https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb Firestone, Bartky, and "She's Beautiful When She's Angry" en-us 2017-12-29 07:28:47 UTC 2017-12-29 07:28:49 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Brightnessdown.png inunez5 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136612 Sandra Bartky’s “Toward a Phenomenology of Feminist Consciousness,” was an incredible piece to read.There were many pieces of the text that strongly resonated with me and I really enjoyed the way in which she wrote her piece. One of the things that i loved right off of the bat was the fact that right at the beginning, Bartky mentioned that, “To be a feminist, one has first to become one” (425). I adored the fact that she mentioned this at the beginning stages of her piece because I truly believe in that declaration. I believe that it is imperative for one to exercise what we preach and believe and to devote much more to those those things that we are passionate about. And, I think that this is extremely relevant when it comes to feminism. To me, it is not only about the more superficial parts of the feminist movement, that being equality and such; it is more about developing that “feminist consciousness” that Bartky emphasized. Developing that “feminist consciousness” is paramount because it further develops that personal connection to the movement and as mentioned by Bartky, the “feminist consciousness is a joyous consciousness of one's own power, of the possibility of unprecedented personal growth and the release of energy long suppressed” (431). Developing that feminist consciousness comprises the recognition of one’s “power”; the fact that one is much more than a simple individual; it is recognizing the great capacity that one has to create change within one’s self and society altogether. These are important ideals that I uphold because I really do think that feminism and becoming a feminist also heavily relies on us valuing ourselves and becoming confident and unafraid of the boxes and social constructs we are pushed into.

]]> 2017-12-29 07:28:47 UTC https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136612 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136614 While reading this overview about the different cases of the feminist revolution it had helped me understand the overall concept more about how different groups of feminism can be drastically different but have similar messages. Where myself trying to figure out the different ideas of feminism and how the “traditional view” of being a feminist can be altered to still have the same concept but not only focusing on a certain type of oppressor. That being said, the concept of being apart of these types of feminist groups they seem to have focused on a certain topic and not addressing the overall message. From page 32 it explains, “They lose sight of the primary struggle...they just talk about taking care of kids all the time”. Where to me it shows how even though these feminist movements were greatly influenced by the civil rights movement from women of color, they still try and remain in the same cycle. In which to me I felt that women of color since they were such a big influence towards showing the rights that women deserve but are the last to be given a light to speak of the feminist movement. Where based on the reading I was able to analyze the different sides of being in different feminist groups and how for some I understand why they choose that message and not only relying on the traditional view of how men are the major oppressor.  Towards the concept of being radical, I honestly feel that it has different layers on why someone may call themselves a radical and why there are certain negative connotations towards being passionate about a movement that may affect.]]> 2017-12-29 07:28:48 UTC https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136614 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136617 Bartky's intend in her paper "Toward A Phenomenology of Feminist Consciousness" was to, instead focusing on the phenomenon of female liberation, but on the study of transformation of female consciousness and its contribution to feminists movement. Even for the classical studies of Marxism, social consciousness had often been related to a material condition, which is part of the structure of capitalism, and thus not being taken seriously. The correlation between the consciousness between social and economical relationship for female has not been really studied until the feminist movement, and even though, as Firestone listed in her book, that feminists have taken various approaches and ideologies to address the female identities and their roles in politics, those sparks of new ideas allowed the oppressed female to apprehend their political positions. This awareness of being oppressed enabled female to see the possibilities of them taking a different role in politics in order to empower themselves, and thus help them envision to abolish the system that has been contributing to the root of the current inequality. Bartky said "feminist consciousness is consciousness of victimization", which is reflected in the film "She's beautiful when she's angry." The housewives started to realize the feeling of oppression was a huge shared problem among all the women, and things could have turned out differently if the power structure could have changed. They realized when female were to keep being an oppressed role in sex, family, relationship and workplace, they would always be an auxiliary power to men politically. This realization and dissatisfaction and its resulting struggles to eradicate traditional power system was among the social political upheavals and student movements of the 60's. It would be hard to say if feminist movement was a result of this time of active mind, or if feminist movement contributed to a great surge of activism and the anger and courage to challenge a long-established yet problematic system.  ]]> 2017-12-29 07:28:48 UTC https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136617 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136619 I loved this documentary! I thought it was super uplifting and powerful. These women were truly revolutionary and driven people. The parts that really shocked me was the part towards the beginning with the newspaper job postings. I had no idea that jobs were listed as either "for men" or "for women." That was baffling. I wonder what would happen if that was publicized for a job today. What's interesting and sad to think about is that probably some jobs still have genders in mind when they have job postings, they just no longer make it public. That really stood out to me. The other part that I was taken aback by was the section about abortions. I knew that there were people who facilitated illegal abortions, but I had no idea there were 11,000 ILLEGAL abortions done over the course of just a few years. That is insane, but also incredible that these women stood up for what they believed in and fought the system. Lastly, the other part I was surprised by was the footage of the men being interviewed. They were there in "support" of the Women's Liberation Movement, but the things that they were saying were so misogynistic. It was crazy to hear the things they actually were saying. For example "I don't understand why women weren't happy being take care of before." Or things along those lines.
I am usually not a huge documentary fan, but I found this to be very informative, inspiring, and overall really great to watch, especially as a woman. ]]> 2017-12-29 07:28:48 UTC https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136619 aharwood4 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136620 For this session, I decided to comment on She’s Angry When She’s Beautiful because of the manner in which the film was able to evoke certain lines of thought. For example, I was aware of the fact that most feminists had developed their origins through the participation in the civil rights movement. That said, I was under the impression that their participation was miniscule and ultimately secondary. The clips from the documentary proved otherwise, as it projected powerful forms of video in which both women of colour as well as white women had marched together. Moreover, this particular segment of the documentary shed light on the fact that women of colour were, in some ways, the pioneers of the second wave. As made clear by many of the women interviewed, their involvement with the civil rights movement taught them the necessary skills for holding mass demonstrations, and allowed them to effectively rally around a cause. This intersectional cooperation was very inspiring, and I feel as if Bartky accurately depicts the mindset of many women involved when she claims “to develop feminist consciousness is to live a part of one’s life in the sort of ambiguous ethical situation”. Given the social context, cooperation between different races of individuals can indeed be argued to have sparked an ethical dilemma within the confines of the American society. It was the ability of some women to see past this flawed moral barrier that allowed them to develop the basis for the feminist consciousness Bartky speaks so passionately about. ]]> 2017-12-29 07:28:48 UTC https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136620 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136621 Bartky points out an important difference between women's liberation and the other activist movements-- the ambiguity. No one denies the oppression across the racial line or class structure. No one says "ah I don't see there is anything wrong with being subjected to a different standard of law because of your skin color. " However, because women's political or economical inferior status is rooted in the moral superiority, women's personal experience with the sexist society become a paranoia.

