Will-power?

Throughout history, women have not been given very many freedoms. Because of this, they have not had much choice in life, or been able to choose what they want to do for themselves. Now in the present, however, women are more free than before. They can choose their path through life for themselves, and they can decide to stay or leave. Jasmine, in Jasmine, by Bharati Mukherji, states that "I changed because I wanted to." (185). Here she is finally expressing her own will. Before, she had been pretty much controlled either by her family in her youth, or by her husbands. A comment was made in class about how all her nick names were given to her by a man except the name Jasmine itself. I think that this name too is a statement of individual power for women. Because it is Jasmine's own choice, the name represents that power of choice for women. It is a change from the old world to the new. I think today, that women have much more choice than they did before. Perhaps they still do not have the same opportunities as men just yet, but I believe we are moving in that direction. I think as our world tries to make things more equal, more and more opportunities will open up for women, and therefore more choices, and so women will have more free will than ever before. However, as this happens, I also cannot help but see that men's choices are decreasing with the constant effort to promote the choice of women. This might be just to the slightest extent, but in some situations such as certain fields of jobs, people are pushing so much for numerical gender equity that it is sometimes easier for women to get these certain jobs than men in the same field simply because of this fact. These fields, I think, are fields such as engineering, and science related businesses. It would be very interesting to see if the opposite were true as well in jobs that were, at one time, considered more feminine such as jobs at fashion magazines or clothing design businesses. I wonder whether it is easier for men to get a job in such industries now days. In the end, we are moving in a positive direction when concerning the choices available for women today. I am curious to see at what stage we will be 30 or 40 years from now.