The Women’s Lounge

I do not think the Women’s Lounge in the Union is still a necessary space to have here for women at MSU. I feel that it does provide a quiet and relaxing area where women can study, pray, or take a mental break, but in the broad spectrum of things, I feel it is strongly outdated. A personal experience that I had related to this lounge, (which probably has something to do with my opinion here), was during my sophomore year when I told my boyfriend I was going to study in the Women’s Lounge, and he told me he’d meet me there and I had to tell him he couldn’t do that. When I told him I’d have to meet him somewhere else, and that he was not allowed in the lounge, I not only felt weird about it but also extremely guilty. Even though I myself did not create the lounge, I am still connected to it in how I am a female and have studied there from time to time. If women continue to use such a space it must prove as being a positive area, right? Not necessarily. I do agree it is a beautiful room, with comfortable chairs, and provides a nice view of campus, but the fact that it’s all women is a bit eerie. For a big ten school that is not an all-girls or all-boys school, this lounge seems very out of place.

“Safe space” for women means a place where women feel protected and free to express themselves without being judged or dominated by others. Although, I don’t feel a space has to be restrictive towards males, in order to be considered “safe”. Perhaps some female students and faculty here consider the Women’s Lounge a “safe place”, and I respect that, after all it has been on this campus for a very long time. At the same time though, there are plenty of other places in which I feel are “safe” on this campus, that don’t ban males from entering (e.g. the little library connected to Wells Hall).

I think a lounge in the 1970’s and 1980’s would have served the purpose of providing women with their own environment and in return a greater sense of freedom. I think during this time it served as a place where women could comfortably express themselves without feeling inferior or fearful that they would be criticized or judged. I think the purpose a women’s lounge serves today is providing a place where women can continue to feel “safe” and free to express themselves, whether that be through prayer or other cultural expressions. But, I feel this enhances separatism—something many feminists today are trying to eliminate. Based on the readings and our class discussion it is evident that many men feel alienated concerning the issue of feminism, and there is no doubt in my mind that some males here may feel alienated from the Women’s Lounge in the Union, and perhaps maybe even a little upset by it. I know my boyfriend was.

I think we still have this lounge because many women still use it and it seems to be quite popular; but in keeping it here, I feel we are not moving forward. We are still focusing on a sex-class analysis. The structure of this women’s lounge can change in a way that welcomes males as well. Does this stand a chance? For now the likelihood is not very high, but at least I know where I stand on this issue. I choose to recognize my moral identity rather than my assigned sex-class. I understand and recognize the difference between fairness and unfairness, and this lounge only being open to women I feel is not fair. I also choose to live beyond gender and accept that “safe spaces” can include both males and females, and still be considered safe. My hope is that this lounge opens its doors to the male student/faculty body someday, but that it doesn’t change its other qualities of being a quiet and beautiful place.

“My Feminism” Film

The film, “My Feminism”, had a lot of important messages that resonated with me, but the segment that struck me in particular was the focus on sexuality in terms of pornography. Porn is notorious for promoting sexual torture, but it is also a huge moneymaker, so as the film also mentioned, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. There were two terms that were mentioned within this segment which were, pornae and erotica. Pornae is another way to describe how females are basically treated like slaves. Erotica, on the other hand, is associated with positive things such as love, free choice, and mutual pleasure. Pornae was compared as being similar and just as bad as rape, whereas erotica was seen as being similar to sex (that which is consensual). After learning these terms I was psyched about the idea of erotica and thought this was probably and extremely helpful tool for feminists alike. I was both right and wrong in my idea. I was right because this is a helpful tool, but I was also wrong because most of the time erotica is censored which prevents women from being able to express themselves and their opinions. I think this is so unfortunate and something should be done to change, or at least help this. This segment on sexuality was intense but very impactful in the sense that these factors affect all of us and I think it’s essential to understand that both of them exist but have very different meanings.

