Final Paper #2

Throughout the semester I have been continuously learning all about feminism and what makes up feminism. There are many different definitions for feminism. From the videos we have watched and the articles and books we have read we have found that there is not a right answer really. Feminism fights for equality. Feminism began as gaining the right for women to vote, then it progressed to giving women the right to equal job opportunities, and now it is about fighting for equality for everything. Feminism has been a constant uphill battle for women, but it has also been a very rewarding one.
In the book The F Word, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings”. In the F word, Rowe also calls feminism a word that simply means the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes (5). Also in the book Feminism is for Everyone, Hooks talks about the stereotypes of feminism and what most people think about when they hear about feminism. Feminism is a bunch of angry women who want to be like men (Hooks, viii). Hooks puts it this way, “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” (vii). The encyclopedia calls feminism the idea that women should have political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights equal to those of men. Feminism can be described in so many ways that many people don’t like it because they are not sure what exactly it is. I think the reason why so many people are against feminism is because they are afraid of what they do not understand. Therefore we have to ask what does make up feminism. Who can be a feminist? Are there certain prerequisites for becoming a feminist? Throughout the semester I have been pondering on this subject myself. What do I think is a feminist? Is there one right definition? As I have read these articles and read The F Word and FIFE I have been able to produce my own definition. More or less I have decided what I think feminism is to me. My definition is simply equality for everyone in everything.
As we all know feminism began in the early 1800’s when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. This was a time when women wanted full rights under the law. A huge disappointment came along when the Fifteenth amendment came out and it gave the right to vote to all races, yet not to all sexes. Although this was a setback for the early feminists it was not enough to stop them. More or less, it fueled the fire. Many women became very serious about obtaining the right to vote. Some women were thrown in jail, some beaten and threatened. Women came together and marched the streets and protested for the right to vote. They did anything and everything in their power to reach equality for women. Many different things were done to finally accomplish the right to vote for women, which was granted in 1920. Although this was the most significant thing that the feminists of the first wave accomplished it is not the only thing. They also changed how the world saw women. Women were no longer hidden in the shadows without any voice in what went on in their country. It was no longer so easy to brush them to the side. They were now visible and heard. There were also some complications that arose after women were given the right to vote. Although everyone had the right to vote, there were still restraints held against women because they had to pass certain tests and things, therefore, keeping poor African American women from voting. This stirred the fight for equal rights for African American women. Also in the first wave the beginning of the Planned Parenthood Organization began, because contraceptives were associated with prostitution, or they were only prescribed to men to protect them from sexually transmitted diseases. The first Planned Parenthood Organization was created by Margaret Sanger. This provided a choice for women concerning their reproductive rights. The first birth control clinic was also opened through the first wave feminists. It was opened by Sanger, Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindell. The first wave of feminism was very productive. They were specific about what they wanted and they went out and obtained it. They didn’t let a little bump in the road stop them; they kept pushing for what they believed was right.
The second wave of feminism began with the simile from Irina Dunn, “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle” (25). This article sums up how the women of this time felt. Women were realizing that they did not need men to be successful or to be represented. The second wave lasted through the early 1960’s to the 1980’s. It focused on gender equality in the workplace, access to reproductive health care, and civil-rights legislation. It also fought for legal abortions and equal pay in the workforce. This was a time when women felt that they should be allowed to do whatever they wanted to pursue their dreams. The second wave also had some problems that came along in their fight for equality. There was the issue that black women were left out, and that the second wave was only for the middle and upper white class women. There are arguments that state that black women were not purposely left out, but that it was just harder for black women to work with white women while also trying to fight for equality for their race. The second wave gave women so many more freedoms and options than before. The feminist movement was progressing and providing women with more opportunities and freedoms than they could imagine that they could achieve.
