Share your reflections about the texts from this week. What themes do you see across the different texts for this week? Based on these readings, what do you see as the primary issues that concern feminists in the late 1960s and early 1970s? Where in the texts do you see different priorities or concerns come up — and, what do you notice about these differences?
Regarding this week’s reading, I noticed that many of the problems women face in the 1960s and the 1970s are closely related to what they are expected to do. Women during these times are still considered inferior to men which is honestly mindblowing. In the “REDSTOCKINGS MANIFESTO”, the narrator brings up an interesting point stating, “We are considered inferior beings, whose only purpose is to enhance men’s lives.” This directly ties in with what women were expected to do during this time, which was to clean the house and watch after children while serving their husbands. Similarly, in “I Want a Wife”, many men express their desire for women who can act as a servant to them. “I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife
who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children,
a wife who will pick up after me.” Many men also express their desire for a partner who can satisfy their sexual desires, which is honestly degrading; makes it seem like women are only objects to serve them.
Aside from the inferior viewpoint on women, many women during this time also expressed their displease about not being able to voice their annoyances. In “The Politics of Housework” the narrator gives us an interesting perspective on the excuses that men use to have women continue doing housework. She gives us the phrase that men say and the “meaning” behind their words. This is interesting because we can see that the “meaning” is what most women truly hear from those excuses. It is sad because even though women during this time despise the system that oppress them, it is hard for them to even stand up for themselves because of the little power that they have.
