Women in Power

My roommate recently gave me a book that I think is a great second chapter to the movie that we watched in class this past week. The book is called "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," by Sheryl Sandberg. It is all about women in power and how to represent yourself in a way that people will respect you. She talks about how women can have it all and have a successful working life and family life with the correct balance. She is the kind of feminist who paves the way for younger generations to become successful in their work of choice. She acknowledges that while men still run this country that women, like her, are beginning to make a dent in those statistics. I just feel this book is encouraging and supportive of all the things we have learned in this course of the past semester. Being a feminist comes in many forms and seeing positive role models is essential for young women around the country. As a woman, we can either live with the barrier of being a woman or we can learn to use this to our advantage.

What sells better than sex?

http://osocio.org/category/womens_issues/P30/

   I saw this ad on the Internet today and I didn't even blink an eye.  Not one eye. The worst part is that for many people in our current society, they too do not even think twice when viewing an advertisement for a fast food restaurant featuring overly-sexualized women.  Last time I checked, women's butts had nothing to do with going to buy a burger and fries. Why has this become acceptable in our society? Why is sex used to sell everything from a burger to deodorant? Unfortunately, ads such as this one give some viewers the belief that since beautiful women are portrayed eating Carls Jr. then it must be "cool" or "more acceptable".  This made me think of the documentary we viewed in class, "Miss Representation".  One of the main quotes that stuck out to me in the film was from the director Jennifer Newsom who stated, "We need to challenge the media conglomerates to value women for more than their youth, beauty, and sexuality, and we must hold these companies accountable,".  This idea of objectifying women to make money needs to be changed to avoid younger generations feeling like this is the only way they will gain respect from society is by using their body.  Women should be valued for their intelligence and personalities instead of who has the better body. This can only be fixed through time and support from the masses.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/how-the-media-failed-women-2013_n_4391309.html

Can We Do Better?

The media’s business is to make money and it’s sad that’s it takes degrading or dehumanizing women to make a buck.  Watching the news clips where the men made comments on how women dressed and looked was appalling and the fact that it keeps happening is stupidity.  In my opinion there are other ways to draw in more viewers than with bad behavior.  This bad behavior sends the message to boys and young men that it’s acceptable to treat females in this manner and for our girls and young that this is what the media work environment will be like.

Although, media contributes to sexual assaults, eating disorders, violence, low self- esteem, psych disorders, pornography and much more, you can’t just blame the media.  We can’t leave out other corporations that have to take part of the blame in the way women are portrayed because they are the ones who allow the derogatory portrayal of women in advertisement. 

Arranged Marriages and Dousing of Acid

http://www.ryot.org/photos-these-women-were-doused-in-acid-for-turning-down-marriage-proposals/559641

I stumbled across this article while on Facebook. The article is now trending in order to raise awareness of the inequality women face from all over the world. The pictures are very graphic in the link, so please take caution.

This link shows images of women who were assaulted with acid due to their marriage preferences. Each woman’s face was brutally mangled due to the dousing of acid. Some women had noses, eyes, and hair missing from their once scar-free complexions. This article ties in with class discussion over male domination. In the article Killing the Black Body, the author states that “male domination [is] the source of reproductive repression”. This could be further broken down to the women’s right to marriage and her future offspring’s father. These women were denied the choice to decide for themselves the fathers of their offspring and their future companions. Instead, the women were tortured and publically attacked. Arranged marriages are still in practice in many countries around the world. Many women still don’t have basic rights.

Global Fund for Women

This week we focused on the idea of global feminism and looked at the global women's movements. Peggy Antrobus's article The Global Women's Movement explores whether or not there is in fact a global women's movement, how it can be defined, and what its characteristics are. Antrobus comes to conclude, "It is clear that, despite the lack of clear and common objectives, continuity, unity, and coordination... there is nevertheless an identifiable movement enriched by its diversity and complexity, sustained by the depth of its passions and during commitment to its causes, and strengthened by the apparent lack of coordination and spontaneity of its strategizing." (p. 614) Before ever reading this article I would have argued that, yes, there is a global women's movement, but I'm not sure that I could have backed up my argument. After reading and reflecting I realize that I know there is a global women's movement because of groups such as the Global Fund for Women. Here is a link to their website. The mission of the Global Fund for Women as stated on their website is to "...advance the rights of women and girls worldwide by increasing the resources for and investing in women-led organizations and women’s collective leadership for change." It is groups like these that reflect that passions and commitment to women's causes that Antrobus talks about. I encouraged everyone to check out the Global Fund for Women - they are doing some very cool things!

