Sunday, September 2, 2012

"The F-Word: Feminism in Jeopardy" By: Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

Talking Points 1: Hyperlinks

One of the issues this author raises up is the issue of the women of today or the Third Wave. It's like today's women lost most of the ambition for total equality. They do not have the same determination as the previous feminists did at the beginning. Like how Pandora said, young women born after the 60's reacted differently to inequality than their great grandmothers before them. Since society now has at least acknowledged the females and what they do, they are still treated unfairly and criticized even more-so than before. Every generation has a perfect standard to which they have to meet. If they do not meet it they are criticized and made fun of  and made felt like they weren't good enough as they are. Back then, women had to wear corsets that barely let them breathe, shoes that were to small that it crippled there toes, dresses that were too heavy to even wear; just to fit the society's view of an idealistic woman. Now, it's still the same. A women has to be "skinny", with no blemishes on her face, a small jean size, wearing heels, with perfect hair and all these things to feel almost perfect to society. Women today has lost focus on what the goal is: which is to actually have everything equal, not just some things. A women with a same job as a man gets only 75% of what the man makes. ( I know this because I read it in some magazine somewhere, just cant remember which one) and this fact had stuck to me since.) I know for sure that this is true because my husband and i worked for the same company with the same knowledge and training. Except I was bilingual, I thought that actually counted for something... but come to find out, they paid him more than me. I was getting $8.30 an hour while he was getting $8.75. Yes it was only 45 cents more, but working 30+ hours a week and some overtime and holidays it counted. There was a difference at the end of the week. Some women know don't know that they are being ripped off as cheap labor or used just to attract customers. I mean women know can only concentrate on the view of themselves toward society and just having the freedom to be care free from any responsibility. I know this is part of what the women back then fought for, but its not all over. If women were really as equal to men, then why are we not treated just the same through media, the workplace and even at home?

http://youtu.be/HXeszLlTX5E

This video is an ongoing research on women that are now unhappier than men though women have made a long good progress toward what they had wanted and had fought for and probably still fighting for. Does it matter now that maybe some things isnt what they wanted after all? Or being a feminist mean that you have to do everything yourself: cook, clean, take care of the children and your husband, do the housework, go to work, pay your own bills, and not expect everything to go perfectly as planned and easy as how you want it to be. Its not fair at all to women who do this. Provide everything to the family, yet get treated as a scullery maid and no appreciation for it.


Questions/Comments/Points to share:

Sorry if i ranted a bit. Its very confusing on how women today look at feminism than before. Now its all different, still about equality, but only in certain areas. Any one in the class have an opinion on this? How women or men today can be feminist yet kind of not at the same time? Does different cultures also play into this? And if so, what are the cultures like?

6 comments:

  1. I agree that women today are still paid less for the same job that a man does. It is sad that you and your husband have the same position, and the only thing beside your paycheck is that you have a skill that he doesn't which I guess doesn't account for much. That says a lot about society. This society has focused on the attractive girls or even the sexual vixens to be the center focus of some job places, because it attracts the client bases that they are looking for. So I also agree with you on that topic, specifically in the hospitality business.

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  2. I love that you really brought your own life up to the plate to compare it to what we read in class. I think you made very interesting & valid points.

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  3. I cannot believe that you have to compete with your husband in order to make a decent living, this is an example of the beliefs that are kept in place to keep women oppressed.

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  4. this was a great blog! the idea was definitely portrayed completely and i agree with a lot if not everything you said here. your hyperlinks were awesome and very relevant, too. it was great how you connected this article to your own personal life, too.

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  5. you sounded very passionate about this topic. you had a strong opinion that was very interesting to read about.

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  6. I like how you brought your own life into the blog, it makes the situations that we talk about more real. Women have to face a lot more than men do when it comes to the workforce and it shouldn't still be this way today.

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