GWSS 1001 - Gender, Power, and Everday Life

Before I started in this course my knowledge of feminism was low. I had heard of the suffragists and women finally being given the right to vote, however, that was the only part of history I was familiar with. After reading Suffragist City I was horrified to read how unfairly women were treated in everyday life. I was even more horrified when I read Pauls recounts of her jail time in England.

I was clapped into jail three times while in England, and during my first and second terms I refused to eat. When the forcible feeding was ordered, I was bound with sheets and sat upon bodily by a fat murderes, whose duty it was to keep me still. Then the prison doctor placed a rubber tube up my nostrils and pumped liquid food through it into the stomach.

Posted by Kimberly Zier at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey All -
I have been watching this case the last day or two and there have been blogs on if from both feministing and Bitch Ph.D.. From their sites, you can access news sites that discuss the case as well. On the feministing site, there was a follow-up piece posted on how to take action and contact the sheriff's office to protest. The site is an action page from Planned Parenthood. You can also read my blogs on the subject here. If the UPDATE blog isn't functioning properly, I apologize in advance, but it might just be my whiny computer.

Posted by Jessica Englund at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My name is Kim Zier. Im a junior now here at the University majoring in Animal Science. Im hoping to become a veterinarian, someday, however I am not going to vet school right away. Im 20 years old and Im from West Bend, Wisconsin. West Bend is about 30 miles north of Milwaukee in the South Eastern part of the state. Im the youngest of three kids. I have two older brothers. My oldest brother, Dan, is 33 years old. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, Rachel. My older brother, Tim is almost 29 years old. He and his wife, Julie, live at home with their two kids. My niece, Greta, will be turning 3 on Valentines Day, and my nephew, Matthew, will be 2 in April. Being in Minneapolis the past three years has really changed my life. I came to college with a steady boyfriend, a huge cloud of uncertainty and a great rush of excitment. I no longer have my boyfriend, I still have a huge cloud of uncertainty, and I still couldnt be more excited about whats coming next for me here at the U. I guess in a nutshell, thats my life and family. :)

Posted by Kimberly Zier at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Remember to post by noon on Monday 2/5!

Instructions -

In a 300-500 word post, address one (or more) of the ideas in the following prompt:

What do you know of the women’s movement and/or women’s history? What should we know/learn? What are some of the sources of our historical learning? Who/what constructs our knowledge of and/or views of history and more specifically, of women's history?

You may want to post about key events included (or not included) on Manifesta’s Timeline or update the recent years (the Timeline ends in 2002).

OR

You may want to analyze who/what is included (or not included) in history according to American girl dolls (and accessories).

Click on the banner to tour the Historical American Girl characters:

OR

You may want to think about how Hollywood narratives - like Iron Jawed Angels (re)writes and inscribes history in our cultural imaginations.

Posted by Rae at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Click the banner for more info:

Posted by Rae at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

+ + + Media Journal Assignment + + +

The media journal assignment asks you to pay regular attention to media concerning feminist issues, gender, sexuality or any other topic relevant to course material. You should be considering key theories and concepts, and how they could be applied to analyze what you see.

You could use this assignmet to track commentary on a specific issue, and it's representation in media sources (like news, magazines, newspapers, radio, film, and television) in order to become familiar with when, where, and in what contexts or situations this issue (or women and GLBTQQ communities receive media attention), and how it/they are represented.

It would also be beneficial to compare different types of sources (television, radio, print, Web-based, commercial, indie and grassroots outlets, as well as local, national, and international sources) to explore potential differences in treatment. Think about who (person, place or company) is producing a particular message and for what reason? Are they reporting an important event? Selling an idea, ideology or product?

You should collect a MINIMUM of 2 to 3 entries per week, and write a short analysis for each entry. You will write a more formal analytic essay (to be submitted when you turn your journal in May 1st ).

You can gather news links, images, video clips, music clips, scans from textbooks - anything you deem relevant to the study of women, gender and sexuality.

+ + + Example of Informal Journal Entry + + +

My absolute favorite feminist blog is feministing.com

One of the primary categories is Fun with Feminist Flickr. Read it HERE

Today's entry:

What do you see? :
Open the box and I'll open my legs OR Open your legs and I'll open the box

I think about:
- the way power operates in relationship
- gender roles and marriage
- sex as a bargaining tool
- the use of sex as power
- the control over women's bodies and sexuality
-the framing of the image (cuts her body into pieces where you can't see her face, her eyes, her expression)
- the pale whiteness of her flesh
- the angles her legs make (the V. is it for vagina? is an arrow pointing at her bargaining chips? her worth?)

It's as if the advert screams, literally screams to me:

- Close your legs, you aren't married yet!
- Single girls (like black heel and black skirt, hose wearing, business ladies) are power hunger sex brokers
- Selling sex for diamond rings
and so many more things...

What's the context of this image? I saw it on a feminist blog. I wonder where this ad appears (in what magazines, in what countries). I did a little research and didn't find much (and I'm not sure why) -

NataN Jewelers. What is their backstory? Do they think selling jewelry (and their name brand) means selling a whole lifestyle? I hate lifestyle marketing.

From this article in the New York Times . I've learned that it is a family business based in Ipanema but has 15 stores in Brazil. It is a family business, according to CNN.

