paternalism, which was enacted to keep people of color out of the picture so that the upper class white women would represent feminism. I think that this is wrong and every women, incuding women of color, should have a say in feminism and should be allowed to voice their opinions freely. I feel that this is necessary for the feminism movement to work. If the white women are the only ones making the decisions, only the things in their interest will be achieved. I feel that all women should work together so that the feminism movement can prosper. The reading was very interesting and I enjoyed it because I really made me think a lot about this issue.

Ethnography Paper

Ethnography: Teacher

For my ethnography paper I did research on a teacher (Libby Bray) who chose to stay at home for 10 years and raise her kids. She just recently went back to work now that her youngest is in 4th grade. She is a remarkable woman who gave me wonderful advice about the hard decision of having to choose between work and family, which is the central concept of my paper. I am very interested in learning why women choose to stay at home with their kids and sacrifice their careers that they worked so hard for. I picked this topic because of my interest in it and also because I feel that I might have to sacrifice my job one day to stay at home and take care of my kids. I have always wanted to be a mom and feel that I would choose to be a stay at home and raise my kids. I wanted to ask very detailed questions so that I could come up with an answer to this question: "Why do women choose to stay at home and sacrifice their careers?"

Questions:

1) Did you feel pressure to get married and have kids? Not really, I have always wanted to be a Mom so I just told myself to be patient and it would happen. The only time I felt a little bit pressured was when my friends started getting married and having kids.

2)How old were you when you got married? 27

3) How soon after you were married did you have kids? We waited a year.

4) Did you have any friend that had to sacrifice a family for their job? Yes, many of them did. One of my best friends is college was a lawyer and she chose to excell in her career instead of have kids.

5) Do you think this is a difficult choice for women? Yes, this is such a hard decision for many to make. But, I believe that a mother should stay at home with her kids and raise them. I think it is a man's job to be the provider and the woman should take care of the kids. I'm a little old fashioned...I think that we would have less problems in our world today if mothers' stayed at home and raised their kids rights. I think that if a mother is not at home watching her child, that the child is more likely to get into trouble.

6) Did you make your career choice based on your want to have kids? I guess you could say a little bit. I always wanted to be a teacher, but also always wanted to have a family. I thought about these things a lot throughout college. I think young girls should think about this when in college. As long as you're thinking about it you're on the right track.

7) Why do you think women choose to stay at home and leave their career? Because children become their #1 priority. You want to raise your kids right and if you leave them in the care of someone you don't know...you never know what they will be taught. By staying at home, you can raise your kids the way you want. This has a huge influence over what kind of person they turn into when they are older.

I began observing Mrs. Bray when I arrived at The Highlands School at 8 am on Friday March 13th. She is a 3rd grade teacher who teaches about 20 girls (the girls and boys are taught in different buildings). Her day consisted of teaching the girls many different subjects, passing back papers, and also grading many papers. This is her first year back after being a stay at home mom and she told me that she "couldn't have been happier" because her kids also go to The Highlands. She said she really enjoys teaching again and is happy that her kids are in the same location as her. According to my research and observation, I came to the conclusion that many women choose to stay at home and raise a family because they see children as more important than working. I agree with Mrs. Bray that it is vital to raise your own children because you never know how they could be raised otherwise. Something that could be missing from my research, however, could be more sources since I only observed one woman who was extremely steadfast in her beliefs. An anthropologist could get more information about this issue by interviewing and observing more women. I really enjoyed doing this project and feel that I learned a lot from Mrs. Bray. She truly gave me a lot of insight about choosing between a family and working.

Blog 8

In "The Opt-Out Revolution", Belkin describes how successful women have to put their prestigious careers on hold so that they can raise families. One response to Belkin's article, by Mrs. Granju, protests Belkin as narrow-minded because she only sees one side of the issue. Personally, I think that Belkin's article is extremely disheartening because women clearly have to sacrifice so much to have a family. It is almost impossible to raise a family while having a high-career job such as a doctor or lawyer. As a result, this puts tension on women. My Mom had to sacrifice her career so that she could raise me and my brothers. She was a nurse and when she was pregnant with me she decided that staying at home with me was the most important thing. She just recently went back to work at another hospital and is very pleased with her decision. I think that I would make the same decision that my mom made because I really want to stay at home and take care of my family.


