blog 10

An organization that is important to me is CAPA, Child Abuse Prevention Association.

"At CAPA we are committed to providing a variety of services of prevention and treatment services to children and their families throughout our community. We help families heal from the traumatic effects of child abuse, especially child molestation. We provide resources to high-needs families so they can create strong and healthy homes and we provide educational training that teaches children safety skills and help parents have effective parenting skills."

Our Vision

1. Every child and family begins receiving services without delay
2. New parents will have the opportunity to develop a strong network of support and create an environment for their children that is safe and nurturing
3. Every member of our community will know they can help prevent child abuse

I think this is a great organization considering child abuse is unfortunately an issue in our society. I think anyone who recognizes the signs of child abuse, whether it be physical, verbal, or sexual report it to someone right away (counselor, teacher, mentor, etc).

Reading Gender

Short paper: Reading Gender "The Eternal Feminine"

The play “The Eternal Feminine” written by Rosario Castellanos is a piece of feminist literature which focuses on gender roles and stereotypes in Mexican culture. The premise of the play is ridiculous; it revolves around a young Mexican woman, named Lupita, who goes to the salon to have her hair done and ends up under the spell of a magic hair dryer that induces dreams.
The first dream episode takes place on Lupita and her husband Juan’s honeymoon. The main gender role issue from this scene is the old stereotype that men are dominant over women. Juan, Lupita’s husband, repeatedly says things that assert his authority over Lupita and he even acts violently against her, and makes threats to rape her. At the beginning of the scene Juan acts out aggressively against Lupita when he “takes her by the shoulders, [and] shakes her violently” (Castellanos 3). Juan then proceeds to ask Lupita if they sex they had just had on their honeymoon was her first time, to which she tells him yes and that she will “never let [Juan] come near [her] again” (Castellanos 3). Juan then hints that he would force her to have sex again saying, “what would stop me? I have the strength and I have the right. Besides you vowed to obey me before the alter” (Castellanos 3). This says several things about Mexican culture during the time of the play. Firstly, Juan displays ownership of Lupita by saying that he has “the right” to have sex with his wife. This proves that at this time Women are almost considered property to men. Apparently even religion perpetuated women’s inequality by making women swear to obey their husbands at the weeding.

In modern America, Lupita’s situation would be considered a case of domestic abuse. Although, even in America, laws against domestic violence are still a recent occurrence it is now illegal for a man to physically or verbally abuse his spouse, and the wife has legal options. However, the culture at this time in Mexico dictated that it was acceptable for men to abuse their spouse and there were no laws against domestic violence. In the case of Lupita, her culture and her man are what have caused her entire situation. Her Mexican culture dictated that she should get married and be a loyal and subservient housewife. In the F-Word, the author states that “the importance of being married or in a committed relationship varies across racial and ethnic groups. This facet of a woman’s self-identity is most important to Hispanic women, two-thirds of whom say being married or in a committed relationship is very important to their sense of self” (Rowe-Finkbeiner 133).

In addition, Her culture also told her that it is acceptable for her husband to be overbearing, threatening, and violent to her. This is a classic case of discrimination against women that modern feminism has sought to dispel in society. Women are not the property of men, and deserve all of the same rights, freedoms, and privileges that men have in today’s society. Even in America, we may be a far cry from Lupita’s situation, but there is still a long way to go before gender issues effectively become a non-issue.

Works Cited:

Rosario Castellanos "The Eternal Feminine"

Rowe-Finkbiener, Kristin. The F Word. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2004. Print.

blog 9

NOW

"The purpose of NOW is to take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men."

NOW, the National Organization for Women s the largest American feminist organization. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members and 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Colombia. NOW's priority issues concern U.S. domestic policy. These include advancing reproductive freedoms, promoting racial and ethnic diversity and ending racism, stopping rape and domestic violence, ensuring economic justice winning lesbian rights, and achieving constitutional equality.

NOW has had criticism from anti-abortion activists and pro-life groups. It appears to be a gender issue considering women are only affiliated with this organization and it particularly deals with solely women's rights. People should donate to NOW to further women's rights through education and litigation.

The readings focused on globalization and how the US is so dependent on other countries for clothes, oil, food, etc. Enloe perceived globalization in a negative light, blaming the government for globalization and how it takes away so many jobs for Americans. The sad thing is, America is a capitalistic country thriving from low-waged workers doing back-breaking work for 50 cents an hour in countries on the other side of the world. Just getting a latte from Starbucks can make you realize the effects of globalization. Yes, that $4.00 latte is delicious (and ridiculously expensive) but the coffee farmer who harvested the beans to make that coffee, probably made the equivalent of how much that cup of joe cost...$4 or $5 in just one DAY. Globalization is a blessing and a curse at the same time, considering we (Americans) are taking advantage of cheap labor.