Feministing.com Response

Many points were brought up the night 3 editors/contributors from Feministing.com came to visit. The one that struck a cord with me most was that there is no right answer. There is no rigid agenda or set of values for feminists. For a woman of color, their MO could be getting racial equality and gender equality. For an LGBTQ woman, it's gay rights and women's rights.

This can be a blessing as well as a curse.

For members of the movement that need security in their cause (that like to know just what they're fighting for) this can cause a sense of lack of community and maybe even squabbles. They need then to embrace the uncertainty and flexibility of feminism (or should I say, feminisms). This can cause another problem too.
For people who want to join the cause they might think "Oh it's only about gay rights? I'm more of an economic-rights focused girl." Or if one asked about it, how would a member respond?

It was said at the panel that feminism is wanting equality for everyone that is oppressed. It's working together with any group neccessary to achieve global equality (the disabled community, communities of color, female communities all over the world, etc).

So in conclusion what is feminism's main goal? It's whatever you believe in. Much like what Mariam said about gender. Don't be a boy or girl if you don't feel like either of those fit you. Be a femme, be a butch, be a tomboy, be an androgene, be everything. This ties into their theory that feminism encompasses many spectrums and where you fall in that set of spectrums is the "right" feminism for you.

As a member of a society that loves categories and labels, I was worried to find myself able to free-fall amongst the labels. Queer, female, feminist. What do each of those mean, I'd ask. Well now it's a bit easier because ever since Feministing I ask, "What do each of those mean TO ME?"

The Institution of Marriage

Alright, so not to sound like a right wing Sarah Palin figure or anything, but why on earth does it make sense to want to abolish marriage? (This is in response to Ackelsberg/Plaskow article in WIR) Let me first get it out there that sure, I understand the argument being made about how marital benefits exclude large portions of the population and that isn't fair etc.; however, the solution then is not to "disestablish marriage as a legal form and the creation of a status of "civil union" that will allow people to create their own forms, and have them recognized by the state." The solution would be to petition for a better system of getting the "marital benefits" to those who aren't married and have no immediate plans to be married. This is not a problem with marriage, this is a problem with the government. And anyway, marraige should not be about the benefits, it should be about love and security. Call me crazy but I want to be married somday and feel safe in the knowledge that the person I have chosen to spend my life with has made a legal commitment not sleep with other people, to stay with me even when I'm old and fat, and to help take care of the children that we have raised together. Right, if it's a meaningful relationship and we are truly in love they should do this anyway; but I want more than that and a civil union doesn't necessarily imply that I'll get that particular set of benefits.

Chris Rock's Good Hair Preview

This is the trailer I discussed Monday in Class for the movie Good Hair. It mirrors a lot of the same things we were discussing about the pressures of modern society on African American Women to have certain hair to be considered "good"

Feminist Discussion at Wheaton

I thought this discussion on Thursday October 22 by Paula Giddings and Bevery Guy-Sheftall was really interesting and covered a wide range of topics. By beginning with the questions about the book, we as an audience were able to see the thought process of two very prominent African American feminist scholars as they discussed such an important figure in feminist history. They were able to speak strongly about the relationship and connection they could feel with a figure like Ida B. Wells-Barnett as they experienced the same process of understanding the violence and hate directed toward activism through their activist participation with freedom rides and protesting lynching, respectively. It was extremely interesting to be able to understand through the story of Ida how racism began to be defined in a dualistic manner and had different meanings for different generations. For the generation living through the post-slavery world it would appear that African-Americans were indeed making huge strides, the activism would go through waves.

After taking the time to discuss the novel an even more interesting, in my opinion, segment commenced with a question and answer session with the two women. In this segment they were able to address issues such as what it means to be an academic and an activist, as well as a broader discussion on their definition of feminism in general. When defining feminism they were able to assert that they feel to be a feminist is not only to fight for equality of gender but to end the process of all -isms in a society. After when asked if they found it difficult to identify as both an activist and a scholar the answer was promptly no. In fact it was stated that activism was not just a place outside of the university and by joining the Women's Studies department it offered a place to integrate both the activist and feminist aspects of their lives. They also discussed the fact that the way that feminism was constructed has had a negative effect on the connotations it receives today and if it had been more inclusive to all genders and races since the beginning it would have resulted in a much more effective agent to fight against all oppressions, not that of specifically women.

New Standards by Shania "Art" Mason

New Standards 831Share

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 8:47pm

I AM my hair
My hair is me
We are one, and we aspire to be free
Not locked and dreading
Not shocked or shedding
No weaves no threading
Just aspirin’ to be free
Naked as my body as the water hits it’s skin
This hair on my head reps the beauty that’s within
Not purchased from a store
not sweepin’ against the floor
Still I refuse to ignore
Who I really am
Cuz I’m not a straight-haired diva
Nor am I a believer
In colors, rinses, and dyes
Synthetic hair supporting enveloped lies
Sculptin’ a false image
Afraid to defy
What society wants every woman to be
Like them girls on the b.e.t
And the one’s that agree that
Longer is better
And better is beauty
And beauty is straight
And straight is cute
And straight is coool
And coool is in
From the root to her chin
Straight strands like strings of violins
Arrested by bobby pins
Let that shit be free
I said Let that shit be free!
Cuz your hair might be the closest you’ll ever get to freedom
So there’s your reason
To be natural
It’s a hard pill to swallow when you admire a reflection in the mirror that
Isn’t factual
It’s a hard pill to swallow when you believe something is yours because you paid for it
Paid 15 years for a house
But the government can still take it (it ain’t yours)
Weave to match the color of your real hair
But you still fakin’ (it ain’t yours)
Braids from your head to your toes
But your head’s achin’
Think that roller-set looks cute
But you’re mistakin’
Because what’s beautiful is when you can dance in the rain
And not worry about the money you paid for that touch-up
Goin’ down the drain
And beauty is when you can go swimmin’ when the blazin’ sun hits your skin
No caps, no nothing, just jump right on in
And beauty is when you can roll right out of bed
Spread some water and grease in your head
And move on with your day
And if you hear “ay bay bay,”
Then there’s more reason to feel great
That someone appreciates
The real you
The real you
The real hairdo
No glues,
And no 3 to 4 hours gone to waste
Just to replace
The image that you were born with
Thriving on all sorts of myths
And this shit makes me sick
It makes me sick when girls spend
So much money on hair, just to be back in the salon the next weekend
Stuck in the little girl mentality
Still playin’ pretend
Tryin’ to keep up with repetitious trends
When will this end?
Ladies,
Ladies,
Ladies, When will you begin to love your hair for what it is and what it isn’t
Black men,
Black men,
Black men, when will you allow your Nubian queens to be everything they are
Natural, Kinky, and so serene
It’s time that the standards of beauty be defined by the natural black woman
By everything she is and by everything that makes her stunning

PEACE+WISDOM
-ARTMASON

Discussion between Paula Giddings and Beverly Guy-Sheftall

I found the discussion on Thursday between Giddings and Guy-Sheftall to be very enlightening and thought-provoking. I enjoyed that the conversation was focused around Gidding's book and it was so interesting to learn more about Ida B. Wells, a person which I felt like I knew very little about. I was surprised and excited to learn that a woman (Wells) was the first person to begin an anti-lynching campaign in 1892. 

