Final

Lauren Best

5/12/09

WS 1003

Take Home Final

Essay # 2:

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people too.”

After a long semester of taking Women’s Studies and debating / discussing with many girls, I am still trying to define feminism for myself and for my friends around me. Feminism has become a very gray issue in its Third Wave and has become increasingly harder to define. Feminism has become very subjective and can be defined differently person to person. Taking a Women’s Studies course has definitely re-evaluated the way I think about feminism, but it has strengthened my views on feminism as well. In my own words, feminism is the simple idea that both sexes should be free of oppressive gender stereotypes and roles and be treated as equal human beings despite our obvious differences.

Nancy Friday once said that “Sexuality is the great field of battle between biology and society.” I think that much of the debates on modern feminism are relevant to this quote. I feel like women and men are inherently different due to simple biology, but society has tried to make that gap even bigger through gender roles and conditioning. In this day and age, women are finally becoming closer to being equal to men than ever before. There is still, however, a significant wage gap. Women have made an amazing leap in social and political freedom over the past century.

The First Wave of feminism started the movement less than a Century ago during the early 20^th Century. Women, mainly upper-class, educated ones, marched and fought for their political rights in Washington and all around the world as well. The key goals of the First Wave were far more political than those in the Second and Third Waves of feminism. Women simply wanted the right to vote and speak for themselves politically. Women were not able to do simple things like own property or even drive without their man in some states! The women of the First Wave were quite successful with their cause after many efforts and arrests, for the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1920 giving women their right to vote.

The Second Wave of feminism came much later in the 20^th Century after a lengthy pause during World Wars I & II. Women took their husbands’ jobs while at war during World War II and did all of the work on the home front. Women did the man and the woman’s job while the men were at work. When they came back from war, however, there was a powerful backlash against these women’s newfound freedoms. The 1950s saw the creation of the suburb and the first act of white flight of the middle class to those suburbs. Suddenly women were thrown back into their traditional roles of mother, housewife, and caretaker… as well as baker. The Second Wave of feminism grew out of that national complacency so present in the 1950s. Feminists like Betty Friedan spoke out against being forced into the housewife role in her book The Feminine Mystique. Feminists began to shun make-up and short skirts so they were thought of less as mere sexual objects and more as people too. This was another way for women to try to gain respect within their workplace and be taken more seriously. The Second Wave of feminism really gained its strength and power during the 1960s after watching the success for the African-Americans and the Civil Rights movement. Feminists took cues from what the Blacks did in their fight for their freedom and applied it to their own movement. Many things were beginning to change for women during the Second Wave as well. For the first time in American history, birth control became readily available to young and married women alike. The pill was created in 1963 alleviating, for the first time, the worry of getting pregnant every time a woman had sex. This gave women a newfound sexual liberation. Women could sleep with men they were not married to and there would be no repercussions finally. Another major change came in the later part of the Second Wave, abortion was legalized in 1975 after the trial of Roe vs. Wade. Now women had obtained even more sexual freedoms! Women began to realize that sex was now not just about reproducing, but about enjoying and taking pleasure in. This readily available access to birth control as well as the option of abortion has drastically changed the social and political landscape throughout the 20^th Century.

Now feminism has come to a strange, unfamiliar place in its modern Third Wave. After the end of the Second Wave at the end of the 1970s, feminism began to change greatly. Feminism suffered a political and social backlash during the 1980s and especially during the Reagan administration. After the success and sexual liberation of the Second Wave, America turned to its conservative roots in the 80s and the achievements of the Second Wave began to take a back seat. Women still had all of their sexual freedoms, yet there were new women in the 80s who began resorting back to that complacent ideology so popular in 1950s post-war America. Women began discussing and debating what feminism really is. Despite the fact that Third Wave feminists have more rights and options available than ever before, are we really using them? Feminism has seemed to take kind of a stand-still since the 1980s in America. The movement has lost cohesion due do the subjective nature of feminism in the Third Wave. Feminism has become obscured because it is different for each individual woman and now men, too. Some women can now wear short skirts and wear shirts that say SLUT and that is their way of promoting feminism. Body image has become a major issue in the Third Wave and has actually taken away the focus on political activism within the feminist movement. More women worry about losing 10-15 lbs than fighting for their rights actively in Washington, or much less being aware of their rights. The sexual freedoms gained in the Second Wave were so radical than before that they caused a cultural backlash for the Third Wave. Women are now forced to worry about the way they look more than ever, instead of more important things like politics and social rights. More women in the Third Wave have lost faith in the political system and almost feel alienated by it now.

