Blog 5

In Chapter 7 of FIFE Hooks explained that the division between classes has been a problem, for the feminist movement. According to the book the patriarchal system pushed the ideas of class differences and forced the movement to fight within the existing structure. She spoke of how there became a sort of movement for white women because white supremacist men were scared that African American women would gain equality and take over the economics. Over time however the movement shifted its focus to women of all races and social classes being liberated. Personally, it makes me a little disappointed that the movement (in the beginning) focused solely on white rich women!
I have to say I was taken back a little by chapter 16 which was about lesbianism. I don’t really see how it has any relevance to the movement. I understand that Hooks thinks they should be liberated just as straight women should; however, when it comes to sexuality, I think that is a private and totally separate matter which needs to be kept out of public eye. Lesbians do have rights. In this country they are protected from harassment and from being tortured and I think it has now become widely accepted. The only right they don’t have is marriage; which is sacred and should be between a man and a woman. Nobody is saying they are not allowed to date or live together. The problem is that when people begin to discuss sexuality, the definition of feminism is blurred and people who are feminists and don’t feel they should fight for lesbian rights are put in a bad position. What happened to when feminism was about helping human trafficking, provide equal pay in the workplace, and preventing rape? I do agree with what she said about lesbians teaching us that you don’t need a man to provide for you or make you happy. I think all women should be independent. I found the article by Hooks to be interesting. Boys need to be raised when they are young to not be violent. By being an example of violence, sons will grow up believing fighting is a reasonable way to vent frustrations, when in fact it is not.

I enjoy a wide variety of music and have always throughout my life. I don’t think my taste in music has changed much other than that I enjoy new top charts hits. I chose the Alanis Morisette song because she says she has so many different sides to her. I think women have all types of personalities and often change there moods quickly according to the situation. The second song by Beyonce basically states that being a boy is so much easier because they can "roll out of bed in the morning and throw on" whatever and go. Boys don't get judged and their friends stick up for them. Men put themselves first and tend to treat girls bad according to the song. The dashboard song is one of my favorites and it relates to gender (for me) becuase as a woman I am constantly worried about how I look and want guys to notice me. The Keith Urban song portays how men don't treat women well and some men hold women back from achieving their true potential. The song by Pink explains how women can be so obsessed with their looks that they lose their intelligence to be viewed as pretty and craveble to men. Katy Perry's song talks about all the emotions that guys have in relationships. The last song by the Pussycate dolls shows how many girls dream of being famous when they grow up.

blog 4

I just looked up the courses offered under the Women's Studies program and I think many of them look very interesting. The nice thing about the majority of the classes is that they are relevant to current issues facing this nation. When I graduate college I would like to go to law school and specialize in international law. I am quite fickle and change my mind often; however, with a law degree I feel like I have options to do many different things. After law school I would like to join the Peace Corps for 2 years and hopefully (if I am fluent or almost fluent by then in spanish) I can work in a developing Latin American country and help people. Just the other day in my Gender, Law, and Human Rights class we watched a video on human trafficking in India and it sparked my interest in working for a human rights group abroad. I want to do law overseas to help human/women's rights.
Gender will play a large role in my career. As a woman I think it is important to be an advocate for other women in countries where they are not allowed to speak their mind and have a voice in the government.
My past work history is quite limited. However, I have had experiance being in an environment that puts women in a positive light. I work in high school at a female only gym and worked at the front desk as well as the childcare for over 4 years. I feel that I was blessed because I was surrounded by so many strong, confident, and independent women. My boss was a single mother who worked hard to make sure her son was provided for and I was able to see other moms taking on various responsiblities. I got to know many of the club members and it was amazing to see that you can have a career and have a family. The women showed me that beauty is not just about looking good but also feeling consident in your own skin.
In The F-Word chapter 4, I felt that I had similar views of many of the college women interviewed. I too believe the the top priority for women is gender equality. I think it is sad that there hasn't been any improvement on the pay gap between men and women in the last two decades. Body image and self identity were also listed in the top 10 social issues that college women believe are facing this nation. The media has put such a gender biased spin on television and advertisements that women are supposed to look a certain way. I know girls who have struggled with eating disorders or yo-yo dieting and I think it is all due to the media telling girls that they are not acceptable unless they have a certain image. Women buy into the thought that the only way a guy will like them is if the have a certain body type or have the ideal weight. Advertisements and media drive people to go under the knife to almost look plastic and perfect. I found the study of the Fijian women who developed eating disorders after becoming introduced to western television even though the men typically liked shaply women. The author thinks the reason for this is to further hold back women. By making women concerned about their appearance they are less likely to be concerned about social issues and politics. In FIFE, Hooks talked about the importance of having a women studies program at universities and I agree. When universities have these types of classes that teach feminist theory and men take these classes, then it opens up dialogue and disscussion about issues facing women and men are more likely to get involved after they are educated. The media puts feminism in a negative light so it is important for people to learn in an unbiased environment.

