The Feminine Mystique

I've read only 100 pages of The Feminine Mystique...

Wow, just WOW.

That's my whole response. This book is way too intense. I'm a hundred pages in and I'm oh my gosh. Wow. Just amazed at this piece of non-fiction literature. I had to stop and update my blog because of the impact of it. Just wow.

Here's what I've concluded about my life in terms of this book:

1. I'm changing my last name. I'm tired of being my fathers daughter. He's a great dad and I love him, but I want to be my own person. My last name is my father's name. Not mine. I chose my grandmothers maiden name Rock, for I hope to be as strong as a rock with out my father. =] Like many women are in the 21st Century. This has been a thought in my brain since probably the day my grandma passed and in no way was this a light decision on my part. Changing my name because of marriage is something I have decided against long before this book, so I do not have to worry about changing it 'in a few years'.

2. Becoming my mother is not a bad thing. I mean, she waited to have my siblings and I, and with that, she did a great job raising us. She's still not done with raising us, either. Of course, there are many things I would do differently with my future children and with my life, but I love her and her good qualities are something I want in my life. She raised me to be a critical thinker and form my own views and opinions. I love her for that.

3. Reading the chapter "The Passionate Journey" really gave me some insight on the label 'feminist' and although I am hesitant to label myself as anything. I believe that becoming a true feminist outweighs the feminist stereotypes. I guess this is my way of saying "I'm a effing feminist, so get over it" to myself. Other people who dislike this new label I am giving myself will have to deal with their feelings about it on their own, it's not my problem.

4. Finally, these 100 pages really took away the guilt I've been having about some of the choices I want to make for my future. The reason why I've been trying to get done with my studies so quickly, and I've been hesitant to admit this to anyone even myself, is to have children sooner and to be financially independent with children. I, in no way, believe that being a mother will be complete fulfillment in my life, but I know that I want to become one. I do not know how but The Feminine Mystique really assured me that these goals for myself were okay to admit.

Well, this was extremely personal and I hope not too personal for you, my readers. I'm sure there will be more about this book when I finally finish it. As for now, enjoy these findings about my life.

Comparison of Two International Feminist Websites

I choose to compare, in class, two different feminist websites from around the world.

The first one I choose was from the UK. I choose it because it looked simple and not too busy. However, I scrolled down and discovered that, it was in fact, way too busy for me. I included a shot of it above, I mean, doesn't it look promising.

Well, the menu on the right side was quite helpful. And I could see that this website gave a lot of information. It just had too much text for me to concrentrate. I loved the idea of the F-Word Blog tab. You can get reliable factual information on the home page, but if you want articles with a more biased feminist perspective, you can have that choice.

The next one I looked at was something a little bit different. Just because I wanted to compare cultures as well. I clicked on it because I thought it would portray to my project I will do later in the semester. (On Visual Aids and Feminist Activism) And at first, I didn't like the layout, but I grew to like it as I explored it.

This website was not like I expected it would be, it was so much better. I am impressed with how 'high tech' the arab world is. It was so much better than the UK website!! And I got a lot more information, then I did at the UK site.

So overall, even if there is a lot of information, it is best if you keep it as simple as possible. I am definitely coming back here for my project!