It is still hard for me to completely define feminism for myself. I imagine that this process will continue for the rest of my life. I will be forced to keep defining and redefining my sexuality as well as my life as a feminist. After taking this course, I definitely consider myself to be a feminist. I have realized how much society has created these harsh, rigid roles for men and women and how much we need to correct these roles. I believe myself to be a feminist because I love women and I think women and men deserve to be treated as complete equal people. Feminism has a long way to go in correcting these oppressive roles on society and especially women, but I think if the movement can come together in the Third Wave, it will be much more successful than by doing so individually.

Works Cited

Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique.

Rowe-Finkbeiner, Kristin. The F Word: Feminism In Jeopardy. Ch. 3 & 4.

In-class discussion and notes.

final blog # 10

When I started to think about the social issues that are important to me, one specific one always seems to come to mind: gay rights. It is quite sad to me that we have only come this far in the fight for equal gay rights. The gay rights movement seems so similar to the civil rights movement that African Americans as well as all citizens fought for so diligently in the 60s. It is shocking in today's ever-progressive society that we are still so behind on our equal rights for all citizens. I firmly support the cause of gay rights and the cause for all citizens to be seen as equals in the law. One prominent organization for gay rights is the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation, which is the oldest Gay and Lesbian task force in the United States. Since its beginning in 1973, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force has been fighting for equality and justice by building political power through advocacy, training, and spreading forward-thinking throughout America. The Task Force runs the Policy Institute, which conducts social research and policy analysis for the benefit of the gay community. It also runs a training and organizing department which promotes new leaders and assists communities. In addition, the Task Force has the only department in an LGBT organization that is working to leverage federal resources to support the health and human service of those in the LGBT community. The Task Force has multiple headquarters all over the United States and is one of the leading non-profit organizations in the Gay movement. The Task Force is working diligently to help the LGBT community be treated as equals on campuses, in churches, as well as in the office. The Task Force is working to fight HIV/AIDs within the gay community as well as reduce the rate of hate crimes against gays. I like that the Gay & Lesbian Task Force is actively fighting for their rights through policy-making as well as working through federal legislation to make a difference. It shows forward-thinking even beyond this generation. In high school, I was a member of the LGBT student alliance and I hope to continue working to promote this great cause throughout the remainder of my adulthood. Through my studies in film and culture, I hope to show a more positive light ont he LGBT community and promote their cause!

blog # 9

Non-governmental Organizations:

I decided to choose the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC). This wonderful organization's main mission is to promote and protect the sexual rights, reproductive rights, and health of all women - especially women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, to create and develop health policies, programs, and funding. Women's health care is still, sadly, a troubling issue in Western society. The rights of women in Third World countries, however, deserves immediate attention and care. It is our social responsibility as humans, and especially fellow women, to help ensure the health care for women all around the world. The IWHC is working toward that exact cause. The IWHC is trying to help women gain the knowledge to make the right decisions in terms of their sexual and health rights as well as try to live a healthy sexual life without worries of rape, violence, discrimination, or disease. The IWHC is not only trying to redirect funding to better the health of women, but is also trying to change the cultural thinking of impoverished societies in a more positive light towards women. Since the IWHC's beginning in 1984, this organization has provided over $16.5 million in grants to women advocates. The IWHC advocates women everywhere to take political and social action for their rights. The IWHC has started and helped build 75 organizations in 10 different countries around the world. The IWHC also encourages these separate organizations to create alliances and work with one another. The issues that the IWHC focus on are access to safe and legal abortions, sexual rights and gender equality, and the effects of HIV/AIDs on women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The International Women's Health Coalition has received positive feedback and reviews from other various social organizations and should continue on with its excellent work and amazing advocacy.

