GWSS 1001 - Gender, Power, and Everday Life

Of course feminism has changed our lives! Whether we choose to believe it or not. In this chapter of Manifesta, Jennifer and Amy accurately paint the picture of feminism and the lives of women 30 years ago, before many of the current women's rights were 'awarded' to us. Feminism's role for myself and other women, has been a means to achieve the goals of equality, proper health care, better sex education, and other issues. The goals that we have for ourselves and for society can be achieved through feminism. I believe that feminism is a means rather than a goal. Feminism as a means can take many forms. For the members of the Combahee River Collective, Black Feminism is the most appropriate form or feminism to achieve their goals. There are many different types of feminisms that one could potentially identify with in order to visualize a better society that incorporates women. Some of my friends identify with ecofeminism and others with a feminism most focused on class relations. The role and form of feminism of the time that Jennifer and Amy describe is much the same as the feminism that Betty Freidan describes. Although they differ about a decade, the education and 'emancipation' of housewives and the typical woman needed to be addressed. Betty Freidan describes in her book 'the problem that has no name' as the biggest issue. The 'housewive's issue' grew to be a bigger issue than many male therapists believed. Jennifer and Amy describe a time when the misconception that working will free women is believed by most all. For me, feminism allows me a venue and a lens to view society differently. One issue that Jennifer and Amy address is that of a woman's 'title': "If a woman is not a Mrs., she's a Miss. A woman without makeup and a hairdo is a suspect as a man with them" (Baumgartner 8). I have filled out many applications in my life, however the most frustrating of them all are the ones that require me to give my marital status. I have made a commitment from now on to call myself Mr. Jessica Englund to avoid having to tell a random company or corporation whether I am single, married, or divorced/widowed. Has feminism changed our lives? Yes. But how you choose to see its changes or which form of feminism you choose to view your goals or visualize society is up to you. As for me, I do not want to limit myself to an identity that places me in a box. Therefore, I have no specific feminism that I identify with.