"Claiming an Education" by Adrienne Rich brought up some key points that are still present. I think one of her points that stuck out the most was they way men treat and educate women. As a woman I feel that I should be able to express my own thoughts. In the classroom you definitely "are hearing about what men, above all white men, in their male subjectivity, have decided is important" (Rich). I can't even count how many times in high school where the white male was always played up to be the hero. And the woman who showed "disrespect" (aka stood up for herself) was deemed as a traitor or someone to stay away from.
Also I see the mistreatment of women everyday whether its in the television or on the streets. Women are consistently treated as "sexual objects" by their male counterparts. I watch reruns of Law & Order SVU and the victim of the rape cases is always a woman who was sexually abused by a male. But if it were the other way around it seemed weirder. And the TV always portrays women in a sexual way in commercials and even in some shows. It's always the ones who dress the most provocative who get the guys yet they are also deemed as sluts. A woman should be able to dress in what makes her comfortable without society judging her.
I think that Erica brought up an important point about how in todays world women are not treated to their full potential, but rather still judged based upon the stereo-types that have followed them for centuries. As Douglas points out in "Fantasies of Power" the general public is under the impression that since women have obtained equal rights as men, it is now appropriate to accept sexist attitudes that are so prominent in today's media. Similarly to Neuborne's article "Imagine my Surprise" where she states that we need to be more aware and conscience of sexism in todays world, Douglas relays the same message. Rather than blatant actions and comments directed towards women, men and the media have learned to be more subtle in their sexist messages. I was very taken aback when Douglas described the sexist culture that surrounds television today. How the media is focusing in on the teenage generation and they are just sucking it in. Teenage girls make an event out of getting together to watch shows such as Gossip Girl and Grey's Anatomy. Myself being one of the guilty. Douglas states how girls love to laugh at the dumb actresses on the show but at the same time embrace what they stand for. And it is because of this new direction that the media has taken that girls and women do not feel the same desire to protest the way in which older generations had. Feminism is no longer viewed as a pressing issue in most youth's minds. We are told form a young age to work hard and continue our educations, but we are also faced with the conflicting expectations that society is placing on us to fit into a certain mold of what a women is. It is important for us to remember that women do not still have the same rights as men, especially in the working world, and although we do not have to take on the same tactics as earlier generations, that we uphold our morals and do what we feel is right.
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