Follow up to Jocelyn 2/1

When I opened up Enlightened Sexism I knew it would be intriguing and I would find it interesting after having read the introduction last week.  While I found the stories on Lorena Bobbitt, Janet Reno, and Amy Fisher to be very interesting, as well as the perspective on Buffy and Xena, Chapter 1 particularly caught my attention.  I grew up in the 1990s and have known more about Buffy and Xena, but until reading Chapter 1 of Douglas’ book I did not know all that much about 90210 or Melrose Place.  I especially did not know about Riot Grrrl or Sassy magazine.  Northern Exposure was one show in this chapter that really caught my eye.  The description Douglas gives on page 41 reminded me of my current favorite show, Grey’s Anatomy: “people of various ethnicities and worldviews mingle easily”, “women were utterly unintimidated by male privilege, and indeed has much of the power”, the lesbian lovers in town, etc.  Furthermore, “Only in the alternate universe of Cicely [Seattle Grace Hospital] could conventional gender roles for women be abandoned, and lesbianism seem utterly natural” (Douglas 42).  When Grey’s Anatomy first started in 2005 I remember hearing about how diverse the cast was, how the directors didn’t specify a race for the roles but simply hired whoever was most qualified, etc.  When I read about Northern Exposure I was shocked at how many comparisons I could draw between the two shows and how ahead of its time Northern Exposure must have been in the early 1990s.

I found Walker’s writing on the Third Wave of feminism particularly intriguing.  Since I was only a toddler when the Anita Hill testimony happened, I do not know a ton about it, but was intrigued to hear how Walker became a “Third Wave Feminist”.  I have grown up in the third wave movement and it was interesting to hear what triggered this movement.  I also found part of her definition of feminism to be interesting: “It is to search for personal clarity in the midst of systemic destruction” (Walker 400).  In the previous waves it has seemed, to me, that feminism is more broadly defined and that this definition brings the personal aspect back into it and allows for more women to feel connected to it than before.

The piece by Baumgardner and Richards really surprised me.  After reading it I went back to look at the date it was written and it was only written in 2000.  After reading those thirteen agenda points I, for some reason, thought it would have been written earlier.  Many of the points struck me as things that had reached equality long before 2000—but perhaps that is just me being naive.  However, on the other hand, there are many that I was not surprised to find and that we are still fighting today.  The agendas I was not particularly surprised to find were, for example, number 2 (as there will always be a battle over abortion), number 4, number 7, and number 11 (to name a few).  This piece made me realize that while we have come a long way in fighting for equality we still have battles to resolve and we cannot stop here.

Main Post 2/1

In Susan Douglas’ first chapter of Enlightened Sexism she discusses the roots of her ideas of “enlightened sexism” and “embedded feminism.” She tells of the craze surrounding 90210 and other shows like Melrose Place and Murphy Brown, and how these shows contributed to the formation of her ideas and how they changed the way women and young girls were seen and expected to act. She says that while 90210 and Melrose Place showed the impossible to achieve yet still emulated lifestyle of young people with unlimited resources, shows like Murphy Brown that showed a woman in the workplace had a similar effect in that the woman in the work place who lived independently of men was not emulated by many people. These shows and others contributed greatly to the state of feminism now according to Douglas.

Douglas also discussed that while many young people were caught up in the television craze, others were involved in feminist movements during this time. Douglas in particular comments on Riot Grrl and Sassy magazine and the interesting fine line that it seems that Riot Grrl crossed while Sassy stayed just on the acceptable side of for most of its time. Douglas discussed how Sassy was able to reach out to young girls to try to give them a more realistic take on shows such as 90210 and was able to educate young women on the realities of their world.

