Responding Post: Curious and Surprised Feminism

When reading Enloe's chapters "Being Curious about Our Lack of Feminist Curiosity" and "The Surprised Feminist," I was confused to why we didn't read this first before we started Enloe's book. However after reading her introduction, I felt it was a good way to end our class, to summarize most of the topics we have discussed and read about as well as to inspire/motivate us to look at the world more critically and to question the meaning of the words society has used to justify many actions. Enloe's first chapter hones on the theme of curiosity—for us to be genuinely curious about the socially constructed ideas most of us take so lightly or view as the norm/the way things are suppose to be. Enloe encourages us to see pass terms like "natural," "tradition," and "always/oldest"—for us to see how systems such as patriarchy, the military, and others have taken on forms such as nationalism, security, etc. and through this view of the systems, society tends to neglect the gender aspect that goes along with these topics. Society forgets about how masculinity affects women as well as how femininity reaffirms masculinity, how patriarchy has cages women, etc. Given the example for cheap labor being called instead as labor made cheap, is a great example of how society usually don't see pass the surface of situations and simply take things as it is without and inquiry for the deeper picture (i.e.: why women work in sweatshops, how has that come to be the case). 

Chapter 1 of Enloe's book focus on the theme of surprised feminism. And after reading this chapter in addition to all of our other reading I think back to the conversation we had in our earlier class about the connotation and denotation of the word "feminist." Besides the connotations we have heard from people, the media, etc about feminist, I do not think we have come to a one definition of what it means to be a feminist. From our readings we see that in fact their isn't one definition but that there are many forms or ranges of feminist. However, the common theme that I see among the authors who see themselves as a feminist is the elements Enloe expresses in her two chapters: curiosity and surprise/courage. All of our authors started off being curious of life, women studies, society as a whole, and etc. And from the curiosity and critical lens on the world they have been surprised by many things but were all able to develop in the way they wanted and how they wanted to impact the world or bring their perspective into conversations. At the end of the day, all these feminist not only have a greater awareness of our society, but most of them, see a better understanding of themselves and what role they have to bring about/ spark a new mindset or environment for all. Overall these two chapters were a great way to end our course and lead a window open for further exploration about women and gender studies.          

Caroline Potoclicchio's Main Post

In Enloe’s introduction, she introduces the book with the topic of curiosity. She talks about how it takes a lot of energy to be curious, which is a completely valid statement. She talks about many ideas that we are complacent with such as the adjective “natural.” She writes, “Generals being male, garment workers being female- it saves mental energy." She is saying that many people think this is natural. She then talks about tradition and how “Americans have always loved guns… Women have always seen other women as rivals.” She wants to present to her readers in this introduction that we can’t be satisfied with our natural tendency to assume such things. She talks about how she used to be complacent with the term “cheap labor” but then her curiosity, intellect, and fellow feminists lead her to realize that this term turned around has a whole lot more of a meaning: “Labor made cheap.” She also refers to the term patriarchy in her introduction. She writes that “patriarchy is the structural and ideological system that perpetuates the privileging of masculinity.” You can find these patriarchal values everywhere including hospitals, schools, militaries, banks, police departments, factories, legislatures corporations etc. these values downgrade the feminine. She states that it is not just the men who play into the patriarchy, but the women who accept it, and the jokes, gestures and rituals that go into it. She believes that patriarchy is just as abundant as nationalism, patriotism, and post war reconstruction. However with more feminists on the rise, patriarchal systems are less assured for success then ever. Enloe wants to spread the message to keep this progress coming.

 

In Enloe’s “The Surprised Feminist”, she talks about surprise. She didn’t want to claim any predictions among the progress of Feminist and gender issues going into the 21^st century because she knows that certain scenarios have invoked surprise in her. She states that surprise is “an undervalued feminist attribute.” Enloe talks about certain gendered situations that have surprised her over the years such as the NATO-ization of human rights, the rise of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the success of the Women’s National Basketball Association, the appearance of Russian women in brothels in Thailand and Israel, the Columbine High school massacre in Colorado etc. She talks about how in the classroom when a student asks her something that stirs up confusion, she is tempted to lead the discussion in a way that concurs her point, but instead she deals with her surprise in a way that facilitates class discussion between everyone as they explore new ideas. I think that this term of surprise has the synonym of openness, and I think both these terms connect back to curiosity in the introduction. My opinion is that a curious person likes to explore new ideas leading them to be open and prepared for surprise, because they are not the ignorant type to only go along with their own ideas and beliefs. I really enjoyed how Enloe didn't just talk about herself and her success in the introduction and first chapter, but rather put a spin on things and talked about the qualities it takes to be a good feminist, and how she will never be perfect.

A Vicious Cycle

I really like Cynthia Enloe's writing style. She did a good job of addressing her readers and mixing her own beliefs with more factual, professional writing. I was intrigued by her chapter "The Surprised Feminist" and found myself really enjoying her writing style as I read through the chapter. Like Enloe, I was surprised about the subjects she was addressing. However, the most surprising part of the chapter was the short excerpt about a fifteen year old girl, Rachel Wesseh, joining one of Liberia's insurgent armies after her mother was raped (on page 15). She is quoted saying, "'I was hurting so deeply. So I became a fighter. What was I doing with my life here, anyway?'". At first I found it honorable she joined the army because of what happened to her mother. But as I read on I became more worried about this girl's choice. Her reasoning was that she was enraged by her mothers rape, and didn't really have anything else happening in her life. Like many of the writers in Leading The Way, personal reasons drove Wesseh to become active in fighting for women's rights and what she believed in. However, joining the army ended up seeming like the wrong choice for her.

The blurb continued on to say that there were a lot of instances of rape in the army and that Wesseh even had a man "looking after her" that referred to himself as her "boyfriend". This immediately raised my eyebrows. If this man is trying to protect her why wouldn't he choose a nickname that represented a more protective relationship than "boyfriend" (such as father or brother) and did not have any sexual connection. Wesseh tried to create change, but I fear by joining the army she just created a larger opportunity for her to get raped, like her mother. More and more reports of sexual abuse by men are appearing in these forces. It is a vicious cycle. Wesseh's mother gets raped, so she joins the army to help fight back; but by doing so creates an opportunity for her to get raped, re-living the pain and emotional trauma her mother must have went through. I am saddened to think that this is occurring. The government needs to take a more influential role in preventing these rapes and also should encourage citizens to fight against them as well. There should be a safe haven for girls and women who have been sexually abused and a safer way to fight this reoccurring tragedy.