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Show April 22, 1992 Staying at By TYSON MATT Asst. Signature Editor of The Signpost "I would like to see women address better and more adequate day care. In other countries, the act of child bearing is regarded with more respect than it is in this country," said Maria Parrilla of Women's Educational Resource Center. "The reality is, physically I am different than you, men I am the one bearing children I should n't be punished for it." Parrilla said that in the work place, women are punished forhav-ing to take maternity leave. Employers often will find someone to replace the woman at the time of maternity leave and the woman Men are WSU students say By TYSON WATT Asst Signature Editor of The Signpost The feminist movement of the nineties and through the turn of the century is more encompassing than just women working to achieve equality. It also involves men working for equality and rights for women. Kirk Ottley, a political science student at WSU is involved in the feminist movement at WSU. "For me feminisim is the idea that we need to remove discrimination of any kind, but especially the d i scrmination of gend er lines," said Ottley. "Also that somehow the hiearchy of the male power be moved down." Ottley says that even though the movement is primarily women there are some men in the movement at least on the campus here at WSU. home: it isn't will not have a job when the baby is born. According to Parrilla this adds to what she calls the poverty of women or feminization of poverty. Parrilla defines the feminization of poverty as single women with chil- dren who are at poverty level or on welfare due to lack of education or skills that enable them to get a job with enough income support their family. Parrilla said many women were raised with the idea that you were to stay home, so many of them didn't get the education necessary to get a good job. According to Parrilla, when these women get into a bad marriage or something happens to the husband, they find themselves part of the feminist movement too those in perpetuating the hierarchy need to be involved in the process "Based on the class size of feminist studies classes that I have been in, I would say that men would make up fifteen to twenty-five percent of the feminist's," said Ottley. Some of the people are their out of curiosity. Ottley said men need to be aware that men play an important part in the feminist movement even though it is primariarly a movement for women. "If the goal of the feminist movement is to dismantle the hierarchy,then those involved in perpetuating the hierarchy,men need to be involved in the process." Ottley said he didn't say that in any condescending way and he wasn't insinuating that women needed men in the traditional gender role way that most people think. "If you are going to convince me to tear down the patriarch, you've got to convince men to tear down the patriarch because they The Signpost wrong, its just not reality many times without a job and without the ability to provide for themselves and their children. Parrilla said she has found many young women today who feel this same wayandshecan't understand why. "It is as if the women's movement of the 60s never happened. To hear high school andjuniorhigh school girls say I just want to stay home, is to have them say they learned nothing from the movement. I don't understand why their parents never taught them about the things we fought for," she said. "It isn't wrong, it's just not reality. Nine out of ten women will be in the work force for twenty-five years of their life. " She also said that young women today need to get a education because the chances of women being able to stay at home are almost none. Harrison said she felt the same way. "Women today have to get at leastabachelor'sdegreeand maybe more in order to compete for a job at decent wages. "I live in a society who believes that I should stay home. The reality is I can't. " Pam Harrison, MSW intern, at WSU Psychological Counseling Center said she felt like there was some progress made with the movement of the 60s but in recent years she has seen some backlashes. "I'm much more of an optimist. Things have changed but we also have had a great deal of regression," said Harrison. "I think the 60s and the social movements that took place during that time were extremely critical. They were needed tobreak do wn barriers and to expand the vision for ordinary people to have a hope; and possibility to have impact on the system," she continued." Civil rights served women in that we were able to tag along. We were written into some of the legislation during that time." She said that the social movements of the 60s also moved the feminist movement forward. "It also spurned us forward. From the anti-war and civil rights movements much of the blatant sexism that happened in those movements made the women in those movements face their own oppression and realize that even within those movements the work that they were doing was discredited."Harrison feels that sexism is still there, but it is not as obvious. are the ones who hold the power, they are the ones who perpetuated it." Ottley said he found his attitudes toward feminisim changed aftertakinga feminist theories class. "When I took a feminist theories class one of my apprehensions was that I would encounter many gender feminist's whose goal was not to tear down the hierarchy, but to invert it," said Ottley. "But I found out that wasn't true. " Ottley said what he did find was a lot of anger from women toward men. He said he found many women who had attitudes toward men that stemmed from domineering husbands, abusive husband s and other issues like pay scales. Ottley said that his perceptions as a man in the movement are much different than those of a woman in the movement. "As a man I have been able to