In the documentary, She's Beautiful When She's Angry, women also shared their self-doubts, wondering their experiences were simply them being oversensitive or just personal. This paranoia infused by the ambiguity shows the necessity for women to share their experiences and raise the feminist consciousness in other people. The innovation in technology and the change of situation make change possible, but women need a means to acknowledge that. 

The feminist, particularly the second wave feminist, bare the unique burden to show women out there that there was something wrong and they could achieve changes if they stick together. However, what exactly is a feminist behavior? For women who are interested in child rearing or house chores, can they ever be feminists without betraying who they actually are? Some feminist might argue that their love of family is a social construct, but when we acknowledge individual differences that people want to artists, dancers, astronauts, researchers, and doctors, can women or feminists just want to be mothers? Would it make them
not as progressive or as awake as other feminists?]]> 2017-12-29 07:28:48 UTC https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136621 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136622 I found the film "She's Beautiful When She's Angry" extremely moving and compelling. It was cool to see and hear women who were so crucial to the feminist movement. This film was so powerful because it shows how far we have come while allowing us to recognize some of these problems that still exist in our society today. Most prominently talked about was sex. At that time, it was extremely difficult to get birth control, and abortion as illegal. Therefore, many unsafe abortions occurred. Women such as Heather Booth and Judith Arcana helped women to get safe abortions with a reputable doctor through JANE. Also, a different group of women began teaching a course called "Our Bodies, Ourselves." This was the first book to mention masturbation (which is still taboo today) as well as discuss a wide range of topics such as birth control, pregnancy, menopause, etc. This was important because for the first time women were truly learning about sex in a new, truthful, and liberating way. Overall, seeing their struggles with sex, employment, daycare, and oppression was eye-opening. 

I also appreciated Bartky's idea about feminist consciousness. She makes an great point when she says, "Women have long lamented their condition, but a lament, pure and simple, need not be an expression of feminist consciousness" (Bartky, 429). This ties in with her discussion about how "changes in behavior go hand in hand with changes in consciousness" (Bartky, 426). I think it's important to distinguish between a woman who realizes her oppression and a woman who realizes it and takes action. It's necessary to decide that the social system is unacceptable the way it is and to take concrete steps to change it. This is why feminists were so imperative to increasing the awareness and injustice of women's issues as well as attempting to make society realize that they are universal (human!) issues.]]> 2017-12-29 07:28:48 UTC https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136622 hkhawaj2 https://padlet.com/stuber_tracy/ubt9plkztwyb/wish/218136623 In Toward a Phenomenology of Feminist Consciousness Bartky lays out the meaning of being a true feminist. I found this article very intriguing because it made me think about the deeper meaning of what it means to be a feminist; something I have not thought of before. It also made me question whether every women who claims she is a feminist, is truly be definition one? Bartky explains that to have “feminist consciousness” one must be “aware” of the alienation of women and the oppressive society we live in (p. 430). A feminist has gone through some personal and social “injury” (p.431) that allows her perspective to be different from someone who is not a victim of sexism. She goes through a journey and realizes that she has been treated differently and becomes the voice of activism. A feminist releases “energy long suppressed” (p. 431) and once her eyes are open to the inequalities of the world, she may start to notice things that were invisible to her in the first place. With such discoveries, a move towards change can be possible that will allow women to transform their lives and have the right to choose how they want to live. 

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