In her second chapter, Douglas talks about women such as Lorena Bobbitt, Amy Fisher, and Janet Reno and their impact on feminism and women’s fight for equality. Douglas talks about Reno and how she was powerful in this country but also did not fit into stereotypical ideas about how women should look/behave and therefore was ridiculed. Douglas says that Reno made it seem like it was possible to not be an ideal female according to cultural norms and still have success and power. Douglas also talks about how Fisher and Bobbitt in their violence were seen as out of control and associated with feminist movements and allegedly showed how things could go wrong if women were allowed to be overly sexual. Douglas tells us how these women’s stories were exploited in the media and how this also added to the ugly truth about their lives and actions. This chapter gives a sense of how the media can play up stories and add to the focusing on one topic if they feel they can make money off of it no matter who they will end up hurting or make look bad.

In Douglas’ third chapter, she discusses how TV responded to the events of the last chapter in creating TV shows such as Buffy and Xena that showed extremely powerful women who were also very beautiful and this set up the ideal that women should be gorgeous and also very powerful and have their lives completely together and be able to take care of themselves. This continued with further TV shows that made the ideal woman into an impossible dream that then women in real life were expected to be like.

Rebecca Walker talks about the Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill issue that Douglas touched upon and also shows how this particular issue made her realize that she needed to be a feminist and fight for women and that there was still much to do for women. She goes on to describe hearing men put down women and men who are not concerned with women’s rights and vows to use her talents to help women and to fight for women.

Manifesta is a document made by women of our generation who are updating the goals of feminism and modernizing some aspects of them so that women can push further into equality. The last two readings were of particular interest to me because of the fact that they were written recently and about women around my age and what they can do to help feminism. Walker seems to be less radical than Manifesta although she does make a couple points that could be seen as radical, but I preferred how Walker framed her goals and used specific examples to show why she thinks the way she does.

I also enjoyed Douglas’ first few chapters because of the way she was able to open my eyes to some things I had not thought of in relation to television and the way that people in media are able to persuade you of things that you don’t even know you are being persuaded of.

Responding to Lisa 1/27

These three readings were from different time periods and different perspectives but all talk about the reasons why women can hold their own in a man’s world if given the chance and give interesting takes on the women’s movement. Cady Stanton and Truth give us insight to the first feminist movement while Dubios talks retrospectively about this movement and about the second feminist movement that she is on the tail end of. Truth’s work shows us how an African American woman felt in her time period while Cady Stanton shows us how a white woman felt. The readings left me appreciating the work that these women did and appreciating the situations on which they had to live and had to work to get their messages out.

I found the two readings by Cady Stanton and Truth most interesting because of the similar nature of their messages but the radically different ways in which they lived and expressed themselves. Truth says she was a slave for half of he life while Cady Stanton seems to have a more privileged life, but they are working towards the same goals. It was interesting to me though how the African American women according to Truth had to consider whether or not to align themselves with the white women even though they had the same goals. It seems so basic to me that women are women no matter the color of their skin but these readings really helped me to see how the culture of their times really affected how they proceeded with their fight and how brave these women were to stick up for themselves.

Out of curiosity I looked at some pictures of these two women to see if their differences or similarities were more apparent than their words or skin color would show.

Sojourner Truth - MHSLitCircles11. http://mhslitcircles11.wikispaces.com/Ain't+I+a+Woman+and+After+Being+Convicted+of+Voting+in+the+1872+Presidential+election

1/26/2011

Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Wall of Femmes. http://walloffemmes.blogspot.com/2010/11/nov-12-happy-195th-birthday-elizabeth.html 1/26/2011

Follow up to Lisa 1/27

I found the article by Ellen DuBois to be very interesting, and one particular paragraph really caught my attention.  I was surprised to hear that when the American abolitionists traveled to Britain they were told the women were not allowed inside the convention and they were to be seated behind a curtain instead.  While I do not know the history the feminist movement in Britain, I would be curious to learn more about it and see when they began to try for equality and when they were successful in gaining it.

I thought Stanton’s article that she modeled on the Declaration of Independence was very unique.  I would have never thought to portray my thoughts and feelings in such a way, and I believe that if someone were to present me with a similar modeling for a different cause I would take notice right away.  The Declaration of Independence was written to clarify that Britain no longer ruled the United States and should be applicable to all US citizens.  That it was not originally applicable to all seems to me unfair and unacceptable.  Stanton’s point that the man has monopolized and closed all possible avenues to women is very clearly in this format and therefore has the power to have more of an impact.

