Lauren Wehlage

Professor Suddreth
English 1010
Reflection essay/final
May 4th, 2014
Lauren Wehlage
Professor Suddreth
English 1010
1st Aril 2014
!he "#$ Word
All around the glo%e, hu&ans struggle 'ith e(uality) #or centuries there ha*e %een
'o&en fighting for their rights) !heir right to *ote, 'or+, and in general %e e(ual to &en) When
loo+ing %ac+ in history, &en see& to %e suerior to 'o&en, %ut in different cultures there are
different *ie's of &en and 'o&en) And society is still trying to figure out 'hy that is) #e&inis&
is si&ly an idea that &en and 'o&en should ha*e e(ual rights) When loo+ing at a 'or+lace
en*iron&ent, fro& a 'o&an,s oint of *ie', you &ight see a need for fe&inis&) As of 2014,
"'o&en only &a+e 0)-- cents to e*ery &an.s dollar)$ When you thin+ a%out gender roles at
ho&e, 'ho says that 'o&en ha*e to %e stay at ho&e &others, and can.t 'or+ for a li*ing/
#e&inis& is a &o*e&ent to end se0is&, se0ist e0loitation, and oression, %ut ho' are 'e
suose to handle the issues 'ith e(uality, and the ay ga, if 'o&en don.t consider the&sel*es
fe&inists, and refuse to fight for e(uality)
!he #e&inist &o*e&ent desires to ha*e e(uality %et'een the se0es) 1ut to &any, a
&o*e&ent of o'erful 'o&en is seen as threatening) "When a &an gi*es his oinion, he.s a
&an) When a 'o&an gi*es her oinion, she.s a %itch$ 21ette 3a*is4 'o&en in the 1560.s 'ere
*ie'ed as courageous) !hey 'ould rotest, and screa& their oinions) And 'e got so&e'here7
'e got the 'o&en.s rights &o*e&ent in action) "8n local co&&unities, in the &edia and in
'o&en,s ersonal situations, 1560s fe&inists insired olitical action and changed &any
'o&en,s li*es)$
Many 'o&en in 2014 are afraid to call the&sel*es fe&inists) What haened/ Modern 'o&en
don.t feel "traditional$ fe&inis& fits into their lifestyles or circu&stances) !hat 'ould %e the
1560.s fe&inis&, or the second9'a*e of fe&inis&, So&e eole consider it the "traditional$
'ay of fe&inis&) 1ut no' fe&inis& in general is ta+en as a "%ad 'ord,$ the "#$ 'ord) !o
'o&en, fe&inis& is no longer a la%el they feel roud to 'ear) Why 'ould so&ething that 'as
once so good, li+e 'anting e(uality, no' %e seen as so&ething %ad/
:ere are a fe' reasons 'o&en don.t li+e to %e called fe&inist in the year 2014) Media
creates negati*e stereotyes of these o'erful 'o&en) 1ut fe&inis& is considered a %ad 'ord
a&ong society today) 1ecause 'o&en %eing seen as o'erful, or fighting for 'hat they %elie*e
in, is 'rong) 1ut it.s also the sheer fact that eole ha*e ut a %ad &eaning to the 'ord
fe&inis&) According to the researchers at !he ;ni*ersity of !oronto, no%ody li+es a fe&inist,
and a study they did clai&ed that eole still defer to stereotyes a%out tyical fe&inists) !hey
narro'ed it do'n to na&es such as, "&an9hating$ and "unhygienic$ 2Penny4) !hese stereotyes
are li&iting the desire for 'o&en.s li%eration as a lifestyle choice) E*en 'o&en 'ho are
cele%rities are afraid to %e called such a thing) When as+ed the (uestion, "Would you consider
yourself a fe&inist)$ the ans'er is usually a &i0ed one) <aty Perry, the fa&ous o singer said "8
a& not a fe&inist, %ut 8 do %elie*e in the strength of 'o&en)$ So&e eole still *ie' #e&inis&
