green leaves and snow

Ok weird week, right? The leaves are still green. And it snowed. Doesn't seem right, does it? But maybe, against all odds, green leaves and snow can exist together. I will get to that later.

Ok, to recap, this weeks readings and discussion revolved around the discourses of privilege and patriarchy. There is no doubt that our society is a quintessence of a patriarchal society. Allan Johnson describes our system as one that "...[values] masculinity and maleness and [devalues] femininity and femaleness." We have standards of "...feminine beauty, masculine toughness...images of older men coupled with young women..." and call it "natural" when men are full of "aggression, competition, and dominance," and females of "cooperation and subordination." And if we as a class had any doubts about whether a strong patriarchal system was still in place in the United States, they came crashing down as 50 magazines were placed in front of us and not one stood out as un-patriarchal. Headlines that screamed to females "Hey you! We know how to make you look skinner, younger, and therefore more beautiful!" Pictures of men that couldn't have been less obvious in their idea of the fulfillment of ideal manhood: dominance, six packs, and independence.

Clearly, when it comes to the feminist agenda, we ideally would like to fight against the patriarchal system that is strongly in place in our society. And this week, we started formulating ideas of how we can go about fighting the system. One such idea, as discussed in class, was to not follow the path of least resistance. In other words, take the path less traveled or forge a new one. But, I am sitting here confused. LeAnn Womack sings, "Never settle for the path of resistance," but what if I like the path of least resistance? What I mean to say is that there are some things in our Patriarchal society that I might actually prefer to a non-patriarchal one. I mean, what if I like how guys sometimes find personal satisfaction in opening a door for me? Certainly, there were days of the past where I would find it rude and degrading if a guy opened a car door for me. I mean, honestly, I can open my own door. It took me awhile for me to realize that boys are fully aware that I am physically and mentally capable of opening a car door, but enjoy to open it for me anyway because they feel it is a way to show that they care. And besides self-sacrificing my ability to open a car door, what if I also sometimes find comfort in the fact that I have guys around me of whom I feel protected by? What if I take ease in the fact that I am not the one expected to fight-off the bad guys? What if I like being labeled a tom-boy and find it pretty amazing e that the females of my generation can get away with not fitting into the boundaries of femininity most of the time? Lastly, what if I find it pretty convenient that there isn't much, if any, pressure on me to become a specific something or live up to a legacy I was born into? What if I find it pretty awesome that I have the freedom to create my own legacy without it being compared to a relative of the past? Does this make me anti-feminist?

I know I would probably be answered with a resounding yes by many feminists for my question and ideas posed above, but for one second I needed to brutally honest. And here is why. I think I can exist as someone who both likes some things of patriarchal rule AND as a feminist. In fact, I am going to be cocky and say that I have the potential to be a stronger activist because of it. My ideas, interests, and thoughts do not exist in a black and white winter. Instead, they exist in this weird season that allows for green leaves and snow to dwell together. And maybe, just maybe, this season is part of the answer I was looking for earlier: perhaps it can help to explain how I can fit with all sorts of different ideas, beliefs, and viewpoints under the one umbrella of feminism.

"Green Leaves and Snowflakes" by Lindsey Weaver