Women & Work

In the work force today, we have discussed in class the struggles for women to achieve a higher status and equality in their jobs. Women are not able to achieve as much as men in jobs, and do not receive the same respect and opportunities as well. Although benefits and equality have increased, we still are struggling to be seen on the same level as men in the work force.

For the past three and a half years, I have worked at Hallmark back home in New Jersey. Usually people think that Hallmark employees are all female and those of an older age. Interestingly enough, those that work at my Hallmark are of all ages; however, there is one male that works there. Also, our supervisor is a male as well, and he comes at least once a week to check up on the store and our business. It is interesting to see the reverse effect of gender in the work force on him. Men are usually given more respect and equality within the job; however, in his case, he is seen as equal, and sometimes lower than the rest of the female employees. He is given tasks that are seen as "easy" or "feminine" to which he feels belittled and are degrading to him. One time, I asked him how he felt being surrounded by females all the time. He responded that he felt as though our boss gave him jobs that could be easily completed by anyone of any age. He also said that the way she explains to him the instructions on how to complete the task makes him feel as though he is incompetent and unable to understand her directions because he is a male and she thinks he is too "dumb" to do it correctly.

After having this conversation with him, I became more aware of what he said and began to observe. I then realized that he was right. Our boss was stereotyping him for being a male working in a mostly female environment and belittled him when she spoke. It was interesting to see the opposite of what we have been learning in class. I have realized that it all depends on the type of job that one possesses and the way that you are treated. In this case, it is the male being discriminated against, not the female.

The Acceptance of Homosexuality in Society

In our society today, homosexuality is a touchy topic among people. Many believe that it is immoral and is known to be negatively viewed in our culture. People become uncomfortable at the thought of same-sex relations, and think that it is a barrier to society. With these ideas, it is no wonder that a lot of homophobia is prevalent. Men and women were put on this planet to have relations with each other and to reproduce offspring and continue the cycle. It was never thought of to have same-sex relations that would limit this idea of procreation between a male and female. The Catholic Church emphasizes and frowns upon same-sex relations and unions, which helps stem the idea of negative viewpoints of homosexuals.

Growing up, I never thought I was exposed to homosexuality, or so I thought. My town is dominantly upper/working middle class, white, and heterosexual. If you are homosexual, it is not discussed or publicly known to your neighbors. By thinking I was not exposed to this type of lifestyle, I didn’t necessarily view it as ‘wrong’, but the idea of homosexuality did make me uncomfortable. I thought that they were considered to be different from me and the rest of the heterosexual world. As I became older, and my parents were able to talk about more mature things, such as this, I became more aware of how many people my family actually knew that considered themselves to be homosexual, and I didn’t even know it!

My family knows several different people who associate themselves with the gay community. Personally, I never would have thought that these family-friends were. This made me realize that there are no correct behaviors, norms, or specific characteristic that define someone as outright homosexual. As I look at the personality traits and physical characteristics that these family-friends have, I realize that they are just like those of someone who is heterosexual. Though they may have a different sexual orientation, it does not change the person that they are. It is only one small difference that makes them who they are, not a major focus that should separate and condemn a person in society.

"My" Privilege

During our lecture on privilege in class on Monday, we discussed the “privilege wheel” that was located in our textbook. On the board, we wrote all the privileged statuses, and then all the statuses that were not seen as privileged and were located at the bottom of the wheel. It was interesting to see all the characteristics and aspects that were located on opposite ends of the spectrum. As I reviewed the list, I saw myself fall under many of the categories that allow me to experience privilege; for example, youth, light/pale, white, heterosexual, able-bodied, etc. One privilege that I never really though about or considered it to be a privilege in everyday life is having an able body. To be honest, when I originally thought of privilege, I immediately thought of physical characteristics, like race.

By being able, I have the opportunity to experience many more things than those who have a disability. I am able to participate in many different sports and activities, and have the opportunity to easily move around the environment without any difficulties, unlike someone who is constrained to a wheelchair. An example of an event that I have experienced is in the summer of 2007, my cousin became paralyzed while on vacation in the Outer Banks. Now, he is a quadriplegic. Whenever he visits and we all go out as a big family, we need to make sure where we go is handicapped accessible. Another issue is that we need to take a specially made van for him to fit his wheelchair in. Although it takes time to care for him and bring him places, it is worth it. It makes me that much more thankful for the life I live and that I am able to walk and participate. Knowing that he goes through this everyday is my motivation to participate in many things, such as 5k races in which I dedicate my runs to him. I never have thought that being able was a privilege, but through this class and my personal experiences, I have realized how blessed I am and try to take risks and opportunities to participate in as much as I can.