The point in the conversation that most stood out to me was when Giddings discussed the period of time after the Civil War in which there was Reconstruction, and how eventually that actually led into a regression. I had never really thought about the fact that the United States made so much progress towards equality between blacks and whites after the war, and then let that progress slip away for awhile, which eventually caused the civil rights movement. I found myself wondering, does progress in terms of civil or human rights ever really stick? It seems as if we periodically need to have a revolution of some kind which causes us to be re aware of certain issues. During Reconstruction, Giddings mentioned that a southern state had a black governor. How could we go from electing a black leader to then supporting Jim Crow laws, segregation and lynching. It doesn't seem to add up that we could regress so much in the progress that we made by fighting a war. I hope that not only in terms of racial equality, but also in the case of other issues that we struggle to fight for, we can find a way to make progress stick. 

Feminist Discussion

When I went to the lecture on Thursday, I expected the majority of the discussion between Paula Giddings and Beverly Guy-Sheftall to be about feminism and how they themselves identify as feminists. I was surprised that instead, it was about Ida B. Wells and her contributions to the feminist movement. I had learned about Ida B. Wells in a high school history class, but since then have not pursued her any further. However, when hearing Giddings describe Ida, and especially since I could hear the fascination in Giddings voice, I because really interested in Ida's story and even found a friend who will let me borrow Gidding's book to read! It was so interesting hearing Giddings describe how Ida's childhood affected her later life and led her to be such an activist. It definitely made me think a lot about how I've grown up and the women around me that have influenced me to be an activist.

The part of the lecture that I enjoyed the most was actually when questions were being taken from the audience. I felt like the audience asked really good questions and it was interesting to hear both women speak of their personal views and experiences. I especially liked when Beverly Guy-Sheftall talked about the ways that she was an activist and an academic when she was at various colleges and universities. She always put her views as a feminist first and she put her job on the line. I was so impressed when she said,"whats the worst that can happen, I lose my job." Most people do not think that way, losing their job would be the end of the world, but she is stands behind her ideals so strongly that losing her job would be less important than not standing up for something she believes in. I hope that some day I can be as passionate as her about a cause.

Thursdays Lecture

I felt that Thursdays lecture by Paula Giddings and Beverly Guy-Sheftall was very interesting, although not what I had expected. It was fascinating to hear about Ms. Giddings talk Ida B Wells book. The moment in the lecture that stands out to me however, was when Giddings was talking about when Well’s anti-lynching campaign started, there was little support for it in America, and it was not until she lectured in Europe that she started gaining vocal supporters. I did a little reading to learn more about this issue in particular, and found an article that explained that in the end, America’s concession to anti-lynching was not based on any desire to promote human rights, but to appeal to Brittan and greater Europe as a trading partner. At the time, America was desperately trying to build economic relationships, and in bringing her Anti-lynching campaign to Brittan, Ida B Wells managed to gain enough outrage that it forced the united states to take note and change its lynching policy.
This is once again a glorious example of society not changing unless being absolutely forced to, and for the wrong reasons. Time and time again, money is shown to be the universal motivator. While learning this particular example did not surprise me, its still extremely frustrating to me that major human rights issues are not seen as important until money is involved. And this is not a problem that we have overcome in the past century; to this day issues of humanity are not dealt with unless something profitable is at stake. There are dozens of examples, you need only think take into consideration every war we’ve ever fought for gains, and ever genocide we’ve ever ignored.

An intellectually stimulating and motivating conversation (about Black Feminisms)!

This past Thursday I had the pleasure of not only attending professors Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Paul Gidding's "A Conversation about Black Feminisms" but the private luncheon with them as well. Between both activities I had the opportunity to hear about how Seftall and Giddings became feminists, their personal experiences and the process and motivation behind Gidding's IDA: A Sword Among Lions. Out of the two, I enjoyed the luncheon the most. The luncheon was where the black feminist scholars spoke more on their journeys and personal experiences. There was more time for questions and although I did not ask any during the actual lunch, I did spend a good amount of time speaking with both of them afterwards and then again after the conversation. Not only was able to speak more with Gidding's about her new biography but we laughed over the similarities about our mothers and how they would never call themselves a feminist but have so many obvious traits! When talking with Sheftall I learned a lot about Spelman College (a school I was always considering to attend) and what it's like to teach Women's Studies courses there and I even left with a great topic for my research paper for my Black Political Thought class.

Most importantly I was motivated by these women. There was was overwhelming amount of intelligence and passion they exuded about black feminism and feminism in general. Yes this is reflected in their work as writers, professors and activists, but it was a pleasure to see and hear about it first hand. While they repeatedly encouraged me to study Women's Studies further then this Intro class, they may not have realized that I was already encouraged just by listening to their discussion. I'm really glad that they came to Wheaton and that I had the two opportunities in one day to get to know them, have questions answered and gain motivation in staying strong and true to who I am and open to growing physically, mentally and spiritually as a young black woman.

A Black Feminist Conversation

I thought that the conversation that Paula Giddings and Beverly Guy-Sheftall had was amazing. I learned a lot from it, especially about Ida B Wells. However, one of the things that struck me the most was when they were asked to define feminism, and later, womanism. It was Beverly Guy-Sheftalls definition that I thought was the most interesting. I liked how she described feminism as being "the politics," not the beliefs about equal rights for all people. Or, as she put is, "the politics that say we will not tolerate any oppression." Instead of just saying oppression, she described it as racism, sexism, and any othter sorts of isms that can oppress people. I completely agreed with her, especially when she continued that it was also a "commitment to eradicating" all oppressions. They then both agreed that men can be feminists, and that womanism is a part of feminism, but also something that can be potentially used to get black women to disassociate from feminism. Their discussions about feminism and Ida B Wells were very interesting and made me think about the "F-Word" papers that we wrote earlier in the semester, and how their definitions of feminism compared to the ones that I wrote about in my paper. The other part of their discussion of feminism that really caught my attention was when Guy-Sheftall was explaining how she identifies herseflf. She said that she doesn't call herself a womanist, but a feminist, and if pressed, she will sometimes call herself a black feminist. I thought that this was also very interesting because of the title of the discussion, which had black feminism in it. Overall though, I thought it was a fabulous discussion and they were incredibly fascinating women.

