ChittyChittyBangBang 4/24

"Every woman has known the torture of beginning to speak aloud" -Butler

Thursday's class was a very interesting experiment and I think proved exactly what Dr. Rog was aiming for. The term phallologocentrism represents the essence of language. It moves beyond the term we previously learned, logocentric. If you break down phallolocantrism, phallic stands for masculinity. This is the essence of the discussion and experiment performed in class on Thursday. Butler suggests that women have writing but men have voice. We live in a male dominated society where women often feel inferior. Women in CMC 300 even admitted that when working in a group that is primarily men they tend to stay quite and just follow because they find it difficult to get their voiced heard and taken seriously.

Dr. Rog decided to reverse these roles and let the women control the class’s conversation while the men had to purely listen and if they wanted to speak they had to write it down and pass it to a woman. At that point the woman could decide whether or not she wanted to acknowledge or read the man's comment. I was stunned by how dead on this experiment was with the realities of society according to Butler. The women felt empowered and began to speak more and interact loudly and efficiently. The men on the other hand were practically ripping their hair out due to frustration. Some of the men were often rude and forceful when trying to give women their comments completely disrespecting them like they have historically been known to do. The women embraced their new position and used it mockingly towards the men almost.

I also found it interesting that the men claimed (through written accounts) that they would not mind if their significant other made more money than them. I really do believe that at least for the majority of men, they would feel intimidated to the point that it could destroy the relationship, just like in Ariel's example. The men enjoy being the providers and the money makers because that is men's role in society; it is where their power derives from. I don't think men could handle giving up even a little bit of their power. Yes, women are not as silenced in society as they used to be. Women have gained status although the unequal mindset is still there in one way or another, and I am doubtful that it will ever fully disappear.