Emily Roebling was born on September 23, 1843 in Cold Spring, New York. She is best known for unofficially taking over her husband’s role as chief engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge when he became bed ridden due to decompression sickness. Emily was so good at her position that upon the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, Congressman Abram Hewitt said that the bridge was “an everlasting monument to the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman and of her capacity for that higher education from which she has been too long disbarred” (ASCE). In addition to this, she also was the first female to address the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the first female to become a lawyer in New York.
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The 1998 movie Mulan was directed by two men (Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook), written by several people (although a large majority are men), produced by two women and a man (Pam Coats, Kendra Haaland, and Robert S. Garber), and music was done by a man (Jerry Goldsmith). Despite the large presence of men involved in the production of this movie, Mulan confronts several stereotypes.
In the first scenes of Mulan the stereotype of subservient women, good housewives, and beautiful women who are married off is immediately is present. When we meet the heroine of the movie she conforms to the Asian race appearance, she has the common sexual identity of heterosexual, she is able-bodied, and she is young. However, upon second look, Mulan goes against the Asian culture of how women are supposed to be: Mulan is a terrible housewife, clumsy, and has a hard time being subservient. She only tries to fit in to the stereotype in order to please her parents. When her father is drafted into the military, however, Mulan confronts the gender box. She cuts her hair short, joins the military, becomes a strong woman who is capable of fighting, develops a sense of independence, and learns how to follow her own beliefs as opposed to the beliefs of society. In my Women's Studies class we talked about the gender boxes, yes both of the gender boxes. During the activity we were asked to give words or phrases that described the "stereotypical" or "expected" gender. Here were just some of the examples of words and phrases that we suggested.
The next task we were given was to find two ads and analyze them in respect to the gender boxes.
I almost grew up with no privileges. For a year of my life I lacked the food that would have helped me grow strong, I shared a crib with three or more babies, and I lived in a building where large rodents would have been very common. For all I know, I may have been put up for adoption because of the sexist culture of China. When I was put up for adoption there were no records or reasoning for it, I was simply another baby in the orphanage. If I hadn’t been adopted I would have been left to struggle in the sexist culture of China where “female infanticide, domestic slavery, and sexual bondage were commonplace” (Spurling, 2011).
Instead, I was adopted one day before my first birthday and grew up with a much more privileged life than I would have had in China. I have had the privilege of living in Germany, Oregon, South Korea, and Japan. I have the privilege of having sufficient food, water, and shelter. I have the privilege of being an able-bodied young adult. But most importantly, I have had the privilege of gaining an education and having civil liberties that I wouldn’t have had in China. My parents both work in education: my mother as a teacher and my father as a principal. Because they work in education they both know how important a good education is. I was privileged because I grew up being encouraged to learn more and keep an open mind. In order to stay focused on education while I grew up, I didn’t hold a steady job as many teenagers have. Instead of work I took several AP classes, was involved heavily in community service, and was involved in sports. Although there are not many women in the inner circle of power in the U.S., there are at least some women. In China however, “there is no woman in the inner circle of power” (Tatlow, 2012). This is an example of how many more civil liberties I have in the U.S. compared to China. I have the right to vote, I am able to speak my mind about what I believe is right, and grew up feeling that I can do, say, or be anything that a guy can. Unfortunately, there are instances in which I do not benefit. Although there are many more women’s rights in the U.S. than in China, there is still much progress to be made. Women are entering all kinds of careers, however, it is still unevenly distributed. For example, while there are women entering the engineering field, there are still not many women in mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineering (MIME), nor in civil, or construction management engineering (CCE). When divided into subsections of which engineering women are in, the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) provides information that shows that the average percentage of women in MIME and CCE is only 17.16% whereas the average percentage of women in chemical, biological, and environmental engineering (CBEE) is 37.1%. People who don’t have the benefit of parents who so strongly encourage education most likely would think that I was spoiled. They may see me as a girl who simply gets what I want from my parents without having to work for it (as they may be having to do). On the other hand, children who are still in China, waiting to be adopted, would probably see my civil liberties as I do: as a privilege. Although there are many other privileges I don’t have, I am glad to have the privileges that I do. |
what's this?just another nerdy Asian who writes essays and actually ends up liking some of them. type of writing
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way back when...
July 2017
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