In Radicals on the Road,
Judy Tzu-Chun Wu tells the journeys of various women who traveled
internationally to highlight the atrocities of war and to collaborate to fight against
male oppression among women. Wu highlights how the role of women changes politically
and socially as women fight and advocate for world peace and shed light on
women’s oppression in society. The networking and sisterhood that developed to
fight for women’s rights shed light on issues that many are facing, yet
interestingly some issues remained sensitive to address such as the concept of
homosexuality.
It is interesting how Wu talks about the Southeast Asian delegates
in this book. Most often times, Asian women are often seen as meek and docile, yet
the women in this book were painted as strong, independent martyrs fighting for
their rights, beliefs and the welfare of others. I find this interesting in
that in today’s politics and social issues, any woman, regardless of race or
social stature are still continuing to fight for their basic human rights because
men feel oblige to make decisions for women. The Women’s March is a result of
women’s inability to obtain equal rights as women of color, differing sexual
orientation and ability to care for themselves and their families.
An article written by Hilde Coffe (2019) from the Centre for
Public Impact reported that the gender divide in politics hinders equal
opportunities and inequalities in representation and policy outputs. In today’s
politics, women are often found in political roles that are often dealing with
social issues or committees that reflects the women’s social construction of
being nurturing, people-oriented and familial. This is not because women tend
to navigate to such roles, but rather it is because our political system is set
up that political concerns with foreign affairs, employment, finance, business
and economics are consider masculine politics, therefore the role of women in
such committees is unnecessary.
Do you think there is such a thing as masculine politics? Is
that why women are continuing to be oppressed today with health choices? (i.e.
abortions)
This image was published in September 24, 2019 in Fortune’s
25 most powerful women in politics. According to Fortune, there are more women
than ever before serving in Congress and running for the nation’s highest
office.
Do you think that these women are fighting and making a difference
compared to their male counterparts?
References:
Coffee, H. (2019). Mars and Venus: How women engage
differently in politics. Retrieved from https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/mars-and-venus-how-women-engage-differently-in-politics?gclid=CjwKCAiA66_xBRBhEiwAhrMuLYwUssGGKfj5luQE4KEUtYggIKd3nduXoBReGtu3jVehpHziDVZQXBoCsOUQAvD_BwE
Fortune. (2019). The 25 most powerful women in politics. Retrieved
from https://fortune.com/longform/most-powerful-women-politics-2019/
Wu, J. T. C. (2013). Radicals on the Road: Internationalism, Orientalism, and Feminism during
the Vietnam Era. Cornell
University Press.
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