Q&A: This is your brother on feminism

Reposted from Amanda ReCupido's blog The Undomestic Goddess. Amanda also started a fantastic Tumblr blog called This is What a Feminist Looks Like. Submit your feminist photos to amanda(dot)recupido(at)gmail(dot)com or to @theundomestic to be included!

The Undomestic 10: My Little Brother

This is my little brother, so I'm obviously biased when I say that he's awesome, and that he's sometimes (gasp!) funnier, smarter, and a (sometimes!) better writer than I am. Which is why I'm so glad to see his thought-provoking (and ever-sarcastic - it does run in the family) answers below. Not to mention he just turned the big 2.0 yesterday and started his second year of college, so please, give him due props in the comments.

Name: Mark ReCupido
Sex: Male
Occupation: Student

1.) Are you a feminist?
I agree with feminism but I don't do anything about it.

2.) What does feminism mean to you?
That I better learn how to cook and clean or I'll be considered a chauvinist.

3.) Who is one female (other than your mother) you admire, and why?
I'm assuming this should be a non-fictional female. I'd say I admire my sister because she stands up for what she believes in, is her own person, and is reading this. And even though she's big on women's rights, she doesn't let that get in the way of making me sandwiches every once in a while. (ed. note: I swear I did not put him up to that! But I am honored.)

4.) Are there enough women in leadership positions in your field?
That depends on what enough is. Do we want an equal amount of women, more women, or proportionally as many women who attempt to enter the field as men?

5.) Are men and women being paid fair and equally in your field?
I don't know. I'm not part of a field yet. And I'm not that nosy.

6.) How do media generally portray women? What is a good example of this?
In advertisements, that they will have sex with someone just for them using a product. But then, that implies that males will buy something just because a female will have sex with them. Seems equally as degrading to me. In movies and television, however, I think there's a fair balance of women characters who credit their sex and women characters who follow the stereotype we've come to know and love and hate.

Some women actually are like that, after all. Just as some men embody the stereotype that men like to degrade women, make homophobic jokes, eat only meat, drink beer, watch sports, and walk around shirtless. As for me, the only one of those that I'm guilty of is delicious.

7.) What can men and women do to reduce violence against women?
Men and women can stop attacking women. Violence is only the answer to making movies and video games awesome.

8.) How do you achieve balance between work and personal/home life?
By not having a job. But technically, that tips the scale pretty heavily to one side. I achieve balance between school and my life by enjoying many of my classes; planning out my time; and never hesitating to take a break to drink Snapple, eat Doritos, and watch TV if I have to.

9.) What is one thing you’d like to see happen for women in the next 5-10 years?
Forget feminism because it will no longer be necessary.

10.) What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to young girls today?
Don't keep up with the Kardashians.

The Undomestic 10 is a 10-question interview with men and women about feminism and how we can improve it. The Undomestic 10 welcomes anyone and everyone to shed light on how our society views feminism (even those who don't self-identify as feminists). If you think you have something interesting to add to the mix, don't hesitate to email me at amanda(dot)recupido(at)gmail(dot)com.

Link to all Undomestic 10 interviews.

Mujeres de Juarez

Since 1993, the women of Juarez have been victims of unexplained violence and brutal deaths. According to Amnesty International, about 370 women in Juarez have been murdered in the last 15 years.

In recent years, there has been a shift in the women targeted as victims. The common victims were women working in maquiladoras. Maquiladoras were created as a result of the NAFTA treaty agreement. Maquiladoras are factories that would import materials from an originating country, produce a product, and then export the product back to the US.

Due to the process of globalization and the role of women within the much of Mexican culture created the view that women are obedient and flexible with hours and shifts. This theory accounted for why women comprised the assembly line workers of these maquiladoras. The women commonly employed by these maquiladoras in Ciudad Juarez were poor and generally came from other parts of Mexico.

These workers were the common victims in the approximate 370 murders in Juarez. Their bodies were often found with signs of sexual abuse and torture, abandoned in ditches and empty lots.

In the last year and a half, an additional two dozen women and girls have gone missing; however, the victims' profiles have changed. The young women and girls are no longer maquiladora employees. They are university students and women looking for better jobs. The current victims are local residents, who come from working and middle class homes. And all of the young women bear a striking resemblance to each other: slender, conventionally attractive and dark-haired.

Another key element is missing this time around. There are no bodies of the victims. These women are simply missing. The victims' families have also received mysterious phone calls from unknown numbers. With the recent rise of trafficking, some believe that the young women and even girls as young as 13, have been forced into prostitution rings, perhaps in the US.

The recent increase in drug trafficking and drug cartel violence that is overshadowing the country and usurping law enforcement efforts, combined with the corrupt police of Juarez, has led to very little action or investigation into these disappearances. The women of Juarez can no longer be ignored. For 15 years we saw practically zero investigation into the murders of the maquiladora women, to the point where law enforcement was suspected of being a key player in these murders. These disappearances can no longer be brushed aside - we are talking about women's lives!

Photo courtesy of www.flickr.com

Happy Monday

Some feminist history to start your week right:

"Feminism means revolution, and I am a revolutionist. I believe in revolution as a principle. It does good to everybody."
- Frances Perkins, American workers' rights advocate and the first woman to serve in the President's cabinet.

Taken from the excellent biography The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience, by Kristin Downey.