Out of all of the women who spoke during this documentary, the woman from Ireland mentioned something that stayed with me, and really touched something deep inside of my conscience. This woman expressed the notion of how men think it is ok to just walk away and not be involved with their child/children, and that their ex-spouse will take care of everything. This woman went on to say that this concept is awful and I agree with her. I find this tactic quite destructive because it will ultimately have a negative impact on the child’s life, even if this man was only trying to hurt his ex-wife. His actions make it so his ex-spouse is left in a vulnerable position, and there are consequences for his innocent child/children as well. Women are often not the breadwinners of the family so they are usually left financially vulnerable and emotionally vulnerable with raising their child/children on their own. I think it is extremely irresponsible for a man to walk away from his child and not help support them both financially, through child support, as well as emotionally, by showing he loves them. It’s absolutely heartbreaking for me to think that an action that was meant to hurt ones ex-spouse, actually ends up hurting ones child/children. While I don’t agree with hurting people in general, I think it’s another thing to place children in the middle of a conflict—something I will never support or condone. 

My Experience at Kirabo: a fair trade store

My experience at Kirabo, a fair trade store on Grand River, was a very positive one. I had actually browsed in there before but had not been aware of what the term “fair trade” meant and I had wondered why a lot of the items they sold were more expensive than usual. Of course I now understand and admire this store for being a fair trade store. Some of the products in the store that I took note of were things such as hats, headscarves, incense, handmade cards and envelopes, jewelry, pottery, coffee, and many purses. I also took note of some of the prices on these items. Hats were generally around $18, the headscarves were $7, handmade envelopes were $3.85 each, mini finger puppets were around $3, bracelets were $14, wooden pottery bowls were around $40 and silverware was around $20. There was also a mini beaded picture frame I saw that had definitely been handmade, which was $11, as well as a necklace that looked very tribal-like that was $54.

After browsing this store my thoughts regarding shopping and fair trade definitely changed. I realized the prices at fair trade stores may be a bit higher than what they’d be at other stores, but I felt these items were worth what they were priced at since the “true” artist and creator of the work would be receiving a good portion of the profits and the middleman would be eliminated. I also thought about how hard some of these artists must have worked on these items and how much time they must have put into them; this made me appreciate the products in the store even more. I would definitely consider buying fair trade products in the future, I was actually pretty close to buying an owl made sculpture type thing. I would buy fair trade products because I want to give credit where credit is due—and that is to the artists themselves, but also because I find a lot of the products really unique and beautiful. I will also consider where I shop more carefully now. I was completely unaware of this important concept and I am happy I now have an understanding of its importance.

Feminist Blogging

I chose to check out the blog, “the happy feminist”. My thoughts about this blog were that it was very opinionated as well as passionate. I would say opinionated because this blogger clearly had some strong opinions about what she felt was appropriate and respectful concerning women. I would say passionate because I could see how much feminist values meant to her through her blog entries, particularly in “Friday Fun: Anti-MSN Blogging”. In this particular post she criticized two articles that had been posted on MSN about how to be a better boyfriend/girlfriend. The funny thing is, I actually saw this on MSN a while ago and yes I happened to click on it and read it for myself as well. I think many of us are guilty at times for being curious about these types of articles even though they are often ridiculous and demean women in many ways. These particular articles were in fact a bit ridiculous and quite offensive to women if you really read them closely. In the article, “How to be a better boyfriend”, it was clear to me how women were being portrayed as annoying girlfriends who ask too much of their boyfriends, are not assertive enough, should say I love you first, etc. This really bothered me that how to be a good girlfriend implies that you basically have to be submissive and not ask too much of your man, but at the same time must save him the work and effort by coordinating and planning everything—which I’m pretty sure most women already do most of the time.

This blog, and others like it, I think are very powerful in terms of reaching a broad audience in how they are in fact on the internet and have quite savvy names. I am sure there are many feminists of course who are aware of these blogs, but they probably tell their friends who tell their other friends. I can also see people who are anti-feminists checking out these blogs and fighting back with their own opinions. Although, I still believe these blogs attract more supporters than haters, and perhaps even some people who are on the fence about how they feel and are just looking to learn more about feminist opinions and values. Either way, I believe these blogs do reach a broad audience and are making a difference in feminism today, in terms of getting their values across.