The third wave is more of a contemporary movement. It is not bound by any one specific thing. It is actually fighting for many different things. Sexuality is a big one. Where there are not always just male and female definitions for people. Because there is not a specific thing that is being fought for we are considered to be in a time of post feminism. One of the big concerns of modern day feminists is the huge wage gap between men and women. There are still so many inequalities that women experience all the time; it just is not something that women think that everyone else is going through. Most women think that they are alone in the situations of inequality that they face. Another issue with the third wave is that women aren’t voting. In The F Word, Rowe talks about how women get frustrated with voting because they don’t see immediate feedback. Many women in the third wave take for granted the freedoms that they enjoy every day. We often forget what our mothers and grandmothers did to give us the right to vote and opportunities to be in the work force. This issue is definitely an issue with women from the first and second waves of feminism. They are concerned that their hard work will go down the drain since women today do not take women’s rights very seriously. Maybe it is not because we do not take it seriously, but because it is not as evident today how unequal we are in our world.
Women’s studies are the study of women and issues that women face. Feminism is very easily crossed with women’s studies. In women’s studies we study about women in the past and all the successes that women have achieved over the years. How could feminism not be a part of women’s studies? Feminism is a prime component of the history of women. Because of feminism, women enjoy many freedoms that might not exist today without the first and second waves. In women’s studies we have learned about women in the work force, women and body image, and women in the household. From the Belkin article of “Opting Out” to the “Beauty Myth” by Wolf, it is impossible to talk about women’s issues without seeing the feminist movement.
Feminism is very much portrayed in the articles “Opt Out” and “Beauty Myth”. In the “Beauty Myth”, Wolf begins her article by bringing up the issue of female liberation and female beauty. It is obvious in our world today that beauty is very important, regardless of how important it really is. Wolf goes on to point out that although women have been granted these certain freedoms, women still do not necessarily feel free. “Many are ashamed to admit that such trivial concerns—to do with physical appearance, bodies, faces, hair, clothes—matters so much” (9). This article makes it clear that feminism has made huge improvements and gains torwards equailty for women. From where we first started to where we are at today, it is easy to see that women are making a stand everywhere to fight for what we know is right. However, that being said, we as women do not need to sit back and think that we have finally made it. Women everywhere need to make a personal commitment to always strive for equal treatment in every aspect of life. Quit thinking about what we have already fought for and things that we have already gained, we need to look outside the box and see that we are still on our way to being equal and the minute we stop striving for these goals, we have defeated ourselves.
Belkin, the author of the article "Opt Out", also portrays feminism very well. She wrote her article about how women in the work force are choosing to leave work to raise a family. She also talks about whether this is actually a choice or only a choice for those who are wealthy enough to make it. This article ties into feminism by showing first of all how women are benifiting from the first and second waves of feminism. Women are a part of the work force now more than ever. It is also showing our benifits by seeing that women are being able to choose whether they would like to work or not.
Throughout this semester I have been constantly bombarded with feminism and what makes up feminism. I have read many articles and books about the feminist movement and what it is all about. I have sat through many arguments about what makes up feminism and what does not. I have seen videos about feminism and what other women think makes up feminism. From what I have learned about feminism and what I believe feminism is, yes I would have to say that I am a feminist. I do believe in equality for women and for all sexes in every aspect of life.
I believe that I am a feminist because I believe that everyone deserves to be treated equally. From The F Word to Feminism is for Everyone, I have learned that feminism deals with many rights for women as well as dealing with equalities for all genders. In my everyday life I make it more of an effort to notice the inequalities that women are up against. Not only do I recognize the inequalities in our world, but I make a conscious effort to diminish these inequalities by taking a stand for women today.