as it 'as in the 1560.s, the %urning of the %ras, the screa&ing rotest, the hunger stri+es, and of
course the &an hating)
!a+e the song =1lurred lines= for instance, the artist Ro%in thic+e, 'rote a song, 'hich in
turn is *ery degrading to 'o&en) 8n the *ideo, Ro%in !hic+e, and t'o other &en are singing a
song a%out ho' 'o&en "'ant it,$ they also ha*e three &odels rancing around the& ractically
na+ed) 8n the song there are such lines as "8 +no' you 'ant it,$ ">o&e and get it)$ 8f that doesn.t
uset you, it has uset a lot of eole in the ast fe' &onths) !here are a lot of ne's articles and
*ideos a%out it, so&e are going as far as to call it a song %asically a%out "Raing 'o&en)$ 8f you
are (uestioning 'hether fe&inis& is still rele*ant in society today) #e&inis& is still *ery
rele*ant7 %y ?ust loo+ing at this song e0a&le, you 'ill see that the =no'= fe&inist co&&unity
tore it aart) !hey held rotest, and signed etitions to get the song off the radio)
1ut &y fa*orite e0a&le is, a grou of three fe&inist 'o&en fro& the =;ni*ersity of
Auc+land= 'ho call the&sel*es the =La' Re*ue @irls= &ade a arody of the *ideo 1lurred lines)
8n the *ideo it is the three 'o&en, and three &uscular &en in their 'hitey tidy,s) Since it is a
arody the song is still the sa&e, %ut these ladies too+ the lyrics and turned the& around, to &a+e
the& a%out &en) !hough they are e(ually as intense as !hic+es lines, and slightly se0ist, there is
a &essage they are trying to get across) "!i&e to ut &isogyny on arole, Put e0loitation on
ro%ation, !i&e for you to 'itness our li%erationA$ and "!ell &e ho' it feels to get *er%ally
harassed) "!he *ideo 'as osted to Bou!u%e, %ut 'ithin the sa&e day got deleted, for
=8naroriate content)= 8t has since %een restored) =We thin+ that 'o&en should %e treated
e(ually, and as art of that, 'e.re trying to address the culture of o%?ectifying 'o&en in &usic
*ideos,= Lu%%oc+ 2one of the 'o&en in the grou4 8t is ridiculous that the *ideo %y the grou of
fe&inist got ta+en do'n, %ut not the original *ideo %y Ro%in !hic+e) 8n the fe&inist *ideo, yes
they are se0ualiCing &en, %ut they are doing it in a funny fashion, and trying to ro*e a oint) 8t,s
a arody, 'hat &ore 'ould you e0ect) 1ut in the original, Ro%in thic+es *ersion, they ha*e
'o&en na+ed, rancing around, 'hile telling the&, the song lyrics, that they 'ant to ha*e se0
'ith the&, they +no' they 'ant it) 1ut it 'asn,t deleted fro& Bou!u%e) 8ts oularity actually
s+yroc+eted, the &ore hate it got) 8n fact it 'as in the nu&%er one sot for a fe' &onths) 8t,s a
&assi*e dou%le standard) 1ut the fe&inist co&&unity 'asn.t ha*ing it) !hey osted all o*er the
internet not to listen to the song, and to try and get Bou!u%e to delete it) Do it 'asn.t deleted, %ut
it did ha*e a &assi*e loss in *ie'ers) !his ro*ing that fe&inist.s are still around, and fighting
for 'hat they %elie*e is right)
What is %otherso&e though is, the 'o&en 'ho &ade the arody are no' *ie'ed as
"se0ist &an haters,$ 'hen they 'ere si&ly recreating the *ideo fro& a fe&inist oint of *ie')
!hey 'ere trying to say that it is not alright for &en in &usic to degrade 'o&en, ?ust %ecause the
can &a+e a catchy song, and ha*e it go to the nu&%er one sot) 1ut the& getting hate, for 'hat