The particular blog site I visited contributes to feminism in how it gives feminism a voice. Feminism is what a person believes and makes it to be, it doesn’t just fit one mold or stereotype. I like the fact how this particular blogger stated at the top of her blog how she was married, an attorney, and a thirty-something year old aged woman. This blog in particular contributed to feminism in how it ridiculed previous articles from other sources that have been published, such as the one I mentioned above, for being demeaning towards women. I think it’s important how this blogger saw something she felt was ridiculous and not right and wrote her opinion about it; after all we do have freedom of speech. I believe this blogger in particular was just exercising her right to express her opinions about what she saw (in the articles) as offensive and how it could be seen that way for others who may not have gathered that messaged after only briefly looking at them. Overall, I feel that this blog site, as well as others like it, contribute a lot towards feminism and its cause.

My Understanding of the Hijab

My initial understanding of the Hijab was that it was worn my Muslim women in order to cover up their bodies and protect them from other men’s eyes. I initially thought the hijab was somewhat oppressive and that women were forced to wear them. After reading Chapter 12 though, and talking about this chapter in class, I now have a different understanding of the hijab. I now see the hijab as something women wear to express their cultural integrity as well as to demonstrate their demand for equal treatment to that of men. I guess I do see it as a liberation type of symbol but also as a way of expressing ones humbleness and modesty, as stated in the text. After reading about how women wear the hijab to respect their culture and remain humble, I have come to see the hijab as a tool that helps women to become more independent as well as maintain more control over their bodies and lives as a whole. My opinion of hijab is now a positive one. I admire how it is worn to express modesty. The idea behind the hijab for some women, described in the text, is how it is meant to reflect “the meaning behind your actions”. The fact that the hijab is said to demonstrate the meaning behind ones actions and is a representation as being modest and humble, makes it a very appealing and liberating form of expression for women of this culture.

Women’s Suffrage 1919- Election 2013: The Power of the Right to Vote

I will definitely be voting this coming election, especially since it will be my first chance/opportunity to vote in an election. I missed the cut off four years ago by a few months, since I was still seventeen. My search on the women’s suffrage in the United States showed me just how far some women went in fighting for the right to vote. Women involved in protests were arrested and jailed. Others went on hunger strikes and took other extreme measures to get their point across—that they deserved the right to vote. Women worked so hard for the right to vote because they wanted and felt they deserved to have equal opportunities to men. I believe they also knew if they worked hard then, that the future generations of women to come would be assured this right as well—and they were right! The right to vote means everything to me. Men don’t make up our country—both men and women do. It is so important when electing a leader, such as the President, that all of the people who make up that population are able to have their say in that decision, and given the chance to vote. The right to vote means a lot to me, it gives me the opportunity to share my voice, even though it may be quite soft beneath all of the others, I can still be heard at some level, and my opinion is taken into account. My voice and my vote matter. I have the power to create change in my country with my vote, and if I were not allowed this right, I would feel trapped, vulnerable, and useless both as a citizen and as an individual. I would never take my right to vote for granted, I believe it was such a struggle to obtain in the first place, that if I were to take it for granted, that would almost be like disrespecting all of those women who actually made it a reality for us women. I am so grateful to the women who made it possible for us to vote, they certainly have my utmost respect as well as my empathy for the many struggles they had to endure to get there.

Huh reaction from Film: A century of women-work and family

After watching the film, “A century of women: work and family”, my “Huh reaction” came from the descriptions and stories of how women were handed pink slips and thrown out of their jobs after the war (WWII) was over. This was my reaction because these women had all worked so hard, whether it was in Defense plants helping to build planes, or somewhere else; these women had proved themselves worthy of being able to work in these types of jobs that they had never been given the opportunity to work in before. It disgusted me how just because the men had returned and needed their jobs back, that the women had to give up their newfound independence. Between the propaganda first encouraging women to help out their country and go find a job, and then telling them to go back home and restore what had been abandoned–how confusing! Women were being told to do this and that, and just when they were becoming acquainted with the current lifestyle they had been “assigned” to, they were told to take on the latter one.

