Tuesday, February 9, 2010
We're In it Together (Response to Johnson)
Johnson does an excellent job in pointing out how we are all a part of the system of patriarchy. She challenges the notions that individuals or exclusive groups (i.e. men) are fully responsible for this system. She challenges readers to look past individualism. "...we have to realize that we're stuck in a model of social life that views everything as beginning and ending with individuals" (Johnson, 27). This does not mean that individuals are not held accountable; they are. However, we must look at the larger, whole picture. We all participate in social life through socialization (Johnson, 31). This socialization helps to form our identities and how they relate to other's identities in society. We follow these identities according to what we have been socialized to believe and do and thus drive on the systems that we so often blame for our oppression. Johnson also points out that we are quick to take the paths of least resistance (Johnson, 32). We do this because it's the easy way out and we will be socially accepted. I found Johnson's argument mind blogging and I agreed with her. Who ever knew or realized how much socialization plays a part in our society, how it forms so much of our identities and relationships between each other. It is where the systems of oppression, like patriarchy, get their power from. Yet, we are so quick to put the whole blame on individuals. We fail to realize our own involvement. It pretty clear....if we want to take down patriarchy, we need to have a new way of thinking. We have to challenge social life and its control over us. I'm not suggesting ridding ourselves of social life because our existence is dependent upon it. I am suggesting that we look at how it is structured and how we all play a role in it. Looking at it from individual perspective is only a piece of the puzzle. People run the system; the system doesn't run us (although this is popular belief). Once we come to this realization, we can begin to ask meaningful, deeper questions and search for solutions to our social problems. It is then that we can truly begin to challenge the systems of power and oppression present in our society and thus revolutionize it.
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I completely agree with what The Male Feminist says about Johnson's article. I did not realize until reading this article that everyone in our society is subject to socialization. It is interesting to see how our relationships and identities are formed through the way that our societies are constructed. Through these socially constructed relationships, men gain their power. I like The Male Feminists idea of trying to step back and look at the roles that we play in our society. The only way that change is going to happen is if everyone, not just some individuals, look at the way in which socialization affects our society. We have to come up with an answer together because we have to change the entire system. Even though we "run the system", the system in some ways does run us. We are so unaware of what the system does that we do not realize it constructs how we live. Therefore, we need to change this system so that we do run the system and it does not have an affect on us. I agree with the Male Feminist that the way we are going to search for solutions to our social problems is by working together as a society and not on an individual bases.
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