Poverty Simulation

The poverty simulation we took part in this week was an eye opening experience. Reflecting on the experience of thee moms’ in the activity from my position as a parent was truly heart wrenching.
What role does stress play in the lives of low income women?
I can only imagine that these women are in a constant state of panic. The questions I imagine they would be thinking of include: How am I going to pay the bills? Where is the food coming from? What am I going to do about transportation, a job and a place to live? What about my kids? What is this lifestyle doing to them? How can I subject my kids to this stress? Will my kids have a better life? Are my kids mad at me? How did I get in this situation? I am sure this is only a few of the things a woman in this situation worries about. This can only lead to a high level of stress. High levels of stress lead to health problems, negative effects on relationship and poor work performance. Each of these things leads to more stress. This puts these women in a destructive cycle that is hard to break out of.

How do low income women perceive themselves? Do low income women feel stigmatized?
Women in this situation might have a variety of self conceptions. Some women may feel like a victim of circumstance or societal structure. Some women may feel like they are in this situation through some fault of their own and deserve the problems they have. Regardless of the position they take the women is bound to feel ostracized by society because there is such a powerful stigma attached to poverty. Any of the social services offered to these women have stigma attached. Low income status in this country is associated with poor decision making, lack of intelligence and laziness. If a woman is in a low income household she is double stigmatized. She is penalized for being a woman and for being poor.

TANF

I have been truly bothered by the information I learned about TANF this week. I did not understand the ramifications of the welfare reform before this week. A five year lifetime maximum on benefits seems like a ludicrous facsimile of assistance. The idea that most states have a shorter limit is beyond upsetting. How can country that claims to be one of the most civilized locations on earth support such a program? How can we ignore all these people? How can we allow people to go hungry?
I was bothered by the idea that people thought those on welfare were lazy. Many of the people on welfare were performing unpaid labor in their home because it did not make senses to work outside the home. As a stay at home mom (more or less for a year) I can tell you that I worked harder when I stayed at home than I ever did in the workforce. There were no scheduled breaks or days off and I was basically on call 24 hours a day. That is not the type of work that allows for laziness. People also do not take into account what working truly costs a single mom. If this woman is earning minimum wage and has two children in daycare she basically brings home $50 a month. No person can be expected to work 200 hours a month for $50. Then there are the time constraints and human costs to figure into the equation which would basically mean this woman was paying to work.
The other idea to consider in all of this is that in order for our economy to work we need people performing the lower level jobs. How would our country survive if there were no trash collectors, cashiers or food service workers? Our society needs to revalue this kind of work and offer some sort of subsidy program to the people performing these needed services.
Welfare certainly needed reformed but TANF is not a reasonable answer. How can our country claim to be a human rights advocate and still allow our own people to go hungry and without shelter? Another answer to welfare must be reached to ensure the safety and well being of everyone.

Western Feminist Role

The question of if and how Western Feminists should be involved in promoting gender justice in under developed areas is difficult to answer. It is comparable to the problem of the United States being the world's police force. Should western ideals in any form (be they form of government or feminist ideals) be forced on other cultures? This cannot be considered appropriate. Should violence against populations who are unable to defend themselves be ignored? This also cannot be considered appropriate. So, what is the answer? Some decisions must be made about when to take action and what action to take. A plan of action must be created.
The plan of action must be extensive and cannot be accurately addressed in this type of format. However, a few fundamental ideas behind the plan can be addressed here. When interacting with people at any level the most important thing to remember is to treat everyone with respect. Respect is an idea that is often forgotten when offering assistance to people. We cannot expect to facilitate change without respect (consider the situation in the Middle East). People must be able to address issues in a way that is consistent with their culture. This means allowing people the freedom to help themselves. The other important idea to remember when working together with people is clear and honest communication. If we want to create an atmosphere of equality it must start with clear communication and the removal of any hidden agendas.
At some point the western world has a responsibility to step in and stop violence. If we deny any responsibility then atrocities like the holocaust occur. When is action required? This question must be addressed on an individual basis.

