Feminism Riff and Weekend Recap

Short Riff on Feminism: I agree with the principles of feminism that call for equality and breaking the glass ceiling and so on. However, feminists (and I realize there are different shades of feminism) seen to present a hypocritical view of their perfect society. In class Seamus McGregor brought up the first female president of Liberia, making the comment that she was a “tough cookie”. Rachel found this comment to be sexist, and I do agree with her. However, sexism goes both ways and a male president of Liberia would be subjected to similar remarks; Liberia is a difficult country for a man or a woman to preside over. Feminists though seem to want things both ways, in that they want women to have recognition for what they achieve, but at the same time they become angry over commentary that recognizes that the person achieving something is a female. Sex shouldn’t matter, yet as Amanda wrote in her blog, there are differences between men and women. These differences don’t mean equality isn’t possible, but rather that men and women have different strengths and weaknesses. I don’t think women are better than men or than men or better than women. Continued advocacy for equality is important, but at the same time feminists need to be sure they are addressing the women who really do need help in overthrowing repressive customs, not just those who get offended if a man opens the door for them.
Now for a quick weekend recap: Ahhhh lovely fall break…far too fleeting but much fun while it did last. On Friday I visited the Natural History Museum which was amazing, lots of great skeletons; the giant sloth was particularly impressive. For girls, even if you don’t really enjoy all the natural history stuff go for the gems and minerals section which has some of the most amazingly beautiful jewelry ever. The sculptural gardens are fun too and certainly thought provoking. How can I get paid to hand over a giant square sheet of metal and call it art? After that I went to the Sackler Gallery and saw their special exhibit entitled “Gardens and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur”. I highly recommend taking the time to go see this collection, the color and miniscule detail of the paintings was astounding, they museum actually provides you with magnifying glasses to better appreciate the detail. Afterwards I got my first and certainly not last taste of Ethiopian food, nicely rounded out with some Cake Love. Saturday was sleep-in TDR brunch day and then a failed attempt to go costume shopping, followed up with some Target shopping. That night included some good bonding times with UC kids watching Get Over It, The Fifth Element, and the very odd opener for SNL. Sunday was time for church and but of course a good ol’ LOTR marathon. Sometimes you’re just jones’in for something epic.