What College Women Do and Do Not Experience as Rape

- I never was sure what the exact definition of rape was, but according to this, I have been raped before several times. It was upsetting, but I tried to just blow it off because I was so drunk all of the times it happened and he was a friend/acquaintance of mine. And sexual assault. I've had that done to me a number of times since I was 16 years old.

- I'm surprised at how many of the rape cases, the women didn't consider it rape. I always thought it was a pretty black and white issue.

- I've definitely submitted to a boyfriend before too because he relentlessly badgered and whined at me. I never considered it rape though.

- I also think that the media portrays rape as "sexy" as my above example shows. I've seen it in movies too. Rape should never be portrayed as erotic, but it's accepted by society by people who think women want to be dominated.

Human Rights: Sex Trafficking & Prostitution

- That narrative is very depressing and sounds not at all that uncommon. I didn't know girls were trafficked into the US too. I always thought it was other places, but not here.

- Are Russian mail-order brides considered sex slaves? I don't know much about that business, but I know my mom's cousin has one and they seem to be happily married with two kids. She even brought her sister over too, though I'm not sure if she lives with them or not.

- I wonder why the US was critical of the international anti-trafficking protocol. I mean, it seems like common sense that it's wrong, right?

- It sounds like governments are starting to combat this which is hopeful. I'm sure a lot still needs done though.

- I really like how Sweden and Venezuela handle prostitution. They are helping put a stop to it but also helping the women find education and good jobs. I think that is the right answer to the problem, even better than trying to decriminalize it and regulate it.

- I think if we try to decriminalize it, the same that happened in Australia would would happen.

Prostitution, Humanism, and a Woman's Choice

- Since when did the media say feminism was a white woman's movement? I'm pretty sure I wasn't aware of that concept until I read this book! This book pushes that idea more than anything else I've ever seen.

- The thing with prostitution is a grey area for me. I try to see the side that women should be allowed to if they want, but I still can't get passed the fact that they are objectifying their bodies into sexual objects. They are selling their bodies for money.

- On the other hand, I see what she means by how they're not protected or regulated at all. The bad situation could be made better if the government addressed these issues. It's like abortion: people are going to do it whether it's legal or not so you might as well provide a safe and healthy way for people to do it to protect them from harm.

- So they're against the legalization of prostitution because it tries to regulate their lives too much? I mean, I think mandatory regular health checks are good because it protects the customers. If they have an STD, you don't want them spreading it around.

Globalization and Its Disconents

- Wow, they pay these workers pocket change. That's why it's good to try to buy things made in the US, but impossible to do entirely. From this, it sounds like not even that helps because there's sweatshops in the US too. I thought there would be laws against that. That's pretty ridiculous but I guess if they're undocumented, they don't report earnings or pay taxes to the government.

- So what are we supposed to do? This is indicating that sweatshops exist both in poor countries and in the US itself. Should we just make our own clothes again? I don't know- this seems like a really big problem that the government needs to control by putting stricter regulations on US-based companies here and overseas. This probably won't happen though because it's hard to regulate and these huge corporations have so much power.

Maid to Work

- I think the wages for housework makes sense logically, but is not practical. I mean, where would the money come from? the government? It would make taxes go up even more and would be something else the government could tax. I also think it still reinforces the idea that it's "women's work" too.

- I don't know how I feel about hiring a main though. I never saw a problem with it because it allowed working women to focus more on their careers. I mean, regardless of whether you hire a maid or not, she is going to find another low-paying job somewhere else. Maybe you just insist on a male maid or treat them very fairly. It's a problem with no easy answer. I guess too you could just divide the housework up evenly between you and your spouse.

- Interesting about the size of houses increase. I'd heard that before too. And the part about people spending less time at home too. I feel that is very true and kind of sad. Families are so busy- they don't spend much time together and the bonds of family are not very strong.

