Activism Blog #2

Activism

This week marked the end of our “Give Survivors a Fresh Start” donation drive. We extended the drive two more weeks, making the drive last a total of six weeks. Our contact with our community partner involved dropping of the donations to Harbor House and Safe House of Seminole. The drive was a great success. We raised over 120 pounds of donations including soap, toothpaste, deodorant, tampons, and other hygiene products. With the amount of advertising we did, we were very successful. With more outreach to classes and more posters around campus it is possible that we could have raised much more. This may be something we continue to do each semester, as it is not costly or difficult to make such an impact on so many people.

Reflection

The activism this week relates to our readings about consumerism. In our hygiene drive we were asking for consumer products: shampoo, soap, tampons, razors and other “necessities.” Upon collecting and sorting the donations, we discovered many brand name and expensive lotions, shampoos and even make up and hair straighteners, which we did not ask for. Each person who donated made a difference in this drive and it is very much appreciated, but it goes to show that consumerism played a major role. Some people donated high priced goods maybe thinking that they were doing even more of a good deed because these are the things that have value. Advertising and mass marketing has corrupted our idea of value: “Greater Purchasing power and growing choice in the marketplace guarantee a better (and happier) life.” (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey) We now find value in the cost of things not the quality. We find it things valuable because others find them valuable not because they mean something to us. These actions by individuals are driven by advertising and popular culture that make these beauty products a needed part of every woman’s life. On a macro level, women are told they need these products to fix their problems. In our case, these women have much larger problems to worry about. The readings in combination with our work this week have showed me how much consumerism works against the feminist agenda and promote the beauty ideal and capitalism–thus patriarchy. I believe our origination would support some of these ideas of consumerism on some levels. Our organization works a lot to help women prepare for interview and find jobs. Unfortunately, women must abide by the beauty ideal and consume this multitude of beauty products to maintain an acceptable appearance in order to get a job.

Reciprocity

From a feminist perspective it is obvious how destructive consumerism is to our culture and society. Women are turned into pedestals to hold men’s products in commercials. Making women appear as just another commodity like beer or potato chips.  For women, consumption is the basis for the beauty ideal. These images of women promote their objectification which leads to intimate partner abuse and legitimizes the continuation of such violence.

Hynes, Patricia H. “Consumption”. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 567-573. Print.