Short Post 3/29

The readings for class today made me take a second to question many norms that I have grown up with and always taken for granted. Dalla Costa’s writing about the wages for housework was a revolutionary idea for me. I am still not sure whether I agree with this movement, but it did raise some strong points. I began to wonder how it is that the majority of the housework came to fall on the shoulders of women. It really is an interesting phenomenon that this is a common trend in almost all cultures across the globe. I loved the fact that she talked about how this is an opportunity for women to unite. One of the biggest difficulties that the feminist movement faces is that it is applicable to people across such a varied span of economic and social situations. It is hard to gain support for a movement that means so many different things to different people. Last week I watched a documentary called “Beyond Belief” which featured a Colgate graduate who lost her husband in 9/11. The documentary told the story of her coming together with another 9/11 widow and creating a non-profit organization that helped widows in Afghanistan. I feel like this documentary related a lot to the Dalla Costa writing because it showed how women from two very different cultures can bond over the common aspects of their struggle. It was amazing to see these women take a step back from their own grief and empathize with women in a country that is considered to be the enemy. When the two American women traveled to Afghanistan and met the women that they were helping through there organization it was clear how much in common they had. At one point they said that “a mother is a mother is a mother” the tasks and fears that a mother must confront are similar no matter where in the world you are. While housework may be a weakness that women must deal with it can be changed into a power because it does unite women. At the end of the day both the American women and the Afghani women were worried about creating a safe and happy home for their children. This underlying desire was enough to surpass incredible amounts of hated and that is a really powerful thing. The link to the website for Beyond Belief is:

http://www.beyondthe11th.org/index.php