Response 11/1

To me, all of this class’s readings were interesting in their own light. However, “Reality Check” in Listen Up, by Aisha Kahim-Dyce I felt brought up a lot of interesting points that are very relevant to many of our readings and discussions in Intro to Women’s Studies. Particularly, on page 124, when she said “Although in too many instances poor and working-class people are faced with demoralizing and dehumanizing work, most of that work does not explicitly revolve around sexual objectification the way that go-go dancing does”, I could not help but think critically. While yes, I agree that doing anything that makes you feel traumatized or dehumanized is obviously not a good choice, I couldn’t, at the same time, help but think sometimes that doing anything is better than nothing. Furthermore, Kahim-Dyce says, “[Many go-go dancers] expressed satisfaction with their income but were cynical about people in general and men in particular” (page 125). I do agree, once again, that this as an understandable sentiment. On the other hand, I feel that there are many fields or types of work in which women feel cynical, etc. regarding men. Even women who do not work feel contempt for men. That is just the system that we find ourselves in today. Therefore, I am not trying to belittle the struggles that poor women face, I just feel that many would (perhaps) not agree with her particular feelings on the matter. Personally, I could understand women doing whatever they could in order to support their family, but at the same time I can understand why go-go dancing and jobs of the like could be extremely demoralizing. It is a tough choice for people to make, no doubt. How can you choose between the welfare of your family and the welfare of yourself?