One issue that stuck out to me from these reading was that of subtle versus blatant prejudice. As the authors, particularly DuBois and Truth, put rather bluntly, women are more often than not stuck doing the crap-work; meaning the work that is virtually meaningless and could be performed by anyone. However, it is women that are relegated to these positions of minutia. Men say and write that we are all created equal and that this fact is obvious, but in reality, women are not given equal opportunities. This ties into the idea of the glass ceiling in so much as women are given fair chances to do what men do, but only up to a certain status level. It took women half a century to gain the right to vote, and even after the amendment for their suffrage was passed, it took even longer for women to be taken seriously in politics. 1996 was the first year there was a female candidate for a position as high as the Vice President of the United States of America, and 2008 was the first time a woman was viewed as a legitimate presidential candidate. Men in positions of authority claim to believe in equality of the sexes, but the proof is in the putting as they say.
The quotation from Elizabeth Cady Stanton in DuBois’ article is particularly poignant…“She [women] must not her trust in man in this transition period, since, while regarded as his subject, his inferior, his slave, their interests must be antagonistic.” Stanton hits the nail on the head of the most crucial gender issue; that as long as men believe that women are inherently inferior, than their beliefs will show through in their policies. If this wasn’t the case than we never would have lost the ERA and there would be far more female CEO’s, Congresswomen, and the like. It is the double standard with its lower expectations for women that is at the heart of America’s problem. As long as men expect that given equal opportunities that women will fall short because they are women, then there never will be truly equal opportunities.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sojourner Truth
Truth's speech "Ain't I a Woman?" is a particularly moving one because it outlines the differences not only between genders but also between races. She comments how men claim to treat women with respect and provide a comfortable setting for them yet she has labored and even been forced to sell many of her children into slavery. Clearly, all women during that era were considered subordinate as they had no voting rights and were thought of as having to please and succumb to men. However, when we think of the women's rights movement and their desired goals for equal working rights and the overall ability to be more than a housewife, these were not the primary concerns of black women. Black women, such as Sojourner Truth, had been working at crappy jobs and were not even able to fulfill the traditional role of housewife if they wanted because they couldn't afford to care for their kids, as evidenced by Truth selling her children into slavery.
Thus, just as feminists differed in their pro-sex or anti-pornographic approaches (Minimizers vs. Maximizers), their was an innate disparity in the goals of wealthy white women and poorer black woman. This notion reaffirms our class discussion on why many black woman choose to remain in the civil rights movement and create equality between races before aiming for gender equality.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Re: The Future That Never Happened
“I seem to sleep so much. I don’t know why I should be so tired. This house isn’t nearly so hard to clean as the cold-water flat we had when I was working. The children are at school all day. It’s not the work. I just don’t feel alive.”
The above quotation is from Betty Friedan’s The Feminist Mystique, and in many ways it expresses the core issue that Levy discusses in her book. This is the idea that many women who are categorized as homemakers simply don’t feel alive. And it is the fear of this feeling that leads women into participating in the raunch culture that Levy talks about. Though Friedan and Levy wrote their respective books almost a half-century apart form one another, the idea that women are forced to stay in the home and are virtually dying from the boring of such an occupation still resonates strongly with today’s feminist movement. Women resort to extreme portrayals of their sexual liberation because they are scared that they will either end up like the woman quoted above or will be perceived to be that woman in a stereotypical sense. The women’s movement has developed so many factions that are in contention with each other because none can find the ideal balance (assuming such a balance exists) between arguing in favor of equality and trying to prove that they are just as liberated as men.
Levy spends a good chunk of her chapter “The Future that Never Happened” on the organization CAKE. While Friedan obviously could not have possibly imagined such an outwardly sexual organization to be in favor of women’s rights, she would argue that while CAKE’s intentions are benevolent, their methods are too extreme. In my opinion, the events that Cake sponsors are too intimidating to the average feminist for her to feel comfortable participating, regardless of her politics. Also, it is very reasonable that say that many women would say that CAKE is on the verge of, if not already blatantly mocking the work of women’s liberation leaders such as Friedan and Brownmiller. The very reality that men are basically breaking down the door to attend CAKE events shows that there are aspects of the events that inherently undermine the women’s movement as a whole. Even though CAKE garners a great deal of attention and helps put the women’s movement in the spotlight (in theory), it still, in my opinion, does more harm than good.