- I totally agree about people not knowing how to clean. They're slob. I live with a girl who admits she didn't know how to clean because her mom didn't teach her. I thought that was crazy! My mom made me help clean from a young age. I hated it, but it taught me good values and that if you live with a group of people, you help contribute to maintaining the household. It's just something that has to be done.

The Myth of the Perfect Mother

- I think I want to balance motherhood by either:
a) Being a stay-at-home mom until my kids are old enough to go to school and work during the day, maybe part-time to start out.
OR
b) Have my husband be a stay-at-home dad until he can go back to work.

- I think though that most men would not want to be stay-at-home dad so option A is the more likely option I will follow and I'm okay with that.

- Seriously, good advice in this essay. I really don't want to be one those perfectionistic mothers that signs up their kids for like a million activities. People do need to learn how to just BE. I see people that are so busy and tired all the time and I'm like why do they push themselves so hard? They're miserable. Sure, they'll probably achieve great success in life, but what's the point when you're so miserable? Just be satisfied with the little things in life.

Cheaper than a Cow

- Is this legal to do? To sell women as like, sex slaves? because it kinda sounds like with how secretive they are about it. And why is it recently that villagers became desperate for brides and sons? Where are all the women in these villages? Ok, so it's because fewer girls are being born but why? OK, that's what I thought. They abort them. WOw, what do they think is going to happen? duh.

- It's pretty sad what happens to these girls. IT sounds like some places are beginning to fight back against this though.

"Pop" Goes the Arab World

- I'm guessing this is going to get into the popular culture in the Arab world because it is becoming Westernized.

- Wow, so this American Idol show had amazing voter turnout because most of the govts. over there are not democratic and if they are, the elections are fixed! So this gives them an opportunity to actually voice their opinion about something. I never vote for shows like that because it all just seems so silly, but I never thought if it that way.

- hmm..so is it arguing that this is giving people a sense of power without actually giving them any because it's just a silly pop music show?

- I mean, I think it is kind of too bad that Western culture is turning these female pop stars into sex icons and that they have to look sexy to be popular. It goes against many of their values- they lose some of what makes them different and unique by adopting Western styles.

- I mean, these women should have the right to be sexy if they want without being censored at the same time. But it just seems like they are copying us and not evolving as a culture on their own. It's almost inevitable though with how technology allows communication and transmission of media to be spread all around the world. Cultures are just going to mix I guess and the more powerful culture will be the dominant one.

From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos

- I don't usually listen to the words that closely in rap songs- I just like the beat and how they sound. I realize they usually are very sexist though. geez I never thought about rap this deeply- that it's a reflection of the pain that black men deal with and their self-hatred?

- So is she saying black women need to distance themselves and recognize that the derogatory language isn't personal? That they need to build a close-knit community to heal the pain of racism? I mean, I think this is more of an issue with the men that they need to work on than the women.

- I'm still not sure what exactly she thinks people are supposed to do to improve the situation.

Despartely Debating Housewives

- I never watched this show so I don't really know what they're talking about. I just heard it was about housewives that have affairs so it sounded dumb to me.

- So is this Jessica saying that the show is pro-feminist? Because it involves girl-talk and the females play the lead roles? idk, it seems like she has some good arguments if it really does bring to light the hardships of housewives.

- yea...but Jen's arguments are a lot more convincing. Almost all the writers are male? and yes, it does portray childcare as the woman's responsibility.

- I don't understand this term "camp" that Jess keeps using in her 2nd response. Wow, so this guy wrote Golden Girls too? Why are his shows all about women? GG was a good show! And pro-feminist too I would say.

- This might mean more to me if I knew what they were referring to about the show. I don't think these women would ever come to an agreement about this show.

Pop Culture is Us

- At least on the Swan they give counseling to the women. They don't do that on Extreme Makeover. At least they're recognizing that they need help mentally too for their self-esteem issues.

