Journal Week 4
Greetings, this week’s story was Lysistrata and I loved it. Honestly, shoutout to Dr.S because you are 3 for 3 right now with the weekly story selections. Lysistrata is truly a story of girl power, women harnessing and using the power of our bodies, and courage. On top of that, the story is told in a comical and raunchy manor which makes it even more enjoyable to read! I like how the past two stories have been about women uniting people to bring about change. Although this is unrelated, in another course I am currently taking we just read a story about a queen disobeying the orders of her husband because she felt they were belittling and she had to set an example for the rest of the women in the kingdom. It’s exciting and encouraging to be reading so many stories of brave women who refuse to stand by and remain silent to the nonsense of men.
For our assignment this week we are supposed to identify the stereotypes the women of ancient Greece face and how they over came them. With this being said, the first section I would like to discuss is the opening of the play when the women themselves made stereotypical comments about the women of Greece. The plays open with Lysistrata saying how if there was a festival the area would be packed but now that she called an important the women are no where to be found. The stereotype that Lysistrata is presenting is that women are irresponsible, we have no concern about serious matters only fun or things pleasing to us. The women of Greece overcame this sterotype by showing up. Not too long after Lysistrata made the comment did women begin to arrive, beginning with Calonice.
The next stereotype that I would like to discuss was around line 30 when Lysistrata was saying that Greece is in the hands of the women, it’s their job to save it and Calonice said it won’t be long before Greece is over. Comments like this throughout the play remind me that it was written by a man, a sexist man. The stereotype being presented is that women are weak and incapable of saving their home. The women of Greece overcame this stereotype by sticking to their plan and uniting the men of Sparta and Athen, and ultimately saving Greece.
The third stereotype that I would like to address was between likes 80 and 100, when other women began to come the manor in which they interacted was stereotypical. In the passage I am describing, the women were greeting each other and grabbing each other’s boobs, inspecting each other’s butts, and looking down each other’s dresses. The stereotype that is being presented is that women are shallow, vain, and our interactions are superficial. The women overcame this stereotype by using their bodies for a greater purpose, to unite Greece rather for superficial interactions.
I believe that the whole story is one big stereotype for women. Aristophanes makes very clear his feelings towards women through stereotypical remarks he sprinkles through the play, the way he describes women's interactions with each other, and the mere fact that women had to use their bodies to get the attention of men and make a difference. After analyzing this story, I realized it is like a back handed compliment; I do not know whether to say thank you or be offended. On one hand it is nice that man wrote a story about women saving society during a time when women were often overlooked, silenced, and left out of decision making. On the other hand, the story is an insult because it was written so that women used their bodies to bring about peace rather than formulating an actual plan.
Second Assignment
The second, well actually first part of the assignment was to identify three times where I tried to lead but was hindered because of a negative stereotype relating to my identity. I am thankful to say that I have not experienced this in my life. As a Leo, I am and have always been a natural leader. As a child I would always want to be the leader when playing games or during group class work. I never allowed anyone to get in my way, I was always persistent and made sure I was not silenced. As I got older the trait remained. One example that comes to mind when thinking of someone trying to be a leader, but being hindered because of their identity is the black women who worked to start the feminist movement but were pushed out and over looked because they were black, thus feminism becoming a white women movement. What made me think of this example was a recent article I read for my women in literature course. The article was about differentiating black feminism from womenism. In order to discuss the two, we first had to discuss what feminism was and why black women had to create their own movements. Black women are often used for our ideas, then pushed to the side and not given credit for our contribution.
A second example of someone trying to lead but being hindered by a stereotype tied to their identity was when Obama became president. I love to use him for examples of leadership because he his the greatest example of a black person in a position of leadership. When he became president many racists people made comments saying he was not their president and they did not support nor wanted to follow his leadership because he was a black man and they felt he was not fit or deserving of his leadership position. Regardless of all who doubted him, Obama was still a great leader and ended up being re-elected for a second term.
The last example is not the best, but I was able to come up with one that relates to me. A few summers ago I volunteered at a summer camp working with kids ages 5–12 years old. I was about 18 years old and small in stature so the kids were hesitant to show me respect because of a stereotype relating to my age, because I am young I don’t deserve respect. Thankfully, as the summer progressed and I began to bond more with the kids we were able to form close relationships and show each other mutal respect. Although the kids gave me a hard time when I first got there, getting to know each other better helped us to connect.
Overall, it is important that we look past stereotypical and superficial judgements that we cast onto those in positions of leadership. We must judge our leaders based on merit, actions, and leadership decisions. This is much easier said than done, but something we can all strive towards.
