Connection to my own experience:
- I was really intrigued by the term "oppressive double bind I never heard this term be used for content I have seen before. I can relate a lot to the first statement I made, growing up raised by immigrant parents from Western Africa there is a similar expectation that was shown. Many women are expected to prioritize things such as marriage, family, etc. but the man is never questioned or told what he should be pursuing. I witnessed this very frequently in my home where my father would pursue his own interests selfishly at the expense of my mother having to carry the burden of taking care of my sister and I. My mom also had her own interests and desires but chose not to pursue them because she believed her responsibility to primarily take care of my sister and I, disregarding her own feelings in the process. Being born and raised in the US its but of a cultural shock but they tend to praise and put a big emphasis on women being independent putting themselves first, but at the end of the day are still criticized for doing so, similarly to more traditional cultures.
- In regards to the second response, I always believed that an individual having personal autonomy meant to entirely standing on your own, being untouched by outside influence. I was operating under the assumption that the fewer factors I considered, the freer I would feel, away from messy situations and opinions. But looking back the only reason I was able to become the person I am today is because I set boundaries due to past experiences and interactions with other people. I learned what I value by engaging with people and things I don't. It was only when someone overstepped a boundary when I realized it needed to exist in the first place. My sense of autonomy was developed for me by the community that was built around me.
- Despite my upbringing in a traditional Western African home, my mother always taught me to be independent, to rely on no one, and to build a life entirely on my own. This was also an ideology that was always reinforced by Western society that measures a women's freedom and autonomy by her career, financial status, and refusal to conform to traditional norms. I was guilty doing this myself. When I saw women who were choosing to be stay at home moms, wives/girlfriends it felt unsettling. To me, it looked like they were comprising their freedom in order to receive validation from men. But I realized that I was only imposing my own biases to others. The true importance is to respect peoples choices whether or not we agree with it. When we dismiss a women's desire to care give and live a domestic life we become paternalistic as the passage stated. We are undermining the very autonomy that we promote. True autonomy and liberation means to advocate for a women's right to choose to break that tradition or continue to live it and still thrive with either path they choose.
- I was really intrigued by the term "oppressive double bind I never heard this term be used for content I have seen before. I can relate a lot to the first statement I made, growing up raised by immigrant parents from Western Africa there is a similar expectation that was shown. Many women are expected to prioritize things such as marriage, family, etc. but the man is never questioned or told what he should be pursuing. I witnessed this very frequently in my home where my father would pursue his own interests selfishly at the expense of my mother having to carry the burden of taking care of my sister and I. My mom also had her own interests and desires but chose not to pursue them because she believed her responsibility to primarily take care of my sister and I, disregarding her own feelings in the process. Being born and raised in the US its but of a cultural shock but they tend to praise and put a big emphasis on women being independent putting themselves first, but at the end of the day are still criticized for doing so, similarly to more traditional cultures.
- In regards to the second response, I always believed that an individual having personal autonomy meant to entirely standing on your own, being untouched by outside influence. I was operating under the assumption that the fewer factors I considered, the freer I would feel, away from messy situations and opinions. But looking back the only reason I was able to become the person I am today is because I set boundaries due to past experiences and interactions with other people. I learned what I value by engaging with people and things I don't. It was only when someone overstepped a boundary when I realized it needed to exist in the first place. My sense of autonomy was developed for me by the community that was built around me.
- Despite my upbringing in a traditional Western African home, my mother always taught me to be independent, to rely on no one, and to build a life entirely on my own. This was also an ideology that was always reinforced by Western society that measures a women's freedom and autonomy by her career, financial status, and refusal to conform to traditional norms. I was guilty doing this myself. When I saw women who were choosing to be stay at home moms, wives/girlfriends it felt unsettling. To me, it looked like they were comprising their freedom in order to receive validation from men. But I realized that I was only imposing my own biases to others. The true importance is to respect peoples choices whether or not we agree with it. When we dismiss a women's desire to care give and live a domestic life we become paternalistic as the passage stated. We are undermining the very autonomy that we promote. True autonomy and liberation means to advocate for a women's right to choose to break that tradition or continue to live it and still thrive with either path they choose.