Contest

The second wave of feminism began in the 1960s and was in full swing by the time I graduated from high school.  My parents, the community and religious culture where I was raised were very resistant to the idea of “liberated” women, however, and strongly discouraged any kind of discussion or participation in this movement.  The terms “liberal intellectuals,” “hippies,” and “feminists” were frequently used in my family to designate dangerous and subversive groups and I was exhorted to keep myself “clean” and “pure” from all such worldly contaminants.  My father worried that “liberal” college professors might sway me from the path outlined by our religion, to which he had devoted his life.  To minimize that risk, he would only provide financial assistance if I attended BYU.

Of particular note in my background is a contest sponsored by my community in 1965 to determine who would be “Mrs. Utah” and represent the state in a national competition.  One of the finalists was Alice, a neighbor who lived just up the street from my family.  The event was televised and I remember gathering around the TV with my parents and watching excitedly to see if Alice would win.

Even as a 12-year-old, I remember being startled to see that the women were being judged on their homemaking skills.  The five finalists lined up for the camera, each with her own ironing board, and on signal, began furiously ironing a man’s shirt to the tune of the William Tell overture.  Alice had been practicing and finished ahead of the others with impressive style.  She went on to win the national competition where the contestants were judged not only on their ability to iron a man’s shirt, but also on how well they could cook, sew and excel in party planning. 

It's hard to imagine a contest like that now but I'm sure there are other forms of female stereotyping taking place today that cause the same kind of cultural blindness from the 70s.  I'm looking forward to learning more about the shift in attitudes towards women from then to now and finding ways to join the important feminist cause. 

Beginnings

I am in my second semester as a PhD student in the Family, Consumer, & Human Development department at USU.  My area of emphasis is Gerontology. 

I'm not comfortable with the format of blogging or posting on Facebook or any other forum where I feel I'm on display for public scrutiny but it's time I got over that so a class assignment to create a blog with weekly posts is a good place to start.

The class is Feminist Theories and the course description says it's a seminar designed to explore the history of feminist thought and the ways that has impacted the development of women, children, and families.

This quote in our class syllabus is worth repeating:

Feminism has fought no wars.  It has killed no opponents.  It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties.  Its battles have been for education, for the vote, for better working conditions...for safety on the streets...for childcare, for social welfare...for rape crisis centers, women's refuges, reforms in the laws.  -- Dale Spender

I chose not to be a part of the second wave of feminism in the 60s and I've had very little to do with women's issues outside of my family up to this point in my life course.  There are many biopsychosocial reasons for that choice.  Now, however,  the time is right to explore my identity as a woman and I'm looking forward to this class as a catalyst for some needed changes.