From the CNN piece:

Her parents founded Natan, a successful jewelry company in Brazil, a half-century ago, but she only began designing jewelry 12 years ago. After pursuing a career in psychoanalysis, she studied under jewelry designers in Italy and Switzerland.

Now Natan is taking her parents' traditional company into the 21st century.

"I'm very aware of making jewelry, not heavy jewelry, but making jewelry as part of the new woman," she said. "Something that gives you some identity and something that makes you a little different."

Lifestyle marketing in full effect. Jewels = your identity.

They have other *interesting* advertisements as well:

What does this ad say to me?

- a woman is unhappy and incomplete without jewels
- a woman can only truly see herself when looking in the mirror
- women spend too much time looking in the mirror
- is this woman on date? will she look more appealing with jewels?
- should she just stop waiting for him to buy her that necklace and just go on and buy it for herself (you know the knew post-sex in the city right handed ring phenom)

What does selling products so often require selling ideology? Does every product have to be marketed as a lifestyle? Can a necklace and jewels just be that or must it convince us of our gendered roles and the resulting power dynamic?

I keep thinking about power, oppression, heteronormativity, coerced gender roles, control of over women's bodies and sexualities, marriage as a contract, high heels appear to be modern day foot binds, pantyhouse is constricting and I hate it.

This conversation will definitely continue...

+ + + Example of More Formal Journal Entry / Reflection + + +

A great example of a media journal entry for the Soc 3251 Race, Class and Gender blog

Posted by Rae at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I definetaly did not have a definition for feminism or feminist theory coming into this class. I had my ideas, but I would have to admit that some probably followed along the lines of sexism. I read all the articles and books required, but many are hard to follow and understand completely, especially brooks. However, I read the short article in Manafesta, which was probably one of the most thought provoking articles I have ever read. It really made me see how feminism has improved our world in just 30 years. I could not have imagined being a teenager in the 70's and just starting college. Right now I am majoring in chemical engineering, which would never be possible 30 years ago, but it is still considered a mans profession. However, I could never do anything esle besides math or science, it is very interesting and I enjoy learning new things everyday. If we were in the 70's right now this profession would never be an option, and basically I could not do anything that would be in the math or science field. It was so interesting just seeing the rights women have now and how much it has grown. This article helped to show me that feminism is standing up for what you believe in and using tremendous strength and will power to convince people of these changes, which we see the difference now.

Posted by Abbey Carson at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For my scholarly event I attended a guest lecture by Linda Curley, an engineer at General Mills. The reason that I choose this for my scholarly event is because I am a chemical engineering major. I was interested to hear what a women working in this historically male dominated field would have to say about her job.

Linda graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in chemical engineering in 1999. She has been working at General Mills for seven years. Her presentation was about her career path and how her degree has gotten her to where she is today.

Linda started with describing her job in general. She said everyone works in groups. She specifically works with the Innovation, Technology and quality group. What this group does is: makes new products, makes variations on products that they are already making, and they improve on the products they already have. In this group there are many sub-divisions and she works with the new product development group. There are eight main groups and of these eight groups, three have job opportunities for chemical engineering majors. This was encouraging for me to hear that despite getting a pretty specific degree, there are a wide variety of jobs just in one company.

The fact that everyone works in groups, was one of the most interesting things that she said during her presentation. These groups are so productive because everyone’s ideas are all collaborated into one great idea. This made me think of the feminist movement. The feminist movement is similar to this in that when everyone is working together and sharing ideas, that is when the movement is the most productive. General Mills, just like the feminist movement, cannot succeed without people working together as a team.

Another thing that I couldn’t help thinking about was when she told us that she graduated from the U of M in 1999 which meant she started school around 1995. I bet that a woman chemical engineering major back in 1995 was even more uncommon than it is now. The engineering classes that I am in right now are still mostly guys, and I know there has been an increase in women going into engineering in the last ten or so years. I really respect Linda for going into this area of study at the time that she did knowing that it was very male dominated.

Lastly, it was really good to hear that Linda has moved up the ladder in her job. She started as an Engineer 1, got promoted to an Engineer 2, then to a Sr. Engineer 1, and now she is a Sr. Engineer 2. This was encouraging to know that she has been promoted so many places with just her B.S. in chemical engineering. She doesn’t have a masters or Ph. D of any sort. It was so good to hear this because I was under the impression that it was going to be hard for me to make it in the work field if I didn’t go to some sort of school after college, which as of right now I don’t think I want to do.

All in all this presentation was very helpful for me to attend. I learned a lot of things. First off, I learned of a possible type of job that I could get once I graduate with my chemical engineering degree. This was helpful because I really haven’t looked into this very much. I have just been following this degree path because I’m interested in chemistry and engineering, but I never have really looked into what types of jobs they actually do. Secondly, it was helpful to learn that even in just one company, there are many different opportunities for someone with a degree in Chemical Engineering. This was comforting to me to hear because it means that there’s a wide variety of options for jobs. It was also encouraging when she said that she has moved up the ladder in her job. This presentation was offered to all chemical engineering students, but was part of an upper level chemical engineering class. The main thing that I took away from it was that they only have one speaker like this come in per year, and guess what, this speaker just so happens to be a woman! Now that’s cool.

