I found Urla and Terry's section on women the most fascinating in these readings. I have previously taken courses that address women's issues and how these issues had come about and how they have changed over time. Women have always been seen as the inferior sex when compared to men, really only valuable for their reproductive capabilities (which as we all know doesn't last forever). Men have always been prized for their minds, which is thought to only expand with knowledge as they age. When women started questioning men's authority over every part of their lives, it sent waves of fear in men surrounding these "outspoken" women. Religion was also loosing its grip on people's behavior at the same time, with science taking over slowly. In an effort to suppress women from gaining any more momentum in their movement and thought, "intellectual" men applied science to women. What they tried to prove was that women with independence were somehow diseased for their radical way of thinking. As a result of trying to find the deviance in women that was attributed to a biological factor, these men ended up putting all women under suspicion and scrutiny in regards to their behavior. 


One point that was brought up today in class was the idea of a beauty standard for women. While doing a project last semester I came across this quote by Sally Kempton, "Men define intelligence, men define usefulness, men tell us what is beautiful, men even tell us what is womanly". I think this quote ties in so well with that discussion today. One student brought up that our society would rather see a woman try to obtain the body  and beauty (which is unattainable), than focus on having a truly healthy body and a healthy weight. The thing is, for women who do try to achieve these impossible standards set by men, some will end up with devastating results. Women who fail to reach these standards can end up ill, either physically or psychologically, perhaps even both. The ironic twist of it is that these "diseases" women end up with in the DSM were first classified by men. So no matter what women do, they will be seen as falling below the bar of beauty or end up being labeled as crazy if it goes too far. Either way, our beauty standards set women up for failure and keeps them from achieving their true potential. 


Erin Pattridge