BLOG #2

Blog #2, Chantalle

Section A
1. What is Patriarchy?
-Patriarchy is control by the male gender over women.

2. What is the document about?
-In the document, Jean-Jacques Rousseau speaks about the inferiority of women and their roles in society. He claims that women are naturally born inferior and hold secondary roles to men. It seems as though he only holds women responsible for raising other males as a mother figure, not as equal to men.

3. How does Rousseau justify gender inequality?

-Rousseau justifies gender inequality by denying that inequality is man-made. He
claims that gender inequality is not a human institution, but for reason. He says
that it is women are responsible for themselves to the other sex.

4. Are his arguments valid? Why or why not?

-I do not believe Rousseau’s arguments are valid. First, it seems that he is biased,
probably because he is a male in a highly patriarchal society. Second, he treats women as solely responsible for taking care of men when he states that women are to care, counsel, console, and to make men’s lives pleasant as if their sole purpose in life is to cater to men’s needs and desires. I find Rousseau’s arguments barbaric, uneducated, and extremely chauvinistic.

Section B

5. Given the enormous variety among Native America women, are there any
generalizations we can draw about their experiences in the era of conquest?

-I think Native American women must have had a harsh experience during the era of conquest. It must have been a complete culture shock to experience male domination during the era of conquest, considering that Native American women had equal roles among males in their culture, whereas the new white European conquerors were an extremely patriarchal culture.

6. What insights does a gendered history of slavery bring to our understanding of the origins of slavery in North America?

-Some interesting insights would be that African American slaves, especially the women, helped to decrease the amount of work of the white women in the home. I guess you could say that it gave white women a certain power over the black men and women slaves.

7. What were the most significant differences among European women colonists?

-Some significant differences among European women colonists were between married, widowed, and single women. Married women lost control of any property or rights. Whereas widowed and single women had more individual rights since they did not have a husband to take control over them.

BLOG #1

I would describe myself as a fun, outgoing, and extroverted person. My life goals include being educated and making a difference in any way I can. Coming from a difficult and high standard high school, I felt prepared to transition to college. I work well as a team because I like to compromise with team members. I’m motivated to put forth my greatest effort because of my strong will to be successful. One of my personal weaknesses that has caused me the greatest difficulty in school is procrastination. An example of a time when I used good judgment and logic in solving a problem would be when I was faced with an irate customer at my job and I calmed him down by using good communication and logical skills and following up with him days later to make sure we took care of his concerns. One time where my listening skills paid off was while a professor was speaking about a subject I was interested in and I ended up passing that section on the test. I keep track of projects through my planner. I track my progress through keeping my grades on assignments. I stay focused by keeping myself organized.