Woman Studies Insight Paper

Status:

Jacquelyn Bresser

Professor Lacsamana

WOST 220

25 April 2005

Insight Paper

            There are so many different places in this world. Thus there are many different customs and cultural aspects that existent.  Through this women’s studies class I have gained much more knowledge about other cultures, opinions, ways of life, and debates. It has really made me open my eyes to more issues in the world. Everything from the issues women face in their daily lives to the problem of over-militarization and discrimination was discussed and made a firm impression.  

One thing that really stuck out to me was the appalling jobs women in third world countries have to settle for and how they are treated.  Women are not any less capable of finishing a job than a man is. However, because of chauvinistic backgrounds and the history of these countries, the society has been taught otherwise. Some of the things I have learned sicken me and really made me think about the world I live in and the privileges that I have taken for granted.

            Privileges are existent everywhere. They exist in every form of lifestyle. “Privilege is in families and neighborhoods, in schools and churches, in government and the courts, and especially in colleges and the workplace, where many people have their first true experience with people unlike themselves and what this society makes of such differences” (Johnson 9).  Privileges are extremely different in third world countries than here in the United States. Many people do not realize this, thus taking their privileges for granted.  I, myself feel that going to college after high school is just something you do.  I was raised that in order to get a good job and to be able to support your family in the future, enrolling in and finishing college is the way to do it.  A college degree gives a person so many more opportunities for higher pay and a better position in our society. For many people, especially women in third world countries, college is not even an option.           The life I live here in Minnesota is completely different from a life that is being lived in Africa or Puerto Rico or Vietnam.  Just because of their sexual gender, women are regularly paid lower than men, given less demanding and less significant jobs, and are unable to avoid this lifestyle. Prior to learning reading Allan Johnson, I never really thought that I may be oppressed someday or not given the same opportunities and men will. Within the history of American society, women have fought continuously for the rights we now are able to enjoy.

            One significant battle is the fight against sexual discrimination in the work place. This war has come to be known as the “Glass Ceiling”.  Due to the fact that women are able to see through this “ceiling”, they do not necessarily realize it is there until they experience the difficult task of climbing the ladder to a higher level within their career. Women in third world countries have experienced that as well as women within the more developed countries. Women have been, and will continue to battle this barrier in the work place. Although things are better for women in the United States, it is hard to realize that I could experience the effects of it someday.

            While reading Enloe’s Maneuvers, I was saddened with how much the military has an effect on me and the rest of the world.  Militarization has taken over many things in this world and it doesn’t seem to be retreating.  “Militarization is a step-by-step process, by which a person or a thing gradually comes to be controlled by the military or comes to depend on militaristic ideas for its well-being” (Enloe 3).  As discussed in class, video games, camouflage fashion, toys, board games, the yellow ribbon campaign, and “support our troops” stickers are all militarized.  Even a can of tomato soup can be militarized by just putting weapon shaped noodles in the soup.  This is something I would have never noticed because I am naïve about what is happening in this world.  The militarization discussion makes me think of what I see or do everyday that is, or possible could be, influenced by the military and its ideals. 

            Maneuvers made me think about the actual purpose of the military in other countries.  It is easy to question their purposes. Although they could be there for the purposes of protecting their country or they could be mainly pleasuring themselves.  This is seen through the military’s excuses for their soldiers raping women. That is absolutely disgusting.  There is no excuse for men to ever rape women, ever. Three conditions were discussed in Maneuvers that illustrates where rape has been militarized. “…recreational rape, national security rape, and systematic mass rape…” (Enloe 111).  I was never aware of this topic before this class.  Brothels should not have to be located near an army base just so soldiers do not “have” to rape other women.  There is no excuse for this behavior from grown men.  Again, I was very naïve coming into this class thinking everything about the world is beautiful and great.  I have been proven wrong.      

Women in other countries have challenges much greater than choosing an outfit, which may be a huge task for women in America.  Women may wonder if they will survive the day with the obstacles they face. 

The topic of “mail-order brides” sparked something in me.  Buying a wife off the internet is ridiculous.  Before talking about this in class I had heard of it but never thought it was such a popular thing today.  The fact that anyone at anytime can “Google” mail order brides, showing well over 100 different sites to find a bride, disturbs me.  I know this because I took the time to “google” it myself.  There are different sites for different ethnicities like Iraqis, Filipinos, Russians, and the list goes on and on.  I could not imagine my uncle coming over one day and telling us that this is his new wife that he bought off the internet.  The topic really interested me and made me think about what is going on in this world. Although some women are willing to do this, it brings up another problem. Obviously, these women are desperate enough to leave their country. This is the main reason why they are prepared to marry a stranger. This is a problem that needs to be fixed in the countries where these women reside. The rights that are owed to women should be given to them. The countries that are lacking within this should start revising their legislation now.

Recently I was in Chicago for a friend’s wedding.  As I was driving down the street, I saw about 5 cars lined up. They were all painted the same blue with pink logos.  They all had a number written on the side and the words “Merry Maids”.  I screamed because I actually saw for myself something that we discussed in class.  Ehrenreich explained in her essay called “Maid to Order”, about the different maid services that employ different ethnicities and pay them significantly less than what they deserve.  “In 1993 Zoe Baird paid her undocumented household workers $5 an hour out of her earnings of $507,000 a year” (Ehrenreich and Hochschild 93).  These maids clean all day and get paid little but still do it because it is better than their home countries.  These women send their earnings back to their families and keep only the needed amount to live on.  Some of these women leave their children and husbands to send them money for a better life.  The maids look at the children they care for at their jobs as their own.    Americans are not teaching acceptance to their children.  Audre Lorde considered an experience she had. “I wheel my two-year-old daughter in a shopping cart through a supermarket…and a little white girl riding past in her mother’s cart calls out excitedly, ‘Oh look, Mommy, a baby maid’” (Ehrenreich and Hochschild 92).  We need to need to accept others for who they are and they will accept us for who we are.  

Another topic discussed in class that interested me was the topic of veiling.  The veil is a huge controversy in the Middle East and even America.  Persepolis and the article “Saving Muslim Women” helped me to understand the debate a lot better.  I knew that there was a clash over the veil but I did not know that women choose to wear the veil because it is a form of protection for them.  I, like most Americans, looked at this as oppressive and something that was forced onto them by the government.  I got a lot out of the two readings and they definitely opened my eyes to the fact that Americans think a lot of things are wrong because they are different to us. 

This class has taught me so much in just one semester.  I feel lucky to have had such a great class and to have learned about a lot of things I wouldn’t have known about having not taken this class. I, just like the majority of Americans, need to learn to re-think many of my ideals and come to accept other cultures. Due to the fact that I was enrolled in this Women’s Study course, I feel like I’m ahead of the rest of Americans in understanding what and why things are happening today.