Posted by KIS at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had a friend in middle school who was convinced she was going to be the first female president. She told me time and time again that boys are not any better than girls, that she or I or any other girl in the entire world could take on any task that is male-dominated and that I should never forget that. She explained to me that people may try to make me believe that men are bigger, better, and smarter than women, and that I should refuse that notion. Kate was a part of a community that wanted to not only prove to the world that women are strong, equal, and capable creatures that should not be downsized by anyone, but to prevent women from being criticized for having these beliefs. And I envied her.

I became interested in Kate's different political and social views and quickly began to define myself as a feminist. I had no idea that by giving myself that label I would be considered a man-hating, bra-burning, crazy-ass politically incorrect lesbian. Ugh, for Christ's sake! I believed that women are just as good as men, not any better and definitely not any worse (although I'm not too fond of the chauvinistic jerks that called me ugly names, but who would be?!) I soon realized that there was a lot more to being a feminist than just being proud to have been created to have child-bearing hips, chubby cheeks, an icky reproductive menstrual cycle, and large breasts.

So I never gave much thought to the fact that women haven't always had the same rights as men. I think that women often just thought that was the way it was SUPPOSE to be. We have always been taught that life is not always fair but a few amazingly beautiful and smart people finally started to understand that this is something that should just not be tolerated. Society began to evolve when some of these awesome revolutionists confronted their fellow women by saying, “Hey! What the hell, girls? Aren't you sick of being shat on by not only men, but other women who are convinced that we will never live up to the standards of men? Don't you want to express yourself in a way that people will learn from and appreciate? I KNOW you girls don't always feel like fixing your hair and makeup to be considered 'sexually appealing' to others! Let's do something about this!”

Reading Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards' article from Manifesta, A Day Without Feminism, I thought about how lucky I am to have the rights I DO have within today's society. The authors took me back almost forty years ago to a day in the life of women who had no rights to be free and equal people. They explained that it was normal during that time for women to be mislead or misinformed about sex, to be given male-biased academic tests, major only in teaching, home economics, english, or maybe a language, and hardly allowed to serve in the military. The thing that urked me most within this reading was that women were expected to be sexually attractive at all times. “Sex appeal is a job requirement, wearing makeup is a rule, and women are fired if they exceed the age or weight deemed sexy.” (p. 7) UGH! I personally don't think I should feel LUCKY to not be under that kind of pressure in most of our society today, but I do. I just feel that this is how it should have been all along. (Yet we do still have a long way to go.)

I feel lucky to be able to take this course because I know that I could learn so much more about feminism. Already from Bell Hooks' Feminism is For Everybody to Manifesta and Tidal Waves, so much has been brought to my attention and raised my awareness about the "issue". I think that no matter who a person is or what their beliefs are on the topic of feminism, they should take some sort of women's studies course (or maybe find my dear friend Kate who will help them out). At least then uneducated, ignorant people would have some education about female activism and feminist theories and will stop calling proud innocent 12 year old girls (or anyone for that matter) politically incorrect lesbians! (Even if some feminists are lesbians, some lesbians don't classify themselves as feminists..so what?)

Posted by Jen Smith at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was rather vague on the actual definition of feminism before taking Intro to Women Studies 1001, and I must confess, three weeks into the class, I still am not as clear in my definition. I have done all the reading for class and listened to what my peers are contemplating during discussion and read their blogs and I still am struggling to define ‘feminism.’ I specifically remember growing up and hearing about radical women who burned their bras, supported the killing of innocent babies, hated men and God, because if you were a feminist, you were absolutely were anti-men and you were obviously an ugly lesbian that couldn’t get a man anyways, so no wonder you were a feminist. Growing up in a male-dominated family and culture I was told that a woman’s place was in the kitchen and if I did not know how to cook – my husband would throw me out of his house on my ass. I was taught that if I spoke up against a man or in a room filled with men, I was out of my place and being rude. I was treated more as a liability in that, one mistake and I could cost my beloved family it’s sterling reputation and my father’s good name would be shamed, my brothers on the other hand, could do whatever the hell they wanted and when I rebelled or asked why, sometimes crying with frustration, the unsatisfying and repeated answer I received was that when I had children I would understand; I would understand that girls are different than boys and only when I became a parent would all be apparent to me.