- This is an interesting connection between the news and TV shows that I've never seen or thought about. I mean, I agree that these shows humiliating people are wrong, but these people volunteered to come on that show. And the torturing of Abu Ghraib was so extreme and inhumane, it's a ton more extreme than any of those TV shows.

- I definitely think that because the photo from Abu Ghraib showed a woman torturing these men, it made people a lot more critical of the events because it showed a women in power position over a man. I myself was slightly ashamed as woman seeing another woman doing something like this. I had hoped women were better than men in this regard to stoop to something so morally wrong. Maybe that was sexist of me to think though.

- I never heard of this show "I want a Famous Face" but it sounds terrible. I mean, men participate in this too right? So not just women are pressured to have this "perfect" look.

- It also reminds me of the analogy of the caterpillar transforming into a butterfly or the ugly duckling in the swan. This theme is really all throughout our history.

The Way it Was

- I thought most people were against partial-birth abortion. Doesn't that outlaw abortion if the baby can survive outside the mother? I mean, a ban against that makes sense I think because it's practically a baby already. The woman needs to get it taken care of before her third trimester and I think has enough time to do that.

- These descriptions are nasty. So other people's definition of partial birth abortion is different than mine. Just because the fetus is whole doesn't mean partial birth, to me at least. And making her give birth to a fetus with anencephaly which will die anyways? That's ridiculous. She should have it aborted if she wants- especially if it's inbred!

- omg, these stories about when trying to get abortions before Roe v. Wade are horrific!

- I can't believe this author woman went to a doctor like that. What did she expect? That place sounds nasty and shadey. I would've never gone there. omg I can't believe she's going to Florida! With $800 and not telling anyone? You'd think she'd learn her lesson the first time someone took advantage of her situation and desperation!

- Thank God she called her mother. That's the smartest thing she's ever done. She could've got off a ton easier if she had just not been so stupid about how she handled it.

- Very good arguments against anti-choicers. People will keep having sex, doh. Why punish these women? They're get an abortion whether it's legal or not. Let's give them a way to do it without risking their lives.

Women of Color and their Struggle for Reproductive Justice

- What is "targeted family planning?"

- So is this saying that poor women of color don't really have a real choice because they can't really afford another child even if they want one?

- Isn't that the same scenario that Sanger's patient was in, except she actually didn't have any choice at all? I mean, at least these women have an option besides what that poor women had and eventually died from. They call BC population control???

- I don't get it! First, they article claims women used to have no choice but to have tons of kids and now that they have a way to prevent that, they're calling it population control??

- I think targeting people on welfare by giving them BC makes logical sense. If they keep having kids, it's going to become a bigger and bigger financial strain on the government and tax payers. Call it what you will, but otherwise it would increase taxes. And the fact that a high proportion of people on welfare are black is another issue on its own.

- And the family caps? They're put in place because some women have more kids simply so they can get more welfare! People shouldn't be having kids that they are not able to provide for and simply expect the government to keep giving them more limitlessly!

- Exactly, that Martha Ward is right! Family planning really is helpful for poor people!

- OK, the part about forced sterilization is a little hard to believe, but shocking. If people really did that, they should be sued or go to jail. I don't understand minorities though. Why them?

- Ok, so why is it bad to stop women addicted to drugs from having kids? I mean, doesn't that seem like a good thing? And if it primarily attacks women of color, why are so many women of color on drugs in the first place?

- I guess because I'm white, I don't understand what minority women have to deal with, but I just disagree with a lot with how they feel about BC. We shouldnt have to be divided about this as women because it makes our fight more difficult when we're not united. A compromise needs to be made or something.

My Fight for BC

- I read about how Margaret Sanger was a nurse to birthing mothers and how she decided to begin telling women about BC after watching many die from abortions. Didn't she get arrested for it something? It takes brave, courageous women like this to make real change for the better.

