For homework in my Great Works class Monday, I had to read an article called "Powhatan Indian Women," which tells about how women lived during this time period and the jobs they had to do. The article was written in 1998 but was set from the 1500s. After reading about the jobs that were done by women, I automatically began thinking of this class and how it would relate. Some of the women's jobs during this time were to plant crops, dig bad wood from canoe's, supervise children in fields, gather wood, build housing, and they did the canoe traveling. The argument of the article was that women were a vital role in society. These job listings shocked me majorly.
I've always heard that women had the less manual labor jobs and were "in the kitchen" or taking care of the children. Some of the jobs, I do understand, but there are others that really confused me and made me wonder why. Why did women have to do canoe work, gather wood, and build housing when they were always seen as not strong and needing to be doing household "womanly" duties?
The biggest question I had was when did everything change? In the 1500s, if women were doing these types of jobs, why was it never heard of? This is the first time I've ever heard of women doing these types of jobs. When did things change that women were only to be doing household duties and raising the children and why the sudden change? Over the years, what was so significant to change the way women were treated when it came to jobs they had to do?
Monday, February 4, 2013
Queen Bey.
Why yes, I do mean Beyonce. Read the article first!
http://thanley.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/the-wonder-woman-was-created-for-girls-myth-or-beyonces-super-bowl-halftime-show-as-an-example-of-william-moulton-marstons-approach-to-feminism/
So do you guys think male-accepted feminism needs to come wrapped in a pretty bow, with boobs out and booty shaking? Or can women do the separatist thing and assert girl power without the male gaze being the lens through which we look?
Also, I effing love Beyonce, and her awesomeness turned off the electricity.
http://thanley.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/the-wonder-woman-was-created-for-girls-myth-or-beyonces-super-bowl-halftime-show-as-an-example-of-william-moulton-marstons-approach-to-feminism/
So do you guys think male-accepted feminism needs to come wrapped in a pretty bow, with boobs out and booty shaking? Or can women do the separatist thing and assert girl power without the male gaze being the lens through which we look?
Also, I effing love Beyonce, and her awesomeness turned off the electricity.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Men experiencing labor pains
Men experiencing labor pains
Sorry to upload another video but I found this online and thought it applied to our class. The video shows men getting labor pains through a muscle simulator that replicates contractions. Initially the guys don't take it seriously, and one of the women comments that if they can joke about it, the pain isn't strong enough. If you watch the entire video (under 10 mins), you see them in some pretty serious pain. One of the guys even says he's unsure if he is willing to put his wife through this to have kids. It's an interesting experiment and I thought you guys would enjoy seeing it- I recommend watching it in its entirety.
Sorry to upload another video but I found this online and thought it applied to our class. The video shows men getting labor pains through a muscle simulator that replicates contractions. Initially the guys don't take it seriously, and one of the women comments that if they can joke about it, the pain isn't strong enough. If you watch the entire video (under 10 mins), you see them in some pretty serious pain. One of the guys even says he's unsure if he is willing to put his wife through this to have kids. It's an interesting experiment and I thought you guys would enjoy seeing it- I recommend watching it in its entirety.
Male Gaze in Other Class Discussions
Ashton and I are in an English class called Women in Fiction. We are currently reading Pride and Prejudice, and we just finished reading a bunch of fairy tales/fairy tale re-writes. In class on Friday, we were talking about the section in Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth admits she never knew who she truly was until she met Darcy. She realizes this after reading a letter from Darcy to herself explaining how she has been wrong in all of her judgments against him.
While most of the other students in the class (an all girls class--something which could be an entirely different discussion post) thought this to be a turning point in the novel in which Elizabeth matures and develops. Ashton, however, so keenly pointed out the opposite. Elizabeth admits to not knowing herself at all until she is known by Darcy. While this isn't in a sexual manner, it does reflect issues regarding the male gaze that we have discussed in this class. Elizabeth didn't know who she was until the male gaze had "seen" her. I found it really interesting to take these Victorian novels in a different direction from the typical discussion topics. It expands and develops our ability to analyze novels and create new ideas instead of limiting us -- even in a novel -- to societal and cultural expectations.
While most of the other students in the class (an all girls class--something which could be an entirely different discussion post) thought this to be a turning point in the novel in which Elizabeth matures and develops. Ashton, however, so keenly pointed out the opposite. Elizabeth admits to not knowing herself at all until she is known by Darcy. While this isn't in a sexual manner, it does reflect issues regarding the male gaze that we have discussed in this class. Elizabeth didn't know who she was until the male gaze had "seen" her. I found it really interesting to take these Victorian novels in a different direction from the typical discussion topics. It expands and develops our ability to analyze novels and create new ideas instead of limiting us -- even in a novel -- to societal and cultural expectations.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Man's Contribution to Life
Man's Contribution to Life
Watch this short video first (literally less than a minute!) It is a tiny excerpt from one of Jim Gaffigan's standup acts. I really like his humor and thought this fit perfectly into discussions that I'm sure will come from this class. He describes a woman having a baby as a miracle (duh), and how amazing it is that they can grow a baby inside them, deliver the baby, and then feed the baby with her body.
