Who said a House Wife couldn't be a Feminist?

I’m Jessica Darden and I am a wife, mother, step-mother, and Interdisciplinary Studies/Women’s Studies major. My family is the most important thing to me and I would do anything for them. I am a stay at home mom who has a passion for women studies, marital devotion books, pop culture, blogging, face booking reality T.V. and HBO Sunday Nights.  I have taken Intro to Women’s Studies online with Ms. Preston last fall and learned so much. I am ready to take on this last semester with great vigor so that I can be an influence to the young girls that I will be helping. Moreover, I am growing smarter and stronger about who I am and why I love being a woman so much.  More importantly my faith ties it all together for me. I hope that I can learn a lot from others in this class and in return give great feedback.

Week One Assignment:

Sittenfeld, Curtis. “Your Life as a Girl.

Sittenfeld captures some aspects of girlhood in his writing. I can’t help but feel bad for Anna; she is so lost in her life and seems so confused. Some of her circumstances were not closely related, however, I can relate to the false perceptions women have of their bodies and being drawn into the negative ideals of sex and men. In the story Anna bleaches her hair, works out, and fantasizes about boys in shining armor. At such young ages girls are doing everything they can to fit in and look attractive to the opposite sex. I thought that getting my nails done, wearing tight jeans, and tight shirts would make me more attractive to others.  Also, Anna would read romance novels, like her mother, which over-glamorizes sex, violence, and inferiority. Sittenfeld writes “The man and woman are attracted to each other, they quarrel, they end up alone together, they have wild sex. The women say they don’t want it but they really do” (p. 5). I have read numerous of books when I was younger that put emphasis on sex and violence such as the “The Coldest Winter Ever” by Sista Souljah and “Flyy Girl” by Omar Tyree. These books have young girls in them that go through life where sex, money, and men are made to be significant and influential. These aspects that Sittenfield is writing about in his story can relate to any young girl black, white, or Hispanic. It’s amazing that Anna had never discussed any of her worries or doubts with someone else. The advice she received from her grandmother didn’t help her confusion out when she said “Learn to dance. And be a good conversationalist. Read book reviews, and even read the newspaper from time to time, in case he’s an intellectual. Never turn down a date because he might have a handsome brother” (p. 6). Girls need advice, they need someone to talk to about their problems, and they need someone to unfold the mysteries they have playing in their heads.

 Goldwasser, Amy. Red

The stories in “Anything Extracurricular” were wonderful stories of what young girls deal with and what’s important to them. What they go threw can define their purpose in life. Losing a horse, a mother being ill, and a trip to china can be more that what it seems to a young girl. It’s important that these young woman can express what they are feeling and dealing with. I think that in Sittenfeld’s piece that Anna wasn’t able to express herself and unfold the problems that she was feeling. The girl in “Anything Extracurrilcular” was talking about their interests and what was important to them. It was nice to read about how young girls dare to dream, or what activities they are involved in, or what makes them who they are. Especially in “Pediatrics” by Jaclyn Humphrey she knew what she wanted to do with her life and where she was going, she says, “Then a recent experience put life in perspective and made it clear to me, in a grown-up way, that becoming a doctor was truly my purpose in life” (p.191). Wow! Her strength was amazing and heartfelt. What she went through in life helped her for the future. I love it!

Peace!