I didn’t give feminism much thought throughout high school, I was always more free-spirited and challenged traditions in my family, culture and environment, but was I really a true feminist? In high school I remember my AP Psychology teacher had a poster of that one muscled woman showing her ‘pipes’ and the comment bubble that said, “We can do it!” Ha. I always thought that poster was kind of funny, but simultaneously thought-provoking in an inspirational way. Looking at the poster every day in class sparked my interest and hunger the learn more about this strange word feminism and I pondered how it fit into my life. My first year as a young college student was filled with conversations on social justice and friends who declared themselves as “eco-feminists.” A close friend told me, “Bethany, you need to say exactly what type of feminist you are, otherwise, if you just say that you are a feminist, people will think you are a raging dyke.” The word feminist has definitely evolved over the years with the meaning bringing different pictures and words to mind ranging from a full fledged dyke to matronly activist; this is why I connected with the quote: “Has feminism changed our lives? Was it necessary? After thirty years of feminism, the world we inhabit barely resembles the world we were born into. And there’s still a lot left to do (Manifesta: A Day Without Feminism. Pg.6)” I recognize that after all the years of activism and fighting for equal rights there is still so much more work to do, I am just trying to figure out where to start and which battles to fight – the process seems daunting, but hey, if they did – then we can do it too!
I think feminism is how I define it and how it pertains to my life, obviously there will be a shared collective vocabulary and basic beliefs between ‘sisters,’ but what is a feminist? Someone who fights against systematic oppression, institutionalized racism, someone who is an ally to everyone regardless of race/ethnicity, sex/gender, ability, religion, age, sexual orientation, and class. Someone who educates her/himself on issues pertaining to these fields of social justice, someone who helps educate one’s peers about those issues, someone who believes in equal access, but realizes that in this present day society and world – not everyone has equal access, someone who lives her/his day fighting the small and large battles with family in a home, with peers in a residence hall, with colleagues in workplace, with strangers on campus, with her/his self. A feminist is all of these things. A feminist is me.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Before this course, I had a pretty limited view of feminism. I would have defined feminism as: a movement for women’s rights. However, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what that meant or how that was executed. I did realize that the stereotypes were false (all feminists are angry bra-burners). I also neglected to think about a man’s role in feminism and the extent to which women’s rights and choices were so few not all that long ago and still are today for many women across the world.

Within this course so far, however, I am learning of even harsher stereotypes than I had heard of before. Hearing these really makes me sympathize with this movement because I now know how feminists stand for something totally different than what these stereotypes say. A striking portion from our reading entitled “Tidal Wave” by Sara M. Evans reads: “‘The twisted, all-too-common logic about feminists goes like this: If you stand up for women, you must hate men. Therefore, you must be angry. Thus, you must be ugly and can’t get a man anyway. Hence, you must be a dyke.’” It is easy for anyone who is not educated on the subject to have a false impression or make a generalization about feminism.
From the reading we have done so far, I feel as though a have gained a stronger understanding of feminist aspects such as it’s themes, morals, messages, and attitudes. I have built upon my prior definition of feminism. After reading bell hook’s thorough book on feminism, things have been made clearer to me. The point that stuck out to me the most was the fact that feminism is rooted in love and equality. This means that feminism stands for equality among both sexes. It is a two-way street; if either sex is claiming domination over the other (this stemming from the stereotype that feminists think they are better than men or man-haters), this would be completely contrasting to feminist ideals. Feminism is grounded in love, not hate. Also, feminism is not just limited to white, privileged women. Men and woman of all races, classes, values and political views can be a part of this same movement. So now with what I have learned so far, I say: that feminism is a movement toward equality among the sexes, rooted in love and justice, and made up of believers (men and women) of all races and classes, with different values and personalities.

Posted by coffee drinker at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’ve always understood that it had been a struggle for women to obtain the basic things that we have now-- like the right to vote, know our bodies, have jobs, etc. I’ve known and respected women’s history. Although when it came to calling or labeling anyone a “feminist,” I always tend to let my thoughts fall into the “negative” definitions that we discussed in our first class meeting. I would have never guessed that the events that I’ve always known as women’s history is considered sort of a basis of feminism.

I haven't been very educated on this topic to date, but I'm starting to think that it would be accurate to label myself as a feminist, after all…

I enjoyed reading Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future because it brought up every topic that gave me that above conclusion. I had no idea that that was how women were, in a sense, FORCED to live their lives. Nowadays, some women choose to stay home, raise kids, and be a homemaker, but the difference is that they have that choice now.

I can’t even fathom not having those simple independent rights that I have now. No one can assume that every other women wants to feel and live their lives exactly how I do, but I think it would be an honest statement to say that most women do want to be respected and acknowledged. I think this goes for men, also. In general, the American human nature will hardly ever rest evenly by all, in my opinion.

A few parts of the writing really struck me as still holding the same truths even now, 20 years later, in certain parts of our country. While I traveled all over the country this last summer, it wasn’t until I read this piece that I understood some of those adventures more clearly. More specifically, I’m talking about how women are treated in Las Vegas. Obviously, only in some circumstances is this relevant, but a few particular times really stand out.

For example, women are not allowed into certain strip clubs or burlesque shows without the presence of a man. Now, strip clubs and the like are known to have their own sort of anti-feminism views, however, for them to actually ban coupled or lesbian women into a public place just seems unfair. In addition, did you know that for the majority of jobs out in the Las Vegas area, you must provide a headshot with any application or resume to even be considered? Most of the casinos will only hire female, model-type servers (which is like the stewardesses mentioned in the piece) no matter how much experience you have and a male dealer is much more likely to be hired over a female dealer. We all know that Las Vegas prides itself on it’s beautiful women/people, but to what extent should we all accept that? Why? With the idea of transferring myself and my daughter out to Nevada after this semester, these are some of the things that I think definitely go on the “con” list.

Posted by samantha at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have always thought that feminism was the belief that no matter the gender, people should be treated equally. I believe that most people, even those who disagree, think that this is at least part of what feminism is. In this regard, I have considered myself a feminist for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my main feminist focus was proving to those around me that women were or could be just as capable as men at everything. This is not the most important aspect for me anymore, but at the time is caused quite a stir, surprisingly, to those around me. I have heard and experienced every stereotype imaginable. My father told me at a young, confused age that I had “penis envy”. I’ve never wanted a penis! I’ve been called a man-hater and a lesbian despite the fact that most of the people who have said this are “friends” who are well aware that I have a boyfriend and countless male friends. This has driven me to really attempt to understand why friends and acquaintances use such illogical labels attributed to feminists and feminism. There are numerous ideas that I have come up with.