- I've started a powerpoint presentation about historical feminists to see what their lives were like. I outline their big accomplishments, include a pic, and a quote from each one. I think it's really interesting and enjoy designing powerpoints! I'm just compiling facts I find into a slideshow. I think we don't know enough about the feminists of our past who fought tirelessly for the many rights we have today, nor do we appreciate their efforts enough.

Designer Vaginas

Just thinking about cosmetic surgery on my labia makes me cringe!

Who would want that? What's considered "normal" anyways? I

have had friends complain before about one labia being larger than the other, but honestly, who cares?

China's Costmetic Surgery Craze

- Why would anyone want to lengthen their legs? That seems very stupid thing to do. And folding eye lids is silly too. I've heard of that before and can understand it, but I think Asians are beautiful people as they are!

- The mess-ups sound horrific! Not worth the risk, the cost, or the pain at all. We are just taller than them because of all our growth hormones in red meat. The just need to eat like that during their childhood and adolescence if they want to be like us.

If Men could Menstruate

- hahaha I don't have penis-envy at all!

- hmm...I dont really think sanitary supplies would be federally funded. I mean, Viagra isn't.

- Wow, some of those sayings like giving blood to take it sounded very plausible! That's crazy!

- I never really saw my period as a way to connect to the universe. That's kinda far-fetched.

Breast Buds and the "training" Bra

- I really don't think breasts as a female sexual part didn't become popular until the WWII era. I'm sure big breasts were preferred long before then. So I don't know where she's getting her information. - I'm sure cleavage was popular too! I mean the female characters in Gone with the Wind and Pride and Prejudice! I've seen paintings of women with cleavage! Where is she getting this idea?

- I mean, women with very large breasts usually have back pain because of they heavy weight it has to support. You can't tell me women didn't have anything to hold their breasts up to help fix that problem until the 1930s?

- That's interesting that homemade clothes are simply made to fit you, but store-bought clothes are made to fit a norm that girls feel they must fit into. Buying clothes is always a trigger for me to feel fat if I don't fit into my normal, small size.

- I asked my mother for a bra when I was seven years old! Talk about pressure to be feminine at a young age! For some reason, I really thought I was growing breasts and needed one! She bought me two and after experiencing how uncomfortable they were, I was done! I can't believe I thought that I needed a bra when I was that age!

- I think training bras are terrible! That's such bullshit what they doctor says about needing them medically! I can't believe mothers actually measured their daughters' breasts. That's completely ridiculous. - I don't understand how they convinced thin girls to wear a girdle- there's nothing to hold in or hide!

- My mom taught me to bend over and lean into my bra! I never thought anything of it. I thought it was just so my breasts were completely in the support of the cups! - Wow, if this stuff is true with the calorie-counting booklet, it's really disgusting. No wonder girls are still dealing with the implications of this shit from way back then today and are now cutting their bodies or starving themselves to keep their "junior figure control."

- As embarrassed as I am do admit it, I once spent a lot of money on breast-enhancement pills and cream and it was a complete waste. They just promise you so much and I've had many issues with being unhappy with my body. I was willing to do almost anything if they promised me larger breasts. I was soooo stupid. Part of it was also because guys I had dated had commented on my small breasts so I didn't feel like a real woman unless I had them. I looked like an adolescent girl. It brings up lots of negative thoughts again and makes me very bitter that things I did to my body and my ball-and-chain still to the unhappiness connected with it.

Hermaprodites with Attitude

- I think parents just worry when their baby has ambiguous genitalia because they want he/she to have a normal, happy life and not have to worry about being rejected by society as a freak. I think that's something to legitamitely worry about. I would worry too!

- I can't believe they do that to babies and children! Expand the vaginal opening? That's disgusting! I can't imagine how traumatized the kid would be.

- So many things can go wrong or not develop properly. You can have all different variations. My mom once dated a man with Klinefelter's and I never knew until two years after they broke up and she told me. It made sense because he didn't have a deep voice and had small breasts, but I thought that was just because he was heavy.