A Conversation about Black Feminism (optional post)

The conversation between Professor Beverly Guy- Sheftall and Paula Giddings was not at all what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be some sort of debate or a conversation about what it means to be a black feminist in today's world. Although it was not what I what I had been expecting to hear, I found it very interesting. During the conversation about Ida B. Wells I really felt like I was learning something- as though I was learning an important part of history but in an interesting and personal way. I also find it easier to understand a historical figure through discussing their life and what they did and why they made history. Ida B. Wells is a name I have heard many times throughout my education but it was not untill sitting in the Holman room that I really felt like I was learning about her. Sheftall and Giddings dialoge was very personal and honesty. I did not feel like I was watching a presentation or hearing a lecture and I think that is what I found the most powerful about their conversation. It was so surprising to hear that it took twenty years to write and publish the book! That really empishised how much time research and effort goes into writing a great book. Overall I thought the discussion was extreamly powerful and interesting to witness. Not only was it intersting but it was also informative and I left with more knowledge than I had when I entered.

Optional Post on Giddings and Guy-Sheftall

The part of Paula Giddings and Beverley Guy-Sheftall’s presentation that I found the most intriguing was when a member of the audience asked what they considered to be the definition of feminism. I really liked and agreed with Giddings response which was along the lines of it being the struggle to eliminate all of the –isms (sexism, racism, etc.) that oppress people. The broadness of the definition, and the fact that it takes a multi-faceted approach to oppression are two aspects that I think make it both practical and effective. Including all –isms, and making the clear statement that it is not just sexism that the feminist movement is trying to eradicate is a huge step in de-mystifying the Feminist Movement in today’s society. There are so many stereotypes and narrow perceptions of what the Feminist Movement means today and who it represents and I see Giddings’s articulation of what feminism is as putting these misconceptions to rest. I also thought this definition was interesting because we studied Feminist Criminology in my Criminology class last week. Both Feminist Criminology and bell hooks look at the interlocking systems of oppression that include race, gender, and socioeconomic status. While these are only three of the “identities” (or things off of which –isms can be created) that Giddings’s sees feminism as working to eradicate, I feel that both bell hooks and Feminist Criminology are taking the right steps in looking at feminism as being about more than just sexism.

A Conversation about Black Feminisms

Today's luncheon and panel with Paula Giddings and Beverly Guy-Sheftall was amazing. Today was truly a day to remember because these women were phenomenal. During the luncheon they mentioned the role of an African American mother in the household is essential. They spoke personally about their mothers being possible feminist without the exact title. That a lot of what their mothers did illustrated feminism. I thought this was great. It allowed me to reflect on the ways in which my mother runs the household and I realize that a lot of what she does illustrate feminism also. So that assured me that I am becoming like my mother while learning about feminism in textbooks. The correlation that I am finding between the things my mother does and what is given as examples in textbooks is pure feminism without ever using the word or the exact definition. Also, the misconceptions that I have heard have been disregarded about feminist and feminism. I was never raised to believe in what others had to say about a certain group of people or movement I was always pushed to find things out on my own so that I can judge them for myself. So feminism to me is not negative at all, like Guy-Sheftall stated "it is truly liberating" and a radical way to fight all oppressions. Overall, this discussion was remarkable and it enlightened my thinking of feminism and being a feminist.

Blog Evaluation

I had a hard time finding a blog I wanted to write about- there were a lot of different options but I wanted one I could really analyze and evaluate! Eventually I came across one post on "Cruella-blog" the post was titled, "YouPorn and PornTube. Really." I was really interested in this blog because the porn industry (in my opinion) is a huge contributor to how woman are treated and thought about in society. After I read the blog I was torn; was it good or bad? The main problem I had with it was that the blogger did not reach any conclusion- she touched on a lot of good points but never seemed to carry them out or analyze them fully. There were definitly postive aspects about the post as well, it opened a space for dialoge on a topic that is often kept on the backburner and it looked at the legal aspects of internet porn as well as more general thoughts about it. Something that I learned doing this assignment was that the comments by others about the blog are a good way to get more information. I found that some of the problems I had with the blog were expressed by others in the comments. The author of the blog then responded to those comments which allowed me to better understand what the author wanted readers to take from her post. Overall, I found the assignment interesting and it got me a bit more comfortable with the blogging world!

Giving Head?

So I was browsing through facebook over October Break like I'm sure many of us were and I came across a very deplorable post. It was a commercial for Heineken. Heineken is a beer I often enjoy so I figured what the heck.. the post says its hilarious, I'll watch the commercial. Its just thirty seconds right? So the advertisement goes something like this. A man appearing in his mid 20's comes home with red roses. he reaches into the fridge and grabs two bottles of Heineken. He then runs up the stairs to greet his girl (couldn't tell what relationship they shared). He swings open the door to find her naked on her knees in front of a big muscular man aggressively moving her face back and forth into his crotch with his hands on the back of her head. The muscular man is smiling at the guy with the beer. The man with Heineken pops one open and says whatever. The commercial wraps up with a big Heineken logo and drink responsibility.

So my question about the original post and 29 comments left by people I knew and respected is where is the funny? I couldn't find it anywhere. This is disguisting yes filthy trash that should not be allowed a spot on the airwaves. What someone does sexually is their private business and I personally have no objection to blowjobs. However, this went a step beyond. It made women appear as if they were just some object to satisfy needs of a man. Furthermore, the beer is shown more respect than the women. This commercial clearly subordinates women. As someone with 7 sisters this was highly offensive and unlike the 29 other viewers I cannot see the humor in this. I also highly doubt that any beer company would shoot a commercial with the opposite scenario; a women receiving oral stimulation by another man as his girlfriend comes home. Men will not be made to feel like they are less important than a bottle of beer and a mere sexual object. Your comments on this are appreciated. The video is embedded below

The link is embedded here for those who wish to be disgusted for 30 seconds:

Mojo Mom

The blog I chose to examine and evaluate for this paper is titled “Mojo Mom”. This blog is authored by Amy Tiemann of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is an extension of her book titled Mojo Mom: Nurturing Yourself While Raising a Family. According to Tiemann, “Mojo Mom” is about “exploring creativity, connection and action”. After reading the current blog and several archived pages, the purpose of the blog was clear. The blog was created to help women figure out their self identity after becoming mothers. The blog posts vary but, for the most part inform people about issues surrounding motherhood and child rearing, as well as identity. Tiemann accomplishes this through podcasts, numerous book reviews, interviews, and a close examination of related current affairs and news worthy events.

