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