I must admit that as a female individual and college student, I have rarely sat down in the past to ponder about female rights and feminism as much as i did while reading Friedman, Levy, Echols and de Beauvoir’s arguments. The words that hit me most were those of Friedman’s. Women have indeed become passive housewives, who struggle every day to carry the immense burden of becoming the greatest mother, wife, lover and daughter - all at once. As they struggle through this Homeric excursion, they somehow lose their identity. Among the lists of chores, dinner menus, and laundry cycles, women have been left behind without an identity of their own but one that is ¨solely tied to their husbands¨, as Levy illustrates. This is the same point Simone de Beauvoir argues: a woman is not defined by who she is, rather by who she is relative to a man. This reminds me of my first year at Colgate when I interacted with not only one but a handful of bright and beautiful young women who attended college for the sole purpose of pursuing their mrs. degrees. Never were they ashamed of admitting that fact, rather, they advertised it frequently. For reasons I do not seem to comprehend, it seems like their search for a husband was essential to completing who they were or want to be.
I also found interesting that in Levy’s discussion, the following concept appeared: ¨everyone was fighting for freedom, but freedom meant different things for different people.¨ For instance, Levy’s insightful report about ¨raunch culture¨ where women are treated as sex objects goes hand in hand with Echols’ comment: ¨ white women often found themselves sexually objectified and exploited within the Movement.¨On the other hand, ¨black women were often treated as though they were somehow sexless¨. This was perhaps the reason why Black women did not join the feminist movement as enthusiastically as others expected them to do so. White women were completely oblivious of the class and race differences that existed among themselves. For a white woman at that time, marriage was a sign of oppression. Yet, for a black woman, it was all they were striving for - a safe place of their own, where no one could exploit them.
I also found interesting that in Levy’s discussion, the following concept appeared: ¨everyone was fighting for freedom, but freedom meant different things for different people.¨ For instance, Levy’s insightful report about ¨raunch culture¨ where women are treated as sex objects goes hand in hand with Echols’ comment: ¨ white women often found themselves sexually objectified and exploited within the Movement.¨On the other hand, ¨black women were often treated as though they were somehow sexless¨. This was perhaps the reason why Black women did not join the feminist movement as enthusiastically as others expected them to do so. White women were completely oblivious of the class and race differences that existed among themselves. For a white woman at that time, marriage was a sign of oppression. Yet, for a black woman, it was all they were striving for - a safe place of their own, where no one could exploit them.
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