Works Cited
The F Word by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
Feminism is for Everyone Bell Hooks
“The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf
“Opt Out” by Lisa Belkin

Final Paper #1

There are many readings that have impacted my life, and have opened my eyes to new things that I had never realized before. The five readings that I have chosen to talk about include; “Taking Sides” by White, “The Eternal Feminine” by Castellanos, “Opt Out” by Belkin, “He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut” by Valentti, and “Beauty Myth” by Wolf. Each of these essays has impacted the way I think considerably, and they have taught me a lot about our society today. They have also put many questions and thoughts into my mind that have caused me to think about women’s issues today. The theme that I have seen in each of these readings is that women are still being restrained. They are still being held back by society and men. Our world might not realize it, but women are still treated unequally. Because of this issue, women will never fully be able to reach their full potential. All five of the readings that I have chosen to write about are connected in the sense that, in every reading it shows how women are constantly being controlled in some way. Whether or not they are successful, our society is constantly trying to put restraints on women. This is why I chose these readings, because until reading these I never really realized how often we as women are held back.
The first article that I want to take a look at is called “Taking Sides”. In this article, the author explains how our society is constantly trying to show how unequal we are to men, whether it is biologically or socially constructed. Even as young children we are treated differently by our sex. In school boys are treated like they will be better at math and science, and as for girls, they are pushed more towards being successful in English and reading. It almost makes girls feel like they should not even try to be smarter than boys in math and science. This article then goes on to argue about how different males and females in many different aspects. However, after reading this article it makes you wonder if men and women really are as different as we seem to think. Biologically it is clear that men are different than women, yet this shouldn’t influence how each of the sexes are treated. Just because women are more emotional and lack penis’s does not make them any less of a human. We should all be treated equal through our differences. We all know that men and women have differences, but those differences should not hold us back or keep us from being successful.
In the “Eternal Feminine”, it is very easy to pick out how women are controlled. At the beginning of the reading the author discusses how the men want the women to be obsessed with their beauty instead of using their minds. Since the women would spend many days at the beauty shop, the men realized that they may become bored. Which would, in return, possibly cause them to start thinking on their own? Therefore they even come up with something that goes in the hair driers to cause them to sleep instead of think while they are waiting for their hair to be done. This is outrageous to me. To think that men are so threatened by women, that they want to control their minds from thinking outside of the box. Throughout the play it is also very interesting to me how Castellanos goes back in history to many important women and uses them as an example. She also shows how things could have been if women would have used their minds. It also makes me think about how things would be today if all women spent more time using their minds, instead of worrying about their outward appearance. Would our world be any different? Surely if women in the beginning would have been encouraged to use their minds, our world would be a different place.
The second article that I would like to discuss is “The Beauty Myth”. This article gives example after example as to how women are controlled in everyday society. It is obvious in our world today that society is completely obsessed with beauty. It is a constant worry on women’s minds today. What is the perfect weight? What is the perfect height? We worry about perfect clothes, and perfect hair. Women are constantly reminded by the media just how “imperfect” we are. In this article the author talks about women and beauty. It shows that there really is not a perfect size or shape. The reading also shows how media does not portray the image of the whole population very well. For example, take a look at today’s models. The average model is nowhere near what the average person looks like. This article not only shows us how ridiculous our society judge’s beauty, but it also shows us how the beauty myth controls us and is used against us. “The beauty myth is not about women at all. It is about men’s institutions and institutional power” (Wolf). Women are compared based on beauty therefore causing competition between women. This causes women to be divided and powerless. This is another way that women are controlled.
In the third reading, “He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut”, the author talks about how differently society judges men and women. Women are significantly held to a higher standard. One way I which the reading points this out is by mentioning how there is not even an equivalent “slut” word for men. One reason that I liked this article is because it did a good job at showing the way we as women are held back, strictly because we are judged and held to a higher standard. In general women are not allowed to express themselves sexually, because that would make them a slut. However, men are encouraged to be more sexual and society sees nothing wrong with a man being more sexually active. They are praised for how many women they have slept with, yet women are put down and viewed as trash. This inequality between men and women does not only pertain to how sexually active someone is, but it also includes the differences between single men and women. Men are bachelors and women are spinsters. In our society it is not highly praised for a woman to be single, but if a man is single he is considered hot stuff and desirable. For a man to be single means that he is in control, he is independent. There are so many ways that men and women are judged differently. Because of this negative view that society has on single women, they are once again pushed back from being whom and what they want to be.
The last reading that I chose was an article titled “Opt Out”, by Belkin. This article talks about how women who are very successful leave the workplace to have a family. Naturally women are created to reproduce, which in return sometimes places a burden on them. All women want to be successful and have the same opportunities as men, this is no secret. However, when the time comes to have children they also fulfill the motherly role. This is not a bad thing, but when intelligent women who are very capable go into the work force looking for a high management jobs, they are less likely to be given the job, simply because they have the option of having children. Most companies do not want the hassle of having to lose a worker because they are pregnant. They realize that women do have this choice to reproduce and leave work to raise the family. This is also a negative setback for women because they cannot always reach their potential. Each of these articles has been important in my understanding of women’s studies in more than one way. This is just what stood out the most to me. These articles, along with class discussion, have taught me that women are not equal, and that we are constantly being set back because of the way society portrays us. I have never really thought about feminism or women’s rights until I took this class and read these articles. Now I am convinced that our fight as women is not over just because we can vote and work. We still have a long way to go to reach the point where women are completely equal to men in all aspects of our lives.
From what I’ve learned in these readings I have realized that we are very much still in the feminist movement. We as women should still be fighting everyday to become more and more equal in our world. Each of these articles portrays different parts to this whole of how women are still kept restrained. Even our money system shows us how women and men are not equal. Women still make seventy-seven cents to a man’s dollar! This shows us that women today have got to become more involved in political issues and things as simple as voting. Just because we get to enjoy many freedoms today, does not mean that we should settle for what we have. We should all be working everyday to improve conditions for women. These articles have taught me a lot just because I never really thought about these issues and how they affect women. Now that I have thought about these things and how women are still undermined, I start to wonder about what is going on in our world to solve these problems? Is there something that can be done to create equality between men and women, or will there always be this mindset that we are different? Is it possible to lose the stereotype that women are less than men? After thinking about these questions and issues I’ve come to realize that we are ultimately humans. We are not perfect, and we never will be. We have just got to do the best we can to make the best out of every situation. Ultimately we should all just follow the “golden rule”, which is to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”