...

It is obvious to me that one of the goals of this blog is also to raise the spirits of women after motherhood. Tiemann acknowledges motherhood is difficult but also offers many inspirational stories to let fellow mothers know they are not alone. One such story was on Kim Clijsters, who made a comeback to win the U.S. open women’s title after coming out of retirement and tackling injuries and burnouts, all while raising a toddler. She is a hard working woman and the message is simple: if she can do it well, so can the rest of the women.

Although the content of the blog is great, the overall visual design is lacking and dull. There is a white background with simple black text. The usual blog roll and guest interviews on one side with podcasts. The information is rich in content for the intended audience and I think if I were a woman and were to become a mother I would benefit from this very much; I suspect in the future as a father I will also. The content makes the blog in this case. The plain Jane look does not help attract attention nor does it hurt the blog because there are not many distractions from the text. The authors repeated use of pictures also keeps one zoned into the stories as well. There were no advertisements on this blog other than a twitter and a facebook solicitation. I feel this also helped give the feeling of a very intimate blog for mothers and parents alike; not one that was meant to solicit but one that was truly meant to help guide mothers toward raising children to be independent productive young adults, while regaining the sense of personal identity that can sometimes by forfeited because of child rearing.

Blog Response

A blog titled “Lesbian Soldier Denied DADT Discharge Now Seeking Canadian Asylum: Autostraddle Interviews Pte. Skylar James” caught my eye among many of the other posts on feministing.com. While reading the article with an attached interview with Skylar herself, I couldn’t help but feel completely disgusted and disappointed with the United States Military system. Skylar is a homosexual female serving in the US military, from a young age she never questioned the importance of defending and protecting her country and she even mentioned her intent “to make her parents and her country proud.”
Skylar’s experienced physical and emotional abusive treatment for her sexual orientation by her peers and superiors. This is a brutal example of the corruption that remains present throughout our country. It is especially disturbing to read about this type of treatment within a group which stands for unity. In a time like this, where our country is at war, I would have thought that the army (the US army at that) would embrace everybody and anybody who was physically qualified and willing to serve. Sexual orientation should never affect anybody’s right to defend their country.

Blog Evaluation

For my blog evaluation, I looked at pandagon.net. This blog was easy to understand, as it was written in an everyday language with very few academic terms thrown in (ones that a non academic would not understand). I loved the style that it was written in, a sarcastic, humorous, yet informative voice, as well as one that was easy to connect to. The posts were funny, and extremely informative. I learned quite a bit from this blog. I had previously read blog entries on other blogs about the National Cupcakes for Life Day, and when I came across an entry on pandagon I figured it would be the same type of entry, just laughing at what the pro-lifers were trying to do. Instead, I read the entry and came out surprised. Rather than look at the messages that the cupcakes were trying to send, the entry explored the reality of the cupcakes health effects, and the messages that the cupcakes were sending to children through their nutrition. I loved how it was written, giving the basic background information, and then blowing the whole cupcake idea apart, blasting them for their consideration of women's health - none, and their suggestion for another national "blank" day, one for pro-choicers against diabetes, something that the entry suggests the pro-lifers don't really care about.

For a blog that is funny, informative, and a good read, pandagon.net is definitely the right choice.

Blog Evaluation

I enjoyed this blog evaluation assignment because it gave me a chance to learn more about blogs. I came across a couple of blogs Feminist Law Professors, Jezebel, Bitch Ph.D and a few more that I will occasionally refer to get informed on what is happening. These blogs share amusing post, for example,I came across this column on Bitch PH.D WHYAMITAKINGCAREOFAFUCKINGCATIHATECATS.

I could not help but laugh while reading it! A post on a blog similar to this one is an example of how freely narrated postings on blogs can be. Postings are very opinionated and should tell an experience about an experience that a reader can relate to. However, postings are also self-censoring, it is critical to be cautious of what you say because blogs are open to the public. This leads me to the most essential part of making a post and commenting, target the idea and not the individual. Making a comment on a post that targets the idea allows for further discussion where as targeting the individual diminishes character. The blogger of the above column truly hates cats and so do I, so I can relate to some of the things she states. The responses to her blog relate to other persona experiences and are also amusing.

Blog Evaluation

For my blog Evaluation I looked at Finally, A Feminism 101 Blog. This is a blog dedicated to answering the FAQs about feminist ideology. While there is human percpetion and opinion involved, all blogs and comments are as to the point and straightforward as possible. The site has a lenghty introduction page that shows readers how to use the site and offers reasons for why they may bave been referred there (maybe they were asking questions that feminsts were tired of answering, or wanted to refresh on the principles of feminsm).

The layout of the site was somewhat academic, in that there were few graphics and the font was basic. Several posts quoted existing materials, but did so with proper citation and within the context of their argument. Interestingly. I could not find any advertisments on the site. I do not know why this, and could not find a monitor or who was controlling the blog either. I found this interesting because I would think that the site would have to have some sort of financial backing to be able to stay online.

If you're someone looking for basic information about feminist ideology, or looking to learn about some issues encompassed by it, then this site is a great one.

Free-Write 1

She's Gotta Have It, discussed in bell hook's Talking Back, was one of the more disturbing things I have come across since the last Women's Studies class (Michael Douglas raping someone over a couch...not cool for so many reasons).  The "whose pussy is this" bit is disgusting because it's not only enforcing, as bell said, the idea that it's up to the woman to make an act of violent violation enjoyable, but also because it's like the male is teaching her a lesson.  She "learns" that her being sexually liberated is "wrong" and decides to marry the rapist like a good girl.  What she should have done is answered truthfully, her pussy's her own.  And marrying the guy?  How about turning him over to the cops so he can go to jail-showers and answer the question: "Whose ass is this?"

This reminded me of a post on girlwpen.com in which there is a list of things to help prevent rape.

Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work!

1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!

3. If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!

4. NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.

5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!

6. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

7. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.

8. Always be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.

9. Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with someone unless they are awake!

10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone “on accident” you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.

This struck a bell with me because, as above with the rape in She's Gotta Have It, most assume that preventing rape is up to women.  That we need to follow certain protocol or else it's our fault for being reckless when in fact we should be able to walk the streets at midnight because we are human beings and the only reason we can't is because of predatory male instincts for domination.

I'm tired of women needing to be the victim and the hero at the same time.  Rapists, if you need to fuck something into submission, your hand's right there.

