Short Post 4/28

Enloe’s introduction talks about the importance of being curious and understanding what, how and why certain groups are oppressed.  I felt that her introduction correlated strongly to the goals of this women’s studies course.  Before taking women’s studies, I had thought I was completely equal to men and society knew it.  But after taking the course, my curiosity has grown and I am able to see how I play into the patriarchal system we live in.  It was interesting to connect this introduction to Johnson’s essay on patriarchy.  Johnson and Enloe both point out that both women and men play a role in maintaining the patriarchal system we live in.  This class and Enloe’s reading has made me curios of my role in the system.  I can now see how I contribute to the system and how hard it will be to change it because for centuries we have allowed it.  Enloe discusses tradition and how we typically considering tradition as something permanent and therefore are not curious about it.  It is crazy to think that we still have the patriarchal tradition of marriage implemented in our society.  Johnson uses the example of Monopoly.  Nobody questions the rules because that is just the way the game is played.  Many people do not question the written and unwritten rules that make up or patriarchal society.  This course and all the readings we have read have stimulated me to respond to my role within this system.  In order to change the system, we must first acknowledge the system in place and understand how it is oppressive.  Like I said above, before taking this course I did not feel the least bit that I was oppressed by society.  Now, I can see everything through a different lens and understand who is oppressing, why and how.  It is important to answer these three questions to understand how we can stop and fix these issues.  Enloe discusses the issues of globalization and women being subjected to sweatshops working in horrible conditions.  She brings up the questions of who is oppressing these women, why and how.  Enloe makes a strong point when changing the term “cheap labor” to “labor made cheap”.  She realizes how lazy she had been which sparks her discover that, “the moment one becomes newly curious about something is also a good time to think about what created one’s previous lack of curiosity” (3).  I thought about the topic of sexual assault and why I had never really been too curious about the issue.  I realized it was due to the fact that I always felt safe growing up and could not grasp the fact that something like that could happen to me.  However, I have been enlightened to understand more issues that do pertain to me as a women.  I have become curious in finding ways to change our patriarchal society.  It is really difficult imaging a new “set of rules”, but after seeing all the issues women face mostly caused by the system, change needs to occur.