Opressed Women

In my Human Behavior in the Social Environment class (SOWK 233) we are discussing the issues of minorities in the Social Environment; how society views minorities and how minorities deal with society. Yesterday our professor took us outside and had the class stand in a huge circle. We were then told to go in the middle of the circle when he calls out a name of a group that we identify with, such as people of color, GLBT, parents are divorced etc. The very first group he called were Women. I stepped into the middle of the circle along with all the other girls in my class. We faced the outside of the circle as he spoke of the views of society towards women.

He talked about how women are viewed as weak, lowly of heart, succumbed to violence and discrimination. He talked about how the reason women are more likely to be victims of batterers, violence, and discrimination, including discrimination in the work place. Even though the feminist movement gave women more rights, there are still so many things we're deprived of, especially equality and respect. It's amazing how many people, both men and women, believe that it's still ok to treat women with disrespect, to hurt them physically, mentally and emotionally. So many women are ok with this because they think that's how it is, and since they have no power there is nothing they can do about it. Men think that because they are stronger and hold more power in society that they can treat women however they want, that women should have no power. Society still believes that a woman still has a certain "place" in life. I think that even today those who claim that they don't believe women have a certain place in life and are women equality unconsciously, without meaning to address or act upon that belief.

I believe I am a witness to this thought that people unconsciously act upon the inequality view of women even if they believe in the equality and respect of women: Just yesterday my friend came to my house to do his homework with me. Sometimes we like to make fun of each other just for fun, after all we're good friends as. And friends like to joke around with each other. So yesterday we were kind of playing around and making fun of each other, however he started saying some things that caught my attention and made me think for a minute. He had said similar things to me before but I never noticed them like I noticed them now, and what they meant. One particular moment yesterday we were discussing how whenever I make fun of him for hanging out with one of his friends (who is a girl) he gets upset with me. The things I say are things like "How's your girlfriend?" or "are you guys going to make out now?" He gets upset with me when I say those things because he doesn't like the girl romantically. However, the same situation applies to him. Whenever I hang out with my guy friends he says the exact same kinds of things to me, but tells me that I'm not allowed to get mad about it. I asked him why that is. His reply were things like "because I'm stronger than you" or "because I'm smarter than you". Those words made me question why he would say those particular remarks. He doesn't think that girls should be treated with disrespect, he doesn't believe in violence against women either. But still, he alludes to inequality of women when he jokes around.
This made me come to a drafted theory that maybe no matter who you are, woman or man, if you believe in woman equality or you don't, that unconsciously we infer or indirectly indicate that women should be a minority and should not have the same rights and privileges simply because the fact that they are a woman. Oppression of women has always occurred in history, and no matter what we do, it will continue to occur.