Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence

     What I got out of Rich's article is that compulsory heterosexuality is just the act of being heterosexual due to societal pressures, whether or not that is a person's sexual orientation. Rich uses the example of lesbians in the work place. A lot of lesbians are almost forced to be in hiding not only in the workplace, but in public in general, because they do not want to be judged or fired based on that reason.

     As for Lesbian Existence, is there really such a thing? From what i read and understood in Rich's article is that they do not really 'exist' per se other than what i believe to be a fantasy world. It isn't right that they have to keep their feelings hidden from people. Why do they have to live double lives?

Economy: Feminist Issue at Large.

     The Center for Working Class Studies is a website that provides info about the "working class". What I found most interest is their view and what they feel is the working class. According to the authors the working class cannot really be defined. How you are classified into the working class is based on a few questions though. They include: what kind of work, how much they earn, social/economic power, education, lifestyle and finally culture. Really that goes for all class infrastructures. Another thing i though was pretty awesome was the fact that they help people understand how they should be paid and provide info to help make sure you are being paid properly. They call it wage theft. Some employers don't pay overtime or withhold pay illegally, which are some examples of wage theft.
      People like us focuses on class difference and how it effects certain peoples lives. They say that we have this generalization that all people are created equal. But the class separation is the polar opposite of being equal. Our class more or less decides how we are brought up. It shapes your education and people's overall attitude towards how they work. But it also affects how people look at individuals. One example story was of a woman who lived in a trailer and worked a job that paid her minimum wage. She refused to be on welfare and her daughter, who had moved out and was considered to be in the middle class, picked on her and pretty much called her 'trailer trash'. All this because she wanted to EARN her living and not have her life handed to her by the government.
     We miss judge people based on appearance and how they live their lives. This is one of the main reasons why the economy is a feminist issue. Also the shear fact that there are millions of women who are being under paid and are experience wage theft in the United States, never mind the world.

These Gas Prices...

     I do not know about the rest of the class, but as a commuter and a pizza delivery driver, I can say that I am overwhelmingly fed up with the rise of gas prices. Whether or not they are trying to push new energy efficient vehicles, there is no excuse for the recent $4.03 per gallon that I just paid. Right now oil is at about $99 dollars per barrel and in July of 2008 when oil hit an all time high of $145 dollars per barrel with a gas price of $4.10 per gallon. Why is it that we are paying relatively close to the same amount now when the crude oil prices are almost $50 per barrel cheaper. Its more than aggravating. Rather than tap into the 300 years of natural resources we have sitting under the United State or tap into the oil reserves we have in various states, we continue to import our oil. Our president does not have the back bone to stand up to OPEC or the oil refineries. Not for nothing but if one of the largest importers of oil threatens to stop buying, OPEC will have to listen. But that is besides the point. Mitt Romney appears to have the answer to these problems.
     "As president, I will unleash American innovation and productivity to make full use of our natural resources", Romney states in one of his speeches on the energy issue. He suggests that if he becomes president he will make sure we invest in the research on multiple energy sources and the expansion and innovation of others. They include: Liquified coal, bio diesel, ethanol, safer nuclear energy and the reuse of it. One thing that struck me in the face was the fact that he was more than realistic about the time frame in which this could happen. Romney explains, in Coralville,Iowa,  that it will take ten maybe twenty years to reach full energy independence from foreign nations, maybe even more. Its the initiative that he is willing to take in order to save us from those monstrous gas prices, that get excited to vote this upcoming fall. Well, one of many.
    One major thing that needs to happen in order to reduce the current gas prices and get us moving into new technologies is to permit off-shore drilling and approval of the keystone pipeline from Canada. In an article in The Columbus Dispatch, Romney states: I will increase production... I will permit access to our resources in the Gulf of Mexico, the Outer Continental Shelf, western lands and the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. I also will partner closely with our neighbors. Canada and Mexico have extraordinary resources of their own that can provide secure, reliable supplies for our economy. This starts with my approval of the Keystone XL pipeline on Day One". It will reduce gas prices to an extreme low (compared to four dollars at least). One of the main reasons the United States has not drilled in our own territories is the fact that most of the oil refineries are severely outdated and are costly to produce gasoline. If all we did was update, it could save us billions in the long run.
     Romney states so elegantly at the end of the Dispatch article: "This pro-jobs, pro-market, pro-American energy policy will bring energy prices down today, secure an affordable supply of energy for tomorrow, send fewer dollars overseas and create millions of jobs. America can be the world’s next energy superpower, if we give ourselves the chance". We are THE superpower why not remain on top and do it efficiently.
    

