Activism Blog #1

         This week a few individuals and I from the VOX group met with Alexa Nelen to do planning for the group itself. I am excited to have gone to this meeting and personally talking to Alexa because it has given me a better idea of the group’s goals and what our aim should be. We successfully spoke about the main focus for VOX right now, which is to bring awareness about Amendment 6 and trying to get voters to vote No on 6. With the election right around the corner there are many things to do on behalf of VOX and so little time. With that in mind, we need to stay aware of the time limit that is left and try to get as much done as possible by doing phone-banking, getting voters to sign pledge cards, and simply speaking to other individuals about the amendment to help raise more awareness.

            The activism I've done this week relates to the chapter we are reading, by demonstrating women inequality in numerous ways and by the government, economy, etc. trying to make decisions for a woman regarding her body. Amendment 6 simply wants to allow politicians to make medical decisions regarding a woman's body. By working with VOX and urging voters to vote NO on Amendment 6 we are working together as a community to stop this dominance over women's bodies. If we win the vote on No on Amendment 6 it does not automatically mean that we will attain an egalitarian society immediately but it is a step towards getting there, which will take time to reach. I am having a hard time understanding why is it that individuals other than women themselves are concerned and determined in making decisions for women when we are perfectly capable of doing that ourselves. In the chapter "Making a Home, Making a Living" writers reflect on how choosing to have a family decreases the amount of money a woman will make over a certain time period (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 309).  Case in point as it is described in the text when a woman decides to create a family or in the case of a woman whom is impoverished and doesn't have access to the proper health care when it comes to contraceptives or abortion she is automatically striped from receiving fair pay and is sometimes forced to do extra work. The decision on whether or not a woman should have a family and when she should have a family should not be based on fear of losing a job or diminishing a woman's role within that field. In the article "The Mommy Tax" Ann Crittenden writes, "Increasingly in today's driven workplace, whether she is blue or white-collar, a woman who goes home when she is supposed to is going to endanger her economic well-being." Our economic well-being shouldn't be determined by the workplace. Although we are provided healthcare through our jobs, these workplaces shouldn't tell us women how to handle our reproductive system in terms of delaying motherhood. There is a difference between delaying motherhood on our own because we want to do other things before getting there and the decision already being made for us.

            I am excited for my involvement with VOX, but as the semester is quickly approaching an end I feel as if I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about women inequality and how it plays an important role in our daily lives. With the information I am learning in VOX and the Women's Studies Course I feel that it has helped me be more aware of things going on, but more importantly it has helped me become a better activist. I catch myself most times educating my peers and family about issues I had no clue were a big concern such as Amendment 6. I will continue to deliver activism by doing those simple tasks that Seely writes about in "Fight Like a Girl."

Works Cited

Crittenden, Ann. "The Mommy Tax." Women's Lives. 5th ed. Eds. Kirk Gwyn and Margo Okazawa-Rey. New York:McGraw Hill. 2010. 341. Print.

Kirk, Gwyn , and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 309. Print.