Feminism and Modern Friendship

Feminism and Modern Friendship It is argued that feminists have become the major opponents of liberalism. Feminism critics assert that this move exhibit an intrinsic gender prejudice, which emphasizes on the works of Sandel and Macintyre.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Feminism and Modern Friendship specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the article Feminism and Modern Friendship: Dislocating the Community, Friedman Marilyn explores these allegations (Weiss Marilyn 108). Marilyn seconded the communitarian position held by Sandel and Maclntyre. Nevertheless, she opposes certain aspects of the approach. In her writings, Marilyn aims to change the communitarian visualization of personality and society in a feminism path. This article seeks to criticize Marilyn from the story Feminism and Modern Friendship: Dislocating the Community. Marilyn argues that communitarian theories pose numerous risks to feminists. As such, they appeal to models of societies emphasizing on families, localities, and nations. According to her, these models have harbored social customs that tend to oppress and the female gender. Through this argument, it is apparent that Marilyn thoughts oppose other feminists’ views. She asserts that communitarians pretense the notion of a self based on communities, families, social groups, and families. According to her, it is wrong for commentaries not to pretense the notion based on sex and gender (Weiss Marilyn 112). In my opinion, her arguments on these notions are wrong. If sex and gender are used, individualism will be enhanced, which opposes communitarian ideologies. Marilyn fails to note that women empowerment, the main goal of feminists, can be attained easily through community and family levels compared with through individual levels.Advertising Looking for essay on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Although Marilynâ€℠¢s’ ambitions on abolishing women empowerment are justified, her approach clashes with communitarians’ theory. In my opinion, there are other ways of achieving these ambitions without the adoption of individualistic approaches. Equally, in the article Marilyn criticizes other feminists’ contributions such as Sandel and Macintyre (Weiss Marilyn 109). These feminists had visualized the actual self according to social attachment identities rather on sex and gender identities. While criticizing these individuals, Marilyn asserts that the omission of sex and gender implies that these individuals wanted to affirm that social attachment such as societies, families, and nationalities contribute to identity rather than sex and gender. Although Sandel and Macintyre failed to classify the self in terms of sex and gender, Marilyn should have acknowledged that communitarians view communal identities as a priority rather than sex and gender prioritize. Marilyn criticizes com munitarian philosophies claiming that they are perilous to feminism (Weiss Marilyn 108). She fails to note that if communitarian philosophies were strengthened, all people would be treated equally regardless of their nationality, age, gender, or sex. Even though some norms and structures in family, community, and national levels oppress women, it does not mean that communitarian philosophies support the vice or are wrong. Marilyn does not recognize that these oppressive norms and structures can be addressed from the communal level rather than from individual levels. In reality, women empowerment gains have been achieved through the effort of communal groups.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Feminism and Modern Friendship specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As opposed to Marilyn, I believe that womens empowerment programs are not going to be attained with ease through her approach. Feminists’ goals can be achieve d through communal theory if the communities as a whole agree to abandon gender subordination and gender prejudices. Other than attacking the communal theory, Marilyn should have pointed out areas that need to be amended to improve the theory. In the second part of her article, Marilyn focuses on modern friendship (Weiss Marilyn 113). In the section, she asserts that modern urban friendship developed based on shared interests rather than on communities or families. Urban life has provided shelter to most women who escape from their oppressive societies. Similarly, urban life has provided women with several opportunities enabling them to be financially stable like their male counterparts. In the second part, readers expect, Marilyn to offer feminists an approach to replace the communitarians’ approach criticized in part one. However, in the second part Marilyn does not provide an appropriate approach on how to improve communitarian theories. Similarly, Marilyn failed to note, or is not aware, that in towns some groups exist based on their nationality, communities, and families. Notably, the minority groups in towns consist of members from the particular nationalities or communities. This implies that the social norms and structure that oppress women exist in urban areas. Therefore, to ensure that women empowerment is attained, as advocated by feminists, communal theories should be strengthened.Advertising Looking for essay on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Equally, Marilyn fails to note that in a rural set up friendship established based on interest. Thus, she should confine her postulations to both urban population and rural population. Based on Nagel’s arguments, Marilyn should attack negative