Gloria Steinam’s work does not devalue women of any group, but rather give a good laugh and a sigh of relief to them by saying things like “Street guys would brag (“I’m a three-pad man”) or answer praise from a buddy (“Man you’re looking good!”)” I think that Steinem’s work may empower some women because you can’t help but be thankful that women menstruate and not men. That would just be one more thing for males to find and brag about. Steinam’s work empowers women in the health area by making women proud to menstruate and feel that it is a gift to be able to bear children. It should almost make women feel full of pride when going to their gynecologist!
Imagining the scenario that Gloria Steinem creates, I believe that women’s health care would not be as good as it is today. We, as women, occasionally need special care for certain things that go on inside our bodies, namely menstruation, and if we no longer menstruated there would be less attention paid to women. The attention would be shifted over, yet again, to men. I think that men would be a lot more vocal about their monthly cycles then women are, and they would receive all the health care they would need. Women today are most often visiting the doctor more frequently than men, due to gynecologist appointments as well as regular checkups. If Steinem’s scenario were true, men would draw more attention to the fact that they need more specific health care and they would receive it.
In Steinam’s essay, she creates a make-believe world, and in that world, I think that there would be a few negative transformations around women’s health. Men would be more likely to speak up when they felt the tiniest thing was not working correctly in their monthly cycle, and would go to the doctor’s office and get the help they needed almost immediately, whereas women would have to wait around for a long time. This is because we live in a male-dominated society. Many women are too afraid to speak up when the y to the doctor’s for fear that someone will yell at them or tell them once again that “The doctor will be with you as soon as he can”. It’s sad that there aren’t more female doctors, because I know that I feel more relaxed with a female doctor because she knows exactly what I’m going through.
In conclusion, I loved Gloria Steinem’s essay. It made me laugh, as well as made me wonder what life would be like if men menstruated. It’s a scary thought. I think that women would have an even harder time becoming a substantial part of society all because of a once a month bleeding cycle that men would go through. I don’t think women realize what a powerful gift they have been given with the ability to menstruate. We make up more than half of the world’s population and are almost never represented fairly in public life and positions of power. It’s time for all us women, menstruating or not, to take a stand for the sake of our future in society and in health care.