[Sigh] Hillary

     In her speech at the Fourth World Women's Conference in Beijing, Hillary Clinton says, "What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well. That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on this planet does have a stake in the discussion that takes place here." 

     I understand what she is likely trying to communicate— that women's rights (and the inhibition thereof) affect everyone; but for some reason this part of her speech continues to sit poorly with me. I am angry with the fact that, in this conference designed to advance the opportunities and individual worth and rights of women, Clinton herself insists on so directly tying a woman's contribution ultimately to the family. She lists diverse careers and all sorts of jobs that a woman can hold, but it seems implied that at the end of the day, all of those women will go home to their husband and children. In another portion of her speech, she says: 

     "I have met new mothers in Indonesia, who come together regularly in their village to discuss nutrition, family planning, and baby care. I have met working parents in Denmark who talk about the comfort they feel in knowing that their children can be cared for in safe, and nurturing after-school centers. I have met women in South Africa who helped lead the struggle to end apartheid and are now helping to build a new democracy. I have met with the leading women of my own hemisphere who are working every day to promote literacy and better health care for children in their countries. I have met women in India and Bangladesh who are taking out small loans to buy milk cows, or rickshaws, or thread in order to create a livelihood for themselves and their families. I have met the doctors and nurses in Belarus and Ukraine who are trying to keep children alive in the aftermath of Chernobyl."

     Even when discussing women in corporate or government positions, she nearly always brings the contribution of women back to families and children. With the single exception of the women in South Africa fighting apartheid, Clinton emphasizes the true goal of each diverse women's contribution: family. She speaks of women (new mothers) congregating to discuss important issues (about childcare), of working women (who are mothers) having their anxieties soothed by the knowledge that their children are well-tended while they work, of leading women who work tirelessly promoting literacy and healthcare (for their nation's children), of women taking business loans (to care for their families), and of doctors and nurses helping those (children) affected by Chernobyl. What if a woman were to work for something other than her family? Even more shocking, what if she were to achieve something for herself? The idea that a woman can contribute meaningfully to society in a way that is entirely disconnected from a maternal and/or spousal role seems to be unthought of, even at a conference which emphasizes that diversity in definitions of womenhood.

     Perhaps she intended to say that women matter to families, but it felt like she was saying that women matter because—and only because— families matter. To clarify, I'm not disputing the importance of families or family-like structures in society; I just felt as though a woman who went home to her one-bedroom apartment or to her partner was either discarded or devalued by much of Clinton's speech. 

     Perhaps it is not the fact that she took this angle to appeal to her audience, but rather the fact that it was necessary to do so in order for her to be heard, that makes me so uneasy. At the end of the day, the ugly implication of this inspiring speech is that a woman is only worth something as long as she uses her skills to creatively fulfill her role as wife and/or mother. Am I missing something? Of course, children are our future and all that, but men's accomplishments are rarely told in a way that discusses how their actions will benefit their wives and children. Men's accomplishments have merit of their own. Why, then, even at a place like the Fourth World Women's Convention, can women not live their lives the same way? 

Here is an article that examines (briefly) why, even in progressive settings, single women are declared either nonexistent or the enemy. what are your thoughts?

"One Million Hijabs"

The veil seems to carry many different meanings ranging from person to person. In the article we read in class by Ashraf Zahedi, Contested Meaning Of The Veil And Political Ideologies Of Iranian Regimes, Zahedi states, “This essentialized singular image has led to the empowerment of some women while marginalizing others and violating their rights”. I feel like Zahedi does a good job bringing to attention the different ways the veil can impact different individuals through this short, but informative segment in her writing. In the case of the article by Hillary Reinsberg that I came across the veil is ultimately a symbol of empowerment. A woman by the name of Shaima Alwadi was murdered simply because people labeled her as a terrorist because of her religion. The article reveals that it was a hate crime, and that she was beaten to death only to be left with an ugly note labeling her as a terrorist. In Shaima Alwadi’s case “the veil” marginalized her in some peoples eyes. I thought it was very interesting how in attempt to protest what happened to this woman so many more people around the world took the veil in the same situation and used it as a symbol of empowerment. This put into perspective what different effects the veil can have on everyone. I am glad that the one million women from all walks of life were able to come together and portray the veil as a symbol of empowerment on behalf of Shaima Alwadi after such an ugly crime was committed out of the negative view others had on it.  

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hillaryreinsberg/the-women-of-one-million-hijabs