Thursday December 18, 2008

Women’s Studies: Final Paper

Essay #1

The readings that have impacted me this semester in Women Studies are; The Opt-Out Revolution, You Just Don’t Understand; Women and Men in Conversation, Backlash, The External Feminine, and Fresh Lipstick. I chose these five readings because these readings did have an impact on me due to the fact that I am a male in a Women’s studies class. Myself being a male, in a class dominated by women opened my eyes too many different experiences that I would of never know or actually experienced if I had never taken this class. These reading all have a connection between male roles and women roles and how each of them differs in society. Going into this class I had a close mind and I thought my opinions wouldn’t change much or maybe I would only learn a few things, but I was totally wrong. The readings I chose are connected by the way men are portrayed by their roles along with how women are portrayed in society.

The first reading that impacted me is The Opt-Out Revolution. This reading by Lisa Belkin is about women opting out of the work force because it’s a way for them to get away and start the family that they have always dreamed about. Women opt-out of the work force because work doesn’t help them start the family that they want to create. Another issue that Belkin brings up is the fact that these women who do choose to opt-out is because they don’t have a choice when starting a family. This relates to the different roles men and women have in society. Women are the ones opting out not men. Women in the work force are basically given no choice because most jobs don’t allow them to take off for them to raise their family, so women chose as feminist to raise a family. A part of feminism to me is the lone fact of women having a right to choose how they live their lives. On the other hand males are the ones who hold the role of bringing in the income to the family. If males are the stay at home dads society tends to think different of them because they aren’t participating in roles that males are suppose to partake in. Role difference between women and men are different especially in the work force.

The second reading that relates to the difference in women and men roles in society is the reading You Just Don’t Understand; Women and Men in Conversation. This article by Deborah Tannen talked about how men and women differ when communicating with one another and how men and women communicate in public matters. This reading had the most impact on me because it hit home with me how men and women differ in roles among society. The first thing Tannen talks about is how women feel more connected during relationships more than men do. This basically means that women express themselves more in relationships than men do. Men tend to express their thoughts in public or around other people because they want to feel superior when expressing their thoughts or feelings. In relationships they don’t like to be intimate with their significant other because they don’t feel superior they only become equal when talking about their feelings. Just like Tannen expressed in her article the fact that men want the “report” not the “rapport”.

The third reading that had an impact on me was Backlash by Susan Fluid. This article expresses how the backlash of the media and society affect feminism and how men and women’s roles differ. This article focused the most on my argument between men and women and how they are portrayed in different aspects of society. Fluid expresses that not matter what women do to break that class ceiling there will always be people who don’t allow women to rise above certain challenges that hold them back. She also expresses that yes the feminist movement has made many big steps in society, but no matter what people will always be against the issues of feminism.

The fourth reading is The External Feminize which was a big part of this intro to Women’s studies class. This was a play written by Rosario Castellanos discussing the views of women and how they are seen in the eyes of men not through historical events in history. Castellanos uses characters from history who are women that have made impacts in the world showing how women and men’s roles differ from every individual in society. She uses famous women in history to explain how women are different and how their impacts are seen different by men and women. This play helped see how roles are different from the perception of men compared to the perception of women.

The last article that had an impact on me was the reading Fresh Lipstick by Linda Scott which discussed how women have much more to deal with then men does when it comes to fashion. This article expresses how women even in fashion have a lot more to deal with then men. For instance women in the nineteenth century were reprimanded for being “too fashionable” or “too sexy”. This to me just shows no matter what women do they are always seen in a negative way towards society. Another part of this reading discussed how women can be beautiful as well as successful. When women are successful and beautiful this becomes a big achievement because they take on a lot more obstacles then men do when becoming successful. Men aren’t seen as beautiful they are just seen being powerful, so they are seen just as men. For women to be successful you have to be beautiful as well as being successful in society, it goes hand and hand.

Overall, these reading have opened my eyes and as well as my mind towards women in our society. Going into this class I have not been exposed to many issues when gender has actually affected my life. Gender was never an issue in my life, I lived a pretty normal life growing up. I think not until college did I really be exposed to gender and the different issues that come along with it. This class was the main source of me being exposed to the different genders that are in our society. This class has been very important to me when understanding Women and their different roles in society. I liked being apart of this class because my life isn’t affected by gender that much and women’s studies exposed me to ways I would of never experience. Women and men’s roles in society do differ but it doesn’t have to differ in a bad way. Women and men’s will one day overcome equality, even if men and women don’t hold the same exact roles between each other. The only question I have is what is going to hold women back after they shatter the glass ceiling?

