fem·i·nism – the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

1. Nowhere in this blog does Ms. Caputo compare how we treat women and how we treat men in our society. This causes some confusion about where exactly her title as a, “feminist,” stems from.

2. I agree with her however, that women should not be objectified. In the reading of the Japanese Court Journals, it was shown that women who lived the domestic life were in fact, basically slaves. They were given a position in the household and were expected to carry out that duty, as well as obeying their husband. This practice puts a stigma on women of that time period, one where men have total control over women. This can be related to what Caputo was saying, in that today’s women aren’t, “slaves,” of their position, but slaves of their beauty and the way society portrays how a woman, “should,” look.

School dances are something every teenager can experience while in high school. In my opinion, I love being able to get dressed up, take pictures, go out to dinner and dancing! For me, dances are a great event and a way to have fun with your friends. Not all people are the same though. Some girls and even guys may feel uncomfortable at school dances. This is okay too! Dances aren’t for everyone. If a girl turns a guy down to a dance they shouldn’t be labeled as this mean, horrible person. There is no rule that says the girl has to say “yes” if a guy asks her. She also doesn’t have to explain why her answer is no. A simple “no thank you” is kind enough and guys should respect her answer rather than needing an explanation. It all comes down to roles in society. Many teenage girls will not say “no” to a boy even if they truly would not like to go to the dance. As females, we may just answer “yes” because it’s what everyone around us wants us to do and because we don’t want to look like a mean person. The female in the blog relates to the Japanese Court Journals (especially in When I Make Myself Imagine). In the journals it talks about how Shikibu feels thinking about the women who naturally just play the roles society wants them to play. “Yet they have had no opportunity to find out what the world is like”. This quote goes with the prom blog because if we don’t do what we believe in, than you will never know what the world has for you. All in all, females can make their own decisions and worry about themselves first instead of going with what is expected of them.

But there's a huge difference right now than before, and hopefully it will get better and better, because to my mind, there's no reason to make a difference between men and women besides physically differences. I'm pretty sure that most of the time women are more intelligent than men in certain domain.

After reading the Prom Blog and based on my personal experiences, I do not think it is fair for a girl to be labeled negatively for turning down someone who asked her to a dance. If a girl is not comfortable with the idea of attending a dance with someone, she should not feel obligated to say yes. It is because of today’s standards for women that most girls feel this pressure. I fully understand how nerve-racking and the amount of courage needed for guys to ask a girl to a dance, especially if it is in a very public way. There is no easy way to deny someone but I think that it is possible to do so without receiving a bad name. When doing so, a girl should be very respectful and polite as possible. “Thank you” is also a necessity. Getting asked to a dance is a compliment, and should be treated that way. I do believe that if one decides to reject someone, they owe the person some sort of an explanation. If a girl is very rude, unappreciative and cold in her rejection, then she fully deserves to have a bad label. The main connection between The Japanese Court Journals and the Prom Blog is the theme of the expected role that women have. It is made clear in both passages that women have a specific role to fulfill in order to be accepted among society. In the Prom Blog, the writer clearly points out all of the faults with societies expectations of today’s girls when it comes to high school dances. The writer goes against these norms and stands up for the right to her own decision. She clearly does not feel pressured by the societal norms. On the other hand, in The Japanese Court Journals, the women felt trapped in a world that revolved around men. She was very depressed and had no confidence in her decisions or sense of independence. Nonetheless, women and men are equal. Both genders should give each other the respect they deserve and treat others as they would want to be treated.

After reading the Prom Blog and based on my personal experiences, I do not think it is fair for a girl to be labeled negatively for turning down someone who asked her to a dance. If a girl is not comfortable with the idea of attending a dance with someone, she should not feel obligated to say yes. It is because of today’s standards for women that most girls feel this pressure. I fully understand how nerve-racking and the amount of courage needed for guys to ask a girl to a dance, especially if it is in a very public way. There is no easy way to deny someone but I think that it is possible to do so without receiving a bad name. When doing so, a girl should be very respectful and polite as possible. “Thank you” is also a necessity. Getting asked to a dance is a compliment, and should be treated that way. I do believe that if one decides to reject someone, they owe the person some sort of an explanation. If a girl is very rude, unappreciative and cold in her rejection, then she fully deserves to have a bad label. The main connection between The Japanese Court Journals and the Prom Blog is the theme of the expected role that women have. It is made clear in both passages that women have a specific role to fulfill in order to be accepted among society. In the Prom Blog, the writer clearly points out all of the faults with societies expectations of today’s girls when it comes to high school dances. The writer goes against these norms and stands up for the right to her own decision. She clearly does not feel pressured by the societal norms. On the other hand, in The Japanese Court Journals, the women felt trapped in a world that revolved around men. She was very depressed and had no confidence in her decisions or sense of independence. Nonetheless, women and men are equal. Both genders should give each other the respect they deserve and treat others as they would want to be treated.

The article I read was about a proud lesbian feminist, it was very interesting... This feminist explains the differences of feminism to lesbianism one of them being that feminists support women not being objectified. This article can be compared to the Japanese court journals because both support the feminist power. Another comparison I made was that the Court Journals were written by strong influential women with a great skill in literature as well.