Blog #14

Part I

1. In the late 1960s and early 1970 various events contributes to the start of feminists’ revival. Due some drastic political changes there was a social change emerging. Women were a big part of this change, often called women’s liberation. There were important political figures whose lives and deaths affected women, both white and black. The Civil Rights movement helped women to peruse their freedom. Moreover, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. made more black women to participate in feminists’ revival. Robert Kennedy’s assassination also triggered many women to come out of their homes and be part of the social changes. Finally, the war in Vietnam also gave place for many women. Many started protests against the war.

2. The protest at Miss America pageant in 1968 was a protest against social expectations. The idea of women was being, once again, portrayed through the men’s eyes. Female beauty was being defined based on what attracted men. Because women had to compete with each other to be “the most beautiful” for many women it was hard to imagine how women could be judged based on standards and criteria. Many women tried to change the idea of women. The began to burn their bras. Additionally, other items that were specially for women, such as make up, were also thrown away. These were some of the protests that portray women’s liberation.

3. The war over the sexes is not over. For any war to be over there has to be a unanimous decision. While there have been great changes in women’s and men’s lives, there is still something even greater to change, the idea. The idea of women (and men) in the society is still the same. While in America over the years the idea of women hasn’t change much, women’s role have been greatly expanded. Today the society expects much more from a women than just her old fashion duties, such as education, goals, and self-esteem. In some other parts of the world women are still treated as animals, who don’t have the right to even think. Therefore, if there is a war of sexes, it is not over, and in some places it hasn’t even began.

Part II

4. Mary Tyler as “liberation” shows a woman who is very much goal oriented. This woman prefers her career, journalism, over a boyfriend. On the other hand, Sex and The City also has single women who are not very much career oriented, even though they don’t have any serous relationship in her lives either. Orenstein compares these two shows because they both have single women. Additionally, she shows their differences by highlighting their values. While Mary Tyler shows a woman who takes advantage of her single life and tries to accomplish her goals, women in Sex and The City are very much different. They desperately need men in their lives to fulfill their emptiness because they don’t see themselves as individuals.

5. I don’t think Walker would agree with Orenstein. While they both may agree in that single women should explore life, they have a different view of women and sexuality. Orenstein’s idea of a woman is more conservative. While she celebrates the female independence, Orenstein doesn’t believe that a single woman should dedicate her life in exploring men. She doesn’t look at sex as an act of freedom. On the other hand, Walker is more inclined towards sexual desires. The exploration of all sexual desires and their fulfillment is very important for a single woman. Furthermore, Walker believes that sexual desires cannot and should not be repressed. Instead they should be a priority for any woman.

6. I can only base my opinion on what I know and see in my reality. While there may be an age where sexual desires and needs are a secret to be unveiled, there comes a time when women need the security of a stable life, regardless of it being with or without a men. In Sex and The City all these women seem sexually frustrated. Every age comes with it’s priorities. These women probably didn’t have an exciting youth. Therefore, they are still trying to explore their sexuality, while the other part of theirs, the age, is looking for something stable. There may be women in the real life just like these women in Sex and The City. However, I didn’t have the chance to personally know them.