Despite our definition of woman as a “female human who is an adult,” it is not always easy to tell the difference between a girl and a woman. A girl is a female human before she becomes an adult, and the plural word woman is sometimes used to refer to all female humans. If you have an opinion on the meaning of “woman,” please let us know! You can also post your opinion in the comment section below!
Status of belonging to womanhood in ways that do not depend on reproductive biology
In the world, the status of belonging to womanhood in ways that do NOT depend on reproductive biology is a concept that is contested by feminists and the status quo. Feminists argue that the social circumstances of women shape the choice they make about sexuality. They also point to the fact that a woman’s reproductive biology does not determine the sexual orientation of her children.
Phyllis Schlafly’s belief that women’s roles as homemakers are fundamental to how the category is defined
The feminist writer Phyllis Schlafly espoused a distinctly 1950s idea of the ideal American homemaker and turned it into a feminist manifesto. She defended the notion that marriage and motherhood were the number one career choices for women. In the 1950s, domesticity was equated with a professional role, but it wasn’t linked to remuneration, because remuneration would have devalued the provider’s role.
Phyllis Schlafly was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She and her father divorced at the age of fifteen and raised six children in a rented house. Phyllis studied at the Maryville College of Sacred Heart, now Maryville University of St. Louis, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in government. Later, she attended Radcliffe College, part of Harvard University, where she earned a master’s degree in government.
Phyllis Schlafly’s work was crucial in redefining traditional womanhood in the 1970s. Her ideas on gender roles and class differences became fundamental foundational for the concept of “social relations of the sexes,” a term coined by French sociologists to highlight the primacy of the sexual division of labor and the antagonistic dimension in class relations. Schlafly fought for traditional womanhood and argued that women should not seek emancipation or political involvement. Instead, their political involvement became a duty.
While Betty Friedan’s work defended the traditional role of the woman, Schlafly took it a step further by personifying the ideal female. In her advertisements, she highlighted her accomplishments as a mother, wife, and homemaker, and defended the status of women in society. Her work helped push for equal pay and the Equal Rights Amendment.
Phyllis Schlafly’s response to Judge Blackburn’s question
The controversy surrounding Phyllis Schlafly’s transgender identity prompted the former Democratic senator and Supreme Court nominee to respond to Judge Blackburn’s question, “How does one define a woman?” Her answer reflects the current debate on gender, abortion, and the Equal Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment was a controversial piece of legislation that many women criticized for being anti-woman.
Phyllis Schlafly’s answer is one of many illustrative examples of the gender divide. She advocated for women who are positive and don’t try to control their husbands. She did not conform to traditional gender roles, and instead, used role-playing to hide her personal ambitions. As a woman, Schlafly wanted to demonstrate that women are equally valuable, and a man is a better parent than a woman who is less capable.
The late Senator Schlafly was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1944. She was a brilliant student and worked in a World War II ammo factory to fund her college education. Eventually, she earned a law degree from Washington University and an M.A. in government from Radcliffe College. Her husband changed his mind and she chose to become a mother.
Although Schlafly defended traditional womanhood, her response to Judge Blackburn’s question was less clear. She implied that traditional womanhood was a negotiating ploy to secure male protection and goodwill. Yet, the traditional woman had been allowed to leave the house, and her followers were permitted to participate in public life, even if they were still subverting domesticity.
Transgender women
Although transgender women are not called transvestites, they wear gender-neutral clothing. Identifying as a woman does not necessarily make someone transgender. In the past, the word was used to describe trans people in general, but today, language has largely moved away from the term. Despite this, transgender women are often referred to as transvestites. Let’s look at some of the most common transgender labels.
Among trans women, a majority report of discrimination involves harassment, sex discrimination, and lack of access to services. Some trans women have reported experiencing physical attacks and harassment from police and homeless shelters when they display their gender identity documents. Some trans women have also been sexually assaulted by police. Another study found that 40% of trans women in jail were harassed by staff, inmates, and other inmates, and 25% reported being sexually assaulted.
Some surgical options for transgender women include a mastectomy or hysterectomy. Surgical removal of the testicles or penis is also an option. But there are additional risks to this surgery. These risks vary based on the type of estrogen used, the kind of surgery performed, and the woman’s health history. Some transgender women may choose to undergo facial feminization or breast augmentation instead.
Long work hours are necessary
The long-hours culture has a number of consequences for women’s advancement and men’s work life. It pits home against work, and leads to discontent among both men and women. The link between long work hours and productivity is tenuous at best. While long work hours may contribute to higher productivity, they are not necessarily helpful to women in their career advancement. It is time to change the conversation and start making more women aware of the negative effects of long work hours.
While the number of hours worked by women is correlated with their age, gender, and education, there was no statistically significant association between working hours and health outcomes. Long working hours were found to negatively affect the SRH of workers with higher education and those with unreasonable diets. Male workers were more negatively impacted than females. These results have important implications for working time regulations and overtime rules, which may impact both the health of workers and the health of the workforce.
According to Dr. Nieca Goldberg, Medical Director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at New York University Langone Medical Center, long work hours increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This risk increases even more for women who work more than forty hours per week. Further, a recent study published in the journal Health Services Research suggested that working more hours was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, women should consider taking more time to care for themselves, and avoid working long hours.
Challenges of managing competing demands of work and family
It is not surprising that the pressures of balancing work and family have become a more significant issue for women. Children seek their mothers’ support and care and expect mothers to share time between their work and home life. Yet, this pandemic has also led to increased flexibility for employees, including working from home and reducing working hours. Often, this means avoiding commuting to the office altogether, which in turn facilitates better work-family balance. Moreover, non-commuting has been associated with greater productivity at home.
Recent research indicates that women in partnerships conceptualize their work roles differently. The absence of work-family narratives in the participant’s accounts indicates that these women may not have developed an ideal work-family narrative as a result of this. Rather, these women used narrative tactics to avoid self-identities that placed a high value on paid employment, aligning themselves with socially valued domains.
In the past, women were encouraged to seek accommodations like part-time work or shifting internal roles, but this often derailed their careers. In reality, the real problem was the general culture of overwork. The general culture of overwork not only hurt women but also men, and it locked in the gender gap. But it is now time for women to change this and get back on track. Just as women are beginning to take on more responsibility and be more productive at work, so too must men.
