Chapter 12

In this chapter, Shalit explains that the freedom given to us by the feminist movement has been limited by what society expects us to do with that freedom. Because society expects us to use our new found freedom working in what was once considered a man's job and openly expressing ourselves, it doesn't view the role as a housewife to be desirable. Just because we are able to do these things doesn't mean we want to. I think the original feminist ideas have been skewed; what was once about freedom to choose has become very one sided. Shalit claims that this pressure society has put on us has been derogatory to women as a whole. Society has forgotten that the feminist movement is about empowerment. If a woman feels safe and secure wearing traditional Muslim garb, who is to say she is wrong? What is considered extreme to us is the same as wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt to them.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Questions for Blog from Timothy Spaeth

I feel as though the lack in modesty has made parents and other figures in our lives not care. Has a lack of modesty caused a lack of people not caring? Refer to page198 as you answer this question.

When people kiss each other in public under watchful eyes of others they show in fact that there is not modesty. Is public display of affection really because there is a lack of modesty?

Shalit says that "embarrassment is silly, but in fact it makes girls strong" (205). Should embarrassment be one of the factors to make girls stronger today?

I feel as though premarital sex makes woman lose a since of their virtues but not their ability to be modest. Does premarital sex make females have less or more modesty? 209

Chapter 10: Modesty and the Erotic

This chapter confused me a great deal. I feel as though she was writing this chapter just to waste paper. The world could have used to this paper from this chapter to write something that would open the eyes of the people in the world. Instead we got pissed on by a feminist that says that females who are married are more relaxed during intercourse. Yeah, I may not be married, but I have lived on on earth to know that its not the ring that makes females comfortable around their husband and its not the commitment that make wives just want to be naked and be comfortable in their presence. Then the whole co-ed wrestling thing. I mean grow up darling. I wrestled in high school and have done jui jitsu. I have practiced with the other sex, it's no different, you still have an opponent. So why worry if the opponent has a vagina or not. There was simply more emphasis on beating a female opponent because you didn't want to get beat by a girl but other than that why care. I feel as though Shalit is a woman that justs wants to speak her mind because she wants to be heard, not because she has anything important to say.

Chapter 9

I think that human emotions are a very important part of life. They allow us to be more than empty shells walking around not feeling excitement, anger, or happiness. Emotions are necessary for life, it would be to boring if they didn't exist, even the ones that are not so happy. I have had my dog since I was two, she has always been there to play with and just sit with. She is getting old and starting to act her age, I expect that she will die sometime soon and that makes me very sad, if I didn't feel sad I think there would be something wrong with me. The thought that they drug people to not feel their emotions is ridiculous. I also think that sad emotions like depression and sorrow are the natural way to tell us that something needs to change. We should not be drugging ourselves to make things not hurt emotionally.

Chapter 8: Women Modesty? Hold you own door!

I'm not too sure how to take the chapters in this book any more. The topics I feel that she touches on are in honesty legitimate, but that women have made such a point of "We're tired of being babied, let us be humans too..." that now men just don't care. Besides, I can count almost every 4 out of 5 times I've opened doors for women as well as families and not even gotten an acknowledging look, more of less a thank you. Now the part she touches on about Seinfeld about the groceries, that's crap and he should have helped yes, but how many times have men tried to help and gotten "I can do it!" Or something like "..Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I'm help less..." I was raised with class and chivalry, but it seems a waste to try to maintain it for a bunch of ingrates. But on the up side, for all the guys out there who don't have any class, they make my life easier, because when I open a door for a lady and she appreciates it more and I get more brownie points. So BOO-YA!!

Chapter 7

In chapter 7, Shalit claims that modesty is natural for girls who have hit puberty. I agree with Shalit that by the time we hit puberty, both genders have become very aware of their anatomical differences. Unfortunately Shalit uses claims that don't support her theory. In "The Windy Day Proof" Shalit claims that women who wear skirts with slits hold them down when the wind blows. Ok, I understand that, but Shalit goes on to say that these women are embarassed of the slits in their skirts but wear them anyway. Nowhere does Shalit meantion the length of these skirts nor how high the slit is. As a halfway-intelligent reader, I know that if the day is windy enough, it doesn't really matter how long your skirt is, it will fly up. Shalit does use some good examples in this chapter. Shalit claims that modesty protects privacy and that people who are modest (humble) with their acheivements are secure enough to not boast them. I only wish Shalit would be clearer with her examples and claims.

Ch. 6 Today's New Woman

Should I convert to Judaism? It sure does sound like there are happy marriages within this religion if all men abide by their sexual obligations towards their wife. The "conjugal rights" of a woman are outlined in the Torah (Shalit, 114). According to these rules a wife has the right to forbid her husband from switching to an occupation that would entail less conjugal visits. This suggests that this society saw it completely natural for a woman to have sexual desires that needed to be satisfied by her husband. Why in today's society is it so shocking when a woman reveals that she has a sexual fantasy or desire and then even more shocking when she acts upon it? I am tired of women being accused of being slutty or whores when in actuality they have less sexual experiences then the average man. The Torah was written hundreds of years ago, yet today we are shocked to learn that a woman can be horny. Welcome to the 21st century.