My summary of "Calling of men" and "Killing us softly"

My summary of Ted's speech in the “Calling of men” is that he is basically illustrating how men are taught that they are superior and that women are inferior and therefore just objects there for men. And that in order to be a man there is a set of codes, be it spoken or unspoken, that holds men to a “higher” standard that they can not show emotion whether fear or sadness - only anger are they allowed to display. What happens when a man fails to live up to his expectations like the example given in the video of the boy who was playing baseball? He would be told that he played like a girl. And what is his reaction to that? His reaction is that he would be destroyed. You see from this illustration that women are seen as sub par to men, which is incorrect. And that this is something which we have started changing and must continue changing in the future.

My summary for “Killing Us Softly” is in reference to the objectification of women in today’s society whether it be by ads or peer pressure, whether by other girls or by guys (which is the usual case). There are several ways which women are objectified. One way is by their bodies; that women do not matter for anything other than the way they look, and that some men only value them for this, completely disregarding their personality their charm and anything other then superficial looks. This mentality is reinforced by the media which make ads with scantily dressed women even for the most mundane things, and this is the selling point. You see from this that to the media women are no more then a means to boost sales and advertise their product. But by doing this they are also making women look non human and thereby causing a increase in violence and other crimes against women,and that their opinion does not matter. Take it either way, they both come back to the same negative outcome, which is the result of objectification.

The connection which I see most strongly between this and chapter 5 is nature and nurture. The reason I say this is because they both influence who we are. For instance, both the fact that men are genetically more aggressive and the fact they are physically stronger (and sometimes emotionally as well) more is expected of them and what they see going around them. From what they are taught and have ingrained in them pretty much from birth is that they have to be strong show no emotion and be the dominant one and sometimes (depending on culture) the breadwinner. Women, on the other hand, both by nature and by culture are influenced to be the submissive one, and to be there mainly to support their husband and listen and cook and clean. This is what they saw go on around them and this is what their parents and teachers ingrained in them - that if you aren’t submissive and don't do everything that your husband tells you and expects of you,then you will not be able to fit in and be a good wife who is there just to cook and clean and listen to the husband and take care of the kids. Nowadays, however, this is no longer the case. Women are taught to be strong and their ceiling is not only the kitchen but they can do whatever they want, and men are being taught that they better get used to this and adapt to it and accept and embrace it.