Readings ch. 6 & 9:

In both readings it discusses women in the work force and their effect on the world as either a stay at home mom or as a mother in the work force. Personally, I want to be a stay at home mom and have a big family to take care of. At the same time I also want to be in the workforce and have a high-career job. I can easily see why women have this feeling of being torn between being a stay at home mom and working. For my ethnography paper, I interviewed a woman who chose to sacrifice her career so that she could be a stay at home mom. She recently just started working again...she hadn't worked for 20 years because she was taking care of her kids. I cannot wait to share more of the insight she gave me in my ethnography paper.

Blog 7

About a week ago I watched the movie Sex in the City and definitely thought that there was a lot of gender stereotyping involved. The movie, like the show, definitely portrays women as shopping addicts who move to New York for the sole reason of "labels and love". However, the four best friends are all stereotyped in extremely different ways. Carrie is seen as the woman who is independent and strong yet still needs a man in her life. Charlotte is the typical housewife who gets to stay home while her husband is the "provider". Miranda is the woman who can provide for herself and doesn't think that she needs a man. Lastly, Samantha is the woman who acts like a man because she always wants to have instant sexual gratification. The movie was definately advertised in a very feminine way and was geared towards women because it is all about women and their search for love. Women, unlike men, can really relate to this because every woman dreams of a lifestlye like one of the ladies in Sex in the City. The movie portrays their life as exciting and wonderful. After watching the trailer I thought that the movie would definitely make women want to go out and see it. Our society teaches women that they should like designer things and should strive to be able to afford it someday. As a result, this makes women want to go out and see this movie. In the movie, gender relations are strictly heterosexual and stereotype what society thinks a couple should be like. All of the couples are super attractive, happy, and centered around sex.

Reading:

In chapter 9 of Feminism is for Everybody, I agreed with hooks in that equal pay is an important factor, but not necessarily a huge one. I think that as a society we need to focus first and foremost on men and women attaining the same kinds of jobs without men looking down on women. Then, we need to work on making pay equal for both sexes. If we focus on gender inequality we can go further.

In the F-word, it made me sad when I read about boy children being valued more then girl children. That personally offends me because I am a girl, but also because I disagree. I was shocked when I read that parents are more likely to get a divorce with a girl child than a boy. I think that girls realize at a young age that they are more "pampered" than boys. I realized this when I was little through they way people treated me and acted towards me. I remember sitting in my room playing with my dolls while my brothers played outside. I feel that girls are given more things and more often given what they want. Nowadays, we hear that when a girl wants something she goes to her "daddy"and more often than not he gives her what she wants.

Blog 6

I feel that this is a very controversial image because it portrays women as sexual creatures who are willing to let a man take control of them. In this picture the man is holding the woman up against a door and pressing her into it. I feel that this portrays the woman as a weak and fragile being who will let men take advantage of her for sexual pleasure. I also feel that the man is trying to "turn her on" by blowing into her ear so that she will want to have a sexual relationship with him.The name of the perfume also makes me a little angry because the name "unforgivable woman" has a negative connotation. Unforgivable means too bad/cruel to be excused and this ad makes is seems as if the woman is the one who is unforgivable.

I could not believe my eyes when I found this advertisement! Like the other advertisement, it shows women as sexual beings who only care about pleasing men. This picture is an ad for suits saying "A custom-tailored suit is a natural aphrodisiac". I feel that this is extremely offensive because an aphrodisiac is a substance that is used to increase sexual desire. So, the advertisement company is saying that a suit can make a woman more attracted in a sexual way to a man. I think that when men see this ad they are going to think that they need a custon-tailored suit because "women will want them." This ad definitely makes me mad because it is making women look like horny tramps. The woman in the ad is only wearing a bathrobe over lingerie and it is practically falling off of her. She is also teasing the man by yanking his tie and acting like she is about to kiss him. I am unhappy with the way woman are portrayed in both of these ads.

