Violence

The other week my the group I was in had to read a chapter about care-focused feminism. According to care-focused feminists women are innately more caring than men are. Because we have babies, because we care for the elderly and sick more women have more care in them than men do. In Bell Hooks chapter titles "feminist movement to end violence" she talks about how this kind of thinking is detrimental to working towards peace.  Bell states that when women claim that women are "inherently non-violent or life affirming" they are harming themselves.  Not all women are peaceful, women must accept that they as well as men condone the use of violence. Women need to see that although we talk about suppression all our choices are still our own. In Bells example " Even the woman who votes according to her husband's example is making a political choice. We need to see women as political beings." The acceptance that violence is a male trait is not only harmful when it comes to war but also the issue of domestic abuse. In her discussion of domestic abuse Bell brings up the point that domestic violence is not only perpetrated by men but also women against men and women in lesbian relationships.  Although women are violent as well violence is cultured as male and thus "working men are fed daily a fantasy diet of male supremacy and power." The one place that abusive men feel they can show their power and release pent up anger is at home on their wives and children. This article brought up points that were sad to face but true, I think the most important point that Bell made is to understand that women cannot label themselves as innately non-violent without showing themselves to be unequal to men. We must take responsibility for violence just as much as men do.

Who cares?

Women care.  There is something, weather biological or socially constructed that dictates that women, not men are the mroe caring gender.  Not only in western societies but around the globe women are the people that take care of the young, the elderly, the disabled. In the chapter on Care-Focused Feminism in Womens Thought one theory on why women care is because they develop morals differently than men. While men view what is right and wrong in terms of justice and the law women have a larger view, one that is more focused on relationships and interconnectedness. Another theory on why woman care stated that woman care as a defense mechanism.  According to this theory women think that by helping others they give others a reason to like them and thus protect themselves. No-matter how caring became an assumed part of women the fact that women are the care givers can be harmful. Today I was looking for articles for a different class and came across one about women caring for family members effected by Alzheimer.  Because of a woman's "innate" sense of caring they must care for whoever has Alzheimers but also care for their family. Women more than men are likely to be trapped between caring for their family and caring for the person with Alzheimer.  It was interesting to see how what we studied in class fits in with the real world.