One idea is quite simple or basic. Calling the movements and theories for gender equality “feminism” does not incorporate all that it is about. If the general population understood that feminists are not out just for women’s rights but for social change for the betterment of both genders maybe men and women would feel less threatened. In my experience, most confused people have misunderstood this terribly. I attempt to explain that feminists are not anti-men though they have definitely appeared this way at times-- “Another groups’ policies was that it be staffed by women only,” (Suffragist City, p.60) Men are not the sole problem. In fact, it’s pretty obvious that women alone have accomplished a lot throughout the centuries, but the fundamental societal and cultural changes won’t occur without a larger supporting amount of male feminists. Women are culprits as well. I myself hold unconscious sexist stereotypes. Our society has ingrained such behavior and ideas on gender, and both sexes play an equal role in that. When explained this way, people seem to attribute these ideas to me as opposed to feminism in general which I attempt to debunk as well.
This brings me to the belief that all feminist have the same ideas. If people knew that feminists do not agree on everything, and that each individual brings different life experiences, ideas, and prejudices to the movement maybe people would be more willing to join and attempt to incorporate their beliefs into it as well. It is difficult to feel accepting of something when people hear one feminist’s narrow view of how things should be, including my own, and think that that is what feminism is PERIOD. Sara Evans in “Tidal Waves” explains that “the differences among feminists are so deep that some regularly challenge others’ credentials as feminists” (p. 3). I do not see this as a problem. Yes, feminists need to organize in order to make change, but their can be many different organizations with different roles that incorporate larger numbers of accepted people who have much to offer. As long as the main goal is for gender equality, change will occur.
Of course there are many more reasons for all of the backlash, stereotypes, and prejudices. This is a very complex problem that we can hopefully delve into further in the course because I have gone slightly over the words allowed.

Posted by Lauren Mulvey at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had experience with feminist theory before taking this course because I had previously taken courses that addressed feminism. I am a senior and a GWSS minor. At the U, I have taken Feminist Thought and Theory, Women and the Arts, and a topics class, AIDS in Society: Change, Activism, and Policy. I am also a Cultural Studies major and have taken many classes in this department that address feminist theory and issues such as: The Body and the Politics of Representation, Sexuality and Culture, and Issues in Cultural Pluralism. I have found that the American Studies Department has great classes for studying women’s issues world-wide. I don’t know if this class is still around but Comparative Gender and Sexuality focuses on feminism and women’s issues on a global scale and analyzes the trafficking of women on a global market.

I truly fell in love with the study of power structures through my major and began to concentrate my studies on issues of sexuality and how normative thinking manifests as social discipline and law. Last year I worked independently with a teacher on a paper entitled Construction of the Beautiful Body: A Study of Agency in Feminine Body Hair Removal Practices. I hope to publish this paper in the near future.

The goals of feminism lie in thinking outside dominant patriarchical paradigms and are not limited to women gaining equality with men.

Feminism is not dead.
Feminism is a battle that can be fought by all sexualities and genders.
Feminism is the struggle for a space in society created by women for women.
Feminism opposes the defining of women in relation to men.
Feminism acknowledges that “the women’s struggle” is different for all women.
Feminism understands that women are not necessarily united in feminist goals by their gender.
Feminism believes that the structure of women’s domination is influenced by race, class, sexuality, gender, nationality, and physical location, along with other factors.

“Has feminism changed our lives? Was it necessary? After thirty years of feminism, the world we inhabit barely resembles the world we were born into. And there’s still a lot left to do” (Baumgardner and Richards, 9).

The fact that we are all in this class, that college students can earn a degree in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, and that women on a large scale are able to attend college at all is evidence that the feminist movement is only just beginning.

Posted by Eve Kodner at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was really moved by Baumgardner and Richards’ Manifesta. It’s one thing for me to think about what America would be like without feminism, but it was another to actually read A Day Without Feminism, so beautifully written and so powerful. The piece put into perspective not only the what living without feminism would be like, but, along with the other articles we had to read, made me appreciate feminism to a greater level, thinking about all the work that women before me have done to achieve equal rights. The excerpt also helped to break down feminism for me. Whereas before I thought about feminists working on broad scale (i.e. equal rights for all women), the article made me think about each individual right women had to fight for—voting, reproductive rights, equal education rights, to name a few. It seems that the role of this movement has been to change the identity of women in our world—in the minds of men and women. I feel that feminist movements have worked to get people to see women not as subordinate “servants,” but as individuals who are an asset to our society, to our economy, who can be self-sufficient and therefore deserve equality. Now that I think about it, feminism today is not too much further from the beginnings of feminism.

The platform is very much the same: to change the identity of women in our culture. It’s amazing to think of how much women have accomplished since the beginnings of feminism. Baumgardner and Richards are right: the world we live in today is so different than the world we were born into. And although we have come such a long way, we must still continue to fight, to change what is not equal so that the children born today will live in an even better world.

