Women and the Workforce

In Charmed’s “Forget Me…Not” episode, the first scene is Piper holding a baby on her hip while orbing into frame. Piper is then seen later on in the epis­­­­ode cooking breakfast and “mothering” both other characters, which develops her job of the ‘nurturer’ in this episode. Piper’s job is viewed as valuable in the sense that she is taking care of everyone else, but not considered ‘productive.’ “‘Productive’ work is done for money; unpaid work is defined as unproductive to the economy” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 305). Within the episode all three women characters are portrayed as insecure and desperate to keep their jobs, Piper for example, being insecure of not knowing what Wyatt wanted, of being “a bad mom.”

Both of the other characters have ‘productive’ jobs, one of which is being a writer for a newspaper, and the other is a temporary job answering phones in an office. The gendered division of labor is evident within this episode with the character that is a temp work, where women’s work within that firm is seen as temporary (like her job), and the women are easily disposable. This job is an example of gendered division of labor because of the “emphasis on caring for and serving others in many women’s jobs; some may also require being on display and meeting dominant beauty standards” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 305). This gendered division of labor is shown within this episode when the boss came out and at one point told one of the witches to “sit on her pretty little ass and just answer the phone.” Another example of this in that firm is when another female worker within that working environment was threatened her job if she didn’t go out on another date with the boss. 

This representation of sexual harassment within the workplace matches both my experience and expectations of women in the workplace. I used to work in Taco Bell (Taco Smell to me) in high school, where I would face daily and constant sexual harassment, very much similar to the characters within Charmed, at the workplace. If not from my own bosses or coworkers, it would be from customers assuming their right to their advances because it “was my job” to serve them.  My bosses also knew I would be afraid to say anything because I was a teenager and them taking advantage of my lack of experience within a work environment, and the threat of losing my “first real job” was very much a fear of mine. This is relevant to the Charmed episode because both of the women with ‘productive’ jobs expressed fear of losing their jobs, even if dealing with unacceptable conditions, such as sexual harassment.  

Word count: 447

Works Cited 

Kirk, Gwyn, Okazawa-Rey, Margo. Women’s Lives Multicultural Perspectives Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill , February 2009. Print.

Activism Log 1

This week our group tabled in front of the Student Union for Animal Safehouse on Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday was a pretty big pitfall for our group, since there was no definitive list made for what people were going to bring as far as materials and items for the bake sale. As a result, our table lacked color and did not look appealing at all. We also ended up eating the majority of the cookies being sold. Before we left our tabling session, I made sure to write down commitments from every member of the group as far as what we were committing to bringing and contributing for Thursday's tabling. Thursday's tabling went a lot more smoothly, our table was more appealing with colorful signs and the colorful cupcakes that Kailee brought. For next week I was thinking of creating some sort of interaction with the people walking by, like an arts and craft area where individuals can make toys to donate for Animal Safehouse. Also, for next week a collection cup is necessary because our Smoothie King styrofoam cup with 'donations' written haphazardly in faded Crayola marker is not cutting it.

The activism that we've done this week relates to our reading where it defines 'productive' and 'nonproductive' work, where productive work is "market-oriented" work. Where "unpaid work is defined as unproductive to the economy"(Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 305).This is problematic because if a woman were to spend her entire day making meals, cleaning, changing diapers, paying bills, etc. it would not be considered 'productive' work. In this case activism, like tabling for Animal Safehouse, is considered 'unproductive work' because it does not contribute to the Gross National Product. This week's events influenced the way I view feminist activism by only encouraging me to cotinue raising awareness and advocacy about women's issues. Multiple people asked what Animal Safehouse was about, and every single person that asked seemed surprised that no one has thought of Animal Safehouse before. Even people who didn't have any cash to donate, they asked for more information and how to get more involved. Sometimes I feel really overwhelmed because I feel that even with all my activism, on a macro-level, all my organizing, tabling, rallying, educating, etc. is so minuscule in that regard, that many times I wonder if it even is making a difference. But through tabling I loved getting that reaction from people who have never even thought of those issues in that way, and it was inspiring that there are people still willing to listen.

Word count: 422

Works Cited:

Kirk, Gwyn, Okazawa-Rey, Margo. Women’s Lives Multicultural Perspectives Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill , February 2009. Print.

Extra Credit

Compared to the women in the The Business of Being Born, the relationship between the woman giving birth and the doctor/nurse in a hospital in One Born Every Minute, the power rests in the "professionals." In TBBB, the power is shifted onto the woman giving birth. In OBEM, the relationship with the nurses, the ones that are taking care of the patient the majority of the time, starts when the woman comes into the hospital to give birth. The nurses are assigned to the woman, the woman has no choice about the interaction. This was important because one of the women, Carisa, actually got along well with one of her nurse, Christina. She hadn’t given birth yet when the nurse when Christina got off her shift, only for this woman to now get assigned a new nurse, one she has never talked to before, during the hardest part of her labor. When the epidural stopped working on Carisa, the new nurse was seen in a shot resting in the reception desk, instead of being in the room with the woman. This is completely different than the relationship that was depicted in TBBB, where the midwife was there for the woman in labor throughout the whole process. Being able to have a relationship with the person(s) that will be aiding you while in labor, not just their partner, seemed to have a more positive atmosphere.

When the women in TBBB gave birth, they were the ones (if in a tub) to help pull the baby out themselves. If the midwife helped the newborn out, after birth the newborn was immediately placed in the mother’s arms.  Compared to in OBEM, where the Athia’s newborn finally got out of her uterus, it was raised in the air, like a scene straight from The Lion King, for a quick glance from the mother, and then quickly taken away to be cleaned, weighed, etc.

Also, the reaction of the mothers in OBEM to their newborns varying from the mothers who gave birth naturally, were completely different. The women, who gave birth at home with a midwife, got to hold and spend time with their babies immediately. The look on their face was complete exhaustion, but complete and utter joy. They looked utterly entranced with the new life that they had introduced to the world.  The teenage mom, Jenna, actually looked away from her newborn when she gave birth. On her face was complete exhaustion, yet she made no effort to even look at the baby. The father was depicted holding the newborn, while she laid on the bed with her eyes closed.

OBEM depicted women’s bodies and childbirth as something that needs intervention. Women in TBBB are portrayed as strong, and as childbirth as one of the most empowering things a woman can choose to do. 

Word count: 471