Another thing related to this idea of women and work, that triggered a “huh reaction” out of me, was when a women in the video mentioned that the idea of juvenile delinquency was said to be a result of the mother being at work instead of at home with her children. This seemed like a major blow towards women, it was almost like society was guilting them into leaving their jobs because their children were suffering as a result of it. I feel like this was such a strong claim to make and accuse women of, especially when a lot of them had probably proven they could balance both and lets not forget how childcare was rarely supported by the government. It was a lose-lose situation that left women with feelings of guilt and frustration.

I think the reason why a lot of us never studied this type of material in school is because it may have seemed too biased towards women, or maybe our history textbooks are biased in themselves, in not depicting women as much as they do men. Bringing up this topic in a high school or even elementary school classroom probably would’ve raised some questions from children that their own parents may have not been prepared to answer. I think the parents of these students probably would have been uncomfortable with these ideas surrounding the inequality of women because, to an extent, it still exists today. Talking about things from our past that still exist in our future is never an easy thing to do, and I think the reason we haven’t studied these types of ideas before is because they are still quite controversial and I think women’s rights still vary depending on the culture they live in as well as their race or ethnicity. We tend to avoid that which is uncomfortable, but what many schools haven’t recognized is the idea that if we were to start facing things that are uncomfortable- such as the topic of women and work- it could allow us to work through those feelings, and instead alter them to a place of understanding and perhaps even change.

Now that I am aware and have the knowledge regarding this portion of women’s history, regarding their roles in the workforce, it changes my perspective of women’s experiences today in how we have come a long way, but should continue in working towards our goals, no matter what they may be. The women of our past have shown us what true motivation is and worked very hard to obtain equal rights for women. The women of today should keep this drive alive and never settle for anything less. My perspective of women’s experiences today is mixed, I believe some women do a fantastic job of keeping this drive alive in balancing their professional as well as personal lives. Although, there are still some women who settle for what’s expected of them or easiest for them to fulfill, whether by choice or by circumstance. The women of today deserve to learn about these diverse women of the past, who fought for change and made it happen. I feel that if the knowledge of our past was shared, and that same confidence and spark that embodied the women of our past was ignited into the women of today, we would see a lot more women doing pretty significant things in our generation and generations to come.

K-12 Science Textbook- Gender/Race/Engagement Equally represented?

The textbook I used for this assignment was my roommates younger brother’s Physics textbook. The title of his textbook is: Physics: Principles and Problems. It is a McGraw Hall Glencoe Science text. Also important to mention here is how it is a New edition, and I believe it just came out this past year, so it is relatively new. Of the twenty pictures I sampled within the pages of this book, in terms of gender, each gender (male and female) were depicted pretty equally. This surprised me a lot, but at the same time considering how it’s a new edition, maybe society has made some progress and changes in terms of depicting women in more academic textbooks. The pictures I looked at showed men and women engaged in daily activities such as, riding bikes, playing tennis, and playing instruments. Even the stick figures that were portrayed within some pictures were depicted as both male and female.

The twenty pictures I observed in this textbook, in terms of race, depicted a pretty equal representation as well. There was a picture of a black man playing basketball and an asian man playing an instrument. Although, I do not believe this textbook was completely gender-friendly in how men were still depicted in roles such as sports and musical abilities, as described above, and these two things are generally associated with men in our culture. I don’t mean to say that I think the authors of the textbook did this on-purpose, but some gender bias does still exist within the pictures of people from different races. I’m not sure why this is, but maybe society is still making progress in representing women of different races equally to men of their same race. I observed a lot of equality between the pictures of white men and women, but among different races this same equality was not as heavily expressed. I should mention that even the woman depicted on the cover is white, so maybe there is more progress to made made in the area of equal race representation in terms of gender.