The above quotation is from Betty Friedan’s The Feminist Mystique, and in many ways it expresses the core issue that Levy discusses in her book. This is the idea that many women who are categorized as homemakers simply don’t feel alive. And it is the fear of this feeling that leads women into participating in the raunch culture that Levy talks about. Though Friedan and Levy wrote their respective books almost a half-century apart form one another, the idea that women are forced to stay in the home and are virtually dying from the boring of such an occupation still resonates strongly with today’s feminist movement. Women resort to extreme portrayals of their sexual liberation because they are scared that they will either end up like the woman quoted above or will be perceived to be that woman in a stereotypical sense. The women’s movement has developed so many factions that are in contention with each other because none can find the ideal balance (assuming such a balance exists) between arguing in favor of equality and trying to prove that they are just as liberated as men.
Levy spends a good chunk of her chapter “The Future that Never Happened” on the organization CAKE. While Friedan obviously could not have possibly imagined such an outwardly sexual organization to be in favor of women’s rights, she would argue that while CAKE’s intentions are benevolent, their methods are too extreme. In my opinion, the events that Cake sponsors are too intimidating to the average feminist for her to feel comfortable participating, regardless of her politics. Also, it is very reasonable that say that many women would say that CAKE is on the verge of, if not already blatantly mocking the work of women’s liberation leaders such as Friedan and Brownmiller. The very reality that men are basically breaking down the door to attend CAKE events shows that there are aspects of the events that inherently undermine the women’s movement as a whole. Even though CAKE garners a great deal of attention and helps put the women’s movement in the spotlight (in theory), it still, in my opinion, does more harm than good.
Re: The Future That Never Happened
When looking at Levy's chapter, it is extremely evident that the feminist movement was weakened by a lack of cohesiveness and varying approaches to creating gender equality. The main struggle was over the desire to bash female sexuality due to its perceived encouragement of male dominance or whether pro-sex feminists should completely explore and display female sexuality to shed a positive light on gender equality in the sexual realm. This innate struggle particularly stood out to me when reflecting on the second page of the chapter (p. 47). Levy describes Susan Brownmiller who describes she is not opposed to marriage but has yet to find a man with the same values, "marriage as an arrangement that usually corralled women back toward the subservient lives their mothers had lived, instead of forward into the glorious futures they imagined for their daughters." This led me to the comically simple yet important revelation that many feminist women are so concerned with promoting equal gender relations for the sake of their future daughters that they are isolating themselves from men and the opportunity to engage in marriage and have children in the first place. We discussed in class how many feminists are anti-men and reject them innately, and this ties in with such. I do not believe that women need to outwardly express their female sexuality as in the CAKE parties just to visit the other extreme, but certainly both groups should find a balance. Levy provides an example of this as Hugh Hefner is usually viewed negatively by feminists for supposedly exploiting women but he actually funded feminist movements such as the famous Roe v. Wade case. This served as an example where men were allowed involvement with feminist movements and contributed favorably. I disagree with both extremes of feminism from Levy's chapter because I believe women can find a balance between fighting for gender equality without denying their sexual nature. The women in my family work but also got married and perform the traditional role of women taking care of the family and yet are highly respected so I believe finding that balance is the best approach. This is not to say that feminists such as Brownmiller should abandon their strong stances for gender equality, just that they do not need to give up a personal life and a potential family to do so because if they do give up that opportunity, they will have no daughters to share that desired new world of equality with.
The Future That Never Happened
Both of these readings described what happened during the woman's movement of the 70's, and attempt to postulate as to what effects the woman's movement of the 70's has had on women today. Ariel Levy goes into detail about the sexual revolution of the 70's and the repercussions its had on women today.