Makoni and Taking Action

I think women in America often get blinded to some of the higher degrees of inequality facing women around the world. Women are here in the states fighting for equal workplace opportunities, equal educational opportunities, and just equal respect in general. However, the global struggle for women’s rights is one that has to overcome situations far worse than we are facing here. One of the blog posts on the Clio website caught my eye in how different the severities of sexist treatment are globally. The July 2008 post about a woman from Zimbabwe, Betty Makoni, was the most memorable of the five or so posts that I read. In her country, they haven’t even had the chance to fight for women’s higher education. From the Penguin Atlas, we saw on page 81 that fewer than 75% of girls in Zimbabwe who start primary education complete it. They struggle daily to survive without getting raped, tortured, or hurt by men in authority. I can’t imagine a life where as a young girl I wasn’t safe from sexual violence at my elementary school. As women, we should be concerned with the well being of our entire gender, not just the issues that directly affect our daily lives. I realize that problems with sexual violence are prevalent here in the States as well as abroad. However, I think it is safe to say that there is a very different focus of the daily feminist struggle from country to country. As Offen states in the title of this particular blog post, we can inspire people by not only seeing this obvious problem, but by taking action.

The US is Overrated

I found The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World to be the most interesting [in a shocking kind of way] piece we’ve read yet this semester. Although it was very informative I was honestly more disgusted than anything at most of what I read/saw. Here I was living in my own little world believing women were practically equal-- a clearly naïve thought. I had always thought the United States was so advanced in the majority of aspects of life, in comparison with other countries; to find that we weren’t is what concerned me the most. For example in the “In Their Place” section, the United States is equal to places like Libya, Sudan and Nigeria in its “religious fundamentalism and nationalist pressure on women, resulting in heightened legal and social restrictions (late 1990s – 2002). And as of May 2002 the United States was one of the ONLY countries (1 of 3) to have signed but not ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The United States also has the second highest (behind South Africa) amount of “actual number of rapes estimated to occur each year” at 700,000. These statistics are bewildering to me and I can’t believe I thought so highly of the US for so long.
What bothered me the most in the book though, were the statistics on death from illegal abortions in Africa; almost 50% of the deaths that occur from illegal abortions occur in Africa. If you compare these numbers to the number of available contraceptives in Africa, you can see a lot of these deaths could be prevented so easily [not to mention how much basic sexual knowledge and contraceptives could aid in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic].

The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World

The first section of this book is titled "States Against Discrimination". Does it make sense for the United States to be the only country which has signed but not ratified the CEDAW Treaty (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women)? Countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and South Africa have not only signed this Convention but they have also ratified it. I find it very hard to believe that countries in which women are not allowed to drive cars or ride bicycles, where women may not confer citizenship, where women need permission from their husbands to leave the country and even where women are offered by their families to the men who rape them in order to preserve family honor, have signed off on this "Treaty of Equality". I can't help but find humor in the fact that the very first page of this book is a lie and that the United States appears to give women less rights than women in other parts of the world who are being secluded, raped and even killed by their husbands.

The Penguin Atlas of Women: Global Feminism

The Penguin Atlas of Women was a comprhensive view of just about every possible issue that face women today, most of it quite disturbing. The section that struck me the most were the pages dealing with rape. It seems that of all the crimes against women, rape is the most univeral and often goes unreported and unpunished. Rape is present in every country around the world and in some places it is even legal in certain situations; in most of Africa and Asia men are allowed to rape their wives. What makes this most heinous is the absolute perversion of marriage. It should be an institution of love and trust, but so many women are forced into marriages they don't want and made to consumate the marriage against their will. That a man could force himself on his wife, a painful and hateful act, is unacceptable.

Two things about the map I found especially interesting were a) the lack of data concerning the number of rapes in the Middle East and Asia and b) the fact that America has by far the largest number of reported rapes. As to that first observation, it is interesting because both those areas are notorious for arranged marriages and widely accepted abuse of women in general. It made me wonder if there wasn't any data because women simply do not report the rapes because no one will care? The second observation, about the 700,000 rapes in America each year, is just absolute shock. America is only third in line for largest popukation in the world, so that can't be the reason. It is illegal for a man to rape his wife. So why does America have so many rapes? I don't have an answer, if anyone wants to make a suggestion please write a comment.

Comparing Contraception Use

There were very many facts that surprised me while looking through The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World. One of the most interesting things I noticed was when comparing the use of contraception and female genital mutilation (FGM). The areas where there are the least amount of contraception use, 10% or fewer, were also the areas where FGM is used. This area is in mid-Africa. The only country that did not fit into this comparison was Egypt, where FGM is almost universal and there is also a 75% contraception use.

Another interesting fact about FGM, was that it is banned by law in most of the countries it is most prevalent in. For example in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea where the prevalence of FGM is greater than 50%, there are laws that ban the practice. I am curious why these practices are continuing despite this.

I was also surprised by the wide use of female sterilization, which makes up 34% of contraception use, especially in the more developed countries. The countries that had the highest use of female sterilization were countries that had over 50% use of contraception, such as the United States, Canada, and China.

Finally, I expected to see that the areas with the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS would also be the areas with the lowest use of contraception. However, mid-Africa appeared to be the area with the least contraception use, and southeast Africa was the area with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence. For example, South Africa has over a 75% contraception use, however, the adults carrying HIV is between 5% and 19%. Botswana is similar with a 26%-50% contraception use and also a 20% or higher prevalence of HIV.

Half the Sky

halftheskymovement.org something interesting to look at

Global Feminism (Yes It will be Needed for a Long Time)

The Penguin Atlas of Women in the world is an excellent starting point for the justification of the necessity of Global feminism and feminist. After looking at the maps, there is one clear trend: Women are below men in almost all aspects of life. Across the globe, they make less money, have less access to resources, often have to work harder, are discriminated against and are often forced to subjugate to the demeaning societal roles imposed by men.

Some of these disparities in gender equality are due to culture, others have stemmed for hundreds of years, and some are due simply to the media's portrayal of women as sexual objects for men. In many third world and developing nations women are often expected to stay home and raise a family. Even in such nations, where women work just as hard as men they often never have equal status in society. They cannot run for political office or be in positions of power where they have the ability to change their status because of their sex. Some divisions are religious and have spanned for long periods of time. This was the basis for the basis for the Taliban's oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan. The first two problems appear across the globe in less developed nations and can be partially attributed to a lack of access to education and the need to live a life based around fighting for the necessities of life (food, shelter, clean water, supporting children, etc...) The third example of media is more prevalent in developing nations. Women are sexualized as objects in media which leads them to be viewed as lesser objects by many men in society. This can be linked to lower wages and higher costs. Women have to spend more in the same professional jobs as men. Their clothes have to be in style. Makeup, Hair, and many other expenses often lead them to have to spend more than their male counterparts while usually earning less.