Disability

This week's ideas about disability have had a very personal and emotional meaning for me. I have some personal experience with the frustrations of disabled people trying to find their place and function effectively in our society. My dad has an illness that doctors have been unable to diagnose/treat effectively. This illness has left my dad in almost constant pain, with limited mobility and with low energy.
The ideas we discussed about the increase in the pace of life making more people disabled is certainly something our family has experienced with dad. At the beginning of his illness the only symptom dad had was a lack of energy. Due to the demands of the working world this lack of energy caused dad to pursue a partial disability classification. It is interesting to note that his problem was labeled as a mental condition in the begging as fatigue was the only symptom. This labeling of his condition as a mental issue had a whole different set of issues attached that I will not get into now. It did, however, make qualifying for disability benefits very difficult.
Another interesting idea from our discussion of disability was viewing disability through the medical model. As we discussed the medical model has some serious issues. My dad had some real problems when trying to address his illness through this model. Many doctors were unable to identify the underlying cause of dad's illness and were unwilling to admit that they did not know everything. Instead they accused dad of faking symptoms and made it impossible for him to receive disability benefits. Our family went to five doctors before we found one who was willing to say dad had a physical problem and the doctor did not have the label for it but it was real.
The ideas we discussed in class about accessibility of buildings is certainly something our family struggles with when dad is accompanying us. Simple things like steps without handrails make many places inaccessible. Places without a place to sit and rest are also inaccessible to dad.
I can identify the idea that disability is socially constructed. Since dad has become ill his life has shifted almost completely into the private sphere, no accommodations are made for his needs in the public world and he often feels ostracized by society. Our family struggles with the social implications of disability and do our best to help be educators and advocates about disability.

Beauty Ideal addition

The beauty ideal has changed a lot in my life time but I don not think that the changes can called empowering. The beautiful woman is still expected to be unnaturally thin, of a certain social class and be very specifically groomed. The changes in the beauty ideal can be said to offer more choices to women but can not be labeled empowering. If the beauty ideal was empowering it would encourage women to accept themselves as they are and reflect a wide variety of shapes, colors and hair types which it clearly does not.

Beauty Ideal

The beauty ideal has changed drastically during my life time. As a teenager the beauty ideal featured a very artificial white middle class woman. The beautiful woman was expected to have perfectly curled hair (leading many of us to get perms) and heavily done makeup to cover imperfections. Clothing choice was specific to the task being done but was always carefully matched with distinctly feminine traits (i.e. colors, jewels or sparkles). The beautiful woman was trim and fit and went to exercise classes. The beautiful woman was also expected to have a career which she was able to balance easily with her home life. The beautiful woman had an equally beautiful house, beautiful children and created elaborate meals for her family around her work schedule. The beautiful woman was always serene and never showed stress.
The beauty ideal has now shifted to a more natural woman. There is now a push to include a variety of colors and economic groups in the conception of beauty. The beautiful woman now has medium to long hair that is straight (prompting some of us to straighten our hair), wears makeup that is not noticeable and clothing is more androgynous. The beautiful woman is extremely thin and workouts at the gym daily. The beautiful woman is still expected to have a beautiful home but has more flexibility in maintaining that home. The beautiful woman is still expected to have beautiful children but she has more options for childcare; flexible work hours and partner sharing of tasks. The beautiful woman may have a career or choose to stay at home. An emphasis in meal preparation is now placed on quick, healthy, tasty and beautiful.
The beauty ideal has changed drastically during my lifetime (admittedly longer than most of my classmates). It will be interesting to see how the beauty ideal changes in the future with the push to include more women of varying sizes, colors and economic status in the conception of beautiful.

Women's Issues?

I am disturbed by the wide variety of issues that are labeled women’s issues. Issues in this category include reproduction, childcare, pay equality, domestic violence, welfare, child support and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) issues. Why is there even a category of issues labeled woman’s issues? There is no category of issues labeled men’s issues. Why are any of these issues considered to be only a woman’s problem? Are children solely women’s responsibility? Are only women affected by domestic violence? Are only women affected by low pay? The answer to all of these questions is no. LGBT issues are technically in their own category but are considered a subgroup under women’s issues. This sub-status gives these issues even less consideration and respect than women’s issues. This categorization system is completely inappropriate. By categorizing these issues as women’s issues society is attempting to perpetuate gender stereotyping and control.
These issues should be re-categorized to better describe the demographic involved in the issue and ensure equality for every person. Another way to categorize these issues is as follows. Create a category for family issues to include reproduction, childcare, domestic violence and child support. This family issues category would highlight that women, men and children are directly affected by these issues. Next, create a category for human kind issues including pay equality, welfare and LGBT issues. This categorization would highlight the idea that humans of all varieties are affected by these issues. If these issues were re-categorized in this way it would help end gender stereotyping and promote the de-privatization of home life.

