Blog #6 Jane Addams

I enjoyed the class about Jane Addams. I'm going into the social work field and I feel as though we talk about a lot of the same concepts in those classes as we did in theory with her work. I have always thought the idea of the Hull House was cool and how she was doing something to benefit those in need and get people back on their feet and learning new skills. The idea that she took in women and children to teach them to work independently is really cool and a huge step towards realizing the full potential of females, which at the time I think was greatly underestimated. The book addressed the labor inequalities for females and how women often get sewing jobs where they work the entire day hour after hour and get paid only the bare minimum to allow them to survive on the smallest scraps of food. I think it's clearly necessary during that time period for women to learn different skills and be able to fully support themselves.

The other part of class that struck me, and I'm sure many others, was the movie clip we watched. The entire concept of the bride kidnapping was such a shock to watch and also quite disturbing. It completely, in my opinion, went against Jane Addams views we were discussing in class, especially when it came to comparing the 4 points we talked about for social democracy. One point that really stood out was that no group should be considered superior, where there clearly were superior groups in this practice, where the men of the households would decide which women could just be snatched off the streets and forced into a stranger's home. Not only the men were more in power though, the women of the male also had a sort of power over the bride-to-be. They held the woman in the film captive and forced scarves on her and dragged her as she was crying until she finally gave in. This also violates the whole point of being respectful to others, and also the point of ensuring safety. Dragging a crying human being into a room doesn't come off as safe or respectful to me at all. It was a difficult thing to watch and also a hard concept to wrap my mind around that women had to just accept and move on with their lives even if they were unhappy with the path being chosen for them. It was sad to watch, and I think some of Addams views would be useful in changing that part of society. For instance I think it would benefit that entire country to be educated and aware of the way their lives could be without the fear of the bride kidnapping practice. Also sharing experiences and memories of how people felt would benefit to see those unhappy with their culture and that a change really is necessary. I'd like to see more films of cases like this where there is great inequality. I feel like it affects enough people who live their negatively, along with people such as myself who simply watch things like this being done and feel disturbed. Addams had a good start and idea with empowering all people and changing these sorts of situations, and I think it needs to be continued.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw4GZeABlNI

Above I have the link to a 6 minute video capping up Jane Addams accomplishments, some of which I have mentioned above, with emphasis on the Hull House. And below is an image of Jane Addams herself.