they %elie*e is right, is a %ad &essage to send to our society) Esecially the young 'o&en 'ho
are confused as to 'hat fe&inis& really is)
So, 'here does that lea*e 'o&en/ Scared to %e called fe&inist, due to hate, and the lac+
of understanding) #e&inis& is a &ess, and needs to sort itself out) 8n order to %e =rele*ant to
young 'o&en today= it needs to sha*e its legs and get a haircut) !he fact that, that,s so&eone,s
oinion on fe&inis& is rather disaointing) #e&inis& 'ill %e around for a 'hile, as long as you
ha*e issues that need to %e sol*ed, and eole 'ho 'ant to sol*e the&, it 'ill %e rele*ant) We
need to dro the stereotyes and ?ust get do'n to the root of our ro%le&s, and deal 'ith the&)
#e&inis& has co&e a long 'ay, 'e ha*e gotten so &uch done, %ut 'e still ha*e so &uch to 'or+
on) As long as 'e ha*e ro%le&s %et'een &en, and 'o&en, 'e 'ill al'ays need so&eone to
ste u and %e the leader, to sho' that 'e can &a+e a difference, and hel 'ith those issues)
!hat,s 'hy 'e need to change the 'ay eole *ie' fe&inis&, %ut ho'/
We can start %y going %ac+ to the root of fe&inis& and getting e(uality for &en and
'o&en) A lot of eole don.t li+e to "la%el$ the&sel*es) 1ut la%eling yourself as a fe&inist is not
a %ad thing, in fact its rather good) As long as you, yourself understand 'hat you %elie*e and
'hat you are 'illing to fight for, that,s fe&inis&) @et rid of the idea that it is, &an hating, and
%urning of %ras, its not) Standing u for 'hat you %elie*e in, and 'hat you feel is right, is the
&ain idea %ehind %eing a fe&inist) #e&inis& is a &o*e&ent to end se0is&, se0ist e0loitation,
and oression, %ut ho' are 'e suose to handle the issues 'ith e(uality, and the ay ga, if
'o&en don.t consider the&sel*es fe&inists, and refuse to fight for e(uality)
8f you can stand u for yourself, and sea+ to others 'hat you feel needs to change, and
ho' you are going to hel change it, then you 'ill %e contri%uting to the fe&inist co&&unity,
and heling get fe&inis& %ac+ on trac+) We can.t %e afraid to *oice our oinions, 'e 'ouldn.t %e
any'here in this 'orld if eole hadn.t so+en their ideas, and *oiced their oinions) "3on,t %e
afraid to call yourself a fe&inist,$ 'e should say, "1ut don,t feel that you ha*e to, either)
1ecause unli+e the rest of the 'orld, 'e are not going to e0ect you to fulfill a role that you are
not co&forta%le 'ith) We are here to ?udge you on your actions, %ecause that,s 'hat 'e all
deser*e$ 2#agan4) 8n the near future 8 'ould li+e to see 'o&en 'ho are fe&inist *ie'ed as 'hat
they really are, 'o&en 'ho ha*e strength and suort for other 'o&en, and &en) And the rest of
the 'orld loo+ing u to the& for insiration) !he ne0t ti&e you hear the 'ord fe&inist, 8 hoe
you thin+ of this essay, and you are a%le to *oice your oinions on 'hat you %elie*e to %e right,
not 'hat society %elie*es to %e true)
Wor+s >ited
1ette 3a*is EuoteF @oodreads)co&/(uotes
3a*enort, Melinda) "Wo&en earn -- cents to e*ery &ans dollar$ Wisn)co&) A%c ne's,
G Aril 2014) We%) 5 Aril 2014)
#agan, >helsea) "Wo&en 3on,t :a*e !o >all !he&sel*es #e&inist)$ !hought >atalog)
!he !hought H E0ression >o) G Iuly 201J) We%) 5 Aril 2014
@eneral 8dea of #e&inis&F
:e+&an, Susan ?) M) @ender and <no'ledgeF Ele&ents of a Post&odern #e&inist)