Posted by Karina Holtz at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Growing up my ideas of feminism was that of women’s rights: the right to vote, workplace equality, and the right to an independent life. When I was young my parents instilled that women should be treated with a great deal of respect and that gender equality wasn’t something to be thought about but something to be practiced

There were a lot of times when they would use various news stories to start a dialogue. A few instances that I remember well were the topics of sexual harassment and single unwed mothers. I remember my father talking about how sexual harassment was unacceptable, that it showed a severe character flaw and lack or respect for others. It was instilled on us that workplace performance was independent of gender, and that not one should use a position of power to make others feel others uncomfortable. We lived in a smaller town where being an unwed mother was a social stigma. My parents talked about how that pregnancy was not the woman’s sole responsibility that it was the responsibility of both partners and that men “shouldn’t be given a free pass.”
So my early encounters with feminism were perhaps reformist. I think like any social movement each person interprets and approaches feminism differently. I think the social rights element of feminism is important. One of my favourite quotes from the reading was when Alice Paul was being taken to prison and shouted “I am being imprisoned not because I obstruct traffic, but because I pointed out to President Wilson the fact that he is obstructing the process of justice and democracy at home while Americans fight for it abroad”(pg 6). I think this quote is very applicable currently as well. Today the United States is touting freedom and democracy abroad while there are still huge inequalities happening at home. For me right now feminism is about social rights but also breaking down they way in which we think about gender; the way that the hegemonic ideas of gender continue to lead to inequality and repression of both women and men who do not fit into traditional roles. So for me feminism isn’t just the rights of women, but challenging the thoughts and ideas of women and gender.

Posted by Jerry at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Coming into this class I was another one of those people who didn't really have a good idea of what Feminism really is. I knew better than to think that it was just a group of man-hating lesbians, but I still thought the idea of Feminism was for women to be equal with men and equality in the workforce. After doing some of the reading in this class I have realized that equality in the workforce is only one small part of Feminism, and that Feminism is about abolishing sexism and patriarchy.

bell hooks states in "Feminism is for Everybody", "Practically, it is a definition which implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child or adult." It has become very clear to me that Feminism is not anti-male and that people who think that are only hurting feminism. Feminists want to change the entire system that we live in, and remove any sexism that exists in society. This is why equal opportunities in the workforce is only a small part of what feminists want. This is because they are still living in a patriarchy, and that unless society as a whole is changed, people will still be participating in the sexist society.

I am interested to learn more about Feminism and Women's Studies this semester, and it has been more interesting than i expected. It is important that people know what feminism actually is, which is not just equal opportunities in jobs. As long as feminism is known as only that, it will not succeed.

Posted by Alex at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In the midst of my crazy work filled weekend, the only article that I was able to read beginning to end without interuption was the portion of Evan's book Tidal Waves. I sat down with one of the women I take care of and read it to her. She honestly never sits with me when I try to read anything to her, but unless she was just tired or lazy she sat with me through the 17 pages.

While jotting down notes throughout the pages in the margins, I never came to a conclusion of what I feel her definition of feminism is. she had alot of similarities to hook's book that feminism is not anti-male nor practiced only by women that are lesbians. She spoke about experiences that made her realize that sometimes a feminist's biggest enemy was another feminist with different views, not outsiders looking in and disproving of ideas and actions. Kind of on the same page, one part that really hit me was when she talked about "aroused conservatives" such as Phyllis Schlafly. I found it interesting how she attacked feminists by saying they were "anti-family, anti-children and pro-abortion" (might not be the whole quote my pages got cut off). A good example I thought of a woman that isn't aware of what it truely means to be a feminist. Within her experiences she gives a great timeline of feminsim and a good idea of what it was like to be a part of feminist groups. I liked that about this article because I am not one that remembers stuff like that so it was good to have it there with her thoughts and experiences. In the end, I enjoy reading these articles but have a hard time concluding their thoughts since they attempt to show the reader the whole picture of what was happening. I look forward to class to have a discussion about all three pieces because then hopefully I can sort out all the authors definitions of feminism and it will help me to expand my own definition.

Posted by michelle lynn at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Coming into this course, I wasn’t well-versed in feminism nor held the right assumptions about feminism. Like many others without proper knowledge of the subject, I perceived feminists and their whole movement as angry, ‘anti-men-hating” women. Although I don’t disregard or disagree with their movement, I didn’t connect with the topic. Feminism was never something that I considered as being on the forefront of important issues to tackle. And as hostile or blunt it may sound for me to say, feminism is another thing that I feel the white majority can complain about and distract people from focusing on the most important issue at hand: racism. Being discriminated because you’re a woman is never by no means appropriate in today’s society. However, people do not kill or treat you as an inferior because your protest about gender inequality.

You are not dragged behind a truck because you are a woman.

You are not called offensive, derogatory, and demeaning words like “ch*nks” or “n*gger” that associate with your skin color because you are a woman.

You are not encouraged to forget your native roots and conform to a society that seeks to institutionalize racism against you because you are a woman.

What it really boils down to is that when color of skin comes into play, it doesn’t matter what gender you are. People of color are treated this way, men and women. For being a person of color and a woman, it’s already two strikes for me. And perhaps for that simple reason alone, I found feminism to be exclusive for white women only, not for people like me.

But after reading the text and having an appropriate and more formal introduction of the ideas and definitions about feminism, my view on feminism has altered somewhat. Although I still very much believe that feminism shouldn’t be on the forefront of discussion, I have come to appreciate feminism and its valid arguments for equality. After all, that’s what the majority of us are fighting for, right?