Reading Gender

Lauren Best

4 / 12 / 09

Reading Gender

What a wonderful world! In today’s society the perfect life, a life without thinking, is easy with a number of readily available painkillers, beautiful appliances, and HD TV sets. These sentiments might seem right out of the post-war 50s America, yet they are all a part of an omnipresent oppressive force on modern women in Rosario Castellano’s groundbreaking play The Eternal Feminine. Castellano’s play presents a wide spectrum of over-the-top situations and stories that all contain a similar thread: the ideal woman. Who is she? What does she look like? How does she behave? This play tackles it all! The first scene in the play sets the stage for the rest with a great deal of social commentary. The salesman proudly showcases his new invention – a gadget so ideal that only a computer brain could make it! Poor Lupita who is soon to be married is chosen to sample this new dream simulating hair-dryer and goes through multiple, terrifying and enlightening nightmares that reflect a great deal of parody on the way women are “supposed to be”. The initial scene with the salesman, owner, hairdresser, and Lupita reflect not only the way society treats women and wants them to be but also reflects a growing laziness and lethargy in Western culture. As the salesman pitches his invention to the salon owner and hairdresser, he presents a number of happy, ideal dreams that each lucky woman can have with her new dream machine: “she dreams that she is the prettiest woman in the world; that all the men are falling in love with her; that all women envy her; that her husband got a raise in salary; that there’s no increase in the basic cost of living; that she finds an inexpensive and efficient maid; that she gets pregnant this month; that she doesn’t get pregnant this month; etc.” All of these so-called ideal dreams that are available to women soon turn into vicious nightmares, however, once they enter Lupita’s troubled subconscious. The reader soon finds out that none of these perfect dreams are quite as good as they seem. When Lupita first begins to dream, she sees herself with her husband, but instead of being sensitive and kind to her, he is rough with her sexually and complains at how much she does not obey him. This scene conveys the most primitive scenario for how women should be. Sadly males still often take the more dominant role due to social conditioning. In a scene that follows soon after, Lupita sees her mother soon after she becomes pregnant. Lupita’s mother forces her to eat sweets so that she will gain weight and strip herself of make-up, nice clothing, or anything that would make Lupita happy. Lupita’s mama tells her how her young Lupita will become just like herself. The mother tells her how she does not need to be happy or seek pleasure – she will find those things when her husband and children are happy. This scene continues to comment on the traditional roles of women, especially in 20^th Century culture. Women were to be self-less and subservient, nothing more. All of the scenes that follow basically follow under this vein of what has oppressed women throughout the history of mankind. By writing this play, Castellano’s was able to point out so many flaws in history that have brought us to where we are now and hopefully will make more women acknowledge their own inner feminist.

ethnography paper

Lauren Best

3/30/09

WS 1003

Ethnography Paper

In the excerpt from bell hooks’ book The Will To Change, she discusses a major problem facing young, growing men: the patriarch. The patriarch is still a threat to both of the sexes in today’s western society, yet there are a growing number of single parent mothers raising multiple children alone. Hooks states that even if young males hold pro-feminist ideals, once they enter school they will also face sexist male peers and a widespread cultural patriarchal propaganda. After deciding to interview a number of young and adult men who were primarily raised by their mother, I concluded that these men all seemed to have a somewhat different outlook on women due to their matriarchal background.

