Feminism and Literature: Another Book Challenge

Women Unbound is a book challenge that focuses on women’s studies. The challenge is to read books that focus one way or another on women; the roles that they play in society and how those roles relates to socioeconomic status. The books included in the challenge can be non-fiction or fiction. This meme is an amazing way to concentrate on the roles that women not only play in literature, but also on the roles that women play in cultures around the world.

Level of Participation:

Bluestocking (five books)

Books Selected:

1. The Curse of the Good Girl by Rachel Simmons
2. You’d be Pretty If by Dara Chadwick
3. Beauty by Robin McKinley
4. Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody
5. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Start of Challenge Questions:

1. What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act?

To me, feminism is about women’s roles in society and how the roles that they play within that society (mother, daughter, wife etc) is manifested through a culture’s belief system about those roles. Feminism is about how those roles may or may not be equal to the male counterpart and how we can change to make those roles more equal, so that not one gender holds all the power.

2. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

I do consider my a feminist. I see over and over again how women are treated differently in society and I am okay with being treated differently to a point. What I’m not okay with is so often women are not respected for the roles that they play or are treated that “less” because they are women. One example is the workplace. Often roles that are more female based (teachers, nurses, housekeeper etc) are paid less than if these were male dominated roles or if women are in male based jobs, they are paid less for performing the exact same job.

3. What do you consider the biggest obstacle women face in the world today? Has that obstacle changed over time, or does it basically remain the same?

The biggest obstacle that women face are other women for several reasons. One being that women have a tendency to undervalue themselves and their skill sets. In the workplace, women often ask for lower pay than men. In small business, women will not ask for higher rates and undervalue the services that they provide.

Another example of women being their own greatest enemy is the objectification of women, especially in American society. Women are the ones modeling for magazines and billboards. Women are the ones who become strippers or star in porn. Either way, women cannot be objectified unless there is an image to look at. Women are creating those images over and over and over again because the women who are the subject of that media deem that it has value in some way to them.

The final example of women being their own worst enemy is the relationships that women have with each other. So often, women are measuring themselves up to their friends and over time, friendships evolve in to a sort of battle as to who “right” and who is “wrong.” For example, if one mother is spanking her kid, the other mothers in her group are talking about a horrid mom she is, instead of taking the time to understand that people do not always do things the same way and maybe she needs help and is frustrated.

I think that the obstacles remain the same. For me, my relationships with women have evolved and have become less competitive (especially after I was married). I think that teen girls may experience competitiveness more so than they will as an adult. As for the objectification of women and women receiving less pay, I think those issues are still around. I don’t hear people talk about them as much as I used to in college, which I find disappointing since they are so prevalent in the workplace and in our media.