Blog Post 6

RESPONSE QUESTION 1:

I think that this definitely would have been the case. So much of raising awareness and getting your voice heard is through the media. Often times unless enough awareness is raised and you are able to get people’s attention nothing is done! Enough people have to show that they take this issue seriously and care for a prominent change to be made.  I think that if many more women would have received more media attention then these issues would have been taken much more seriously. Why? Because people would know that women really took seriously and cared about this discrimination.  And more than knowing that they cared about this discrimination, people would no longer be ignorant to the understanding that this is ‘normal’, but would be challenged to question their own perception of equality in household duties and wages. I just watched a video clip recently about a movement to raise awareness of one of the most terrible warm criminals in the world, Joseph Kony. The goal of the video was to bring to light how he is affecting Uganda and other nearby countries with his inhumane tactics to sustain his power. This question made me think of this clip because it drives home the point that often the greatest problem is that it’s difficult for people to recognize and acknowledge that there IS a problem.  Publicity and media coverage helps to highlight the importance of an issue and ban the fellow supporters together. Most importantly, it allows you to no longer choose ignorance as a justification to do nothing. Below is the video clip.

RESPONSE QUESTION 2:

This is a very interesting point. I think that there is definitely a distinct separation in the feminist movement in regards to race. I think that people often overlook this separation solely because they figure that any step taken in the feminist movement is better than no step at all. I definitely think that there have been women silenced due to the ‘white supremacist capitalist patriarchy’ take on feminism.  Some of the women that I would argue have been silenced are those of a Hispanic, Latina, or African American identity. I think that if the movement consisted of women of all race, color, and ethnicity banning together to fight for the feminist movement the oppression of women in foreign countries would be taken a lot more seriously.  The United States especially is such a melting pot, to raise awareness and include ALL WOMEN in this movement would touch on so many different women, with so many varying nationalities. I think it would definitely change the global interactions that we see today because women especially would feel more united with one another. They would see another woman as someone who they can relate to who are fighting for the same things as themselves. Race and Ethnicity shouldn’t separate us, but should help us to look deeper into what defines a woman and her inherent dignity that she possesses. These are the things that should link us together to make us stronger as a united force.

RESPONSE QUESTION 3:

In response to your statement above I would say that this varies depending on the context. My mom is a stay at home mom and absolutely loves it. She is a mother of six and fortunate that she has the privilege to be at home. However, it must be understood that my dad provides enough to support our family so that she doesn’t have to work a full time job to support us. Women who do want to work but are forced to stay at home to take care of the children, while their true desire is to be successful in a career, could definitely become depressed. Children can be a very stressful part of one’s life, especially if taking care of children wasn’t something that a woman planned for. Depending on the atmosphere of the home and the relationship with a partner determines how a woman views her work at home.  If they feel fulfilled in taking care of their children and being able to sustain a household that is comfortable and don’t feel guilty by way of their partner, then they will feel fulfilled. On the other hand, if they don’t feel that they are being successful in the home and their partner isn’t supportive and affirming, then it would be easy to become depressed and feel as though one is failing. The following clip is a trailer of the move Cheaper by the Dozen. The stay at home mother misses being at home after she goes on a book tour to promote her new book.