Reading:

I definitely agree with what Wolfe said about the way women show themselves off and how it has changed in society today. In the past, I feel that women dressed a lot differently than women dress nowadays. When you turn on the tv, you can turn to practically any channel and find that women are wearing clothes that show off their breasts and butt. On my favorite show, 90210, the two main girls are so skinny that their clothes are practically hanging off of them. They are sickly skinny, but our society thinks that skinny is beautiful. When flipping through magazines almost every ad is full of girls who are skinny, tall, and tan. They also usually have long, flowing hair that is ususally blonde or brunette. I think that this makes girls so self-conscious and feel far from perfect. I also hate how this is the stereotype that men think they need in a woman. If she doesn't fit they skinny, beautiful hair, tan stereotype they won't even give her the time of day. One time last year I was at a party and I started talking to this really cute guy. We hit it off and started hanging out and even dating. A few months later he told me that he wouldn't of walked up and started talking to me if I would of had "a beer belly." I was kind of hurt by this comment because it meant that he was only interested because of my looks. It taught me a lot, however, because men are greatly affected by the stereotypes of feminine beauty that are put in their heads. I really think that we need to change this stereotype of women.

Blog 5

I went to playlist.com and made a playlist, but could not figure out how to put it on here! I tried everything!!

So, here are my songs:

Men Don't Change by Amy Dalley
Stupid Boy by Keith Urban
How Do I Live Without You by Leanne Rimes
Think Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood
Unfaithful by Rihanna
Addicted by Saving Able
What's Left of Me by Nick Lachey
Ticks by Brad Paisley
Beautiful Soul by Jesse McCartney

Many of these songs are different yet also similar and have to do with a reoccuring theme that I find throughout gender. A lot of the songs I chose were by female artists who were singing about independence. They also were about how men treat women. The songs Men Don't Change, Stupid Boy, Think Before He Cheats, and Unfaithful are all songs about cheating and heartbreak. These songs are all filled with a lot of emotional language and strong messages. I listed these songs because I feel that they portray what a lot of people feel about the opposite sex and gender in our society today. These songs are also filled with stereotypes of how a man or a woman is supposed to act in a relationship. When I was listening to "Stupid Boy" by Keith Urban these words stood out: "She didn't even know she had a choice...when the only voice she heard was telling her she can't". So in this song, the man is telling his girlfriend that she can't do something. I feel that in our society, boyfriends tell their girlfriends what they can or can't do all the time and I think this is wrong. The songs Ticks and Addicted are both about physically being with a woman and these songs can be taken either in a good way or bad way. Personally, I think that these songs are offensive to women because it makes women sound like they are easy to be taken advantage of. Lastly, I put the song "Beautiful Soul" by Jesse McCartney because it shows that men can be respectful towards women.

In chapter 7, hooks discusses how the feminists were mostly upper class white women who were extremely involved and typicalled housewives. However, the lower middle class women could not stay at the home and had to go out and find a job to survive. Women were often given "dirty" jobs and that is why the upper class women did not want to work. I think that most women today see the job of as a "housewife" as a luxury because they enjoy being at home and taking care of kids. I feel that many women just enjoy the freedom that they have the choice to stay at home.

Just a Note*

I don't have the FIFE book yet so I haven't been able to respond to all of the readings!

Blog 4

Some of the courses that I found under the Women's Studies program that interest me are: Body Image Reality, Women in Sports, Women Social Change, Womens Health, Women Law, Women World Politics, and Contemp Fem Thought. I would really love to take Body Image Reality and feel that it would be very useful to me because I have always been interested in body image. Body image is so important in our society today and I feel that this class would be extremely thought-provoking.

Since I plan to become a speech pathologist, gender will probably only play a minor role in my work because most speech pathologists are women. Since most speech pathologists are women, there will probably not be major controversy over pay. However, I could be wrong and male speech pathologists could possibly make more than me. When I graduate I want to either work in a hospital or school just to get as much experience as I can. Then, I eventually want to open my own private practice where I can work with little kids who have speech impediments.

In high school, I worked at a place called Pump It Up, which is a birthday party place for kids full of inflatables for them to play on. Most of the employees were girls and there were only a few guys. The ratio of girls to guys was 5:1. I think that mostly girls worked at Pump It Up because it was more of a babysitting/party planning job which is more of a feminine role. Guys aren't typically known to be babysitters or party planners. During the summers I worked at a christian day camp called Camp Thurman. I was a camp counselor who led a group of twelve girls in outdoor activities. There was an even number of girls and guys at this job because there had to be a certain amount of boy counselors and girl counselors. As far as I know, I believe that girls were paid the same amount as guys. All in all, I think that I was paid the same amount as my male co-workers and I was not discriminated against for being a female.