Then we think of the male's contribution. I particularly like the "redneck" voice he gives to the man saying "he helped too, for like 5 seconds, doing the one thing he thinks about 24 hrs a day." it's sort of comical that men demand all this credit for helping make the baby, yet are notorious for not helping out with caring for the baby. It's the woman who must go through 9 agonizing months of pregnancy, deliver the baby, and then take on nearly all of the responsibilities of parenting. While I think this video is funny and accurate, it also is nice to see Gaffigan giving women credit for the miracle of birth, and poking fun at man's less important (though necessary), contribution to life.
Watch this short video first (literally less than a minute!) It is a tiny excerpt from one of Jim Gaffigan's standup acts. I really like his humor and thought this fit perfectly into discussions that I'm sure will come from this class. He describes a woman having a baby as a miracle (duh), and how amazing it is that they can grow a baby inside them, deliver the baby, and then feed the baby with her body.
Then we think of the male's contribution. I particularly like the "redneck" voice he gives to the man saying "he helped too, for like 5 seconds, doing the one thing he thinks about 24 hrs a day." it's sort of comical that men demand all this credit for helping make the baby, yet are notorious for not helping out with caring for the baby. It's the woman who must go through 9 agonizing months of pregnancy, deliver the baby, and then take on nearly all of the responsibilities of parenting. While I think this video is funny and accurate, it also is nice to see Gaffigan giving women credit for the miracle of birth, and poking fun at man's less important (though necessary), contribution to life.
Friday, February 1, 2013
I'm Just A Girl
"Just A Girl" is a song written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont for the band No Doubt. I figure that most of you have heard of No Doubt, and hopefully, you have heard this song before. I think that it is not only a catchy song, but that has a very powerful message about what it means to be a girl in our society. I will go through the song with you.
Take this pink ribbon off my eyes
I'm exposed
And it's no big surprise
Don't you think I know
Exactly where I stand
This world is forcing me
To hold your hand
In the first stanza of the song, the lyrics are talking about taking off a kind of rose-colored glasses and seeing the world for how it really is, and what it really means to be a woman. She is saying that once you remove all of the frills and lace and see things for how they really are, then you see that women are forced to be weaker and more delicate. Society is forcing us as women to hold others' hands because we are too weak to stand on our own.
'Cause I'm just a girl, little 'ol me
Don't let me out of your sight
I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don't let me have any rightsOh...I've had it up to here!
I think in this stanza she is being sarcastic about being a girl. Like "Oh, look at me! I'm so weak! You can't let me do anything for myself!" Society sort of views women in this way, so I feel that the song is just mocking these views.
The moment that I step outside
So many reasons
For me to run and hide
I can't do the little things I hold so dear
'Cause it's all those little things
That I fear
I think that she is trying to say that it is a scary world out there sometimes for a girl. This may even be a coming-of-age kind of song, and this girl is scared of becoming an older woman because she already feels the social constraints that go along with her gender.
'Cause I'm just a girl I'd rather not be
'Cause they won't let me drive
Late at night I'm just a girl,
Guess I'm some kind of freak
'Cause they all sit and stare
With their eyes
I'm just a girl,
Take a good look at me
Just your typical prototype
Once again, she is repeating that it is not so great to be a girl in our society. They won't even let her drive late at night! She feels constantly stared at (male gaze anyone???) and made out to be a kind of freak because she is constantly judged.
Oh...I've had it up to here!
Oh...am I making myself clear?
I'm just a girl
I'm just a girl in the world...
That's all that you'll let me be!
I'm just a girl, living in captivity
Your rule of thumb
Makes me worrisome
I'm just a girl, what's my destiny?
What I've succumbed to is making me numb
I'm just a girl, my apologies
What I've become is so burdensome
I'm just a girl, lucky me
Twiddle-dum there's no comparison
And the song basically ends with her stating that she is tired of being judged and told who she is and what she is expected to do in our society. Maybe some of these expectations she does not want to live up to. Maybe that's not her, who knows? But these expectations make her anxious and worried, and she feels that giving into them is just numbing her true self. She also feels a burden on others, I would assume because she wants help in figuring all of this out--figuring herself out--but many people probably do not want to help her since--according to society--if she would just "act like a girl should" then she wouldn't have any issues to worry about.
I feel that it is a pretty accurate depiction of being a woman and trying to figure yourself out. You want to be your own person, but everyone else is pushing on you to just be a normal woman, to be an "Other." You realize that it is easier on you to just be an "Other", but if you are not cut out for that kind of life then you find it quite unpleasant. Trying to figure yourself out as a woman in our society can be quite tiresome and difficult to figure out. It is a very frustrating process.
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