Blog Post #5

Adrienne Rich

5/16/29 - 3/27/12

After discussing Adrienne Rich's work in class, I went back afterwards and reread the entire piece. There was a lot of information that I missed in this piece, because the gears were still moving from the previous paragraph in "Notes toward a Politics of Location".

After I reread this piece, I think this work was a great final piece for our class to discuss. It brings together a lot of the ideologies that we have talked about throughout the semester: race, gender, equality, religion, politics, etc. One of the points that I really enjoyed being brought up was that she discussed the ideologies of the western women. This ideology is important because without western influence, there would be a completely different perspective given in literature.

The location and culture of where you grew up as an individual plays a crucial role on your outlook on life. As Rich quotes

"How does the White Western feminist define theory? Is it something made only by white women and only by women acknowledge as writers? how does the white Western feminist deine 'an idea'? HOw do we actively work to build a white Western feminist consciousness that is not simply centered on itself, that resists white circumstances. " (p.1100)

To me, this quote means that feminist is not just defined as a Western women movement. Rich is questioning as to what defines a women as Western. Is it there culture, ethnicity, birthplace, or views in todays society. Rich discusses that it is important to have multiple views and ideas on our society, and it is important not to conform to the 'social norm'. It is important to educate yourself on the voices and opinions of many different perspectives because that gives you a stronger sense of intellect in situations, and provides you with a strong, unbiased knowledge of points.

The group of Western women has grown tremendously since this piece by Rich was written in the early 1900's. Women have been granted the right to vote, are educated, have full time jobs, and have a family. The political issue as to what defines a successful woman has changed tremendously because of the feminist movement. Location of you SES status or culture cannot define your persona in politics and todays society. Woman have learned to be successful without the contraints that politics once had woman restricted too.