Blog/Week 6

I was browsing the New York Times online page, and I noticed a particular article with the date of May 2007. The article title was "Harsh Birth Control Steps Fuel Violence in China." I know we have talked over and over about China and the one-child policy, but I was still shocked to see a report on behaviors such as forced abortion and sterilization so recently. In fact, it's hard for me to understand how the one-child policy could have even ever been in effect--in the eighties, or now. My Western and individualist mind just can't wrap itself around the concept that someone could tell me how me children I am allowed to have, and when/if I have more, they could be aborted, or I could be forced to have my tubes tied. It just baffles me. Apparently it baffled some of the locals in the Guangxi Autonomous Region in southwestern China, too, because they spent four days burning offices and destroying government property because of it (according to the NYT article).

In some ways, I suppose I partially understand or agree with the need for population control. I understand that China is a growing nation that cannot really accommodate all of its people. But there are so many places in the world that are uninhabited. Perhaps they are uninhabited because they are uninhabitable, but with modern technology, there has to be a way for us to live in more places than we ever have before. Keeping that in mind, it's my opinion that the one-child policy has more to do with politics, power, and control than it does with maintaining a healthy population. When it really comes down to it, the one-child policy puts limits on human rights. I don't think its fair.

Blog/Week 5

Sometimes I wonder what it really means to be a feminist. I consider myself a feminist. I'm not fighting for the right to vote, or for the right to own property, or enter the army. I guess I'm not really "fighting" for anything. I definitely concern myself with the politics of gender, whether it be in my workplace, my relationship, or my research. I believe in equality of men and women and people of intersexualities all over the world. But there are so many definitions for that one word, feminist.

If you're a radical, you're a man-hating bra burner, and you want to live a matriarchal society where women are dominating and independent. At least this is the popular conception of radical feminism. I believe that this is popular conception of feminism in general. I think that's sad.

Can women who believe in traditional gender roles be feminist? Can a feminist be a stay-at-home mom who leaves all of the family decisions up to her husband? Can a woman who provides for herself by selling her body and enduring the literal abuse of men be a feminist? Can a stripper be a feminist? Is stripping for a living empowering, or is it just falling into a trap of being a product that a man can buy?

Even in our own culture, there is the potential for so many controversies surrounding what feminism means. I cannot begin to imagine what sorts of differences there are between "feminists" in the international realm. I have to wonder, is feminism really about women's rights, or is it about individual's rights? And, at what point does feminism become individualism?

Week 4

The other day at work I waited on a Middle Eastern-woman who seemed pretty wealthy. She was dressed really fashionably, and also very young for her age. She looked to be about in her mid forties. She looked "good" for her age, but it was obvious that she had gone through many plastic surgery procedures to get her good looks. I could tell that she had had collagen implants in her lips, a nose job, and a face lift, or at least an upper "brow" lift. I was really surprised at the fact that a middle-Eastern woman would have plastic surgery. Most of that surprise is probably just my biases, especially the fact that I haven't really been exposed to a large number of middle-Eastern women to begin with. Most of the middle-Eastern people I see in general dress very conservatively, or are in business clothes, or are students. Some of my surprise at this woman also made me question the standards of beauty we have set in this country, and how they may apply to other countries.

We "Americans," aka, people from the United States who think we own the whole continent, are so quick to carry everything we think is "democratic" and "right" and "free" to other countries, sometimes perhaps even enforcing our values on others. Beauty, although not politics, is a very pertinent issue in the U.S., so I wonder if our beauty standards are also something we've tried to push overseas. The woman at my workplace seemed to at least like our culture's standards of beauty, whether they were similar or different from her own country's.

Just an end note: it always makes me laugh that when men show the signs of age, like gray hair and wrinkles, we call them "distinguished," and consider them wise. We admire them for their old age. But when women get older, we find their wrinkles ugly. They are no longer beautiful. They are taught to strive to be forever young...and by a man's standard, that means forever undistinguished, unwise.

Week 3

Many of the articles we read for class today were on religion and what it means for women across the world. This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about lately, actually. In many non-Western countries, especially third-world countries, women are treated as the "weaker sex," or regarded as not as competent of men. Many of the beliefs about gender roles and differences between the genders are influenced by religion. In many non-Western countries and regions, religion and politics are very much entwined. In such countries, the lives of their women are profoundly impacted by the influence of their country's government and religion.

We have many immigrants here in the United States and in Fort Wayne that have non-Western cultural, political, and religious backgrounds. The United States is supposed to be known for its cultural, political, and religious freedom. It's our "great melting pot." I do wonder, though, how the lives of women of non-Western religious traditions (specifically those that support gender differences and inequality) are impacted by living in the United States. Is it easier to be a woman here? Or do these woman hold tight to the values and beliefs they've been taught? I see many [presumably] Islamic women out in town who are fully covered in dark robes on very hot summer days. They don't have to be, but they choose to be. Many women are probably still completely subservient to their husbands, with no thought that they could have complete independence. What types of internal conflicts must these women be going through? I understand that in their own countries, they don't have a choice. Even if they want to fulfill a traditional gender role, there really is not another good option. But here, they do have a choice. At what point does your dedication to your religion (or your culture, your values, your husband) take over your identity? Is that ever okay? Can these women choice to be subservient to their husbands, to fulfill traditional gender roles, to be followers of religions that call them unequals, and still be considered competent by feminists?

Blog 2

I work as a supervisor in the food service industry, specifically, at a very popular coffee company. I guess you could say that like any other coporation with marketing strategies, this corporation tries to target a few specific groups of people. In my 2 years of experience there, I've noticed that one targeted group is definitely business people.

I work full-time, so I see help a lot of customers day-in, day-out. One of the things that amazes me is how similar and how different many of our customers are. Although many of our customers are astute business men, the majority of our customers (overall & overwhelmingly) are women. (Of course these "statistics" are only applicable to my specific location, but overall I think they generalize for this company in this region of the country, at least.) Many of our customers who are business people are women. I'd say at least half of the business people that work nine to five, management, or white collar positions are actually women. Many of them are very independent, and will be glad to let you know that they are. Perhaps this percentage of women has something to say about our community. Maybe we have a significant number of women in white collar jobs in the area. A high percentage of "white collar" women visiting this company daily could also say something about the company itself-- perhaps these women are another targeted group. At my location and the other 3 locations at which I've worked, it is obvious that more women than men purchase this company's coffee. Because this company is international, I cannot help but wonder what the customer demographics look like internationally.

This specific company also works very, very hard to incorporate and foster an international awareness in its stores and its communities. It works very hard to promote many causes like environmental awareness & protection, AIDS awareness & protection, racism awareness, the need for clean water in third world countries, even the specific needs we have here in the local community. However, in my two years of employment with this company, I've yet to hear one word about women's issues, other than breast cancer awareness walks, which are wonderful, of course. I'm surprised that a company that is so international, with such social presence and influence, I'm still not surprised that my insurance won't cover my birth control or a vasectomy for my husband. I am, however, surprised to learn that at the beginning of the fiscal year (next month) my company is switching insurance plans, and I will be losing my free yearly women's exams and all free women's health preventative measures. These changes are being made corporately, so international employees will also be affected. I can't help but notice how ironic it is that although the vast majority of this company's customers may perhaps be women, this company is cutting health benefits that are among some of the most important to women.