I enjoyed reading the speeches of Sojourner Truth from 1851 and 1867.  This is the first account we have read of a non-white female fighting for equality and she has done a great job of being very persuasive in these speeches.  One point I was surprised she made in the May 1851 speech was that men “need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear that we will take too much, for we can’t take more than our pint’ll hold” (Truth 64).  So much of the feminist movement is convincing men that women are equally as capable of them, equally as smart, etc. and here she is going against that saying that we should be equal because we have a “pint” as opposed to their “quart”.

Main Post 1/25

In Ariel Levy’s article “The Future That Never Happened” she highlights many important and interesting points.  She begins the chapter by describing Susan Brownmiller’s life and how she was “not willing to compromise” (Levy 46).  The first all-women meetings were simply for “consciousness-raising” (Levy 49) and slowly evolved into various organizations such as NOW, the National Organization for Women.  Levy goes on to highlight all that happened in the next decade—the approval of the birth control pill; the passing of the Equal Pay Act; the Civil Rights Act that was passed; etc (Levy 53).  Levy notes, “One of the fundamental initial goals of the women’s liberation movement was to advance women’s sexual pleasure and satisfaction” (54).  This concept is compared to Hugh Hefner’s attempt to “reimagine gender roles and influence sexual mores” (Levy 55).  While controversial, “Hefner is considered by many to be the hero of the sexual revolution” (Levy 56).  Levy continues to the topic of pornography.  She returns to Susan Brownmiller and how Brownmiller argues that she believed, along with several other activists, that “‘Pornography is the theory, rape is the practice’” (Levy 61).  The next division in Levy’s article describes the difference between a “sex-positive feminist” and those who believed that sex was just another way of degrading women, regardless of the circumstance.  The chapter next discusses the group CAKE, who host “monthly parties in New York City and London at which women can ‘explore female sexuality’ and experience ‘feminism in action’” (Levy 70).  The description of the CAKE parties that Levy gives is particularly thought provoking and interesting to hear about.  Levy continues on to explore how feminism has transformed from the typical “feminism” to a pro-women stance that is characterized by “an almost opposite style, attitude, and set of principles” (87).  The evolution of the feminist movement that Levy so clearly describes is shocking.

In Echols’ article, “The Re-emergence of the ‘Woman Question’” she begins by describing the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and SDS (Students for a Democratic Society).  Both of these groups were “virtually synonymous with what is commonly referred to as the ‘Movement’” (Echols 23).  They were both very proactive in forming an anti-war movement and fighting civil rights.  Although women were very involved in both of these groups initially, it soon became apparent that they were not truly involved.  For the most part, the women were only doing “women’s work” (Echols 26).  As both the SNCC and the SDS continued to develop and expand, tensions began to arise.  The movement for the equality of sexes took awhile to develop and form: “Women who were demanding that their oppression be acknowledged ran up against a left concerned only with supporting the struggles of blacks, the working class, or the Vietnamese” (Echols 42).  Finally, after the black caucus was able to gain power and a voice, and after the women had been brushed to the side yet again, the women finally decided to organize themselves to work towards equality.

In this excerpt of The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan, we get a glimpse into the life of the stereotypical American housewife.  The excerpt explores the overwhelming dissatisfaction in an American housewife’s life and how this dissatisfaction can be possibly remedied.  Friedan laments on page 271 that a “century earlier women had fought for higher education; now girls went to college to get a husband”.  She notes that every housewife was “so ashamed to admit her dissatisfaction that she never knew how many other women shared it” (273).  The title of this problem is the “problem that has no name”.  Many women walked through their monotonous daily routines believing they had no problem, while others tried to work it out with a professional.  Neither helped.  Friedan realizes that these housewives have no personal identity, and are only known in relation to their husbands, kids, etc.  It is only possible to get passed this “problem with no name” by creating a new life plan (Friedan 278).  Only with a new life plan in which she can feel some fulfillment will she escape this problem.

