Divya Agarwal Women in Leadership Debotri Dhar 10/9/13

Recently I attended Professor Krista Jenkins discussion Mothers, Daughters, and Political Socialization. I went into this event thinking it would be one of those strong feminist talks; however when it started I realized my notion was completely wrong. Rather than advocating and trying to spread feminism, Professor Jenkins enlightened her audience about the changes in the way women regard feminism. This event related to the theme of Womens Transformative Leadership. The actions that women took inspired their daughters to follow in their footsteps and act similarly. Throughout the discussion, I noticed that I was constantly trying to compare my life to what she was saying. I identified that many of the things she said related to my experiences, but some were entirely different. As Professor Jenkins informed her audience about the views todays daughters have, I was able to notice several similarities between the views she presented and my own. However, unlike the daughters views, I was unable to identify with the influence she said that mothers seem to have on their daughters. The first image that Professor Jenkins showed in her presentation showed a woman working in the kitchen. She expressed the anger that the image ignited within her and several of the audience members agreed with her opinion. Although I was slightly irritated by the image, it did not bother me in the same ways it did others. I think I felt this way because I was raised in a family with a stay-at-home mom. I almost always saw my mom in the kitchen and doing other housework. Women have started to work outside the house, but there are still several of them

that continue to be domestic caretakers. I did find the image to be a stereotypical representation of a woman, but I didnt give it much thought because it related to my life. An idea that appeared to be common between the women that were interviewed was the belief that the womens movement is too limiting and puts too many expectations on what women would achieve. Although the movement makes people recognize that women are as capable as men, it raises the bar so high that at times it is hard to reach. I completely agree with this because I like many women become discouraged and feel worthless when I cant achieve the things that people expect me to achieve. I believe that the movement should place stepping stones for women rather than try to make women immediately jump to the most difficult tasks. I was also able to connect with many of the other views that the daughters who were interviewed had. Just like them, I expect to have the best of both worlds. My dream is to have a job that I love but also have a family. Im also trying to go into a field of study that is not women oriented. I think that having both a career and a family is possible, but it would take a lot of effort and would require support from the womans husband. Krista Jenkins mentioned how initially women would sacrifice their educational aspirations for domestic responsibilities. This relates to one of the themes of the course, Women and Education. I am not a very strong feminist and even though I appreciate all the effort women have put in the past to get women in the position they are today, I dont think of the next steps we should take. I believe that we have reached a good place and our rights have greatly improved. I enjoyed this presentation even though I disagreed with some of the things Professor Jenkins said. I personally believe that my mothers views do not influence mine and that I develop my identity and views based on my experiences. Despite the differences between what was mentioned and my personal life, I also liked how I could also relate to several things. I really

appreciated how Jenkins didnt mention her personal view on how women should approach feminism. One of the people in the audience had asked her if she thought that women should continue to fight for more equality and although she shared her opinion, she said she didnt want to try to influence or change what other people believed.