#aah143

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Douglass Career Conference

The Career Conference helped me with my interview skills, dining etiquette, and resume building. I am glad I joined DRC which has so many helpful programs like this one for women. Events like these help encourage and empower us to go into more male-dominated fields such as STEM and business. I think DRC should have more events that will help us to succeed in the future. Events which empower us can increase the number of women in “female-minority” based fields, such as the ones stated above.

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Plenary #1

I personally would not support abortion because of my religion. However, I understand why many people are pro-choice and why they fight for women who get hate for abortion. In high school I did a project on abortion: what it is, pros and cons, pro-life and pro-choice, and the various methods at different stages. This project helped me learn a lot but it also convinced me to never get an abortion. The speaker at the plenary was very powerful and engaging, however I did not connect much to her. Overall, I myself am against getting an abortion if I am ever pregnant, however the choice of whether to go through with pregnancy or not should be up to the woman (and maybe her partner if he is relevant) and no one else. Being pro-life to me seems absurd, even though abortion is against my religion, because there is a separation between “church and state”; no laws should be inspired or based on any religion, but based on justice for the citizens. 

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Plenary 5

The mentors did a great job in yesterday’s plenary! In fact, this was the only plenary I was genuinely engaged to because I could relate. I am a Muslim who faces a lot of discrimination and racism, stereotypes and biasness was all brought up in one of the skits presented. Not only did I connect to that one but also the one about insecurities that women face; from middle school to high school I had frequently binged and purge and sometimes I would skip meals for several days just to be skinny. I also suffered through severe depression, self-harm and I had even attempted suicide several times (I received a lot of support and help and now I believe I am better and stronger). When my DRC peers got up to speak about their insecurities I began to cry because I realized that the chapel became a safe space for all of us to talk. Many of these girls did not receive support or they felt unsafe talking about their own identity and hearing them talk about their stories though broke my heart but also gave me relief. It gave me relief because I knew that I and every other girl in that room were connected even if we were not aware of it; we were all safe and supportive of each other. The women leadership class truly helped me and this plenary specifically made me feel better about myself as I got closer to my peers and gained more pride for myself.

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How Makeup Can Empower Women

http://www.buzzfeed.com/micaela/how-makeup-can-actually-be-empowering#.uwGALB7Zy 

Although I do not wear makeup all the time, I believe that on the days I do I feel MUCH more confident. Many people, specifically women who do not wear make up, view girls who wear makeup as fake or that they try too hard. However, you should not base your daily activities on others’ judgement; if you want to wear makeup wear it, if you don’t want to wear makeup don’t! Makeup is so powerful as it enhances people’s best features, as the girl in this buzzfeed video talks about. Makeup does not “trick” people, it is not used to “impress guys (or significant others for that matter), it is used to help us feel better about ourselves. Makeup is amazing!

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Plenary #2

I had the great opportunity a while back to meet for lunch with Ms. Wendy Cai-Lee after the speech she made at Trayes Hall. In the luncheon many of my Douglass peers and I asked Wendy many questions about how being a woman has affected her experience in the corporate world. She explained how at many times it has been difficult because she is very out of place; she is the youngest, she is an Asian and she is a woman, and being surrounded by older white men can be very intimidating.

What caught my attention most in our discussion at the luncheon was her rules and advice she gave us in order to maintain a good reputation in the work place. She told us as a banker, she went to many bars with her colleagues, but she never drank alcohol with them. She advised us to do the same by making an excuse about our health or our religion prevents us from drinking. Why? She said men would mix the drinks, which wouldn’t be a problem for men, but since women have lower tolerance they would most likely get drunk faster. She said it takes one mistake to ruin your whole career and she reminded us that under the influence you may lose some rational thought. I remember her saying “you don’t want to be anyone’s mistress. I would rather be known for being the hard worker that’s boring than the woman to go to for an affair.”

It’s unfortunate how correct her words are. Although we don’t want it to be true, we live in a society where men constantly sexualize women. Today in my knowledge and power class we discussed how the media sexualizes women which influences our society. It gives many men high expectations of what they want in a women, it brings low self-esteem to women who strive to become these photo-shopped “picture perfect” girls on the covers of magazines, on Tv, etc. It also causes society to have less respect for females in general; instead of embracing women intellects, the media draws attention to the bodies of women. This reflects in Wendy’s advice and anecdote about her workplace.