Global Feminism is needed to help change cultures and systems that have been in place for a long time so that women can enjoy the same equal status as men. In westernized nations the same is needed to stop sexualizing women to help them get a status equal to men. As long as such disparities exist the need for feminism exists regardless of where it is on the globe. Women have been oppressed for too long, they deserve equal access to education, healthcare and politics. When such basic needs are equalized, they themselves by embracing positives and boycotting negatives, have the capacity to equalize their status in society.

abortion

At the risk of sounding ignorant and possibly flat out stupid, I was shocked while reading through The Penguin Atlas.  I knew that women are continually oppressed, but I never was able to understand just how bad it can be.  This book was eye-opening, and it brought to life all sorts of problems I had never contemplated.  I found the abortion map to be particularly astonishing and irritating.  I have strong beliefs that it is a woman's decision what she does with her own body, and I find it disgusting that there are several countries in which men must first give their wife permission.  I also find the number of countries with intensive restrictions (and flat out illegality) to be disturbing.  

I guess you could say that living in America is almost like living in a bubble.  I had never learned or heard about other country's policies involving abortion, and when I discovered that it is illegal all through out Africa and South America (with limited exceptions) I was floored.  I don't think that is right, as there will just be more death and injury due to illegal abortions.

Global Feminism

Out of all the texts that we've had to read so far I found The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World by Joni Seager one of the most interesting and helpful books in understanding women's issues around the world. Unlike other books we've read thus far, The Penguin Atlas gives more stats and figures about various aspects of women's lives on an international level. Also, with being a visual learner, this book helped me to see and understand more about the issues we are learning about. Plus the broader prospective on all women (not just American women) was interesting to see.

After the introduction Seager starts the book off with a color coded map of the world according to which countries have signed and ratified, just signed, or haven't signed the CEDAW (UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women). According to the map all countries around the world (with the exception of Iran, Sudan, and Somalia) have signed the CEDAW, pretty much all of them have ratified it as well except for one, the U.S has (as of yet) to ratify it. I'm not going to lie, I was shocked by that. During high school history class I had heard about the progress of the Women's Movement in the U.S, and thought that comparatively women in this country were further down the path to equality than those in other countries. Or, that is at least what I thought was the case in high school. The books colorfully illustrated pages disbanded my formerly conceived notions about women in the modern world, and it allowed me to see the realities of their situation.

One last thing that stuck out to me in the book was that it mentioned the circumstances of other minorities, not just women. For example there was a section on global homosexuality that also shook my rudimentary knowledge to the core. For a long time now I had been dreaming of potentially moving to Europe, with my ideal destination being France. All because I had the notion that Europe was a more accepting place in terms of homosexuality then anywhere in North America. Then, to see the statistics, and to see that Canada was more far more accepting and progressive in terms of homosexuality than some of the European Union was (including France) left me dumb founded. Just goes to show what studying this book has done for me, and probably for many others as well.

Women in the World- War and Rape

I usually make every effort to stay away from titles that have the words atlas and maps in them - I tend to have a horrible sense of direction and an inability to read maps well. However, “The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World” is a true exception. The book is captivating and as I flipped through the pages, I was enthralled with the colorful maps, graphs, and how visually friendly the book is. I was also impressed with the depth of subjects covered, from lesbian rights, murder, abortion, gender preference and breast cancer to fieldwork, migration, plastic surgery and women in the government and military. The book has fascinating statistics and unique topics that I don’t often think about. The atlas points out the continued discrepancy between men and women in countries throughout the world in every aspect of social, economic, and political life; it left a powerful impression on me. I particularly liked the two World Tables in Part 8 on Demography and Health and School, Work and Power on page 108. They were straightforward in understanding the countries who respect women and where they fare better in life.

An area that greatly disturbed me was the section regarding women and rape in war zones on page 101. Seager points out that in Iraq, women continue to be kidnapped, raped and tortured by gangs and religious extremists. Russia and India were highlighted as well. When I viewed women in the military on page 103, between 16%-23% of the women in Russia are active in armed services. Also, women in India are required to serve their countries and are currently in active duty in the armed forces. In these countries, women are fighting and serving their country but continue to be abused and raped. The atlas also states that, “many women serving in the US military in Iraq have been raped by their fellow soldiers. In 2006, 2,947 within-military sexual assaults were reported, and 2,688 in 2007.” These statistics are shocking!

Rape, sexual assault, and harassment are nothing new in the military, but today, more and more women serve in the military. The military is still a “man’s world” and woman are faced with resentment and blame from other soldiers if they report the abuse. Any soldier who reports sexual assaults in the military is seen as betraying the people she serves with, not the other way around. Women shouldn’t have to think about protecting themselves against the people they work with. They feel helpless and depressed because the very people who are supposed to look after them are the ones who are abusing them. They are not the enemy. They are let down from their own country. Many don’t know who to turn to and end up returning home emotionally unable to relate to their families and friends. They lose self-respect and feel they have lost control of their lives. Some are prone to self-destruction while others end up having panic attacks and can’t cope with everyday life. They often turn to drugs or alcohol for escape and others turn to suicide.

The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World

The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World gave a really strong picture of women, feminism, and gender on a global level. It was a refreshing change of pace but also quite overwhelming. Its one thing to look at the US and search through my own experience but to look at these issues on the global scale is eye opening.

I was in the group focused on power. One thing in particular that grabbed my attention was the section on crisis zones. Widespread rape of women by soldiers during times of armed conflict included Russia, South Africa, and India. These areas also had a high percentage of women in active armed forces, which led me to wonder if these countries put women in active duty as bodies and numbers to be killed without a second thought because these countries provide data that suggests women are valued less than men. Are they being used as expendable entities and not human beings?

I just want to know how this occurred. How did this widespread, worldwide, believed notion that women are less than men come to be? Who looked at women and men and had enough power and a highly valued opinion to compare the two and deem women less than and have a startling amount of other people agree and follow? How did we get to where we are? And more importantly why does it take so long to change people’s minds? The fact that female genital mutilation is still occurring in 2009 is disgusting and heartbreaking. The Atlas says that, “An estimated 130 million girls and women in the world have undergone genital cutting; each year, another 2 million join their ranks.”

In my opinion, this book is valuable to this class and it was a great way to gain a large amount of new knowledge about the entire world and it's attitudes and laws towards women. I know that a lot of the facts and pictures within the pages of it will stay with me and maybe my knowledge of it will find a way to be passed along. At the end of our group's discussion the only solution we could come up with was time and education. This book is a great tool for education.