In this excerpt of The Second Sex, by Simon de Beauvoir, the idea that women are labeled as “The Other” is examined.  She makes the very interesting point that women are rarely, if ever, defined on their own and instead are defined in comparison to others (particularly males).  When asking “What is a woman?” de Beauvoir never fully gets an answer, and never fully answers herself, but instead shows how others define a woman, right or wrong.  She notes, on page 256, that “women are not a minority, like the American Negroes or the Jews; there are as many women as men on earth”.  Since they are not a minority, the only visible and easy to deal with problem, is that the women lack unity and the ability to organize into a large enough group to take a stand against the oppressive men (de Beauvoir 257).  Antifeminists and men have, historically, gone through painstaking techniques to prove that women are, and always will be, inferior to men.  She is clearly questioning why this is the case, and why women have never been able to do anything to protest this—but at the same time does not seem to have a full grasp on how to combat it herself.

Follow Up Post 1/25

These readings help to give us context into the history of feminism. In Echols, she discusses the history of social change and how women’s issues played their part in many social movements and how the women’s movement was eclipsed or bolstered by the times of social change. Levy discussed feminism and how there are women who are opposed to it and women who are for it. Simone de Beauvior discusses women in the context of how they have been seen through history going very far back to perhaps the beginning of views on this issue and tries to give an overview of how the world is today for women and why this is. The Feminine Mystique presents a sad picture of life for women and the way that women struggled to get where they are today and do the things they do. These four texts made me appreciate how women have been able to make progress in this world for themselves but also made me realize that there are still things that are not as they should be for women.

The Feminine Mystique made me think of life for women not long ago and made me consider how women have so many choices today. I also thought of how though for some women it might be their life’s goal to be a mother and to take care of her family and how this belittled that type of work. I don’t think it was meant to come across like that but it felt to me like the author was saying that women should not feel complete without a more mentally taxing occupation. With this said, the strides that women have made are amazing and the way that a woman can balance many different things in their lives today is to be commended. This made me think of how people now my age are considering what they want to do with their lives professionally and how its seems that many men plan their careers around what they would like to do knowing that the time when they would like to have a family may come and won’t interfere with their professional goals, while it seems like women like myself have to consider this when planning their career or if they don’t have to, they are more aware of how their professional life will effect their personal life.

The reading by Simone de Beauvior was very interesting to me because of the way she compared the women’s movement to those of other oppressed groups and how women were in a different position than these groups because they needed men in a way that these other groups did not need the men they were against in that women were linked to men through the way women and men compliment each other yet are against each other. She shows how other groups had more clear lines of separation between themselves and their enemy so there was no confusion over what they were fighting for. She also shows how long and complicated the issues between men and women are and why this has possibly added to the unresolved issues in the women’s movement.

Main Post 1/20

Susan J. Douglas begins her introduction to Enlightened Sexism by discussing feminism in the world today and the ways that it has evolved throughout the years. She gives many examples of current pop culture icons and how they have had an effect on feminism. In one particular example, Douglas says, “Despite their Wonderbras, bare thighs, pouty lips, and top-of-the-head ponytails…, the Spice Girls nonetheless advocated ‘girl power’” (Douglas, 2010, 1-2). Douglas discusses how there are many authors and celebrities who have differing opinions and views on sexism and feminism. But Douglas says that she views the way that TV and popular culture show females is distorted and has led us to believe that females have found equality to men when in reality, she thinks, there is still much to do. Douglas also talks about what she sees as issues for girls around our age when she says, “While they are the ‘girl power’ generation, the bill of goods they are repeatedly sold is that true power comes from shopping, having the right logos, and being ‘hot.’ Power also comes from judging, dissing, and competing with other girls, especially over guys” (Douglas, 2010, 6-7). Douglas then tells us that her point in writing this book is to study how the media has altered feminism for the worse and also how the resulting world has reverted back into sexism against women. She discusses the way feminist are viewed as we had in class and comes up with similarly negative results and says “the attitudes about women that infuriated feminists in the 1960s and 1970s are pushed to new, even more degrading levels, except that its all done with a wink - or, even better, for the girls’ own good” (Douglas, 2010, 13). Douglas sums up some of her views when she says, “Girls and women are pulled in opposite directions, between wanting serious success and respect, and wanting acceptance, approval and love; between wanting power and dreading power” (Douglas, 16). She continues discussing how this dilemma women have has helped increase sexism from an earlier generation and how women today are in a tough spot. She even comments that women are still “second-class citizens” (Douglas, 2010, 17). Douglas concludes by telling us that her book is meant to help us be careful of the media and of their ability to shield us from the real ways of feminism in America and the real ways that sexism against women still prevail. She talks about the trade off that women face in their lives between being strong or being sexy and how women have less self confidence because of the way that the media portrays them. She ends by saying “Girls, there is plenty of unfinished business at hand” (Douglas, 2010, 22,). (Douglas, 2010, 1-22)

