I think that gender differences have come a long way over the century. I believe gender remains largely visible to women more than men because we have changed so much over time. This is why most men don’t think gender is about them. For example, there never used to be classes on women studies and today there are numerous classes about womanhood. Also, today women and men are no different in the workplace, women no longer need to choose between having family lives or careers; they now can “have it all.” This is where Kimmel and I have different views. He believes men can have it all but women still can’t. Tell that to Mary Kay Ash, Hilary Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Sarah Palin and thousands of other career oriented mothers.
Every other country has a country code at the end of their emails however the United States does not. Kimmel believes this is because we are the dominant country and we are privileged. He also says that “women make .76 cents to every mans dollar” instead of “men make .33 cents to every women’s dollar.” These are examples, according to Kimmel, about how priviledge is invisible. I completely disagree because I know, along with a majority of other people, how privileged I am. I know I am privileged to have soldiers in Afghanistan fighting for my “dominant country.” I know I am privileged to be able to walk, run, speak, hear, and see. I know just as much as any man what it means to be privileged no matter what race. I am privileged than many men I know. Gender has nothing to do with being privileged. Although I disagree with Gray in his beliefs that women and men are so completely different that they should live on different planets, I also disagree with Kimmel in some of his ways of thinking about gener differences. I believe women and men are different for good reason but it is not as evident as Kimmel or Gray perceive it to be.
I would have to politely disagree with you Kelly. I don't think that Sarah Palin or any of the other mothers you mentioned do have it all, because to me having it all includes your childrens welfare, and stability. I don't believe their children have stability in their lives, how can you when your mom is is a different country and your constantly in the media?
ReplyDeletebecause according to you the child's well-being is solely the responsibility of the mother? how about asking the dad to give up his career, independence and sense of fulfillment to stay at home and take care of the children...
DeleteI think Kimmel's point is that the way the system is set up favors men having it all much more so than women having it all. While the outside work thing really has changed dramatically to create more equality, the at-home work is still very divided. Women still often pull a "Second shift" while men may work full time but then enjoy their home life rather than spend all their time cooking, cleaning or taxiing the kids around. This is why sharing household chores and childcare equally is so, so important.
ReplyDeletei completely agree with you on that, Joelle Ruby Ryan...women are still largely exploited at home and they don't even realize it...they think it comes with the deal that they have to cook, clean etc while the men laze away after a "hard day at work"...the women maybe be working too and might be doing a lot better than the men but they are still grossly underpaid and unappreciated...add in menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, childcare and women definitely have the shorter end of the stick...
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