Abortion is not the same thing as female infanticide. To choose to kill a child because of its sex is completely despicable. Many women abort their pregnancies because they cannot afford or risk rising the child-but they go into their abortions without knowing what the sex of their child will be. At three months, women can no longer have abortions because it’s deemed too dangerous; but at three months, women wouldn’t be able to know their babies’ respective sexes and would thus be unable to commit female infanticide.

Coming from a culture that is closely tied to, at least, one of the countries where female infanticide rates are the highest in the world, I am not really surprised about these stats or these practices. I have grown up knowing about son preferences, and while extremely grateful that my parents chose to carry me to term and raise me, have always been assaulted with messages that sons were the more valuable investment.

While I understand, but would never condone, the reasoning behind why poorer families would participate in this practice, it is the richer, more affluent families that I completely despise. Why would anyone with such vast resources stoop so low as to kill infants, let alone female infants? They do not have the excuse of not being able to care for her, nor do they have the excuse of not being able to pay the taxes or fines that are imposed by the government for having more than two children (in China’s case). They are the ones with the most power and so it should be their responsibility and duty to stop the government from passing such laws and to at least attempt to save their daughters.

Where are our priorities?

While glancing through "The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World," I found my jaw continually dropping as I read various surprising statistics and shocking facts. The section titled Body Politics particularly affected me, and left me wondering where our priorities are as a society. It was interesting to contrast the breast cancer graphs with the page on beauty. First I learned that the United States has the highest rate of breast cancer in the world, and then I turned to the beauty page to discover that Americans spent $13 billion on cosmetic procedures alone in 2006. I wondered, how can we justify spending this exorbitant amount of money on mostly superficial procedures, while people that we know and love are fighting breast cancer ever day? This is only one example of the skewed priorities in our culture though. We spend millions of dollars on cars or fancy clothes everyday while there are people living on the streets and lacking health care. For me, reading this book went behind simply highlighting women 's place in the world; it helped to remind me of problems that I see, and empowered me to want to make changes in the way I personally feed into the issues within our society. 

Women in the World: Taken-Trafficking

This past June, I was sitting in my room reading a magazine when my dad walks in looking quite serious and lays a dvd on my bed and says "You need to watch this as soon as you get a chance". Before I even looked at the dvd I was perplexed. Rarely does my dad watch movies, let alone feel the need to tell me that I really need to see them because, the romantic comedies I enjoy aren't exactly his cup of tea. I then looked at the cover and saw "I don't know who you are, but if you don't let my daughter go I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you"-TAKEN. The back read...

"Seventeen year-old Kim is the pride and joy of her father Bryan Mills. Bryan is a retired agent who left the Secret Service to be near Kim in California. Kim lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart. Kim manages to convince her reluctant father to allow her to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. When the girls arrive in Paris they share a cab with a stranger named Peter, and Amanda lets it slip that they are alone in Paris. Using this information an Albanese gang of human traffickers kidnaps the girls. Kim barely has time to call her father and give him information. Her father gets to speak briefly to one of the kidnappers and he promises to kill the kidnappers if they do not let his daughter go free. The kidnapper wishes him "good luck," so Bryan Mills travels to Paris to search for his daughter and her friend"

I watched it the next morning and was blown away by the plot, acting and ending especially. I had been familiar with the Global Sex Trafficking and what an epidemic it's become. I've even watched a documentary on it a year ago. But there was something that intrigued me more by this film. I think it was how disgustingly easy the process of capturing and enslaving young women was.

Women in the Worlds' section on Global Sex Trafficking caught my interest the most (partly because of my progressed interest after seeing the movie). I specifically looked at France, seeing it listed as a destination country and then looked at Russia which is both a source and destination. Interestingly enough, Europe is listed as having the highest prosecutions and convictions. The entire process is both gut wrenching and depressing. The saddest part to me was to skim through the book and see how well these countries have been and are doing in so many other areas and then this topic arrives. That is both shocking and terrifying because that means the actions are that much easier to hide and there for easier to get away with.

FGM in Egypt

When looking through the penguin atlas, what was the most surprising thing to me was the extraordinarily high level of female genital mutilation that takes place in Egypt. According to the atlas, FGM in Egypt happens to over 90% of girls under the age of 14. An article I found on Newscientist said that although FGM is illegal by ministerial decree, the practice continues to be condoned by religious leaders and carried out by parents who do not want their daughters to be disadvantaged. Looking at an informational article through religioustolerance.org, I learned that it is starting to become a controversial topic in Egypt right now. The practice of FGM is a deeply engrained cultural tradition that is defended through religion, but has little to do with religion, and while there are a growing number of people resisting this practice, the opposition is taking it as an attack on Islam itself. Neighboring Islamic countries do not practice FGM as much as Egypt,
To my mind, Egypt’s national development would indicate that such practice would not take place, at least with such prevalence. FGM is a very old tradition in some parts of the world, but I have always associated it with less developed countries where the women and the people in general, have less education and less options. Egypt is not one of these places, and yet when flipping through the penguin atlas, the treatment of women in that country is undeniable poor.

One Bride, That'll Be 42 Cents Postage, Sir

Although I found the entire Penguin Atlas to be fascinating, what I really found interesting was the page on sex trafficking, particularly the mail order brides. As I was looking at the graphs for the brides, I notices that the Russian bride websites seem to be especially popular, but even more interesting, Russia is also the country with the highest levels of domestic violence deaths. Not only are these women being 'sold' as brides online, they also risk being beaten to death if they stay in Russia. Being interested, I went to goodwife.com, the site listed as having links to all of the 'meet your wife sites. The opening page of the site is filled with pictures of 1950's housewives, several paragraphs about find a good wife, and profile pictures of the women available for 'purchase'. There are links all over for other 'purchasing' sites, as well as versions of dating sites, specifically for international women, and the kicker, they are even sorted by region! So if you are absolutely set on a Russian bride, there are sites just for you! But of course, from what I can see, Latin American women are just as popular, especially among American men.

Clearly, we have a problem here. On one site I found this statement, "American men make the best husbands in the world." What!? Says who? The mail order brides who are essentially being bought? Why then does the US have an almost 50% divorce rate? That means that 1 in every 2 couples will end in divorce. And American men make the best husbands? Not with those numbers. This is a huge problem that not only affects the source countries for women, but the US as well, where these women are coming to live. What is so wring with these American men that they can't find a wife here? That, I would like to know. Although the answer from them would probably be that the problem lies with the American women, we're too independent, not enough housewife blood running through our veins anymore.