Works Cited
“Opt Out” by Lisa Belkin
“The Eternal Feminism” by Castellanos
“Taking Sides” by Jaquelyn W. White
“The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf
“He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut” by Valentti

Blog # 10

The topic that I have chosen that is important to me is hunger in Africa. I have been to Malawi, Africa on a mission trip a couple of summers ago, and it broke my heart to see the conditions that they were having to live in. Most of the children had swollen bellies that made it obvious that they were malnurished. There weren't very many people that you came across that looked physically healthy. They all were hungry.

Since my trip to Africa, I have been very concerned with what can be done to help them. I realize its a long and tuff process, but no one needs it more than they do. Thats why I chose this topic to write about. When I looked on the internet for an organization that was working on these issues I came across many organizations that are trying to end hunger in Africa. These organizations include USAID, IEHA (Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa), and CAADP (The Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program). USAID pretty much makes it possible for these organizations to do what they do. They create the partnerships with Africa. The IEHA pretty much goes to Africa and helps them with their agriculture. They are helping change the farming industry to be successful. Their goal is to cut the number of hungry people in Africa in half by 2015. On their website, I thought it was really neat to see that Malawi was just recently added to IEHA in 2008.

I know that this issue will take lots of time to fix, but it is encouraging to see that people are working on it.

In the F Word, on page 185 I thought this statement was interesting. "What made you think that you could wake up in the morning and have all these wonderful rights adn priveleges--jobs, schools, sex--and enjoy the hard-won freedoms that women before you passed and not have to pay for it? Those rights were gained through electoral activity, not by a miracle." This statement interested me, because I never really thought about it this way. But I do agree with Reuss when she says it. Now days women just take for grantid what early feminists gained for us, including me! Even if all we do today is just be faithful to vote, we can make a difference. Although that is almost asking too much from us today. It just opened my eyes to not only taking lightly the freedoms that early women won for us, but also the freedoms that everyone enjoys.

Reading Gender

Short paper – Assignment – Reading gender: The Eternal Feminine

In this play, Castellanos is portraying how men and women are seen in the Mexican culture. It takes place in a beauty shop where the women always go to get fixed up. Some men come up with this stuff that makes the women dream instead of thinking while they are waiting. The men don’t want women to think. It is better that they just look pretty and stay out of the social world. That is where this whole play takes place. It is showing what would have happened if women did think.
In the play The Eternal Feminine, there was a scene that portrayed gender to a T. It was the scene where Lupita falls asleep again and starts to dream about Adam and Eve. This scene portrays men and women as completely different beings. It represents what our world has had to struggle with and over time change. This scene is also very good at representing why women have struggled so long for equality, and what women have had to go through.
In this scene of Adam and Eve, it very quickly portrays the man being higher than the woman. The way Adam speaks to Eve, and how he expects her to do exactly what he says. When Eve questions Adam about why her name is Eve he says, “What do you mean, why? A decent woman doesn’t ask those questions. She obeys and that ends it”. Through that one line, it is very clear that the woman is to do what she is told and that is it. The woman isn’t supposed to ask questions or think about why she is told what she is told, but rather shut up and obey.
The play very easily shows the assumptions of men and women. Some assumptions would include; men are the spokesperson for the women, men are superior to women, and women are made to look pretty and reproduce not represent the family. In the scene with Adam and Eve it clearly validates these assumptions. Adam treats Eve as a lesser person, therefore when Eve gets a chance to “think” she takes it. So when the serpent comes into the picture and tells Eve that she should eat the fruit so that she could be like him, she does. The part with the serpent is a whole story in its self. Through that whole scene the serpent is also representing gender in the way he treats her. In this scene Castellanos is being funny by making Eve worry about clothes and whether or not the fruit will make her fat. The serpent keeps throwing reasons at Eve to why she should eat the fruit, and one of the reasons he says is that she can be free. What he means by being free is that she would be able to think for herself and to make her own decisions. In prior works like in the beauty myth, it talks about how women are supposed to just be beautiful and our minds really don’t matter. Even in FIFE and The F Word there are many chapters over gender in society and how men and women are unequal. They all support what Castellanos is showing in this play. That women aren’t supposed to use their minds, they are just supposed to stay in their place. Yet we all know that today those things are changing, women today are thinking and changing our world.

