Globalization started when people were first created on earth. The term "globalization" fascinates me because of the meaning it has had on our world since day one. The first quote of this chapter, "I think every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile" says so much about the power of globalization and the impact it has had on every country in the world. Barbie and Ken, which represent the "perfect" American couple are more lethal to surrounding countries because of the image and expectations that are being spread to children everywhere. Then, there was the Iranian Muslim dolls, Sara and Dara who were made to counteract the negative influence of Barbie and Ken. Sara and Dara were brother and sister, wore modest clothing, and there mission was to help each other solve problems while going to their parents for help and support. Where in our culture does Barbie and Ken go to their parents for help? When do they use each other's guidance to solve problems? Why does Barbie have multiple boyfriends and skimpy clothing? Barbie and Ken never get married, so what exactly are they showing little kids? The image that these dolls portray is extremely harmful to cultures across the world because it sends the wrong message for growing kids. What's okay and what isn't when your older.
Globalization sometimes refers to the growth in international economic matters that happened in the second half of the twentieth century and continued into the twenty first. But, the first half after WWI and during the great depression, the economy globally plumetted due to the loss of jobs and money, etc. Following WWII, the U.S. was determined to rise from the depression and then came technology and other boosts in the global economy. "Re-globalization" was a significant process in the acceleration of goods, capital, and people.
The 1960's struck me when reading this chapter because it was all about the feminist movements and many great protests began. Liberation for women meant that they first had to understand their own oppression, which took a number of groups protesting to really get the picture. A lot of the women in this time were subject to direct action and making things happen rather than the political lobbying by equal rights feminists. They did things like challenge the miss America pageants and brought sexuality to the attention regarding sexuality, free love, and lesbianism. The women's movements in the south were surrounded by many issues not all of which were strictly related to gender. I particularly liked reading this quote by a women who testified to the sense of empowerment and belonged to a women's support group, "I am a free woman. I bought this land through my group. I can lie on it, work on it, keep goats or cows. What more do I want? My husband cannot sell it. It is mine."
I think this quote is extremely powerful for this time period but the women's groups really gave support and hope for women all over to stand up and fight for what is rightfully theirs.
On a more global aspect, the twentieth century was able to centralize the "woman question" and put emphasis on the fact that women's right are human rights. All rights among men and women should be equal on an international level even though they may never be totally equal, the twentieth century raised a lot of questions and brought awareness to the issues regarding feminism.
I found the section on religion and global modernity to be really interesting, especially the area regarding the three different religions. (Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam). I thought it made a very valid point that the three of these had spread widely beyond the place they originated from. Particularly buddhism in the west, many people today are involved in buddhist practices and ideals such as meditation and yoga. I have never really thought about how far this religion has travelled and how long it has been around but it is definetly a big part of my life and my belief system. I am not a buddhist per say, but I do believe in the spirituality involved with yoga and the different beliefs like karma, etc.
As we talked about in class today, the environment plays a big role in globalization. The factors that play into the damages the human race has done to our earth and how we may fix them is very much so a global issue. As the world became industrialized, the populations grew immensly, therefore causing more and more pollution to occur. It is amazing to see how many people protest and fight for the environment all over the world and for all different places. Shown in the book, the picture of South Korean evironmental activists wearing death masks and holding crosses representing various countries sends a powerful message across the world. If more people were aware of or actually cared about the damages being done, our world might be in better shape.
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