Bell Hooks: The First Half of Talking Back

Out of the first half of Bell Hook's book Talking Back: Thinking Feminist|Thinking Black I found the first chapter, titled "talking back," to be the most striking. While I have read parts of Bell Hook's works before, this was the first time that I have not been looking at them from a sociological perspective. Looking back at my annotations I was almost surprised by what I had noted; the different domains in which black males and females dominate (the church and the home, respectively) (pg 5), the fact that girls are silenced and seen as having no future in speaking while boys were encouraged to become preachers (pg 6), or that girls could be threatened with the label of madness for speaking too much (pg 7).

While Bell Hooks sites many differences between the treatment of boys and girls in regard to speech, she also introduces the necessity to "protect the spirit from forces that would break it" (pg 7). The breaking of spirit is something that Bell Hooks talks about later in her book, notably in regards to finding ones voice and in higher education. I found the inclusion of the resilience needed in order to maintain ones creativity made Bell Hooks approach much more holistic. Incorporating the internal emotions associated with interpersonal interactions and the patriarchal hierarchy implemented in the United States makes Bell Hooks work more than simply an analysis of concepts related to Women's Studies.

Along with internal emotions, I was interested in Bell Hooks discussion of "true speaking" as " an act of resistance, a political gesture" (pg 8). Building off of this, Bell Hooks states that anything that challenges domination is a threat, and must be eliminated. In relation to finding ones voice, which Bell Hooks discusses in a later chapter, I though this was very telling as to why more oppressed men and women of all races and colors do not speak out. However, this "voice" must be found in order to move from an oppressed object to a subject who can speak for themselves.

Preventing oppressed individuals from finding this voice are systems of racial, gender based, and class domination. This was the first time that I had ever read or heard of racism, sexism, and classism as all contributing to the oppression of certain individuals, in this case black females. Now that I have had time to process this idea I am surprised that this integral approach is not taken more often. Within the United States institutions do not work independently of one another, so why would systems of domination?

From what I have read so far I think Bell Hooks offers some great concepts and ideas to help frame ones thinking about feminism and what it means to different genders, races, and classes. I feel that the perspective offered is a comprehensive and honest one, and that Bell Hooks does a great job of integrating herself into the text, creating not only an academic work but also a narrative.

Women in the World (Global Feminism)

Women in the World gave me a conflicting notion about gender and who is to "blame" for gender-related injustices.  There are of course some cases where it is obviously one or the other--take for example in Russia where 9000 women were victims of domestic murder.  No real mystery there.  Even in countries such as Egypt where 94% of women find it acceptable for a man to beat his wife for burning food, talking back, or refusing sex--that is the environment in which they are raised.  Were awareness spread, things could change.  Add more shelters, let women know via positive images that they don't deserve this.

Yet this brings me to my point.  Images of what?  America?  Surely this is a country where all women stand up for what they believe in and where every woman is a strong, courageous feminist.  

Wrong.

We are still living in a society where women stand for (even long for) the bad boy.  The chauvinist cowboy who'll slap her ass and call her "sweetie" when she gets mad instead of offering up his responsibility.  We need to be the change we wish to see and yet why then are we still the highest consumers of beauty products, why still are there women who are against the right to control whether or not you give birth, why do we still buy products sold to us with this:

Until we stop supporting this, I can't really claim we're much better than the (other) patriarchal societies of the world.

Professor Miller's favorite columnists

This must be the day for me to share with you all stories about my favorite columnists: first Nicholas Kristoff and now Katha Pollitt. Pollitt writes for a journal called The Nation, and if you find yourself interested in the issues raised in this class, she's a good person to follow from now through, well, the rest of your life! I find that she often writes her columns about exactly the topic I was hoping for, and she has a way of framing things and using evidence and feminist analysis to make incredibly strong arguments.

This week's column is about Roman Polanski. We should talk about this when we do our section on violence against women. She's convinced me. Please take a few minutes to read Pollitt Here.

(PS: That was the first time I added a link on the blog. I am so proud of myself!! Stay tuned for me to tell you all about my favorite news correspondent, Maria Hinojosa, next week.....)

Women of the World

While glancing through the "Penguin Atlas" book I found it interesting that the author used a lot of color and pictures to clearly illustrate some of the inequalities between countries. For a visual learner, this book paints a perfect picture of differences between duties and rights of men and women around the world. While reading through the Unpaid Work section of the book, it was not a shock to me that women and girls work more hours each day doing unpaid work in the household then men and boys. This unequal work is usually done in the home and a personal and political struggle over gender roles. The charts illustrated minutes spent per day washing dishes, hours spent doing housework, and childcare are drastically different for women than men. The average hours spent per week fetching water was performed more by women, and girls under the age of 14yrs old than by men, and boys of the same age. I ask what are the roles of the men? According to the retirement time, men spend more time watching tv! In my own experience, while visiting Haiti during summer vacations I would notice more women and young girls collecting water, and men and boys either playing domino's, playing a sport or partially working. For all the tasks completed in the home by women it is fair to say women should make the decisions in the household. But unfortunately, machismo prohibits such a thing from existing.

The household decision-makers, according to a percentage of women who say their husband alone makes decisions on household spending are mostly done by men in different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa; beginning with 6% in Madagascar to 66% in Malawi. Lower percentages were seen from East Asia/Pacific through the Caribbean and North Africa. I was not shocked by this, I can now trace the origination of gender roles in my culture to the African Diaspora. This books clearly states why feminism is still important today and the drastic changes needed to be made in gender roles

Women Across the Globe

After reading through the statistics about women all over the globe there were things that I was surprised about and some that didn't come as that much of a shock to me. As I suspect was intended, the fact that the United States is one of the only countries in the world who does not have an equal rights amendment ratified was shocking. It seems surprising not only that we would still not have that, but I found it almost more shocking that certain countries indeed had signed and ratified the bill, yet such terrible living conditions still existed for many of the women who resided in those region. Along with that some of the facts such as the countries with the highest education completed for women were surprising. The fact that a country such as Saudi Arabia, which has such a structured patriarchal country would have such a high rate of women who participate in higher education was surprising when in general they have such limited rights. One of the last things that stuck out to as being surprising was the graph showing poverty rate of women and the fact that some countries in Latin America, Mexico specifically, had very low rates of women living in poverty, even less than here in the United States. Considering the poor rights that women are privy to in Mexico and the roles in which they usually occupy as the inferior, weaker sex than the "Machismo" men I found it surprising that women are so well off.

Unfortunately there were things in this book that, while unsettling, didn't come as much of a surprise. The fact that there are many countries in the Middle East and Africa where woman are responsible for the most unpaid labor is not a surprise, or that women are still not able to own property in male dominated societies and where tribal government is still prominent.

Overall I found that this book was very insightful when regarding the state of women's rights and issues worldwide and not just what we knew (or thought we knew) about conditions here in the United States.