This entry is quite different from previous posts. I'm setting out on a very important writing project and wish to use this post as a forum. I would appreciate your insight and answers to the thoughts and questions posed. Email me if you prefer not to comment here.
Every day life evolves. We face new challenges, find new strength in ourselves and learn something new. As women we face issues in our daily lives that men, bless their eager-to-understand souls, do not and can not understand.
What issues did you face today that set you apart from our male counterparts? What was your reaction to the situation?
The existence of the glass ceiling tells us that we are still below male standards in the eyes of much of the world. Who is responsible for creating this invisible yet seemingly unbreakable barrier? Isn't it true that we often hold ourselves to the standards of men? Must we reinvent ourselves as women so that we are more like men in order to shatter these standards? Or can we do it by reinventing ourselves to be stronger women?
As I look to the women in my life and those passing by, I find that every one of them, myself included, is searching for something whether it be within themselves or in the world. Events throughout the ages have given us the tools to find what we are looking for in life. The suffrage movement gave us a voice, the feminist movement gave the world ears, yet many women today are soft spoken and I'm not entirely sure the world is still listening. It is within us to shatter the glass ceiling, but not as men would, but as women.
We cannot be afraid to define ourselves by our own individual standards, say enough is enough when the days are too long, or take a risk on ourselves.
3 comments:
Hi Bethie! I am so proud of you for stretching beyond your box and meeting new challenges head on. I do have a thought in regards to women versus men. This stems from working with my younger sorority sisters. I find it very odd in our age of technology that men feel it appropriate to communicate to women the least informal as possible. For example, women at U of Iowa are being asked out by text message. Not to go to dinner or a movie, but to meet at a local bar because that is where the guy is. HELLO! I have an issue with this. When did our value as women become so less that we don't deserve a phone call, a visit or a proper date. We can't let feminism rule the way of men being impolite, crass, and selfish. Okay, so that is my vent. I have also found that the women are having trouble being supportive of each other. Sure there are cat fights, but geesh, when did we begin to put down our own and make women feel lower than dirt. I am proud that a woman was selected for VP. But make no mistake about it- I voted for Hilary. I would love to live in the world that Rosy the Rivitor projected- We Can Do It! But I think we need to do it together and stand up for ourselves. No one else is going to do that for us. I am woman hear my call! Your cousin, Becca
This is a subject I think about a fair amount. My main feeling is that while women should of course working on breaking that glass ceiling, we need to be careful not to devalue what women have been doing to further civilization for eons. Essentially any job that was traditionally performed by a woman (especially anything job that requires nurturing) is considered low status. We tell smart women that they must go into traditionally male careers (which are structured for a man who has a SAHM for a wife) or they're wasting their lives. Meanwhile, our schools suffer because smart women are a lot less likely to go into teaching than they were a couple generations ago, and so many women feel like they can't possibly meet their obligations to both their job and their kids.
To be clear, I'm all for women having lots of choices, I just think we need to look at traditional "women's work" with a fresh eye, and see the value of it. When we value women's work, men will too.
I soooooo agree with anonymous!!
Communication is hard enough between genders, throw in the easy
way out (not asking face to face)
and you add to the breakdown.
As for some of the cracks being
created in the glass ceiling -
check out Newsweek cover this week with Sarah Palin shown carrying
a semi-automatic - enough said.
Is this her identity?!!!! Wow -
I can't imagine Hillary ever letting the media depict her as
the great hunter! Anyway, I too
feel you have a start on something
big Bethie - keep writing, we'll keep adding, who knows where it ends up. Becca - I have found through the years that any support I've ever had has been from the beautiful women around me, they
hold me up, and embrace me when I
cannot run.
JN
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