prejudices and oppressive norms against women by overturning silence that help to support them without necessarily denouncing communism (Nagel 125). In this regard, Marilyn should have postulated on how to improve womens rights and personal rights, but should not have confronted communitarian philosophies. It will be better if these criticisms were avoided because they enhance individualism. Nagel asserts that no one should be in control of culture and persistence of private racism, sexism, homophobia, religious, and ethnic bigotry. According to Nagel, failure to do so will provoke liberals to demand constant public affirmation of the opposite values (Nagel 127). To achieve the self-state emphasized by Marilyn, we should empower everyon e in the society, rather than the female gender only. The insistence on securing more rights for a single minority group and neglecting the others raises social stakes unnecessarily. All minority groups including women, the disabled, and minority communities should be empowered. To achieve this we should tackle issues that are concerned with how people should care for one another, how social and economic organizations are to be run, and how to share public resources equally. In general, Marilyn is not contented with liberal philosophy unlike other feminists. She believes that communitarian theories pose numerous risks to feminists. As such, they appeal to models of societies emphasizing on families, localities, and nations. She thinks that independence and rights are vital principles that should be remodeled to benefit all women and end domination and social subordination. From the article, Marilyn supports individualism to some extent. To her, individualism of liberalism cannot be discarded completely in the quest toward being responsible of what social relationships add to personal advancements. Contrary to other feminists believe, Marilyn believes that women individualism is appropriate for several reasons. Therefore, to attain women empowerment goals, as advocated by feminists, it is necessary that communal be strengthened. Equally, we should all try to accommodate one another’s views regardless of their community, nationality, sex, or gender. Through this, an equitable society will be achieved. Nagel, Thomas. Public and Private. Concealment and exposure: and other essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 117-129. Print. Weiss, Penny A., and Marilyn Friedman. Feminism and Modern Friendship: Dislocating the Community. Feminism and community. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995. 107-115. Print.

Medieval Food Preservation Methods

Medieval Food Preservation Methods For centuries before the medieval period, and for centuries afterward, human beings in all parts of the world used a variety of methods to preserve foods for later consumption. Europeans in the Middle Ages were no exception. A society that was largely agrarian would be keenly aware of the need to store up provisions against the ominous threats of famine, drought, and warfare. The possibility of disaster wasnt the only motive for preserving food. Dried, smoked, pickled, honeyed, and salted foods had their own particular flavors, and many recipes survive detailing how to prepare foods that have been stored with these methods. Preserved foods were also much easier for the sailor, soldier, merchant, or pilgrim to transport. For fruits and vegetables to be enjoyed out of season, they had to be preserved; and in some regions, a particular foodstuff could only be enjoyed in its preserved form, because it didnt grow (or wasnt raised) nearby. Virtually any kind of food could be preserved. How it was done depended on what type of food it was and whether a particular effect was desired. Here are some of the methods of food preservation used in medieval Europe. Drying Foods to Preserve Them Today we understand that moisture allows for the rapid microbiological growth of bacteria, which is present in all fresh foods and which causes them to decay. But it isnt necessary to understand the chemical process involved in order to observe that food that is wet and left in the open will quickly start to smell and attract bugs. So it should come as no surprise that one of the oldest methods of preserving foods known to man is that of drying it. Drying was used to preserve all sorts of foods. Grains like rye and wheat were dried in the sun or air before being stored in a dry place. Fruits were sun-dried in warmer climes and oven-dried in cooler regions. In Scandinavia, where temperatures were known to plunge below freezing in the winter, cod (known as stockfish) were left out to dry in the cold air, usually after they were gutted and their heads were removed. Meat could also be preserved through drying, usually after cutting it into thin strips and lightly salting it. In warmer regions, it was a simple matter to dry meat under the hot summer sun, but in cooler climates, air drying could be done at most times of the year, either outdoors or in shelters that kept away the elements and flies. Preserving Foods With Salt Salting was the most common way to preserve virtually any type of meat or fish, as it drew out the moisture and killed the bacteria. Vegetables might be preserved with dry salt, as well, though pickling was more common. Salt was also used in conjunction with other methods of preservation, such as drying and smoking. One method of salting meat involved pressing dry salt into pieces of meat, then layering the pieces in a container (like a keg) with dry salt completely surrounding each piece. If meat was preserved