July 8, 2004
Feminism
So last night I am riding the Metro home. I get on the train with two bags and a large umbrella in my hands. I fine young man stands to offer me his seat and I respectful decline -- his offer was very kind but I had been sitting all day and didn't mind standing a bit. Then I noticed in the seat ahead of the fine young man is a gentleman reading a magazine. Taking a closer look, I see that the left hand page features a multi-photo pictorial layout of a woman stripping down to her panties in "the bosses office". Several more spreads of this sort followed. The magazine was FHM, which as far as I can tell, is a cross between Entertainment Weekly, GQ and Playboy. The content seemed a little racy for mass transit reading in my view. As I was pondering constitutional rights vs. protecting the public for unwanted sexual material I marveled at what I noticed at the other end of the train. A man, was reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin. On one hand, a entertainment skin mag. On the other hand a great work of feminist fiction. The dichotomy between the two publications -- the juxtaposition of the perspectives was a little overwhelming. What a wacky world we live in. Some would say this diversity of perspective is what America is all about. Freedom of speech and such. To me at the moment, it just seems like as women we still have a long way to go. In the Awakening, the main character is unhappy in her marriage and feels shackled to her position in life. She has an affair and ends her life in depressed desperation committing suicide. In FHM, we see women choosing their own fate and making the choice to utilize (some would say exploit) their sexuality for money. Have we taken a big enough step in the right direction? Or are we still letting the world (read men) control how we see, present and conduct ourselves?
Quote of the Day:
| "Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half." -Plato, The Laws |