Specifically, in the 70's, a number of factions developed within the woman's movement regarding the role of sexuality, femininity and feminism. The faction led and exemplified by Dworkin viewed pornography and sex in general as a male oppression and exploitation. While they maintained that they were not anti-sex, their views were very interesting to me as a male. Dworkin's asserts that the allure of sex for men is the feeling of dominance men get when partaking in sexual intercourse. If you asked most men what they allure of sex is, I do not think that dominance over a woman would be high on the list of of leading factors which lead men to want to have sex. In fact, many young men today prefer confident and independent women who know what they like, not submissive, passive and unintelligent women, characteristics which Dowrkin's seems to think men like.
In contrast to Dwarkins, another faction in the feminism movement advocated the liberilzation of woman's sexuality, promoting the acceptance of sexuality as a means of empowering women through acceptance of their bodies and removing the stigmas, inequalities, and taboo associated with sexuality in conservative culture. These women clashed extensively with the anti-sexual groups over the role of sexuality in the woman's movement.
Levy believes that since this conflict was never formally resolved during the height of the woman's movement in the 70's, it has tangible effects of the woman's movement today as exemplified by CAKE and perhaps Raunch culture. She argues that feminists express a large scope of perspectives regarding sexuality and feminism, mainly due to the conflict in the woman's movement in the 70's and as such the issue has not been resolved today, perhaps leading to the effects she noted in her previous chapter, such as women who participate in raunch culture describing themselves as feminists. This seems to be a believable conclusion as unresolved issues within the movement would clearly have impacts on women today.
Specifically, in the 70's, a number of factions developed within the woman's movement regarding the role of sexuality, femininity and feminism. The faction led and exemplified by Dworkin viewed pornography and sex in general as a male oppression and exploitation. While they maintained that they were not anti-sex, their views were very interesting to me as a male. Dworkin's asserts that the allure of sex for men is the feeling of dominance men get when partaking in sexual intercourse. If you asked most men what they allure of sex is, I do not think that dominance over a woman would be high on the list of of leading factors which lead men to want to have sex. In fact, many young men today prefer confident and independent women who know what they like, not submissive, passive and unintelligent women, characteristics which Dowrkin's seems to think men like.
In contrast to Dwarkins, another faction in the feminism movement advocated the liberilzation of woman's sexuality, promoting the acceptance of sexuality as a means of empowering women through acceptance of their bodies and removing the stigmas, inequalities, and taboo associated with sexuality in conservative culture. These women clashed extensively with the anti-sexual groups over the role of sexuality in the woman's movement.
Levy believes that since this conflict was never formally resolved during the height of the woman's movement in the 70's, it has tangible effects of the woman's movement today as exemplified by CAKE and perhaps Raunch culture. She argues that feminists express a large scope of perspectives regarding sexuality and feminism, mainly due to the conflict in the woman's movement in the 70's and as such the issue has not been resolved today, perhaps leading to the effects she noted in her previous chapter, such as women who participate in raunch culture describing themselves as feminists. This seems to be a believable conclusion as unresolved issues within the movement would clearly have impacts on women today.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Re: Female Chauvinist Pigs (DFertig)
Sex equals money. Levy focuses heavily on this idea in her chapter entitled “Raunch Culture”. In an age in which people will do just about anything while under the spell of the almighty dollar, it should come as no surprise that pornography is a multibillion dollar a year business. As Levy points out, women appear in Playboy, pornographic films, and agree to be in a harem not because they are making some sort of statement about their sexual freedom, but because they are paid to. The business of sex has become one of the most profitable industries in America, and unless men and women alike decide to stop paying to see some skin, then raunch culture will continue to thrive.
