The topic that is important to me is equal pay for equal work. I think that it is ridiculous that men make more money than women for the same amount of work. One group I found was the AAUW Action Network group, they urge the Senate to continue the fight against wage discrimination by acting swifly on the Paycheck Fairness Act. The AAUW's Mission is advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. I like their approach because they are to the point they do not try many different things to get things changed they go straight to the higher up (Senate) to get things done. They are a group and women that are fighting hard to get the wage discrimination changed and have already made huge advances in the fight. It is groups like this that are going to make the changes possible. This group has also helped in the fight and got the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. Though it is sad that the main person that started this act will not get to see the changes it is going to make. Changes have to start somewhere and it is groups like this one that will make it happen! In the future I may join a group that is seeking the equal pay for equal work and fight the same fight many women are today.
Responds to Readings:
I found the tenth chapter in the F-Word very interesting about voting. This past election was my first time to get to vote and I was really exciting about it but then after realizing how the election process really works i was a little discouraged. It did not seem like to me that my vote really did count. When I started reading this chapter i soon realized that it really does count. Just as in the book when it talks about what if women did not vote, then there would be 19 million less votes and that is a lot! I was also surprised to see the percentages of women state legislators in some of the different states though it is still not 50% it is getting a lot closer with 36.7% in Washington. Just like our discussion in class on Monday I agree that the media did down play Plain making her seem like a bad mom for not being at home with her children. I think that it was perfectly ok for her to be on the campaign trail with McCain because there was a father at home that could just as easily take care of the children.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Reading Gender: The Eternal Feminine
Honeymoon Scene
The Scene Honeymoon from Act I in The Eternal Feminine, by Castellanos, is about the night of the honeymoon and what the man thinks he is suppose to do. This act is shown in a funny comical way but has a serious point that women are seen as objects and the man is suppose to take all these things away from her. This act shows that the man is in charge and if the woman does not answer the way that meets the man’s standard then she has done wrong. The act shows this by how the character Juan asks Lupita questions such as “Is this your first time?” and “Have you ever been married before?” When she answers the way that he wants they move on to the next question. In many situations one would never see a woman asking these questions but when the man does it is perfectly fine.
From this act Castellanos wants us to believe that women really are treated this way and that in most relationships this is how men really are. Men think that they own the women and that the women’s body is now theirs not hers and that they can do everything they want to it as long as she has not gave it to anyone else in the past. In this act she wants us to believe that women have to always give the man the right answer or the woman is worth nothing to him. In the play Juan asks Lupita if “she liked it” and when she told him no he became all defense and pretty much told her that she will have to like it because “she vowed to obey him at the altar”. Castellanos was showing by this that yes vows should be taken seriously because it is a promise to your significant other and also to God, but in many situations the man usually takes this to extremes and thinks that they are now in full control of the women. When in all reality it is an equal obedience between the both of them. She was also showing that women are not "suppose" to like sex and that it is bad for them too. That is why Lupita told Juan that he was going to have to force her into having it again because she did not like it that much. This also shows that women do not get to think for themselves and that what the man thinks is usually how things go.
From the in class discussions we talked about how women are held at a higher standard then men and if a woman does one bad thing then she gets called all kinds of names, but then is it perfectly fine for a man to go out and do those type of things and nothing is ever said. In the class reading the article He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut by Valenti talks about how if women go out and do sexually things such as even kiss a guy she is considered a “slut”. Valenti then states that “men cannot be sluts; they are not judged like women.” If men are judged then it is considered a positive thing and they are known as studs. Just as in the play in the Honeymoon scene Juan was the one asking Lupita the questions about her body and what she has done with it, it was not the other way around. Lupita would have been seen as worthless to Juan if she had not answered the way he wanted. It did not matter if Juan had already been married or had sex all he cared about was if she had done those things. That is how it is in the world we live in today the women are seen as just objects and they have to behave in the way men want them to, this was Catellanos point in this particular scene of the play.
Works Cited
Castellanos, Rosario. "Honeymoon Scene Act I." The Enternal Feminine. Vol. T Press. Maureen Ahern, 1988. 4-6.
Valenti, Jessica. "He's A Stud, She's A Slut." He's A Stud, She's A Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know. Seal P. 1-5.
The Scene Honeymoon from Act I in The Eternal Feminine, by Castellanos, is about the night of the honeymoon and what the man thinks he is suppose to do. This act is shown in a funny comical way but has a serious point that women are seen as objects and the man is suppose to take all these things away from her. This act shows that the man is in charge and if the woman does not answer the way that meets the man’s standard then she has done wrong. The act shows this by how the character Juan asks Lupita questions such as “Is this your first time?” and “Have you ever been married before?” When she answers the way that he wants they move on to the next question. In many situations one would never see a woman asking these questions but when the man does it is perfectly fine.
From this act Castellanos wants us to believe that women really are treated this way and that in most relationships this is how men really are. Men think that they own the women and that the women’s body is now theirs not hers and that they can do everything they want to it as long as she has not gave it to anyone else in the past. In this act she wants us to believe that women have to always give the man the right answer or the woman is worth nothing to him. In the play Juan asks Lupita if “she liked it” and when she told him no he became all defense and pretty much told her that she will have to like it because “she vowed to obey him at the altar”. Castellanos was showing by this that yes vows should be taken seriously because it is a promise to your significant other and also to God, but in many situations the man usually takes this to extremes and thinks that they are now in full control of the women. When in all reality it is an equal obedience between the both of them. She was also showing that women are not "suppose" to like sex and that it is bad for them too. That is why Lupita told Juan that he was going to have to force her into having it again because she did not like it that much. This also shows that women do not get to think for themselves and that what the man thinks is usually how things go.
