Human’s are bound to be prejudice about everything and anything when they do not fit the shoes of others. We as people tend to have opinions on a certain person and/topic without reason. Everyone has been in a situation where you first meet a person and without even talking to them, you have already decided in your head that you do not like them. In a similar way, many groups and communities are being targeted and fall into the hands of prejudice because they are different or it contradicts the norms and threatens usual and standard societal rules and expectations. Women and the LGBTQ+ community are examples of groups that are affected by this prejudice system. In the articles and essays “I Want A Wife” by Judy Brady, “The Politics of Housework” by Pat Mainardi and “I’m Glad I was in the Stonewall Riot” by Sylvia Rivera both touch on topics of prejudice and stereotypes that women and transvestites face during that 1960s and 1970s.
Brady touches on the topic of a women/female’s role in life. Although she herself is a wife and women, she goes back to a repeated phrase throughout the whole section: “I Want a Wife” because anyone would “want a wife who will take care of my physical needs… who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me.” (Brady). Who wouldn’t want an individual being who does literally everything and anything for you, who dedicates their time to things you don’t want/bother to do. Brady strongly suggests that she her would prefer a wife because in society, we automatically assume that women are beneath men and will therefore take care of duties in the house. Due to this stereotype the term for house duties has become and correlated so anyone can understand that wife duties and housework go hand in hand together. In Mainardi’s article, she complements Brady’s points by going into further detail of the duties and roles women play when it comes to housework. Mainardi worded point by ensuing
“a dialogue that’s been going on for several years. Here are some the high points.
‘I don’t mind sharing the house work, but I don’t do it very well. We should each do the things we’re best at.
Meaning: Unfortunately I’m no good at things like washing dishes or cooking. What I do best is a little light
carpentry, changing light bulbs, moving furniture” (Mainardi).
By doing this Mainardi shows how men continue to promote the stereotypes of women being in the kitchen. Together, Brady and Mainardi inform their readers on how women tend to face prejudice because of what we were taught and what we know of.
Sylvia Rivera on the other hand speaks on prejudice as well but with a different community. We all know how movements are made and civil wars are brought up and constructed when there has been an unjust/unfair mistreatment of a group/community of individuals. In Rivera’s interview, right off the bat he begins to speak on the mistreatment of transvestites individuals like himself: “We expected nothing better than to be treated like we were animals-and we were. We were stuck in a bullpen like a bunch of freaks. We were disrespected. A lot of us were beaten up and raped” (Rivera). In those sentence alone, I can feel how hurt and tired he himself felt and many other individuals like him. In Rivera’s interview he promotes the power and resilience we and others shared due to the prejudice and stereotypes he faced due to his appearance and sexual orientation. Although he has faced many obstacles, he is proud to be a part of a rising movement that is the Stonewall Riot.
Good discussion, Tracy. One note: Sylvia Rivera was a trans woman (and used feminine pronouns, she/her). “Transvestite” is a term that isn’t used that much anymore but refers to someone who dresses in ways that are associated with a different gender. Building from our earlier discussions, the difference here is about gender identity (how someone understands their gender- in Sylvia Rivera’s case, she identified as a woman + expressed her gender accordingly) vs. gender expression (dressing in clothing that does not conform to one’s assigned sex).