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oschalit's picture

mind...body

Although I found many aspects of the two articles very interesting and thought provoking, I find myself attached to a particular line in Grosz's article, "the body has been and still is closely associated with women and the feminine, whereas the mind remains connected to men and the masculine" (p.195).  This comment was preceded by an explanation made by Grosz that feminists, despite the fact that they spend a great deal of time fighting for rights that invole a woman's body, have continually rejected the possibility that the actual discrimination that women experience is in part due to their body. I understand why women might be reluctant to address this possibility but I really feel that this discrepancy between men and women is, in fact, at the root of women's discrimination. A fact that we cannot ignore is that women, not men, are built to be able to produce a baby, life. Because of this inevitably women become the symbol of life, everything physical. Earth? Referred to as Mother Earth. Mother, being feminine which is connected to women. As a result, since the beginning of time (sorry for being dramatic), we are inevitably be seen as being strongly connected to all the attributes associated with baby-making. So how are seen in the world? We are seen as emotional (as a result irrational and flighty), sensitive, reactive, not proactive,  weak, less intelligent (not as "thinking inclined"), in need of protection and naive. How can we deny that this is a natural part of how we end up in a society that has demeaned women to a place of being "inferior" to men? We can, however, argue that it is terrible that something so negative has been created out of something so beautiful and natural, reproduction. It appears that some women scientists and professionals have chosen not have children in order to erradicate any misperception of their image as a worker. This does not seem like enough though. It is wrong to think that in order to change this that we must separate women from birth and caregiving. Instead we need to separate our reproductive abilities from all the negative attributes attached to it or have them be seen differently. I believe that this is a necessary part of the feminist movement.
Odile

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