For my second Social Justice Event, I saw Encore Repertory Company's production of Mary Poppins the Musical on October 18th. This musical is much different from the movie regarding the character traits of each of them, but the story is almost identical with a few minor differences. I loved seeing this show because I had seen it years and years ago but when I finally saw it again, I realized how wonderfully feminist it is. The protagonist is a young adult woman who is career driven and single. Her character is so ahead of her time period and she has so many wonderful traits. She's sassy without regret, and she stands up for herself. The musical takes place during the women's suffarage movement, and I think that the nod to first wave feminism is really cool. I never would've known what first wave feminism is unless I had read the Rowe-Finkbeiner article.
Mrs. Banks is the complete opposite. She gave up her successful acting career to be a wife and a mother and throughout the show you see how she struggles with that. She feels unfulfilled and unappreciated, but then by the end of the show, she realizes that she doesn't want to go back to the stage, because being a wife and mother makes her happy and that being these roles can fulfill her life.
As I learn about feminism, one huge idea that I stand for is that no matter who you are, you should choose your life path and whatever it is, if you are a feminist, you are a feminist. I hate the idea that housewives are not feminists and that they are always unhappy. Some people love their lives as a wife and mother, and just because they don't have a career does not mean that they can't still stand for feminism. This class helped me to come to that conclusion and to begin supporting feminist housewives AS WELL AS career driven women.
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