Malden, MaF Polity ress, 155K, Rerint 200K) Print)
Dai+os+i, Linda) "1560s #e&inist Acti*ities)$ A%out)co& !he De' Bor+ !i&e >o, 6
Aril 2014) We%)
Penny, Laurie) "if you,re a fe&inist you,ll %e called a &an9hater) Bou don,t need
re%randing) "!he @uardian, - Lcto%er 201J) We%) 5 Aril 2014
Willia&s, Mary) "Why are 'o&en scared to call the&sel*es fe&inist/$ Salon) 3a*id
!al%ot, J 3ece&%er 2012) We%) 5 Aril 2014
Lauren Wehlage
Professor Suddreth
English 1010
4 May 2014
English Reflection
E*eryone &ust gro' u at so&e oint in life, 'hether you ta+e a %rea+ along the 'ay, or
?ust go for 'hat you 'ant, e*eryone goes through it) 8 started this se&ester 'ith a confused
outloo+ on life, 8 hadn,t done too 'ell in &y final year of :igh School, and 8 'asn,t really sure
'hat 8 'anted for &y career) So, after a se&ester %rea+, 8 started school at Salt La+e >o&&unity
>ollege) Still confused, %ut 8 felt 8 'as on the right trac+ for &y life) 8 decided to do &y generals,
and go fro& there) English 1010 'as a re(uire&ent, %ut 8 thoroughly en?oyed it, nonetheless)
As 8,& thin+ing a%out it, i,*e al'ays %een a 'riter in so&e +ind of 'ay, &y 'hole life) 8
got &y first diary 'hen 8 'as G, and at the sa&e ti&e 8 'as reading The Diary Of Anne Frank in
school) So, &y general idea of ho' to 'rite in a diary 'as a %it &isconstrued, 8 assu&ed you
'ere suose to "!al+ at$ the diary) So e*ery day 8 'ould tal+ to &y diary li+e it 'as a erson,
and ne*er thought &uch of it) A fe' years do'n the road, 8 started 'riting short stories, and
oe&s) 8 really en?oyed 'riting, %ut nothing &ade &e en?oy it as &uch as the coule of teachers 8
'as luc+y enough to get, 'ho taught &e 'riting)
!he first teacher 'ho really &eant so&ething to &e 'as &y Jrd grade teacher, Mrs)
1arnes) She +ne' 8 had A3:3, and 8 'as struggling 'ith learning cursi*e) She &ade &e an
alha%et to coy, and then she had &e 'rite fun stories, instead of the %oring sentences li+e all
the other +ids 'ere forced to coy) 8 'ould sit do'n, and 'rite nor&al 5 year old stories, a%out
rincesses, and haily e*er afters) 1ut it &ade &e lo*e 'riting, and 8 learned ho' to do cursi*e
%etter than &ost +ids in &y class)
!he second, 'as &y >reati*e 'riting teacher senior year) She 'as 'ac+y, funny, and
sarcastic, she 'as &y a%solute fa*orite, and the only reason 8 'ent to &y classes senior year) She
'as the real reason 8 'anted to %e a 'riter, she ushed &e, and challenged &e to do %etter) !he
'hole class had the otion to enter one of their ieces into a contest, that the 'hole district 'as
doing) 8 of course 'asn,t lanning on entering anything, 8 didn,t feel that 8 'as a good enough
'riter) 1ut she ulled &e aside and said "Lauren, 8 ha*e %een 'riting for 2K years, 8 +no' a good
'riter 'hen 8 see one, and you are indeed a good 'riter)$ !hen she %ri%ed &e, %y offering &e
e0tra credit if 8 entered a iece in the contest) 8 said "What the hec+, 'hy not,$ and entered a
'riting 8 did called "3ar+ness)$ !his 'as an assign&ent 'here 'e 'ere gi*en a sheet of aer
'ith rando& 'ords, 'e had to cut the& u, and rando&ly ic+ 10 'ords, and use the& to create
a oe&/'riting) Mine turned out a %it, soo+y, %ut it 'as interesting to read) 8 didn,t e0ected to
