Feminism has its roots
in every social, economic, and political vehicle. However, this does not mean that there is no oppression
in these categories. In Shiva's, Development, Ecology and Women', we see that during the
Industrial Revolution, development of cash crops, factories, and textile
industries destroyed women’s ability to creatively thrive in such linear
circumstances.
These labor intensive
jobs, although occupied by both men and women, devalue the work of women
because they are viewed as ‘male dominant positions’. This has not stopped courageous women who are
determined to show that they can do everything a man can do and more. In an online article titled, What It’s Like To Be One Of The Only Female
Construction Workers In America, we are introduced to Patricia Voly who is
a female construction worker. Patricia Voly describes her child hood passion of
becoming a construction worker as a job that she loved. However, once she got the job, she realized
that it is very sexist and that male workers are given preference in almost
every aspect of the job. Voly states, “If it weren’t for the harassment, I definitely think I would
have stayed, I loved it, I really did. I liked the changing workplace setting
as workers moved from project to project. The hours appealed to me not just
now, but if I were ever to become a mother, I think it would work out”. This statement describes the brutal truth
that men and women are still divided and harassment is evident.
This ties into the reading Carmen Miranda on My Mind, by Cynthia
Enloe, because it shows how sexual representations of women are used to market industries
as ‘free from oppression’ yet the same industries are subjugating women to
ridicule, harassment, and even underpaid hours.
The reading is based around how colonization and Western countries deliberately
oppressed groups of people, including women, to gain economic prosperity. By
making it acceptable to demean women in the work place, it creates an economic
and social imbalance in the way we treat men and women. This contributes to the oppression of women
and until we can get rid of our backward thinking ways, women in the work force
will always be viewed by society as ‘lower’ and ‘weaker’ than men, despite
their great efforts in showing the world that they can do what a man can
do. Feminism does not look like what it
is perceived to be by society. It is a
vibrant and peaceful movement to free oppression, racism, inequality, and most
importantly allow the human spirit to thrive as one. While gender is, and will continue for some
time, to be a heavily debated topic the strong and will powered feminists in
the world are no longer remaining dormant.
From Hilary Clinton running for office to the increasing rate of women
working jobs that are supposed to be ‘male dominant’, we can see a shift in consciousness
in the world. This shift of
consciousness may be slow, but it and will continue to lay the foundations for
a peaceful world where we view each other as a human and not a gender.Bryce Covert, What it’s like to be One of the only female construction workers in America. ThinkProgress, 11 June 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.
Enloe, Cynthia H. Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. Print.
Shiva, Vandana, and ana Shiva. Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development. 2nd ed. London: Zed Books, 1989. Print.