    

"Oppression" by Marilyn Frye

     What I got from the article "Oppression" by Marilyn Frye is that we use the word oppression improperly. She explains that most people think oppression's "scope includes any and all human experience of limitation or suffering, no matter the cause, degree or consequence". She relates this to men's inability to feel or be sensitive.  Frye also explains when it comes to the oppression of women, we do not look at the topic in a macroscopic view as she puts it. We delve to deep into the topic and tend to over look a lot of broad aspects.
     I feel as though some of her examples are a little farfetched. The biggest turn off to the article for me was towards the end when she said that men opening the door for women is oppressive. Has a man ever said that a woman was incapable of opening a door? Why can't it be that a man is trying to be a gentleman by opening the door. What if the women feels like she shouldn't have to open the door, therefor the women is being the oppressor? 
     Even though there are a few obscure ideas to me in the article, I agree with Frye in the fact that most people do not understand the true meaning of the word oppression. I think most people need to learn the true meaning and related topics in order to be able to use the word. 

Afraid of the Label "Feminist"

Lisa Maria Hogeland's
"Fear of Feminism"

     Hogeland bases her article about young women being afraid of feminism. Feminism according to Dictionary.com is, "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men". 
     The article starts by explaining the difference between gender consciousness and feminist consciousness. She explains that gender consciousness for women is the process of understanding their vulnerabilities and celebrating their differences from men but also goes into detail about feminist consciousness bringing the awareness of gender differences to politics. Lisa feels that the younger generation are afraid of politics and do not want to have to put forth the effort to be a part of the feminist movement.
     Hogeland also mentions the term homophobia and being homosexual by orientation. She feels that the younger generation are at an age where their sexual orientation and sexual life define them. Also she writes that women being feminist takes them out of a pool for many men.In a non-for-profit online magazine, 'In These Times' , author Sady Doyle writes something similar in her article "Why Are Youngsters Afraid of the Word 'Feminist'?". She states that women are afraid to identify themselves as feminists because they feel as though men would not be attracted to them and will not listen to what they have to say because they identify themselves as feminists. 
     One of the main things I came across when researching similar articles to Hogeland was that many women do not want to be associated with the radical past of the feminist movement and do not take a deep look into what is going on now. In the video below a young girl tries to explain her views and touches upon this issue.The girl also goes into the fact that they do not want to associate with the past in the sense that they believe they are responsible for the past. Their ancestors are responsible for not allowing women to for or to have equal rights in the work place. Personal its sort of an issue for me.
     One thing that really caught my eye while reading Sady Doyle's article is that a lot of people havn't visualized the change in the movement. It is not as active as it was in the early 1900s. Primarily you can find the movement online through blogs and websites. You do not hear to much about it on the news or in the papers anymore. It has become a movement through the technological world that is now in place. I hope to discuss this more in class.

 
    

What Is Up

Hi, My name is Bobby Cazeault. I am a recent transfer student. Currently I am a sophomore here at Rhode Island college and enrolled in the accounting program. I enjoy math and numbers significantly, hence the full time desk job in the future. As of right now I deliver pizzas on the weekends and do construction whenever I am not in class. As far as free time, I do not have much, but when there is time I like to play football or most recently riding my bike has been amusing. As far as this class goes, I am taking it for the the social behavior general education requirement but I have always been for women's equality. It will be interesting to see how women have gained the equality they have and to see what they have yet to receive recognition for.