Katelyn’s Comments (group member since Jan 07, 2016)

Katelyn’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

You can make your recommendations in the Book Suggestions thread!

Moved to "Feminism" folder

Moved to "Book Suggestions" folder

Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis is a good one!

And I'll add that as we go, we'll be trying to streamline things. Like Kodak said, there's a lot going on, as this book club is still so new! We'll be working hard to make the experience smoother and easier, but given the rapid growth and number of ideas, we're still getting a handle on things. We're definitely listening to what everyone is saying and everyone's ideas, so stay tuned.

I think Viola Davis's response is the best one I've seen. It is a symptom of a larger problem. When black movies are not being made, and there are very few black people working BEHIND the cameras (where the real power is held), it's not wonder that there are not enough substantial roles for black actors. There needs to be a major shift in the way the industry operates in order to remedy this.

Here's a link:
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/21/...

Perhaps it would be neat to get some dad volunteers to watch any children for women who are unable to get sitters?

What about a clothing collection for a woman's shelter, or a crafting corner where women can make useful items for themselves, one another, or for charity. Perhaps a workshop teaching how to knit who've not had the opportunity to learn? It is such a useful skill. Or other skills that are hands-on and get people making things that they might need or that could be donated!

HA! Ana, I remember seeing that chart before, but I completely forgot about it. Thanks for sharing, it's perfect.

Let's try to keep the conversation polite! I think we can assume that even when disagreeing, no one is looking to attack anyone else. But in the interest of keeping people from going into defense mode, we can also try to word our posts less sarcastically... it often translates in writing to seem combative.

I think one of the factors here that hasn't been mentioned is that work that is associated with "femininity" (typically non-STEM) is devalued. So when an individual guidance counselor tells a high-achieving female student that she should pursue a career in STEM, it often comes from an assumption that a more feminine field like writing or something similar, it seems like a waste of talent to them. We need to both encourage girls to develop interest in STEM fields while also recognizing merit and value in non-STEM subjects.

In the U.S., lots of art and music programs are getting cut in favor of giving more money to STEM subject. As someone who is pursuing advanced degrees and a career in musicology, an academic field, this is very upsetting because there are plenty of opportunities for education and success in those areas. Meanwhile, schools continue to spend incredible sums of money on sports, which are definitely gendered "masculine." We need to be funding both the stereotypical "girly" things and the "manly" sports things ;)

(obviously using girly/manly is me being tongue-in-cheek, but I think this rings true)

Thanks for your responses!

Ana - I agree with what you said. There needs to be a lot more done beyond the ERA (or ERA-like legislation, for other countries), but when even the basic acknowledgement of equality is not part of the Constitution, it's all a bit hopeless. To some extent, many people see it as mostly symbolic, but in reality, the fact that after all these years it still hasn't been ratified, really sends a message.

Abigail - Is the Equal Pay Act just not sufficient or outdated? Or is there something else going on that is threatening equal pay?
It is an ongoing problem in the U.S., as well. We have the Equal Pay Act of 1963, but the gender gap persists. There are efforts being made, but there's a long way to go, especially since so many people are in denial that there is significant discrimination in pay based on gender, race, and many other factors.

Some people have already mentioned some of my favorites above, and I'd like to add:

“As with all inferior things, this part of the city was given an adjective while the rest stole the noun.” (From chapter 1)

(Sorry, no page numbers; I'm reading an ebook!)

I'll add more as I keep reading. Almost finished!

Moved to "Feminism" section

In the U.S. at least, some people find it rude or just too personal to ask who someone is voting for. Don't know how people from other countries (or even other Americans!) feel about it. Certainly there is room to discuss how different candidates engage with issues important to feminists.

I vote based on issues, and the Democrats are typically more aligned with my interests. While I do favor a particular candidate, I'll just quote Gloria Steinem in Chapter 5 of My Life On The Road: "We can double our chances by working for one of these candidates, not against the other. For now, I've figured out how to answer [people] when they ask if I'm supporting Hillary Clinton or [Bernie Sanders]. I just say yes." (emphasis mine, and the brackets in the original quote are "reporters" and "Barack Obama", respectively)

Moved to "Book Suggestions" section

There's already a book recommendation thread here: Book Recommendations

From there, suggestions are added to the Master List of Book Titles.

I'm moving this to the Book Suggestions folder, and closing it so that further suggestions can be made in the linked topic. In the interest of keeping things organized ;)

Moved to "Book Suggestions" folder

Hi all!

In the interest of keeping things organized around here, please add book suggestions for the group to the post pinned at the top of this section titled Book Suggestions.

From there, it will be added to the Master List of Book Titles. Thank you to Astrid for maintaining that list!

Any new topics made for recommending single books will be closed in the interest of keeping things organized. However, threads dedicated to compiling books of particular subjects will be kept open, as that can be a useful resource in addition to the Master List, which is organized alphabetically.

I hope this will be helpful for everyone :)

There's already a thread pinned to the top of this section where you can add your book suggestions: Book Suggestions

Just trying to keep things a bit more organized ;)

There's already a thread pinned to the top of this section where you can add your book suggestions: Book Suggestions

Just trying to keep things a bit more organized ;)

Moved to "My Life On The Road" Section

Tim wrote: "Ana wrote: "Feminism, as I see it, is about overthrow the ideas of patriarchy about gender. It is something that affects both women and men negatively, as it assigns us all a determinate social rol..."

I don't want to speak for Ana, but here's my two cents:

One of the goals of feminism is to create an even playing field for both men and women to take on leadership roles. When the typical leadership roles in society are dominated by men (in politics, corporations, etc.), the push to make sure women's voices are being heard needs to start with the movement for women's rights. It is not meant to exclude men, but for this reason, I do think women should be the leaders of the movement. Women need this platform in order to be heard. Men already have other avenues through which their voices are heard more frequently, more loudly, and by a larger population. My recommendation for men wanting to get more involved would be for them to use those platforms to voice their thoughts on gender equality and feminism, while allowing women to maintain the major leadership roles within the movement.

That being said, when we discuss "leadership" of feminism... it's not like we have a headquarters! haha. The leaders I think of are working for non-profits, in government, as writers (Gloria Steinem, for instance), etc. So if a man wants to be a "leader" in the feminist movement, he can go ahead and get involved and work hard just like the women already doing this! No one can stop you, ya know?