Its no secret that the early feminist movement was largely a movement among and for middle-class, educated white women, and we are already seeing in MAKERS Part 1: Awakening that other women Black women, lesbians, working class women, etc were pushing back against that limited view of sexual equality. Well be getting to the contributions of other women as we move forward in our course, but for now, lets focus on those very early days of the movement because as non-inclusive and limited as they were they did lay the groundwork for the growth of feminism. To do this, let’s focus on the sorts of situations and injustices that women took on in the 1950s and 1960s, often without really think of the situations or themselves as feminist.
This discussion board does not require outside research. Everything you need is in our materials in this module. Choose ONE of the three people/quotes below and then:
In one paragraph briefly explain who this person is (age, race, career status, marital and/or parental status, et cetera). Do not do outside research. All you need to do in this paragraph is share what we’ve learned about this person in the materials in this module.
In a second paragraph break down the quote attributed to this person: (a) What was the situation/injustice to which the quote refers? Describe that situation/injustice. (b) What does this quote mean? Why did the speaker say this and why did she feel this way? (c) Do you imagine this person a self-identified feminist when she said this? [Tip: You will want to use and define at least one of the key terms from Modules 1 through 3.]
In a third paragraph, describe how the person/quote and the situation/injustice involved connect to the feminism movement and its tenets? In what was this individual situation/injustice connected to the political/systemic? How was this individual situation indicative of larger social issues? [Youll probably want to use and define the personal is political and/or systemic from our course materials.]
Kathrine Switzer: When asked if she was a suffragette or a crusader, Switzer replied What? Im just trying to run but quickly followed that up with Im gonna finish this race on my hands and knees if I have to.
- Jean Montague: I was twenty-six at the time, and I thought, I could make a whole career out of this. Then I realized I cant.
- Lorena Weeks: When told by a supervisor, You know the mans the breadwinner in the family, Weeks responded Oh no, when I go through the grocery line in the grocery store, they dont push back a loaf of bread and say youre a nice little lady, so you can have this ten cents cheaper because youre a woman.
ReadChapter 1 “Introduction” (pp. 4-23) from Threshold Concepts in Women’s & Gender Studies (2nd ed)using this link or through our Course Reserves tab. If needed, here’s a pdf version: Ch 1 Introduction. ReadPrologue (pp. vii-xi) from Women of Color and Feminism using this link or through our Course Reserves tab. If you encounter trouble, here’s a pdf: Prologue WatchLaunch External Tool WatchUse the viewing worksheet I provide in this module to take notes on the people and events featured as you watch the first episode of MAKERS: Women Who Make America — Part I “Awakening.” For example, early on in this documentary you’ll learn about Kathrine Switzer who was physically attacked because she was a woman running in the Boston Marathon (You may remember from our reading in our last module on pages 89-90). As the MAKERS documentary introduces different women and situations like Switzer’s, you should jot down names and the basics aboutheir stories. You should also jot down how their stories fit into the larger themes of the documentary. What challenges faced women (and men) at this time? How did women and men understand these challenges — as great, huge issues of philosophical equality? as the desire simply to do the things they wanted to do? as limitations or as opportunities? How were those challenges addressed? Remember! When you watch something for a university course, you shouldn’t tear open your bag of microwave popcorn and kick back and zone out. I do recommend the popcorn and I do recommend relaxing a little bit, but pay attention! You should be watching closely and taking notes about key themes, people, and events. We’re watching these documentaries because they allow the actual people who were doing these things to speak for themselves, and it allows you to see and sense that struggle and effort! And yup… You should use the rewind button if you miss something or didn’t quite get the point, just as you might reread a paragraph or a page in a book. P.S., it is perfectly okay to watch this with family, friends, spouses, and others — in fact, their responses to the documentary might aid your learning!MAKERS: Women Who Made America — Part One: Awakening is available through this link or through our Course Reserves tab. Be sure you are watching Part One: Awakening. (A version of the documentary is also available on YouTube, but please use the link or Course Reserve version if possible as the YouTube link appears to be an upload that might at any time be taken down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxrOe1aGa7M
here is what he said in the video:Hi there if you’re watching this must mean you’re about ready to start watching our two short documentaries for this week– Makers 1: Women Who Made America: Awakening and Makers 2: Women Who Made America Part Two Changing the World. They’re going to give you a sense of what feminism has meant in the past because let’s face it a lot of people don’t understand anything about feminism and yet they’ve got all these opinions about feminism.I hear all the time on Facebook, on blogs, on the new,s on the floor of the Senate, the House etc… Trust me, I’m a feminist and I can help you understand what feminism means. It does not mean you hate men. It does not mean you’re a ****. It does not mean that you have to wear Birkenstocks or grow your leg hair out.It does not mean you’re angry. Although it can mean some of those things, okay? Because yeah, I am a little angry about the rates of domestic violence in the United States. In fact I’m pissed off about it. I want that to stop!But feminism is also so much more and these two documentaries- instead of me yack yack yacking about feminism and what it means or instead of reading a huge long chapter of a book about it- I thought,” Hey, these documentaries are cool.You get to meet the real people who are feminists of different backgrounds. You get to see some of the real issues that feminists have confronted. And maybe you’ll get a sense of the breadth and depth of feminism in American society. And maybe you’ll get a sense of the breadth and depth of feminism in American society.So do watch the makers videos and you’re welcome to watch them of friends and family but as you watch them be sure that you know you’re the student in this class so you are going to be the one taking the exams and completing the course so you might want to take a few notes about the videos.I’ve included a worksheet for each video that sort of highlights some things but not everything, so you want to take some notes of your own. You don’t need to know every little date and name but you might want to know if they mention something that’s a segment of five minutes– what they were talking about, what the main issue was, etc.And also something I just forgot what was it I was going to say? Oh Yeah! The two worksheets that I provided that you can use while you’re watching. They are not assignments. You don’t even need to do them if you don’t want to, okay? But I think if you print them out or you open them on your laptop and sort of complete them while you’re watching and take a few notes you’re going to be ahead of the game not only toward the exam and completing the course but just as like a fully actualized human college graduate person with a huge range of knowledge and that is a cool thing right right?I think it is. Okay, anyway go watch these two videos. I’ve watched them a thousand times I freakin’ love them. I mean every time I watch them I get like angry and I laugh and sometimes I’m like crying and so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do so.So… go go go! O,h I’ve gotta shut the camera off.