Adrienne Rich discusses women and college educations in Claiming an Education. Rich speaks about how young girls must embrace their education and then also see how their education has lacked a women’s perspective in some ways because of the lack of women as higher educators and in high-level authority jobs. Rich says that the education that we have comes from a view of the past that we need to see as warped by the white males who have had control over our world. Rich says “Our upbringing as women has so often told us that this should come second to our relationships and responsibilities to other people”(Rich, 1977, 3). She follows that up by saying “Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work. It means that you do not treat your body as a commodity with which to purchase superficial intimacy or economic security; for our bodies to be treated as objects, our minds are in mortal danger. It means insisting that those to whom you give your friendship and love are able to respect your mind.” (Rich, 1977, 3-4). She continues to speak on how women must be able to do things for themselves and to do things that will help them reach their full potential not the things that are necessarily expected of them. Rich goes on to talk about the teachers of women and how they must be able to teach women as equals to men be able to get everything from their female students while female students must require this from their teachers and must be involved in their learning at all times (Rich, 1977, 1-6).

These two reading have different subjects but some related conclusions in that they both see that women must be aware of what they are doing, hearing, seeing, and learning because there are many things in this world that make it seem to be okay to have women taken for granted or not treated as equals or respected.

Douglas’ introduction to her book opened my eyes to some of the ways that girls behave and some of the ways that the media does portray women and the effects it has on the way that people think of women. It was especially interesting when she mentions how this is affected my generation of women.

Rich’s speech was also of interest to me because of how she talk about the woman student which I am and bring up points of behaviors that I could see in myself that make you think about if you should change your way of thinking so that you are aware of what you are learning and taking everything with a grain of salt. Rich also was harshly critical of some types of women who do not do everything they can to maximize their potential and in her eyes their life. Both these women had strong points of view that definitely are worth reading, respecting and thinking about.

Follow Up to Jocelyn's Post 1/20

I previously have never truly given much thought to ideas such as the ones presented in the readings.  For example, growing up I always heard that advertisements were targeting my generation but I guess didn’t realize the extent of it until this quote: “While they are the ‘girl power’ generation, the bill of goods they are repeatedly sold is that true power comes from shopping, having the right logos, and being ‘hot.’ Power also comes from judging, dissing, and competing with other girls, especially over guys” (Douglas, 6-7).  Until I read this I never realized how much this is true.  Having grown up in the suburbs I always felt pressure to dress and act a certain way, but I assumed it was a result of where I lived and not a result of national advertisements.  I am curious to hear if girls who grew up in other areas of the country and other environments also felt this way or if my experience with this pressure was drastically different due to my town.

There were also several aspects of the Adrienne Rich article that caught my attention as well.  On the 6th and final page of the speech Rich says, “…teachers must be committed to belief that women’s minds and experience are intrinsically valuable and indispensable to any civilization”.  While I know that many aspects of our society are still not gender equal, I personally have never felt as if a professor has questioned if I am as capable of learning as a male counterpart is.  I found this interesting because I’m sure it is still present but I personally have never felt it or know anybody who has.  I wonder how many women have felt this and what they have done about it.