Stalkers

When I read the passage about stalkers, I was kinda freaked out for a couple reasons. First of all most people that are stalked are women followed by men. When I think about all of the times that I'm alone I think of how lucky I've been. Because seriously I have been in some pretty bad situations that could have turned out very badly. I also have heard one to many stories from friends that have been stalked. This one lady at my work who is about 26, used to have a stalker that would sit out on the grassy hill behind our office building and wait for her everyday til she got off of work. Stalking happens all to much nowadays. To be safe you should never walk alone, and be aware of your surroundings.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is something almost everyone is familiar with, however, a lot of people don't know how to deal with it. I found the article on page 435 very informative about what exactly sexual harassment is.  I never knew that there were two types of harassment. I always thought it was just physical or verbal harassment that counted as sexual harassment.  However, Quid Pro Quo, and Hostile Work Environment are the two official categories listed on page 435. Quid Pro Quo is defined as, "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute quid pro quo sexual harassment..."
No matter what kind of sexual harassment occurs, obviously they are all unfair and these issues need to be addressed. I found some interesting stories located on the site below.


Interesting Sexual Harassment Cases

Are men lazy or just sexist?

Ok, so when I read "The Politics of Housework", I was thinking Oh my gosh this is so true. Why is it that men don't do housework? I know that in some cases men and women split the chores, but I feel that isn't very often. I especially found it amusing when Marinardi explained what a man would say, " 'I've got nothing against sharing the housework, but you can't make me do it on your schedule.'" That is so true. If a guy is going to even attempt doing chores there is no way in hell that you can tell him when to do it. And when he does he will get you to show him how, and complain until you just do it for him, which is exactly what the author states. I think that guys have just got this idea in their head that chores are for women. I understand where this came from, because way back when it was womans job to do the housework and take care of her husband. But now it's different, women have jobs and take care of their families at the same time. So it would be nice if guys would step up and help out.  If you've ever done chores you know what a pain in the ass it is. So come on guys give us a hand.

Gay Marriage & Children

As Partners as Parents points out, "the United States continues to show every intention of fighting tooth and nail against this broadening of marriage laws, including a recently proposed constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage." Although I'm neither for or against gay marriage, I find it interesting that the US is fighting this so hard while other countries are just letting it slide. I guess marriage is marriage no matter what two people enter into it. I was kind of outraged when I read the passage about how gay and straight parents do not parent equally.    Gomes states, "Parenting ability relies on a complex and unquantifiable mix of skills and emotions. Love, patience, empathy, and respect, along with the ability to provide necessities and discipline without being abusive....A current debate focuses on the legal ability of gays to marry rather than their actual ability to maintain life partnerships and to raise productive, well-adjusted children." This bothered me because I think all parents have all the points listed above to be good parents. Gays and lesbians were raised the same way we were, so who is to say that they will parent differently than their parents did. I think people are just afraid that the children living in a household with same sex parents will become homosexual, which is found to not be true.

Marriage is the end of life as we know it ladies.

According to Emma Goldman, marriage and love have nothing in common. Marriage is just a binding agreement, which is a huge investment. She states, "Its returns are insignificantly small compared with the investments." When a woman gets married, Goldman says, "she pays for it with her name, her privacy, her 'self-respect', her very life, 'until death doth part." I personally find a lot of things wrong with this passage. First of all marriage and love are connected. Why would you get married to a person without being in love with them? Despite the fact that most marriages end in divorce, couples are in love when they get married. Second, marriage shouldn't be looked at as just a financial strain. I think that when you get married, that you should want to share everything with your partner whether it be money, a name, or your life. When you get married you vow to share your life with your spouse til death do you part. I think today that marriage is a big joke. People just get married to get married then when a little problem arises they don't try to fix it they just get divorced. Does anyone else agree?

Riot Grrrls

As I read this article, it was kind of hard to follow. What I got out of it was that this group called the Riot Grrrls wanted to be a secret but it was pretty hard for them to remain in the dark. It seems that whenever a new group with new ideas emerges the press tries as hard as it can to get as much information about them and spread the news. Also the Riot Grrrls were fed up. 

"Generally speaking, RG emerged as

an American-based movement comprised

of young female punks who

were fed up with the overwhelming

maleness of punk rock, as well as

being feministswho were fed up with

sexism in general."

Riot Grrls were the first girls to merge punk with political music. Although they weren't the first women to be defined as "punk." 

"The Elusive Orgasm"

Before I even started reading this article I was skeptical about what it would contain. "While my classmates traded copies of Sweet Valley High novels, I was pilfering paperback Harlequins from my Auntie's attic collection. I am not proud of that time. And as I look back, I realize how much damage was done in those formative years." This was the quote that caught my attention in the first paragraph, I was super confused why this would cause her problems later on.  I think she put way to much pressure on herself to have an orgasm every time she had sex. As she got older you would think that she would think to herself oh those books I read when I was young is not real life. Sure it would be nice if all men were romantic, and sex was perfect but thats usually not the case. I was also super creeped out when she explained how she got herself to have an orgasm. No offense but I don't really want to read about her um experiences.    But overall it was an interesting article. Can stereotypical fantasies about sex really influence your sex life forever?

"What Girls Want"

I thought it was interesting during class when Professor E asked us "What kind of view does Twilight take on sexuality?" I didn't really think anything different than what everyone else was saying during class, but later on I thought about it more in depth and here is what I came up with. Twilight, unlike any other teen novels or movies, really is a good influence when it comes to sex. If you think about it Bella and Edward only have sex after they are married. And as we all know that is the proper way to go about sex. I find Twilight's representation of sex very refreshing in a world where everyone is having sex before marriage( or at least it seems like it). Hopefully, Twilight might bring a change in the younger generations, to only have sex after marriage, or at least with someone they feel comfortable with. I'm just curious if anyone else agrees with me or if I'm alone on this.