Third Wave Feminism

Third Wave Feminism has many characteristics that stand out. Some of these characteristics include being individualistic in nature and intersectionality or the idea that issues have many different areas of affect. The Third Wave’s primary focus points are sexuality, power, identity and body politics. The Third Wave embraces contradictions (for example girlie culture) and strives to reject the idea of victimhood and refocus on survivor-hood.
Am I a Third Wave Feminist? In some ways, yes I am a Third Wave Feminist. I take a very individualized approach to defining what feminism is for me. I agree with some ideas from many different feminist theories and pull the bits and pieces together to make my personal feminist theory. This is a very Third Wave Feminist approach to feminist theory. I agree with the Third Wave Feminist idea of doing away with the concept of victimhood. By shifting our conceptualization of those who experience violence to one of survivorhood we strip the perpetrator of said violence of power. If we always view people who have experienced violence as victims we give the perpetrator an unending source of power. I do not have an issue with women who choose to be a so called “girly girl” (although I am not one myself). I believe that the integrity we have inside of ourselves is what matters not the wrapper it comes in. I take huge issue with the completely unrealistic standard woman are held to in terms of body image (although I feel men are also held to an impossible standard) and do my best not to fall prey to it. I find contradictions in people interesting and often find contradictions in my own personality and self image. Through this writing I have come to understand that I am in all ways a Third Wave Feminist.

ERA

The idea that the United States has failed to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is so shocking I cannot get it out of my thoughts. Our country is supposed to be the best model of equality in the modern world. How can we claim that label when we are unable to pass the ERA? We have helped Middle Eastern countries write constitutions based on ours and have included provisions for gender equality in those documents but have continually failed to secure gender rights for the citizens of our own country.
The main arguments against the ERA seem either manipulative or completely false. One of the main arguments against the ERA is that it will destroy the family. This is an outright falsehood. How can equal treatment of gender result in the breakdown of family? If anything this should strengthen families by creating a better living environment for everyone. Another main argument against the ERA is that it will subject women to the draft. NEWS FLASH! Women are already subject to the draft but have been traditionally exempted. This is an argument that tries to manipulate people into voting against the ERA based on fear. It also brings to light another issue. Why are women being exempted from the draft? This hardly seems right and is just another example of how women are treated as children in our society. Women are just as capable and duty bound to protect this country and should not be exempt from the draft.
Steps have been taken to allow the ERA to pass without the usual red tape involved in passing an amendment after the allowed time period has passed. We must educate our citizens and make our wishes known to our public office holders and get this amendment passed. Our country claims equality for all. We must take the initiative to get this amendment passed so that this claim can be an actuality.

Feminist Theory

There is no one feminist theory that I agreed with one hundred percent, however, there were parts of several of the theories that I agreed with. Liberal feminist theory had a few points that I agreed with strongly. The idea that women are unequal in the public sphere, the problem is rooted in legal issues and change needs to come through law making. I have experienced unequal treatment in the public sphere due to my gender. My husband and I had both told our employers about my pregnancy at the same time. While my announcement was viewed as a liability, my husband was rewarded. I also agree with the liberal feminist vision of gender and sexual equality. The vision of the Marxist feminist, increasing social consciousness to change defeatist concept of women, is appealing. The radical feminist theory of society devaluing women’s experience is a very important idea. I also agree with the idea that pornography is degrading and oppressing but I feel it is degrading and oppressing to everyone involved not just the women. However, the rest of the radical feminist theory is rather alarming and I feel is responsible for a lot of the negative connotations associated with the word feminism. I agree strongly with the multi-cultural feminist idea that of oppression being based on social construction. This idea seems to fit in nicely with the Marxist feminist theory of raising social consciousness. I feel that each of these ideas is important to feminist theory and no one feminist theory covers them all.

Gender socialization is the process by which society shapes our ideas about appropriate behaviors for men and women. The term brings to mind ideas about societal control over actions.
The process of gender socialization has many agents. The first thing I remember in the process of gender socialization is the idea that boys get blue things and like rough and tumble play whereas girls get pink things and like quiet play. These ideas are ingrained from birth and are supported by most young children. Any action by a person outside of these expectations results in quick and brutal sanction of peers.
Another experience that shaped my ideas about gender was watching the TV show “I Love Lucy.” This TV show portrayed men and women in very stereotypical ways. The women were homemakers and the men were bread winners. The women were portrayed as needing male guidance, less intelligent and mischievous. The men were portrayed as in control, smart and sophisticated. While this show is somewhat outdated many of these ideas about men and women are still underlying our concepts of appropriate gender roles.
The greatest factor shaping my ideas about gender roles is the household I grew up in. In our home we were taught that each person was equal and should be treated in the same way. This meant we were allowed to wear what we wanted and play with whatever interested us regardless of the attached gender ideas. We were also taught that we could have any job we wanted if we worked hard enough. These experiences led me to believe that gender roles as portrayed by our society are unimportant. Any person should be allowed to do what makes them happy regardless of the gender ideas attached to the actions.