Also, a minor phrase in that article hit me so hard that I realized I'm still a drone of the patriarchal mentality. Just from reading, "while junior minister for human rights Rama Yade said she was..." I'm embarassed to say, I was actually surprised to see the pronoun "she" after such a prestigous title. (How abnormal - a woman not only with an important job in the government, but with the occasion to have something to say!!!!) What does this mean?
UPDATE: I discussed this same article with a friend of mine in France. Here's what he had to say:
"Unfortunately, i don't really agree with the journalist ; he didn't really understand what's about the last speech of our president and the debate around the burqa. That's a typically french debate, with a lot of history behind, underneath what you can understand with an external point of view, that's really interesting.
You also noticied the fact of Rama Yade (and you didn't see her face, she's just hot !) ; well, that's another really interesting thing : you say that's unbelievable seeing a woman in charge of it ? I say it's unbelievable that they still aren't enough in our politics. Women are numerous since Sarkozy arrived, and we (French population) still want more : in Nothern Europe, it's not shocking to see a woman being president ! "
When he said that she's "hot," too, I google image searched her, and he was right; she's smart, articulate AND gorgeous!
3 comments:
I really liked this one!!
Great point there at the end. I do the same. There was some sort of story in my Philosophy text book that was supposed to puzzle its reader, involving a man walking with a doctor and a young child. I forget just how it went, but in order to solve the puzzle, the reader simply had to realize that the "doctor" was a woman. Perhaps one of the only feminists in the room, I got to the point of frustration because I could not figure this story out...I assumed the doctor was a man.
Thank you Kat and C! Christina, that's really interesting that you fell into the trap, as well. How do we amend such restrictive mental constructs we've inherited from our patriarchal society?
Post a Comment