Essay 2
Feminism: is the equality between men and women in politics, social aspects and at very least equality among economics. When defining Feminism a lot of different characteristics are brought to the attention of what feminism actually is. Feminism can be about the lone concept of equality or it can be as broad as being equal in our society no matter what the topic is. When asking someone if he or she is a feminist most people don’t respond fully by saying yes I am a feminist or no I am not. People tend to lean a certain way saying yes they believe in some feminist ways and yes they believe in ways that aren’t necessarily views of feminism. Feminism has changed over the years along with how women are viewed in society. As women gain ground in our society, feminism will stand for much more than it did when the movement began.
The History of Feminism begins with women getting the right to vote and take that first step in gaining equality to men. The first wave that significantly helped the movement of women was not only the right to vote, but their efforts in gaining ground towards equality. The first wave changed the insight of women from them being voiceless and very dependent on men to very independent thinkers who hold a strong voice when solving the issue of feminism. The first wave consisted of the feminist movement lead by Alice Paul, who was a very dominate woman in the women’s suffrage. One of the biggest things during this time was the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. By this amendment passing, it didn’t necessarily gain all women the right to vote there were requirements to vote. This is where the Jim Crow laws came into effect only letting certain women the right to vote. The second wave was called “Our Mothers’ Fight”. This focused on the independence of women from the equality of men. This wave is where gender equality in the workforce began along with access to health care and many other equalities that women didn’t have. This wave was considered the fight for fundamental rights for women. This wave focused more on goals that related to women’s issues which were mainly focused on social aspects of the equality between men and women. Lastly the third wave is a combination of the to which focused on the traditional issues including certain gender roles that allowed the actions that needed to be taken in order for women to become equal with men. Basically the third movement is a social movement that is broken down in to different parts mainly focusing on the glass ceiling and post feminism.
Women’s studies is mainly consisted of the history of women and how they have gained the grown in today’s society. This class used many figures from the past to help express how women have made ground in order to break the class ceiling. This class is to educate both men and women of what different characteristics that makes up feminism. One of the main issues expressed in Women’s studies is the unrecognizable accounts that historical women hold. Women are not portrayed the way they are suppose to be in history and this class is to better educate how women are truly effected by equality. The biggest part of this class is how women are portrayed in many different aspects. One of the issues is how women are portrayed through history. Many of the women who have done great things for the movement of women are seen to have either done nothing at all or very little. Lastly Women’s studies is was way to see women now and how they have advanced in today’s society. Women’s studies is a way to show that motherhood is ok and that women are equal to men but in many ways that most people don’t see.
Throughout the semester the articles we read helped define feminism and how women have gained the ground towards equality. Also the movies we watched helped experience how women have had a tough road when gaining equality in our society. The movie Iron Jawed Angels showed the first wave of the feminist movement. Iron Jawed Angels is about Alice Paul and her dominance in the equal rights movement for women. The book F-word explains the history of women and their accomplishments throughout history. The progression of women’s studies is expressed in the Manifesta by Jennifer Baumgarden and Amy Richards. They discuss the future of women and how in today’s society they have much more to deal with then women did in the past. A good example is The Feminist Diaspora which talked about how women have to deal with relationships, marriages, abortions and all the way to STD’s. In the past, women only had to deal with being equal to men and now in today’s society they have much more than just that. One of the biggest parts contributed to women’s studies is women in the work force and how motherhood can be a real reason why men and women differ in society. The opting out of the workforce describes why women can choose how they live no matter why regulations they have. Lastly to sum up Women’s studies is the explanation of feminism. Going into this course I didn’t really have a definition of feminism or even knew what feminism was. Women’s studies helped me see that feminism isn’t just about women hating men and being angry because they don’t share the same rights as men. Feminism is shown for the good side and all the progress they have made to break that glass ceiling.
Am I a feminist? To me as a male, feminism is a belief that equality should exist between the two different genders no matter what the issues is. I believe that yes women should be just as equal to men as men are just as equal to women. I also believe that yes there are certain roles that the males should only partake in and there are roles that only women should partake in. This is how our society is ran, even though there is equality some roles in society are made for men and some roles are made for women that is how our society is constructed. Feminism is the right to be equal not is one as a whole.

Works Cited
Essay #1
Backlash; The Undeclared War Against American Women. New York, NY: Crown Inc., 1991.

Belkin, Lisa. "The Opt-Out Revolution." The New York Times 26 Oct. 2003: 1-11.

Maureen, Ahren. The External Feminine. Vof T P, 1998.

Scott, Linda. The Fresh Lipstick; Redressing Fashion and Feminism. Palagrave. 2-331.

Tannen, Deborah. You Just Dont Understand; Women and Men in Conversation. New York, NY:
Baltimore Books. 74-95.

Essay #2

Baumgargen, Jennifer, and Amy Richards. Manifesta; Young women, feminism, and the future. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.

Rowe-Finkbeiner, Kristin. The F Word : Feminism in Jeopardy. New York: Seal P, 2004.

Belkin, Lisa. "The Opt-Out Revolution." The New York Times 26 Oct. 2003: 1-11.