Privilege

Following our discussion about privilege on the Friday before spring break, I became more aware of issues of privilege regarding the “privilege wheel” located in our textbooks. I looked over the privilege statuses and the devalued statuses and began to look at what characteristics could be associated with me. Last semester, I read the Peggy MacIntosh article in my Diversity in Elementary Education class, and as an assignment, we were to classify ourselves with different privilege categories that were discussed in class. We only went over a few, but now I see how many are under each category.

Throughout break, I took a more in-depth look at my surroundings trying to see if the “privilege wheel” was accurate. From my observations, many of them are true. For example, I had to make a trip to the Verizon Wireless store on Friday. Many of the employees were of the black race that were working in the technical support area, with just one employee working behind the counter that was white. As I sat back and observed, I saw the way the customers talked and treated the employees. The majority of the customers (all of which were white) continually talked down to the employees that were black as though they did not comprehend anything that was being said. You could see the frustration of the employees as they were being talked down upon.

With this example, I saw that people of color do experience the “devalued status” on the “privilege wheel”. Another prevalent example I saw dealt with people that were elderly. Personally, after seeing many different examples, I unfortunately do see this wheel as being truthful. However, I do believe that privilege is wrong. People who are seen as privileged do not earn it, but are given it due to the characteristics that they are born with and cannot be changed. It is unfortunate that we live in a society that relies on unchangeable characteristics in order to receive benefits from others.

Relationships & Romance Influences

My perceptions of romance and relationships have been influenced mostly by my parents. They have been married for 23 years (and dating on and off since the start of high school), and the way that they treat each other and their personal values and morals of relationships/romance have been taught and instilled in my two younger sisters and myself. The love and respect that they show between each other and towards my sisters and me has also influenced my idea of what to look for in relationships and romance as well. I have become a strong female and understand the characteristics to look for and possess in a relationship, and hopefully will model after them.

If I were a member of the opposite sex, I feel that my perceptions and influences might be slightly different. As a female, we tend to overanalyze everything in a relationship, and look for it to be perfect. I feel as though men are more impulsive in relationships, and do not focus on feelings that are attached to relationships and romance. Their idea of romance is more physical, rather than the emotional aspect that the females tend to express. I also believe that if I was a male, my influences would not be my parents. Instead, they would most likely be from television, movies, my friends, etc. I think that a male’s influences are less personal than females.

Inscribing Gender on the Body

In our society today, the body and what the public thinks it should look like have significantly changed throughout the past few decades. Early on, women were seen as “beautiful” with curvaceous bodies and embracing not just their outer beauty, but mostly their inner beauty.
Today, the media has corrupted the idea of a beautiful woman, and has focused more on the aspects of outer beauty and the “ideal” woman. Women are viewed today as “beautiful” when they are extremely thin, almost to the point of where bones are visible. The sad truth is that it is the norms to see women of all ages follow this concept developed and projected by the media through television, magazines, advertisements, etc.
Media constructions of the female body are seen through seven different advertisement techniques. These include objectification, dismemberment, obsession with thinness, silencing, infantilization, ageism, and violence against women. The most popular technique that is easily seen by anyone is the obsession with thinness. The advertisement method is shown through models in magazines, and even famous actresses and singers. Thinness has become a culture norm in our society that targets women to strive to be thin, because if you are not, then you are not considered to be as “beautiful” as someone that is.
All these ideas of the way that women should look like and act are extremely self-degrading. Women are beautiful no matter what size, color, age, etc. they are. The female body is beautiful, and women do not need the media or anyone else to tell them that.