blog # 9

Help support the NGO, Women for Women International. It is an organization that helps women who have been affected by war, to go from being a victim to survivor to an active citizen.

"Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. We're changing the world one woman at a time."

This organization shows that people do care about other people, and people do have good hearts. It shows that no matter where your from or what you've been through there is someone who does care and wants whats best for you. The people who run this organization go out and give opportunities to women, like job training, rights awareness, and even leadership training. This organization is training these women to go back out into their towns and cities and not only survive, but make a difference.

In FIFE chapter 8, it talks about feminism globaly and how women everywhere struggle for freedom and rights. I think that living in the U.S we forget that we have it pretty good. I know that we have struggles and heart ache here in the U.S, but there are women in other countries that are treated so much worse. The book points out a few specific things that are still going on in other countries to women. Like in China when they still kill baby girls, and in some places they circumsize the women. I don't understand all of it, but I think we should be honored to live here. I know things aren't perfect here, but it seems to me that our struggles here are meaningless compared to what some other women go through. I also realize that all of the things that women go through are a result of men ruling over us. Our problems around the world may not be equal, but they do come from the same core problems.

Ethnography

Research Design:
In reading the book “The F Word” by Kristin Rowe – Finkbeiner, there is a section where it talks about how women in the work force are progressing. I think this is very true and I would like to know what it is like for women who have progressed in the work force. Are women who have a high ranked job positions discriminated or favored? Did they have to do more than a man would to get the job they have? What is work like for a successful woman?

Methodology:
I have decided to interview and observe my friend who is an office manager for a medical staffing company. She is younger than any other employee, and she is the only woman manager. I knew she would be a perfect specimen for my research. I went to her office to see what her work life was like.

Questions and answers by my friend.

How are you treated by your male employees?
When I first transitioned into the management role there was animosity from one particular male. I feel as if the hard feelings came from the fact that he was with the company for three years and I had only been there for six months. However the Sales Director who is a male was in favor of me being the manager and had a part in making the decision.
What makes you successful as a woman leader?
I feel that being a leader is treating everyone the same regardless of whether they are male or female. I try to always have a uniform thought process which means that everyone is treated the same regardless of gender.
What has it taken to become a successful woman in the work force?
Time. As with most things, it takes time to prove your worth and validity in the work place. There are many times I put in long hours and am always trying to think of how I could become a better leader. I read many business books and try to think as if I were the owner of the company.
Are there any times you feel disrespected because you are a woman in a management role?
Fortunately, not for me. However, I know many women who have similar roles as me who are treated like they are a lesser person because they are a woman.
Did you have to do anything more than a man would have to qualify for that job?
No, because I had a degree and it was highly looked upon.
My observations:
While I was at her office, I felt like everyone there had a deep respect for my friend. They relied on her, and didn’t doubt her decisions or answers.

Write up:
After doing my research and interviewing my friend, I have found that there is some discrimination towards women but not as much as some theorists make it seem. For the most part, I think the answers to these questions differ from person to person. It’s dependant on where they work and who they are working for. This research has proven that women are progressing in the work force. I think that the anthropologists/ sociologists who think that women are very aggressively discriminated against or treated unfairly in a high ranked position are correct but not to a severe extent. I think there may be some discrimination, but there are also places where they are respected and almost favored. In my friend’s case, she is very lucky to work with people who treat her with respect because of her success.

