In The Politics of Housework by Pat Mainardi and The Myth of The Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt, both writers discuss the many expectations and assumptions that have been put on women, such as the expectations of women completing all the housework, to the assumption that female orgasms are vaginal. Although both readings discuss different topics, they are alike in many ways. In “The Politics of Housework”, Mainardi discusses the difference between a liberated woman and women’s liberation. I understand the liberated woman to live as freely and shamelessly as possible. She is not phased by the expectations, or traditions, of sex before marriage, she discards the idea of staying home with the kids while dad has his fun and has her career going for herself. 

Women’s liberation, as she explains, is the opposite. It’s about the many gender roles that were put into place giving men the opportunity to be put on a pedestal, while women were at home making sure that by the time he gets home, the house is spotless and there is dinner served on the table. Although some women were fine with the idea at first or brainwashed into thinking that this kind of marital setup was fair, their thoughts and views on the sexist behavior going on in their own home were beginning to get to them, in other words, can be understood as the “personal is political”. The liberated woman might be important for women’s liberation because it can, slowly, but surely, open doors for other women who want to be free of these gender roles, but may be too afraid or ashamed to. Simply seeing women working passionately towards a career or having sexual freedom, can ignite another woman to go and want to do the same without feeling guilt or judgment. My understanding of the liberated woman is that she’s not trying to say that she’s against men or doesn’t take their hard work into consideration, but rather she sees herself as an equal who has the same wants, desires, and isn’t afraid to let it be known.

These two pieces show that the “personal is political” because both writers express their personal feelings and attitudes in regards to what they have seen in their own homes or have experienced as women. In “The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm”, for example, Anne discusses the false idea that men have about a woman’s orgasm. The assumption that female orgasms are vaginal is a perfect example of how men have defined something so personal to women, as theirs, for their sexual enjoyment. Mainardi also experienced similar feelings in her household where she felt the need to have a conversation with her husband about sharing the housework. Both articles inspired me to be both confident and unapologetic when asking for equality/shared housework in my own home and outside of it.

Suffrage, labor rights, and the ERA are all related because without women’s suffrage and their labor rights being neglected throughout history, the idea of an equal rights amendment would not exist today. Although it shouldn’t take people’s sufferings to demand change or enact laws, many times, this is what it takes. In 1911, The Triangle Shirt Factory, one of the deadliest fires in New York City to take ensue in a workplace, left 146 young women dead due to the lack of protection they had in their work environment. Besides the grueling hours these women spent day in and day out, they received little to nothing in return. One could only hope that the least these women could get in return was a decent environment, and union, to make it worth their while. But unfortunately, this was not the case then, and it is still not the case now. Yes, accidents happen, but a fire like the one that occurred at the factory could have been completely prevented. After people had heard about the horrifying conditions, they took to the streets of NYC to protest for rights that they shouldn’t have to fight for, but in the end, redefined this country’s industrial workplace.
Labor rights are also issues of gender justice because women, to this day, continue to fight against discrimination and fight for equal pay, maternity leave, and protection against violence in their work environment. For women to continue to fight for equality in 2022 is completely and utterly disrespectful given all the work and suffering that women in our past have dealt with and fought for to have a better present day. It’s critical to recognize the ERA’s central message: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Unfortunately, the historical issues that we learned about, like the tragedy that transpired at the Triangle Shirt Factory, continue to persist in today’s society. In a similar situation, as seen in the video Triangle Returns, we continue to see young women in Bangladesh suffer in unspeakable conditions. They earn little to nothing while working unlawful hours in a treacherous environment. To this day, young women, teenagers really, continue to be stripped of their rights with no right to organize. History, as we know, tends to repeat itself, and if we don’t act now, it will continue to be too late for millions of young women out there.

Over the last few weeks, it has been incredibly inspiring to learn about privilege, oppression, and activism. These critical topics, I feel, were a great way to lead up to learning about the history behind feminism. As Professor Waychoff stated, “If we want equality today, we have to understand the past”. Having the ability to read memoirs and learn about women’s recollections of the past in regards to their experiences has been eye-opening. I never realized how broad the word feminism is, so getting to know the many different meanings behind it and how many different women connect it to themselves or to their activism was really cool to see. Although various women have been active in fighting for women’s rights, which I am extremely grateful for, we are still experiencing life-threatening/unfair situations. This week’s reading, “It’s Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women”, made me realize how important it is to show activism and support by allying with others to make a change. At the end of this reading, I thought about the women in the Netflix film I watched last week, “Knocking Down the House”. I thought about the strong congresswomen going above and beyond to support their communities and it inspired me to do just the same. As many of my peers stated in their own discussion posts last week, it takes one person to feel the need to make a change and many others who want the same will follow!