blog 3

I really enjoyed the movie and felt an extreme sense of gratitude to the woman who fought for my right to vote. I had no idea that there was so much opposition to womens suffrage in the early 1900's. Why were men so threatened by the idea of women voting and having a voice? I sometimes wonder why African American men were granted the right to vote over women. I have to say that I was suprised to see that so many men frobid their wives to participate in the movement and get involved. It disturbed me to see women being spit at and things being thrown at them during the parade. I got a little emotional when I watched the parade scene as well and when the women were standing outside the white house. I cannot believe the treatment they recieved from fellow citizens during their protests. People shouted at them and called them names simply because they were protesting in a time of war. Many women had tensions between eachother because they felt captive to their husbands wishes; yet, also wanted to be a part of the suffrage. The only way they could overcome that tension was to go against their husbands and join the movement. I felt so much sympathy and compassion when I saw how the women were treated in jail. How is protesting illegal? It angered me to see them thrown into such harsh conditions for excercising their right to free speech. I thought the force feeding scene was so gruesome. They finally achieved their goals through all of the publicity and hard work from so many women across the country.
I agreed with most of the reading from Feminism is for Everybody. The book discussed what the orgin of the feminist movement was all about. Basically it said that women should no longer see themselves as property of men. The book stated that the only way to end discrimination was to ban together and form a sisterhood which fought for womens rights. Women need to stand up against patriarchial injustice and stop sexism. I agreed when Hooks talked about the movement as not being anti-male, it's goal is to just stop the opression of women on all levels.
I disagreed however, when she said the blanket statement, " one cannot be anti-choice and be a feminist" (p 6). I am a Christain women and do not believe in abortion yet I do however believe that women should be provided with more reproductive care and measures to prevent pregnancy such as birth control pills. I was a little offended that she wrote that statement because abortion, gay marriage, political parties, etc. have nothing to do with whether somebody is a femininst or not. I am still a feminist and proud to say that I am. Just because I am against abortion does not mean I do not think women should have equality in the workplace, should be protected against domestic violence, should be protected against human trafficking, etc. She is being a hypocratic by saying a person cannot be a feminist if they do not believe in abortion because she is placing judgement on people. I think that I can be a feminist and be against abortion because for me (and me personally) I do not think that the baby is a part of the women's body anymore and is a separate life. I'm not going to get into a big full blown arguement I just wanted to say that the statement Hooks wrote bothered me. I felt that her writing style was a little biased and needed to reach out to people from all backgrounds and not point fingers. She pointed some blame for women's studies programs being at risk because of the conservative party who wants to "undo the changes created by struggles for gender justice" (p 23). The only way to get her point across is the unite parties, not create more boundaries by placing blame.
I do agree when she says that the movement has lost a clear definition. The movement needs to make a real definition for what it stands for; otherwise, people are confused about what being a femininst means... does is mean they stand up for all human rights (including gay marriage, etc). Everyone has a personal definition for what a feminist means to them, but there is not a blank one that everyone agrees on.

blog 2

I interviewed my mother about her experience with gender. She spoke of title 9 and how she remembered when she was in college it was implemented to try and finally make education and sports equal for men and women. My mother believed this was a good step in the right direction to discourage discrimination against women when it came to athletics. She had always been very athletic and played various sports during high school including volleyball, basketball, tennis and softball. Still an avid tennis player, she said she was always pleased to see me playing sports in high school because it “shows that women are slowly progressing in society”. She said she still believes there are many problems with title nine because if you look at any college, the men’s sports still get more money and have more fans than women because our society still values male dominated sports such as football.
She talked about how hard it was to find my father because most men are into “girly girls” who dance and cheer. It is annoying to her how just because a women plays sports doesn’t mean that see is homosexual or unfeminine. When I asked her what feminism meant to her, she said it is simply the idea that women should have equal rights as men and should be valued more in society both inside and outside the home. She was born in the late 1950’s and grew up through the 1960’s seeing all the protests and bra burners!
I have never actually had an experience where I felt extremely conscious of my gender but I do find myself in little everyday situations where I feel conscious of being a girl. I notice when I go to parties and all of the guys talk about sports and things I feel like I don’t really fit in. Every morning I find it annoying that I have to put on makeup and dress cute because if I don’t then guys won’t notice me. As a girl, we spend all of our time at parties waiting on a guy to come up and talk to us.
As far as the reading in the book The F Word, I think they are pretty interesting. I find the philosophy behind the third wave of feminism intriguing because it doesn’t deal with radically changing laws and taking political action but rather changing the culture and how people view women. I agree that women should not feel obligated to be in the home or in the workplace but rather wherever they feel happiest. Each women finds different things the be empowering and satisfying and the new wave is about harnessing that passion for whatever the individual feels is best for themselves. Feminism is now defined by the individual. I think men are now more open minded to discussing feminist issues and help change how culture views a woman’s role in society. The issues have shifted from equality within law to concerns about child care, sex education, reproductive rights, and gender inequality.