Blog 12

I was recently listening to Fresh Air on NPR and they were talking with a feminist writer named Katha Pollit about her new book of essays. One part of the interview struck me the most. She talked about the state of feminism today.

She began with an anecdote about how her daughter, in a college class, was one of only two people that identified themselves as feminists. Then she went on to discuss how the younger generation feels feminism has completed its mission – that it’s no longer needed. Then she discusses why feminism is still needed. She brought up body image, eating disorders, etc. saying that they are feminist issues even though many people don’t look at them that way. She remarks about how sites like Facebook illustrate the negative gender divisions. So many young women have lots of pictures that show themselves in a sexual manner while most young men look like slobs.

At one point, she was talking about how some people say there is no need for feminism because women are now free to “choose” whatever they want. When asked why she puts quotations around the word choose, she said something very important. She talked about how a woman might “choose” to have a breast enhancement, but there is a reason that she feels that a better body image would do her more good than something else. Social conditioning still tells women that they are more accomplished if they have a “perfect” body. Instead of choosing to do something productive, women choose to do what is rewarded by society.

She discusses many other things on the show so here is a link to the show online:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16112223