Excerpts and "If Men Could Menstruate"

Before I get into any specific detail, I would just like to say that the excerpts that I read were extremely difficult to follow. I found that after the first sentence I had already circled three words that I didn't know. Also, by the end of that page it had accumulated to nine words. I found myself just losing interest because of how complicated they had structured each sentence. I will; however, try to explain and react to these articles to the best of my ability.

"If Men Could Menstruate" was a very well written article. It was easy to read and comprehend and I enjoyed a good laugh out of it. I find it very interesting how Gloria Steinem turned menstruation into a male thing. It was very funny how she thought men would start to brag about their own menstruation periods and how the army would need women to donate/lose blood because they weren't menstruating. She was really trying to show us that if men were menstruating, it would be a big deal and a time for celebrating. Since women are doing it, menstruating seems like something to be looked down upon. It seemed like she was trying to play on the fact that since a man does it, it's something very honorable because society makes it that way. I completely agree with her. This is exactly the same as women sports. Everyone watches football, soccer, basketball, and golf on television, but when they put on women's soccer or basketball most people just change the channel. It's just what society does and it is very idiotic. Men aren't superior to women and women aren't superior to men even though history has made it seem that way. Steinem has made an excellent point with this article: Just because it's a guy/girl thing doesn't make it good/bad, and it's funny that society is still working like this after so many years.

The Mary Wollstonecraft reading proved to be a challenge. One of the most clinical ideas I got after reading this essay was showing how much things have changed for women. An example would be that we now have schools that are co-ed. Wollstonecraft describes having society as a split between boy schools and girl schools. Even though this still exists, it's good to see that society is changing for women. Another example would be how she was saying that women need men for strength and affection. In todays society this still happens, but it's not expected as it once was.

Margaret Fuller's excerpt made me feel very confused at what she was trying to get at. I felt she made assumptions that weren't true such as that all men are privately influenced by women. After reading this at the begin of the essay I felt a little biased on what she said. This made me question her; regardless, I still feel like she was trying to prove exactly what Wollstonecraft was proving. She was explaining how the norm was "woman was made for man," and now the norm is how men and women are equal. It was also explained how if they were to change women's wishes on having a different role in society, things would be drastically changed socially by an attempt to introduce them. I find this true because if women wanted to do what men did, then there would be an empty spot in society that would involve taking care of the children, and who would fill that role?