Activism is defined as the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change. Yet, the tireless work that has been done and that is continuing to be done by fearless individuals to bring change means so much more than the few words written in its definition. After reading this week’s notes and watching “Knock Down The House”, I am left in awe of what these individuals do to spread awareness about their campaigns. I, of course, had a good understanding of what one does when running for office, but getting to see behind-the-scenes footage of the tremendous work that is done, was eye-opening. “Knock Down The House”, a Netflix film directed by Rachel Lears, follows the journeys of four Democrats, and even more inspiring, female Democrats who ran for Congress in the 2018 elections.

As supporters, we watch, predominantly men, and luckily in recent times, women, compete for a seat in Congress. We vote for who we believe is the best fit in helping make the changes we hope to see in our communities. You could only wish that these kinds of races are fair, but many hold stereotypes about specific candidates and don’t even give them the chance to explain their value. In this Netflix film, fellow New Yorker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez along with Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin make their voices be heard in a series of rallies. As they express their hopes to make a change in regards to their communities’ concerns and wishes, they still end up receiving backlash for their race and sex. What I enjoyed most about this film is watching these strong, independent women, taking a stand for what they believe is right, and being strong enough to laugh off many of the comments made. What was even more inspiring, was getting to learn about their backgrounds and experiences. Once hearing where these women came from, it was easy for me to see that they genuinely understand and want what’s good for the people, especially the people whose voices are often not heard and ignored due to where they are from and even what they look like. As AOC stated in the film, “I am running because everyday Americans deserve to be represented by everyday Americans”.

I have engaged in activism is by participating in the Women’s March, which took place in DC, and by marching in one of the largest demonstrations following George Floyd’s death. I believe that if there is something you feel is worth fighting for, then take the time to make the change, especially when you have thousands around you who want just the same. It is one of the most inspiring and lifting feelings to march not only for yourself but for the basic rights of others. As also stated in the film, to fight for change, “You must meet the machine with a movement.”

Audre Lorde’s “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” and Allan Johnson’s “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us” discuss and stress the importance of recognizing patriarchy as a system and not as an individual. Throughout my life, I have always heard about this “system” and the problems it has caused society. Although I never understood who exactly we were blaming, I had always assumed it was people in political power. The reason I thought this for so long was that I felt that the only group of people that can affect an entire society, or various groups of people, are those in politics. Yet after reading this weeks’ readings I now understand that the system along with the patriarchal culture we have all grown up in was made up by society as a whole, not by specific individuals.

Johnson defines patriarchal culture as “how social life is and what it is supposed to be, about what is expected of people and about how they feel, how they are expected to look and behave”. Being a woman, especially in today’s society, means getting critiqued often. We are measured to meet the standards that have been set forth for us, and if we are unable to meet these requirements, our value in society drops a few points. We face a structural/cultural level of oppression by just being. But then again, if you are a specific gender or race, you may not have anything to worry about anyway due to the privileges you may or may have not known you have. How we present ourselves, how we think, the color of our skin, etc., all have huge implications. Though we may not realize it, we enact patriarchy in many ways. Our feelings, beliefs, practices/organizations we belong to, are all levels of oppression we experience in our everyday lives. In his writing, Johnson also states “The symbols and ideas that make up patriarchal culture are important to understand because they have such powerful effects on the structure of social life. By ‘structure,’ I mean the ways privilege and oppression are organized through social relationships and unequal distributions of power, rewards, opportunities, and resources”.

As I think back to the many times I have heard “Well, I blame the system.”, I now realize that in blaming others, we try to make ourselves feel better since, in the end, the system has been participated in by all of us. We, consciously and unconsciously, have taken part in forming this social system ourselves, yet had no choice in whether or not to participate because we were born into it. It is critical to recognize patriarchy as a system rather than as an individual because I believe that we must take responsibility, as a society, in trying to change it. We have seen that it is capable of periodically changing, so why not come together, as a system, and create a world with better opportunities and equal advantages that work for us and not against us.