Feminist Work by Dustin Roy Tabeta

What is a piece of feminist work? It is just that: work; an active mode as well as a tangible piece. It is a way of looking at things. Feminists can look at anything in a "feminist" paradigm. It is hard to view any "story" and it not have a feminist side to it. Even a simple painting can have a feminist way being looked at (does "Starry Night" have in any way, a feminist aspect?). Other than the way a person perceives the piece, one can typically say it opens eyes to the female life. Feminist pieces tap into the psyche of the subject and shines light on the issues females must handle and their thought processes through handling them. As said in class, it empowers. In all honesty, I'm at a loss because I feel there is too many aspects to group under the scope of Feminist Work. A very feminist heavy work is the show Mad Men (on Netflix streaming) and I'd like to share a quote. Setup: it is the late 1950's and Peggy's first day at work. She is starting as a personal secretary for Donald Draper, director of creative at the NYC Madison Avenue ad agency, Sterling-Cooper. She is taking the tour with the secretary manager, Joan, and arrives at her desk and is introduced to the typewriter. As Joan uncovers Peggy's typewriter she says, "Now, try not to be overwhelmed by all this technology. It looks complicated, but the men who designed it made it simple enough for a woman to use." Before this, Joan hints that Peggy's main goal should be to score a rich exec so she can live lazily in a country home and raise kids. The patriarchal world reigned supreme in this show's milieu and depicts the very essence of what feminism is trying to combat. Spoiler Alert: it even shows Peggy's ascension from lowly, weak secretary to headstrong and ambitious copywriter. So to close up this blog: what is feminist literature and film? It goes beyond the now and finds the root of the problem. It then uproots the problem and displays it for the mass. Some artists choose to then relay their solution while others leave it up to the audience to reach their own conclusion, but one thing is hard to deny: women have had a hard go at the globally developed patriarchy and have even til now, had to find the nooks and crevices and get in where they fit in. Peggy's ascent was the exception to the rule. She found a handful of nooks and crevices to squeeze her way up to a male job. The men of the 1960's allowed a few women to rise up, but ensured a still male dominated office with service women playing mommy and nurse. Women won't allow the young women of the next generation to forget where their sex came from; the feminist artists ensures they know the history of their sex with works shining light on their struggles to ensure their triumph.

~DRT