'in the contest, or e*en get a "@ood Io%$ stic+er) 1ut a fe' 'ee+s later, 8 'on second lace, out
of all of the :igh Schools in 3a*is >ounty) 8 felt roud, and 8 +ne' fro& there on that 8 could
really %e a 'riter if 8 'anted to)
!hat leads &e to the resent, &y third fa*orite teacher, Mrs) Suddreth) 8,d li+e to start %y
saying, no 8 a& not %ro'n nosing, or %eing a teachers et) 8 a& generally saying that Professor
Suddreth 'as one of &y fa*orite teachers, and do'n the road 8 'ill ro%a%ly than+ her in one of
&y %oo+s) !he first thing 8 noticed 'hen 8 entered &y first day of English 1010 'as &y ne'
":i$ teacher) With %right red hair, and an a'eso&e ":ister$ style) 8 'as instantly assured that
8 'ould lo*e this class, and that 8 'ould do anything to ro*e to this teacher that 8 could %e a
good 'riter) Mostly %ecause 8 +no' 8 ha*e %ad 'riting s+ills, and &y gra&&ar is a'ful) 1ut 8
'as the only English Ma?or in the class, so 8 felt the need to ro*e &yself) Do' the fact that 8
hadn,t 'ritten a roer essay in al&ost a year, &ade her, and 8 disaointed 'hen 8 handed in &y
first essay) 8t 'as all o*er the lace, and it sounded li+e a %log entry) She 'as nice enough to tell
&e 'hat 8 needed to fi0, and let &e re9do it) 1ut, 8 finally realiCed 8 'asn,t doing too 'ell in
school around #e%ruary9March, and 8 had confided in a coule of &y teachers, Mrs) Suddreth
%eing one) After and e&ail or t'o, and a tal+, she said that she 'as 'illing to hel &e 'ith
anything 8 needed) 8t &ade &e feel %etter, and 8 +ne' that if a teacher %elie*ed 8 could do it, than
8 could)
With that 'e are no' starting #inals 'ee+, it is stressful, hard, and annoying) 1ut e*ery
college student has to go through it) !a+ing English 1010 8 ha*e learned &any ne' 'riting s+ills,
such as, ho' to use MLA roerly, and ho' to find &y o'n 'riting style) Also 8 ha*e learned
the %asics of ho' to 'rite 'ith &y >ultural Eye) !hat 'ill %e helful 'ith &y acade&ic career
%ecause 8 'ill +no' ho' to &a+e &y 'riting aealing to all +ind of different eole) !he %oo+
'e read blink %y Malcol& @lad'ell 'as also *ery useful, 8 learned ho' to aly his 'riting style
into &y o'n 'ritings) :is sentence structure, and ac+ing lots of infor&ation into a short
sentence 'ill %e *ery helful 'ith future essays in &y college career)
!hese last fe' &onths 8 feel 8 ha*e gro'n u in all sorts of 'ays, secifically %eing a
student, 8 no' +no' ho' to roerly 'rite an essay) 8 also +no' the difference %et'een a
research essay, a critical analysis essay, and an MLA style essay) 8 learned ho' to %etter &y
acade&ic *oice, %y 'riting in a scholarly 'ay, rather than if 8 'ere to %e 'riting a %log entry)
E*en though 8 ha*e ta+en this class, 8 still feel &y gra&&ar, and ossi%ly so&e 'riting
s+ills 'ould %e good for &e to attain) 8 still struggle slightly 'ith &y thesis state&ents, and a& a
%it iffy on ho' to do a 'or+s cited)
8 ha*e learned so &any ne' ter&s, and 'riting styles, that 8 can aly to &y career)
Which hoefully 'ill %e a 'riter, or &ay%e ?ournalis&, %ut e*erything 8,*e learned in this class 8
can use to'ards &y ?o%) 8 a& so *ery grateful to ha*e gotten the oortunity to ta+e English
1010, 'ith Professor Suddreth) 8 hoe one day our aths cross again, !han+9you)