- People don't try to change their babies with down syndrome because they claim "that's how God made her." How can they say that and then justify cutting their baby's genitals??

Inscribing Gender on the Body

- So are they suggesting we reject these notions of beauty? That sounds like a good plan, but is it worth being outcasted by our peers and society?

-I didn't know that about muscle dysmorphia or that many women have it.

- A lot of people are uneducated about EDs and don't take them seriously as a real disease like cancer or diabetes. They didn't mention that in here.

- People have worn makeup and jewelry dating back to Eygyptian times- it's just part of our nature almost.

Women, Sexuality, and Social Change in the Middle East

- So glad we are finally looking at international issues! I don't know much about it and really want to learn more. - This is shocking about the Qur'an! It sounds nothing like the one that's publicized so much. It's really awesome. I wonder who wrote the Qur'an. - So basically they mostly do exactly opposite what they Qur'an condones? Christianity does this too! So much people just make religion what they want it to be and use it to control and rule people. - I can't believe they gave girls virginity tests. And they could get expelled! You would never expect that in modern times today. - Really sad how women in the middle east already had all these rights and they were taken away from them. It makes me wonder how they were able to change the belief system of Islam to fit their needs for control. - So women have fought this movement destroying their rights and have gained some back. This is reassuring and leaves hope.

I was a cosmo deviant

I scored 19 so I guess I'm normal. I totally agreed with this essay. It's ridiculous the way those teen magazines tell girls they "should" live and bullshit about sex.

Biphobia

- I dated a bisexual guy last year and I didn't feel that he was hypersexual- he just was more open about his sexuality. I found it fun that we could check out guys together! It did start to bother me though that I think he was attracted to me because I was thin and not curvy. He used to tell me I should cut my hair very short. It made me uncomfortable that he wanted me to look like a boy. I never felt worried about him cheating than any other guy I've dated- it just worked with men or women. He told me about his homosexual experiences and I was okay with it.

- Never thought about the possibility that gay people could be suppressing their bisexuality so as not to be rejected from the gay community! It's a tough position to be in.

- So aren't people who are bi and choose a lifetime partner of either the same or opposite sex "choosing" a side to be on- to join the straight community or not? If they choose one of the opposite, then are they just permanently rejected from the gay community? How can they still identify as bi if they have to pick one or the other?

Romance: Sweet Love

Very true. Our socity is almost obsessed with the concept of romantic love. Tons of music and movies focus on the subject. No wonder people don't feel complete unless they're in a relationship- there's so much pressure to be on one. I mean, you can't possible be happy single! Wow, this really hits home. I have a history of dating jerks, but just am always in a relationship it seems. I like the companionship and closeness with someone more than anything. I let them come after me because there's always someone there and it's just easier that way. To think of it as buying a car seems too easy. Emotions get involved too much to think that objectively. I disagree with her about men only caring about sex because society pressures them to be that way. I mean yes, to a certain extent, this is probably true, but isn't a large part of it ut due to their biological programming to reproduce as much as possible? Interesting. Very different assessment of love than I've ever heard!

Boys with Be Boys and Girls will Not

- Maybe men are threatened by women athletes because they are stronger than them probably!
- In what sports do women routinely defeat men? This is a bit shocking!
- Her bit about men and pro-football is kind of comical! It's so true though!
- This is why I don't care much about watching or playing sports. I'm not that competitive. Wow, interesting comparison about what women vs. men are better at.
- I didn't know women were better at long-distance swimming! Very cool! Also, didn't know that we sweat better. I wonder why.
- Instead of focusing so much on differences between men and women, why can't we just look at successes from an equal/neutral stand point? It's always about this battles of the sexes! There are more differences within sexes than between them! - Amazing essay!