In the reading about the "third wave", I thought that it was very interesting that this wave focuses more on female empowerment that male oppression. I definitely agree with the text that you can be anyone, like a soccer mom or transgender, and be a feminist. Feminists shouldn't be labeled and any woman that feels like she stands up for being a woman should be allowed to call herself a feminist.

Blog 3

I thought that the movie Iron Jawed Angels was very interesting and I learned a lot. I think that today many American women take voting for granted and this movie made me realize that it shouldn't be taken for granted at all. I also learned that women sacrificed SO much for their rights and the rights that we continue to have today. We should be thankful for the courageous women in our past who have helped our society become what is is today. I thought that Alice Paul, Hilary Swank, played an outstanding role and was an extremely heroic woman. However, it did suprise me a little when she gave up her "love interest" because she really did care for Ben. It just shows that she felt the cause was much more important than her personal life.



I think that one of the most important themes in the movie is fighting for what you believe in. This theme is shown throughout the entire movie especially through the characters Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. They clearly fight throughout the entire movie by going on a well-publicized hunger strike and refusing to eat. However, there were many tensions that the women had to face. One of the biggest tensions they felt was tension from men. When the women paraded on Wilson's inauguration day, many of the men were "taken aback" and shocked that these women were doing this. I remember seeing a man's face in the crowd who was glaring at all the women parading. Another tension that the women faced was a ruined relationship. Many of the women lost loved ones because they disagreed with their actions. Many, like Alice, had to choose between a loved one and the cause they were fighting for. Many women overcame these tensions by sticking together and continuing the fight for what they believed in. As a result, they were finally able to achieve their goals by working hard and not giving up the fight. They stuck it out until the end.





I think that my favorite, yet also the saddest scene in the movie, is when Alice is in jail and they are force-feeding her. It is my favorite because it shows how determined Alice was and how much she truly cared. She was not only fighting for the right to vote, but fighting for her life as well.

Blog 2

My mom is a very strong feminist who is not afraid to speak her mind so I knew that she would be a very interesting woman to interview. She defined feminism as "the equality of women in the world of both sexes." My mom is in a very dominant female profession; she is a nurse anethesetist. She told me that when she graduated and tried to find a job, she found out that she was being offered less money than some of her male classmates. She was obviously very upset and discriminated against because she had the same qualifications. She knew that she had worked just as hard or even harder than the men in her class. My mom then told me a story about when she was in CRNA school and worked a night shift with a few other classmates. She told me that if two cases came in that night, the woman was given the less severe case and the man always took the more severe. My mom said that she could not stand this and felt very discriminated against.

I can definitely understand where my mom is coming from because sometimes I feel discriminated against just for being a woman in today's society. Men can get away with so many things and a woman would be looked down upon or judged right away if she did the same thing. Personally, I have noticed that OU football players always seem to recieve excellent treatment no matter what they do or where they are. It is almost as if people let them get away with everything just because they are a crucial player. Women, however would never be treated in this way.

In the reading, chapter three discusses how women are taking advantage of reproductive barriers and starting to use them more. Even though I don't fully agree with teenagers using contraceptives, I think that they are helpful to women because they can have control and protect themselves. In the past, women didn't have many options for contraceptives and therefore, were powerless in a way.

Blog 1

My name is Monica Woods and I am from Arlington, Texas. I am a sophmore and plan on majoring in speech pathology. I love my family and am very close to them. I have two little brothers that are thirteen and sixteen years old. I am trying to convince the sixteen-year-old to go to OU! I also have three dogs named Roberta, Tugger, and Toby. I miss them so much when I am away at school! I decided to take Women's Studies because I thought it would be very interesting. I have always wanted to take this class, but haven't had time because my semesters have been filled with gen-ed requirements. My roommate took this class last semester and strongly recommended that I take it. She said she learned so much and was always telling me interesting facts.

Five questions I would like to answer for myself are:

1) Why is there so much pressure for women to be thin while there is practically no pressure on men?

2) When did feminism start? How did it come about?

3) Why are women stereotyped as "sluts" for sleeping around, but men are rewarded and called a "stud"?

4) Why are women judged more on their appearances than intellect?

5) Why do men recieve larger paychecks than women in the work force?