CONTINUATIONS April ift 2§§8 10
Society cont. from pg. 7
sion of a ’wife' is what
he wants his spouse to
be like. Also, this might
have the same effect on
women about their hus
bands—if her husband
is a stay-at-home dad,
she might expect him to
act in the manner of the
wife in this essay. Brady
tries to bring a perspec
tive to all the things a
woman is responsible for
and is expected to do in
today's society. Also, I
think Brady is trying to
get women aroused and
make them take a stand
for themselves. Through
her essay, you can see
just how the femisist
movement backfired, for
instead of empowering
and encouraging women
to stand up for them-,
selves and take charge, it
made women look and
act like victims. Actually,
affirmative action did
more to empower
women than the feminist
movement. Because of
affirmative action. Title
Nine was passed, which
made sure that women
in general were given
an equal opportunity to
play sports and be able
to form their own clubs
in schools and social
settings. Brady's essay
empowers its readers to
the extent that a woman
speaks up and expresses
all the things that women
are expected to do and
men are not just because
of their gender.
Whether you agree
with Brady's opinion
does not matter. Critics
consider this essay con
troversial because of
Judy Brady's views of
women's roles in society.
Gender issues and roles
will always be a contro
versial topic. "I Want a
Wife" sounds as though
it was written by a man
not only because of the
title but also because
of the way Brady talks
about women. If there
is one thing you should
take away from Brady's
essay, it should be that
women can do anything
they want to if they put
their minds and hearts
to it.
Unlikely cont. from pg. 1
of [her] labor, and [she]
wasn't alienated from it."
She cleaned her horse
because she cared for her,
but a person should also
care for her home.
Just like a horse, a
house is always getting
dirty. The horse stands
in the pasture eating her
life away until someone
decides to take her for
a ride. A horse will not
brush the stray hairs
from her coat or scrape
away the clumps of mud
in her shoes, and unless
someone comes along
and does these chores for
her, she will turn into a
large matted and muddy
fuzz ball. The same goes
for a house. A house will
stand up against the rain
and wind for a short
time, but eventually the
harsh weather will chip
away at the paint, trees
will crash onto the roof
and dust and grime will
gather on the windows.
Like the horse, unless
someone cares for the
house, it will waste away,
and in time nature will
envelop it in weeds.
Jane Smiley does not
believe in forcing her
children to work because
she does not want her
children to "contribute
to the work of maintain
ing the family." She fears
her children will trade
in the number of chores
they complete for more
of their parents' love and
attention. She makes
a good point here, but
her argument is still not
strong enough. Like my
father, parents should
help their children
accomplish the assigned
tasks. Smiley believes
the parents should be
the ones to maintain the
house because "it doesn't
take much work at all,"
but if children are help
ing, the time spent on
cleaning will be even
less. After the work is fin
ished, playtime can begin
for everyone, including
parents.
Her passion for horses
taught her the impor
tance of hard work, but a
certain amoiint of desire
to do what needs to be
done can be taught at
an early age by teach
ing children to care
for their belongings.
Understandably, she
thinks hard wor-k should
be taught when she has
a passion for the work,
but there are unpleasant
tasks in life that need to
be completed. Not every
one has a horse, but most
children have a house
where they can practice
their skills in manual
labor. Parents should
give chores to their chil
dren in hopes of instill
ing in their young minds
an appreciation for a
job well done. A child is
never going to wake up
with the intention that
cleaning the tub would
be a good idea unless
they have been steered
in the right direction and
experienced a sense of
accomplishment at fin
ishing an unpleasant job.
Date cont. from pg. 8
dainty.
As you probe through
your romaine, pushing
the cherry tomatoes to
the side like a game of
croquet, try not to be
offended when he starts
sending text messages
over dinner. Instead,
compliment how nimble
his thumbs are as you
catch glimpses of text
message jargon say
ing things like "im jus
chillin wit sum grl." At
least take pleasure in
the fact that he spent his
requisite fifteen cents to
tell his "bro" about you.
Regardless of how often
you find things to dis
cuss, or how often you
hear the pulsating of the
vibrating phone, you
will come to the conclu
sion that a date with this
particular boy will never
repeat itself.
It is almost a relief
once you have this
epiphany. You don't have
to worry if you have a
forest of foliage stuck in
your teeth after you tilled
through your salad, if
you are being charismatic
and funny enough or
if you should linger in
the car for a good night
kiss. To top the evening
off in a ladylike manner,
all that is left to do is
politely say "thank you"
when he says he'll pay
for your overpriced salad
and Diet Coke. Who
knows? If you are feeling
extra-confident, you can
slip your phone number
to the cute waiter you've
been eyeing all night.
All in all, having a
bad date is a rigorous
process of which many
ladies are veterans. While
they may wish to some
day join the upper ranks
of being girlfriends, for
now, they are accru
ing points on the field
through all of awkward
dating experiences. In
the words of Pat Benatar,
"Love is a Battlefield,"
and sometimes it's best to
root for the underdog.
Nay^ cont. from pg. 9
repeat attempt
to do anything that
requires you to get out
of bed or seriously use
your brain for more
than five minutes.
Such activities where
using your brain is
not okay may include
talking on the phone,
walking down the hall
to use the microwave,
taking a shower or
thinking about home
work. The occasional
trip to Cookout has
been known to occur,
so if a trip does happen'
do not be discouraged.
The most important
part of step three is
that you must never
attend class on a Nay
Day. Attending class
would be unethical to
the standards upheld
by the participants in
the group, thus prov
ing why I have never
fully participated in a
Nay Day. I am far too
focused on my educa
tion and my future to
be so carefree; howev
er, I know from experi
ence that it has been
done.
Although I am sure
many of you have tried
to achieve a successful
lazy day in the past,
you could not really
call it a "Nay Day"
without the presence of
a Nay and the desire to
be completely useless
for an entire day. The
complete essence of the
day is made possible
by-that one little char
acter who sparks a lazi
ness in you that would
not be there otherwise,
leading to overdue
essays and unfinished
projects.