Passage #1
Yet, one might object here that there is no reason in principle why women could not also break free of their social ties in such fashion. Be that as it may, women are traditionally expected to “preserve just the sorts of relationships…that autonomy-seeking men sometimes want to abandon.” (Friedman, 2000, p. 35) As Mark Piper observes, gendered socialization processes disadvantage women when it comes to opportunities for self-expression, young girls and women are often be taught to be submissive to men and to focus on domestic life over other pursuits. (Piper, 2014, p. 256) It seems plausible to anticipate, for instance, a degree of condemnation towards mothers who choose to abandon their families in pursuit of interests which deviate from those that define a woman or mother's normative social role. We need only recall literary pieces like Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House for a predictable societal response. In Ibsen's play, Nora decides to leave behind her home, her husband, and children, in pursuit of her own freedom from oppression. Her protesting husband Thorvald scolds her and tells her that she is, before all else, “a wife and a mother.” Thus, her freedom is accompanied by censure; to avoid it, she would have to continue abiding by motherhood norms at the cost of her preferred life choices. This thereby places someone like Nora in an oppressive double bind not faced by men: whatever she chooses to do, she faces a negative outcome. (Hirji, 2021, p. 649)
Response #1
I totally agree with the message of this passage. History shows that women have faced a significant amount of systemic oppression in the past and still do today. Examples include voting rights, employment, education, etc. I am not surprised that women like Nora in the passage above are negatively criticized for her decision to leave behind her family and home to pursue her own freedom. These traditional expectations of women still exist today because it is rooted in education and culture. In Chinese culture, males are preferred over females because of traditional family expectations surrounding marriage. When a women gets married, she is expected to leave her own family to become part of her husband’s family, taking on responsibilities such as caring for her husband, in-laws, children, and home. The very few women that do not adhere to these traditions and stay behind with their own family are viewed as rebellious or disrespectful. As a result, males are viewed as more desirable than females because they are seen as a more reliable source of long term financial stability and a sign of loyalty since the family name lives on. However, we often ignore or overlook the fact that men are able to make more money and be autonomous because they have women supporting them indirectly by taking care of duties at home. In addition, men also have societal norms that back their decisions to leave home to pursue their interests. This is why it is very common in China for husbands to live in a different province or city to pursue work, whilst the children and wife stay home. We might argue that autonomy is theoretically achievable for both genders, but in reality, it is much harder for females because of the constraints, judgments, and expectations that society places upon them. Women can achieve autonomy, but at what cost? The double bind that is explained highlights how freedom may never actually be achieved by women if seeking autonomy means having to face harsh societal expectations and judgment.
Passage #2
Relational views take for granted the plausible presumption that the Self is related to others in various ways; who we are and how we identify ourselves is never a practice that is achieved alone. As such, they reject the kind of individualism associated with “… some liberal and especially libertarian conceptions of autonomy” (Mackenzie, 2013, p. 42) and recognize, instead, that individual identities are shaped by agents' social relationships and social determinants like gender, class, and race.
Response #2
In my anthropology class, I learned that culture is not inherited from birth but is learned. And since culture is part of our identity, I agree that individual identities are shaped by our social relationships and social determinants. Although autonomy is understood as the ability to make choices independently, I believe that those choices are not entirely independent if we are influenced by factors such as gender, class, race, and our relationships. A lot of the choices that I make are autonomous but influenced by culture, social relationships, and social determinants. For example, I chose to attend Haverford College because living in Philadelphia, it is fairly close to home. In my culture, it is believed that daughters should not travel too far from home, while I made the decision on my own to attend a closer college, the values that was brought up in my culture influenced my decision. My values, beliefs, and expectations that I have are influenced by my family and community shapes how I view and make decisions. I think that autonomy is possible but that it exists within social contexts and not outside of them.
Passage #3
In other words, accounts like Oshana's do not offer us a way to address the fact that “practices that liberals believe inhibit the development of women's autonomy…might in fact express the ability of these women to choose their own values and commitments.”
Response #3
Based on this passage, I think that we should not automatically assume that a woman does not hold autonomy if the decisions they make hold up to societal expectations. I believe that a woman choosing to stay home and take care of her children is just as autonomous as a woman choosing to hire a babysitter to look after her children. As long as the choice made reflects her own independent values and lifestyle then I think it is an expression of autonomy. So how should we define autonomy? Is it defined by independence or a person’s ability to choose based on their values? Does the social pressure to conform make a choice less autonomous?