On a more specific level, I would disagree with Levy about her opinion of female athletes appearing in Playboy, FHM, Maxim and the like. While some might argue that such portrayals of these extremely accomplished athletes diminishes the value of their successes on the field, I would make the claim that it makes them Renaissance women of sorts. Female athletes have historically been stereotyped as overly masculine and unattractive. The athletes, such as Marion Jones, who participated in nearly nude photo shoots were doing a service to all female athletes by showing the world that along with the likes of Tom Brady and Andy Roddick, female athletes can be both beautiful and talented.
On a more specific level, I would disagree with Levy about her opinion of female athletes appearing in Playboy, FHM, Maxim and the like. While some might argue that such portrayals of these extremely accomplished athletes diminishes the value of their successes on the field, I would make the claim that it makes them Renaissance women of sorts. Female athletes have historically been stereotyped as overly masculine and unattractive. The athletes, such as Marion Jones, who participated in nearly nude photo shoots were doing a service to all female athletes by showing the world that along with the likes of Tom Brady and Andy Roddick, female athletes can be both beautiful and talented.
Female Chauvinist Pigs
Feminists are widely believed to be women who favor gender equality in all facets of social class. In the past, feminists often excluded men and attempted to exhibit behavior and appearance that would be considered gender neutral. This ultimately resulted in the stereotypes of feminists as women who burn their bras, wear flannel clothing and hide their physically feminine features, as we alluded to in our previous class discussion.
Levy's chapter on "raunch culture" immediately drew my interest with her analysis of current pop culture and the increased role of sexuality in pop culture. Levy spent a good part of the chapter merely pointing out the well known popularity of girls gone wild, playboy, porn stars, and the ridiculous amount of attention paid to Paris Hilton. These trends are in no way surprising and the increased freedom of sexuality spur much enthusiasms for modern pop culture over the past conservative era. It may sound superficial, but the modern assertions of these sexually explicit organizations have been widely accepted by men and male beliefs on these issues have probably not changed that much over over the recent time period. What is surprising is that many women believe, as levy claims, that participating in sexually explicit ads or attending strip clubs is pro-feminist. The basis ion these presumption is understandable as women want equality in all sectors, so they want to be included in business meetings where men go to strip clubs or smoke cigars. However, the claim that women appearing in sexual photographs is proving that they are comfortable with their body only furthers the notion of women as sexual objects. Levy discusses the nude photos of female Olympians who wanted to prove that athletes can be sexy. However, I agree with her that this only diminishes their athletic achievements. This is not to say that these women cannot discuss their personal lives or even reflect on their feminine sexuality, but the basic claim that appearing nude is the only way to express their femininity is blatantly false. I do not disagree with current pop culture expressing female sexuality or even devalue the women that do so, I merely think we should call it what it is and not pretend that such campaigns are done in the name of feminism.
Levy's chapter on "raunch culture" immediately drew my interest with her analysis of current pop culture and the increased role of sexuality in pop culture. Levy spent a good part of the chapter merely pointing out the well known popularity of girls gone wild, playboy, porn stars, and the ridiculous amount of attention paid to Paris Hilton. These trends are in no way surprising and the increased freedom of sexuality spur much enthusiasms for modern pop culture over the past conservative era. It may sound superficial, but the modern assertions of these sexually explicit organizations have been widely accepted by men and male beliefs on these issues have probably not changed that much over over the recent time period. What is surprising is that many women believe, as levy claims, that participating in sexually explicit ads or attending strip clubs is pro-feminist. The basis ion these presumption is understandable as women want equality in all sectors, so they want to be included in business meetings where men go to strip clubs or smoke cigars. However, the claim that women appearing in sexual photographs is proving that they are comfortable with their body only furthers the notion of women as sexual objects. Levy discusses the nude photos of female Olympians who wanted to prove that athletes can be sexy. However, I agree with her that this only diminishes their athletic achievements. This is not to say that these women cannot discuss their personal lives or even reflect on their feminine sexuality, but the basic claim that appearing nude is the only way to express their femininity is blatantly false. I do not disagree with current pop culture expressing female sexuality or even devalue the women that do so, I merely think we should call it what it is and not pretend that such campaigns are done in the name of feminism.
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