Hold That Nose

I was very surprised by this passage for many reasons. First of all I had no idea that Jews have large noses. Second, I would never let my parents force me to have a nose job. I mean everyone has their insecurities about themselves but to have someone else tell you that you need to get your nose fixed would be pretty hurtful in my opinion. The author made an interesting argument that some Jews want to get rid of their ethnicity after everything that happened with Antisemitism, and racism. She says, "Were these mothers and grandmothers trying to fit their offspring into a more white, gentile mode? (Miya-Jervis 279). It kinda seems like this is that case since the parents are offering to pay for their children's nose jobs. Would you force your child to have a nose job or would you let them decide for themselves?

"The Training Bra"

"An adolescent girl needed a bra in order to prevent sagging breasts, stretched blood vessels, and poor circulation, all of which would create problems in nursing her future children." (Brumberg 251). I find it kind of odd that, even with all of this information about the "side effects" of not wearing a bra, they were so expensive. In order for a bra to do it's job, and benefit a girl throughout her life, she would need to start wearing one pretty early. However, since bras were so expensive in the beginning they really didn't do much good by the time a girl got one. They should have made them inexpensive and available to all girls so that they wouldn't have health issues later on.

Princesses-Role Model?

Princesses have always been perceived as being perfect, rich, and having happy endings.  First thoughts when it comes to princesses are: big dresses, crowns, being able to do everything, and having prince charming! Young girls that are raised watching the Disney movies are very familiar with all of the princesses; Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella etc. While watching these movies they get the ideas that life is perfect, and if you have money, clothes, the right body, and a charming prince you can be a princess. However, these thoughts are not accurate. Life is not perfect. If kids actually absorbed what they saw in Disney movies, then they would grow up thinking that they have to be skinny, rich, have pretty dresses, and have prince charming. I think Disney movie princesses portray women in the wrong way. However I don’t think that at a young age kids are really influenced by what they see on TV. I think they are definitely influenced by the way they are parented. So parents should not worry about their daughters growing up having a “princess” outtake on life. 

The Snow White Boy

The article about the boy who wanted to dress up like Snow White for Halloween was very interesting. I would like to think that I would be like the mother and not care what her son wore for Halloween but I’m sure I would think differently.  I would probably be shocked at first to see my son wearing a dress. The first thoughts through my head would be, oh my gosh why is he wearing that? Oh no he is going to grow up to be gay! I have to get him out of that dress NOW! After the initial shock died down I would realize that at his young age he doesn’t see dressing like a girl as a bad thing. He wouldn’t understand the big differences between the genders yet. I would calm down and perhaps suggest a different costume that he could wear. Of course I’m all about letting your child be who they are but, I would worry about the ridicule that he would encounter dressing like a Disney princess.  Cheplic explains this worry flat out, “A far more immediate evil loomed in my magic mirror: children who mock other children.” Kids can be very mean. When they don’t agree with something that a person does or says they will just tear them apart with verbal abuse. 

Interesting Story

So I just had a weird experience.....I've been looking at houses for next year for about the past few weeks. My roommates, who are all guys, and myself have looked at several very promising houses. However, I found it very interesting that whenever we met with the landlords of the houses, who were men, they always seem to ignore me. It's like they shake all of my roommates hands, and introduce themselves, and completely forget about me. I feel like it's because I'm a girl that they just think oh well she must not be paying for this, or she must just be one of these guys girlfriends. It kinda pisses me off that they don't even give me the time of day, I have to like pep up and introduce myself to the landlords or else I would be cast off. I was just curious if anyone else has had an experience like this or if I'm the only one.

Suggestion/Thoughts

Ok, I know I'm going to get a lot of feedback for saying this but, I feel like this class is just a hate group sometimes. It really bothers me to hear everyone complain about how womens rights are so bad. I honestly don't feel like I'm less than men right now. It's like everyone is complaining about how things were so bad instead of looking at the positive side, and how we are treated now. In some ways right now we have more rights than men. I know this class is supposed to look at the past and discuss how women were treated, but maybe we could do it in a more upbeat kind of way so it doesn't sound like complaining. I'm not trying to be rude or anything but I think it would be easier to listen to discussion if it didn't sound so much like complaining.Thanks!

Response to "A Day Without Feminism"

When I first read "A Day Without Feminism," I was pretty shocked by some of the things I read about.  The first  point that caught my eye was the difference between boys and girls in junior high. "Girls do read mystery stories about Nancy Drew, for whom there is no sex, only her blue roadster and having 'luncheon'...Boys read about the Hardy Boys, for whom there are no girls." (Baumgardner & Richards, 28). I thought it was interesting how kids were segregated by what they read. Also girls had to take classes that dealt with home-making, such as home ec, sewing, and cooking. Boys took classes on how to fix cars, and do manly things. Girls could only play certain sports, that didn't exert much energy. I would have hated to not be able to take math or science classes.  Kids were taught from an early age what was expected of them depending on which gender they were. Women were supposed to be raised to be good home-makers, and mothers; while boys were taught to fix things and take care of business. It was like kids were being streamlined to only know about the socially acceptable forms of entertainment, which is all good and fine, but that's not necessarily real life. Life isn't always perfect, and bad things happen sometimes.
Second, I laughed out loud when I read the paragraph about The Miss America Pageant, and what college was like for women. The expectations that girls had back in the day was crazy. I would have hated to live during that time, I would not be very happy having people tell me what I could and couldn't do.

I found a short paragraph about what the President of Harvard University said about women at the university during the 1970's.Women's Education in the 1970's