Extra credit

1. In "The Business of being Born" women who use the midwife the health and bodies of the women are viewed completely different then how the hospitals treat women bodies. The midwife respects women bodies more, and see the body as a way to produce a life. The hospital takes advantage of the women bodies, for example pushing C-sections. They treat the body as a production machine that should be cut open and abused in order to get the baby and get them out of the hospital room. For "One Born Every Minute" the nurses and doctors do seem concerned about the moms and the families. Without the knowledge from "The Business of being born" I would not question the antics of the doctors.

2. With the midwife experience shown in the documentary the focus of the birth seemed to be on the mother and child. The women were in a more comfortable environment, they were not being poked and prodded, and they were not given advice to induce the labor.  For one born every minute, it does again seem like the attention is on the mother, but more so the child. There is talk of getting the baby out, and doing what is best for the baby. Although I do think the nurses seem nice and concerned with the mother, thinking of the documentary makes me question why they revert back to talking about what is best for the baby when so much that is done is not necessary.

3.  The doctor and Nurses in the show seem to be more knowledgeable. They are able to use the tools in the hospital to tell the mom when its time to push, when to not push, when its important to induce. In the documentary the midwife tells the mom "you know your body". She makes it seem like the mother is in control of what is going on more then the hospital  does. In the hospital all of the decisions are in the doctors hands, leaving the mom feeling as if she has no knowledge.

4. I think in both instances the mother is seen as strong. In both circumstances the women are praised for pushing, and being strong through the pain.

5. In "One Born Every Minute", the birthing process seems really scary. There is a lot of excitement
, but also a lot of fear. With the midwives the whole experience seemed more calm.

wage gap discusson

I attended the discussion about the wage gap. I was so surprised to hear of all of the facts that these women had to offer. One of the women raised some really great points that offering less money to women, in essence, meant they were worth more. I had never considered the wage gap in this way, yet it made so much sense to me. Why would the sex of a worker mean they should be paid more, and how can you separate that fact from the partiarcal society in which we live and work in.  I have little knowledge of the wage gap and was so surprised to hear of the facts.

Firstly, I could not believe that the unfairness of the situation was so rampant. So many people in the class along with on the board had personal stories of unfairness. For example, the instructor said she had dealt with the wage gap her entire life. Even though she was well educated she had to fight for her rights. I had also never considered that the color of a persons skin would effect the wage gap so much. Women of color should definitely be educated on this issue considering they are the most affected. They are paid even less then white women, who are only paid 77 cents to the dollar for doing the same work as a white man. This was so shocking to me.

We also discussed the wheel that shows different aspects that one can be treated unfairly for. So many of the aspects affect women more then men. For example a women who wants to be a mother will be more affected in the work place then a man. The "mommy track" phenomena has greatly set back women in the work force. They should not be forced into certain jobs because they want to create a family. Men may not be able to give birth, but they should be just as concerned with the raising of their children as the mother would be.

The most important think I learned was the importance of negotiation. Most men will negotiate a better salary and women will not. This is an awful truth of how society makes women feel about themselves. As if women do not see enough self worth in fighting for themselves. It is a very important lesson for this time in my life, considering I plan on entering the work force in a few short months. Its important that I continue to stay up to date with the issues facing the wage gap, and that I learn the proper ways to make as much as I am worth for the work I choose to do.