Follow-Up: Rachel's Post 10/26/10

In Chapters 3 and 4 of The Curious Feminist, Cynthia Enloe brings attention to the industrial maneuvering of large companies for their own benefit at the expense of foreign women. Enloe addresses the fact that "commercial rivalry [is] replacing military posturing" (Enloe 43) as a result of Reebok's opening in Moscow, and that Asian women are forced to make sneakers in order to deal with change in culture in an environment where "Troops sexually assault women workers, stripping, fondling, and raping them 'as a control mechanism for suppressing women's engagement in the labor movement,'" according to Jeong-Lim Nam of Hyosung Women's University in Taegu. I found this present situation to be infuriating. No human being should be forced to work in dangerous conditions where they have to deal with daily humiliations and little reward for this constant torture. Just because they are willing to work hard for their family because of Confucian values, and want to fullfill their patriotic duty does not mean that they taken advantage of by their government and large corporations. I liked how Cynthia Enloe implied that this conflict is about recognizing the value of both human beings and women. Recently, I have been on the Nike website trying to design a customized shoe in my spare time to ask for for Christmas. Enloe's points are definitely going to make me think again before I that new pair of Nikes.