Tuesday, April 27, 2010

define feminism

feminism as with all labels is subject to interpretation. to me feminism means equal pay for equal work. i work very hard at my job. i deserve to be paid as much as a man would if he had my job. i believe that even if a woman eventually becomes a stay at home mother, she should be able to support herself financially. preferably a woman should live on her own and have a job that supports herself before marrying. she doesn't have to have a high paying job to do this. its just important to be able to know one can be self sufficient. of course , even saying such a notion makes me seem dated. most women do work to support themselves before they marry unless they marry very young (at 18-21) . even if one does marry this young one should know what its like to work even if its part time. it gives one confidence and makes one realize that money doesn't grow on trees.
some feminists believe that a woman shouldn't need men. i suppose what they mean is that one should be comfortable enough with ones self that one doesn't have to always be in a relationship to feel complete. its good to feel satisfied with who one is and where one is in life regardless of ones marital status. i also think that feeling empowered as a woman does not cancel out the need to get married or have a boyfriend. just because one wants to get married and have a family does not mean you are not being a feminist. to me feminism is all about the choices. one should be able to be a married with children career woman or a stay at home mom. everyone does not need to be a clone.

5 comments:

Dante Inferno said...

Just curious: What about a woman's right to divorce her husband? A woman's right to testify as a witness? A woman's right to be a judge?..etc Do you believe that feminism includes those things? Or is it just equal pay for equal work?

frum single female said...

avi-
these are all good questions. i believe a woman has a right to divorce her husband without a man holding her hostage with a get. i know that according to jewish law a woman cant be a judge or testify as a witness. i do think that a woman has a right to be a judge or testify as a witness. and yes these things are all part of being a feminist.

Dante Inferno said...

Then, if I may, how do you reconcile your faith with these seemingly contradictory beliefs?

(I am assuming that you believe Jewish law to be objectively moral, just, correct...etc because of the your blog name. If this is not your belief, or you only believe certain parts of Jewish law are correct, or that none of it is correct, or that it used to be correct but now Jewish law is different/changed with time, then I apologize for assuming and you can simply ignore/delete this comment if you wish)

frum single female said...

in jewish law a woman cant be a witness,i suppose this doesnt bother me so much because i havent witnessed anything that has gone to trial in a jewish court. as far as secular law goes a woman can be a witness and i think this is fine.
i think that if in talmudic times they would have forseen the degree of evil that has occurred when a woman can be divorced only if a man gives her a get i think that the laws would be different now. i dont think that it was intended to put women in the state they are today. then again now people give pre-nuptuals that can make sure that a man will give a get. if he doesnt give the get he will have to pay her a certain amount daily until he does , etc.
just because i dont think that everything in jewish law is just doesnt invalidate the fact that i try to live an observant jewish life and agree with most of it. torah judaism is an all or nothing religion, otherwise even the most observant rabbi would have some explaining to do.

frum single female said...

i made a slight typo at the end of my last comment.it should have read: torah judaism is NOT an all or nothing religion, otherwise even the most observant rabbi would have some explaining to do.