When doing the readings for this afternoon's class, I couldn't help but think about the discussion in Mickey Mouse Monopoly about gender and how Disney portrays it in their movies. The movie pointed out a trend that I myself had never noticed - not only does practically every female character have the same skinny waist, large hips, long eyelashes, etc., they are almost all portrayed in the same "feminine" way, whether that is they use their body to achieve something or are placed in situations where their body is their sole tool, they are helpless and thus in need of someone to rescue them, they enjoy tasks such as cleaning the house, doing the dishes, and cooking, and so on and so forth. In the reading Night to His Day, the author states that gender itself is nothing more than the distinctions made by society. They even claim that because the female/male characterizations are based in society and not in biology, they can be changed/fixed. But, it seems so... impossible. I like to think that I am a "feminist." Just like the reading pointed out, there seems to be a negative connotation associated with being a feminist, but I truly feel that men and women are equal, have the same abilities, and should be given the same opportunities. I grew up with a single mother who, besides being the strongest person I know, in many ways, is more capable than many of the male authority figures that have been in my life. I have always been told that I can do anything I want to do, no matter what. And yet, everywhere we look, or at least everywhere I look, it seems like all of those ideas of equality, ability, opportunity are just covering the truth - that while women may now be considered equal by the law, that while they are capable of achieving their goals in the career aspect of life, they have to work twice as hard. In high school, I was fortunate enough to participate in a program at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington called Young Women in Science. The program annually selected five girls from the Tri-Cities area to work at the laboratory alongside scientists, assisting in actual research, and listening to speakers that came from around the country to speak about their research. The program itself was created to encourage girls to enter the field of scientific research, one that is still predominantly made up of males. It was an amazing experience, but I am still shocked by the response that came from many of my classmates, especially male classmates. Many of them, whose parents worked at the lab, felt that I was given an opportunity over them, that I was in fact undeserving of being placed in the program and that they were just as qualified, if not more so. They then began a rant, one that I heard too many times in high school, about how they were now unfortunate as middle-class, white males because opportunities were being continually given to others over them. While there were programs for students other than females at the lab, programs that my male classmates could have just as easily applied for and worked in, their words, in a weird way, always reinforced my almost hopelessness at the gender issues ever really changing in the way of true equality. Even the efforts taken to make things more equal create an environment in which differences are more important.

I was also struck by the readings in that there seemed to be a sense that gender equality meant the disruption of the female/male system entirely. However, I was really intrigued by Fresh Lipstick and its claim that gender equality can still be achieved while still paying attention to differences between females and males. I hope that's true.