From the in class discussions we talked about how women are held at a higher standard then men and if a woman does one bad thing then she gets called all kinds of names, but then is it perfectly fine for a man to go out and do those type of things and nothing is ever said. In the class reading the article He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut by Valenti talks about how if women go out and do sexually things such as even kiss a guy she is considered a “slut”. Valenti then states that “men cannot be sluts; they are not judged like women.” If men are judged then it is considered a positive thing and they are known as studs. Just as in the play in the Honeymoon scene Juan was the one asking Lupita the questions about her body and what she has done with it, it was not the other way around. Lupita would have been seen as worthless to Juan if she had not answered the way he wanted. It did not matter if Juan had already been married or had sex all he cared about was if she had done those things. That is how it is in the world we live in today the women are seen as just objects and they have to behave in the way men want them to, this was Catellanos point in this particular scene of the play.
Works Cited
Castellanos, Rosario. "Honeymoon Scene Act I." The Enternal Feminine. Vol. T Press. Maureen Ahern, 1988. 4-6.
Valenti, Jessica. "He's A Stud, She's A Slut." He's A Stud, She's A Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know. Seal P. 1-5.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Blog Number Nine
The non-governmental organization I chose was the Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace. This organization works on the issue of women's rights and is headed by women.
About Them:
Women's Learning Partnership's sole purpose is women's leadership and empowerment. WLP builds networks and works with 18 autonomous and independent organizations in the Global South, mainly working with Muslim societies, helping them transform their families, communities and societies. They believe that women working in the partnership will benefit greatly from the skills that they teach them. Their main goal is to increase the number of women taking on leadership and decision making roles in the family and community. They hope to improve the effectiveness of feminist movements in Muslim societies.
What do they do:
With their partners they create leadership training curriculum and empowerment programs for women in 18 countries. They build organizational capacity and to support the collective mobilization of women in the Global South for gender equality and social justice. They also build a culture of peace in order to protect women's rights. They also engage in campaigns and hold South to South and North to South dialogues on the challenges facing women in the Global South. The WLP also ensures that gender equality remains on the agenda of the policymakers and society leaders.
This organization is worth contributing to because they support women and help them become something in their societies. They also fight hard for keeping women equal in all aspects in life. This is why everyone should contribute to this organization.
This a gender issue because is involves empowering women and making them equal in every aspect in life.
Response to Readings:
In Enloes article. Enloe believed that globalization was a bad thing and that it is not helping the people that need jobs. Enloe also believes that the government is the cause of all this globalization. I also thought that they story you read in class about Princess Diana and how she showed globalization very well I thought that that was very interesting. I also liked in class how we did the activity with clothes and showed where we all got our items from. That really put in perspective that we are in a country that is very globalized. I had never really noticed where all my clothes were from until we did that activity. I do think that the governments of countries do need to get a handle on the working conditions that some people are working in. Some of these places are awful and need to be fixed very soon. They also need to look at the wages that these people are getting paid, its really not fair how much work people do then to get paid pretty much nothing. Also I do not believe that children should be allowed to work in these types on conditions. They should be kids while they can be.
About Them:
Women's Learning Partnership's sole purpose is women's leadership and empowerment. WLP builds networks and works with 18 autonomous and independent organizations in the Global South, mainly working with Muslim societies, helping them transform their families, communities and societies. They believe that women working in the partnership will benefit greatly from the skills that they teach them. Their main goal is to increase the number of women taking on leadership and decision making roles in the family and community. They hope to improve the effectiveness of feminist movements in Muslim societies.
What do they do:
With their partners they create leadership training curriculum and empowerment programs for women in 18 countries. They build organizational capacity and to support the collective mobilization of women in the Global South for gender equality and social justice. They also build a culture of peace in order to protect women's rights. They also engage in campaigns and hold South to South and North to South dialogues on the challenges facing women in the Global South. The WLP also ensures that gender equality remains on the agenda of the policymakers and society leaders.
This organization is worth contributing to because they support women and help them become something in their societies. They also fight hard for keeping women equal in all aspects in life. This is why everyone should contribute to this organization.
This a gender issue because is involves empowering women and making them equal in every aspect in life.
Response to Readings:
In Enloes article. Enloe believed that globalization was a bad thing and that it is not helping the people that need jobs. Enloe also believes that the government is the cause of all this globalization. I also thought that they story you read in class about Princess Diana and how she showed globalization very well I thought that that was very interesting. I also liked in class how we did the activity with clothes and showed where we all got our items from. That really put in perspective that we are in a country that is very globalized. I had never really noticed where all my clothes were from until we did that activity. I do think that the governments of countries do need to get a handle on the working conditions that some people are working in. Some of these places are awful and need to be fixed very soon. They also need to look at the wages that these people are getting paid, its really not fair how much work people do then to get paid pretty much nothing. Also I do not believe that children should be allowed to work in these types on conditions. They should be kids while they can be.
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