Third Wave Feminism

Third Wave feminism started to begin in the early 1990’s. It was a very individualistic Wave, much different than the First and Second Waves that had occurred beforehand. The women associated with the Third Wave were criticized for not being political enough and focusing more on their sexuality, power, and body. Many characteristics include individual empowerment through their sexuality and embracing the idea of “girlie culture”, which was the idea to embrace femininity and reclaim their sexuality. Instead of regular protests, Third Wave feminists participated in “radical cheerleaders”. These groups would show up at political events, protests, etc. and dress in outlandish outfits and cheer about what it meant to be a woman.

This Wave was extremely controversial between the Second Wave. They believed that all the work they contributed had been forgotten through the new ideas and characteristics of this more modern Wave.

Overall, I do not know if I would consider myself to be a Third Wave feminist, for I do not know if I consider myself a feminist yet. Between all three Waves, I do believe that I would associate myself with the Third Wave more because the characteristics of them are portrayed in our society today and have been around since my generation was born. I do believe that women should be allowed to embrace their sexuality and individualism to provide the public with knowledge about feminism.

First Wave Strategies

One strategy that was used during the First Wave was the idea of unity. First Wave feminists wanted to be a united group of women who all had one cause that they were fighting for (in this case, feminism). This strategy was effective for them during this time because it helped inform the public, especially other women, about the issues of feminism and how they wanted to fix and change them. It also allowed them to get their voices heard about the topics and showing the inequality that women had in society. The several united groups that were formed hosted many conventions to plan out their strategies and tactics used to voice their ideas and issues concerning feminism.

In today’s society, I believe that the strategy of having one group to take a stand against feminism and have their voice heard would not be as effective as it was back during the age of the First Wave. This is because, in our society today, we have many different opinions and ideas that are voiced which I personally believe would cause conflict within this strategy of one group. That is also a cause of the reason why many protests back then were peaceful and resulted in parades. Today, they are more. Organization is also hard have when there are many people with different beliefs forming all different types of associations and groups. Overall, this would make it hard for feminists to use one of the First Wave’s strategies.

Feminist Theories

From what I have learned about the different feminist theories, I think the most persuasive type is liberal feminism. I find this the most persuasive because of the motives and reasons that it possesses. Liberal feminism states women’s oppression is rooted in the lack of opportunity and education. In the lecture on Monday, January 26, Professor Davis said that this theory’s key is the demand for equal access, economic power, and education.

Women are considered to be unequal in the public sphere. I find their vision for equality is the most influential and realistic. The vision states that their goal is gender justice and sexual equality by removing legal constraints. This vision persuades me the most because situations with this occur in everyday occurrences. Economic power and education are a major part of our society and where we see feminist problems occurring.

Economic power and status and educational opportunities are limited in some societies, and both have a connection and relation between each other. Economic power and status in a job can reflect the type of education you received. Education can be limited and bias towards the female gender, which I find to be an important issue that needs to be looked at and fought for.

All of the other theories are persuasive as well, but for different reasons. Liberal feminism has a broader range of topics, and I feel as though it allows more women to associate with it and their ideas than the others.

Gender Socialization

Gender socialization is through a process where we are taught and learn the appropriate thinking and behaviors associated with being a boy or girl in our culture. In today’s society, it is a highly talked about topic, in which it has the ability to effect the development of boys and girls. When one is born, they are automatically taught gender socialization even though they are not old enough to know and understand the concept; for example, in class today, we did a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ activity with onesies for babies. These onesies were directed towards either a baby boy or a baby girl. They were in coordinating colors that were linked to a specific gender, and had a ‘looking for’ description for the opposite gender. Automatically we associate specific objects, toys, colors, etc. with a specific gender. Parents, family, friends, and society are major influences for this behavior.

Personally, I believe that the most powerful influences that have shaped my conception of femininity and masculinity are those that were around me at a young age; for example, my parents, close family friends, etc. Since I am the oldest child, I was automatically given clothing, toys, etc. that reflected the characteristics of a ‘girl’. As I grew older, my parents never forced me to try different things, but allowed my free choice. This led me to participate in sports, such as soccer and softball, which I continued to play throughout high school. Many of my friends were forced to do dance because it is a common thing for ‘little girls’ to partake in. Although at times I wished my parents forced me to do dance, I believe that they didn’t because they wanted me to be able to have a choice of what I wanted to do. Because I have grown up in a household primarily of girls (my dad is the only male), it has allowed me to try harder to view the conceptions of femininity and masculinity that our society has.