Before I read the first couple articles for my Women's Studies class, I did not consider myself a feminist in the slightest. I always thought of feminists as being very radical and willing to do anything to achieve their goals. Many people do not take feminists very seriously because they feel that women's rights will gradually develop when the time is right for them.
I became attracted to this Women's Studies class because I am hoping it will be a critical thinking class where the students will get the facts and then be allowed to discuss among themselves what they think. Also, being a woman, I feel that it is important to have knowledge about work women have done in the past and what I can look forward to happening in the future. I hope that by taking this class I will gain a stronger sense of what it means for me to be a woman so that I can appreciate myself better.
The stereotypes that feminists are radical, lesbians, hate men, and reject motherhood are believed by many people in the United States, as well as throughout the rest of the world. These stereotypes reiterate the idea of male dominance because they contain the idea that there are no strong women, and when women are trying to stand up for what they believe in, they are just seen as being crazy and ultra-radical. I think that equality between the sexes has definitely improved and keeps improving in the United States, however we still have a long way to go on topics such as sexual harassment and ideas on gender roles. Other countries, especially in the Middle East, believe in male dominance to a much great extent than the United States does. I feel that this is a much more serious problem than those we find in the United States. Practices such as women not being able to talk to any other man besides her husband (including her doctor) are just inhumane and a very serious problem.
You brought up an interesting aspect of the fight women have for equality. When I think about women's studies and women's struggle to be viewed as equal to men, I usually think about the U.S. because that is where most of the fight takes place and where the most strides have taken place. All over the world however, like you said, especially in the Middle East the inequality remains and is as strong as ever. I think a lot of people, like myself, tend to forget that. It is an issue that should be looked into and we should see if there is any way that we could help right that wrong.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are serious issues with women's rights in many parts of the world and that those issues do need to be adressed, because as I've learned in other classes, women's right has an impact on a wide variety of global issues, such as poverty and population issues. One thing I think we should all keep in mind when discussing issues of women's rights in other cultures is to try to be sensatives of other's cultures is to try not to judge them too much based on the values of our own culture. One big issue in anthropology is the fact that cultural relavitism is important, but that there are universal human rights, and some cultural practices (female infanticide for example) aren't acceptable no matter what your cultural beliefs are. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad you brought that up, becaue it's an issue that takes a lot careful consideration and that people need to find a balance between relativism and determinism when exploring it.
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you. When I first started taking this class I did not consider myself to be a feminist either but the more and more I thought about it and talked about it with friends I found that there is a little bit of feminism in everyone to some degree. Although some might not be as boisterous as others, there are issues at hand that many people disagree with and it is up to the individual to take action or not. It is also true that there are a lot of issues and cultural practices out there still today that do not allow all women the same rights that we might have here. Injustice and inequality is still prevalent today in many different societies and it is these stereotypes set up against feminists that often allow these issues to remain.
ReplyDeleteGood post! A couple of things: I want you all to remember Morgan's assessment that this is a "critical thinking" class. First and foremost, above all else, that's what you should be taking from this class. On the last day of class you may or may not think that you're a feminist, and whatever your position, that's ok. What you should be able to do is recognize how gender affects the lives that we live in ways that can potentially lead in inequitable opportunities for certain people (most likely women). Knowing that means that you'll be less likely to take social arrangements on face value - questioning is the hallmark of education.
ReplyDeleteSecond, Morgan is right that there are varying degrees of men's dominance in the world. This class doesn't spend a ton of time evaluating women's lives in contexts other than the US. If you are interested in women from other parts of the world, by all means bring those issues to the table to talk about them! I'd love to hear those insights.
Finally - to those of you who have posted here: GREAT! These are wonderful comments - well-developed and thoughtful. Keep up the good work!