Consciousness

Did I spell that right? You can't spell check in the title :p

At any rate, mine has been raised. I always have identified vaguely as a feminist. Never really sure what that mean, but I thought at one time it meant not taking any of men's shit. Being one who comes from a very systemic perspective (hello, MFT program at U of A!) I am a bit surprised at how narrow my perspective was. Perhaps I have only learned what I was capable of absorbing...

I have consciously done more research about this very issue, driven both by a bit of boredom and by the fact that I have two daughters. I have learned so very much, about things like male privilege, how women today seem to think that they have it good, but really it is more just a pat on the head than any real progress, etc. I am now completely and utterly unable to watch TV without dissecting in my head all the ways that what I see objectifies women and serves to keep them in their roles, i.e., submissive to men. This has altered a lot of what I watch.

It has also been a big struggle for me. I watched Shrek 2 with Alexis for the first time today (hers, not mine). It is the first time that I saw it since I started to do my research. While there are a lot of good things in that movie, it still serves to perpetuate the stereotype that women are not whole somehow unless they have a man in their lives.

We still have a long way to go. I am proud to be a part of this movement, and to pass my knowledge on to my kids. I just worry that I am not doing my part, by allowing my daughters to play with princesses and to watch Disney and to listen to pop music. I could shelter them, not allow them to listen to it, as many fundamental Christians do. However, how will that work once they grow up? I have chosen to talk to my kids about this instead.

My consciousness has been raised. While it has shown me the errors of a lot of what I used to do, it has opened up new avenues for me. And for that, I will be grateful.