Week 1, Prompt 1: "TV Is Good for You" By Joel Waldfogel (Slate)

Central argument: The author's argument is that woman in the world still don't get equality especially in India.

Everyone has to watch Television at least once in their life. In this 21st century, with advantage of technology, the percentage of people who do not get a chance to watch TV decreases so much. Nobody can say that they haven’t watch Television in their life. Still many and many women do not get to watch TV. At least, that is my assumption, but the Joel Waldfogel, author of the article TV is good for you, shows that some woman, especially in rural regions of India do not get their chance to watch television. The main reason that Joel Waldfogel brought the topic that some woman do not get the chance of watching television is that he wants to share his idea about equality and freedom for Indian woman. By providing facts about woman in rural region of India, he wants to states that the equal right of woman in India has not reached the area where those women live. Beside Waldfogel’s point of view about women do not get their freedom or even equality in India, I also agree with Waldfogel’s point of view. Regardless that the women watch television, it is not going to help them gain the freedom or equal-right. They have to stand up and take action, if not miracle will not happen.

Waldfogel’s example are that “women are expected to cook and clean and to have lots of babies”, “more than half need permission from their husbands to go shopping” and sometime the woman can be beaten up for some reasons. As feminist’s point of view, they have a thought like why would the husband treats his wife like that? That is just a question, but the main point is that those women who live in rural regions deserve their equal right, but still they do not get. Waldfogel wants to emphasizes that women live in those rural regions have some expectation and they are just a tool or machine that work only for their husband. Waldfogel’s statistic is that “Sixty-two percent of women believe that it is sometimes acceptable. Thirty-four percent of the women surveyed believed a husband could hit his wife if she neglected the children, while nearly a third believed that showing disrespect and going places without permission warranted a beating. One fifth of women believe husbands are entitled to hit them for cooking a lousy dinner.” Following this statistic, he is sure about women deserves their right, and TV is the element for the revolution to start. If the Indian woman were treated like the third class people in French revolution, then a revolution will start soon.

I agree with Waldfogel about woman right, but I do not think sitting down and watch television will help those woman in not getting beat up by their husband. From the past till now, many woman have stood up to get their right. I do not think by watching some television commercial will help them to gain their right. I do believe that by watching television will bring knowledge, but not freedom or even equal- right.