Follow Up: Responding to Rachel's Post

These three articles provided some compelling arguments for various feminist views that are both contemporary and outdated. In "The Future That Never Happened", Ariel Levy's discussion of the concept of marriage, the progressional goals of Brownmiller, the schism formed between women's liberation and sexual revolution, and the different views on pornography showed me that there were alternate perspectives that still had reasonable arguments in modern society than what I have been taught and am used to. This article differed from "The Re-emergence of the Woman Question" because the second mentioned reading was very factual, as opposed to Levy's, which was both factual and personal because she divulged her own thoughts and experiences.

I thought it was interesting that in 1976, "feminists viewed marriage as an arrangement that usually corralled women back toward the subservient lives their mothers had lived," as marriage is a choice made by women for the most part, not something that they are forced into. One thing that I really noticed in these readings was that women were trying to break free of the typical stereotypes that they have grown up with or are expected to grow into. In Levy's article, she mentions Mother Courage, a place where women can bond together and work through what they believe are negative influences in society. I think one major factor that is pushing this collaboration is the sexist attitude that is instilled in us from birth. Here is a link to a book that we read in psychology last year that i thought depicts the sexist views present in America:

Children's Book- http://michiedo.blogspot.com/2008/12/im-glad-im-boy-im-glad-im-girl.html

I've seen examples of these sexist teachings actually being acted upon at Colgate. In the children's book, one page reads "Boys fix things. Girls need them fixed." I have noticed that whenever my roommate and I need help setting something up in our room, we ask the lacrosse boys upstairs to help us. For example, we couldn't figure out how to turn the TV on, so we had the boys come down to help us connect it. Instead of using determination to figure out what is needed to be done on our own, we lay back on the sexist framework that society has provided for us and perpetuate the notion that women are helpless.

Even in my first week, I have seen more acts of judging people based merely on sex. In Frank Dining Hall, there is a back room with a TV that is always playing ESPN. This area is referred to as the "man cave". This terminology makes me cautious to sit in there, as I feel that it is just an area for guys and that I might not be welcome.

Another example of how sex and the female demeanor is depicted in our society is represented in the TV series "The Girls Next Door". I thought that the clip below would be relevant to our readings because of Levy's constant references to Hugh Hefner, and how he was viewed as "the hero" of the sexual revolution and as the preserver of the double standard between men and women. In this specific clip, Kendra is having a baby shower with the other Playboy Bunnies and their friends. The girls in this specific episode were acting very unintelligent, especially in the comments they made. After chugging baby bottles for a baby shower game, the twins said, "I don't know how babies do that. Like you have to suck hard," followed by ditzy laughing. Some would view this behavior as demeaning to women and backwards in the movements that we are trying to make in order to progress our gender in society. This behavior could either be viewed as liberating for women, or conforming to this predetermined way of acting.

Girls Next Door- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOLH79cwLBs