Woman Studies Questions

THIS IS THE LINK FOR BOOK YOU NEED! >>  http://rapidshare.com/files/4045469388/%5BHunter_College_Women’s_Studies_Collective__%C3%9Clk%C3%BC(Bookos.org)

This week you will complete the following activities:

1. Read chapter 11 pages 340-364 in our text.

2. Read chapter 8 in our text.

3. read Anna Quindlen’s article “Playing God on No Sleep.”

4. Respond to the topics on foot binding and FGM; if you would like to, as they are not mandatory.

5. Your second assignment, the Web review, is due.

1) Read our text pages 340-364, including the famous article by feminist Gloria Steinem called “If Men Could Menstruate” (pages 346-347). Tell what you think would be the consequences for women’s health if women had greater control of their own health issues/bodies. What factors affect their control? How might this control be increased? What concerns could arise in the future? Have you ever had any encounter with the women’s health issues mentioned in this chapter?

2) Read the article by Anna Quindlen called “Playing God on No Sleep” and also chapter 8 in our textbook. Discuss some of the realities and myths of motherhood that have affected your family. What are some of the sources from which a woman in the United States learns how to be a mother? (if you are not from the US, then tell about where in the country you came from). What changes do you hope for and what changes do you expect in mothering in the next century? LINK HERE FOR STORY>>

http://www.fact.on.ca/news/news0107/nw010702.htm

3) Foot binding was a practice used in China to create beautiful feet in upper class women. Since we need our feet to do hard work, bound feet (lotus feet) were a sign of being wealthy and meant that a young girl could make a good match. Therefore, mothers were eager to prolong the practice to provide a good future for their daughters. Another side effect is that a woman could no longer run fast (escape!) or carry heavy weights, obvious benefits to the husband. Foot binding was outlawed in China by the Communist Revolution, ironically, not because it was cruel and inhumane, but because it was a sign of wealth! There are only a few survivors of the practice around today. LINK FOR VIDEO!

4) FGM is practiced to show a woman’s chastity, and to prevent her from straying outside the home. In the countries where it is practiced, one man often has many wives, since infant mortality is high and many children are needed to ensure the survival of the family (and the species). Some people compare it to circumcision in males, which was also performed to control men’s sexuality (less masturbation). Is it comparable? Millions of women each year undergo this treatment in poor and rich countries alike. Unicef reports these statistics. LINK HERE>>>>

http://www.unicef.org/protection/index.html