Parrilla compared the society of the early days of Utah when the Mormon pioneers were crossing the plains to get to Utah. "EHiring the time that the Mormon people were coming across the plains and the wagon breaks down and I am here with a wagon load of kids don't see the woman standing by and watching the man fix the broken wagon wheel and saying' I am sorry you'll have to do that your self, I'm breast feeding now. I see the women helping the men." Harrison said Economics as a essential issue in the struggle of the feminist movement. "As long as women are economically dependent, and not on equal footing with men, a lot of our choices are going to be based on that rather than what is best for us," she said. I see being able to be self sufficient economically as the great equalizer in the relationship between women and men." Parrilla says that many young women today won't realize how important an education is. "Nine out of ten girls in high school today will end up spending t wenty-fi ve years in the work force." Young women need to realize the need to become educated. It is a myth to wait around to marry prince charming," she said. "What if he leaves?" Parrilla said that she takes offense to the women who say," bh I'm a full time mom." "What the hell am I? Am I only a part time mother because I work outside the home? I also get offended by women who say I stay at home, I don't work. That makes it sound as if raising a child isn't work I need a rest when I stay at home with my child." Parrilla also said that she is upset with the perfect woman image that women are given through the media and advertising. 'The advertising industry gives women the idea that they have to look a certain way, act a certain way, and bea certain size to be a woman of the nineties." "The fact is that almost none of us look like that. In fact most of what advertising portrays is not what women are really like. I never sit down with a group of women and say, hey look at this new tampon I found, it even has it's own plastic applicator. Women never do that,"Parrilla said. Harrison agrees, "The created image leaves me cold," she said. Parrilla's views on the abor participate in privileges that the patriarchy grants me."Ottley said. "1 think that my fears are jaded because I come from a privileged position. I'm not the one who is discriminated aganst because of my sex, I'm not the one who is payed less because of my gender," he continued. "I see it more as an ethical question." Two other male feminist's on Campus Eric E. Mitchell and Brian Hahn also have been exposed to both womensand mensviewsabout feminism and feminist issues. Mitchell says he sees a change taking place and people being a ware of what is going on. "I think the fact that we have a womens studies program and that we have a feminist support group on campus are signs that people are concerned about these issues." Mitchell said the things that are studied through the womens studies program are good because nowadays tion issue however are different than those of most feminists. Parrilla said she feels that although the abortion issue is important, things like equality and day care should be addressed first. "I get tired of the abortion pro choice issue," said Parrilla. "It seems to me like there were some women who worked very hard at the time of women's suffrage and then there was a large gap of time and then we were talking about abortion ever since. Abortion is not as important as equal pay and proper day care." Harrison disagreed stating that the abortion issue was first and foremost in importance. "Probably the most important issue is reproductive control, but it is much broader than that," said Harrison. She confesses that it is child care and it's increasing the status in wages in what has been defined as women's professions. "I think the concept is much deeper. It's equal pay for comparable work. I think that the woman who is a secretary with a degree in English and some other schooling in administration should make more than the gardener who takes care of the trees and dropped out of school in the tenth grade. You need to look at educational skills and levels of responsibility in order to decide what is equitable." Harrison also sees Economics as a essential issue in the struggleof the feminist movement. "As long as women are economically dependent, and not on equal footing with men, a lot of our choices are going to be based on that rather than what is best for us," said Harrison. "I see being able to be self sufficient economically as the great equalizer in the relationship." Other people on campus who are concerned about women's issues on campus include those students and faculty who are forming a feminist support group, to make students more a wareof feminist and women's issues. Pam Fritch, a student at WSU who is involved in the feminist support group said that it was started because there were many women who were in the women's studies program who felt likethey couldn't voice their opinion in a classroom situation. Harrison said that one of the main reasons for starting the group was to connect with other people on campus. they raise ideas of change and challenge the status quo. "The reason that I think that a lot of men are attracted to this scholarship is because it is cutting edge. It is really exciting in terms of new intellectual traditions and reworking old intlellectual traditions."Ottley said that in his opinion the feminist movement is united in its causebut divided in its methodology.We are united in the sense that we want to see an end to discrimination and oppression. Where we divide is our methods." Hahn said that he felt like most men were not receptive to the ideas of feminisim because of thebad namethatithasbeen given in the past. "I try and express my views to men because I want them to overcome not knowing what feminisim is about. " |