The twenty pictures I observed in this textbook, in terms of level of engagement, was not completely equal, but not extremely biased toward one gender either. Although, maybe in terms of race, as I mentioned before, it was still a little biased in showing pictures of predominantly black or asian men, rather than black or asian women. For the most part though, each gender and race was shown as engaging in activities within the pictures of this text, which will allow both male and female students, who read this text, to feel more engaged in the text as well, since both genders are portrayed throughout the book. Also interesting, but important, to mention here is how there is actually a woman on the front cover of this text who is running and wearing a yellow vest. I found this to be extremely encouraging in how not only was there a woman (and not any sight of a man) on the cover of this textbook, but she was also engaged in physical activity and portrayed as an independent person rather than being passive and overly feminine-like.

For the most part this textbook surprised me with its closely related expressions of men and women, although I still believe there is work to be done in terms or racial representation, specifically concerning women in those areas. This textbook was not completely egalitarian in all respects concerning gender, race, and engagement, but it was definitely a good effort and was evidence to me that we are making a lot of progress in representing these types of things in academic textbooks for our future generations.

Fairy Tale Post- Cinderella Critical Analysis

Cinderella was my favorite Disney film as a child. I remember I loved her glass slippers and thought she was the most beautiful princess of all the Disney Princesses. I remember I even dressed like her for Halloween when I was five. Thinking about this film from a gender standpoint I now see how it brings up issues relating to gender as well as class. Cinderella is portrayed in the film as being a beautiful and passive princess, two traits that most women learn is appropriate and therefore expected for them to have. The characters in this fairy tale are gendered in how Cinderella herself is helpless and thinks her only way to escape her troubled fate is to find a man to save her. The whole idea of Prince Charming is actually quite offensive now that I think about it. It’s like saying Cinderella needed a man to complete her life, to save her, when she could have demonstrated that she could do these things on her own. Instead she acts as a dependent and shy woman who falls for her knight in shining armor at a Ball and her life is changed forever. The gender representations in terms of this story I think mean to say how beautiful women can be saved by handsome men and that there main purpose in life is to find their husband, or as most of us refer to today, obtain our “Mrs Degree”. I think it was lucky how her Fairy G-d Mother got to be a women and played a significant role in helping her, but there were still limitations as to what Cinderella could to. I think I remember the part where if she didn’t make her 12 PM curfew then her carriage and everything else would turn to pumpkins and other ugly things. I think the messages being received about gender by children from this story are flawed. This story makes women seem overly dependent and incapable of taking care of themselves. Children, mostly young girls, are probably led to believe that a handsome man will be the solution to all of their future problems, which is not a very good universal message for young children, who are unfortunately the target audience of these Disney films. Also the Step Mother and evil Step Sisters are portrayed as being rude, selfish, as well as ugly. One thing I would like to point out here, in terms of the implications of gender learning from this story, is how the qualities of being rude and selfish were paired with women who were ugly in their appearance, and women who were obedient and passive were portrayed as beautiful, leading young children to what may be another false conclusion which is that if a woman wants to be seen as beautiful then she must be obedient and passive and if she sticks up for herself (which in this story is exaggerated as bossing people around) she will be seen as ugly. I’m not saying I liked the evil step mother or sisters, because I didn’t, but I do see now how they were strong women in the sense that they didn’t take crap from anyone. 

If I were to rewrite this fairy tale I would write something along these lines:

Once upon a time, there was a Princess named Cinderella. Cinderella lived with her Step Mother and step sisters whom she had strained relationships with, but she tried her best to tolerate them and excel in school so she could make something of herself and achieve a new life for herself. Cinderella worked hard to get good grades and got involved in clubs that made her feel good about herself and instilled confidence in herself that she had the capability to be a good leader. Cinderella was a very independent and free spirit and she had many admirers but she felt it was important that she be with someone who would respect how she lived her life and accept what she wanted to achieve without holding her back. Cinderella was not going to go for the first guy that came around, even if he was extremely handsome, she had to make sure he was a nice person. Although wealth and status were important things, as long as he made her happy, that is all that mattered. Cinderella did eventually meet a man who later became her husband, but she was glad she had allowed herself the time to feel comfortable in her own skin rather than looking for a man to provide that for her. 

And They Lived Happily Ever After.

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