The Social Construction of Gender

- When people break what is socially expected in interaction, it's very uncomfortable. I knew a guy one time who never broke eye contact with you and it felt like he was invading your personal space.
- I don't really think that people in authority punish those who break gender-appropriate behavior unless you're in a oppressed country like Afghanistan. I think it's more punished by peers and regular people by taunting or mocking them. This enforces that this behavior is unacceptable in their society.
- So she's arguing that men are dominant simply because of social history? Still, how can we break hundreds (thousands?) of years of this trend? Was there ever a society not like that that we could study as an example to follow?

Two Sexes are Not Enough

- Aren't people who have both/neither kinds of genitalia a genetic mistake? Like there are XXY or XYY chromosomes? Or something didn't develop properly during development. This is different from species who can be both sexes or switch sexes interchangeably, which is natural because they evolved that way for survival purposes. - I agree that they shouldn't perform surgeries to "correct" babies that are not completely one sex or the other simply because this does do potentially emotional harm as the child reaches sexual maturity. Let the child decide what they want to do once they are old enough to make that kind of decision for themselves.
- And I guess just raise them whatever gender the doctor thinks they are, while trying not to push either one on the child, but making it up to them what they want to do. For example, go to dance practice or football practice? Want a doll or a truck for Christmas? - When I was little, I didn't really discriminate between what gender I was and my parents didn't push either way much. I loved to play Barbies, but was often the man (mainly because my older sister made me). I also loved playing with toy cars and trucks too. I loved fantasy adventure book like "Castle in the Attic" and "Indian in the Cupboard" which were mostly about boys. For Halloween one year, I was a football player. My dad actually encouraged me to join the football team, but I had no interest. When I joined band, I decided to play percussion (normally a boy instrument). I did lean toward the keyboard instruments though after a while (more feminine) but mainly because of my background in piano. I never allowed myself to be constrained by gender norms growing up. I wore shorts under my dresses so I could play on the playground and I had contests of strength with my girl friends. In 1st grade, I commonly wrestled a boy at recess that I didn't like. My parents let me be however I wanted. They even let me cut my hair short when I asked, though my sister teased me that I looked like a boy. I hated puberty and used to pray for tiny breasts. I am now quite feminine, mainly because of gender norms maybe, but I am not unhappy. I have succumbed to many gender norms with being unhappy with my body. I went through an eating disorder that I still deal with and even took breast enhancement pills. My refusal to let gender norms shape who I am though helps me fight these battles with my body. It is hard to not succumb sometimes. I have joined a sorority, but often feel like an outsider. I had mostly guy friends in high school, but now not many because things often turn sexual when I have relationships with men. I just got a job on campus with composting. It requires me wear gloves and steel-toed boots. My boyfriend, who is conservative, doesn't think I will be able to handle the job. I haven't started it yet, but will not give up because I want to prove it to him that I can. I like to play cards (poker, Euchre), but mostly guys play and I often feel a strong sense of aggression from them. They make comments about playing with a girl and I feel unwelcome when I play and often become intimidated by them and uncomfortable. I really resent it, but am not assertive enough to play equally against the, especially because I'm always outnumbered.

Tired of Playing Monopoly

- I thought we had a class system in the US. We just say that it's not determined by the class you were born into and that you can move up or down.

- Class does affect our everyday lives, as she explains. I have this quote that I like: "It's not shameful to be poor, but it is shameful to be dirty." Basically, it seems that many poor people are very dirty as well. It doesn't have to be that way. Soap is cheap.

- This makes me think of that old TV show, the Beverly Hillbillies where the poor, white trash family hits oil and becomes rich. The joke is that yes, they have lots of money now, but they're still white trash.

Something About the Subject Makes it Hard to Name

- This is like, if you are white, you are automatically racist, even if it's completely unintentional. No matter what, you're screwed. I disagree with this. I mean, if we don't take an active stance against it, that makes us racist?

- I agree that expecting all ethnicities to speak English is a form of racism. I never really thought of it that way, but it is.

- This essay I like better because she actually gives you ways that you can decrease racism.

