Successful FEMINISM resulted women being equal to men. Well, it seemed to be. Women had "made it", cheered Madison Avenue, because they could accomplish lots of things that they couldn't before. They have enrolled at "any" university, joined "any" law firms, and applied for credit at "any" bank. According to corporate, company leaders (I'm assuming they were male leaders who said this), there is no need to have women's equal opportunity policies. The reason is that they have become equal. Lawmakers (also male lawmakers I assume) also mention similar issue; an Equal Rights Amendment does not mean much.
But there are always HOWEVER's. I do not know whether you have noticed me foreshadowing this "however" by using parenthesis- more specifically, to indicate that they men are usually the ones who make such "comments". Some examples I can provide with can include: Childless women are depressed and bewildered; high powered women suffer from stress-inducted disorders, hair loss, and alcoholism; independent women have major health problems these days. Is this not ironic? I mean this is more than just ironic; it is more paradoxical than ironic. Women are in so much trouble these days- perhaps in more trouble than those who lived before the rebirth of feminism- yet they are supposed to celebrate. Their status has never been higher yet their emotional state has never been so much lower. Here's why!!:
The reason I believe comes from their ""EXPECTATIONS"". More specifically, it is their expectations of being equally granted with the men. For instance, the percentage of women complaining because of unequal employment opportunities jumped more than 10 per cent from the 70s. This can suggest that despite more women being employed, and more women being employed into better career, men who graduate with high school diploma are equally likely to get into job that women can get into with university degree.
Similar notion, although not very conspicuous, is evident in The Handmaid's Tale. The Gilead tries to manipulate and deceive fertile women by distinguishing them from infertile women. People in the positions of authority of the Gilead do this by assigning different tasks to fertile from infertile women. Or, wives of commanders are distinguished from "Of" women and infertile women who exist in the low hierarchy of the society. However, wives are still being gullified by the state because how devastating is it to see a random woman having sex with one's husband?
Hi,
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that you think that as women’s opportunities (or employment rate of women) increase their expectations of life and work opportunities will increase as well? If so does that also mean that at some point they will exceed that and demand more opportunities for women then are available, surpassing the opportunities for, and subjugating men?
http://zoes1234.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/the-slippery-slope/
ReplyDeleteIf you read Zoe's blog, it provides a relation to Handmaids Tale and how women are blamed for infertility just as women as you stated don't live up to expectations and how "Even though they are granted with so many things they were not, things they are granted are not up to their expectations."
* ^ _ ^ * Hey Samantha
ReplyDeleteYes that is exactly what I mean. The recent trend illustrates that as more and more rights are being granted to women, more and more privileges are being granted to them as well. I love how you brought that point- what would happen if women's demand for expectation exceeds the society's "supply" for meeting their expectations? (Sorry if I sound like a smart mass in a moment) I think there will be "MASCULINISM" movement. Hectic huh? Like the feminism, men will eventually rise up fighting for freedom and equality from and with women if they are subjugated from women's better and improving opportunities over time (here I'm talking millenia if not couple of centuries). Like the supply and demand theory, when there is excess in demand from the consumer sector, the government sets up price floor to stabilise fluctuations in the economy. Same can be applied into the context of feminism and masculinism world (or simply between men and women). If women are being granted with opportunities to the point that they are subjugating men, men and with aid from the people in the positions of authority will try to rectify the issue.
I also have a quote for you, totally original but derived from Yevgeny Zamyatin. Before I give you the quote... If The Handmaid's Tale ends with Atwood's message that it is inevitable for women to avoid feminist dystopian world. I want to take one step further. It is inevitaable for both men and women to aviod dystopian world.
"""If there seems to be the cycle of repeating feminist and masculinist movements (like the government sector intervening with the consumer and the producer sectors to set up new price ceiling and price floor almost every day)... There is no final feminism. There is no final masculinism; these movements are infinite."""
* ^_^ * Hey Sitara
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I understand how Atwood, through The Handmaid's Tale, tries to deliver the message that women are blamed for being infertile. In my blog, in contrast, I'm trying to inneundo there are a lot of room for improvement for women's better success. However, it may be the factor of them rushing or being a little impatient with the change that has been processing.