this way in cold weather, which slowed down the decomposition while the salt had time to take effect, it could last for years. Vegetables were also preserved by layering them in salt and placing them in a sealable container such as an earthenware crock. Another way to preserve food with salt was to soak it in a salt brine. While not as effective a long-term method of preservation as packing in dry salt, it served very well to keep food edible through a season or two. Salt brines were also part of the pickling process. Whatever method of salt preservation was used, the first thing a cook did when he got ready to prepare the salted food for consumption was soaking it in fresh water to remove as much of the salt as possible. Some cooks were more conscientious than others when it came to this step, which could take several trips to the well for fresh water. And it was next to impossible to remove all the salt, no matter how much soaking was done. Many recipes took this saltiness into account, and some were designed specifically to counteract or complement the salt flavor. Still, most of us would find preserved medieval food much saltier than anything were used to today. Smoking Meat and Fish Smoking was another fairly common way to preserve meat, especially fish and pork. Meat would be cut into relatively thin, lean strips, immersed briefly in a salt solution  and hung over a fire to absorb the smoke flavoring as it dried - slowly. Occasionally meat might be smoked without a salt solution, especially if the type of wood burned had a distinctive flavoring of its own. However, salt was still very helpful because it discouraged flies, inhibited the growth of bacteria, and hastened the removal of moisture. Pickling Foods Immersing fresh vegetables and other foods in a liquid solution of salt brine was a fairly common practice in medieval Europe. In fact, although the term pickle didnt come into use in English until the late Middle Ages, the practice of pickling goes back to ancient times. Not only would this method preserve fresh food for months so that it could be eaten out of season, but it could infuse it with strong, piquant flavors. The simplest pickling was done with water, salt and an herb or two, but a variety of spices and herbs as well as the use of vinegar, verjuice or (after the 12th century) lemon led to a range of pickling flavors. Pickling might require boiling the foods in the salt mixture, but it could also be done by simply leaving the food items in an open pot, tub or vat of salt brine with the desired flavorings for hours and sometimes days. Once the food had been thoroughly infused by the pickling solution, it was placed in a jar, crock, or another airtight container, sometimes with a fresh brine but often in the juice in which it had marinated. Confits Although the term confit has come to refer to virtually any food that has been immersed in a substance for preservation (and, today, can sometimes refer to a type of fruit preserve), in the Middle Ages confits were potted meat. Confits were most usually, but not solely, made from fowl or pork (fatty fowl like goose were particularly suitable). To make a confit, the meat was salted and cooked for a very long time in its own fat, then allowed to cool in its own fat. It was then sealed up in its own fat, of course and stored in a cool place, where it could last for months. Confits should not be confused with comfits, which were sugar-coated nuts and seeds eaten at the end of a banquet to freshen the breath and aid the digestion. Sweet Preserves Fruits were often dried, but a far more tasty method of preserving them past their season was to seal them up in honey. Occasionally, they might be boiled in a sugar mixture, but sugar was an expensive import, so only the cooks of the wealthiest families were likely to use it. Honey had been used as a preservative for thousands of years, and it wasnt limited to preserving fruit; meats were also stored in honey on occasion. Fermentation Most methods of preserving food involved stopping or slowing down the process of decay. Fermentation accelerated it. The most common product of fermentation was alcohol wine was fermented from grapes, mead from honey, beer from grain. Wine and mead could keep for months, but beer had to be drunk fairly quickly. Cider was fermented from apples, and the Anglo-Saxons made a drink called perry from fermented pears. Cheese is also a product of fermentation. Cows milk could be used, but the milk from sheep and goats was a more common source for cheese in the Middle Ages. Freezing and Cooling The weather of the greater part of Europe throughout much of the Middle Ages was rather temperate; in fact, there is often some discussion of the medieval warm period overlapping the end of the Early Middle Ages and the beginning of High Medieval Europe (the exact dates depend on who you consult). So freezing was not an obvious method of preserving foods. However, most areas of Europe did see snowy winters, and freezing was at times a viable option, especially in northern regions. In castles and large homes with cellars, an underground room could be used to keep foods packed in winter ice through the cooler spring months and into the summer. In the long, frigid Scandinavian winters, an underground room wasnt necessary. Supplying an ice-room with ice was a labor-intensive and sometimes travel-intensive business, so it was not particularly common; but it wasnt completely unknown, either. More common was the use of underground rooms to keep foods cool, the all-important last step of most of the above preservation methods.