Maquiladoras (1984) Ch. 54 WL

This article, as dated as it may be was interesting to me. I have an abundance of respect for these researchers who insert themselves into a totally new and unusual environment and proceed to go against the grain of their lives. They put themselves in terrible situations just to gather information and inform the general public. It must have been difficult for her to do this. Her time trying to get a job at this sewing factory was surprisingly similar to many times I have tried to get a job. You have to go through interviews, take tests and still you do not know if you are in. Nowadays it still holds true that it is who you know that really makes a difference. There are so many people who go "undercover" to write about the atrocities that we see across the globe. I remember reading a book about a woman who worked for minimum wage just to see if it is possible to survive. Ultimately I believe she ended up working two or three positions to make ends meet. There is also that guy who ate nothing but McDonald's for a month. These people are interesting to me. It is not enough to see the general public struggling to survive or getting fat, they need to prove it. It is not something I myself would do and am glad others do it for us. OK back to the article. It ended rather strange for my interests, I kind of went huh? That's it. No juicy news to go to bed angry about. I know it sucked, but at least these women had jobs. Assembly work is very tedious and exhausting work, I did it once myself making boxes. Yep I know sounds lame huh, and it was, but as I just said at least I had a job. That is ultimately what I thought while reading this article, these women are working, and one didn't even need to but at least her children now had medical insurance, that is a good thing. What we moms go through to protect our children, is tough, but in the end worth it.

Group 3 Gender Power Discussion

Observer A's Perspective
This discussion has been interesting to me. We pretty much came to an agreement on both subjects. Most of us got our beliefs from how we were raised. Even coming from two different generations (at least I think), I found that when I was a little girl I had been raised by a mother who grew up in the Ozzy and Harriet generation. My mother didn't work and my father supplied us with all the necessary means we needed in life. He was a man of power and distinction. Things are totally different now. The power in the house is often shared by both. It has made a huge impact on how a teenager of today might see their future prospects. Not so much gendered now. I grew up (in the 70's) with the aspects of becoming a "secretary" later on in life. That was pretty big for me to think about. I thought it was a powerful position for a girl back then. Now when you ask girls what they want to be (my daughter for instance) you get a wide assortment of positions that are more liberating. Lawyer, Architect, Chef or Orthodontist are a few that she is tossing around in her mind. Today it is not unlikely to see women aspiring for positions as Engineer or others that would make them more money. I see the generational gap closing a great deal because of discussions that we are having currently in life and in this class. Be who you want to be, It is good to see. Women with power are seen more and more in current media. It is the wave of the future. FINALLY!