So, this is it.
I’ve written (extensively) about the gendered oppression that still occurs in the United States because I think it’s an incredibly important and criminally overlooked/ignored part of our culture. I’ve written about slut-shaming, the wage gap, and about the way women are actively being written out of our history both in the media and in movies, television shows, and online.
I write about the issues that take place all around us because they are happening all around us and because it is so hard for us to see them. Marshall McLuhan once said, “We don’t know who discovered water, but it wasn’t a fish.” Sometimes it’s much easier to see the problems happening for people on the other side of the world than it is to see the problems happening outside our dorm room windows.
And maybe we don’t want to see them. Maybe we’d rather save our judgment for other cultures than turn our gaze inward. I appreciate those people who have continued to carefully and thoughtfully read and comment on my posts despite this instinct. Believe me when I say I read and thought about every single comment I received this year.
For the guys in the class, specifically–I know it’s not easy to recognize privilege in yourself. I’ve experienced that myself in discussions of oppression based on race and class, two categories in which I know I’m very privileged, and so I realize that it can be uncomfortable to contribute to conversations in which you are perhaps not in the best position to comment. I’m happy I was still able to engage with so many of you, and I thoroughly appreciate your willingness to consider things from a different perspective.
For the girls–your comments and thoughts have been so wonderful. I could never presume to speak for all of the brilliant, creative, interesting women in this class, and I only hope I managed to do the topic of sexism and sexist rhetoric some justice. Because you all are the ones who are going to have to face it with me until this culture can change enough that we don’t have to. And if the conversations I’ve had any indication, misogyny doesn’t stand a chance against you!
And for everyone, once again–don’t be afraid of feminism. That’s the one comment I received throughout the year that made me want to throw my hands in the year–”I totally agree with what you’re saying, but I’m not a feminist.” You can claim that label! You don’t have to hate men! You don’t have to burn your bra (unless you want to)! You don’t have to believe that every position of power in the world should be held by a woman while men kind of do nothing á la Mars Needs Moms, the biggest box office failure ever and an awfully offensive attack on “evil man-hating women”.
The only requirement is a belief in the importance of equality based on gender and gender identity. A belief that no one should be fired or passed over for promotion based on gender. A belief that women should not have to fear rape, or the victim-blaming that goes along with it. A belief that the media should not push women into the background of their own stories. A belief that decisions about women’s health and freedoms should not be made by a panel of men in Washington D.C. Women can be feminists! Men can be feminists! Dogs can be feminists! It was a bit of a journey for me to understand that when some guy told me that hearing Jessica Valenti speak would destroy my femininity, the problem was with him and not with me, or with feminism. If nothing else, I hope that you won’t judge women who identify as feminists.
Sorry for this wall of text, but I guess I’m trying to figure out how I can wrap up this entire year into one post. I’ve thought and written too much about this to let it go! I’ll end, I suppose, with some recommendations of the crazy-fabulous people talking about gender equality on the Internet/in film/etc. Check them out if you’re interested–every one of them was an influence on my blog this year!
- Feminist Frequency: One of the first feminist blogs I every discovered, about two years ago. Anika Sarkeesian posts well-researched, well-written videos about portrayals of gender in the media and in advertising with tons of clips from recognizable sources. The first video I remember watching is “The Oscars and the Bechdel Test”, which actually inspired one of my very first posts on this blog. Another A+ video was her TED Talk in which she describes her experience of online harassment for a Kickstarter she hosted to analyze how women are treated in video games. The stuff she went through would have driven me away, but Anita talks about it intelligently and awesomely, considering the Kickstarter made almost $160,000.
- Miss Representation: This documentary analyzes gender particularly in advertising and media representation. I found the both the trailer and film to be incredibly powerful. I think the documentary is available through the Penn State library, but it can also be found online.
- Feministing: I discovered this site early in the year when I went to a talk with one of the founders Jessica Valenti (who has written awesome books too!). It is frequently updated with links from around the Internet and in-depth analyses of current events.
- Lady Business: An even more recent love of mine, this site looks primarily but not exclusively at the literature world, especially Science Fiction and Fantasy. In addition to a collection of awesome 101 posts that you might get lost in for hours, this site includes round-ups of links about all kinds of different topics (the new Carrie movie, Honey Boo-boo, gender in picture books, and cakes decorated with henna patterns were featured in the most recent) as well as in-depth reviews of books and movies.
Wow maybe I should just cut it off here because otherwise we’re all going to be here a while. But there are many more! That you will definitely be able to find if you are interested. There are people approaching this issue from a million different angles, and I hope you’ll try to see from some of them.
