There is a quote from the chapter from Enloe’s book that each really inspired to me to seriously consider things I had observed in our culture.
Trivialization can be accomplished by engaging in comparisons: how can one spend limited political attention on, say, domestic violence or forced prostitution when there are market forces like global competition, structural adjustment, or nuclear testing to deal with.
This quote interested me because I feel like it is an attitude that permeates culture in the United States. Not only with issues pertaining to women, but also in reference to many social issues. The United States is also trying to maintain its status as a world power and sometimes I believe that this is to the determent of many who live in this country. There are many institutions and non-profits meant to help those socially and economically disadvantaged, which are terribly under funded. My thoughts immediately go to Crenshaw who discussed the additional obstacles that many immigrant women must confront in attempting to escape domestic abuse. These women can be rejected from battered women’s shelters because there are no translators on staff and they cannot speak English. In a previous reading this year we learned about the maternity leave and paternity leave that people in France and Norway get to enjoy. This dichotomy between the USA and Norway express the different values of the two countries. Norway works to make life within its boarders the best it possibly can, while the USA works to maintain domination. I know that there are advantages to both separate strategies, but it may be beneficial to work towards reaching a middle ground. If social issues were recognized to be at least as important as economic issues then trivialization would no longer be grounds to keep people silenced about important issues.
Abby's comparison of the US to Norway really made me think. When we read the article about the paternity leave in Norway I thought about the differences a bit. My mom is actually an immigrant from Norway and I am 50% Norwegian. I have visited Norway many times to visit my mom's family and obviously have always been very aware of the differences between the countries, governments, and cultures but have not thought about it in the way Abby did until now. Upon reflecting on this, though, I agree completely. When visiting and looking at the Norwegian society from an American viewpoint, I am always shocked at what my relatives say the government does for them. Our government does not have any of that. I also agree that we need to work toward a middle ground. In recent years Norway has gotten in a bit of trouble by being too accommodating, but the US has also gotten into trouble for trying to maintain domination.
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