Week 4 Blog Post:
I am amazed that people, especially men, back in colonial times actually believed women when it was their word against men. I also am amazed that priests advised women to sue their husbands. Everything I have learned about the feminist movement in the US points to women cannot be trusted nor believed—men will always be number one. I thought it was funny, although it may be in bad taste, that men left their wives behind in Spain when they sailed to Quito. “Bye, honey. I promise I’ll send for you the first chance I get.” Then they leave and go to Ecuador and screw all the natives—real nice. My question is, why did the crown care? The women left back in Spain must have been a nuisance otherwise why would men be charged.
I really loved reading in Leila Ahmed the comparison of women to animals—had to hold an entire council to determine whether women are animal or human (526). Really! I am not surprised. Aristotle placed women on the same plain as slaves who were not considered humans either. It really baffles me that what you look for you find and what. Men looked for the differences between themselves and women—black people, native Americans…you name it. In reality we are more alike than we are different. Anatomically we basically have all the same stuff just jumbled around differently. A research article I read way back in the day (19th century I believe) looked for the similarities between men and women and believed they found it. For example, breast milk was the female version of semen because it was white. The clitoris was a little penis…etc. Science wasn’t at its best yet. My point is they went searching for similarities and found it. When you go looking for differences that is what you will find.
RachelH 