Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I am NOT a feminist, but...

Today I heard Professor Susan Douglas' talk "Fantasies of Girl Power: How the Media Make Feminism Seem Unnecessary, and Sexism Fun?" My favorite of her many sentiments was her early description of how the media portrays feminists; a group of raging lesbians or insane woman who find sexism in every possible thing. Not to mention they have hairy legs and are hideously ugly. So therefore no woman in her right mind would EVER want to admit to be a f-word!! That explains why women today must always begin their feminist-sounding sentiments with "I am NOT a feminist, but..." It seems silly that the media has taken a very powerful movement and turned into a terrible idea held only by social outcasts. It seems everyone just wants to pretend we have reached full equality and will go on living without a care. The media certainly is giving us that idea! Professor Douglas touched on how television today portrays women in powerful, high-paying positions in rather important businesses. She also mentioned how this makes the media "ahead of its time" because we are not quite there yet seeing as women are still being paid around 50% less than men.

My favorite group Professor Douglas mentioned to be "feminist" was the Spice Girls. They promoted "Girl Power!" which was a toned down, secretive way of promoting further equality and feminist beliefs. The Spice Girls could teach young women that they should always be treated fairly by men and that they should not except inequality without being looked down upon. It was a rather ingenious plan that stretched over a few generations!!

As Professor Douglas continued, she showed us the downfalls in our society. She said that she wonders how Hooters is still in business or how all of those Spring Break shows are on television still if women have been making further leaps towards equality. I found this interesting, seeing the downfall in my own life in a way. I know I am one to watch trashy tv. I understand it is bad to portray women in this light, but come on, it is still entertaining! Especially after a long day of classes when your brain feels fried and you really just need a good pick-me-up. I am most definitely one of the girls she described, the ones who gather in groups to watch shows like My Super Sweet Sixteen simply to laugh and judge the girls who try to jump into the limelight, if even for an instant. So my question is... does this make me a bad person? Or a bad "female" per se? Am I not helping the feminist movement by watching these shows?

The reach for equality between men and women is something not very difficult to mentally grasp but so very difficult to physically grasp. Why? I have no clue. Seems simple enough, it isn't like women haven't proven themselves to be equal in almost every sense. So why are women paid less and why do women have lesser jobs? Will this ever change? It is pretty difficult to fathom a world different than the one we live in now, but I hope whole-heartedly that someday equality for all is reached so that we can all live "happily ever after"...


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