Perhaps I was just in a feisty mood while reading Johnson’s piece, but by the second page of the chapter I found myself bothered. In the opening of the chapter, Johnson takes stabs at American society in a backhanded way, by saying things like “it’d be hard to stir up interest in asking what kind of society would give violent and degrading visions of women’s bodies and human sexuality such a prominent and pervasive place in its culture to begin with” (29). I do agree with Johnson’s main premise that we tend to blame an invisible “system” for societal problems, but I think his argument would be stronger if he just came out and said that he was criticizing American society for not asking important questions about gender discrimination.
Furtermore, I disagree with Johnson’s statement about the general interest in determining what type of society would allow women’s bodies to be degraded. I think that in today’s modern American society, there is a constant discourse about the degradation of women in the media and there is a strong movement against it. In my upbringing at an all-girls school (grades k-12), female empowerment was always a constant topic of discussion both inside and outside the classroom, so perhaps my take on Johnson’s reading is biased. When I have encountered overtly sexist people or ideas in my life, there has always been an opposing voice to counter the sexist voice. For example, the Dove brand of pharmaceuticals has the "campaign for real beauty", which I think serves as a prime example of American society critiquing itself and fighting for gender equality. The Dove ads attempt to dismantle the idea that women have to look like supermodels, and I think the campaign has had some success (see one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U).
Switching gears...Another thing that bothered me about Johnson’s article is that he claims that people have the power to change the system of Patriarchy present in society. While there is no doubt that the members of a society are the only people who can implement change in a system, I think that Johnson needs to be more specific about who has the power to change society. I would argue that, at least in America, white males hold the most power. This may seem like an obvious statement, but this is due to the patriarchal system in America (which Johnson discusses). However, Johnson repeatedly says that the members of society must implement change, but he does not specify who these powerful change-makers are. Unfortunately, I think it would be a mistake to assume that anyone in society has the power to create change, and I think that change must start with white males. It is unlikely that women or racial minority groups would be able to implement nearly as much change as white males can, due to America’s historical discrimination against minority groups.
Callie,
ReplyDeleteWhile your concerns about white men needing to be the ones initiating change hold validity, I think singling them out as the group held responsible for social change will neglect the fact that everyone has a part in challenging patriarchy and changing society. Yes, I see your logic that white men are the ones who hold the means and power to making changes, however I think Johnson did not clearly state who is to be blame because he argues that everyone is at fault, plays into, and further perpetuate the oppressiveness of patriarchy. White men are not the only solutions to bring about change even though they are the ones in society that are taken seriously. Women and other minority groups can't wait around and hope that white men will help them bring about social change. They need to act. Like Enloe states, we all need to be more curious and challenge "normal" ideas. Overall, I think everyone has an equal part in striving for change.