As a growing number of mothers are taking the primary responsibility as a parent, roles are beginning to shift in today’s ever-changing society. Single parent mothers must now fill both of the roles of father and mother as they try to raise their children. But what happens to the young men raised primarily by their mothers? Hooks states that it is still very hard on the mother to try to raise her son in an anti-patriarchal manner, because they do not have enough time and their sons face outward influence as well. In the chapter from her book The Will to Change, she states that “single parent mothers with limited economic resources lack the effort to consistently map for their sons alternatives to patriarchal masculinity simply because it takes too much time.” She also points out that “many anti-patriarchal parents find that the alternative masculinities they support for their boy children are shattered not by grown-ups but by sexist male-peers.” So do young men all turn out the same despite their varied parental backgrounds? After interviewing a few men on their matriarchal background as a young boy, I found that’s not true in the present day.

I interviewed two young men, James and Andy, both of the age of 20 and my father Tracy, age 55, who were all raised solely by their mothers as they grew up. All of these men stated firmly that their mother played a huge role as caretaker and greatly shaped their perspective on gender and the sexes. Both James and Andy claimed that they treat women with the highest respect and admiration due to their mothers. “I watched my mom work so hard to raise my brothers and I and still have a 9 to 5 job… that’s amazing!” Andy said. All of the men continued to express how greatly their strong mothers impacted their opinion of women. James stated that he doesn’t feel as threatened by independent women because of his mother and that he is even more attracted to strong, independent women because of her. . My father Tracy experienced this same effect but during the baby boomer generation. “Your grandmother raised six of us kids after my dad died when I was two. I watched her own her very own business and still manage to be there for dinner each night. She was like a super hero!”

Blog # 8

"The Opt-Out Revolution" by Lisa Belkin

This 'revolution' of women fleeing their successful jobs to be stay-at-home mom's was and still is a very controversial issue among feminists and moms alike. There are many sides of this argument that set women apart once again. One side of the argument is that many of these women that have left the work room did not leave entirely. Many of these women either work part time or are self-employed from home. Belkin herself left the New York Times newsroom, giving up the chance for a top editorial slot, to work as a home-based writer. So what does that say?
Another side of this article is that it is very alarming and has a great deal to say about how far feminism has really come... or not come. It is quite strange that so many women have gone to the best schools in America and continued onto the most successful jobs, then just leave it all. Yes, it's understandable that one could get more fulfillment out of having a family and not stressing yourself out because of a job. But still, what will that mean once all the children are grown-up and out of the house?
I've experienced this trend firsthand as I grew up and watched my mother. She, however, chose an opposite path. After my parents got divorced when I was younger, my mother took the role as a single working parent of two kids. She is highly successful, as a state coordinator in her job, put herself through college to get her Masters' degree, and still made time to make us dinner when I lived at home. She has told me that things can be very hard and demanding... trying to make PTA conferences and still drive to Oklahoma City for corporate meetings. She has told me, however, that she doesn't regret any of her decisions though!

Blog # 7

The movie I have seen most recently is Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married.
I really enjoyed the film and felt really moved by it. It was extremely realistic, even too real at times. I think every person could relate to this film on some level - whether it be family conflict, feeling like an outsider in your own family, getting married, etc. The film is shot in a very minimalistic way - the camera work seems almost as if it were done on a video camera to emphasize the realistic effect. The acting is very strong and very moving. All of the actors genuinely cry, laugh, love, and hate each other at one point. In terms of gender and race, I felt like the film is pretty advanced. It is showing an updated view of marriage. The main character Kym, played by Anne Hathaway, comes back home from rehab to her sister Rachel's wedding weekend. Rachel is getting married to Sidney, a successful and handsome black man. This reflecting our changing social landscape. Both sets of families are extremely supportive to welcome each other as their new, larger family. In reference to gender, the character of Kym is rarely judged or ostrasized for being a single woman. Most of her flaws come from within and are not social injustices. As for Rachel, she even seems to be an older bride - around her early 30s or so. Throughout the course of the film, she also finds out that she is expecting a child. The family is ecstatic, Kym is just pissed off. I feel like everyone should see this film. It's intimate and heartbreaking, as well as beyond relatable. All in all, very good.