“Biased feminist scholarship attempts to show that white girls are somehow more vulnerable to sexist conditioning than girls of color simply perpetuates the white supremacist assumption that white females require and deserve more attention to their concerns and ills than other groups” (Hooks, 59). After reading that particular passage in the text, my view of feminists is slowly becoming less hostile. If feminists are actually able to admit to controversial and uncomfortable topics like that, my respect and willingness to be more open-minded has definitely increased. It opened up an opportunity to connect feminism with something I passionately fight against.

I think I have been able to re-define feminism into something I can relate to and now define as protecting the value of a woman. If feminism is able to affect and strike me at a deeper level throughout this course, perhaps it will develop into something more.

Posted by Lauren Alms at 03:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

What feminism was and is to me. Before taking this class feminism wasn’t a part of my vocabulary to be honest. Never really heard much about it; except for in high school history classes when a woman’s right to vote was brought up. I really had no idea what feminism was mainly because I had never really heard anything about it. At most if you would have asked me I would have just said I really don’t know, but I think it has something to do with equal rights. It’s pretty sad but very true. I think that’s a big problem with feminism……not many people even know what it is or what feminists are about. Like the video we saw people just think they hate men and want to be lesbians.
After being in this class for only two weeks I’ve learned more about feminism than I ever have and probably ever will. It’s kind of scary being in a class where you don’t know anything about the topic, but that’s also a good thing. It gives me a chance to learn something new and grow a little. After the few classes we’ve had I would have to say that feminism is a movement by people of all races and genders that believe the way women are treated in everyday life is unfair. Not just how they’re treated by men but how they are treated by everyone. They feel like the way women are portrayed and the rights women get are not fair to them and that they deserve better.

I feel like feminism has come a long way compared to what is was back in the day, but there’s still a lot more that has to and can be done. As was mentioned on page 8 in “Manifesta” by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, “women could be refused service at a restaurant or bar without a male escort and single women would have a hard time finding an apartment to rent”. That shocked me to hear those things. That entire article was definitely an eye opener for me. For women to go from that to where they are now is insane. I’m just glad I never lived back in those days because I don’t think I would have liked it at all even being a male. Women deserve better and deserve to be treated with respect. Thanks to my parents raising me properly I have always thought that.
I guess from everything that I have heard so far I would say I’m definitely happy that feminism is a part of this world. I can’t lie and say I don’t have my arguments against some of the things they think and believe either, but hopefully this class with show me that I’m wrong. I’ve already learned a ton and can’t wait to keep learning more.

Posted by Clayton Gripp at 01:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I learned early on in High School about feminism. I knew that there was a history and that somehow I was allowed the right to vote and have “equal” work, pay and reproductive rights etcetera. However, the meaning of “feminism” has always been hard for me to explain, and a label has been the farthest thing that I have ever wanted to understand. While reading the different articles this week I found the “Suffragist City” article to be historically interesting. I now understand more clearly the suffering that women had to endure and the time it took to fight for the right to vote. I assumed that jail was a negative experience; the force feeding through a tube that went through the noses of these women was visually too much for me. What I found to be the most profound part of this article was in the end when Maude Younger says, ‘“I don’t want to do anything more; I don’t want to be on any board or any committee or have anything more to do, because I think we have done all this for women and we have sacrificed everything we possessed for them,”’ (Rowe-Finkbeiner page 6). These women work so hard, unbelievably hard. I can’t imagine something like this because I take it for granted. I wonder what it feels like to sacrifice everything that you possess and what it would take for me to do that.
“A Day Without Feminism” helped me understand more clearly what I take for granted. There were many things within the article that struck me. I think that feminism isn’t clearly defined, that no one is able to come up with a definition. I always thought of feminism as being stagnant and label specific; the stereotypes always floated in the back of my mind. Now I see that feminism is recreated continuously. I know that reproductive rights are being taken away, but what is the focus of feminism now and is there going to be another wave or is the Third Wave still coming to shore?

Posted by Abby Newberg at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’ve realized that I didn’t know much about feminism before this class. I limited feminism to a movement to attain rights for women equal to those of men. This is true but I’m recognizing that there is a lot more attached to the definition. I have always believed that females should be considered and treated equal to the male gender but I didn’t have an understood basis for my beliefs. I didn’t deem myself a feminist because I didn’t act on this idea; therefore I thought I was unqualified to call myself one.

After reading the assigned articles, I’ve become truly aware of how little I knew about the oppression of women. I was shocked by the information presented by the authors. “A Day Without Feminism” was mind-boggling to me that women could be treated like so horribly. I had no idea that the conditions women were forced to live under were that terrible. It makes me appreciate the world we live in today, though it’s still not perfect. Every line made my jaw drop. The treatment of women by their bosses made me cringe and the issues regarding pregnancy were ridiculous. The phrase “gets herself pregnant” (4) is just so illogical because a girl can’t possibly do it by herself and for the entirety of the blame to be put on the woman is awful. I can’t believe women were fired or expelled for being pregnant. This also seems contradictory to me following the ideas of sexism. I thought that people believed the role of women was to reproduce. If this was true, I don’t understand why women would be punished for being pregnant. In “Suffragist City” by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, I was taken back by the fact that individuals within the feminism movement would oppose the advancement of their ideals by other women, even if they disagreed with their tactics. I think that this exemplifies bell hooks’ thoughts of an alleged hierarchy within feminism and her idea that “most women, especially privileged white women, ceased even to consider revolutionary feminist visions, once they began to gain economic power within the existing social structure” (4).

