Women and the Workforce Assignment “Julie and Julia”

The movie I’m covering in this article is the story of Julie and Julia. In this movie, a young married woman named Julie is an aspiring writer that works as a call center. She tries to find enjoyment in her life and decides to cook every recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child a world renowned chef. She writes a blog in which she discusses her trials and tribulations in cooking, and her progress in her writing as she gets farther and farther into the cookbook. The view towards Women’s work in the US is a dismissive one especially in the field of writing. This representation shows Women’s work as expendable, and not at the level of men. In the film Julie’s work is more private in the form of her creating her blog, and her work is in the home space, and that of the private sphere. From the text, I believe the idea from the article “To Whom Much is Given,” that women experience a double edged sword, and they don’t take care of themselves, and take responsibility of everybody else and she was suffering because of it (Kirk, 363). Also from the article “Making a Home, Making a Living,” I felt the idea of the Glass Ceiling pertains to Julie because she saw the top echelon where she wanted to be, but no matter what she did in her writing career she couldn’t be successful (Kirk,311).  Women must try to overcome being seen as weak or incapable, and if they are effective leaders NOT being seen as ball busters and a “bitch.” The representation of Women’s work, I must say does match my experiences, because I’ve been seen as the ball buster just because I had a voice and wanted to speak out. I have higher expectations of where I want to be, and I don’t want the glass ceiling to affect me. It is seen that a woman can’t be strong, but can’t be subservient either (Kirk, 368). This idea is reinforcing the double edged sword. Julie’s recognition only came after she obtained a loyal following from her blog. The story of Julie and Julia is one of power, strength, and perseverance, and her work ethic proves that women in certain fields can through hard work and sticking for their craft reach a level of success.

Work Cited

Kirk, Gwyn and Margo Okazawa- Rey. “ Making a Home, Making a Living." And “To Whom Much is Given” Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Kirk, Gwyn and Margot Okazawa- Rey. McGraw Hill, 2010. 301-369.