Blog 8

In Belkin's essay it talks about how women who are in the work force are leaving to have families. Some people think its a choice and others think its not. Is everyone entitled that choice? Or do you have to be weathier with more convieniences?
I think that its a little of both. It does make sense that if you are weathier you have more of a choice to decide to quit work and have a family. If you don't have money then it could be harder to make that choice.
In my life, both of my parents worked. They both still do. I can remember telling my mom that I wanted her to stop working and be home, but they would tell me that they couldn't afford to do that. I think my mom would love to not have to work, but there are a lot of things my parents have to pay for, which makes it kind of hard. They're paying for me to be in college, I've got two growing younger brothers (that eat lots of food! ha), and everyone has bills.
So I think its definatly a choice to stop working and do the family thing, but I think financial status does make a difference in how easy that choice is made.

Blog 7

The movie that I have chosen to review is called " Changling". It is a perfect example of gender. The movie is set back in the 1940's, and it is about a single mother and her fight to find her son. Her son was kidnapped one afternoon while she was at work. The whole movie is about how the government sends her a different boy and tries to convince her that it is her son. The people who worked for the government would not believe her. The government workers were mostly men, and because she is a woman it would look bad for them to admit that a woman had proved them wrong. The movie was advertised by showing her constantly trying to convince they government that her son was still missing, and that they were wrong. In this film the gender significance is that a woman couldn't prove a man wrong no matter how easy it was to see that they were right. The head guy even had the power to throw her in an insane assylm! I think that this portrayal is very true for the time period. But I think that it is awful that this kind of thing went on back then. They wouldn't even let her speak, it was almost like because she was a woman she wasn't good enough to have rights. Obviously she would know if the boy was her son or not. This movie just made it very clear about what things were like between men and women in the past.

Blog 6

Here is the advertisement that I found. It is from the "lucky brand" outlet. Well, gender is obviously represented in this advertisement. It shows that women with long hair, tight jeans,and a tight shirt have "the look". The way they have her standing is using her sexuality to sell this product. The look is to be skinny and pretty.

In the book FIFE in chapter 6, when Hooks talks about women and their eating disorders, I thought that this issue was very true.

"The disease of anorexia has become a commonplace theme, a subject in books, movies, etc. But no dire warnings work to deter females who believe their worth, beauty, and intrinsic value will be determined by whether or not they are thin."

Women are constantly bombarded with what they should look like, how much they should weigh, and what size clothes they wear. Like Hook says in her book, magazines tell us all about the dangers of anorexia, yet fills its pages full of dangerously skinny women. Our early feminists fought to be able to wear what they wanted, to not wear heels, and to be comfortable. Why are women today so obsessed with their bodies. Is that our only source of power? Shouldn't we be more worried about what we are on the inside?

Blog 6

Blog 5

My playlist is at the bottom of this page. I couldn't figure out how to post it anywhere else. Sorry.
Well, the reason I chose the songs I chose were obviously because of the words they sang. I chose a lot of songs that showed how men should treat women and I also chose a lot of songs that showed women could be independent. There were also some songs that degraded women and even men. The point I wanted to make with the songs I chose was that people choose how they view men and women. Some men think women are just objects to satisfy them, and others think they are prized possessions. Some women view men as obsessive jerks, and others choose to love them for who they are. A lot of it has to do with things we experience. There are always going to be jerks and bitches. There are always going to be the good guys and the good girls too. We as humans are given the choice to chose who and what we want to be. We can choose to respect each other or choose not to. The songs people write are a reflection of who they are. It ultimatly reflects what they think of the opposite sex and more importantly of life.

In the book FIFE, it finally occured to me why feminism wasn't a huge deal to my grandmother. It chapter 7 Hooks talks about how the feminists were mostly upper class white women and they were housewives. Yet the lower and middle class women were not kept at home, they were out working hard to survive. The reason the upper class women weren't working is because the only jobs they would be allowed to do were the low wage "dirty" jobs. Those women were obove that and they wanted to be offered the same opportunities to work the jobs that the men worked. Like my grandmother, most hard working lower and middle class women would have thought that being a house wife would be a "freedom". The lower class women also knew that the jobs they were doing wouldn't be enough to bring them out of their status. There are so many ways to look at feminism and its movement. I do think that it has made a positive impact on all women no matter what social class they are in.

blog 3: Iron Jawed Angels

In the movie Iron Jawed Angels I learned a lot about the early feminists in our country. It showed how much of a struggle they really went through to make women equal. In the movie there were a lot of tensions that occured. There were definitly some issues about whether the women were fighting for all women's rights or just white women's rights. It was hard for me to understand why the white women weren't eager to involve the black women.

