By: Alisha
Yesterday we had a lively discussion in class about feminism, it's definitions, and what it means to people. Similar to what normally happens in an intro to WMST classroom, most people are shocked by the simple definition of feminism, especially considering all of the stereotypes that normally come to mind when using the "f-word". One of my favorite authors, Jessica Valenti states in her book Full Frontal Feminism that feminism is simply "Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes; the movement that surrounds this belief” (13). While feminist ideology is a complex idea, the definition really is pretty simple and hard to argue with.
That being said, there still is a lot to learn and a lot of discrimination out there. This article, Why Do Women Still Earn Less than Men? by Time Magazine just goes to show that feminism is still needed, and change still needs to happen. So the next time someone tells you feminism is dead, speak your mind, voice your opinion, and show them what's up!
The biggest fault I see in this article is that they give no background information about their surveys. They compare the pay of women and men in the same field yet they don’t tell us who they are surveying, how many people are in this survey, how do we know these are accurate comparisons? So pretty much this article is a wash.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about these jobs? Could it be that women don’t want these jobs that men are taking? What about the fact that more women are enrolled in secondary school than men? Was this taken into consideration when the statistic was developed? Women also make better care takers than men, could that also be why less women have jobs? The more dilute you make something the less pure it is. Since we have no back ground on any of these numbers we cannot accurately concluded that men make more money than women.
Hey jacqui,
ReplyDeleteThese are really great questions and comments that you have. Do you think socialization has anything to do with some of your opinions? Are women really better caretakers than men, or is that just a cultural belief here in the United States? Check out the Chambi Tribe for some interesting insights (here's a link for you http://books.google.com/books?id=5N3qpwV7OlsC&pg=PA286&lpg=PA286&dq=chambri+tribe&source=bl&ots=kIytQMAvTc&sig=k2ypK-jyRDh4O1ipcDU2k-IThq8&hl=en&ei=TEb8SrOADcSknQf1kpiYBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=chambri%20tribe&f=false).
Also, why are women not "wanting" these jobs? Gender roles and identity are very complicated.
Yes socialization has to do with my opinion, I think it has to do with the majority of everyone's opinion and decisions.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experience of what I have seen in a family dynamic, mothers are better at caring for the needs of their children than men. Women seem to be more patient (I'm not talking about teenagers and that whole rebellious stage), when it comes time for dinner there is no such thing as vegetables, with men, only pizza or cereal and overall they just more compassionate than men. I'm not saying men don't do a good job. My stepdad and father were both great at taking care of me and my siblings, I just think that women do a better job at it and that is why they choose to stay at home rather than work. Also economic reasons play a big role too.
I thought that article was interesting (I like hearing about other cultures). Thought it was funny how the tribe thought it was the women that needed sex so they would keep their husbands, comparing to our society where we blame the men, (I think both men and women play a role in wanting sex). The 2 paths for walking near the spirit houses...haha. But what was really interesting was how involved the men are in all aspects of the family males lives.
Hi Alisha,
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your post. We definitely still see discrimination against women and minority groups today. It's sad to see how there's so many people out there that are so close minded and believe it's okay to discriminate against women because of our gender. When refering to your article, I think that our main focus here should be that women are still constantly being discriminated against on the basis of gender, therefore feminism is still needed.
Patrisha Wright
ReplyDeleteIt's folly to say that feminism will die out. As long as we are living in a capitalistic society that works off of the inequities of others, then it will continue to thrive. I agree that menstruation is personal and discriminative. Questions that involve any body part should be left out. I know on job applications they ask if a person requires physical assistance in completing tasks or if he or she is able to complete it alone. It doesn't state it exactly, but it refers to the disabled.
-Patrisha Wright
I loved reading your article. When people think of feminism, they think very negatively of it. But really, feminism is for EVERYONE! And men can be feminists too! Because feminism is all about fighting against inequality and oppressions. Most people tend to think that feminists are "sexist" to men. What they don't know is that first of all, women cannot be "sexist" because of the power structure, and second, they are so blinded by the patriarchy system that they do not see the injustice in our society.
ReplyDelete