White Privelage & Male Privelage

- I never really thought that I was "privileged" because I am white. I mean, don't ethnic minorities get preference for colleges and scholarships? They have the advantage there! - Isn't that right somewhat, that men are naturally dominant, at least physically? I mean, you can't really argue that. - hm...yes, I was taught the same way- to be morally neutral or whatever. And I mean, how can we fix treating others as "them" and "us?" Make everything 100% equal? - I mean, some of these privileges can apply to blacks too. Like moving to a good neighborhood you can afford? Many blacks can do this. - Some of these are very good points. None of them have I ever thought of as a "privilege" though. It's a real eye opener! - It's almost like black people have to be paranoid and suspicious of everything! - It would be interesting to see what a guy would write about his male privileges. - She's saying that even white people should work to lessen our unearned privilege? But what are we supposed to do? A lot of things just passively happen to us because that's how society is.

Homophobia

This is pretty sad. DOn't they have camps where they send gay kids too to make them straigh because they think they're mentally ill or something? The Christian people do.
Girls these days are pressured to conform and look sexy BEFORE puberty anymore. They are very young and dress like teenagers to look older. THey can't wait to grow up and be like Brittney Spears.
Many heterosexual women are not dependent on a man. That is just an assumption.
So here she's recognizing that men are oppressed too by filling certain roles? I think that they are to a degree but nothing close to how women are.
What does she mean the causes of heterosexuality? That is studied a lot! It's to procreate and multiply our species right?
My dad thinks people choose to be gay as she mentions here. It's so ridiculous. Like they can just make themselves stop being attracted to people of the same sex.
In middle school, my best friend came out that she was gay (she's bi now) and people automatically thought that I was too because we were so close and spent all our time together. I didn't care though. I asked her to the 9th grade socialy and turned down a boy when he later asked me hahaha
I can attest to this backlash against feminist groups. As a member of SARO on campus we have experienced people destroying our displays, being the butt of jokes in the college newspaper, and being ignored by the administration.
What women's magazine is she referring to?
That's interesting how she says that without sexiam, there would be no homophobia. I had to stop and think about it for a second, but yeah, it makes sense. A lot of sense. Men wouldn't be afraid to look feminine, like the WEAKER gender and women wouldnt have to be scared to look butch and not fitting into their role in society.

Oppression

Kinda exaggerated? I dont think women are known as only having one redeemable quality- sensitivity. But I get her point.
Since when is it a requirement for oppressed people to smile? The victims of the Holocaust weren't. Does she just mean that women are expected to be pleasant and timid or they are considered to be a "bitch?"
I so agree with the idea of no-win situation of being sexually active or not sexually active. It's very unfair to women. I have personally been judged this way and have judged others with those labels listed too. It's just ingrained into us.
She explains well what being oppressed means and why women are so badly.
Very good analogy with the bird cage! It makes so much sense!

Denials of Inequality

I can't believe people think that women are treated equally or even that they have unfair advantages! Like what?

Good point about men not thinking that some of the house work is unnecessary and just the women's "personal choice" to do. So true! It all needs done and taken care of and the men are just so indifferent about it and lazy. (though I know some girls like this too)

We are Using this Poower to Resist

Is she bad-talking feminists that organize "Take back the NIght" and ED lectures? Doesn't she feel that things like that are important?

-~-~-~-~3rd Wave -~-~-~-~

This is very inspiring and motivating. I feel her on how she feels powerless. Those men wouldn't think twice about hitting her she couldn't do anything to stop them. The safest choice she has is to keep her mouth shut and walk away.