Alice Paul and the other women did so many brave things to acheive the right to vote. It blew me away. They went on hunger strikes, went to jail, and even gave up romance in their lives. They were definitly devoted to their cause.

In the book FIFE in chapter 11, I did not realize that feminists were the ones to uncover and expose domestic violence. And when it says that domestic violence will not end until sexism ends, I totally and completly believe that. I also liked it when Hooks says that we can't just try to stop violence against women, we have to stop all kinds of violence.

Blog 4

My future vocation is definitely in the area of health. Right now I am very set on becoming a physical therapist. I’m not sure what God has planned for my life, but I do know that I am called to help people. I want to make a difference in people’s lives. I think gender will be somewhat of an issue in my area of work. I’m honestly not very aware of what it will be like, and that is one of the reasons I am taking this class so that I can be prepared. One class within the women studies program that I think would be helpful in my future career is Gender and Interpersonal communication. I would also enjoy taking the body image class. In the past I have had two different jobs. My first job I worked at a grocery store. I rung up the groceries and sacked them too. After I had worked there for a while I got the opportunity to keep the books for the store. I dealt with all the money that went through the grocery store. The only times that I ever felt like gender was an issue was when I was dealing with my boss. Every day when I’d come to work he’d judge what I was wearing. He almost treated me like I wasn’t good enough to work for him. The second job I had was during the summer. I helped work harvest. The farmers would bring in their trucks full of wheat and I would weigh it and test the wheat. It wasn’t very often that you’d see a woman come driving through with the wheat. The women were the ones who worked inside. Other than that I was just happy to have a good job to help pay for college.

In the book FIFE, it was really good to read that “professors in women’s studies did not and do not trash work by men; we intervene on sexist thinking by showing that women’s work is often just as good , as interesting, if not more so, as work by men.” I think women are very capable of being just as successful as men. I also think that men are also very talented, smart, and successful, but I think that men sometimes forget that women are very intelligent. This part of the book really encouraged me by showing me that being feminist doesn’t mean you hate on men. It just means that you believe in the success of women.

Blog # 2

The woman I chose to interview was my Grandma. She was born in 1942, and she is currently retired and living in Cordell, Oklahoma. She is by far the most amazing woman I have ever known.
As I asked her these questions, she had trouble finding answers because she felt that feminism wasn't really an issue in her life. She was born in a very small town, and grew up on a farm. Most families wanted to have boys because it was more of a boys job to keep up things around the farm. Instead God blessed her mother with three beautiful daughters! Therefore, all three girls learned everything that their father did to keep the farm up and going. They could drive a tractor, plow, and take care of the livestock. She said she could remember being made fun of because they did things that "boys" were supposed to do. Her family was the talk of the town for making their daughters work outside on the farm instead of hiring other men to do it.


She said when she got married things really didnt change. She told me that they started out poor, so she was just glad to have a job. Her and her husband both worked very hard, and being a woman wasn't really an issue. There was one time in her life when being a woman did matter. The place she had been working, had lost their boss. My grandma was amazing at her job, so they gave her the bosses job. She told me that what she got paid was nowhere near how much they would have paid a man.

Feminism is a plan for attaining women’s equality. It’s the fight for women to be allowed to be as successful and prosperous as they want to be.

In chapter 3 on page 40, I really like the quote by Rowe when she’s talking about females and their sexuality. It says, “Hey this female sexiness is mine, defined and controlled by me, not men”. I think that women are empowered in their sexuality by controlling it. Now days women can choose what they want t o do and when they do it. Men should not be in control of our choices and decisions. It is completely up to us.

About me!

Hi my name is Kendra Maynard, and I am a freshman at the University of Oklahoma. My major is currently HES. I plan to apply for physical therapy school, and become a physical therapist. I chose the class Intro to Women's Studies because it sparked my interest. I think it will be a very interesting class that will teach me a lot about women in our world today. Here are my five questions that I would like to answer for myself this semester.

1. What is the idealistic role for women in our society today?

2. What is Feminism?

3. Why is there a difference in the pay givin to men and women?

4. In our government today, is there any role that a woman is not considered capable of fulfilling? Since we've had a woman run for president?

5. Is the issue of equality between men and women more of an issue in the minds of women or men?