Friday, January 29, 2010

Week3

1. Naples & Desai- Talked about Grassroots feminism. Even though I have taken other feminism classes this is a new term for me. I can't wait to find out more about this term for a better understanding. I found it very interesting that in this day and age we have such a big split between the races and classes, I guess that may be something that will never change all though I wish that in the feminist movement we could put such petty things aside and work together to achieve a common goal. I also found it interesting that there was such a debate over the terms and how they should be used, like stated on page five (5) " The terms Third World and Postcolonial are them their selves contested constructs." I guess that it all depends on how we look at the terms and how the make you feel. I was also surprised that they stated on page five (5)" Third World"has been broadened to include women of color born in the so-called "First World". I found it very odd that the term Third World would be used to classify people born in a world of opportunity even if they were repressed. On page thirty one (31) Desai said " While transnational solidarity's among women have grown, they are not without problems." I wonder if we will ever get to a point where we can see eye to eye on any of the issues of feminism and come to a global understanding.

Ferree and Tripp-Talked about Transnationals and how it intersects feminism and globalization and how it has changed and the issues these changes bring up. The passage that I found most interesting is on page sixty-nine(69) "Causes of the Shift in Momentum" What I found interesting was the tools that were being used to up the momentum in some countries while the momentum was falling short in other countries. Like Stated on page seventy-one(71) "After the 1990's, the expanded use of the Internet,e-mail,faxes,and other forms of communication greatly facilitated networking globally. I am glad to see that technology is being used to help in connecting feminism on global level. What I was surprised about was the fact that the U.S. and Europe do not realize that their movements effect the movements in other countries. As stated on page seventy-one(71) In European and the U.S. women's movement organizations there is surprisingly little discussion of how their countries' policies and economic practices affect women in other parts of the world." I don't see how we can not see the connection we have to the world with everything that goes on it kind of makes me sad to realize how self involved we all are. It also saddened me to see that the U.S. does not adapt some of the better policies that other countries have put into place. As Stated on page seventy-two (72) "Moreover, the United States does not seem concerned about keeping up with other industrialized countries in terms of maternity and paternity leave, welfare, benefits that affect the well-being of women and of society." I wish that the U.S. would be more concerned with those issues we may have things figured out a little more if we worked together more. However I was happy to see that other countries were putting into effect some well needed policies that are for the well being of women in the countries. As stated on page seventy-two (72)"Most women worldwide,even in the Middle East, enjoy paid maternity leave. For example, women have fourteen weeks maternity leave in Algeria, and twelve weeks in Morocco with 100 percent of their wages paid by social security. My only hope is that we as third wave feminist can some how fight to make these policies come into play in all countries around the world.

2. My questions to you/ As a Feminist what do you think you you can do to help with spreading global feminism? and Why do you think that the U.S. is not implementing some of the more important health care policies for women that other countries have started?

3 comments:

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  2. 2. I think that, as a feminist, one of the best ways to spread global feminism is exactly what we are doing - blogging! There are so many amazing online communities on sites such as livejournal, tumblr, blogspot, etc. where people can post questions, share news articles, talk about shared experiences - it's like global consciousness raising! I remember joining groups like these when I was first discovering feminism and I learned SO MUCH from the words of others. Though it can be used negatively, the anonymity of the internet allows people to call others out on their privilege, show each other new ways of looking at things, and ask questions which might otherwise have gone unanswered.

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  3. It's also a great way to inform and stay informed on global issues. Globalization has given us the power to instantly connect with people on the other side of the world within seconds and we can use this technology to spread feminism faster than ever before.

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