Dear Sisters

- This helps me see why women of the 1950s were taught to be domestic. It was perceived as a privelaged life than poorer women in other countries who had to do physical labor.
- It's interesting to look at how rock and roll music lead into the Civil Rights movement, or at least played a part in its development.
- This gives a good depiction of how the 1960s were.
- I never heard of this "new left." What was the "old" left?
- It's interesting that even within the liberal, leftist rebels, the men still had the positions of power because it seemed so "naturual." That's so ridiculous. These were supposed to be the rebels and yet they still followed tradition male and female roles.
- It's cool how some first wvaers overlapped into the second wave too and stayed feminists all along.
- I can't believe NOW in the 1960s didn't endorse reproductive rights because they were too controversial! I guess back then they were, but now they're such a major issue.
- Sounds like women of other races because white were discriminated against within the women's movement. You would think this wouldn't happen.
- It seems like single-issue politics was more practical, but just slower at achieving goals.
- It seems like since radical feminists didn't want a centralized organization, this hindered them from accomplishing major goals because they were not organized.
- I can understand why these feminist groups didn't want any one person to have more power than another because they had all been suppressed for so long, but it sounds like they were not organized. Even so, you still need a leader and this naturally occurred over time because they couldn't accomplish anything the other way. Women shouldn't work against themselves.
- What a mess! Women because enemies over who was leader or not. They wanted to all be equal, but that's not in human nature. There were both pros and cons to this set up, but mostly cons.
- We have achieved a lot! We can't give up now.

Fear of Feminism

- Not only did college students lose aid, but tuitions costs are sky rocketing!
- This essay was hard to understand and follow.
- The government doesn't own our bodies.
- This rings true to me. I often don't tell guys I'm dating that I'm a feminist because I know it will probably freak them out. It's part of me that I feel I have to hide to be "normal" among other things.

A Day With Feminism

- If the women's soccer team is more popular than the men's, than isn't thie UNEQUAL? And I thought feminism was supposed to be for EQUALITY. hmm....
- I like the think about last names because it is EQUAL. It favors neither the father nor the mother. I think it would make things more complicated though. What do you call the child until he/she is old enough to choose their last name? How old will they be when they can make that kind of major decision for themselves? I think family lineage is important too. This would make family history almost impossible to keep track of. This is a good theory, but not very practical when you think about it.
- This essay is cool to think about, but it's still biased towards women being dominant, which I don't think is a bad thing, but is not what feminism is supposed to be about right? For example, kids should have posters of female AND male athletes, not just female, as is stated here.
- I like that peace keeping is emphasized as much as defense in military school!
- If all this was paid by the government, our taxes would ski rocket! (which is NOT good)
- This ideal world sounds really cool.

A Day Without Feminism

- This isn't entirely accurate. I had a male teacher in both third AND fourth grades. I thought they were both great.
- In 1970, women could at least vote.
- I didn't know a girl gets kicked out of Honor Society if she gets pregnant. Is that true for boys too?
- This sounds more like the 1950s than the 1970s.
- I think this title is inaccurate. Even though the injustices women went through are ridiculous, they still had more rights than say, 100 years before that right? That should at least be acknowledges because many women worked hard to even reach that point. To not acknowledge those advancements at least, I think, is very disrespectful.
- Some of this information seems exaggerated. There are no citations for where all these facts came from! Where is this authoer getting them from? In scientific writing, when you state a fact, you must cite where you got that information. Why would this be any different?
- If instead, women passed on their last names to their children, my last name would be "Little" (at least as far back as I can think in my family).
- "unproductive as having kids" I feel this is very negative. It's implying that women who choose to have kids and stay at home are not productive in any way. This is so not true. It's their choice to do that and makes a huge positive impact on the lives of the children. Women who choose to do this are very productive- maybe just not in terms of what this particular author thinks.

Claiming an Education

So I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. Basically I've been writing my thoughts and such into a notebook as I've been reading the assignments and now I'm just going to copy them into here for you to read!

So here are my comments about "Claiming an Education"
- Very Inspiring!
- I can relate to so much of it!
- Is this essay saying all-women colleges are better? Aren't women more likely to speak up if men aren't in the classroom?
- All girls my age should read this essay. It rings so true and is a real eye opener.