Before first semester ended, I was talking with a male friend of mine about the classes that I had chosen for this semester. When I mentioned that I was taking this class, he made a face and a sarcastic reproach about my decision to be in a women’s studies class. At the time, I was surprised by his reaction but I couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. Looking back on that conversation, I understand that his response stemmed from the negative connotations and associations that feminism provokes but I am still perplexed. I can’t believe that someone I perceive as intelligent, open-minded, and fair would be capable of being so affected by sexism and stereotypes of feminism.

All of this shows that the misconstrued ideas of the past still linger and are strongly present today. Along with fighting the oppression expressed in the articles, I think that the feminist movement focuses primarily on the reversal of sexism. As my eyes have been opened to the obscenity of the crimes against women, I think it is the goal of feminists to help individuals obtain a better understanding of what they’re fighting for so the misconceptions of feminism can be laid to rest and more people can join in the fight.

Posted by taylor at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before the beginning of this course, I thought I knew a fair amount about feminism. I took a high school semester of Women in Society, and learned about women’s roles in different cultures throughout history, and the particular women who struggled to change society’s perception of females. We learned about what women have achieved in terms of equality, what we should thank them for, and what particular struggles we still have to face. But through all of this, I do not remember ever learning the ideas of revolutionary feminism.

Bell Hooks defines the philosophy of revolutionary feminists as “before women could change patriarchy we had to change ourselves; we had to raise our consciousness” (Feminism is for Everybody, pg. 7). Hooks continues to describe revolutionary feminism as eliminating all prejudices and inequalities between people of different genders, races, and classes from the inside out. Revolutionary feminism focuses on changing your own thoughts and actions to dispose of the patriarchy that oppresses not only women, but everyone.
This idea was completely new to me, and I thought it was impressive in both its reach for total equality and strategy of focusing on one’s self instead of the society or individuals they perceive as wrong. I see this idea as a huge and realistic step in terms of at least improving equality and people’s quality of life. This is because although many people believe in gender, racial and class equality, a lot of them do not know how to face it. To oppose these issues on a large scale takes a lot of effort, time and will power and all without the promise of results. And to be constantly aware of all the injustices of the world and to feel that you have no power can be an equally heavy and difficult feeling. For these reasons, I believe revolutionary feminism is a realistic and healthy goal because it allows people to change their own lives and the lives of the people directly around them. To focus on yourself and to change your own habits and ideas is a much more attainable and gratifying goal because you are the only one who gets to decide the path of your life, and you can see your results first hand in the relationships you create with other people. I also believe if this idea is held on to, it can spread throughout whole communities simply by word of mouth and witnessing others success. This idea changed how I perceived feminism as well as many other injustices in our country and the world, and I am looking forward to learning more about it in our class.

Posted by Rebecca Stoffs at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To be honest, I never really “knew” what feminism was—I knew what it wasn’t.

I grew up with fairly conservative parents, but ones who weren’t always very vocal about their opinions. My dad has a photograph of President Bush on his hearth and I still don’t know why. My mom and stepfather have never, ever told me for whom they voted, no matter how “small” the election. In high school, I read the chapter of Rush Limbaugh’s The Way Things Ought To Be in which he introduces and embellishes the term “feminazi.” I was enraged at the sheer, cruel absurdity of what I’d read, and I railed at it that night at home. My stepdad stopped me cold by saying, “You know, he’s not entirely wrong.” I realized, at that moment, exactly how pervasive that kind of stereotype might be.

Like I said, I quickly garnered an idea of what the world’s many feminisms were not, but my initial ideas of feminism stemmed from various indignations that stuck with me. I knew that being harassed by the boys in my elementary-schoolyard was not right, and that feeling guilty about it was unfair. I hated to see that my mom raised three of us on her own while going to school, with an unhealthy little monthly stipend forced out of my father’s increasingly hearty bachelor’s salary.

I’ve read and learned a lot more since then (not just in this class), and have discovered that feminism is all of those things and a lot more. It probably depends on whom one talks to, and when. bell hooks, for instance, focuses quite a bit on the class- and race-based struggles of feminism, but what caught me most was her idea of the way patriarchy hurts family. She writes that, as patriarchy is a system of dominance, “ours is a culture that does not love children, that continues to see children as the property of parents to do with as they will” (73). I watch this happening to my heedless little sister, whose parents attempt to focus her scattered attentions by becoming ever more strident, and I know that it is true. When Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards hypothesize that, without feminism, there would be “no Take Back The Night marches to protest women’s lack of safety after dark…,” I think of a conversation I had with a friend a while ago (6). There was a look of inexplicable pity on his face as he said, “You walk around alone all the time with a fear that I’m never going to have, even if you don’t think about it much…. Just because somebody got the idea, one day, to rape and attack…” Women have a fear of their physical and sexual safety in a way that very, very few men do. The authors of Manifesta draw attention to this fear, and although I don’t fully understand where it came from (Historically, why are women dominated? Why are men the ones to dominate?), I know that it’s real.