Main Post 11/4

     Gwendolyn Mink’s article focused on the devisive nature of welfare reform amongst the female population. Her main qualms with this issue is the fact that a majority of feminists were not willing to help or support women who received welfare. In fact, many feminists were anti- welfare. They gave their support to the Republican party to effectively win their war against working class single mothers. The bill in question was  the Personal Responsibility Act, which was supported by every woman in Congresswoman, except for one. Mink goes on to say that although women did not personally write the legislation, they did very little to stop it from passing. The implications of this law have both economic, political and social effects. Poor single mother’s are outcast in society and looked down upon. They are treated much differently by the government than other demographics of people. Welfare reform devalued the situation and struggle that these single mothers faced. It seems that there was very little understanding of the lives these women led. In the United States there is a terrible stigma for being a poor single mother, especially if you are on welfare. Society views these women as careless, freeloaders with loose morals. Many believed that they preferred to have children and live off of the government than get a real job. Of course, a racial issue also existed. Many women who received welfare were minorities, mainly African Americans and Hispanic women. Such racial issues are rooted in our countries deep racist attitudes. Views of African American women as lazy, promiscuous and poor have existed for hundreds of years. As we see the racial issue come into play, it is pretty obvious as to why many feminists didn’t help these single mothers. When I was reading this article it made me think of the divide between feminists and womanists. Many African American women broke away from the feminist movement, because they felt that these women were only concerned with white middle class issues. For instance, many white women wanted to work outside of their household, because they felt trapped by their responsibilities. However, African American women were more concerned with the safety of their children when they encountered white people. Or the fact that they could barely get jobs due to discrimination and blatant racism. Many feminists believe that  working outside of the home was the key to equality. Of course they neglected the fact that African American women couldn’t get jobs or would be paid even less than the white women. I feel like this article also relates to Dyce and Rangel’s article. Both women were faced with very desperate situations in which they were made to feel ashamed about their choices. Clearly, our system needs to be modified so that women aren’t stripped of their dignity if need help.