Blog 10

The Association for Women in Science is working on an issue that is very important to me.  As I was researching groups and organizations for a previous blog, I found this association.  This group works to help women succeed in the male-dominated science fields.  I already see this domination when I count the three women in my Chemistry class compared to the 15 men.  The AWS works to help women get internships and jobs in the science field.  is a real important issue to me because I love the sciences, and plan on going into a science-related.  I want women to be strong, and very involved in the sciences and advancements taking place.  I plan to be involved in this when I get older, at least by donating.  I am also encouraging other women to join the few looking for a science-related career.

Reading Gender: The Eternal Feminine

            Castellanos uses the portrayal of women in this play to explain the significance of the power that men use to control the actions of their wives.  The stereotypical roles assigned to Mexican women throughout history, including the idea that women shouldn’t think, are the main fuel for Lupita’s thoughts in this play.  

            In the beginning of Act II, Lupita falls back into her hair-dryer dreams, but this time is in a paradise.  She encounters Eve, the first woman, as well as Adam, the first man.   When Adam first arrives, he makes sure that Eve knows “her place”.  He orders her to repeat her name, as to make sure that Eve will not forget who she is.  When Eve inquires why she must repeat her name, Adam responds by saying, “a decent woman doesn’t ask those questions.”  According to Adam, a woman is supposed to “obey”, and “not talk back.”  Adam even labels Eve as non-human.  She is a “thing” or “animal.”

            One of the main issues of feminism today is gender roles, and their impact in our culture.  In this scene, the assumptions about men show that they are expected to be the head, or leader, in the relationship.  The men do the thinking, as portrayed by Adam’s duty to name all the animals of the paradise.  The women are expected to be mute, not thinking, and following the orders of men.  The women are said to have come from the “rib” of a man, and therefore is only a part of him, not a whole human.  This is why Adam calls Eve an animal. 

            This scene, where Lupita interacts with Eve and Adam, is significant in that it shows the relationship between the first human woman and man.  Castellanos portrays their relationship like this because she is trying to emphasize an issue that has been present since the beginning of time.  Castellanos wants the reader to understand the presence and prevalence of this issue.  Mexican women, according to the play as a whole, are expected to be the inferior to the men.  They are to do what they are told, and not to think about anything.  Castellanos wants the reader to understand that this ideology is in need of change.   

            Gender role issues like this one are not just present in the Mexican society.  Finkbeiner, in “The F-Word”, explain the main gender role that exists in our society today.  She talks about maintaining the family, and bringing home the money.  The man in the relationship, according to modern society, is supposed to be the one working and bringing in the main income for the family.  This gender role sets up the relationship between couples, where the woman is expected to stay at home, and be the caretaker. 

            Gender roles play a big part in the feminist movement, and are the main issues in “The Eternal Feminist”.  By displaying the men in this play as dominating, and the females as submissive, Castellanos is able to portray the relationship between Mexican men and women, and bring to light the issue that women all around the world have been fighting for years.